The Under £200ish Watch and occasional Opera Thread! Vol2

[CharlesdeGaulle]

zedx19 said:

Any love for Citizen Eco Drive in here? I've just purchased this in the H Samuel sale for £134, which seemed like a bargain to me.

That's a handsome watch I think. I'm not at all keen on 'busy' dials but that's on the right side of good taste and readability.

[r159]

zedx19 said:

Any love for Citizen Eco Drive in here? I've just purchased this in the H Samuel sale for £134, which seemed like a bargain to me.

Yep, bought 4 still got 3 of them.

[blue_haddock]

It's not my usual taste but I've been looking at this one for quite a while.....

[Drooles]

I’ve got two, a diver that I’ve had for over 10 years and have given to my boy - it’s still going strong - and a field chronograph that I bought on a whim.




I may buy another. I’ve had two Seiko Annies that have both been faulty. If the refund comes through, I’d like to explore Citizen a bit further. I’ve always been a fan of Seikos but I have to say I’ve been a bit disappointed with my last experiences

[ae111sr]

Here's my 8 year old Citizen - still gets worn regularly

[zedx19]

Drooles said:

I’ve got two, a diver that I’ve had for over 10 years and have given to my boy - it’s still going strong - and a field chronograph that I bought on a whim.




I may buy another. I’ve had two Seiko Annies that have both been faulty. If the refund comes through, I’d like to explore Citizen a bit further. I’ve always been a fan of Seikos but I have to say I’ve been a bit disappointed with my last experiences

Sorry to hear that on the Seiko, I've got a 20 year old Seiko Kinetic that a few weeks back stopped holding power, fitted a new capacitor and it's working perfectly again and keeping perfect time.

[Drooles]

zedx19 said:

Sorry to hear that on the Seiko, I've got a 20 year old Seiko Kinetic that a few weeks back stopped holding power, fitted a new capacitor and it's working perfectly again and keeping perfect time.

I think I was probably just unlucky. The first one, the analogue kept falling out of synch with the digital. I followed the instructions and recalibrated but it got so bad I was doing this five or six times a day! The retailer was great and swapped it for another one - I thought this one was fine until it saw some bright sunlight - then it stopped for a few days. I’d had enough by then…

I’ve still got several Seiko autos that I’ll probably never part with and I’ve got an old kinetic (one of the first ones with the ‘futuristic’ looks) in a drawer somewhere that needs a capacitor. I’ve never had the confidence to take it apart and repair but I keep the watch for sentimental reasons

[zedx19]

Drooles said:

I think I was probably just unlucky. The first one, the analogue kept falling out of synch with the digital. I followed the instructions and recalibrated but it got so bad I was doing this five or six times a day! The retailer was great and swapped it for another one - I thought this one was fine until it saw some bright sunlight - then it stopped for a few days. I’d had enough by then…

I’ve still got several Seiko autos that I’ll probably never part with and I’ve got an old kinetic (one of the first ones with the ‘futuristic’ looks) in a drawer somewhere that needs a capacitor. I’ve never had the confidence to take it apart and repair but I keep the watch for sentimental reasons

Capacitor change isn't hard, you do need some tiny screwdrivers though, fiddly but quite simple. Have you tried placing the back of the watch on a toothbrush charger? This can sometimes get life back into the capacitor enough to get it charging again, unfortunately it didn't work on mine but it's worth a try.

[zedx19]

Arrived Saturday, reduced from £299 to £134, not took it off since Saturday, I love it, the blue face really pops in the sun.

[craigthecoupe]

Evening all. Just after opinions on a super cheap daily beater. I have a fenix 3 with sapphire glass, and whilst this watch is indestructible, it's massive on my wrist. I've tried for two years to get on with it, but i just don't like wearing it.
I work as a Gardner/odd gob man so watches will take a beating, and i am ok with them picking up scratches. I like field watch style, and as a skinny wristed man, a smaller format will probably suit me better too.

Choices so far are between the berny titanium on aliexpress, and the timex expedition. anything else i should consider? does anyone have any experience of either?

budget is half of the thread title, with no room for creep.

[r159]

craigthecoupe said:

Evening all. Just after opinions on a super cheap daily beater. I have a fenix 3 with sapphire glass, and whilst this watch is indestructible, it's massive on my wrist. I've tried for two years to get on with it, but i just don't like wearing it.
I work as a Gardner/odd gob man so watches will take a beating, and i am ok with them picking up scratches. I like field watch style, and as a skinny wristed man, a smaller format will probably suit me better too.

Choices so far are between the berny titanium on aliexpress, and the timex expedition. anything else i should consider? does anyone have any experience of either?

budget is half of the thread title, with no room for creep.

£30 Bullet proof but I’d get a nicer strap. Mine is about 16 years old worn for work (heavy industry) and even diving…
https://www.argos.co.uk/product/2535975?istCompany...
Or a titanium version but double the price
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lorus-Sport-Time-Watch-RG...
These Bertucci are meant to be good come in lots of case materials from resin to titanium
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bertucci-1S-Mens-Watch-St...
Or one of these
https://mwcwatches.com/collections/infantry-watche...

[nckr55]

Had a hankering after an Explorer homage and first picked up an Alpha. OK but not the best, so upgraded to a rather nice Cronos for the princely sum of £100. Came on the bracelet with both the original clasp and a glidelock upgraded clasp, but I have been trying it out on some elastic MN-style straps.

The Alpha (about to go straight back onto eBay)



The much nicer Cronos

[Pebbles167]

I've managed to amass a collection of Ali Express specials that I've owned for a month or two. Some never even worn.

They are pretty decent, and some surprisingly nice indeed (the Megir on the far right is horrible though). I've realised I'll just never wear them so wondering weather to sell them, but the obsessive collector in me has reservations.

Edited by Pebbles167 on Saturday 13th April 18:05

[Truckosaurus]

r159 said:

....
Or a titanium version but double the price
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lorus-Sport-Time-Watch-RG...
...

I have the titanium Lorus as pictured (I believe there was an earlier version with a black dial as well) and it is lovely and lightweight. It is a bit dainty compared to my other watches but that makes it interesting.

The standard strap is nasty though, so budget for a new one.

[monthou]

craigthecoupe said:

Evening all. Just after opinions on a super cheap daily beater. I have a fenix 3 with sapphire glass, and whilst this watch is indestructible, it's massive on my wrist. I've tried for two years to get on with it, but i just don't like wearing it.
I work as a Gardner/odd gob man so watches will take a beating, and i am ok with them picking up scratches. I like field watch style, and as a skinny wristed man, a smaller format will probably suit me better too.

Choices so far are between the berny titanium on aliexpress, and the timex expedition. anything else i should consider? does anyone have any experience of either?

budget is half of the thread title, with no room for creep.

Over budget (I know) but I bought a used one for less than £60 from ebay.
I really like it.


https://www.watchspecialists.com/product/seiko-sol...

[craigthecoupe]

r159 said:

craigthecoupe said:

Evening all. Just after opinions on a super cheap daily beater. I have a fenix 3 with sapphire glass, and whilst this watch is indestructible, it's massive on my wrist. I've tried for two years to get on with it, but i just don't like wearing it.
I work as a Gardner/odd gob man so watches will take a beating, and i am ok with them picking up scratches. I like field watch style, and as a skinny wristed man, a smaller format will probably suit me better too.

Choices so far are between the berny titanium on aliexpress, and the timex expedition. anything else i should consider? does anyone have any experience of either?

budget is half of the thread title, with no room for creep.

£30 Bullet proof but I’d get a nicer strap. Mine is about 16 years old worn for work (heavy industry) and even diving…
https://www.argos.co.uk/product/2535975?istCompany...
Or a titanium version but double the price
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lorus-Sport-Time-Watch-RG...
These Bertucci are meant to be good come in lots of case materials from resin to titanium
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bertucci-1S-Mens-Watch-St...
Or one of these
https://mwcwatches.com/collections/infantry-watche...

The Lorus fits the bill perfectly, I wish they did it with different face options though.
Rhanks for the recomendation, I'll probaby pick one up.

[Barchettaman]

Pebbles167 said:

I've managed to amass a collection of Ali Express specials that I've owned for a month or two.

I’ve realised I'll just never wear them so wondering weather to sell them, but the obsessive collector in me has reservations.

Edited by Pebbles167 on Saturday 13th April 18:05

Sell them on here: there’s a ‘for sale’ section at the top of the sub-forum.

I’ve sold loads of stuff (including a couple on here) that I didn’t wear, it seems daft to have watches sat in a watch box that won’t get worn. Recognize that tastes change over time and pass stuff on to a new owner that’ll give the ‘piece some wrist time, in good health’ etc etc

[Barchettaman]

‘This spring I will be mostly wearing’….

Apologies for the Fast Show reference but this Pagani Design is top of the list for me at the moment.

No complaints particularly for the £36 or whatever it was I paid from AliExpress.

Seiko smooth sweep quartz movement (VK31?)
Sapphire
Lovely bracelet
38mm
Screw down crown and caseback (not that I would trust the 100m WR rating)
Nicely finished mix of brushed and polished finishes on the case
Milled lower clasp, pressed engraved upper
Sintered finish (very nicely done)

And of course the ‘on-trend’ Tiffany Blue dial. As anyone who seen my photos can confirm, fashion is enormously important to me

[Deefor62]

Well the parts were just under thread budget, but I had to pay for it to be put together at a local watchmaker as that sort of thing is well beyond my capabilities and eyesight. Quite chuffed with the result.

[CharlesdeGaulle]

Barchettaman said:

‘This spring I will be mostly wearing’….

Apologies for the Fast Show reference but this Pagani Design is top of the list for me at the moment.

No complaints particularly for the £36 or whatever it was I paid from AliExpress.

Seiko smooth sweep quartz movement (VK31?)
Sapphire
Lovely bracelet
38mm
Screw down crown and caseback (not that I would trust the 100m WR rating)
Nicely finished mix of brushed and polished finishes on the case
Milled lower clasp, pressed engraved upper
Sintered finish (very nicely done)

And of course the ‘on-trend’ Tiffany Blue dial. As anyone who seen my photos can confirm, fashion is enormously important to me

I've got one of those and am very pleased with it. Real bargain.