Thread: What types of watches do you like?

Originally Posted by Brenngun

Phrank. Nothing at all wrong with a Speedmaster. Doesn't have to be a pro to be a great watch. Would love to see some pics when you get it back from the shop.

Sweet TAG! That whirring noise and weight shift sensation is due to the resident Valjoux 7750 movement. The winding rotor is unidirectional meaning it only winds the movement while spinning in one direction. When it spins in the opposite direction it freewheels with very little resistance. When that happens at the right rpm you get the sound and sensation you described. It's supercool and is always one of the first things a new owner will ask "is this normal". It is and it's such a great unintended feature. Hard to believe the rotor can be spinning that fast. At one time I owned a Tudor big block chrono that had the same movement. I loved that watch until my eyes told me I had to sell it. I've got to dig up some of my old pics. That movement is bullet proof. It will be with you forever.

Now that is fascinating, I had heard about the multi-directional aspect before, but never knew how it manifested itself, and that explains it exactly. I had assumed that you had to get it just right in order to capture the watch actually "winding" itself. Very cool!

Definitely looking forward to the Omega, couldn't sleep last night, our cat bought the farm at around 630-7pm, he was on old dude so wasn't shocking, but was reading some interesting things about the Omega Pro vs the Reduced...sheesh, some of the comments could have been cut and paste from the threads here, just different subject matter.

Thanks again....

edited to add: looking at your avatar, just going to head to Loblaws, maybe grab some rib eye and onto the grill out the back yard...little chilly, but nice day in The Six!! (isn't that what all the kids call Toronto now LOL)

Originally Posted by Phrank

Now that is fascinating, I had heard about the multi-directional aspect before, but never knew how it manifested itself, and that explains it exactly. I had assumed that you had to get it just right in order to capture the watch actually "winding" itself. Very cool!

Definitely looking forward to the Omega, couldn't sleep last night, our cat bought the farm at around 630-7pm, he was on old dude so wasn't shocking, but was reading some interesting things about the Omega Pro vs the Reduced...sheesh, some of the comments could have been cut and paste from the threads here, just different subject matter.

Thanks again....

Anytime. Glad it helped with understanding. As a confirmed WIS I have no choice but to engage in watch conversations. For some sad reason it's a fascination I can't stop no matter what. If you want to see that movement and how the rotor works have a quick look at this link. It's a nice quick video explanation of how your watch works. The one he's working on is a Hamilton with the added Day complication but basically it's the same movement as the one in yours.

https://youtu.be/CbCylItoZjg

Awesome - off to Loblaws for some rib eyes, get the grill fired up, and have something to watch...then back to watchuseek for some more reading, some beautiful pieces on that site...I just don't even bother heading into the Rolex section, a Daytona Auto Chrono just speaks to me, in a primal way....


edited to add:

ARGHHH - ITS SNOWING OUTSIDE!!!!

You know, up until pretty recently Rolex did not make the movmt of the Daytona. It was made by Zenith. These days they make it in-house.

Originally Posted by Brenngun

First let me say that I'm a big fan of mechanical watches. My wife says it's a sickness. I can normally find interest in just about any manufacturers offerings. I would not dispute that Patek makes quality watches. I've owned 2 of them in my 40+ years of watch collecting. I fully enjoyed both of them. Having said that I would like to talk a bit more about Patek and their apparent lack of use for the COSC.

The funny thing about Patek is that they never seem to have use for any standards institution that doesn't primarily support Patek and their product only. Back in 2009 they announced at Baselworld that they would no longer submit their movements for inspection by the Geneva Seal Bureau. This was a huge about face after building their business and reputation during the last century by being the biggest user of and strongest supporter of the Poinçon de Genève. Why??

Frankly this happened after some newcomers like Roger Dubuis and Cartier also submitted and were give the Geneva Seal. Their excuse for this abandonment was a denial of their request to make a rate test a mandatory part of the Geneva Seal. For some reason after 100+ years of touting this seal to be the best quality assurance in the world Patek all of a sudden decided it wasn't. I'm sure it had nothing to do with the fact that suddenly they weren't the only kids on the Geneva Seal block. Incidentally the rate test was always an option available to all manufacturers as part of the Geneva Seal. Gee how could Patek not know this? Could it be that they never made that optional request for their watches over the past 100+ years?

May not be the same kind of history as you mentioned with respect to Ball but could be interpreted as a zebra with a different stripe. Or the pot calling the kettle black. Or ..... well you know the rest. You know what they say ....... if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck then it's a .....

When you are Patek and have the rep as the best factory made watch in the world you can do anything you want and it won't affect your sales.

Much of this COSC and Genève business was contrived to push Swiss watches and give them this exclusivity. So, if they don't want to use it I don't think it reflects on the quality of their watches. The general clientele they sell to probably don't care either.

Like most outfits Patek is not the same outfit they once were. A watchmaker friend of mine decries the fact their watch used to have superior finish on the areas of the mvmt you couldn't see and now they don't. At least they weren't reinvented like most others just the ownership changed
and their production has been continuous over their history.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

You know, up until pretty recently Rolex did not make the movmt of the Daytona. It was made by Zenith. These days they make it in-house.

Again quite right. Also before the Zenith they used a Valjoux movement. Here's a little more info on the use of the Zenith caliber 400 movement you're referring to. It was not used as a drop in movement for the Daytona. The caliber 400 was comprised of approximately 250 parts. Rolex would modify some 200 parts to create the Rolex caliber 4030. Some of these modifications were quite important. They changed the hairspring to a brueget coil over, added the micro-stella adjustments and relaxed the beats per hour down from 36,000 to 28,800. This resulted in a movement with improved accuracy, dependability and less frequent service requirements.

At the Baselworld fair in 2000 Rolex introduced the new caliber 4130 in the Daytona. It's the in house movement you also mentioned. That marked the end of the Zenith 400 based caliber 4030. The new caliber 4130 has a power reserve some 12 hours greater than the Zenith based 4030 pushing the Daytona towards a 72 hour power reserve. The longest power reserve ever seen on a chronograph at the time. It also now had the ability to hack the sub second dial. All this despite having less parts (approx. 200) and being a slimmer calibre.

When you're looking at a Daytona watch the easiest way to tell which movement it has is the position of the sub seconds dial. The Zenith based 4030 has it at the 9 o'clock dial position and the in house 4130 has it at 6 o'clock.

My Speedie is here!

Saw that the notice was, "Out for Delivery", so checked out of the office early and waited for my new addition to arrive, very pleased, and sadly, doesn't make any "whirring" noises when I move my arm...can barely feel this watch's rotor(?) winding this one.

Have a black Di Modell Rallye perforated waterproof watch strap on the way if I feel like changing things up, always liked life on the edge...

Omega Speedmaster Automatic...not too big, and fits perfectly on my 7" wrist:

That's a nice watch! Great dial contrast, which my aging eyes appreciate in a time piece.
And you are sporting it on the right wrist you south paw you..

Originally Posted by MikeB52

That's a nice watch! Great dial contrast, which my aging eyes appreciate in a time piece.
And you are sporting it on the right wrist you south paw you..

You noticed...

But I'm not a southpaw....I'm almost ambidextrous though, always had good skills whether using left or right.

You on the other hand, are exceptionally observant! Inspector B52....

Ambidexterity is a handy attribute with our chosen way of shaving for sure. Being a technical guy by vocation it's always been a big plus at work as well. The observation skills,,, well they come in handy some times too. Thanks for noticing, hehe.

This particular thread is very dangerous for my budding collectors spirit I must say....
Seeing some very attractive watches spanning the ages...
.