Thanks BrianO - corrected.

Pre WW1 from Asprey of London. Lume markers added later. Only watch I have that doesn't have its original movement.

My third Citizen Eagle 7 Automatic with the day in either English or German. I like this one the most, it’s in great shape.

An Anniversary gift from my wife a few years back, Tag Indy 500 CAC111B

I have a 1970's Rado Purple Horse on the way.

quote:

Originally posted by Mars_Attacks:
I have a 1970's Rado Purple Horse on the way.

Pics, or it didn't happen. ;-)

Here's from where I bought it.

Very nice!!

Laco Westerland, which is their 45mm A-uhr, with a handwound mechanism.

I debated about the size to get, but finally decided to get the 45mm over the 42mm. My gorilla arms are big enough, and while the watch is big, it doesn't look silly. The originals were truly big watches, so the biggest you can wear is most like the real deal. I think it even looks a little bigger in these photos as compared to actuality.

You can see the fire blued hands in the first photo.

I am happy. ROgue and I egged each other on to get similar watches. He is right, this is an especially gratifying watch.

Nice watch, ScubaSig.

I've lately become rather enamored of my High Accuracy Quartz (HAQ) -- the Bulova Lunar Pilot -- and find myself wearing it daily in place of a selection of automatics. I love the fact that it's always correct to the second (seems to even be running below specs of +-10 sec./year). There's something about perfect accuracy, all the time everytime, that (at this point, anyhow) I find much more satisfying than the often mentioned "soul" of a much less accurate automatic. I still love my automatics and am of course taken by the design and engineering of them...but accuracy is where it's at now for me (without getting into Smart Watches, external GPS/satellite-synced watches, etc.).

That said, the new Longines VHP HAQ has really caught my attention; even if it was an auto I'd love its look, but as a HAQ it's ticking off all the boxes for me (save for price). I love blue dials, I really enjoy the chronograph form (especially with the wedge-style buttons), and the VHP's incredible +-5 sec./year takes that new love of accuracy I have to a new level. The only hiccup is the price...at $1500'ish published price, it's high, especially to my mind for a quartz, HAQ or not. I hope it'll come down after it's been on the market for a while, or I can pickup a flip for a decent price.

That one watch that you keep thinking about...? Yeah, this one's mine.

That is an attractive watch, and like you I love the really great accuracy of HAQ. I have a Grand Seiko quartz, which is spec'ed to 10 seconds a year, but mine is under 5 seconds a year. It is hard to measure accuracy that close just by eye, but mine is easily exceeding the +/-10 seconds they guaranty. You are right, that is satisfying. It is all about temperature compensation in HAQ.

Does Longines make the movement?

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
That is an attractive watch, and like you I love the really great accuracy of HAQ. I have a Grand Seiko quartz, which is spec'ed to 10 seconds a year, but mine is under 5 seconds a year. It is hard to measure accuracy that close just by eye, but mine is easily exceeding the +/-10 seconds they guaranty. You are right, that is satisfying. It is all about temperature compensation in HAQ.

Does Longines make the movement?

According to this article, it’s an ETA but was “developed exclusively for Longines”: https://www.ablogtowatch.com/l...p-chronograph-watch/

Longines is a member of the Swatch Group.

They are benefiting from Omega's technological advances as it's being phased into their ETA movements.

quote:

Originally posted by ScubaSig:

Excellent!

quote:

Originally posted by Mars_Attacks:
Longines is a member of the Swatch Group.

They are benefiting from Omega's technological advances as it's being phased into their ETA movements.

Ah. Makes sense as ETA wants to stop selling movements to non-Swatch brands.

quote:

Ah. Makes sense as ETA wants to stop selling movements to non-Swatch brands.

End of 2019 according to the court settlement. I read that other manufacturers were pretty much done with ETA due to Sellita and STP movements being available so readily. The Chinese are also stepping up with some quality movements.

RMD

Oh my gosh, lots of good activity in the thread!

Sweet Panerai!

Jhe888 -- You can totally handle that 45mm! Not a bit of doubt based on those photos.

HAQ is cool as heck. I liked the release of the self dater a few years ago from Grand Seiko. think it was SBG011. The black dial.

quote:

Originally posted by rduckwor:

End of 2019 according to the court settlement. I read that other manufacturers were pretty much done with ETA due to Sellita and STP movements being available so readily. The Chinese are also stepping up with some quality movements.

RMD

TAG has bought the rights to a Seiko chrono and have sourced movements from Sellita. However they are picking through the bulk parts and sending the out of spec parts back to Sellita for low end movements to inexpensive watch makers. Beware anything with a Sellita in it.

STP has the quality king right now. They are wholly owned by Fossil Group and were started just to make movements for the Zodiac line.

You are going to see these in anything from Zodiac to Steinhart, mid-tier watches.

Absolute wonderful movements. There are two grades, decorated and undecorated. Quality is the same, but just less time involved for unnecessary decoration if the watch has a closed back.

ETA is still king of bulk movements. They are rapidly upping their game and leaving China behind. Sure Sea-Gull is making a 2824-2 clone, but they are being snapped up for the counterfeit market. They have an Omega 8500 counterfeit that the only way to tell it's a fake is to remove the balance wheel to reveal that it has a standard escape fork instead of a coaxial wheel. There's also a 3135 that is so close, that they have not developed a silicon spring for the escapement yet. Both these blatant fakes have full balance bridges and proper decoration.

ETA is having to put advanced technology in everything to make it too expensive for China to copy.

China innovates nothing. It's all intellectual theft.