Watch Thread

Discussion in 'Geek Cave: Computers, Tablets, HT, Phones, Games' started by Shem, Sep 28, 2015.

  1. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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    I’ve never had a Swatch before and I came close to getting a Sistem 51 or Omega x Swatch Speedmaster. But instead blue NASA watch

    56AF70A6-D1DA-43F9-A0A5-D697B4FBAA28.jpeg
    F72CC20F-0B9A-4525-84B2-B5D616C90574.jpeg

    Sadly I wear watches a lot less these days due to cubital/carpal tunnel issues. Wearing anything on my wrist aggravates it and I get tingling or numbness. I’ve tried wearing watches much looser but it seems like I just need to keep it off completely until it improves substantially
     
  2. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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    The indiglo backlighting for me meant it was THE watch to get as a kid. One of my favorite watches ever was the Timex Datalink which could be thought of as the first smartwatch. There was no Bluetooth or USB at the time but it had a built-in optical sensor that could read a pattern on a CRT monitor with included software that allowed me to save phone numbers and some other info
     
  3. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

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    I seem to remember wanting that at some time when I was very much not a kid!

    Old-fashioned luminous hands and numbers. Did that ever work for anybody? I never had a watch I could see in the dark for long. But then, I only ever had low-cost watches. But wouldn't the paint/technology have been the same on expensive watches? What about the watches that were made for pilots, divers.etc?

    Self-winding, and later, solar power, are other things I fancied. The latter is not that expensive now. Here's a story. I'd bought a modest-cost (maybe around 100 GBP) watch in London for my wife. A couple of years later she included with several others to go to the shop for new batteries.

    They said, "We can replace the battery in this, but it is very expensive. You do realise it's solar charged? If you haven't worn it for a while, you probably only need to leave it in light for a few hours." Bingo. She didn't know and I'd forgotten :rolleyes:.
     
    Last edited: May 15, 2022
  4. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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    Best luminosity I had for a watch was my TAG Heuer. It really seems to glow longer with higher valued watches.

    There’s one watch company that makes super high luminosity watches with T100 rated tritium

    AAF39183-A06A-45C0-8526-6E641A4774A2.jpeg

    They did do a collaboration with Massdrop awhile back but it seems like only the original watches are available now which are $500. I kinda wish I got the Massdrop one
     
  5. Kernel Kurtz

    Kernel Kurtz Friend

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    I would like a watch with a tritium light source, but with a half-life around 12 years the longevity of such things is limited unless they can be refurbished. I have some firearm sights that use it, and they can sit in the dark safe for years, but you take them out and there they are still glowing. At some point they lose enough luminosity that they have to be replaced though. This is almost the definition of built in obsolescence.

    I understand tritium used to be common for watches, but over time it has largely been replaced by materials that are not radioactive and require "charging" by exposure to outside light sources. On the bright side (no pun intended), they will last much longer. Not nearly as cool as something that just glows all the time though.

    https://wornandwound.com/seeing-in-the-dark-luminescence-in-watches/
     
  6. Deep Funk

    Deep Funk Deep thoughts - Friend

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    Seiko and Citizen dive watches generally have the best loom.

    Otherwise get a G-Shock with tough solar and a light function. Even the Casio AE-1200 with its light button is so convenient and legible.

    I do not understand how the more expensive non-Japanese (read Swiss in general) field and dive watches sometimes have disappointing loom. Even the cheap Seiko SNK-809 beats more expensive watches than you think.
     
  7. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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    That's good to know. For military and first responders this seems like a good application but I wouldn't want to get one now knowing the luminosity only last a few years.
     
  8. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

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  9. Boops

    Boops Friend

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    In case anyone here has not encountered this, here is an incredible blog post detailing how all aspects of mechanical watches work with little animated models of all the various parts of the movement you can play with in real time.

    https://ciechanow.ski/mechanical-watch/

    This is just one of many examples:

    Screen Shot 2022-05-17 at 9.53.01 AM.png
     
  10. Deep Funk

    Deep Funk Deep thoughts - Friend

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    I recently lost my tough Steinhart in a traffic accident. You know, emergency stop, fall, slide and then adrenaline kicks in. (It happens when you move on two wheels.)

    Well somehow my Steinhart flew off my wrist and it is gone. Someone must have found it. That thing is tough German precision. It is what it is.

    I was hunting for a new beater and I decided on a version of this. I detest the SKX for that 7S26 movement and yes I can get the Islander version. Thing is, my budget is tight and a lightly used Seiko 5 Sports for way less than retail is still good value for money. For a tough enough daily beater with a mechanical soul (yes I am a romantic watch lover) the new series of Seiko 5 are actually a good option. (Seiko, that 7S26 movement for so many decades was just a deal-breaker.)

    [​IMG]
     
  11. Arun Kumar

    Arun Kumar Friend

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    My funky casioak + my hairy arm
    IMG_20220612_123549.jpg
     
  12. penguins

    penguins Friend, formerly known as fp627

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    Always wondered what would happen if there was a tritium leak in a watch too and if it's even preventable. Feel like a sight isn't as big of a deal given that it seems like less tritium and the (sapphire?) vials are enclosed in steel vs I imagine there is more on a watch dial and anything that could break the face would probably damage whatever small part containing the tritium too.

    On a different note - I noticed that used Rolex prices are coming down from the stratosphere and the used market is finally cooling off recently... for those of you who have been into watches longer or are older than me - were a bunch of watches unloaded at reasonable prices in 2008-2010 and/or did dealers suddenly have a lot more room to work on pricing?
     
    Last edited: Jun 13, 2022
  13. fastfwd

    fastfwd Friend

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    Doesn't really seem like a health hazard: The volume of gas in the tritium vials is tiny, the radiated beta particles are too low-energy to penetrate skin, and if it's inhaled it gets excreted pretty quickly (biological half-life of a week or two, according to Wikipedia).
     
  14. penguins

    penguins Friend, formerly known as fp627

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    ^ Agreed, looked it up and saw the above before I purchased anything with tritium. Mostly the small amount of beta (instead of gamma) radiation part + it's only supposed to be a tiny amount of gas negated initial concerns.

    But every tritium product I've ever seen / handled had multiple warnings to return to mfg only for repairs because special handling is required, we are regulated by blah blah blah so you must deal with us and we will cover your costs (i.e. not mfg cash grab), etc. - made me wonder if there was more to it that I wasn't aware of. Or it's just over-regulation where it's not needed or customers were doing dumb stuff before, etc.

    Anyways, back to watches - starting to see the occasional good deal pop up on a few Grand Seikos... problem is they've been coming out with so many "good designs" lately vs I was never a huge fan of most of their designs before that I'm wondering if I should just wait...
     
  15. Kernel Kurtz

    Kernel Kurtz Friend

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    Doesn't everything in CA have a warning label on it?
     
  16. HeadFoneDude64

    HeadFoneDude64 Facebook Friend

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    I might, just might, be snagging a couple of watches late July, early August. Kinda stoked as one would be my first high end watch (at least, it' high end to me). In the local watch forum I go to, they have Audemar Piguet and Patek Philippe (amongst others), so I can't say the watch I might be getting is 'high end' per se.
     
  17. penguins

    penguins Friend, formerly known as fp627

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    ^ If prices continue to trend slightly downward then yes, late summer / early fall would be a good time to pick up some pre-owned. Thinking of getting 1 or 2 myself.
     
  18. Deep Funk

    Deep Funk Deep thoughts - Friend

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    If you want to be the most discrete yet tasteful of the bunch, get a Rolex Sea Dweller (pre-cyclops) or Tudor Pelagos. If I had the means, one of those it would be in black and steel, simple nato and keep it under the sleeve.

    The understated tool watch which can join you for every adventure in life, is in a class of its own. Even Cartier Tanks can be quite durable apparently.
     
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  19. Deep Funk

    Deep Funk Deep thoughts - Friend

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    If you want to stand out, this is a fun way of doing so.

     
  20. fraggler

    fraggler A Happy & Busy Life

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