MRC01
Major Contributor
I'm not a fan of the styles, or the prices! But a quartz watch that stores several days of energy without any battery or capacitor is unique. To me, that explains the "why bother".
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Watches! What do y'all have on your wrists?
- Thread starter NTomokawa
- Start date
MRC01
Major Contributor
Zelos Mako V3, bronze case & bezel. It's only a 40mm case but looks bigger, since my wrist is only 6.5".
Tatteredmidnight
Active Member
Vintage 40's or 50's Omega, owned by my great uncle.
Tatteredmidnight
Active Member
Tissot Powermatic 80
MRC01
Major Contributor
Great to see a fine old machine still ticking after 75 years... makes me wonder how many times it has been serviced.
Tatteredmidnight
Active Member
It spent a long time in a safety deposit box. It is engraved as a retirement gift from his employer. I probably spent the value of the watch on having it brought back to working condition, but you can't put a dollar amount on the family connection.
MRC01
Major Contributor
One thing I like about these old things is that they are serviceable. Built to last.
Cases are also ridiculously thick for the style and complications. A 5k+ dressy date-only watch that's 13+mm thick is a non-starter for me.
digitalfrost
Major Contributor
I agree. I started my watch career out with Seiko Divers, I have a lot of them, and I like them, but they are big-ass watches. In summer time on a nato or zulu strap, they are amazing.
But wear anything with long sleeves and the height becomes a problem. Also the weight is not for everyone once you're used to lighter mechanical watches.
I'd love to buy a GS, but what really drew to me Rolex in the first place was that they're still making 40mm watches (which is like a unique thing, I don't know why nobody does that anymore), that are also thin on top. I have a 16700. It's less than 12mm high, I believe 11.8mm or something like that. With a GMT movement no less. Sometimes I'm afraid I lost it because it's so light.
Spring Drive is something you have to see in real life, it's absolutely amazing how that second hand is just moving without any hiccup. You stare at it, thinking you might catch it at being jaggy but it never happens. It's just so smooth. I want that.
I really like the Seiko SGBE line, but at nearly 15mm height they're almost a cooking pot. I'd really like to buy a GS, but with the measurements they currently offer I can't justify the price. I know I won't wear it daily because of the size. 40mm with, 12mm height is perfect for me.
edit: Posts should have a picture
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MRC01
Major Contributor
I too prefer thin watches. However, it's hard to find a thin watch that is mechanical and waterproof to any decent level. The Seiko 5 I mentioned earlier is decently thin, and cheap, and reliable. But only waterproof to 30m. I've been freediving with it down to about 50' and it held up just fine. But I wouldn't go deeper or scuba with it.
I have a Panerai and a Patek from a similar sourceHere's my watch collection
Wym similar source?I have a Panerai and a Patek from a similar source
MRC01
Major Contributor
Is that the classic Seiko "Turtle"?
They are actually the divers prior to the turtle. Some people call these "Captain Willard" from the movie Apocalypse Now.
Here is the general timeline of when each of the Seiko Divers were released and how they were related.
MRC01
Major Contributor
Regarding the earlier discussion about mechanical vs. quartz accuracy...
While quartz watches are more precise / consistent than mechanical, it doesn't necessarily follow that they are more accurate, especially in the long term. IME, quartz watches drift +/- 0.5 sec / day and the best mechanicals can be adjusted to +/- 2 sec / day. But the quartz is much more consistent: every day it drifts the same amount and after a month it is going to be about 15 secs off (fast or slow). The mechanical is less consistent and actually varies day to dy within its daily error range, sometimes fast, sometimes slow. So after a month it is likely to be closer to the actual time than a quartz watch.
In this sense, the higher precision/consistency of quartz watches actually reduces their accuracy in the long term. One could say that mechanical watches are less precise, but more accurate.
While quartz watches are more precise / consistent than mechanical, it doesn't necessarily follow that they are more accurate, especially in the long term. IME, quartz watches drift +/- 0.5 sec / day and the best mechanicals can be adjusted to +/- 2 sec / day. But the quartz is much more consistent: every day it drifts the same amount and after a month it is going to be about 15 secs off (fast or slow). The mechanical is less consistent and actually varies day to dy within its daily error range, sometimes fast, sometimes slow. So after a month it is likely to be closer to the actual time than a quartz watch.
In this sense, the higher precision/consistency of quartz watches actually reduces their accuracy in the long term. One could say that mechanical watches are less precise, but more accurate.
I believe the grand seiko quartz movements are temperature compensating.
MRC01
Major Contributor
Perhaps, but their specification [spring drive] is +/- 15 secs per month. IME, that's the same real-world performance I see from any quartz, even cheap Casio/Timex models.
It's possible they outperform this specification. Certainly, most mechanical movements outperform their specifications when carefully adjusted. For example the Miyota 9015 spec is -10 / +30 / day. I have 2 watches with this movement and with careful adjustment their real-world performance is +3 / -1 per day.
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