Armed Polite Society
Main Forums => The Roundtable => Topic started by: SADShooter on February 04, 2011, 11:40:52 AM
-
The battery in my 1st gen Ironman has died, and my wrist feels naked. I will replace it for sentimental reasons, but I'd like to get a decent upgrade. Also had a nice Esquire, evidently lost in divorce/move. I've decided I'd like an automatic with metal band, impact/water resistant. Dressy, but rugged. Budget up to $200, and Amazon is offering a discount. I've done some searching here, and the array of options is bewildering. Suggestions?
Thanks,
SADShooter
ETA: Luminous dial also preferred
-
Need Time for a new watch.
FTFY =)
-
I'll admit to having no sense of fashion but this is what I typically wear: http://www.amazon.com/Tritium-Aviator-Display-Rotating-Stainless/dp/B002TZW0NY/
What's not to like about a watch with Tritium in it?
-
What's not to like about a watch with Tritium in it?
In just a little over 12 years, it will only have half as much tritium as when you bought it . . .
-
http://www.amazon.com/Seiko-SMY111-Stainless-Steel-Kinetic/dp/B003CG1878/ref=sr_1_2?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1296844205&sr=1-2
I got a Seiko Kinetic watch similar to this that has held up very well.
-
http://www.amazon.com/Seiko-SKX175-Automatic-Silver-Tone-Watch/dp/B00068TJIU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1296844213&sr=8-1
Tritium watches are neat, but they usually cost more.
-
I say get yourself a Timex Expedition Indiglo series and $160 worth of ammo. :P
-
Seiko Kinetics are pretty tough. An Orange Monster is on my wrist as I type this. I wear it every day, in my maintenance shop, and it holds up well. They make other colors if you're not trying to be Dirk Pitt on a budget.
Orange:
http://www.amazon.com/Seiko-SKX781-Orange-Monster-Automatic/dp/B000EPLR2G
Black:
http://www.creationwatches.com/products/seiko-diver-s-60/seiko-divers-automatic-black-monster-skx779k-skx779-men-s-watch-1106.html
Or if you can stretch your budget just a tad, there's my all time favorite watch:
http://www.doxawatches.com/sub750_GMT_pro.htm
-
If you're going with Doxa, go all the way to 5000 ft. =D
http://www.doxawatches.com/sub5000t_professional.htm
-
The Seiko Monster is an option, thanks.
The Doxas wouldn't just stretch my budget, they'd blow it to smithereens. :O :O
-
All joking aside, my monster is an awesome watch. Good looking, and tough as nails. You do gave to like big watches though. It's good sized. My only complaint is it's so good I have no reason to buy more cool watches.
-
I like my Wenger Swiss Raid Commando.
Pretty neat looking, and tough.
-
Gah! Now I'm looking at the Wenger GST. My head will likely explode before I find a watch.
-
I actually have a black Monster I've been thinking of selling. Got it as a present, and I love it... but when you wear a watch maybe once a week having a kinetic model is a pain in the butt.
-
Gah! Now I'm looking at the Wenger GST. My head will likely explode before I find a watch.
Try Traser as well.
Or this (http://www.amazon.com/Swiss-Legend-T8010-55-Collection-Chronograph/dp/B002L16H4O/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1296863561&sr=8-2) watch if you want a heavy and massive one.
-
I do not understand watches costing more than, say, 50 bucks. Maybe if I were deep-sea diving, or whatever...
-
I've owned an Orange Monster for 7 years now. Last year, I sent it off to be customized. The scratched crystal was replaced with a saphire one, the bezel was repainted, and the tritium insert at the 12 position on the bezel was replaced. I also had him bead blast the case and bracelet.
Chris
-
i found this while looking at the seiko link above.
http://www.amazon.com/Seiko-SNK809-Automatic-Black-Strap/dp/B002SSUQFG/ref=pd_sbs_watch_11
what is the difference between "seiko", and "seiko 5"?
-
On the seiko monster watches, are their tritium inserts or is it just Luminous?
-
On the seiko monster watches, are their tritium inserts or is it just Luminous?
Luminous. Ollech & Wajs, Traser, Luminox, Marathon, Dievas, and S&W have watches in the $400 and under range with tritium. You have to make sure it says tritium, since not all models have it.
-
yep I have a luminox 3100 series, I prefer tritium. But I like the look of the seiko monster. I also have a Traser, to me, same as the luminox watches.
How are the S&W watches, do they last?
-
What's the consensus on the Marathon watches sold at CountyComm? They have a couple of sub-$200 models I looked at after searching threads here.
-
I don't wear a watch. I Do have my great granpa's "dollar" pocket watch. It's got really cool art deco looking numbers that are probably coated in radium. :cool:
-
www.worldofwatches.com is a popular and well-regarded site for watch purchases.
-
MillCreek:
Thanks. That tech info helped me narrow my preferences.
SADShooter
-
I was just looking at the watch. If it was radium it must be dead becuase it doesn't glow in the dark. Plus, it makes this strange noise which sounds something like, "Tick tock tick tock tick tock,,,etc". Wonder what that is? ~90 yo watch, still works. Also has this other strange writings, "Made in USA" I wonder what that means too.
;)
-
How are the S&W watches, do they last?
I've had mine for 5-6 years now. Obviously the Tritium has lost some of its shine but the watch still works.
Of course, I live a pretty docile life. I don't ever put it through anything more rough than an office job. When I actually do wear a watch while doing real work, or working out, it's a cheap-o Timex Ironman for me.
-
S&W watches use the same inner workings as Traser and Luminox, with a different facility for assembling these Swiss-made parts. Anecdotally, QC seems lower than the other two brands - but if it works fine the first few days, it ought to work for years.
Oh. This (http://www.ballwatchusa.com/collections/EngineerMasterIIDiverWorldtimeSABK.asp) is an awesome watch. If you have multiple $K to spare, go with it.
-
If you're going with Doxa, go all the way to 5000 ft. =D
http://www.doxawatches.com/sub5000t_professional.htm
Apparently my O-rings would fail before it does.
I've been to slightly in excess of 1200 feet but that was inside the people tank.
As for Tritium, during my days in the above mentioned people tank tritium was considered bad, as in OMG!! we are all going to freaking die horribly!!! bad if the tritium detector in the aft end of the torpedo room went off.
-
A lot of good information. Thanks, all. I'm torn between some of the functional options presented and something dressier. I may end up with two watches, a knockaround and something decorative for coat and tie days.
As a somewhat silly aside, I'll turn 40 in a couple of weeks, and this watch purchase is feeling like a symbol of some life transition. Part of why the decision is more complex than it should be. That and I'm indecisive, being paralyzed by too many choices. =(
-
As a somewhat silly aside, I'll turn 40 in a couple of weeks, and this watch purchase is feeling like a symbol of some life transition. Part of why the decision is more complex than it should be. That and I'm indecisive, being paralyzed by too many choices. =(
Yeah, old folks are like that.
-
I do not understand watches costing more than, say, 50 bucks. Maybe if I were deep-sea diving, or whatever...
I think it depends on if you want 1) a nicer looking watch, and/or 2) a watch that lasts more than a year. I think the more expensive watches are also tougher and more scratch resistant depending on what you get. I've had cheap watches before and they never lasted any significant time. I've had them that were supposed to be water proof and died after the first swim. My Seiko has lasted a couple years no and shows no signs of stopping. I have heard the batteries in the Kinetics only last several years though.
-
OK, bouncing this back since I've almost made up my mind to buy this: http://www.amazon.com/Citizen-BM8120-56E-Eco-Drive-Corso-Titanium/dp/B0007IR4U4/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top (http://www.amazon.com/Citizen-BM8120-56E-Eco-Drive-Corso-Titanium/dp/B0007IR4U4/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top)
Feedback on Citizen generally and the Eco-Drive in particular appreciated.
-
I like the 1st complaint against it in the only one star review: "The date/time setting was wrong when we got the watch."
Well, you don't say!
-
I have a stainless 300 meter Eco-Drive diver that has never given me a lick of trouble for the eight or so years I have owned it. I think it cost me $ 175 or so.