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PaperclipPerfector  2mo ago (text post)   1737 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for August 30, 2024

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Recommendations for a nice analogue men's watch under €200?

https://www.themotte.org/post/237/friday-fun-thread-for-december-16/43418?context=8#context

Prior discussion. I basically stand by the advice in there. For a cheap, analog, mechanical men's watch I'd go for a Seiko5 dive watch or cocktail time; or a Timex Marlin; or a vintage Tissot Seastar, I recently added one to the collection and it's very nice, while not having much resale value.

I own a Seiko 5, as well as other watches with Seiko 7S26 (or related) movements. It's my go to for wear on the weekends, the evening, or other "sporting" contexts. That being said it's no chronometer. I don't get it cleaned and regulated nearly as often as you are supposed to, and it can easily be minutes per week out of time after only a couple of years without a service.

The watch nerds will look down on you, but if you just want something in the physical hands sense of analogue, the solar-charged quartz-crystal-regulated watch (citizen eco-drive style) is extremely low fuss. Even with all the pedigree of the classic mechanical Omega Speedmasters the NASA astronauts now use quartz Omegas. I do miss the smooth sweep of a mechanical seconds hand, but I don't miss wondering if I'm going to be late to a meeting.

In terms of analogue time display, I personally find a field watch or flieger style easier to read quickly or at odd angles. Surprisingly useful if you feel compelled to check the time during a particularly boring engagement, and more discrete than moving your wrist to light up a smart watch (or even worse pulling out your phone). At one point I worked in an office where the bosses wore a Rolex Daytona and Submariner respectively. Even then a decent quartz military inspired watch on a decently nice leather band was easily in the top quartile of not looking "horrible and cheap" amongst the office. YMMV, depending on the office.

I do miss the smooth sweep of a mechanical seconds hand, but I don't miss wondering if I'm going to be late to a meeting.

Is this a real scenario you've run into? But then, I don't wear any of my watches regularly enough, so I pretty much figure on setting the time every time I put it on.

Personally, for day to day function, I imagine using a chronograph all the time, but never do. But I use the rotating bezel of the dive watch all the time. It's a much more natural timer function, to note on my wrist when something started or when I need to end it, or adjusting timing.

I'd really like a good solar-analog watch. I can't stand non-solar quartz watches, because all the ones I've ever had are dead at inconvenient times. But I can't seem to find a single really good looking solar watch, outside the G Shocks which have a different style. All the citizen and seiko solar offerings I've seen are kind of goofy looking. I'm surprised we don't see more indie solars.

Is this a real scenario you've run into?

I admit this is highly job specific. My old job had the odd combination of having to manually supervise things and needing to be on time within roughly +/- 10 seconds. Obviously my boss’s boss didn't need to get his hands dirty with that kind of thing, so an automatic was more than accurate enough for him. I don't mind setting a watch I'm putting on for the first time in a while, but prefer not to have to think about it for my daily.

In ordinary life, I did exactly once find that we had exactly enough time to run between a train transfer and thus save 30 minutes on our journey from our planned transfer. This was in Switzerland though, in most places you don't need sub-minute accuracy to catch the train. This obviously means i need to buy a Patek Philippe next time I'm there...

Agreed that a rotating bezel can be very useful for casual wear.

For a watch that is somewhat unique, but not hideous, it does seem like the middle tier watch market has been entirely hollowed out by the smart watch market. In the sub €200 category, most classic designs available for the Seiko 7S26 movement have something in a similar price range with a Citizen Eco-Drive. The SEIKO SRPG3X series and the Citizen BM8180 series of field watches, for example. But looking at them now, man the watch market is crazy nowadays. I could have sworn you would be able to pick up either for $80-$90 street price in 2019. SMH over $200 for a Seiko 5 now.

I wonder if any of the Swatch Group Marquees produce entry level solar-quartz movements? I also wonder how their newer entry level mechanical movements hold up over time. I would imagine something like their sistem51 would be decently accurate initially, but seems difficult to have serviced. If they really don't have an adjustable regulator, then I guess you'll never get it back to factory accuracy once the lube dries out?

Thanks a lot!

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