Topic: Any Wrist Watch Advice?

[Dexer]

Seems like an odd topic for a guy wearing Rolex Daytona.

And I wear the Daytona all day everyday but sometimes it seems rather inappropriate because the watch is worth more than my car and it's had a rough life. I don't think I really need to be wearing this thing when I'm painting the house or working on the Triumph.

My mother is looking for something to buy me for my birthday (still months away) and I'm thinking a moderately rugged, cheap "everyday wear" watch might be a good idea. Something under $200...even Casio and Timex are fine. Or something slightly "upscale" like a Luminox or Swiss Army style watch.

Here's what I'm looking for: Something with a rugged, outdoors sort of look...a military or "triathalon" style. All I really need is to read the time. Having the date display is a bonus. Any other features are OK but not required.I don't want it to have a metal link or expansion band. I have small wrists (laugh if you want) and the metal bands often require an uncomfortable amount of adjustment. A nylon web, rubber or resin watch band would be fine.

Any suggestions will be taken under consideration.

[EV Dan]

Talking about budget watches I always had good luck with Seiko/Pulsar but never with Casio, from the first digital ones and on. I also always have to adjust the band, but links are easy to remove nowadays. I like watches Seiko makes because I can always find something thin and light so the shirts' sleeves fit over it. I'd suggest you to stop by at Costco if you got them around as their prices are generally lower than the market's and returns are easy.

[No H2O]

Get a Casio that you never have to set.

[Ex-airbalancer]

I find no need to have watch
Just need to check my phone for the time

[PJungnitsch]

Timex expeditions have been good basic watches for me. Ebay has them at around 1/2 the price usually. Also a very good place to get straps.

[Dexer]

Just need to check my phone for the time

I don't own a cell phone and never will. In fact, I've never held a cell phone.

My time (no pun intended) is my own. If people want to get a hold of me, they can wait until I arrive home and I take calls on my land line between 7:00PM and 9:00PM.

Anyway, I was out looking and there some pretty decent stuff. This fits the bill but it looks like there are lots of possibilities:

http://www.timex.ca/EXPEDITION-Rugged-Field-SK49778-P528C165.aspx?l=e


NOTE: I was just about to post the above message when I see PJungnitsch mentioned the Timex Expedition.

[Jaeger]

I can't help with under $200, but the watched below are all waaaaaaaaaaay less money than your Daytona, but waaaaaaaay nicer than the near-disposable plastic junk you will find in quantity at your local department store:













Jaeger

[safristi]

Jaegermeister...those are indeed nice time pieces...$$$ or $$$$$ ?...
 when i used to wear a watch......many moons ago,i found some Seiko models to be, as was said slim and attractive and bulletproof.....NOW My TIME is valuable.................so i wait for the moon to rise before howling.......my Dad's gold Omega sits in the bank .....shame eh!...should take it out for special occassions..is it suppertime yet!!! and are the pubs open... ........

  I'm no COLLECTOR  but if i had to chose....I think it would be old golf clubs #1 and Watches #2............any cutey wanna come up and see my empty beer bottle collection......

[Dexer]

I owned a really, really nice self-winding Seiko in the late 1970's. It was my first real watch.

Unfortunately, it was the victim of a work-related accident in which I hit it full on the face with a ball peen hammer.

[Jaeger]

Jaegermeister...those are indeed nice time pieces...$$$ or $$$$$ ?...

$500 to $1,500 - very roughly.  Not cheap, but a small fraction of the price of a Daytona. And these are all mechanical timepieces - not quartz or electronic.

Jaeger

[tpl]

Jaegermeister...those are indeed nice time pieces...$$$ or $$$$$ ?...

$500 to $1,500 - very roughly.  Not cheap, but a small fraction of the price of a Daytona. And these are all mechanical timepieces - not quartz or electronic.

Jaeger

Unless one is buying a watch as jewelry. I.e a famous brand in solid gold.  Or one is intending to go exploring for years at a time in the deep boonies why would one have a mechanical watch nowadays?

Inquiring minds...

I have a 10 year old plastic Timex that can be set from a PC.  Gets 3 years on a battery too.

[dr_spock]

Casio is good.  I have a 30 years-old Casio. 

 

[Dexer]

Unless one is buying a watch as jewelry. I.e a famous brand in solid gold.  Or one is intending to go exploring for years at a time in the deep boonies why would one have a mechanical watch nowadays?

I have a 10 year old plastic Timex that can be set from a PC.  Gets 3 years on a battery too.

I entirely agree. A mechanical watch is a cool affectation but, from a practical time-keeping point of view, you can't really defend it.

Back about 1980, I just had a thing in my mind that I wanted a Rolex. Just a stupid, inexplicable idea that worked it's way into the mind of a 22 year old. What follows is a tale of stupid, dumb luck.

I didn't have a lot of money...so I had no real business buying a Rolex. But I went to the Rolex dealer in Winnipeg (Breslauer and Warren at that time) and looked through the catalogue. I basically ordered the CHEAPEST Rolex I could afford! Incredibly, because it was not a self-winding watch, the Daytona was not very popular at the time and it could be had for less than $1000.00. Everybody wanted the self-winding "Perpetuals". So I had to "settle" for the lowly model 6263 Oyster Daytona Cosmograph.

Somewhere along the line (it's a long story), the Daytona became sought after and they were snapped up by dealers and collectors.

And this poor boy who saved for a cheap Rolex ended up with this (the watch in the link is identical to mine except for the "Tiffany" on the dail, a stainless steel 6263):


http://www.hodinkee.com/blog/2008/9/12/rolex-daytona-6263-signed-tiffany-co.html


Here's another link to a 6263...without the Tiffany signature so it's identical to mine:

http://www.chrononet.com/product/685/ROLEX_DAYTONA_6263_S/S_COSMOGRAPH!_RARE!_PAPERS

[Jaeger]

Unless one is buying a watch as jewelry. I.e a famous brand in solid gold.  Or one is intending to go exploring for years at a time in the deep boonies why would one have a mechanical watch nowadays?

A nod to tradition. Some prefer the idea of a small machine with actual gears, levers and springs to quartz crystal or a computer chip.  Mechanical watches are to watch enthusiasts what electric cars are to car enthusiasts.

The movement is this watch is considerably older than I am, yet both looks beautiful and runs impeccably.  I'd prefer this little machine on my wrist to anything that runs on a battery:



And you don't have to spend mega-thousands to own and enjoy a quality mechanical timepiece.  Though you certainly can.  I have a friend who owns a $125,000 Patek and drives an 8 year old Audi.

A greay many things that some enjoy can be condescendingly dismissed as an "affectation" by those who don't have an appreciation for the subject.  Why buy a $150 bottle of single malt when a $25 blend is "just as good".  Or a fine bottle of wine, or a quality cigar, or a car with a manual transmission, or.... whatever your personal affectation might be.

Obviously a mechanical watch isn;t the choice of those who just want a watch to tell the time.  A cell phone can do that and a great deal more.  My daughter routinely gets perfectly usable digital watches as the "toy surprise" in her happy meal.  Can't beat free, right?  So why spend any wmoney on a watch at all? But the OP owns a Rolex Daytona - and iconic mechanical chronograph - so I figured that he would understand this affectation even if others do not.

Jaeger

[tpl]

Jaeger and Dexer. Ok   I see the point of a beautiful machine.

  Do you treat it like a chronograph should be treated.  By which I mean:  Always winding it after the same number of hours ( whether that is once a day or once a week) Winding the same number of turns to keep the spring in the same range.  Have it calibrated every few years.  All this to keep the mechanism accurate in case you ever need to navigate across oceans.  Which is what chronographs were designed to do.

[Dexer]

Jaeger and Dexer. Ok   I see the point of a beautiful machine.

  Do you treat it like a chronograph should be treated.  By which I mean:  Always winding it after the same number of hours ( whether that is once a day or once a week) Winding the same number of turns to keep the spring in the same range.  Have it calibrated every few years.  All this to keep the mechanism accurate in case you ever need to navigate across oceans.  Which is what chronographs were designed to do.

I wind it 18 turns every morning.

It had a major overhaul about three years ago. The jeweler had it for about 4 months and it cost around $600.00 for servicing!

It really is a bit ridiculous. And at least a few times a year, I lose track of my winding count and the watch stops so I have to reset it...not exactly a big effort but an anachronism in the age of battery power.

In a way, I would liken it to my Triumph. If you look at the specs of a Mazda Miata and the Triumph TR250, they are virtually identical cars. Weight, wheelbase, horsepower...you can barely tell them apart based on the mechanical specifications. The thing is: the Mazda is 10 times easier to operate but the Triumph is 10 times cooler .

[kard00d]

Watches are for pansies.    I tell time by smelling sea gull poop.  As long as I know the surface pressure and RH, I'm good to go.   I refuse to be shackled!

[rrocket]

I also have a Rolex that I've been restoring (Pre-Daytona) that I'm started to get scared to wear.  I have no idea what it's worth, but would imagine it's getting up there.  I think if I knew they real value, I'd lock it away and that would see like a crime.  Anyways...I watch that I like without breaking the bank, good looks, reliable and a 10 year warranty and all under $200 is Guess watches.  I know..seems odd.  But their stuff is quality.  I have one 20+ years old.  And another 10+.  Never a worry.  A great everyday watch.  Their sport line has exactly what you're looking for.

Another quality watch without spending too much bread is Nixon.  I had one of their Rotolog Teak watches.  Was stunning and ALWAYS got noticed and complimented when I wore it.  Probably moreso than any watch I've owned.  That seems to be the case with Nixons.  Some of them are a bit odd, but in a classy, chic way.  Most of them are around $200.  Would highly recommend them, as well.  LOOOVE their new Magnacon SS watch!

Also, scan the classified ads (Kijiji).  I picked up a $1200 Tissot T-Touch Danica Patrick Ltd. Edition for next to nothing.  GiantDwarf picked it up for me.  Was as new and is a stunning watch.  The T-Touch are VERY cool.

http://www.guesswatches.com
http://www.nixonnow.com/

[CanuckS2K]

It may be a little over your budget, but I've got a Tissot PRS200 and I absolutely love it. 

[rrocket]

Top notch Tissot!!  Love them!!

This is IQs Tissot I got on Kijiji.  Face is mother of pearl, with diamonds at the hours.