quote:

Originally posted by steelcityfishanddive:
I really like the looks of the Seamaster and prefer it over the Planet Ocean. I was browsing used ones as new ones are outside the budget. However, at 41mm I'd be worried that it might be a tad small for me.

If you are looking at pre owned be very careful. You have to know what you are looking at.
There are a lot of people selling fake/replicas/copies as real especial on the internet. Some times it is very hard to tell the difference from the real to the fake.

The watchuseek forum has the ability for members to post pictures of the actual watch you are interested. If you do this post as many clear pictures as you can. Then members will look at it. They will try to give you an idea if it is real or a copy.

If you look at grey market dealers the watch may be real but you may not get the manufacturers guarantee. If you go to an authorized distributor don't be afraid to try to haggle on the price.
The Swiss watch industry has been down the last few years so some may be willing to give you a better price to sell you a watch.

If you like going on cruise and may be going any time soon the Caribbean is a great place to buy a watch. Only buy from an authorized distributor on the island you go to. You can save a lot on price plus taxes but you may have to pay some duty based on how much you spend. Depending on what you buy and how much it cost you can save almost enough to pay for the cruise.

I am a big guy. I own a Seamaster Planet Ocean Chronograph and it is 45.5mm in diameter. For me it is the perfect size for a sport watch.
It sound like your are going to watch sellers to try them on. This is a good thing. When you are looking see if the store has a mirror so you can look at the watch on your wrist. It can make a difference on how it looks on you. It took my wife several month to find what she liked and this helped her make her choice. I do the same thing when I am looking.

Managed to try on the Ball skindiver II, a few Oris and Omegas today. I liked the bracelet of the Ball along with the knurling of the stem and outside of the bezel. Wasn't thrilled by the bezel as there was a fair amount of play in it. I preferred the skindiver II over the original but something about they way it looked didn't do it for me.

I tried on a used Omega Seamaster 300 along with the Planet Ocean. The Planet size fit me well but I prefer the face of the Seamaster 300. However, the size of the Seamaster 300 seemed a little small for my wrist.

The Oris Aquis 43mm was very nice. The fit and finish was awesome. The black dial face was very nice but that blue face is something else. I also tried on a larger 46mm Oris which I think was the depth gauge one. It had some good weight to it and fit my wrist with no problem. The Hammerhead I'm interested in is supposed to be 45.5mm so there shouldn't be any problems if I decided on that. There was no play in any of the Oris bezels.

jhe was mostly correct when he wrote about movements. ETA is a manufacturer of movements but not watches. The Swatch Group is a big Swiss conglomerate that owns popular brands like Glashutte Original, Omega, Longines, Tissot, Hamilton, Mido, and others. They also control ETA and therefore can put those movements in different configurations and qualities across their brands.

The ETA 2824-2 is a workhorse of the industry, and it's robust and reliable. Updated versions like the C07- series reduce frequency to 3 Hz and increase autonomy to ~80 hours if that's important to you.

You need to figure out, if you haven't already, whether you want a Harley or a Honda. Mechanical watches, compared to quartz, can be finicky and they require relatively expensive service intervals depending on what you have. (An Omega might be $600 every four or five years depending on how it's running.) They are also less accurate. Quartz will give you 5–15 seconds a month for cheap ones and 5 seconds a year for nice ones. A nice automatic will vary between -2 and +2 a day. Unless you have a fluke you will generally expect to pay thousands for that. The Sellita in the Oris might give you 8–15 seconds a day (some better, some worse, or better some days depending on position and such).

They're a lot of fun and there's something cool about a little machine on your wrist. If you want tough, accurate, and bright lume, I'd look for a quartz diver with tritium.

Would add more but I'm on my phone and it's a pain to type a lot on this little keyboard!

quote:

Originally posted by steelcityfishanddive:

The Oris Aquis 43mm was very nice. The fit and finish was awesome. The black dial face was very nice but that blue face is something else.

Agreed...the gradiant blue dial is just stunning. If I had the funds, I'd be all over this one:


Edit: Sorry, just realized I already touted this one earlier in the thread. Oh well, it deserves another mention. :-)

Man - you guys must have some big guns! My little, flimsy wrists get overwhelmed by anything much bigger than 40-41mm.

quote:

Originally posted by ShneaSIG:
Man - you guys must have some big guns! My little, flimsy wrists get overwhelmed by anything much bigger than 40-41mm.

I wear a 36mM Seiko 5. I'm 6 foot and more lbs than I'd like to admit. Big watches are a fad and one I can't wait to see subside.

quote:

Originally posted by FenderBender:

quote:

Originally posted by ShneaSIG:
Man - you guys must have some big guns! My little, flimsy wrists get overwhelmed by anything much bigger than 40-41mm.

I wear a 36mM Seiko 5. I'm 6 foot and more lbs than I'd like to admit. Big watches are a fad and one I can't wait to see subside.

Two of mine are 36mm, too, and I love 'em. Much bigger than 40mm, and they hang up on shirt sleeve cuffs and just feel too clunky for my liking.