Watches! What do y'all have on your wrists?

[MRC01]

Mechanical watches seem more green/sustainable than quartz or electronic, as they do not have any battery and they last forever when properly maintained. I have a Ball pocketwatch that is nearly 100 years old and still keeps perfect time.

 

[rdenney]

Rick “yes, this is real, much to my surprise” Denney

 

[MarkS]

Been wearing this one a lot lately ...

 

[MrOtto]

I bought a used Tissot PR100 Automatic, COSC chronometer certified, with 80 hr power reserve. A Tissot modified ETA 2824-2 caliber; C07.111: https://calibercorner.com/tissot-caliber-powermatic-80/ with hacking and manual winding option.

I really like the finish, and the machining and the shape of the case making it highly comfortable to wear, it's rounded on the exact right places and wonderful to touch. I wear it about 8 hours a day and the rest it's kept dial up, no winder, and it hasn't stopped yet for the three weeks I have used it. I wind it 4-5 turns before I store it. It runs 3-6 second slow each day.

I have four automatic Seikos, but these doesn't feel as nice as this Tissot, in finish, feel or accuracy. 39 mm diameter case, and 10.5 mm tall, looks bigger in the pictures, but the size is nice for everyday wearing, doens't bump or catch into things as easlity as a diver's watch.

Looking to buy a Tudor Black-bay 41 or 58 next. Maybe a Seiko alpinist with 6R35 caliber.

 

[Tks]

Thoughts on the biggest watch release of the year and arguably in recent memory? (Objective fact given the consumer interest being through the roof)

 

[Trouble Maker]

I honestly haven't read or don't know enough to comment in detail, but this doesn't seem great.

Man Gives Honest Feedback On Omega-Swatch Watch, Says Collab Is Cool But Underwhelming

A man gives honest feedback on his Omega-Swatch watch, saying that the collab is cool but underwhelming and not worth the price.

mustsharenews.com

I've been enamored with the Swatch Sistem51 line off and on, I think there are many watches' I'd prefer there for these kinds of prices.

 

[rdenney]

My thought on the Moonswatch is that I will probably get one eventually, but only after the current foolish madness has died down. I've seen them priced at multiples of retail, which is nuts--my understanding is that Swatch will not be limiting production on this watch.

It's sort-of a fun exercise in branding--the current insanity illustrates the power of branding versus intrinsic features.

I bought one of the very first Sistem 51 Swatches that was in the U.S., simply by getting one in Geneva when I was there at the fortuitous time. That watch has actually been quite tough and reliable, even though it is clearly unserviceable and disposable. I use it for working out because it is light and the impacts of running don't wear holes in my wrist. And I don't mind if it gets sweaty.

Rick "any color that looks like what it is, and not what it's trying to be" Denney

 

[Eggs Ackley]

I'm actually wearing a stupid Fitbit while this one sits in a drawer.

 

[Trouble Maker]

I bought one of the very first Sistem 51 Swatches

Which one do you have?

For Swatch collabs this one is way cooler to me.

Swatch X MoMA watches | Swatch® USA

Discover the Swatch X MoMA special edition designs inspired by art masterpieces from The Museum of Modern Art in New York.

www.swatch.com

 

[raistlin65]

Gen Z is expected to account for 70% of the luxury watch market by 2025 and they want their brands to reflect values of inclusivity and the planet, and purpose over profit.

I appreciate the positive thinking they have.

But I suspect Gen Z will never be a big buyer of luxury watches like previous generations. They're too used to having a phone in their pocket to check the time.

So sure. It could become stylish to wear a nice watch at some point for that generation. But the main hook into wearing watches, the need to have one to check the time, is not something they've grown up with.

 

[linear diver]

I have been 'into' watches for 30 years. This is my favorite. It has run for 20 years without service! Most fine mechanical watches need to be serviced every 2-5 years or they stop running. I have heard that the NASA watches run without lubrication in space.

 

[Frank Dernie]

I have been 'into' watches for 30 years. This is my favorite. It has run for 20 years without service! Most fine mechanical watches need to be serviced every 2-5 years or they stop running. I have heard that the NASA watches run without lubrication in space.

View attachment 196495View attachment 196497View attachment 196496

My Dad bought me one for my 21st birthday in 1971, though it is the “racing” model with red hands. It was my every day watch for many years though I had to replace the original bracelet which was of poor quality and wore out (but rare and valuable today )
I have had it serviced once and it still works fine.
It is pre-moon watch badges and it turns out to be too rare and valuable to wear any more.

 

[rdenney]

Which one do you have?

For Swatch collabs this one is way cooler to me.

Swatch X MoMA watches | Swatch® USA

Discover the Swatch X MoMA special edition designs inspired by art masterpieces from The Museum of Modern Art in New York.

www.swatch.com

The blue one from the first year.

Rick "bought exactly 8 years ago" Denney

 

[rdenney]

I have been 'into' watches for 30 years. This is my favorite. It has run for 20 years without service! Most fine mechanical watches need to be serviced every 2-5 years or they stop running. I have heard that the NASA watches run without lubrication in space.

View attachment 196495View attachment 196497View attachment 196496

The Lemania movement in the Speedmaster is a solid design but it's no more likely to run without service than any other competent movement. Or, put another way, if it's run without service long enough, it will suffer the same wear patterns as any other competent movement. The movement itself is the Omega 1861, aka Lemania 1872 or something like that. It's the hand-wind base movement for the automatic Omega 1040/Lemania 1340 which is the base movement for a range of downstream movements used by many brands, including the Ebel 137, the Ulysse Nardin 150, and the Breguet 582 (allowing for variants in these cases--Ebel used its own bidirectional winding design, UN replaced the balance cock with a full balance bridge, and Breguet added a flyback capability in addition to using Ebel's winding design).

My mid-90's Heuer Carrera 1962 Re-Edition uses the same handwind Lemania movement as the Speedmaster (albeit the Speedmaster you pictured shows nicer hand-finishing):

The jewels, pins, gear wheels, pallets, and springs are the same as any other good movement, and no less subject to wear.

Rick "get it serviced" Denney

 

[617]

Thoughts on the biggest watch release of the year and arguably in recent memory? (Objective fact given the consumer interest being through the roof)

I don't really care about swatches, I know everyone has an opinion about these but I'd rather just get a real one or any number of other fun chronos (Farer makes some colorful ones I think).

Watches + Wonders is happening right now, the best release I've seen so far is the Vacheron Constantin Historiques 222 reissue:

New on left, old on right. Note they kept the 37mm size. 8mm thick (1mm more than original).

 

[Trouble Maker]

The blue one from the first year.

Rick "bought exactly 8 years ago" Denney

Love it!!

 

[Frank Dernie]

The Lemania movement in the Speedmaster is a solid design but it's no more likely to run without service than any other competent movement. Or, put another way, if it's run without service long enough, it will suffer the same wear patterns as any other competent movement. The movement itself is the Omega 1861, aka Lemania 1872 or something like that. It's the hand-wind base movement for the automatic Omega 1040/Lemania 1340 which is the base movement for a range of downstream movements used by many brands, including the Ebel 137, the Ulysse Nardin 150, and the Breguet 582 (allowing for variants in these cases--Ebel used its own bidirectional winding design, UN replaced the balance cock with a full balance bridge, and Breguet added a flyback capability in addition to using Ebel's winding design).

My mid-90's Heuer Carrera 1962 Re-Edition uses the same handwind Lemania movement as the Speedmaster (albeit the Speedmaster you pictured shows nicer hand-finishing):

The jewels, pins, gear wheels, pallets, and springs are the same as any other good movement, and no less subject to wear.

Rick "get it serviced" Denney

Mine has the 321 column wheel movement as tested by NASA for use by astronauts. The 861 and 1861 movements came later but I am sure account for the vast majority of Speedmaster professionals.
Did the watch continue to be certified after the movement got changed?
As you write all watches need regular CLA to avoid excess wear.

 

[SKBubba]

Rolex Oyster Perpetual Datejust in stainless. It was given to me in 1983 by a former employer at the completion of a major project. Haven't worn it in 20+ years. Was in a sock drawer for the longest time, now it's in our safe deposit box along with an identical lady's version I got for my wife.

 

[rdenney]

Mine has the 321 column wheel movement as tested by NASA for use by astronauts. The 861 and 1861 movements came later but I am sure account for the vast majority of Speedmaster professionals.
Did the watch continue to be certified after the movement got changed?
As you write all watches need regular CLA to avoid excess wear.

As far as I know, yes.

Frank, you opened a vein

The 321 is the Lemania 27CHRO, and the only real difference between that movement and the 861/1861 (Lemania 1872 designation) is the column-wheel actuation. Most of the other parts are identical, including the clutch cock, the balance assortment, and so on. Column-wheel actuation can be really lovely, but the rocking cam used in the 1872 is robust and reliable, and the pusher action is really quite good.

Here's where I go off the rails--skip unless you want to go off the rails with me. I have a ridiculous number of chronographs, including several that use column-wheel designs (such as the couple of Zenith movements--3019PHC, aka cal. 400--at the top end, and a Seagull ST-19 modern version of the Venus 175 at the cheap end). Some are modular, using either ETA or Dubois-Depraz modules on ETA 2892 base movements that are also column-wheel actuated, and that use a vertical clutch. I have several variations of the Valjoux 7750, which is cam-actuated but uses a rocking-pinion clutch instead of the classic lateral clutch the Zenith uses. I have a bunch of Ebel 137's and variants from the simple 137 chronograph all the way to the 240 perpetual-calendar chronograph that use the rocking cam and lateral clutches. I even have a Concord watch with a La Joux Perret 8286, which is a dual-timezone column-wheel conversion of a 7750. And the 1872 in the Heuer pictured above, plus a really ugly Poljot 3133 ripoff of a handwind Valjoux 7733.

I find the usual generalizations tend not to hold up well. A Movado Datron in my collection uses a 2894 modular movement and the pushers are very notchy. My Heuer Monaco uses a 2892 base movement and a Dubois-Depraz module and the pushers are lovely. My recent Ebel Discovery with the 2894 is smooth as silk. The Heuer Carrera Re-Edition and all the Ebel 137 variants are easily as nice as my Zenith-powered watches in terms of pusher action. The 7750's are all over the map in terms of pusher action, ranging from notchy to lovely. The only watches I've ever handled that had smoother pusher action than the better cam-actuated examples in my collection are at the very high end--Frederic Piguet 1185, the Roger Dubuis Easy Diver Chronograph (which I think is built on a Lemania base), Patek Philippe, Audemars-Piguet, Richard Mille--all at stratospheric prices and often based on Dubois-Depraz modules.

Rick "the 861-powered Speedies actually predate the Moon landing by a year" Denney

 

[Lambda]

Casio F-91W - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org