Let's See Your Watches! The Vintage Watch Thread.

[jamespowers]

This is the only true driver's watch:

Those other ones don't fit the wrist correctly nor do they conform enough as does the Ristside Gruen from 1938:

The band could go either way as far as I am concerned. The ads show it both ways.

 

[jamespowers]

A birthday gift. Interesting. I think it has been altered either at the time or thereafter at some point. I have never seen a Curvex with quite as much adornment.

 

[Legion]

This gold Rotary arrived in the mail this morning. I must admit, I really just impulse bought it because I like the look of it. Can anyone tell me anything about its history? I couldn't find this model when I tried to research it. I was wondering the age, mostly.

 

[Viola]

Not vintage but a classic style: My brother, one of my favorite people, needs a gift. Specifically, he needs a mechanical, self-winding watch, as that is something he's wanted a long time.

In the same about-a-hundred-dollars price point, which is the more credible brand, Seiko or Kenneth Cole, as far as durability? (Cole wins on looks, methinks)

Any advice appreicated. Must be self-winding - otherwise its back to looking for SWORD-CANES. lol

 

[Ugarte]

If you're looking at Cole then my suggestions may be way off base, but I own an Invecta and really like it. Very nice watch for the money. I think they make a dressier watch, but not in your price range.

At any rate here is a collection I Googled up.

http://www.google.com/products?hl=en&q=automatic+watches&price1=&price2=150.00&lnk=prsugg&show=li

Good luck.


Mark
.

 

[Naphtali]

In the universe of wristwatch [ab]use, here's a test my Omega SMP Omegamatics have passed. I'm a hand cannon shooter-hunter. My hunting handguns are a pair of six-inch barreled Freedom Arms Model 83s in 475 Linebaugh firing high end 400-grain WFN PB reloads. The first time I shot my first 475 I forgot to remove my watch. No problems. No malfunctions. When I realized the watch would handle the recoil and concussion, that was that. I have never removed the Omega wristwatch for any centerfire shooting. And the watch continues to function blandly and uneventfully.

My belief is that budget-priced, budget-valued watches are false economy. There are reasons why they're inexpensive, and none of those reasons is of benefit to the user - unless that user has a throwaway mentality. A best-quality wristwatch, without substantial adornment/engraving, achieves superior trouble-free using life without significant maintenance costs.

 

[rmrdaddy]

Viola,
Orient Watch USA offers many styles of "automatic" mechanical watches that have a pretty good rep for that type of watch on the cheap. They have Chinese made internals which seems to be the primary reason they are able to hit that kind of investment level, and they also have deals ALL THE TIME. Sign up for their newsletter and you will get some offers for substantial discounts over and above their regular pricing.

http://orientwatchusa.com/

I've personally not handled any of their wares, but the Watchuseek forums seem to regard them fairly well for $100-150 mechanical watches.

 

[Ugarte]

In the universe of wristwatch [ab]use, here's a test my Omega SMP Omegamatics have passed. I'm a hand cannon shooter-hunter. My hunting handguns are a pair of six-inch barreled Freedom Arms Model 83s in 475 Linebaugh firing high end 400-grain WFN PB reloads. The first time I shot my first 475 I forgot to remove my watch. No problems. No malfunctions. When I realized the watch would handle the recoil and concussion, that was that. I have never removed the Omega wristwatch for any centerfire shooting. And the watch continues to function blandly and uneventfully.

My belief is that budget-priced, budget-valued watches are false economy. There are reasons why they're inexpensive, and none of those reasons is of benefit to the user - unless that user has a throwaway mentality. A best-quality wristwatch, without substantial adornment/engraving, achieves superior trouble-free using life without significant maintenance costs.

Oh come on. She clearly stated that she was looking for a gift in the $100 range. While you'll get no argument from me about the quality of Omega watches, I can't help but deem this reply to her query unresponsive and unhelpful.

These days a wrist watch for most people is purely a fashion accessory. There are clocks everywhere and it's been years since I set eyes on a cellular telephone that did not involve a clock display of some kind. Granted not everyone carries a cell phone, but a $1,000 + timepiece seems rather extravagant these days unless one has a legitimate use for such a thing (I'm trying really hard to think what that use would be and failing) or money just burning a hole in your wallet. Even then, there are too many arguments against luxury time pieces for the average Joe out there.

I've got a $50 Timex Ironman (the first such model) that I purchased in or about 1986 that I've passed down to my son because my eyes have made it too hard for me to read. It's virtually indestructible. I replaced the band with a leather strap years ago and I've replaced the battery a number of times myself. Net price for those items has been nowhere near the amount I would have paid say Rolex for adjustments and cleanings over the years. And you do have to have those watches serviced -- mechanical movements get dirty and wear.

I'm not looking for a fight of any kind, but I read this yesterday and it stewed all night. I readily offer my apologies should I offend anyone with this. If one wishes to wear or carry a fine timepiece, then by all means I support you whole-heartedly but again, come on.

Mark
.

 

[John in Covina]

While there is a lot to the saying "you get what you pay for" these days with watches there are a lot of bargain watches that will live up to ordinary life and last a long time.

I had a Casio (Big 5) that was ancient that lasted some 20 years. I have a Wegner (one of the Swiss Army Knife companies) I bought at Big 5 that is eas;iy 15 years old was under $50 and is still functioning beautifully as an everyday watch. I have 2 Bulovas that are dress watches that were on sale about $250-300 and while these have more functions they are not as easy to read as the Wegner, but they look great, keep good time and work well.

All I can say is I have bought some watches at Big Five Sporting goods store that were fine and pretty inexpensive. Might be worth a trip to puruse their offerings.

Good luck in your search.

 

[Canadave]

I agree with Naphtali's points about false economy.

There is a big difference between a $100 (or even $50) quartz watch and a $100 automatic. That quartz could keep time and last for 20 years. Nothing wrong with that. But if Viola wants to buy an automatic watch as a gift, it probably doesn't make sense to spend $100 on something that is unlikely to last very long or keep good time. You say yourself, Ugarte, that automatic watches need to be serviced and cleaned. Does it make sense to spend this money on a $100 watch?

 

[John in Covina]

If someone is looking to spend $15,000.00 to get a new vehicle you don't discuss Mercedes, Cadillac, Rolls Royce or Bentley usually.:eusa_doh:

 

[Viola]

It's mostly just my brother specifically likes the idea of the self-winding ones, and found one in a catalog for $70.00 and he still talks about THAT as a "someday" purchase.

And my brother is a great guy easily worth a thousand dollar watch but I don't have it and honestly my bro thinks a hundred dollar watch is wicked expensive. (can we let him keep his illusions until after I get it)

Its a groomsman gift; I say he's MY best man. I'd like to get him something nice. But we're all broke kids here. I can't really be tripling my budget at this time. I know its not the fanciest thing I just wanted something plausible to say I care.

Does Kenneth Cole fall apart that is really all I'm wanting to know. Sorry. I can't do the high tier stuff right now.

EDIT: Thanks for the tip on Invicta, Ugarte, I'm checking them out now.

 

[Naphtali]

Oh come on. She clearly stated that she was looking for a gift in the $100 range. While you'll get no argument from me about the quality of Omega watches, I can't help but deem this reply to her query unresponsive and unhelpful. . . .

You are absolutely correct; I got carried away. . . . Are we okay?

 

[Ugarte]

You are absolutely correct; I got carried away. . . . Are we okay?

You and me? Always. It's just that Viola is still looking for a watch.

I can't tell you anything about Ken Cole. I've seen them at Dillards and most of them look nice but kind of chunky for that style of watch. But then, that's just my taste in the matter.

The last round of watch buying I had involved some modest purchases on Ebay, but Ebay is not a steady source for anything at a reliable price.

Just laying out what little I know about it all

Mark
.

 

[Thunderbolt]

An Idea

Just another option take it or leave it. Consider the Citizen EcoDrive. I got my brother and ex one for their birthdays. They aren't self winding but are solar powered. The face of the watch is a big solar panel (though it looks like a normal black faced watch, you'd never know it was a solar panel) and will never need a battery. They're about $100-150. If you put the watch away in a drawer after it's been in light for 10hrs or so, it will keep running for a year in complete darkness. At that point, you'd need to charge the watch in the light again to get it going. The wrist band is metal links. The case (the widow over the face) is also glass not plastic. My $150 Swiss Made chronometer Swatch I bought from squiggly.com has a plastic case!

 

[wildturkey8]

Oh come on. She clearly stated that she was looking for a gift in the $100 range. While you'll get no argument from me about the quality of Omega watches, I can't help but deem this reply to her query unresponsive and unhelpful.

These days a wrist watch for most people is purely a fashion accessory. There are clocks everywhere and it's been years since I set eyes on a cellular telephone that did not involve a clock display of some kind. Granted not everyone carries a cell phone, but a $1,000 + timepiece seems rather extravagant these days unless one has a legitimate use for such a thing (I'm trying really hard to think what that use would be and failing) or money just burning a hole in your wallet. Even then, there are too many arguments against luxury time pieces for the average Joe out there.

I've got a $50 Timex Ironman (the first such model) that I purchased in or about 1986 that I've passed down to my son because my eyes have made it too hard for me to read. It's virtually indestructible. I replaced the band with a leather strap years ago and I've replaced the battery a number of times myself. Net price for those items has been nowhere near the amount I would have paid say Rolex for adjustments and cleanings over the years. And you do have to have those watches serviced -- mechanical movements get dirty and wear.

I'm not looking for a fight of any kind, but I read this yesterday and it stewed all night. I readily offer my apologies should I offend anyone with this. If one wishes to wear or carry a fine timepiece, then by all means I support you whole-heartedly but again, come on.

Mark
.

Best watch I've owned is a $30 dollar Timex Expedition. I've owned a Hamilton and a Citizen. Take the Timex everytime.

 

[CACooper]

Greetings,

I'm kind of a watch geek, but I'm not super rich, so Seiko or Casio fill the bill. I own two Seiko series 5 automatics, and really like them both. They're self-winding (wrist motion), and the cool factor is the see-through back. You can see the workings and the winding counter weight spin around. Neat!

Here's a link to Princeton Watches (no afilliation, just a satisfied customer), decent prices, good service and selection.

http://www.princetonwatches.com/shop/SNX166.asp

The above model Seiko is self-winding with the see-through back for $129. They have others, but they're about twice the price. Personally, I'm a big fan of Seiko, as they are excellent watches for the money, a great value. You can't go wrong IMHO.

CACooper

 

[Legion]

Having owned a lot of watches I am kind of in the "you get what you pay for" camp when it comes to automatic watches. While you can get a perfectly serviceable, good looking and accurate quartz watch for your $100 price point, I can't help thinking your brother will be disappointed with the accuracy and longevity of an auto at this price. While I'm sure that there are a lot of people out there with cheap autos who would say I'm wrong, I think that they are the exception rather than the rule.

A mechanical watch is really a very sophisticated piece of engineering and it does cost more than $100 to make a good one.

Having said that... If he just can't resist and the budget is fixed... Seiko is probably your best bet.

 

[John in Covina]

One thing I would throw out there is kind of a question. Isn't Kenneth Cole a Designer? If so, then the questions is more: who is making the watches for his company.

 

[Tomasso]

who is making the watches for his company.

Someone in China most likely.