£200 watch. With slightly picky requirements...

[Dibble]

I had a great Seiko Diver's watch that I bought in Singapore about 15 or so years ago. It was an automatic, and gained time, but no biggy, I just used to knock it back every week or so. Unfortunately, I never got it serviced, and now the face is loose, spinning around the hands...

I only paid £80.00 for it originally. I've been quoted £46 to send it back to Seiko for them just to have a look, and then upwards of £200 to get it serviced, so it's just not worth it.

I'm currently wearing a New Balance digital HRM thingy I got cheap at Cotswold - about £30.00.

I'm after a new watch, and can go up to about £200.00. I want:

• Analogue
• Waterproof
• Wearable every day
• Reliable
• Luminous hands
• Uncluttered face
• Preferably automatic
• Date window

I like the look of some of the Sinn watches. Can any of the experts here recommend me a watch to check out, and where to buy? A few quid more for the perfect watch is also an option, but £200 or under would be ideal.

This is what I used to have, and I'm after something similar (but different!):

[Dibble]

Are any of the Traser type watches any good, or just a gimmick?

[Bibbs]

I've a Seiko "Monster" dive watch. Black faced.

Looks like you one above (offset crown, date/day window). Probably the same movement.

http://www.google.co.uk/products?hl=en&q=seiko...

Edited by Bibbs on Tuesday 20th April 15:02

[andy_s]

^ Seiko Monster or other as suits, pretty standard choice but as you can see yourself, they are good watches. I'd be tempted to get the old one serviced mind, but that's why my garage looks like Steptoes backyard.

[Ikemi]

The Seiko Monster is held in high regards amongst watch-aficionados, and quite rightly so! You cannot fault the build quality or specifications of a watch that costs around £200, let alone the fact that it has a robust automatic movement ... It ticks all of your boxes too!

To be honest the type of movement controls your budget to some extent - There are automatic watches to be had for £200 or less, but the majority of branded watches will command a higher price over their quartz counterparts. Second hand (TZ-UK forums - If you can access them!) might be an option?

I'll throw in some ideas, but most of them are quartz:

Victorinox Swiss Army Base Camp Quartz:



http://www.precisiontime.co.uk/victorinox-swiss-ar...

Tissot Chronograph:



http://www.precisiontime.co.uk/tissot-t03941711057...

Victorinox Chrono Classic:



http://www.precisiontime.co.uk/victorinox-swiss-ar...

The Traser watches are very good too - Not at all a gimmick! The Classic Automatic Pro (A choice of green/red or blue/red tritium tubes) incorporates sapphire crystal glass, an ETA 2824 movement, PVD coating and a display back window for roughly £300-340

Now for the tritium tubes ... Here is an extract from one of my posts regarding my Ball: "From some of the pictures shown on the Internet it looks as if they glow wildly in low level light conditions, and they may do with larger tubes or tubes with higher tritium content. However the slimline tubes on the EHC I are difficult to see if there is any ambient light in room ... It needs to be pretty dark for them to glow, but that said, when they do it's pretty damn cool! The tubes are nowhere near as bright as super-luminova, but will continue to burn through the night when super-luminova has faded away."

The tubes work very well at night and make reading the time perfectly legible ... However for them to have any real effect, you do need low level light conditions - If a lamp is switched on in a room, this is enough for the tubes to be not visible. Again though, for £250-350 in a Traser watch, it is a cool feature to have

This is my Ball EHC I at night (with lumi-nova bezel):



ETA: I might have missed the 'uncluttered' criteria some what!

Edited by Ikemi on Tuesday 20th April 16:12

[Dibble]

Ikemi said:

ETA: I might have missed the 'uncluttered' criteria some what!

Yep, I was going to say that, but then read to the end of your post and saw you'd realised it too! Even the top one is a bit too cluttered for my liking, which is why I like the Sinn watches so much - but they are a bit pricey.

Thanks though for the advice. I'll have to browse the Seiko sites then...

I just don't think it's worth getting the old one serviced as it seems to be more than the cost of a new UK equivalent from what I've been quoted. That was with a service by Seiko, so it may be cheaper elsewhere of course.

I actually quite like the look of the Seiko 5 on the sub £50 thread...

[Bibbs]

Dibble said:

I just don't think it's worth getting the old one serviced as it seems to be more than the cost of a new UK equivalent from what I've been quoted. That was with a service by Seiko, so it may be cheaper elsewhere of course.

How about DIY it?

Or if it's "broke" to you, I might be interested to take it off your hands

I've just seen this on eBay too (the seller is nothing to do with me).

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&am...

I quite like it. Looks very similar to my Monster, but black with blue lume. Kinda tempted myself.

Edited by Bibbs on Tuesday 20th April 16:42

[Dibble]

Bibbs said:

Dibble said:

I just don't think it's worth getting the old one serviced as it seems to be more than the cost of a new UK equivalent from what I've been quoted. That was with a service by Seiko, so it may be cheaper elsewhere of course.

How about DIY it?

Or if it's "broke" to you, I might be interested to take it off your hands

I've just seen this on eBay too (the seller is nothing to do with me).

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&am...

I quite like it. Looks very similar to my Monster, but black with blue lume. Kinda tempted myself.

I've no idea how to even get the back off, let alone service/repair a watch.

I should also say that despite being a hoarder, I've no box, no papers and it's not on the original Seiko strap - it's on a black NATO strap.

So... make me an offer?

ps The Monster is a bit too bling for my tastes.

[andy_s]

There is an ideal s/h Sinn 556 up for sale at £300 at the moment, to give you an idea of s/h prices. If you move up a few hundred or so you'll start to get into Stowa territory and the like, which opens up a lot more options when you're specifying an automatic movement.

[Bibbs]

Dibble - sent you an email (saves cluttering this thread up).

But my copy went into my spam folder.

[Dibble]

Bibbs said:

Dibble - sent you an email (saves cluttering this thread up).

But my copy went into my spam folder.

YHM too

[Dibble]

andy_s said:

There is an ideal s/h Sinn 556 up for sale at £300 at the moment, to give you an idea of s/h prices. If you move up a few hundred or so you'll start to get into Stowa territory and the like, which opens up a lot more options when you're specifying an automatic movement.

Linky?

[Mattt]

The Trasers do seem good, a mate has one which has received a few knocks in active service in some not very nice places - and still looks, and works, fine.

[sparkythecat]

The Traser watches are very robust and will take a lot of stick and you can tell the time if it's dark

If telling the time in constantly varying ambient light conditions is essential, then the Timex Indiglo watches are great. They are fairly durable and cheap as chips.

However unlike something mechanical and overpriced that's been carefully crafted by gnomes in Zurich, it won't make your willy any bigger, and you'll have to pull your sleeeve over it whilst in the company of other watch forum members.

[LukeBird]

Dibble said:

andy_s said:

There is an ideal s/h Sinn 556 up for sale at £300 at the moment, to give you an idea of s/h prices. If you move up a few hundred or so you'll start to get into Stowa territory and the like, which opens up a lot more options when you're specifying an automatic movement.

Linky?

I presume the one Andy is referring to is on TZ-UK (a watch forum if you're not aware) and is accessible only by members.

[Nolar Dog]

What about that Japan made black Seiko 5 that a few of us bought late last year? (There's a thread about it somewhere)

I have mine on now but I've no idea on the model number. I think Lukebird bought one too? I know Cyberface did.

Excellent watch, auto, etc.

[sneijder]

All boxes ticked I think.



SRP043K1, even looks a bit 'Sinnish'. OK, so you might be 20-30 over budget, but I think it's a looker. Might be slightly bigger than your old one though if that bothers you.

[Dibble]

Nolar Dog said:

What about that Japan made black Seiko 5 that a few of us bought late last year? (There's a thread about it somewhere)

I have mine on now but I've no idea on the model number. I think Lukebird bought one too? I know Cyberface did.

Excellent watch, auto, etc.

I did see them on the sub-£50 thread after I'd posted this one; my main concern was "waterproofness", followed by size (as I'm a fat knacker...). The eBay seller that everyone used is still selling them, but then later on in the thread, a couple of people seemed to have problems with them.

I'm tempted by this in the meantime... £20...

[Dibble]

sneijder said:

All boxes ticked I think.



SRP043K1, even looks a bit 'Sinnish'. OK, so you might be 20-30 over budget, but I think it's a looker. Might be slightly bigger than your old one though if that bothers you.

I like that sneijder. As you say, all boxes ticked.

Is that a watch you know, or know somewhere that sells them?

I quite like the Seiko Monsters too, but the bezels are just a bit too wide.

[Dibble]

Ah, just seen the image tag is for Amazon... Off for a look.