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Who Watches the Watchmen (Our Chit Chat Thread)

Kintarō Hattori

I was surprised to see that we won't have a general chat thread. Sometimes what you want to say doesn't really fit in any of the existing topics. Hopefully this becomes useful.

So for me I'm intrigued by the Lip watches Wibbs posted about and am now thinking about getting one of those.

*Title courtesy of Spocker

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Wibbs

Lorddrakul wrote: »

There was a nice old Breitling on Antiques Roadshow this evening.

It was a two register chrono, with an inscription that dates it to 1949 in the US.

The model was Chronomat, the one with the slide rule.
It was in working order, but the dial had some damage.

Estimate was about £5,000, which sounded low.

Antiques Roadshow have a history of being all over the place with valuations on watches(and other things). They tend to undervalue(the US version tends to overvalue), or aren't always clear is that auction values, dealers values, insurance values. In that case though I'd say 5000 sterling or around 6000 euro wouldn't be far wrong.

Breitling would be a niche enough interest in the vintage realm and never really took off in values the way chronos from brands like Heuer, Rolex and Omega have. Even though Breitling came up with the two pusher chronograph standard that everyone else copied. Then again Longines chronos are still with a few exceptions way down compared to the aforementioned brands and they were the first to make a wristwatch specific chronograph movement(and the flyback).

hitemfrank

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Casio-MDV106-1AV-Analog-Watch-Black/dp/B009KYJAJY

I've had one of these for years and over time it had a replacement strap. That strap needed replacing and so I ordered what I thought was a compatible strap from Barton. It arrived today and is too short to fit into the lug holes. I ordered a 20mm size but this doesn't fit.

What size should I be ordering?

I've a Barton strap fitted to my Duro so I can tell you when I get home this evening, if you don't find out before then.

Kintarō Hattori

Wibbs wrote: »

It says that it takes a 20mm strap. Maybe the replacement strap is an 18 sent in error? I've had that happen before. To be sure measure the inside diameter of the lugs with a rule or better yet a vernier caliper if you have one.

Thanks Wibbs. I don't have a caliper I'm afraid. The strap is printed up as 20mm but it's definitely a good bit shorter than what's there.

Ryath

The Duro has 22mm lug width, 20mm at clasp is the band width casio list for some strange reason.
https://www.watchuseek.com/threads/lug-width-of-casio-mdv106-1a-dive-watch.1294785/

Kintarō Hattori

Ryath wrote: »

The Duro has 22mm lug width, 20mm at clasp is the band width casio list for some strange reason.
https://www.watchuseek.com/threads/lug-width-of-casio-mdv106-1a-dive-watch.1294785/

I'll head off and order a 22mm so. Thank you sir. A new strap has been ordered.

Ryath

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

I'll head off and order a 22mm so. Thank you sir. A new strap has been ordered.

You'll have to buy another watch to fit the 20mm! :P

Kintarō Hattori

Ryath wrote: »

You'll have to buy another watch to fit the 20mm! :P

Ah I'm sure there's something in the collection that'll fit it. I'm holding off any new watches as I hadn't worn any over the last year or so. There didn't seem much point when I was mostly just around the house.

Trigger Happy

I need to get an extra hole put in a leather strap to help it fit my slimline wrists. With the retail jewelers closed I cant go in to one and get it done proper. Am too inpatient to order one from china and wait.
Any hints on how to make a hole without making a hames of it?!

Lorddrakul

Trigger Happy wrote: »

I need to get an extra hole put in a leather strap to help it fit my slimline wrists. With the retail jewelers closed I cant go in to one and get it done proper. Am too inpatient to order one from china and wait.
Any hints on how to make a hole without making a hames of it?!

Have you got a Swiss Army knife?

There is an an awl-like tool on many of them, beside the back mounted corkscrew, they refer to as a reamer/punch. If used like a hand drill, it leaves a pretty neat hole.

It is marked #9 in the pic.

Alternatively, if you have a fast drill, a 3mm drill bit will do a good job.

Anjobe

Lorddrakul wrote: »

Have you got a Swiss Army knife?

There is an an awl-like tool on many of them, beside the back mounted corkscrew, they refer to as a reamer/punch. If used like a hand drill, it leaves a pretty neat hole.

It is marked #9 in the pic.

Alternatively, if you have a fast drill, a 3mm drill bit will do a good job.

Or if you know someone who rides, they often have a leather punch for making extra holes in horse tack.

Trigger Happy

Anjobe wrote: »

Or if you know someone who rides, they often have a leather punch for making extra holes in horse tack.

Mmm, thats worth a shot as there is a person lives near me who is in to the riding.

micks_address

Hi folks,

The bracelet that came with my speedmaster is a little tight. I knew in advance and the seller gave me a discount to pick up a spare link. It’s a year 2000 speedmaster which I think is ref 1998 bracelet.

I’m trying to figure out the correct full and half link to purchase.

I don’t intend wearing it that often on the bracelet but I be nice to have the option

Would this be the correct half link? On the clasp there’s micro adjustments I can use to shorten so maybe a full link be better option?

https://m.ebay.ie/itm/Omega-Speedmaster-Full-Size-Stainless-Steel-Bracelet-Link-Part-No-114ST1998-/164259132140

This is the bracelet

Cheers,
Mick

Trigger Happy

Lorddrakul wrote: »

Have you got a Swiss Army knife?

Alternatively, if you have a fast drill, a 3mm drill bit will do a good job.

The 3mm drill did the job perfectly. A nice near job too.

46 Long

Very strange, rambling article from Cara Barrett in Hodinkee arguing for genderless watches and complaining that women are being excluded from the watch world. She seems to be bitter about the terrible reception for 'Talking Watches With Bethenny Frankel' - chalking it up to misogyny while conveniently ignoring the excellent 'My Watch Story' segments featuring female watch owners.

https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/all-watches-should-be-unisex-and-heres-why

Cienciano

Sounds like she likes one thing and thinks the entire watch industry and womens tastes should change to suit her. If she likes bigger watches, no one is stopping her from buying one.

unkel

Plenty of women now wearing 40+ mm traditional men's watches like speedies, subs, daytonas and tudors, bit of a trend. Fair play to them. Can't be bothered to read that article though, sorry

893bet

unkel wrote: »

Plenty of women now wearing 40+ mm traditional men's watches like speedies, subs, daytonas and tudors, bit of a trend. Fair play to them. Can't be bothered to read that article though, sorry

I wouldn’t give that crap the click.

fat bloke

Aren't ladies' rolexes and the like significantly cheaper??

Wibbs

The other angle is that she's being - and all too typical for westerners, especially Americans - very local in culture. Like I was saying earlier in the thread Longines' sales of women's watches in China and the Far East in general outstrip their sales of men's watches. Women in that neck of the woods, billions of them are choosing what they're choosing. The new york feminist stuff doesn't really translate. And like has been said nobody is stopping any women from buying "men's" watches. I've noticed that among the women I've seen wearing watches(mostly "fashion" brands) they tend to go big anyway. Bigger than I usuually wear actually.

The other side of it is that women as a market never bought into the "mechanical is authentic" stuff of the Swiss watch industry marketing. It seems they want to see more value and convenience in jewellery purchases. We might be seeing the same marketing trying to bridge that gap and increase profit margins. Margins are generally higher on mechanical than they are with quartz and women are an untapped market in that.

Another thing occurred to cynical oul me, especially as they've gone all meta and have an article about her article... Maybe it's not the women's market they're pointing at, but the men's? Specifically the men's vintage market. Vintage watches are overwhelmingly smaller compared to current offerings, but they flog a load of vintage so maybe they're trying to tweak their male viewer's opinions towards smaller sizes that they might otherwise think too "girly"? Wouldn't surprise me with that lot.

Fitz II

fat bloke wrote: »

Aren't ladies' rolexes and the like significantly cheaper??

They are but mostly they are precious or simi precious and that makes stainless cheaper. My wife wears my sub and Daytona a lot, mostly the sub. Seems to be the fashion at the moment. Smaller ladies watches are not on vogue and 36mm seems to be the new ladies minimum.

Personally I think that the ladies should feck off..it hard enough get a sports Rolex with doubling the potential customers. The coloured oyster perpetual s can be seen as a move into the ladies market and the Asian market tastes.

Don't read articles like that, pretentious waffle. Nobody is stopping women buying what they want. But women don't buy watches mostly...men buy them as gifts.

Cienciano

A lot of articles are written to get clicks. Even though we dismiss it as bullshíte, they know they'll still get the clicks from people passing it around to laugh at how ridiculous it is. I'm guessing it's one of those articles. Just guessing, as like everyone else, I haven't read it

[Deleted User]

"dated gender labels"

unkel

Fitz II wrote: »

My wife wears my sub and Daytona a lot

I don't think you ever said that before. I warned you this would happen though

redlead

Jaysus, one of the last bastions of the Internet where gender nonsense can be avoided and we're at it.

No offence intended to Mrs Fitz but surely a sub would be ludicrously big on a woman? I get that they want larger sizes but I would have thought anything over 36 would just look a bit silly. Would the lugs not be completely over hanging the wrist?

banie01

I am in the "I ain't clicking" camp for that article too.

My Mrs has a couple of "fashion" watches and they are invariably quite large and blingy.
She has a Michael Kors chrono that is bigger than my IWC and is also practically illegible.

My other half is 5'5" and very slight, compared to me being 6'5" with a rugby players wrist.
Yet, she has a couple of watches that would look big on me.

Her thinking on that?
Well her watches are basically functional fat bangles.
So the bigger and blingier the better.
An antithesis to many of us and our "man" jewellery where we tell ourselves it's mechanics over form.
For her, it's form over mechanics.

It's the difference between X and Y

Fitz II

redlead wrote: »

No offence intended to Mrs Fitz but surely a sub would be ludicrously big on a woman? ?

I think they look good, the boyfriend style wear where they are worn loose, they are not big watches really. I think its a look that is meant to portray a casual but luxury vibe. She has a 31mm datejust also and it looks tiny and very dressy.

e50aebf0081bf8ff87810302cf3215eb-mens-watches-rolex-wrist-watches.jpg

e50aebf0081bf8ff87810302cf3215eb-mens-watches-rolex-wrist-watches.jpg

unkel

Yep, looking great. I for one welcome this trend. It seems younger people (M & F) and women are getting more into watches now anyway. Probably fashion, rap culture etc. I don't care where it's coming from but I think it's a good thing

Fitz II

unkel wrote: »

Yep, looking great. I for one welcome this trend. It seems younger people (M & F) and women are getting more into watches now anyway. Probably fashion, rap culture etc. I don't care where it's coming from but I think it's a good thing

Agree, despite my facetious comments, women are just as interested in quality and design as men and while the WIS women is a rare beast, I think that women are sick of being told they need to wear brightly coloured wristlets, and are just as interested in classic designs. I do think however women are more interested in having brand and status watches, I dont think they have much interest in what I would class as "sh1tters". Handbags are an area I know little about but just enough to know that the ammount of snobbery, expense, waiting lists and resale value in that arena would put watches in the haypenny place.

Wibbs

banie01 wrote: »

Her thinking on that?
Well her watches are basically functional fat bangles.
So the bigger and blingier the better.
An antithesis to many of us and our "man" jewellery where we tell ourselves it's mechanics over form.
For her, it's form over mechanics.

It's the difference between X and Y

I dunno B, I'd say it's just as much about form over mechanics for most men buying into watches as jewellery and status transmitters over the last decade or so. It always was to some degree as the vast majority of men's watches in the 20th century were dressy and gold, or gold plated and in many cases not particularly legible either. You really see that in the 20/30's where men's watches shrunk and even the larger art deco tank styles had tiny hands. The first Rolex Oyster cases run between 30 and 34mm. At the same time when men were in need of actual tool watches for particular purposes they were nearly always larger and far more legible. Though even here current fashion could influence things like the very first specific divers watch that was made by Omega. A tiny tank watch.

Cyrus

Fitz II wrote: »

Agree, despite my facetious comments, women are just as interested in quality and design as men and while the WIS women is a rare beast, I think that women are sick of being told they need to wear brightly coloured wristlets, and are just as interested in classic designs. I do think however women are more interested in having brand and status watches, I dont think they have much interest in what I would class as "sh1tters". Handbags are an area I know little about but just enough to know that the ammount of snobbery, expense, waiting lists and resale value in that arena would put watches in the haypenny place.

yep for rolex sub see chanel 2.55 or whatever it is :P