So I have to much time and money on my hands and my wife says I should become interested in another hobby.............. Well not really.
:angel:
However, I really like the old mechanical watches and have started doing a little preliminary research. Does anyone have a website, forum, or book(s) that they would recommend? I'm not looking to get into maintenance and repair, just trying to get a little smarter in the subject.
Any information is appreciated!
Matt
This site has some interesting information, it's a Watch Forum...they even have a shaving section! LOL
Watch you seek is Watch you get! - Watchuseek
Big difference I found with this site is little to no interaction, it's OK to find information that you may be looking for, but I find response's are very lacking. They have sections for Tag, Rolex, Seiko all the various type of time pieces etc....hope this help.
I like mechanical watch's as well....
I used to, but now I prefer the low maintenance of the automatic watches. I used to have a small collection of Hamilton 992 Railroad watches. Carried one as my primary timepiece for a number of years. Great watches those, along with the 950s and the Illinois Bunn Special, Ball, and others. Can be a big hole to throw money in if it becomes an AD.
Timezone.com is the main watch site on the web. If you want to get into vintage mechanical you really need to know about watches. You could really be taken big time otherwise. Keep in mind the price of mechanical watches (Swiss) have pretty much doubled in the last 5 years or so making them beyond the reach of most folks. A new Swiss mechanical from a well known brand can cost 3-4 grand for the simple ones. Razors are dirt cheap compared to watches.
Complete price guide to watches is the bible when it comes to wrist and pocketwatches. It has a good primer in the beginning and is required reading if you want to get into watches.
If you don't mind German - have a look at some of their offerings. Not as dear as Swiss. I wear a Laco. It's not so expensive that you'll hate yourself for destroying it, and its not so cheap that you have to worry about damaging it doing daily activities. They start at about $500.00USD.
Good luck and good hunting - quality watches are works of art.
Thank you all for the quality responses. Lots of good places to start looking stuff up. I was including the automatics in my mechanical statement, but I guess I need to try and be more specific in my terminology. As far as pricing goes..... wow! I can buy a lot of razors with that much scratch! Just shows I need to know what in the heck im looking at.
Certainly there are bang for the buck brands. it's all a matter of what you want in a watch.
To be honest unless something really grabs my interest will probably start with something in the <1K range. Anything further will depend on how I enjoy the experience, research, and opportunity.
lol - if you budget 1K, you'll spend 15 hundred :).Quote:
Originally Posted by MattCB
All joking aside, 1k is a great starting point. I would probably think of getting a Sinn (staying with my German theme). At least if I didn't keep moving forward with watches, I would know the Sinn would last a lifetime.
I have a Fossil and like it. Great return policy and good price.
Attachment 179010
I really like mechanical watches myself, especially vintage RR pocket watches. Germans make excellent watches: Laco is good value for < 1K Sinn is a bit more, but fine watches. Be careful though, as you can spend way more than 1K real quick. Take a look at A. Lange & Sohn - fantastic watches, but entry point is in the 12K range. Good luck with your research, that will only cost you some of your time.
Lou
So, without derailing this thread too much, mechanical as opposed to.... digital? quartz?
Where does something like my '60's automatic Seamaster Deville fall? It ticks, and doesn't have a battery, so I guess it is mechanical? And my '80s Rado Jubile takes a battery, so it's not?
Is that basically it?
(You can tell I am a huge watch geek, right?)
James.
Sinn makes a nice watch however they have really raised their prices. At 1 grand there aren't very many models to choose from. If you want their technology you need to spend around 2 grand and up. Look at Limes and Archimede and Seiko and Hamilton.
Jimbo; I Think you are correct. Further more, if it does not take a battery and does not need to be manually wound, I believed it is termed an automatic.
thebigspender; will add those to the growing list of brands to research. Down, down, down the rabbit hole. :hmmm::p
Good luck, it sounds like it could be an expensive hobby. Fun one though :)
James.
For quality older mechanical watches, I recommend Omegas and Tudors.
You too? LOL Been down that road. Nothing prettier than the inside of those old watches. American craftsmanship at its finest. Sold all of mine before the bottom fell out. SOme pretty good buys out there now, but I'm over it. My old pard that I used to trade with that also fixed old watches gave it up. He doesn't even work on 'em any more. Asked me if I was interested in buying all his tools and parts when I saw him Tuesday. Told him thanks but no thanks.Quote:
Originally Posted by JimmyHAD
Been wearing a SINN FLIEGER for 15 years now. Needs a good cleaning and adjusting. VALJOUX 7750's are pricey to get worked on so I reset it every other day. They were sold here in the states under the BELL & ROSS banner at one time.Quote:
Originally Posted by thebigspendur
My understanding is that the Chinese have started making very reliable mechanical watches for a LOT less $$ than the big names everyone associates with watches. Some of the Russian mechanicals are good solid machines but they are rather spartan.
I like the weight of a REAL watch as opposed to case for a battery powered mini-clock. The battery powered jobbies have a tendency to keep a LOT better time though........:\
Not that many years ago you could buy the basic Sinn for around $300. That same watch is around $1000 now. The problem is the outfit selling them here. I've known people who traveled to Germany and went to their factory store and bought a couple of watches and returned that evening. Even with the airfare they came out ahead. Of course that was before airfare prices skyrocketed. I've had probably 6 Sinns over the years and sold them all. I have an Ezm 10 now which is a keeper.
You're right, I can probably sell my well worn old Flieger for more than I paid for it and let somebody else pay to tune it up.
Check out Doxa. I love mine and they've got some great mechanical automatics that you can find on both watchuseek and eBay for sub 2k.
I have a vintage Tag Heuer Automatic Chronograph, from the 80's or 91 at the latest...has the Valjoux 7750 movement since it has the tachymeter, (Calibre 16 movement if not) when I'm not wearing it, it stays in a watch winder, but love the thing. I do notice, about once every two weeks, it will lose a couple of minutes, but for an analog movement and an old beast, not to surprising.Quote:
Originally Posted by Wullie
Still get a chuckle out of it, sometimes I'll move my hand in a certain way, and I'll feel the winding feature in the watch carry on for a second or two...waterproof to 200 meters, although I can't imagine why anyone would go "diving" using a watch like this, it's old enough that it was the pre-cursor to the AquaDiver series...great old beast, and for me, it has to be automatic/mechanical movement.
I ended up with an old orange face DOXA SUB 300 ( pre US DIVERS ) like Dirk Pitt wore in all of Clive Cussler's books. Somebody made me an offer I couldn't refuse and it went to a new home. I've had Omega's, Rolex's, and a Brietling among others. Cheap battery powered quartz watches keep better time, BUT, they have no soul.Quote:
Originally Posted by JBPilot
Phrank, that 7750 movement is a tank. I too get a kick out of it when that inertial winder keeps spinning and you can feel it shaking on your wrist. I love mine, but it needs a bath I think. Last quote for cleaning and adjusting I got was $300. Told the guy for that kind of $$ I'd just reset the time when it needed it.
I only have three mechanical watches. Funnily enough, they were all given to me by my uncle :L two of them are old Russian watches (the brand is Poljot), one is a chronograph, the other is just a watch. I should say that my uncle collects old watches and clocks!
The watch I've been wearing mostly for the last six years is a Sinn 103 series pilot watch that my uncle gave me for my 18th birthday. It has the steel bracelet, its a beautiful piece. And one of my most prized possessions.
If you go the route of buying any mechanical watch from any big brand, you have to factor in that the watch will need to be serviced every few years. I sent mine in to Sinn two years ago, the watch had started to lose a substantial amount of time. They cleaned it up, replaced the glass, face and hands and I got it back in absolutely perfect condition. The problem was it cost 300 euros + registered postage there.
But its great to have a timepiece you can be proud of.
I can relate to that.Quote:
Originally Posted by MattCB
The last month or so I've been reading about automatic watches, and I just ordered the first one: an Orient Bambino. Very cheap actually, but it gets good reviews. What I really wanted is the Oris John Coltrane, but that one I found too expensive.
Maybe that one day I will buy an expensive watch, but I'm sure I'll never pay more than, say, 2,500 USD. And even that I find borderline decadent. Given that one of those expensive watches loses quite some value as soon as you walk out of the shop with it, I've decided to only buy used watches. Oh, and do not forget that a mechanical watch needs to be serviced every x years, and that's not cheap either, especially with the more expensive brands.
A good blog/site for reviews is wornandwound, the average price of the watches they review is fairly low.
Oh, and another good source for buying an original watch at not too steep a price is Kickstarter. Young turks who've come up with an idea for a watch and are looking for crowdfunding.
I've currently committed myself to buying a splendid specimen for something like 299 CAD so here's me knocking on wood the deal get's fully funded.
Buy once, cry once,a quality watch will last a lifetime,but never pay retail.
Join The NAWCC and deal with the pros.
Attachment 190837
Longines Legend Diver Re-issue from 1960
I would check different Seiko, Orient automatic watch model reviews as well.
You can buy a Seiko for $300 that will last all of your life and probably never require any service and keep great time. Is it a great watch? Yes in the same way a Honda Civic is a great well engineered car. Once you get much over a grand your talking luxury pieces and it's all a matter of what you want to pay and what it's worth to you. it's all in the name and the price quality relationship decreases markedly.
With the 30% valuation change in the Swiss Franc I imagine that 7 grand Rolex just increased to over 9 grand as will all Swiss watches unless they absorb some of that change which I doubt they will do.
I've warn nothing but Seiko watches since 1970. Got my first one in Okinawa at the Air base there. Gave it to my dad when I went home on leave. I've had several and was well pleased with them all. I never had one to go bad on me it was always me that broke them.
Breitling
I agree, Buy Once Cry Once. Then keep them serviced by quality service centers/dealers then this can be a family heirloom.
