Treating myself to a new watch... help me pick which one to get.

Mikhail said:
Hey Mike!

I like this watch a lot. I think its a good "combo" of quality,price (under 1K) , accuracy (+-3 sec per 24 hours) and brand.

Here is the pictures



Thank you very much for those, very nice pictures and watch!







I am really liking this Tissot Le Locle. Looks very classy to me and being a business professional, I think it would really fit my style well to have a dress watch in the collection.



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Although, I really like the Tissot SeaStar 1000 as well! But, it has a completely different appeal to me, more sporty.





And, I just purchased this Seiko over the weekend for a rediculous price of $60! :D If I don't like it, it'll make a nice Christmas gift for my Dad!



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Regards,



Mike
 
Well I dont know if these watches are even worthy of being put on here.. But I just wanted to see if you guys had an opinion on these Kenneth Cole watches I have been looking at. I've been trying to decide between the two, I kinda like the digital one because it is a little different but still looks professional.



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Thanks for the help :)
 
I have been wearing a Citizen Hyper Aqualand dive watch for 12 years now. the wife bought it for me for our first Xmas. Yes, I do dive... It doesn't have the sophisticated look of the watches posted here but then again I never claimed to be that sophisticated :D



CITIZENWATCH.com | Welcome to Citizen Watches Online



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I have been thinking about asking the wife for another one, in stainless this time. Not that there is anything wrong with the original, still looks and works like new :2thumbs:



CITIZENWATCH.com | Welcome to Citizen Watches Online



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A couple of years ago I bought the wife a Citizen for Xmas. It is an Eco-Drive 180 as pictured below but, with a Disney touch. It has Mickey on the dial face. I got it through a jewelry store at the Disney Village Marketplace in Orlando.



http://www.citizenwatch.com/COA/Eng...y=COA&Language=English&ModelNumber=EW0044-51P



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I've been a huge watch fan for many years. My great uncle was a master watchmaker for 40 years, my other great uncle owned a jewlery store that did watch repair and my grandfathers and father collect(ed) a few watches. I have exposure to watches, pocket watches, watch parts, tools, manuals, knick knacks, tid bits, etc... that span decades. You'd all have a field day!



Thought I'd share just a few of what I have. Unlike many posting here, I am more vintage. I do not wear modern watches. I love winding my own watch and appreciate the craftsmanship that went into them. That is not to say I don't love how cool looking the watches you all post and own are!



My daily watch is an early 1960's Rolex Submariner. NOTHING beats it. It is in for an overhaul since the last time it was serviced was a decade ago. Unfortunately I do not have a pic. But, it is a real beauty with an even patina on the luminous material and a crisp dial.



Excuse my photography. You guys blow me away with your camera skills!



Here is a gold Omega Seamaster Deville that my father bought in Amsterdam in 1964. He recently gave it to me. It has a beautiful, mint star burst dial. I recently put on a new genuine alligator tan band with original Omega buckle.

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Here is a Bulova Accutron from 1970. Accutrons have a unique movement that are considered the first electronic watch. Learning about this extremely accurate movement is pretty fascinating. The watch hums and has a perfectly gliding sweep second hand. I have it attached to a genuine Teju Lizard strap.

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Next up is a real funkly looking Hamilton with a Cadillac fin-like case. I thought it to be a piece of junk when research proved that it is a rare T-403 with the rare two-tone dial from the 1960's. I sent it out to the nation's leading Hamilton expert for an overhaul and he considered it the finest example he has ever seen. I attached it to a genuine alligator band as that's what it came with when new. I even found a signed, original buckle. I saw one sell on Ebay in much worse condition for $1,200.

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Next is one of my favorites. A rare, 1928 Elgin Avigo. Note the awesome dial with the wings and the art deco case with black enamel engraved around the bezel and on the sides. The hands are original and I had the radium replaced in them since they were long gone. Note the original radium on the hour markers and the burn mark on the dial from the old radium in the hands that sat still for decades. The dial has a beautful yellow patina. I replaced with a pig skin, white stitched band common for that era. I love this one!

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Here is a nice example of a 1940's 18k gold chronograph. I'm not sure of the movement type. It is a generic Chronograph Suisse very common for the 1940's. I had a beefy, custom made genuine alligator strap fabricated for it.

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Here is one of my pride and joys. A square 18K, completely original Rolex dress watch. It has a beautiful texture dial and is in mint shape. I attached it to genuine alligator band. I wear this one when I get really dressed up. It was my grandfathers. He had no money, but was able to come into this whilke working in a jewlery store; one of his many jobs as he was a drop out from school back in the 30's.

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One of my passions is history, particularly US military history. So I combined my love of watches and history and built a collection of genuine, military issued, US property watches worn by GI's in WW2 and Korea. Here is a fully restored Bulova worn by aviators in Korea. It has a hack setting. The dial is mint with all the original radium. Note the large crown as piolts had to wind it while wearing gloves. The crystal is scratched (I have to polish it, I wear it a lot). It is on an original, NOS band that I found in my travels. There are military markings on the back.

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Here is my collection of other military watches from WW2 of all different makes. I am going to restore them all. I have a box of genuine parts including NOS cases for the worn ones and bands that I hunted down for purchase over the Internet. This way, they'll be fully restored with genuine, unused parts from the 40's. Some of the crystals are yellowed from the radium.

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This is just a portion of the many other styles of watches I own. It's an expensive hobby but very enjoyable. I hope you guys like as I love to share! Not many people I know care too much so it is cool to see like-minded people here!



Oh, I just bought a chronograph on overstock.com following everyone else's lead! :woot:
 
I absolutely love vintage pieces. I would say over 95% of my personal collection is of the vintage variety. Since we were discussing Citizens (kinda), not many people are aware that they used to make mechanical timepieces with excellent 28,800 bph movements. A small sample is featured below. All these pieces are from the early to mid 1970's.



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- Lee -
 
Everyone pretty much knows that Seiko makes a ton of dive watches, but this is the model 6217 from 1967, acknowledged by many to be the first dive watch from Seiko.



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Here's another "first" - a Seiko 5717 Chronograph from 1964. This year was a very important year for Japan as they were the host of the 1964 Olympics and all eyes were upon them. This was also the year that the Shinkansen "Bullet Train" went into service as a way to highlight the technogical advances they had achieved since WWII. Seiko chose this year to release this watch, which is the very first chronograph Seiko ever made. This one still keeps time to within +3 seconds per day. Not bad for a 42-year old mechanical watch.



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That last one is a real beauty! Flawless! It's my favorite out of the bunch you posted of the vintage ones.
 
Hum... although I do not wear this watch (I'm not sure if it even works), what do you think of this? I'm not even sure if its a counterfeit











I'm not sure whether to just throw it away or bother getting it fixed. I have a feeling its not genuine...
 
Glad to see some fans of older watches out there too. I must admit that my preference is for mechanical watches and since my investment is watches is very limited, I've started to collect Roamer Sports from the sixties when Roamer still made their own movements. They are a mid level swiss manufacturer that has no presige attached to them, but it means that I can build an affordable collection without breaking the bank.



I've avoided automatics and anything with dates and the like since I tend to wear different watches every day so that I match colours of watch and band to whatever I'm wearing, and resetting the dates is just too much of a pain. Nor am I going to buy half a dozen winder boxes to keep the automatics running!
 
Spilchy said:
That last one is a real beauty! Flawless! It's my favorite out of the bunch you posted of the vintage ones.

Thanks for the kind words. You, sir, have discerning taste. ;) Took me a while to find one in this condition and finally, my patience was rewarded.
 
butchdave said:
I've avoided automatics and anything with dates and the like since I tend to wear different watches every day so that I match colours of watch and band to whatever I'm wearing, and resetting the dates is just too much of a pain. Nor am I going to buy half a dozen winder boxes to keep the automatics running!

I have a few pieces on winders, but I try to keep the older pieces "on rotation" when possible. And I don't even bother to set the date (or day) on them anymore. Just wind 'em up, set the time, and away we go.
 
<grins> I don't set the dates either, but it irritates the OCD part of me for the date to be wrong when I glance at the face.
 
Wow! This thread exploded overnight! I can't believe how many Autopians are also into watches! Especially the vintage crowd. Vintage isn't really my preference, as I like to wear something new.



Here is what has become my daily wearer because I just love it so much!

Seiko Samurai Ti:

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Fine choice, Drewski. Seiko's 7SXX-series of movements is a rugged movement that will serve you will for many years to come. Arguably, it ain't pretty, but it gets the job done. For anyone who's really interested, here's the definitive review of the omnipresent Seiko 7S26 movement, written by someone who really knows watches - The 7S26 Automatic Movement

Happy to see that people appreciate fine timepieces here too. I'm sure it stems from an appreciation of fine craftsmanship whether they be automobiles, motorcycles, firearms, watches, etc.
 
seikoguy said:
Thought I'd post a few of my non-Seikos. All pics taken by yours truly, of watches (and knives) owned by yours truly.



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- Lee -



I REALLY like that one... WOW!



Im not much into vintage stuff but I really get a kick out of looking at your vintage collection... thanks for sharing! I really think its neat that you have a collection of military watches, very cool.



Well guys.. I think Im in trouble. Im really falling into this watch thing and I think it could become a much bigger hobby.... I hope I can afford it. :help:



I went to the mall today to pick up a craftsman dual halogen light for detailing... a heads up post for these things @ $20 popped up here on autopia so I had to go to Sears to pick it up, which happened to be attached to the mall. :woohoo: Which ultimately meant I was going watch hunting at the mall. :2thumbs:



Well I was on a mission... one: to see the Citizen I ordered through work and I must say it is astonishing in person. I can wait to get it! two: I wanted to see the the Citizen Calibre 8700 in person, and it too is GORGEOUS!



The cool thing is the gentleman I spoke with at the mall is also a watch collector and said he owns almost 200 watches. He was also into cars.. and we talked about hobbies which lead into detailing, he took my phone # and said he'd call me to work on some of his car collection in the future. (he had deformed hands and said he physically couldnt do it himself.) Maybe I can work out a trade deal... watches for details. :buffing:



Anyways.. Ive nailed my next selection down to these 3 watches. Two of which I have seen in person and absolutely love!



This one is actually a real real dark blue color.. almost black. The attention to detail is very nice.. the month designations is an extremely small lettering but is real easy to read. I also like the Roman Numeral designations. Cost is anywhere from $350-$450

Citizen Calibre 8700



This one caught my eye instantly when I looked into the case... black face with again a lot of detail. I dont know how to describe this one but the picture I provided does not do any justice at all... it is 10xs better looking in person. I found this one at a local jeweler, in the mall, for $300 even. The lady said "buy it now" for $300 rather the $400 tag.. however their website lists $300, maybe I could talk her down. :)

Citizen Calibre 5700



And then theres the lone Seiko... this one seems to be found online rather easily. I didnt see anything like it in the mall... maybe its a last year or older model? I can only tell that its as good looking in person as it is in pics... it just doesnt strike me as a watch that I would open and say "Hmmm.. well that dont look right." Im starting to dig the Roman Numeral thing and this watch makes it work well. Ive seen this one in the upper $300s-$450.

Seiko Kinteic Premier



While Im here... where do you guys buy watches online? There are SOOOOO many places and its hard to decide which to buy from.



Thanks...
 
Welp.. I just found the Citizen Calibre 5700 online for $195 and free shipping... I may be biting the bullet on this one. :)
 
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