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Who's got a nice watch? Traditional watches only, no smartwatches please.
- Thread starter JW8725
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My Junghans Mega Solar also syncs daily with the atomic clock. I've had it for 18 years and have never had to set the time but I have to adjust my automatics at least once a week.
Agreed. It is an exquisite piece of chronometer craftsmanship, and is elegant, too, and I can well understand why @mtasquared's wife would admire it so much.
Interesting to hear discussions of these atomic synced watches. They are only useful though if you are located somewhere within range of one of the atomic clock radio signals in USA, UK, Germany, Japan and China. If you are not within range, the sync function will not work. I have a couple of G-Shocks with multi-band functions which have to be set manually here in the Middle East.
The most advanced technology with synced watches that I have come across is that found in the Seiko Astron GPS watches which sets time based on global positioning satellites. Very clever technology which really does set the watch automatically no matter where you are. I first saw one when I was flying and was reading a watch magazine in the lounge. The cabin crew who was serving me in the lounge showed me his Astron and how he was able to request it to update the time as we were flying into different time zones such that he never has to set it or figure out time zones (I think it automatically attempts to sync based on GPS signals once a day but when flying you can make requests for it to sync more often). Needless to say his landing PAs were always very accurate when it came to informing passengers of local time.
Price-wise, I understand that they are on par with an entry level steel Rolex but for the technology they offer and convenience, there would be certain people who would find these watches infinitely more appealing than a Datejust. I wouldn't own an Astron though, I like my inaccurate mechanical watches too much and convince myself that setting them to the correct time is part of the innate charm of paying to own such watches.
The most advanced technology with synced watches that I have come across is that found in the Seiko Astron GPS watches which sets time based on global positioning satellites. Very clever technology which really does set the watch automatically no matter where you are. I first saw one when I was flying and was reading a watch magazine in the lounge. The cabin crew who was serving me in the lounge showed me his Astron and how he was able to request it to update the time as we were flying into different time zones such that he never has to set it or figure out time zones (I think it automatically attempts to sync based on GPS signals once a day but when flying you can make requests for it to sync more often). Needless to say his landing PAs were always very accurate when it came to informing passengers of local time.
Price-wise, I understand that they are on par with an entry level steel Rolex but for the technology they offer and convenience, there would be certain people who would find these watches infinitely more appealing than a Datejust. I wouldn't own an Astron though, I like my inaccurate mechanical watches too much and convince myself that setting them to the correct time is part of the innate charm of paying to own such watches.
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I see your point. The Eco drive watches works with my budget. Cheers to you too.
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Trying out a new "Bond" NATO strap on the Trident-Pro.
New the other day
What a stunning watch. Well wear.
Enjoy it. It looks suitably sturdy.
Have these and this I recently bought.
I have this one too just not a pic of it
http://m.macys.com/shop/product/cit...h-42mm-at4000-53b-a-macys-exclusive?ID=787741
I have this one too just not a pic of it
http://m.macys.com/shop/product/cit...h-42mm-at4000-53b-a-macys-exclusive?ID=787741
My first nice watch was a Bulova. Bulova was an American brand, but was bought out by Citizen in 2008. Your watches have a Swiss quartz movement. Although branded Accutron, the true Accutron movement is no longer produced. There is a line of Bulova watches called Accutron II which are more accurate than an ordinary quartz. I think you have nice watches.
Watching this thread really makes me wanna go and buy that Omega Seamaster Aquaterra SPECTRE edition:
But I don't really like the seconds hand... And it's worth almost a year of my salary.
But I don't really like the seconds hand... And it's worth almost a year of my salary.
It is a wonderful limited edition. I share your opinion concerning the second hand. The lowest price I saw for this masterpiece is $ 5.899 at Blisstimepiece, N.Y., Brooklyn.
Yeah it is a little chunky in comparison to other dress watches but I can live with that as its thinner than many watches I wear. I think the SARB003 is 11mm thick.
It's a lovely looking watch though and I'm trying to justify getting it. Just need to factor in import tax should I get unlucky.
I like the other Omega limited edition for the movie, the Spectre 2015 Seamaster 300, because there are no Bond or Spectre references on the dial or hands and this is the watch Bond will be sporting for the majority of the movie. It's also got a really nice strap.
That's the guaranteed spec on a Rolex, but actuality most good quality mechanicals can do better. Modern mechanicals are helped along a lot by modern materials.
I last set my Rolex on August 3rd. When I checked it a few minutes ago, it was at -2s. It has wandered a bit over that time(both in the + and - range) but I've yet to catch it more than about 4s off at any given time and more often than not it's dead on. I'll add that this is with no special "tricks"-I just take the watch off and lay it on my night stand in the evening and put it on in the morning. If it keeps this same timekeeping up, I likely won't set it again until November 1st(end of Daylight Savings Time). A freesprung balance with an Breguet overcoil tends to-as a general rule-be a very accurate timekeeper as long as everything is set up correctly.
No, it's not atomic clock(or radio synced clock) accurate, but it's probably as good as your average, run of the mill quartz.
This is a 3035 that dates to the 1980s-it doesn't have the latest innovations that Rolex is putting into their current 3135 series.
I've had Hamilton 992Bs from the 1940s/1950s that would time every bit that well.
My Hamilton Model 22(admittedly too large to be properly called a watch) was dead on for the 3 months or so I owned it-and I kept it running that entire time. Every time I checked it(and for a while it was multiple times a day-always at least once a day) it was always within a second of time.gov. These used a stainless steel/invar "ovalizing" balance(described in some detail in Daniel's Watchmaking) that effectively eliminates the residual middle temperature error present in virtually mechanical watches-even using modern hairspring and balance materials.
Great read, thank you! I must find out more about the ovalizing balance. My Rolex wandered about 2 seconds fast today. I had it serviced four years ago and it has been keeping better time than when new, circa 1988. Apparently they are replacing the mainspring of serviced watches with the Parachrom mainspring that is resistant to magnetic fields and shocks and therefore more accurate. I wonder what other tech improvements have been made to the movement in the past twenty years. Rolex is famously secretive, so who knows.
I personally love this watch. The detail with the crest throughout makes it very unique to me. As a multiple Omega owner, I will certainly be finding a way to own this piece at some point in my life. In reference to OllyW's post, I also love that piece as well as I am truly a fan of less is more (which goes against the previous sentence!)
I really love that one too, looks so classy. If I had to choose, I'd say the Aquaterra would be my buy!I like the other Omega limited edition for the movie, the Spectre 2015 Seamaster 300, because there are no Bond or Spectre references on the dial or hands and this is the watch Bond will be sporting for the majority of the movie. It's also got a really nice strap.
The Parachrom Blue hairspring is something that's intriguing to me, but Rolex is being stereotypically tight lipped about it. I'd really like to know what's different.
In any case, I hope you all will pardon my rambling a bit.
From the time that hairspring were introduced(c. 1500) they were traditionally made of spring-tempered blue carbon steel. The problem is that the elasticity of carbon steel varies considerably with temperature. Paired with a solid steel or gold balance wheel, this combined to introduce a lot of temperature error. Of course, early watches had other serious issues-frictional rest escapements like verges and cylinders tend to be fairly poor timekeepers anyway.
A lot of innovation started happening in the 1800s, and you first saw improvement in escapement design. There were a lot of tried and failed designs, but good quality Duplex escapements tend to work fairly well despite being frictional rest. Initially rack levers also showed promise, although the detached lever(which is now ubiquitious) ended up being one of the best compromises and is pretty darn good for the most part. The detent(chronometer) escapement is the gold standard, but brings its own set of problems. The co-axial escapement-first developed by Frodsham in the 1850s, copied(and improved) by Daniels in the 1970s, and finally commercialized by Omega is a decent compromise between the lever and detent.
Along the way, we've seen big improvements in balance and hairspring design to help with timekeeping. Carbon steel tends to lose elasticity at higher temperatures and gain it at lower temperatures, which reduces the rate at high temperatures and increases it at low temperatures. A solid balance wheel only makes this worse, as a steel balance wheel will also expand at high temperatures, slowing the watch even more. Gold has a somewhat lower coefficient of thermal expansion and was used in many good quality watches, but honestly doesn't help a whole lot.
There were various complex mechanisms to compensate for this, but the most effective was the split, bimetallic balance wheel combined with timing screws. A split bimetallic wheel uses steel arms and a steel inner ring, laminated with brass on the outside. These type balance wheels contract at high temperature and expand at lower temperature, counteracting the variability of the hairspring. This can effectively get middle temperature error down to about 1s/day if adjusted correctly.
Improvements in hairspring design also helped with isochronism. Again, the gold standard is the helical hairspring, which can "breathe" almost perfectly concentrically, although the relatively tall height of them limits their use. The Breguet Overcoil is a great compromise design that also allows more concentric expansion and contraction of the spring, but again it adds thickness and also complexity to the watch. As far as I know, Rolex is the only maker using overcoil springs in volume.
In the 1890s, magnetism became a concern and Waltham(among others) developed bimetallic balance wheels and special hairspring alloys that were not susceptible to magnetism. I don't know the exact make-up, but know that the hairspring contained platinum and the balance wheel both platinum and probably nickel silver. The hairspring on these is white. They also used a berrilium-bronze roller table and pallet fork, which eliminates one of the other major problem areas with magnetism.
In the 1930s, the Swiss developed Elinvar(elastically invariable) to use as a hairspring alloy. Hamilton used this fairly extensively through the 1930s combined with a stainless steel balance wheel. Interestingly enough, they dyed the hairspring blue-supposedly because the heat treating process left the spring an uneven color, but also so as not to cause too much panic among watchmakers
. Elinvar has the side effect of also being effectively non-magnetic. Hamilton was fairly unimpressed with the performance of Elinvar, so, in house, developed their own "Elinvar Extra" hairspring material which they started rolling out around 1940. By most accounts, it is a stellar performer-the late George Daniels considered it the finest hairspring material ever produced, and used it in his own watches. Elinvar Extra has a white color, and of course is also effectively non-magnetic. In normal watches(such as the 992B) it's used with a stainless steel wheel, while the Model 21 and 22(marine chronometers) used the ovalizing balance wheel with invar and stainless steel(Invar has effectively no coefficient of thermal expansion).
Most modern watches use some derivative of this, and again as I said Rolex has more or less come full circle with their new "blue" springs.
Arrived today. Nothing as fancy as most watches here, but I've always liked the design of Daniel Wellington watches. And now with those blue hands, damn I ordered one immediately!
Daniel Wellington 'Dapper' on Flickr
Daniel Wellington 'Dapper' on Flickr
I bought my wife a Daniel Wellington St Andrews watch in rose gold last year. It's a classy looking watch as is yours above. An inexpensive cool looking Quartz
What model is yours btw?
What model is yours btw?
Well, while I can see the attraction - and it is a lovely watch - if I were to contemplate spending that sort of money on a watch, I would want to like every single aspect of it, and not harbour reservations about one feature.
Agreed. But again, at that price, I would have to like absolutely every single thing about the watch.
I like the other Omega limited edition for the movie, the Spectre 2015 Seamaster 300, because there are no Bond or Spectre references on the dial or hands and this is the watch Bond will be sporting for the majority of the movie. It's also got a really nice strap.
Nice watch, but I am not mad about the strap. Yes, I accept that it is authentic, but, personally, I tend to prefer a really good quality leather strap.
Very interesting post.
The Parachrom Blue hairspring is something that's intriguing to me, but Rolex is being stereotypically tight lipped about it. I'd really like to know what's different.
In any case, I hope you all will pardon my rambling a bit.
From the time that hairspring were introduced(c. 1500) they were traditionally made of spring-tempered blue carbon steel. The problem is that the elasticity of carbon steel varies considerably with temperature. Paired with a solid steel or gold balance wheel, this combined to introduce a lot of temperature error. Of course, early watches had other serious issues-frictional rest escapements like verges and cylinders tend to be fairly poor timekeepers anyway.
A lot of innovation started happening in the 1800s, and you first saw improvement in escapement design. There were a lot of tried and failed designs, but good quality Duplex escapements tend to work fairly well despite being frictional rest. Initially rack levers also showed promise, although the detached lever(which is now ubiquitious) ended up being one of the best compromises and is pretty darn good for the most part. The detent(chronometer) escapement is the gold standard, but brings its own set of problems. The co-axial escapement-first developed by Frodsham in the 1850s, copied(and improved) by Daniels in the 1970s, and finally commercialized by Omega is a decent compromise between the lever and detent.
Along the way, we've seen big improvements in balance and hairspring design to help with timekeeping. Carbon steel tends to lose elasticity at higher temperatures and gain it at lower temperatures, which reduces the rate at high temperatures and increases it at low temperatures. A solid balance wheel only makes this worse, as a steel balance wheel will also expand at high temperatures, slowing the watch even more. Gold has a somewhat lower coefficient of thermal expansion and was used in many good quality watches, but honestly doesn't help a whole lot.
There were various complex mechanisms to compensate for this, but the most effective was the split, bimetallic balance wheel combined with timing screws. A split bimetallic wheel uses steel arms and a steel inner ring, laminated with brass on the outside. These type balance wheels contract at high temperature and expand at lower temperature, counteracting the variability of the hairspring. This can effectively get middle temperature error down to about 1s/day if adjusted correctly.
Improvements in hairspring design also helped with isochronism. Again, the gold standard is the helical hairspring, which can "breathe" almost perfectly concentrically, although the relatively tall height of them limits their use. The Breguet Overcoil is a great compromise design that also allows more concentric expansion and contraction of the spring, but again it adds thickness and also complexity to the watch. As far as I know, Rolex is the only maker using overcoil springs in volume.
In the 1890s, magnetism became a concern and Waltham(among others) developed bimetallic balance wheels and special hairspring alloys that were not susceptible to magnetism. I don't know the exact make-up, but know that the hairspring contained platinum and the balance wheel both platinum and probably nickel silver. The hairspring on these is white. They also used a berrilium-bronze roller table and pallet fork, which eliminates one of the other major problem areas with magnetism.
In the 1930s, the Swiss developed Elinvar(elastically invariable) to use as a hairspring alloy. Hamilton used this fairly extensively through the 1930s combined with a stainless steel balance wheel. Interestingly enough, they dyed the hairspring blue-supposedly because the heat treating process left the spring an uneven color, but also so as not to cause too much panic among watchmakers
Hamilton was fairly unimpressed with the performance of Elinvar, so, in house, developed their own "Elinvar Extra" hairspring material which they started rolling out around 1940. By most accounts, it is a stellar performer-the late George Daniels considered it the finest hairspring material ever produced, and used it in his own watches. Elinvar Extra has a white color, and of course is also effectively non-magnetic. In normal watches(such as the 992B) it's used with a stainless steel wheel, while the Model 21 and 22(marine chronometers) used the ovalizing balance wheel with invar and stainless steel(Invar has effectively no coefficient of thermal expansion).
Most modern watches use some derivative of this, and again as I said Rolex has more or less come full circle with their new "blue" springs.
Great post, full of fascinating information. As always, a pleasure - and most interesting - to read.
You don't want Bond to lose his watch if one of the spring bar strap pins pops out while he's leaping off a speeding train do you?
That's one of the advantages of a NATO strap, they are also very comfortable, hard wearing, fairly inexpensive and some of us think they look great.