Recommend me a mechanical watch for under a monkey

[pistonheadforum]

Hi,

Okay, so I would really like an Omega Speedmaster 57 but funds mean the search is actually for a max £500 mechanical watch that has clean design and is waterproof. Automatic winding a strong positive but not completely essential. Size should be non-chunky max of around 42mm. I would like it to have good visibility in the night (superluminova dials?)

I have looked at Hamilton Jazzmaster and some of the other Hamilton range (the Khaki Field a little bit busy on the dial so not convinced).

I have looked at Oris and Tissot but not keen on their styling.

What is the general feeling around Hamilton and what other brands are worth looking at for this price range?

Many thanks,

[Paul Drawmer]

How waterproof do you require: Rain, washing up, swimming, snorkel or dive?

Do you prefer leather strap or bracelet?

Will it get a hard life, or be looked after?

[andy tims]

Plenty of choice sub £500

Seiko is obviously worth a look try Creation Watches and Christopher Ward

Have a look on the Page & Copper + Jura websites too.

Does it need to be brand new?

[Lorne]

I know an Archer is £1000, but why is £500 a monkey. Hopefully an equally interesting reason. Is it anything to do with Hartlepool?

Advice on the watch is simply to check the movement. Sub £500 a lot of watches will be running a Chinese movement. Nothing inherently wrong with them as they tend to be perfectly legal copies of ETA movements (the original ETA patents now having passed their 20 year exclusivity period), but the manufacturing tolerances and materials are not as good so their timing and reliability is less. I'd recommend the Tissot as I think they run swiss movements - being a swiss company.

[pistonheadforum]

Hi, thanks for assistance

Apparently something to do with the 500 rupee note having a picture of a monkey on it and this being transfered back to pounds by returning soldiers stationed in India.

Maybe ... maybe not ...

Anyhoo, back on topic:

It does not need to be 100m waterproof, but should be able to survive showering so I don't need to worry too much about splashes/rain etc.

I would like to try a leather strap (always had metal bracelets so fancy a change)

It will not be abused (I have a Casio M5610-1ER for that!) but it should not be too dresy (super thin/elegant) but also not the size of a small planet.

If it helps in style I like the following styles (appreciate I'm not shopping in that league)

-Rolex Explorer 38mm
-Brietling Aerospace Advantage (not the latest model)
-Omega Speedmaster (but moonwatch is too large)
-Omega Aqua Terra

Not keen on the Tisso and Seiko and pretty much all the Casio - too blingy or large.

Citizen and Sekonda range not really my style.

Does not need to be new but I feel I would need to know more about what I was doing to go for that option.

Had a look at some of the suggestion and currently browsing through the Sinn range.

Really just looking for good niche models and manufacturers that I might not have heard of.

Many thanks,

[Yell_M3]

pistonheadforum said:

Hi,

Okay, so I would really like an Omega Speedmaster 57 but funds mean the search is actually for a max £500 mechanical watch that has clean design and is waterproof. Automatic winding a strong positive but not completely essential. Size should be non-chunky max of around 42mm. I would like it to have good visibility in the night (superluminova dials?)

I have looked at Hamilton Jazzmaster and some of the other Hamilton range (the Khaki Field a little bit busy on the dial so not convinced).

I have looked at Oris and Tissot but not keen on their styling.

What is the general feeling around Hamilton and what other brands are worth looking at for this price range?

Many thanks,

Second hand Ball watch? You could get a decent "fireman" for £500.

[andy tims]

Lorne said:

I know an Archer is £1000

Going off on a tangent, but an Archer (aka a Jeffrey) is £2,000. The amount he was alleged to have offered Monica Coghlan to keep her quiet.

[Jimmy Recard]

The New Statesman.

B'stard: how much will it cost me?
Norman: a Jeffrey
B'stard: the whole Archer!? But that's two thousand pounds!

[crostonian]

Have a look at Steinhart, some of their more recent models have gone away from being obvious Rolex homages although the price has risen a touch of late. There are some lovely JDM model Seiko Automatics which you can find on ebay and Amazon direct from Japan or Hong Kong. Chronomaster website usually has some of the more obscure mechanical brands in stock.

[Variomatic]

Same old advice, but it's worth repeating because it will effect future costs.

If you can find something you like outside the Swatch group brands then you'll be saving yourself a lot of headaches and cost on future repairs:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Swatch_Group#Wat...

Any of those brands and you'll have no choice but to use dealer service at dealer prices for anything that involves parts - especially casing parts like crowns, glasses and so on (the bits that are relatively easy to break by accident) because all parts support is being withdrawn from the end of this year.

So, for example, this thread:

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

in the not too distant future would have involved a £350+ full service ("The watch has been compromise, Sir, we'll have to do the whole job") instead of a bit of post and a charity donation.

Obviously if you can only find what you like within their brands then go for it, but please do be aware of what you're signing up for when you buy. If you bought a Ford and only found out later that only Ford could supply brake pads you'd be rightly pissed off - don't get caught unaware by the watches equivalent!

[pistonheadforum]

Hi,

So, here's a question for a skilled craftsman like yourself...

If I find a watch I like, can I increase the lumen glow of the hands fairly easily? As I work my way through the fine suggestions I am still liking the Hamilton Jazzmaster Viewmatic Auto the most and wonder if I can beef up the nightglow of the face fairly easily?

Seems like there is plenty of space to slap on the paint:

http://www.hamiltonwatch.com/collection/american-c...

Is this a something that skilled watchrepair establishments would tackle, or are there complications with such an idea?

Thanks,

Edited by pistonheadforum on Monday 23 November 22:17

[13m]

Lorne said:

I know an Archer is £1000, but why is £500 a monkey. Hopefully an equally interesting reason. Is it anything to do with Hartlepool?

An Archer is £2k:

£1000000 - Bernie (Ecclestone)

£100000 - Plum

£2000 - Archer (It's how much Jeffrey Archer bribed Monica Coghlan)

£1000 - Grand, Bag of Sand, Large.

£500 - Monkey (Allegedly after the 19th Century 500 rupee banknote, which had a monkey on it)

£100 - Ton

£50 - Bullseye

£25 - Pony

£20 - Score.

£15 - Commodore (Three Times a Lady)

£10 - Ayrton (Senna), Cock (and Hen)

£5 - Lady (Godiva)

£1 - Bar, Nicker, Quid

50p - Half a bar.

[Variomatic]

pistonheadforum said:

Is this a something that skilled watchrepair establishments would tackle, or are there complications with such an idea?

Thanks,

There are complications. Aftermarket lume compounds just aren't designed to use as paint. They're designed to fill spaces - so, for example, a hand has a cut-out in it the shape of the lume and you fill the empty space from the back and the high surface tension of the compound gives a nice, smooth, finish from the front. Similarly, for dots, you either have markers with "cups" that you fill, or you place the lume and its surface tension draws it into a nice round dot.

The problem is, that high surface tension is exactly what you don't want if you're painting large areas. It inevitably looks like some pre-schooler with lumpy watercolours!

[Lorne]

13m said:

Lorne said:

I know an Archer is £1000, but why is £500 a monkey. Hopefully an equally interesting reason. Is it anything to do with Hartlepool?

An Archer is £2k:

£1000000 - Bernie (Ecclestone)

£100000 - Plum

£2000 - Archer (It's how much Jeffrey Archer bribed Monica Coghlan)

£1000 - Grand, Bag of Sand, Large.

£500 - Monkey (Allegedly after the 19th Century 500 rupee banknote, which had a monkey on it)

£100 - Ton

£50 - Bullseye

£25 - Pony

£20 - Score.

£15 - Commodore (Three Times a Lady)

£10 - Ayrton (Senna), Cock (and Hen)

£5 - Lady (Godiva)

£1 - Bar, Nicker, Quid

50p - Half a bar.

I wonder if a Blatter is going to exceed an Ecclestone

[Lorne]

pistonheadforum said:

It does not need to be 100m waterproof, but should be able to survive showering so I don't need to worry too much about splashes/rain etc.

Yes it does: http://www.classicchronographs.co.uk/technical-inf...

[Paul Drawmer]

pistonheadforum said:

...It does not need to be 100m waterproof, but should be able to survive showering so I don't need to worry too much about splashes/rain etc....

Showering is difficult environment for a watch. Can be high pressure of a jet directed at a weak, hot water, combined with chemicals including surfactants, make it a very harsh environment. I wouldn't dream of wearing a watch in the shower.

I know many do, but I wouldn't.

[AlexC1981]

If you want good luminosity, google watches with tritium tubes.

[lowdrag]

While I have more expensive watches, such as a Spitfire chrono for example, I am totally blown away by the ruggedness and accuracy of my Seiko Monster. At around £130 it is throwaway money for a watch that will last a lifetime. If you want to spend the £500, move up to the Prospex range. You'll find them all here:-

http://www.creationwatches.com/products/seiko-dive...

[michael gould]

13m said:

Lorne said:

I know an Archer is £1000, but why is £500 a monkey. Hopefully an equally interesting reason. Is it anything to do with Hartlepool?

An Archer is £2k:

£1000000 - Bernie (Ecclestone)

£100000 - Plum

£2000 - Archer (It's how much Jeffrey Archer bribed Monica Coghlan)

£1000 - Grand, Bag of Sand, Large.

£500 - Monkey (Allegedly after the 19th Century 500 rupee banknote, which had a monkey on it)

£100 - Ton

£50 - Bullseye

£25 - Pony

£20 - Score.

£15 - Commodore (Three Times a Lady)

£10 - Ayrton (Senna), Cock (and Hen)

£5 - Lady (Godiva)

£1 - Bar, Nicker, Quid

50p - Half a bar.

probably the best post on this forum for the past 12 months ....certainly the most interesting

[Beachbum]

AlexC1981 said:

If you want good luminosity, google watches with tritium tubes.

Not sure how much Marathon watches are, but all of them have Tritium if that is what you are after