I am a watch guy, I have had a few over the years... different price points too.

I am currently down to two watches, my every day watch is my Rolex Submariner, its on an Everest rubber strap. My other watch, the one that makes range trips with me etc... is my Casio G Shock Rangeman.

Both of them are very different price points, but I can say that I really like both of them equally.

There are many good watches out there (just like guns ) the search for the "perfect" one is what is fun.

Watches and guns. Those are my vices. My only battery powered watch is a $40 g shock. I wear it when out getting dirty and when I know it will knocked around. Otherwise I wear a mechanical. As noted, a really good reliable seiko can be had for well under $200. The better movements with seiko start to go up in price. I know guys wearing skx models for like 20 years with no issues. I also have 2 rolexes that actually I don’t wear as often as my seiko divers. I also have my great grandfathers pocket watch, It still keeps time.

Not sure what it is that draws me to watches and guns. Maybe it’s that everything in this day and age is digital, a mechanical watch and a handgun is purely analog. No batteries required just springs and gears.

I'm going to go out on a limb and recommend a Seiko 5. It's a mechanical watch, basic, but attractive styling, not too large, but large enough to see. You can get them with SS bracelets or leather straps. They have a variety of dial colors. And they're very reasonable.

Good luck!

quote:

Originally posted by imadat:
Slight thread drift...

quote:

I used to be intimidated by the "watch thread," now I admire what is there and have even shared some of my photos (which is like of like parking a yugo next to a Bentley, but no one ridiculed me out of the thread Smile ).

My experiences with watch fanatics have all been positive. They don't care if you have a $1.00 watch or a $1,000,000.00 watch they are happy to just share their passion/fanaticism/obsession with you. Anyone who has the "sickness" is welcome.

Eventually you will find yourself noticing and admiring watches "in the wild," in movies, and TV shows.

FFIPS questions above are spot on. Ask yourself those, and you will be well on your way.

Good luck.

Thats also been my experience. I like watches in general and the price doesn't have much to do with it. I do prefer mechanicals so there will be some cost but I have seen plenty of expensive and very ugly watches. Besides what I might think is ugly someone else will love.

quote:

Originally posted by Excam_Man:
Haven't worn a watch in probably 25 yrs. Inexpensive ones when I did (casio).
Getting the urge to buy something nice. Not really an every day watch.

Looked at a few, Armitron. Leather band, but doesn't seem to hug the wrist very well.

They also carry Fossil and Skagen.
I kind of liked the Skagen 6450 m. Has the extra dials for day and date.

Wondered if it was a good watch and if the band would pull on arm hairs?

When buying a watch try and get one where the lugs (where the band connects) do not extend past your wrist. The bigger your wrist is the bigger the watch you can pull off. I bought an expensive watch before I new this and I never wear it because it looks like a woman's watch on my wrist now that I am used to larger bezels.

^^^^
There are so many watches that I would love to wear but I just can't. I have tiny wrists. 38-40mm diameter with about a 45mm lug to lug fits me the best. A Seiko 5 amd a Seiko SKX013 are my two go to's. I love the Hamilton field kahki manual wind no date military watch but it's huge (for me) lug to lug makes it a no-go. It would be hanging off the edges of my wrist despite the 38mm diameter.

I found this article about choosing a good watch size informative.

https://theslenderwrist.com/watch-size-guide/

I am also contemplating to purchase of my first “luxury” watch, probably around my birthday, in July. This is definitely one of those cases where more information (thanks to Forum members) can lead to more confusion.

I have already changed my price range more than once, and I’m glad I have until July to make a decision.

It will most likely be a divers or pilot-style watch. Automatic. Probably Swiss or German, but American is certainly not out of the question.

Enjoying the threads here, and in the Gallery

BTW, mbinky, I also have a small wrist, but the Luminox that I wear everyday, is (I believe) 42mm, and I don’t think it’s way too big.

I am a big fan of Steinhart. Swiss made ETA movements at a very reasonable price point. I have the Ocean Vintage GMT and the Ocean One Bronze. I have been very happy with them on a aesthetic and functional basis. They have kept time as well as my Rolex Submariner.

quote:

Originally posted by Todd Huffman:
Email David Truong from our forum. He’s a Citizen dealer and has great prices. Just let him know you’re from Sigforum.

http://mimisjewelryinc.com/

Unreservedly this.

I'm also a big fan of Steinhart, and have never had an issue with any of them. Nice, a little on the large size, automatic, and the 5 that I have owned have kept accurate time.

I'm down to 3 now. Ocean 1 GMT Coke. Ocean 1 Vintage Red, and an Ocean 1 Vintage GMT.

The Vintage GMT is my standard dress watch.

A Rolex is a great mechanical watch. I like the "older" models, like this Y-serial Turn-O-Graph with rotating white gold bezel. Its 36mm case size is like a Datejust of the previous "5-digit" series.

Purchased (with an active Rolex warranty) during the mortgage meltdown of '08, it was resold a few years later (after a covered trip to RSC for complete tear-down service to bring it into COSC spec) for a little more than I paid. Free wrist time.

I can’t school you on watches but I can warn you about their addictive nature. For the longest time I wore only a G-Shock rescue series because I surfed a lot and loved the tide and moon phase features. G-shocks are basically indestructible and I love that about them but they are not quite the most elegant watch. While shopping a few months ago a Citizen Eco-Drive atomic radio caught my eye, long story short the eco drive got me interested in different watches and when I discovered automatics....well then I became REEEEALLLLY into watches.

There are a lot of different styles and options. I personally love and prefer automatics because I admire the mechanical work and intricacies of their design. I also like that my movement while wearing the watch keeps it powered. Feeling the rotor spin is kind of neat. Many of them have clear casebacks that allow you to see the rotor spin, gears turn and the mechanical heartbeat of the watch as it ticks.

For the everyday watch and if you want something hands off that will be dang accurate I highly recommend Citizen’s eco drive line, especially the radio and satellite wave versions. They receive a signal every day and sync with atomic time down to the second. If you own two of them it is neat to see them tick away in perfect synchronization.

quote:

Originally posted by apprentice:
I've learned a lot from going down this youtube rabbit hole:

https://m.youtube.com/user/theurbangentry

Prefer accuracy over appearances myself, so just cheap digitals mostly for me.
Watch nuts do seem to be much less uppity than other collector types.

I really like him. He seems to know his stuff and he doesnt shame a watch because it is cheap. I enjoy his videos.

quote:

Originally posted by Green Highlander:
I am a big fan of Steinhart. Swiss made ETA movements at a very reasonable price point. I have the Ocean Vintage GMT and the Ocean One Bronze. I have been very happy with them on a aesthetic and functional basis. They have kept time as well as my Rolex Submariner.

+1

Very good watches for the money.

RMD

Buy what you like.

Big watches are in fashion (although that trend may be diminishing). Most everything is 40mm, with many even larger. People now look at 35/36mm classics as if they are small. (FYI, the classic Rolex Datejust is 36mm.) Partly it is a matter of what you are used to. But if you like smaller, don't shy away because it seems small by comparison. I see a lot of 40mm watches on people too small to get away with it.

To answer some questions:

Price, would like to stay under 200. Planning on using reward points.
Have no idea of wrist circumference. The ones I'm looking at have adjustable bands.

Knowledge, mainly if Skagen was a good brand. Which SC answered.... China garbage. Which is a shame, as I liked the 6450 model.
Wearing to keep time for myself... as the phone will switch time when going back and forth through different time zones (No feature to lock it on the current phone).
I suppose battery, as I don't want to mess with winding.
Reading the thread, assuming automatic is charged by movement?

Would be nice to have day/date.... the ability to read at night would be a bonus.
As far as size, nothing big and bulky, something thin is preferred.
Nothing to shinny, gray/black.

Excam_man, I’m certainly not an expert, but it sounds to me like you want one of the many models of Casio G-Shock. Not typically thought of as “thin,” but they sure check your other boxes—for less than $200

There are certainly Seiko models under $200, and I believe the Seiko 5 can be had for that price and meet your desire for a thin watch

quote:

Originally posted by Excam_Man:
To answer some questions:

Price, would like to stay under 200. Planning on using reward points.
Have no idea of wrist circumference. The ones I'm looking at have adjustable bands.

Knowledge, mainly if Skagen was a good brand. Which SC answered.... China garbage. Which is a shame, as I liked the 6450 model.
Wearing to keep time for myself... as the phone will switch time when going back and forth through different time zones (No feature to lock it on the current phone).
I suppose battery, as I don't want to mess with winding.
Reading the thread, assuming automatic is charged by movement?

Would be nice to have day/date.... the ability to read at night would be a bonus.
As far as size, nothing big and bulky, something thin is preferred.
Nothing to shinny, gray/black.

This was my recommendation. Quite a variety of styles. Automatic....winds while you wear it. I believe some/most can also be wound.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=sei...ens&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
People now look at 35/36mm classics as if they are small. (FYI, the classic Rolex Datejust is 36mm.) Partly it is a matter of what you are used to. But if you like smaller, don't shy away because it seems small by comparison. I see a lot of 40mm watches on people too small to get away with it.

Agree. Gratuitous watch pic: An even smaller 34mm Air-King. I'm 6'2"/220, and it doesn't SEEM comically small on the wrist.

quote:

Originally posted by TMats:
I am also contemplating to purchase of my first “luxury” watch, probably around my birthday, in July. This is definitely one of those cases where more information (thanks to Forum members) can lead to more confusion.

I have already changed my price range more than once, and I’m glad I have until July to make a decision.

It will most likely be a divers or pilot-style watch. Automatic. Probably Swiss or German, but American is certainly not out of the question.

Enjoying the threads here, and in the Gallery

BTW, mbinky, I also have a small wrist, but the Luminox that I wear everyday, is (I believe) 42mm, and I don’t think it’s way too big.

I have a small wrist and this gets 85% or more of my wrist time.. I love it. I like mechanical watches.