quote:

Originally posted by bald1:
I agree that this vintage panda look is great. Is that movement reliable and durable? I've no experience with hybrids. At 40mm did it prove too large for you or do you still have it?

The fit wasn't bad on my 6.5" wrist. I liked them a lot (yes THEM,.. see the thread tomorrow). I can't speak to the reliability too much as I sold this one very quickly. But the one for tomorrow is in my son's collection and he wears it and it still works. It's been a few years.

The straps are surprisingly good too.

I sent my Seamaster in for service last week. Ot was in dire need... running slow and a stripped crown. I had not been wearing it for a few months but hadn't had time to take it in.

Well with COVID shutdowns, what would have been a 2-3 month turnaround is now likely to be a 5-6 month turnaround. So I decided I needed a stainless diver to bridge the gap and to be a beater for running around the beach and lake. My Omega was left to me by my uncle so while it is a fairly common and not a highly sought after model, it is kinda priceless to me.

Anyways, wanted to keep it under $200 and wanted a sub/sea dweller look so I ended up with the 44mm Deep Blue Master 1000. It's a beast of a watch so I'm getting used to that. I think it fits my wrists fine (a shade over 8") but it is definitely bigger than I'm used to. My SMP is a midsize 36.5, but I have a few others in the 42-43 range. The Lumi in the last photo is 43 but being black and very light weight plastic, it doesn't feel so big.

I particularly like the depth of the indices and the black sunburst dial. Very subtle. It achieves the goal of looking like a much more expensive watch, imo. There's a 30 day return policy so I might order the 40mm diver and see which I like better.

Nice diver YellowJacket! That’s a bummer to hear about a 5-6 month wait on service work. I made the horrific mistake of trusting my local AD’s watchmaker to do an extensive service on my 1999 Seamaster and to make a long story short I’m not happy at all with my AD. I recently decided the only way I’m gonna be ok with the watch is after it goes back to Omega to get sorted out. It’s going to need a new bezel and crystal at least. Bezel misalignment is an issue I have zero tolerance for....quite frankly it pisses me off and has no place on a watch like Omega. It’s gonna be wonderful considering what I already paid to have it “serviced”. Ugh. Hard lesson learned. ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS send your watch back to it’s manufacturer for service.

I have small wrists so a 40mm diver sounds perfect. I can’t fault you on your current 44mm watch. 44mm might not be too bad depending on the case design and lugs, one of my daily watches is 45mm. (Seiko PADI Turtle)

Very nice Deep Blue! You must have some serious arms on you, because that 44mm watch looks well proportioned and not too big at all. They did a nice alignment and matching of the date to the 3:00 indice. Congrats!

For todays watch, I'm afraid it's another Undone. They suckered me in with the free engraving, so I grabbed another and just for fun had it engraved. I gave it to my son after a couple of weeks, and it remains with him today.

Undone Skiper

Yeah, my aunt had the Omega serviced through her local jeweler before I got it. And for all I know that is who serviced it while my uncle had it. But it ran quite slow from the day I got it and I just never sent it in. Another shop told me Omega can be a bit stingy with parts so they have to sub in non OEM.

Seeing some beautiful watches here, but as much as I like (and own) diving styles, how about GMT types that allow the wearer to keep track of two time zones easily? rOgue's Rolex Explorer II Polar is my favorite and hopefully next BIG purchase, but I'd love to see examples of others that are similar and of good quality.

pulicords , you are right. This thread is a bit lacking in the GMT/Dual time category. And YES rOgue’s Rolex Explorer II...what can you say it’s amazing. I’m not a huge Rolex enthusiast but it is one of the few watches they make that I’d eventually like to own.

On the subject of dual time watches. What can you guys tell me about the Glycine Airman? I am intrigued by these.



I am well aware of the fact that Glycine was purchased by Invicta and that this automatically triggers some people. It shouldn’t. To be completely honest I’m actually really digging the direction Glycine has taken lately with offering a ton of new variants of the Combat Automatic Sub and Airman & the Combat 50m styled field watch All sporting the old Logo (no stupid wings attached). I have a pre-Invicta Glycine Combat and a few newer production Combat Subs and they have all surprised the hell out of me with the fit and finish and the accuracy & consistency I am getting from the Sellita SW200 movements.

Jeeze - the very first watch in this thread is a Seiko GMT. It is a Kinetic, a quartz watch on which the capacitors and batteries are charged via a rotor. I do like GMTs.

Stickman, when you get the white Steinhart for your wife, would you mind making a photo of it on your wrist, just so I can see the size? Thanks.

quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:
On the subject of dual time watches. What can you guys tell me about the Glycine Airman? I am intrigued by these.

I have a 2002 Glycine Airman 46 (3820-18T) with a 2893-2 ETA movement. It's a big sucker at 46mm but I love it and the 3 timezones. Hard to truly capture the blue sunburst dial... it is stunning. Been rock solid reliable to boot.


On the subject of GMTs, I have two others, both from Zeno. They also share that same ETA movment.

SeaHunter (485GMT) 40mm


XXL Pilot GMT (8563 A/SV) 47.5mm
Yes, unlike r0gue, I love BIG watches!

 
I see lots of divers here. What is their attraction? Are all of you purchasers actually divers?

Historically, divers were more robust. In the 50's through the 90's, an active person could select a diver and know it could hang with them in rough situations.

These days, more watches are available that are durable and waterproof in the non diver style. Seiko Alpinist, Rolex Explorer, Sinn - along those lines.

My collection features highly durable watches, and since I started collecting in the early 80's, most are divers.

I am a certified diver, but I haven't used air since the mid 70's.

quote:

Originally posted by henryaz: I see lots of divers here. What is their attraction? Are all of you purchasers actually divers?

I don't usually wear one of my diver's watches unless I'm actually diving, preferring a more streamlined look when I'm on the surface. Now, if I could afford a Rolex Submariner that might change, but since I'm on a Casio budget that's not an issue. I did, however, purchase a new diver computer today to replace my malfunctioning El Cheapo Cressi Leonardo; I bought an Aqua~Lung i550 with compass and quick-disconnect hose, so I might not even wear a dive watch when diving in the future.

henryaz, I don’t have my dive certification yet but I recently discovered that I live about 40 minutes away from an amazing dive center with sunken airplanes helicopters and cars. I’m going to learn how to dive and get certified this summer.

But to answer your question about why so many watch enthusiasts find dive watches attractive/ alluring.... I think Jason Lim, the founder of Halios watches does a good job explaining this question in a interview Q&A session. Link to full Jason Lim/ Helios Founder interview

Q: One leg of your tripod mission statement is to build a watch that buyers can “wear in the water.” What, in your experience, makes wearing a dive watch while diving so special? Along with that, why do we love dive watches so much?

A: Art and function seem to be two mutually exclusive things a lot of the time, so to be able to actually use a well-designed, beautiful object is really fulfilling. Being able to wear a watch underwater, to me, means that this thing that you’ve chosen as a reflection of your tastes really is capable of handling all aspects of your lifestyle.

I think the dive watch aesthetic is particularly compelling because its intended purpose directly drives its design — I hate to use a cliché but ‘form follows function’ really is the most succinct way to put it. Dive watch design also requires that certain functional elements be present — for instance, luminous material on the dial or hands, a rotating bezel, parts that screw down — giving the wearer a deeper level of interaction with the watch. Sport watch design is rife with a bunch of constraints, so when someone gets it right, the results really are exciting.“

Just bought a couple of Wolf products, another Meridian winder and a Meridian watch case, both half price this weekend with the code at the top of the page.

Anyway, great winders for your autos

Wolf winders

I love the durability and waterproof nature of a diver, but chronographs call loudest to me. I believe this is due to their complex orchestration of mechanics, and the simple fact that you can interact with them in a way that you cannot a diver,.. or most any other watch.

Vintage chronographs are the best in my book! Here's a 1960's Vulcain Chronograph powered by a Valjoux 7733.

jhe888, here ya go. Keep in mind I have small wrists. My wife and I have the same wrist size.



For additional size reference here is my 41.5mm Orient Mako II USA on a Steinhart adjustable mesh bracelet.

For me I always had a hard time picking among the three major categories (as I saw them) of watches: divers, chronographs, and GMTs. So rather than pick, over the years I acquired some of each.

I prefer "heavy duty" divers because of their robustness. 300m to 1000m especially, although I do have 200m rated ones too. And yes lume is very important.

With chronographs, I agree with r0gue, vintage is best. Most of what I own have Lemania movements and my biggest regret is the loss of a Valjoux self winding cal 72 number.

GMTs vary with complexity. I have one that shows 3 time zones, and two with but 2.


As an aside there are always pieces that don't fit these categories like highly attractive dress watches. Also simplistic Bauhaus styled numbers, many without second hands. And then there are the solar - radio synced - digital - resin cased multi - function watches. These all too have their place.

quote:

Originally posted by r0gue:
I love the durability and waterproof nature of a diver, but chronographs call loudest to me. I believe this is due to their complex orchestration of mechanics, and the simple fact that you can interact with them in a way that you cannot a diver,.. or most any other watch.

Vintage chronographs are the best in my book! Here's a 1960's Vulcain Chronograph powered by a Valjoux 7733.

What's the diameter on this?
I've seen them with surfboard dials also.

quote:

Originally posted by ScreamingCockatoo:
What's the diameter on this?
I've seen them with surfboard dials also.

37mm. It wore wonderfully. And that strap was superb. It was a Black Label from Crown & Buckle.

quote:

Originally posted by r0gue:
I love the durability and waterproof nature of a diver, but chronographs call loudest to me. I believe this is due to their complex orchestration of mechanics, and the simple fact that you can interact with them in a way that you cannot a diver,.. or most any other watch.

I, too, am partial to chronographs. I’ve got a half dozen, this being my latest pick-up, a Porsche Design. Came with a nice rubber strap, but I’m old school and much prefer a nice leather band over rubber and bracelets. I've had it about a month and the more I wear it, the better I like it.