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Who's got a nice watch? Traditional watches only, no smartwatches please.
- Thread starter JW8725
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For the foreseeable future I see no need for an Apple watch. Then again some would say my watches aren't much nicer than an Apple watch.
I purchased the Sport model initially and picked up the SS model yesterday as I seen one being offered for a good price. I've been wearing the Apple Watch as a daily wearer, but from time to time will change it out for rotation.
No, I don't.
Actually, I don't plan to get the Apple watch at all, let alone mull over which model to choose, or wear it for sports (which I don't do, either).
Strange to relate, I love old traditional watches, and I think that the development of exquisitely crafted (and accurate) devices to measure and track the passing of time is one of the great achievements of humanity.
Several years ago, I remember staring, with awed wonder, at John Harrison's magnificent chronometers; they were - and are - mechanical masterpieces, stunning timepieces and works of true technical genius which are also amazingly attractive to look at.
(For anyone who wants to know more about this topic, I cannot recommend Dava Sobel's superb book, 'Longitude' highly enough - it is a terrific read and an amazing story.)
Here is my small collection. Having 6.5" wrist limits my choices.
Going clockwise: Omega Seamaster Professional Ceramic in blue, Omega Speedmaster Professional Sapphire Sandwich, Oris Aquis 40mm in grey, Seiko quartz, Omega Speedmaster Auto Date in blue, Tag Carrera Twin Time 39mm, a BMW branded quartz gifted by a dealership. The Speedmaster Auto Date is my favorite of the bunch.
On my wish list is the 42mm Seamaster Planet Ocean in orange, Aqua Terra in teak and the Grand Seiko Snowflake.
Going clockwise: Omega Seamaster Professional Ceramic in blue, Omega Speedmaster Professional Sapphire Sandwich, Oris Aquis 40mm in grey, Seiko quartz, Omega Speedmaster Auto Date in blue, Tag Carrera Twin Time 39mm, a BMW branded quartz gifted by a dealership. The Speedmaster Auto Date is my favorite of the bunch.
On my wish list is the 42mm Seamaster Planet Ocean in orange, Aqua Terra in teak and the Grand Seiko Snowflake.
For someone interested in the mechanical workings of watches, I highly recommend picking up a copy of the(late) George Daniel's book Watchmaking. Daniels built his own watches, but came up with a lot of his own innovations and explains both the historical basis for his developments and his improvements in excruciating details.
The book is very technical, but also very readable and has enough beautiful photographs in it to make it worth the price.
Daniels was probably the closest modern equivalent of Breguet, and in fact his movement designs show significant Breguet inspiration.
By the way, my "vibrator" cleaned up really well. I'm currently timing it. When I first received it, I noticed that the vibrator didn't "vibrate" as much as I would have expected. I texted a friend asking about this, and he was nice enough to send me a video of one of his along with a few tips. A conventional regulated hairspring will vibrate between two pins(called curb pins) attached to the regulator arm. The timing is adjusted by moving the curb pins along the length of the hairspring, effectively shortening and lengthening it.
The "vibrators" work a bit differently. The motion of the arm is controlled by a pin on one side(mounted eccentric to a screw) and by a fine-pitched long screw in the side of the balance cock. These two work together to limit the side-to-side swing of the arm. The less the arm swings, the faster the watch runs. When I first received it, the limiters had been cranked down to their minimum, and the watch ran about 3min/day fast. After cleaning, the timing improved a bit(better amplitude=slower watch), but it still wasn't there. I turned the screw on the side of the cock, which not only gave me a more pronounce motion on the vibrator but also slowed the watch down. I think it may need to be opened up more.
I also "fought" with the Geneva stopworks a bit. The Maltese Cross looking piece is one part of the Geneva stopworks-the other part(not visible) is a "finger" which engages the cross and turns it one tooth every time the mainspring barrel rotates. You will note that some arms of the "cross" have a crescent cut-out at the end, while others are rounded. The "finger" can't rotate past the sections with rounded ends-this means that the stopworks limit both the maximum and minimum wind on the spring. The idea is that you are only using the center portion of the spring where the torque is most linear and thus it is easier to achieve isochronism. They're enough of a pain to set-up correctly after taking the watch apart that they are often found missing when "hidden." With the Stratton's Patent barrel(and Reed's Patent on Howards), however, not having them sticks out like a sore thumb since even a non-watch person can see that something is missing. I had issues in this watch with then putting a small amount of extra drag on the mainspring and causing the watch to stop. A little bit of clean-up work(to get rid of rust) on the cross took care of that.
I still need to tweak the lift spring(the spring that is responsible for opening the front cover) a bit, but like anything else I try to look and study before doing anything else. I think the actual issue is that the steel spring has gouged out steel on the bearing surface of the case lid, meaning that it's not pushing anything. I probably need to remove the spring(not one of my favorite jobs, as the special pair of pliers-which I have-is needed to take the tension off the spring and then the screws holding it in are usually badly rusted). Once the spring is out, I can take a graver and "work" some more metal over to where the spring contacts. I could potentially put some silver solder in to build up the area, but I'd need to use soft solder(hard solders melt at too high of a temperature, and run the risk of unsoldering something else from the case) and it would probably take very little time for the area to wear through again.
The "vibrators" work a bit differently. The motion of the arm is controlled by a pin on one side(mounted eccentric to a screw) and by a fine-pitched long screw in the side of the balance cock. These two work together to limit the side-to-side swing of the arm. The less the arm swings, the faster the watch runs. When I first received it, the limiters had been cranked down to their minimum, and the watch ran about 3min/day fast. After cleaning, the timing improved a bit(better amplitude=slower watch), but it still wasn't there. I turned the screw on the side of the cock, which not only gave me a more pronounce motion on the vibrator but also slowed the watch down. I think it may need to be opened up more.
I also "fought" with the Geneva stopworks a bit. The Maltese Cross looking piece is one part of the Geneva stopworks-the other part(not visible) is a "finger" which engages the cross and turns it one tooth every time the mainspring barrel rotates. You will note that some arms of the "cross" have a crescent cut-out at the end, while others are rounded. The "finger" can't rotate past the sections with rounded ends-this means that the stopworks limit both the maximum and minimum wind on the spring. The idea is that you are only using the center portion of the spring where the torque is most linear and thus it is easier to achieve isochronism. They're enough of a pain to set-up correctly after taking the watch apart that they are often found missing when "hidden." With the Stratton's Patent barrel(and Reed's Patent on Howards), however, not having them sticks out like a sore thumb since even a non-watch person can see that something is missing. I had issues in this watch with then putting a small amount of extra drag on the mainspring and causing the watch to stop. A little bit of clean-up work(to get rid of rust) on the cross took care of that.
I still need to tweak the lift spring(the spring that is responsible for opening the front cover) a bit, but like anything else I try to look and study before doing anything else. I think the actual issue is that the steel spring has gouged out steel on the bearing surface of the case lid, meaning that it's not pushing anything. I probably need to remove the spring(not one of my favorite jobs, as the special pair of pliers-which I have-is needed to take the tension off the spring and then the screws holding it in are usually badly rusted). Once the spring is out, I can take a graver and "work" some more metal over to where the spring contacts. I could potentially put some silver solder in to build up the area, but I'd need to use soft solder(hard solders melt at too high of a temperature, and run the risk of unsoldering something else from the case) and it would probably take very little time for the area to wear through again.
I'm certainly glad a read your entire post for more context after this rather worrying first paragraph lol. Sorry
Interesting reading loving these old watch posts
I'm certainly glad a read your entire post for more context after this rather worrying first paragraph lol. Sorry
Interesting reading loving these old watch posts
When I'm talking about watches, I tend to sort of go into "tunnel vision" mode and forget how common terms that collectors toss around can be taken out of context
I recall I was at a gun show one day and was talking to someone about "loose movements." When I say that-in context-I'm referring to an uncased movement, but one of the other people at my table thought it was hilarious.
Another dangerous one is the distinction between New York Watch Co. and Hampden Watch Co. movements. The two companies share the same basic design for 18 size full plates, were made in the same factory(at least for the first few years of Hampden before moving to Ohio) and are serial numbered continuously(the cut off is somewhere around 50,000). The key difference in 18 size full plate movements is in the length of the balance cock-the arm that support the upper balance pivot. The balance cock is longer on NYWCo watches than on Hampdens. "Cock" is a watchmaking term for a part that supports at least one pivot and is anchored at one end. This is as opposed to bridges, which are supported at both ends. Many Swiss movements have multiple cocks, but the common American design has only the balance cock. Thus, collectors will often abbreviate the term when referring to the balance cock. I'll let you put the rest of this together.
Well...not actually from the '50s, but a pretty close remake of Omega's Seamaster 300 from 1957. I'm not normally and Omega guy (all my others are Rolexes), I just had to try this one out when Omega launched it at Basel. Got it last Monday and it hasn't been off my wrist yet. Love the classic styling.
Well...not actually from the '50s, but a pretty close remake of Omega's Seamaster 300 from 1957. I'm not normally and Omega guy (all my others are Rolexes), I just had to try this one out when Omega launched it at Basel. Got it last Monday and it hasn't been off my wrist yet. Love the classic styling.
How do you feel about the PCLs? That was one of the main barriers to me really wanting one, and I hate to brush a brand new bracelet.
Well...not actually from the '50s, but a pretty close remake of Omega's Seamaster 300 from 1957. I'm not normally and Omega guy (all my others are Rolexes), I just had to try this one out when Omega launched it at Basel. Got it last Monday and it hasn't been off my wrist yet. Love the classic styling.
It is very nice, and lovely on your wrist, and I really hope you enjoy it, and enjoy wearing it. In fact, make sure you wear it, and enjoy the fact of wearing it.
However, it is not quite what I, personally, would choose; and this is because I really do like that old, elegant, understated classic look.
The PCLs don't bother me at all. I thought they may, but, it gives the watch a little something extra in my opinion. My favorite watch is my fluted bezel DateJust II, and it has PCLs as well. Helps it to be a little more versatile if you ask me. Makes it a diver that's a little more formal/jewelry-like if you need it, but can still fit right in with causal attire. Not too much different than a Rolex ceramic GMT Master. If I need an all brushed finish watch, I still have my ceramic Sub. But often times I feel like it looks a bit flat.
Hi,
I used to have a nice quality traditional watch that my father gave me, as he collected them. I have more/less, since then, have had little interest in wrist watches but now feel like I would like one.
I think this is a pretty good place to ask, would anyone have any recommendations for me? I would like a high quality, digital, preferably weather resistant watch.
If anyone has any recommendations for such a watch, or can even point me towards any known manufacturers, I'd greatly appreciate it. I know digital watches aren't exactly "traditional," but at least it's not a smart watch! I will of course be doing my own searching but would love to hear opinions from those here.
Thanks.
I used to have a nice quality traditional watch that my father gave me, as he collected them. I have more/less, since then, have had little interest in wrist watches but now feel like I would like one.
I think this is a pretty good place to ask, would anyone have any recommendations for me? I would like a high quality, digital, preferably weather resistant watch.
If anyone has any recommendations for such a watch, or can even point me towards any known manufacturers, I'd greatly appreciate it. I know digital watches aren't exactly "traditional," but at least it's not a smart watch! I will of course be doing my own searching but would love to hear opinions from those here.
Thanks.
I've never gotten into digital watches in the least, but Casio G-Shocks seem to be well regarded among digital watch guys. They make them in about a hundred different styles and they're all virtually indestructible.
I'd say they're at least worth a look.
I'd say they're at least worth a look.
Given your all's encouragement to keep posting pocket watches, here's another interesting one "from the archives." This is actually a really scarce(although not super valuable) watch that came together in pieces.
For a little bit of back story, Patek invented the stem winding mechanism in the 1850s, I believe, although it was slow catching on and many people were initially mistrustful of it.
Stem winding didn't come to American manufacturing until the years after the Civil War-there's some debate about who came to market with it first, but depending on who you ask it was either the E. Howard Watch Company or the United States Watch Co. of Marion, NJ. Both used very different winding and setting mechanisms. The Marion mechanism was "push" setting-meaning that the setting mechanism was engaged by pushing a button or tab. The Marion mechanism was a bit "touchy" and the company was having serious financial troubles-many of their watches went out the door with incomplete stemwind mechanisms(or at least plates milled for them) as the factory couldn't get them to work and was just trying to stay solvent by moving watches. The Howard mechanism was pendant set(meaning that it worked by "clicking" the stem out-just as nearly all modern watches work), but pricey. Waltham came out with their own stemwind mechanism in 1868. The already high end 16 size 1860 model was modified with a stem winding mechanism and a unique pull-out set lever. This was known as the 1868 model.
There was still a market for a low-end stemwind watch, though, and Waltham answered the call by fitting one to their venerable 1857 model. The most common stemwind 1857 models are stemwind and lever set. There were a few made, however, that were stemwind but had no setting mechanism. Thus, they were set with a key-just as would be a traditional keywind watch. Another quirk of these watches-and also a reflection of their market position-is that they have no clutch, so it is impossible to turn the stem backwards as one normally could. This is always quite jarring to me, as I'm in the habit of "rolling" the crown back and forth between my thumb and forefinger.
In any case, the watch below is an early(ish) example of a stemwind, keyset 1857 model Waltham Watch Co. grade. The WWCo grade was always 15j, and was adjusted to temperature(with the aide of the composition balance-not present on some lower grade 57s). This was the second highest grade of regular production 1857 models.
This watch came to me in pieces. I was working at the registration desk at the Lexington, KY regional a few years ago and a friend slid an envelope across the table to me and said "$150 if you want it." I opened the envelope, and pulled out the near perfect, but uncased WWCo Stemwind/Keyset movement below. I bought it from him(a lot of folks looked at it, as I had it out on the registration desk, but didn't even realize what it was). The only real issue is the hands, which are mismatched and neither of which is correct. The gilding on the movement is absolutely flawless.
Cases for these movements are rare as hen's teeth. They fit in a standard 18 size case, but at least on a hunting case require the rare complication of a winding stem and a hinged bezel. Hinged bezels are typical on keywind hunting cases to make setting the time easier, but almost never used on stemwind cases due to the additional complexity and bulk. In fact, the only real reason for having one is in a case where you still need to access the setting square on the stem.
As luck would happen, about 6 months after buying the movement, someone posted on the NAWCC message board with an empty case asking what it would fit. It was a llghtweight 18 size coin silver stemwind hunting case with a hinged bezel and no set lever slot. The owner was asking about cutting a lever slot so that he could put another watch in it. Fortunately, I was able to jump in, help him realize how rare the case was, and make a deal with him to buy the case before he did something to ruin it.
So, I now have a complete watch. Unfortunately, someone did get to it with the TarnX before I could buy it
For a little bit of back story, Patek invented the stem winding mechanism in the 1850s, I believe, although it was slow catching on and many people were initially mistrustful of it.
Stem winding didn't come to American manufacturing until the years after the Civil War-there's some debate about who came to market with it first, but depending on who you ask it was either the E. Howard Watch Company or the United States Watch Co. of Marion, NJ. Both used very different winding and setting mechanisms. The Marion mechanism was "push" setting-meaning that the setting mechanism was engaged by pushing a button or tab. The Marion mechanism was a bit "touchy" and the company was having serious financial troubles-many of their watches went out the door with incomplete stemwind mechanisms(or at least plates milled for them) as the factory couldn't get them to work and was just trying to stay solvent by moving watches. The Howard mechanism was pendant set(meaning that it worked by "clicking" the stem out-just as nearly all modern watches work), but pricey. Waltham came out with their own stemwind mechanism in 1868. The already high end 16 size 1860 model was modified with a stem winding mechanism and a unique pull-out set lever. This was known as the 1868 model.
There was still a market for a low-end stemwind watch, though, and Waltham answered the call by fitting one to their venerable 1857 model. The most common stemwind 1857 models are stemwind and lever set. There were a few made, however, that were stemwind but had no setting mechanism. Thus, they were set with a key-just as would be a traditional keywind watch. Another quirk of these watches-and also a reflection of their market position-is that they have no clutch, so it is impossible to turn the stem backwards as one normally could. This is always quite jarring to me, as I'm in the habit of "rolling" the crown back and forth between my thumb and forefinger.
In any case, the watch below is an early(ish) example of a stemwind, keyset 1857 model Waltham Watch Co. grade. The WWCo grade was always 15j, and was adjusted to temperature(with the aide of the composition balance-not present on some lower grade 57s). This was the second highest grade of regular production 1857 models.
This watch came to me in pieces. I was working at the registration desk at the Lexington, KY regional a few years ago and a friend slid an envelope across the table to me and said "$150 if you want it." I opened the envelope, and pulled out the near perfect, but uncased WWCo Stemwind/Keyset movement below. I bought it from him(a lot of folks looked at it, as I had it out on the registration desk, but didn't even realize what it was). The only real issue is the hands, which are mismatched and neither of which is correct. The gilding on the movement is absolutely flawless.
Cases for these movements are rare as hen's teeth. They fit in a standard 18 size case, but at least on a hunting case require the rare complication of a winding stem and a hinged bezel. Hinged bezels are typical on keywind hunting cases to make setting the time easier, but almost never used on stemwind cases due to the additional complexity and bulk. In fact, the only real reason for having one is in a case where you still need to access the setting square on the stem.
As luck would happen, about 6 months after buying the movement, someone posted on the NAWCC message board with an empty case asking what it would fit. It was a llghtweight 18 size coin silver stemwind hunting case with a hinged bezel and no set lever slot. The owner was asking about cutting a lever slot so that he could put another watch in it. Fortunately, I was able to jump in, help him realize how rare the case was, and make a deal with him to buy the case before he did something to ruin it.
So, I now have a complete watch. Unfortunately, someone did get to it with the TarnX before I could buy it
Does anybody know of digital watches that illuminate with the flick of a wrist?
I'm aware that Timex has a number of watches with FLIX® technology, but I've yet to find a list enumerating every such watch they make.
Mostsmartwatches non-traditional watches have this feature, but it's unrefined and triggers the backlight with almost any motion. This tends to diminish the meager battery life of non-traditional watches.
Casio has its own motion/orientation based lighting system simply called Auto Light, which triggers the backlight when the watch is moved from any position to face up. It's nice but is only featured in rather large watches with higher feature counts and costs than I'm looking for.
Brookstone offers Snap Bands™, which appear to be single pieces of silicone poured over a circuitboard, in four colors and two sizes. The time is only shown by illumination, which is triggered by snapping one's fingers. They appear to lack any other features and cling to the wearer's wrist via a snap bracelet, which I don't find appealing.
I'm aware that Timex has a number of watches with FLIX® technology, but I've yet to find a list enumerating every such watch they make.
Most
Casio has its own motion/orientation based lighting system simply called Auto Light, which triggers the backlight when the watch is moved from any position to face up. It's nice but is only featured in rather large watches with higher feature counts and costs than I'm looking for.
Brookstone offers Snap Bands™, which appear to be single pieces of silicone poured over a circuitboard, in four colors and two sizes. The time is only shown by illumination, which is triggered by snapping one's fingers. They appear to lack any other features and cling to the wearer's wrist via a snap bracelet, which I don't find appealing.
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This one just arrived today. It's the(rare) highest grade Waltham Chronograph. It's a simple chronograph(only a start/stop/reset sweep hand). Even so, Waltham was the only American company to make complicated watches. Repeaters, split second chronos, and some of the others are out of my reach(I'd love to have a split second repeater, but I think you could probably count the number of those made on one hand).
The case is gold filled(I would have preferred silver) but cases are tough enough to find that you take what you get. A lot of these were in gold, and a whole lot of gold cases have met their demise over the years(Great Depression, Early 80s, and in the last few years).
In any case, I'm extremely happy with this one.
The case is gold filled(I would have preferred silver) but cases are tough enough to find that you take what you get. A lot of these were in gold, and a whole lot of gold cases have met their demise over the years(Great Depression, Early 80s, and in the last few years).
In any case, I'm extremely happy with this one.
I never got back to you but I went with your suggestion of Casio after looking around myself - I stayed with digital but I decided to go a less durable route. It's not a very expensive watch but I really like the old school look of it. It's a Casio A158W-1. I decided to go for it over the Illuminator successors.
It is the new retro line of Casio. I absolutely love this watch! I had the original back in the 70s, 80s at the University. Good memories (like with WOW). I bought one as well some months ago. Nostalgy.