Poor man's watch thread

[tarunds]

As a fan of Grand Seiko I certainly would choose the Tudor. That is not the model from Grand Seiko to go for, in my opinion.

Could you recommend a watch as a first luxury watch from GS?
I just saw their website and most watches were around 5000£ mark and then started wondering if one shud rather go for Rolex OP or Omega AT for this price.
I have no idea about GS or their movements Spring drive or the regular one. I also see they offer quartz options.
Kindly enlighten if possible

 

[tarunds]

Of the watches you listed, I'd probably go for the Tudor BB36 or the Grand Seiko (the Breitling would be my third choice).

Both the Tudor and the GS will have pretty great quality. I like the more toolish/sporty look of the Tudor but if you want something a little dressier, it's hard to go wrong with the Grand Seiko. If you haven't yet tried on or handled the Grand Seiko in person, I'd highly recommend doing so. They look pretty good in Seiko's marketing photos but most of them are 10x better looking in person. Seiko really needs to invest in some nicer photography!

Thats a good advice. Any particular models u suggest?

 

[javyn]

One of the few quartz watches in my collection. View attachment 2092161

Very nice. I'll take a high frequency Bulova chrono over a Citizen Eco any day.

Got a very nice Xmas bonus and went watch shopping for either a Sinn or Tudor BB. Realized, no point really since I only want to wear my Seiko Baby Turtle like 90% of the time so instead I treated myself to a much cheaper gift, Strapcode Endmill oyster bracelet for the Turtle. Will post pics once I get off ****** and install it.

 

[Genericuser1]

 

[New Shoes1]

Very nice. I'll take a high frequency Bulova chrono over a Citizen Eco any day.

Got a very nice Xmas bonus and went watch shopping for either a Sinn or Tudor BB. Realized, no point really since I only want to wear my Seiko Baby Turtle like 90% of the time so instead I treated myself to a much cheaper gift, Strapcode Endmill oyster bracelet for the Turtle. Will post pics once I get off ****** and install it.

Let me know how that goes. I ordered a strapcode bracelet for my Seiko MM Reduced and the end links simply don't fit the watch. Saw online that this is a common complaint for Strapcode bracelets with Strapcode claiming it's Seiko's fault for not having strict manufacturing tolerances.

 

[New Shoes1]

Could you recommend a watch as a first luxury watch from GS?
I just saw their website and most watches were around 5000£ mark and then started wondering if one shud rather go for Rolex OP or Omega AT for this price.
I have no idea about GS or their movements Spring drive or the regular one. I also see they offer quartz options.
Kindly enlighten if possible

The secondhand market is flooded with older Aqua Terra's, and you can pick up a nice 8500 or 8900 model for $3,800 - $4,400. I'd much rather have that than the Tudor.

Regarding Grand Seiko, I like the watches in theory but have never viewed one that I simply had to have.

 

[javyn]

Let me know how that goes. I ordered a strapcode bracelet for my Seiko MM Reduced and the end links simply don't fit the watch. Saw online that this is a common complaint for Strapcode bracelets with Strapcode claiming it's Seiko's fault for not having strict manufacturing tolerances.

Well, that's comforting LOL. Only negative comments I've seen on the Mini Turtle Strapcode bracelets specifically is that the end links leave an ever-so slight gap from the case (that's hardly noticeable) so maybe that's them taking the lack of tolerances into account. I'll know tonight when I put it on.

 

[Michigan Planner]

Thats a good advice. Any particular models u suggest?

GS has some gorgeous watches. I know it may get frowned upon but I like their quartz movements - it's a grab-and-go option especially if you're not wearing it every day. That way you don't need to constantly worry about re-setting the time.

If you must have automatic, their hi-beat watches are pretty reliable. I like the SBGJ217 and 219 hi-beat, but I think they retail for around $6.5k (USD) now. The SBGM221 is a very nice watch (and about $2k less than the hi-beat), but it's 39.5mm so may be outside of your comfort zone. I think the extra indices for the GMT function add a little bit of visual interest and balance out the otherwise sparse watch faces that a lot of the current GS watches have (I have a slight preference for the older Grand Seikos that also have "SEIKO" on the dial along with the "GS" logo).

Grand Seiko has really expanded their line considerably in the past 5+ years so it gets confusing trying to remember what their currently offering and at what sizes and with what movements.

The secondhand market is flooded with older Aqua Terra's, and you can pick up a nice 8500 or 8900 model for $3,800 - $4,400. I'd much rather have that than the Tudor.

Regarding Grand Seiko, I like the watches in theory but have never viewed one that I simply had to have.

I like the Aqua Terra suggestion from @New Shoes1 as well. I see on the Omega site that retail for a steel 38mm (if that isn't too big for the OP) is around ~$6k (USD) for a caliber 8800 but I imagine you can find them at a better price from some AD or a grey market seller, or even better if you're willing to go 2nd hand.

I've had my eye on the AT lately and if a big promotion comes through next year, I may treat myself. To me, the problem with the Omegas is that there are so many different variations that it's hard to narrow it down to which one I'd really want. Every time I think I've made up my mind, I see a picture of one of the other ones that makes me second guess myself.

If I were to get an AT today, I think it would be one of these:

 

[Jazzmenco]

Deep Blue - great bang for your buck.

 

[Jazzmenco]

No more watch buying, but if anyone needs a gift idea for me........

 

[Veremund]

[Recommendation Request] Everyday Watch around £3000

I am no watch collector but would like to have a nice everyday watch to wear at work. As am fairly new to this and am keeping a budget of 3k +/- 5%. I have a small wrist so feel 36-39mm size options would be ideal.
Happy to take advice or some options!

Tudor Black Bay 54 for sure. I’ve been lusting after that one.

 

[DorianGreen]

Could you recommend a watch as a first luxury watch from GS?
I just saw their website and most watches were around 5000£ mark and then started wondering if one shud rather go for Rolex OP or Omega AT for this price.
I have no idea about GS or their movements Spring drive or the regular one. I also see they offer quartz options.
Kindly enlighten if possible

I love these models, for example, SBGW231 and SBGW283, strictly mechanical. They may retail at prices slightly higher than your budget, but the most resellers will probably give you a discount.

 

[GuyLab]

Sorry if this is the wrong thread, bit of a newbie question, last week I dropped my orient kamasu on the floor, probably from 1 meter or so, it didn't fall directly on the crystal but on the bracelet. Everything seemed to run fine, though a week later I noticed that instead of running generally faster (around a minute ahead every two weeks), I noticed it's about a minute late. Should I worry?

 

[javyn]

Sorry if this is the wrong thread, bit of a newbie question, last week I dropped my orient kamasu on the floor, probably from 1 meter or so, it didn't fall directly on the crystal but on the bracelet. Everything seemed to run fine, though a week later I noticed that instead of running generally faster (around a minute ahead every two weeks), I noticed it's about a minute late. Should I worry?

Could have a bent hair spring. May need to get it serviced if it continues to get worse.

edit: If you do need to have it serviced, I wouldn't spend more than around $100 to fix a Seiko/Citizen (auto)/Orient

 

[javyn]

Got my Strapcode installed. Fits perfectly but man, not fun to put on. I fiddled getting those end links in there for about 20 minutes.