# Tick Tock: The Watch and Horology Thread



## Conrad2 (Jan 24, 2021)

Given, that there are some posts about watches, I thought there are some interest in this subject, so I created this dedicated thread about watches. All type of watches are welcome here such as smart watch, quartz watch, automatic watch, pocket watch, etc. All price bracket are welcome from entry consumer level such as Casio to ultra-luxury such as Patek Philip. All members who have different levels of knowledge or exposure from novice to expert are welcome here, just remembered that we all started somewhere. All topics related to watches are welcome here. Different perspectives on watches are welcome here barring that it is a bait that could derail the thread. 

All I ask is that there is a space on this thread can exist, where different types of watch enthusiast diverse in their habits and style and interested outsiders comingle in a friendly environment with occasional spirited discussion. So leave behind any "snobby" or "philistine" attitudes you may posessed as both are not conducive to a congenial conversation.

With that here are my thoughts on watches to start this thread.

Although I'm not a watch collector, all I possess is two watches, and my knowledge about watches is quite limited, I'm quite fascinated about the horology field. To me, watches are an extension of our personality, where it tell to someone what we value and give an impression of ourselves to that person. Also, the craftsmanship that goes into making a watch is mesmerizing, as the movements has to be both functional and aesthetically pleasing. It's a bit perplexing as you consider the amount of labor and skill that goes into making a refined timepiece that often goes unnoticed. Yet, it also appealing to be an owner of a item so finely crafted that it escape your boundaries of knowledge. When you wear a watch, you also wear a mavel of human ingenuity and engineering as hundreds of gears and springs work in concert to tell time on your wrist. In my view, watches can mean different things to individual where it can be a status symbol, a fashion statement, a testimony to humanity creativity, and a record of time. 

So what is the first topic you want to discuss?

Here is a non-exhausting list about what we can talk about
-how you got into watches
-the first watch you owned or currently owned
-general questions about watches such as movements
-news in the watch world
-watch recommendations
-the purpose of watch today
Etc. 

Hope you like my thread premise and consider to contribute to the discussion.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

I've always had a watch, and feel uncomfortable going outside without it on my wrist. I refuse to get a smartphone, so using that instead of a watch is also not an option.

My current watch is a Seiko that I bought it in 2013. It works on movement - as long as I wear it everyday, it runs (no batteries, no solar power). It is not terribly accurate (I have to adjust the time by about a minute every 2-3 days), but it does its job.

Never felt the need to upgrade to something fancier - I would not enjoy an expensive watch more than this one.


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## Eclectic Al (Apr 23, 2020)

I have a Samsung smart watch (I won't have anything to do with Apple), as an experiment.
It's fun, particularly being able to change the watch face. The key thing is the trade off between battery life and what "battery-saving" face it shows.
A fun thing is that if I go on a walk then it will tell me what I've been up to and, best bit, it shows my route on a little map, as well as stuff like what my heart rate was up to during the walk.

Prior to this I have tended just to buy whatever is the cheapest analogue quartz watch I could find. I might go back to that as, to be honest, I'm too old to use much of what the smart watch can do. (For example, I think I can pay for things with it, and I think that if I was on the correct mobile network it has a SIM capability so I could use it like a phone, etc. It will talk to Spotify, so if I Bluetooth it to some decent speakers then I guess I can use it to access a wealth of music. However, I never do things like that. )


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## Dan Ante (May 4, 2016)

*SORRY BUT i HAVE HAD THIS EAR WORM FOR A MONTH NOW*


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## Chilham (Jun 18, 2020)

I once had a colleague who's hobby was high-end watches. It was his life. For me, I never had a great need for a watch and often found them irritating. I had a couple of Swatch "Skin" watches but when the last one got a bit tatty, I simply relied on my iPhone for the time.

In 2014, a new task at work required repeated time checks so was thinking to get a watch again and remembered my mother presenting me with my father's old watches when he died back in 2003. I dug them out to find a couple of old and fairly beaten up inexpensive watches and one of these:










A Sewills Chronometer!

I had no idea that the old man was into this sort of stuff and guess that it was a retirement gift or perhaps given for being President of the local Lions Club. I tried it on and it was a perfect fit in the same hole on the strap that he used. Checked it out and, being an automatic, it started right up, even after sitting in a drawer for eleven years.

Sewills, it turns out, went out of business in 2000 but prior to that they were "Clockmakers to the Admiralty", making all of the ship's clocks for the British Naval fleet. Founded in Liverpool in 1800, they seem to have made some fine pieces in those 200 years. A few former employees set themselves up to service old watches, something I took advantage of.

Then, as I shared in another thread, 2018 was a great year for me from a business perspective. I changed my business strategy in 2017 and after 16 years of being a middle-of-the-pack guy, I broke the $1M in sales ceiling with one of my network partners (as I did last year too). That generated a nice bonus, "President's Club" status, meaning having my expenses paid to their annual sales conference in Cancun, and a Rolex of my choice up to $10k value.

I know some colleagues who have acquired to sell, in order to get a mountain bike, camera or other item more interesting to them. I decided to keep mine. There was a waiting list as long as your arm for a GMT Master II, so I went for a Polar Explorer II.










I like it. It feels heavy but not so much that it's a problem. I don't wear it often and have thought of selling it but my wife told me, "No, you worked hard for that."


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## Conrad2 (Jan 24, 2021)

So my first watch was a Casio F-91W, which I worn when I was a teen. Reliable, tough, and cheap. Unfortunately, it stop working. 









My next watch was a Casio Oceanus OCW-S100-1AJF, which is my everyday watch. I was introduced to this watch by a watch aficionado acquaintance when I live in Japan. 








It's honestly, one of the best buy I did in my life so far. It is quartz watch powered by solar battery and has a atomic radio signal feature that automatically keep time sync. A overkill feature, is that when you hit the button, the hand will move to point toward the letter y to confirm that it was able to sync correctly. The watch also feature tough movement that help prevent shocks and impacts to knock the hand alignment. The sapphire finish and the high quality bracket is on par with more expensive watches. Glad I bought it.

My last watch, is the Junghans Meister Kalendar Moon, which is my dress watch. 








The watch combine modern and classical ideals. For a start, the watch follow the Bauhaus's principle of "form follows function" which means that beauty come from harmony of technical function and proportional form. This mean that the watch has a minimalist design, with a thin bezel, a inverted domed crystal, and the thin hour and minute markers. The watch has classical features such as a traditional three hand, perpetual calendar, and moon phase cycle. I love how well the modern and classical aesthetics goes so well with each other. For me the domed crystal and the moon phase is the most beautiful parts of the watch. The vintage, yet modern feeling I got from the watch lead me to choose this watch.


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## Eclectic Al (Apr 23, 2020)

I see a number of watches (including Smart watches) that show you stuff about the moon cycle.

That puzzles me: why is anyone interested? On my smart watch that just prompts me to ignore that face and choose another.


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## Conrad2 (Jan 24, 2021)

Eclectic Al said:


> I see a number of watches (including Smart watches) that show you stuff about the moon cycle.
> 
> That puzzles me: why is anyone interested? On my smart watch that just prompts me to ignore that face and choose another.


So if someone ask me what is today moon phase, I just have to look at my wrist and said it's Waxing gibbous today. jk.

On a more serious note, the main reason I have chose a watch that has a moon phase complication is for me personally, it's for aesthetics as the design and the mechanism of the piece just mesmerize me. In short, it serves little practical purposes for me and just to please my eyes. Also I like winding and adjusting my watch, and it becomes a little ritual of mine.

From my past conversations with that aficionado, I learned that it does have some practical purposes. In some religions, such as Hinduism and Islam, or countries' cultures such as China the moon is an important symbol and as such, their calendars revolve around it. So it would be nice to have a moon phase watch as a handy reference if you are a believer and partake in traditional calendars. Also some amateur astronomers used the moon phase complication as a reference, where for instance, during a full moon, the light reflecting from the moon might be too bright that it obscure the planet you are looking at. Fisherman also use it to see the best time to fish as the moon affects the tides and consequently the fishing yield. Of course, with digital watches and the internet, much of the little practical use of the moon phase complication is unnecessary for a majority of a population. For me, moon phase complication has one practical use for me, is that when I go stargazing or walking at night I can use the watch as an indicator for what day will be best for going out to look at the stars and at the moon. It just more easier to look at your wrist than to dig for your phone.

If you have a cynical view, then it's a status symbol and used by watchmakers to increase the price tag of a watch. I don't fall into this category as my watch was in my view sold at a fair-great price and I choose it mainly for the aesthetics.

However, don't feel that you are in the wrong for not liking moon phase complication on a watch as everyone has different taste. It took me some time to find a moon phase watch that I like, as the ones I initially like was too expensive to justify splurging on it, ahem the Jaeger LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Moon 39 and the cheaper ones tend to be too busy on the dial which alienates me. I came across the Junghans Meister Kalendar Moon watch in a watch shop, and from first sight it beckons to me, and from trying it on, I knew it was a great match for me. So it will take time to find a watch you like, as each watch is suited for a different personality, and perhaps, you will never get into it, which is okay.

Hope my answer was to your satisfaction.


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## TxllxT (Mar 2, 2011)

On my 16th birthday I got a Seiko 5 '21 jewels' watch from my father. He bought the watch in Singapore (he was a captain of Shell Tankers) and in those days the brand 'Seiko' was still quite unknown in Holland. The Seiko 5 watch is an automatic mechanic, 'running' on the movements of your wrist. It is heavy. After about 25 years I bought a Seiko titanium watch, which runs on a battery cell. Much lighter in weight and unbelievably accurate. At the beginning of 2021 I needed a new battery, but due to lockdown all shops that sell watches had to close. So I waited two months. When the lockdown was lifted I went to the watch jeweller and had my battery changed. But... it didn't keep the date (I have date & day) anymore. Depressed I thought I had to buy a new Seiko... But I didn't like the presentday designs. So I lingered on with my 25 year old titanium Seiko, and lo! Suddenly the date & day worked correctly again. I guess, that due to the long waiting the watch's capacitor went dead. At least, that's my guess. I don't know whether a Seiko battery watch has a condensator/capacitor... But the miracle happened: after a few days all worked accurately 'like a Swiss watch' again.


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## Dorsetmike (Sep 26, 2018)

I've lost count of the number of watches I've owned from wind up, through self winding to battery and radio control, I finally got fed up with having to change batteries, my current one overcomes this by having solar recharge, it has radio control & it will also speak time and day/date, pressing one of trhe 4 buttons twice will display battery charge state; it will normally recharge when being worn, unless the face is obscured by tha cuff of a jacket in which case a couple of hours on a windowsill in sunlight does the job. My only minor gripe, the strap was too long by about 6 links.


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## Conrad2 (Jan 24, 2021)

Dorsetmike said:


> I've lost count of the number of watches I've owned from wind up, through self winding to battery and radio control, I finally got fed up with having to change batteries, my current one overcomes this by having solar recharge, it has radio control & it will also speak time and day/date, pressing one of trhe 4 buttons twice will display battery charge state; it will normally recharge when being worn, unless the face is obscured by tha cuff of a jacket in which case a couple of hours on a windowsill in sunlight does the job. My only minor gripe, the strap was too long by about 6 links.
> 
> View attachment 155738


If your bracket is not intergreted into the case like my Casio Oceanus, then you can most likely change your strap with another one.





^ if this is not familiar to you, take it to a watch shop to change it for you after you buy a strap you like to avoid doing anything that can damage your watch.

Straps tends to be overpriced these days due to overhype. I heard that Fossil outlets have reasonable straps at reasonable prices (this was over three years ago, so it may have changed and also in the US so may be different). Here is a thread that can be helpful to you.

Hope my suggestion was hopeful.


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## Dorsetmike (Sep 26, 2018)

Hand/eye coordination has deteriorated somewhat, else I would have had a go, hoping to get to a watch shop sometime soon. Meantime I've managed to effect a temporary fix with some wire.


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## Oldhoosierdude (May 29, 2016)

I have had many watches. I used to have 10 or so that I switched out frequently. I found that I mostly gravitated toward the same style. I got rid of them and went on a search for something more all purpose. So these are what I have had for several years now. Seiko and Casio have like products but I Can't go much wrong with the basic Timex.

For work. Functional, sturdy, inexpensive. Takes a beating. Can be replaced for $25. Looks good for a cheap watch.:







Timex Men's Expedition Digital 100m Black Resin/Nylon Watch TW4B10100

For dress or casual. A plain and simple, all purpose watch. Just tells time. On mine, you can switch out the band with any other Nato type strap. So it can be dress or casual. I have a few leather bands and a few nylon bands. I can't go wrong with a watch like this. Perfect size for my wrist. I certainly paid no more than$100 for it but can't remember.








Timex TW2T71800 Men's Modern Easy Reader 40mm

I know the trend is big watches of over 40mm, but I find them impractical. I keep banging them around on things. Plus they seem heavy. I like the more moderate size.

I could spend (and have) a lot more for a watch and there are some out there I certainly like. But this line up works.


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## Eclectic Al (Apr 23, 2020)

Yes, that Timex TW2T71800 watch above looks like my kind of dial.

One of the problems with my smart watch is that the people who design the faces like to put lots of stuff on them to show what they can do. Mostly I just want to know the time.


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## Oldhoosierdude (May 29, 2016)

Eclectic Al said:


> Yes, that Timex TW2T71800 watch above looks like my kind of dial.
> 
> One of the problems with my smart watch is that the people who design the faces like to put lots of stuff on them to show what they can do. Mostly I just want to know the time.


A minimalist watch for my minimalist life.

This is a good article. I almost went with one of these but found the Nato strap thing with the Timex more appealing. Could use Nato with any watch I suppose.

https://romeoswatches.com/9-awesome-japanese-minimalist-watches-seiko-citizen-orient/

Casio has a low cost line that is classic and simple. 
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B084X5THFV/?tag=ricmen-20


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