The Watch Appreciation Thread (Reviews and Photos of Men's Timepieces by Rolex, Patek Philippe, Brei

[Keith T]

@ aleksandr: curious if you bought anything, or strictly doing recon?

 

[Cant kill da Rooster]



Zenith reminds me of an owl. Subdials too close to center for me personally.

^ Indeed, it does:

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

I have yet to see a way to make a chronograph movement with a too-large case and dial look good. No matter how how they try to disguise it, it just doesn't work.

Not that there's anything wrong with owls.

I personally don't think the sub-dials look too owlish on the Zenith. Certainly no Montblanc.

For that style of dress chrono, I'd recommend a Junghans Max Bill chronoscope.

The 7750 movement is not exactly an El Primero, but you get a lot of watch for the money.

The dial aside and I do like that dial, an 11mm thickness on a chrono must impress. No?

The Elite looks nice.

 

[Keith T]

Agreed.

Thin = good

At least in my book.

 

[BostonHedonist]

Office mates.

 

[aleksandr]



@ aleksandr: curious if you bought anything, or strictly doing recon?

Nope, strictly recon. Vintage pieces don't really appeal to me, more recent pieces were somewhat pricey.

There was a pretty decent 16613 (which is probably next on my kop list) at $7,300, which vaguely tempted me though pricing wasn't fantastic, but decided not to risk the wrath of mrs aleksandr with yet another unannounced unauthorised purchase.

 

[ShawnBC]

Both the Lamy 2000 and the Speedy are on my wish list. That Visconti ain't too shabby either!

@BostonHedonist How do you like the Lamy 2000? I'm currently using a Lamy Safari and Pilot Metropolitan. There's so much choice that becomes available when you're ready to drop 100-200$ on a FP!

EDIT* just noticed it's not a FP but a ballpoint.

 

[Belligero]



As for OQs, its was probably the most over engineered and well built Rolex in its day, even with a quartz movement.  

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

It had advances that took decades to make it into Daytonas, Subs and GMTs.  It was the first steel Rolex to have a sapphire synthetic crystal, the first steel Rolex to use solid links for its bracelets, it was more antimagnetic than a Milgauss , and it even those it was a quartz it used an 11 jewel movement  IIRC it was water resistant to 100m when most were water resistant to 50m.   No watch can be everything to everyone. So quartz clearly won't be for everyone.  However just for comparison sake when you look at these movements, one can see the Rolex quartz movement isn't what you find in average to inexpensive quartz watches. 

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Indeed, I caught up with my watchmaker friend earlier this week, and we talked a fair bit about the OQ. One thing he mentioned is that it's by far the most costly-to-produce three-hand movement Rolex has ever made — and possibly the costliest, period. He commented that the 4130 isn't exactly cheap to make either, but only the 4160 might be comparable in internal expense to the quartz calibres. I guess there's a reason its price was double that of a Submariner's when it came out. When you consider its low production and that it's one of a kind for Rolex in almost every way, it's surprisingly how little they go for currently compared to other models.

I found it interesting that the cal. 9001 annual calendar isn't as expensive to make as the chronographs, either — it uses a very simple (and extremely well-designed) mechanism, which is its genius. I'd like to see the Sky-Dweller's movement in a less-bulky steel case sometime, but I doubt that will happen any time soon.

Anyway, he's quite familiar with the 5035/5055 calibres after getting specailized training on them at Rolex's advanced course in Geneva (where the 4030 movement is also covered and where he got the aforementioned info). He ended up liking the Oysterquartz a lot — so much so that he asked me to find a good 17000 for him, which I recently managed to do. It's difficult to find one that hasn't lost its bevels on the case and bracelet, but they're out there for those with patience. Now it's just a matter of getting it over to Norway.

The dial aside and I do like that dial, an 11mm thickness on a chrono must impress. No?

Thin is good, but at 11.8 mm. it's barely slimmer than a Daytona, which is a seriously water-resistant watch. I still don't get why they did this design in 42 mm; it would have looked much better in a case that fits the movement. It's always nice to see something on the restrained side from them, but for me, the combination of trendy sizing with a pseudo-retro look makes it a bit of a meaningless watch.

I reckon the 38 mm EP model is a much better buy, funky overlapping subdials and all. It's distinctly Zenith, whereas the two-register doesn't seem to have much of an identity.

 

[aleksandr]

I like this one, but pretty sure it gets filed under "case too big for movement"

 

[Belligero]

^
I've seen worse. They moved the date wheel outboard on that version to help adapt it to bigger case, but the whole movement would have to be redesigned to change the sundial spacing. The busy outer tracks help disguise the issue as well. It's not that bad, but it's not something I'd be rushing out to the shop for, either.

Don't get me wrong, though; I do like a lot of of what Zenith does. They tend to be a great used buy, as well.

 

[Dachshund]

Out of interest, what does a decent OQ go for these days? I'm intrigued by it as a curiosity and an interesting addition to the portfolio.

 

[Dino944]

Indeed, I caught up with my watchmaker friend earlier this week, and we talked a fair bit about the OQ...

Anyway, he's quite familiar with the 5035/5055 calibres after getting specailized training on them at Rolex's advanced course in Geneva (where the 4030 movement is also covered and where he got the aforementioned info). He ended up liking the Oysterquartz a lot — so much so that he asked me to find a good 17000 for him, which I recently managed to do. It's difficult to find one that hasn't lost its bevels on the case and bracelet, but they're out there for those with patience. Now it's just a matter of getting it over to Norway.


I reckon the 38 mm EP model is a much better buy, funky overlapping subdials and all. It's distinctly Zenith, whereas the two-register doesn't seem to have much of an identity.

Always nice to hear how well regarded OQs are among watchmakers. I think I mentioned when I was at the NYC AP boutique a few years ago their watch maker was on the floor, noticed my OQ and asked to look at it. He seemed to like it a lot.

I agree and I prefer the 38mm Zenith which is a far better fit for the movement El Primero movment and its dial is truly distinctive to the brand.

 

[Sweden]

Out of interest, what does a decent OQ go for these days? I'm intrigued by it as a curiosity and an interesting addition to the portfolio.

http://www.chrono24.se/search/index...&dosearch=true&searchexplain=1&goal_suggest=1

 

[Dachshund]

^ thanks

 

[Keith T]

Good enough excuse to post this pic:

I have always really liked that touch of red on the dial and seconds hand.


After all, a little bit of red goes a long way....

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

 

[no frills]



Office mates.

An inspiring shot! Here's the desk situation today: