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

[Bobberoo]

Bubbas Grill said:

A Citizen in our Camper. Creatin' in Croatia. Bit bitten and torched ain't I?

Edited by Bubbas Grill on Monday 20th May 19:12

A firm favourite here abouts!!!

[Bobberoo]

ApOrbital said:

How did i end up in here time travels so fast.

Hello old chap!!
Haven't seen you in a while, hope you're good?

[Bobberoo]

Are you spamming my thread up you naughty boy!?!

[Bobberoo]

Gastons_Revenge said:

Any of you fine people have a recommendation for a 6-watch box, about 30cm in length? Thanks!

I have a Songmics 10 watch box and it's pretty good quality, available from Amazon.

[Bobberoo]

Pebbles167 said:

Bobberoo said:

I have a Songmics 10 watch box and it's pretty good quality, available from Amazon.

I've got the same, a brown wooden one.

It's good for a tenner, looks fancier than it is. I'd recommend buying foam pillows/cushions for the watches instead of the semi rigid ones it comes with. Unless your wrists are pretty big any bracelets will be tight as hell on them.

*Cough*
Gorilla wrists.

[Bobberoo]

irc said:

I used two of these.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B07DNCKSC2?psc=1&...



While I'm here - my current collection.



Rotary Super 7
Orient Kano
Invicta
Alkin Model 2
Alkin Model 1
Cadisen






[url]

Vostok K43
Parnis
Timex
Citizen Eco-Drive

All under budget except the Alkins.

Edited by irc on Thursday 23 May 12:13

That's a great little collection irc!!!

[Bobberoo]

Pebbles167 said:

Thought my dad could do with something nicer than the Lorus lume dial quartz I gave him back in Feb, so with his birthday coming up I've got him a Longines Spirit homage by Pagani design since I like the pilot style.



Think I paid around £65 from Ali Express and as usual, the quality is surprisingly decent for the price. Obviously the finish isn't quite up there with the Spirit, but considering they are about 30 times the price, it's closer than you might expect.



The Pagani lume isn't nearly as good, but it has a screw down crown and case back, neither of which the Longines has. It also has a higher water resistance at 200m vs 100m, 38mm vs 37mm, and no date either, which i consider a plus. Since it uses an NH35 it's power reserve obviously won't be as long nor the movement as accurate, but he doesnt care overly about watches and the main thing is it should prove to be tough and reliable.

Edited by Pebbles167 on Thursday 23 May 15:34

Love the colour of that face Pebbles167, I would think your dad will love it!!!

[Bobberoo]

RSTurboPaul said:

summit7 said:

Alot of love for Dan Henry in my house. Have owned this 1975 for 16 months, solid three hand no date watch with real retro vibe, what is there not to like. Yeah it's an Omega Admiralty homage but no main stream watch maker is offering anything like it, without DH you couldn't buy a watch like this anymore.

I do not need more watches.

I do not need more watches.

I do not need more watches.

Yes you do.

Yes you do.

Yes you do.

[Bobberoo]

105.4 said:

carlo996 said:

That's deeply cool.

Imagine the stories it could tell

It’s likely not as old as you think, (mid 80’s - early 90’s). It’s just that like it’s new owner, it looks older than it actually is

However, I do own four other watches that could likely tell some fantastic stories.


One is a 30 jewel MuDu purchased by my Grandfather in August 1947 on the day that my Mother, (his first child), was born. My Grandfather became very wealthy very quickly in construction after WW2. Even when he was in his 70’s I remember CID taking him away for a couple of days at a time for a ‘chat’, on several occasions, so he was likely a bit dodgy.


I bought a verified late 1970’s Sturmanskie 3133 from Italy, off of an old lady who claimed to be a descendant of Italian nobility. The story with that one is that her Husband, (an Italian diplomat), swapped his watch at a party for the Sturmanskie with what was then the Soviet Navel Attaché to Italy, (3133 were only issued to Soviet Navel Captains and Soviet Navel Navigators). Even if the Italian nobility part is a fable, that watch was still owned by a high ranking Soviet Officer during the height of the Cold War.


I have a ladies Breguet. Transcribed on the back is “To Mary. New York. 1938”.
Who was Mary? Who bought her the watch? (likely someone wealthy). What happened to Mary and the guy who bought her the watch in the following ten years? How did the watch get from New York to the U.K?


And I also own a 1946 American manufactured Hamilton Boulton dress watch. I’d love to know the story and the history of that watch as well.



For me, these are the sort of things that make older watches so special. A watch is a very personal piece of jewellery. Worn every day on the wrist, feeling every pulse, every beat of the heart. As you have rightly pointed out, if old watches could talk, they could tell some amazing stories having witnessed so much personal history and world events.



edited to add;
Whilst there are some really nice new watches posted on this thread, I’m actually quite surprised how few older watches make an appearance on here. The used market can offer a huge amount of variety at some incredible prices, with the added benefit of buying a unique piece of history.

Edited by 105.4 on Saturday 25th May 08:16

Love the thoughts behind this post, I've never actually thought about it like that.
And that Dunhill is cracking!!!

[Bobberoo]

pistonchris said:

My £6.32 hot tuna watch of eBay.
Never had a NATO strap so wanted to see what it's like and I find it so comfy.
Colour looks good for for summer.

Christ, you can't go wrong at that price!!!

[Bobberoo]

Marquezs Stabilisers said:

This seems like the place to ask as I venture out of some of my usual PH haunts in Readers Cars and Biker Banter...thanks in advance for advice.

I'm nearing the end of couch to 5k and I'm thinking about getting a sports watch. I have neither the time or the inclination to do long runs but I am thinking about getting a smartwatch for tracking and stopwatch purposes. I know I could run around using my phone, but I live just outside Glasgow and Scotland isn't known for its constantly dry climate.

Are there any decent sports smart watches at thread budget? Preferably a brand that isn't like Xiaomi or whatever that will immediately share all my details with Xi Jinping.

I've had both Withings and Fossil smart watches and loved them both.

[Bobberoo]

Cracking looking watch that!!!

[Bobberoo]

A work colleague bought this a couple of months ago, he's worn it a couple of times but can't get on with it, the strap has been shortened a little, open to sensible offers.

[Bobberoo]

Bubbas Grill said:

Bobberoo said:

A work colleague bought this a couple of months ago, he's worn it a couple of times but can't get on with it, the strap has been shortened a little, open to sensible offers.

More details please?

Full details here.
https://www.citizenwatch.co.uk/cz-smart-hybrid-sil...

He has a number of watches, bought this as he fancied a smart watch but with analogue face, reviews are very good, I can find out more from the actual owner today.

[Bobberoo]

Bubbas Grill said:

Bobberoo said:

A work colleague bought this a couple of months ago, he's worn it a couple of times but can't get on with it, the strap has been shortened a little, open to sensible offers.

More details please?

Spoke to the owner today, he clipped around 15-20mm off the end of the strap as he has girly baby wrists smaller wrists and the end of the strap annoyed him.
It is completely unmarked, was genuinely worn a couple of times, still under warranty as only a couple of months old, he is willing to accept £100 for it.

[Bobberoo]

Barchettaman said:

daqinggregg said:

Yes, I’m aware of Barchettaman’s penchant for playing ‘dress up’ as part of his profession.

Only on PH; Smart enough for a suit, casual enough for Lederhosen and sandals.

What makes this place so special.

[Bobberoo]

CharlesdeGaulle said:

Bobberoo said:

Barchettaman said:

daqinggregg said:

Yes, I’m aware of Barchettaman’s penchant for playing ‘dress up’ as part of his profession.

Only on PH; Smart enough for a suit, casual enough for Lederhosen and sandals.

What makes this place so special.

This place is certainly 'special'.

It's why you fit in!!!

[Bobberoo]

summit7 said:

Nice to see him almost relaxed, every shot he posts of him on or back stage he is obviously "in work" mode and as a thespian has to project. I couldn't do his work even if I had the "talent". It is amazing that people have the talent and can do the "performance" and still be private in themselves, it blows my mind.

Anyhows onto watches, I started this old thread https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

After nearly 18 months searching, yesterday I tried on a watch that just "fits for me".

Unfortunately it is roughly 2.5 times the price of all the 6 watches I own cost me, and 10 times the thread budget.

It was lovely and fitted my tiny wrist just so, Bobbers and Barchettman would have laughed at it it on their proportioned wrists. At 36mm it is good to go for me. Isn't wonderful that we are all different.

When I told my wife about it and she knew about my hunt for a green watch over a long time, she said why didn't you buy it.

Well I like cheap watches that are great and I worry about spending money even though I can within certain ways.

So when I am 60 in a number of months time I will be wearing a small green watch, I wouldn't post pictures of it in this thread for the obvious reasons. I hope you all will be pleased for me, as this thread and Bobbers are the best place on PH.

Enjoy your watches and what you do with them!


Oh so sorry the watch - https://www.tagheuer.com/gb/en/timepieces/collecti...

Summit7, that is an absolutely stunning watch!!!
Please feel free to at least post a pic on your wrist once bought, I for one would love to see it, and be able to wish you a happy 60th.

[Bobberoo]

Ooopppsss, I just bought another watch.............to be fair Mrs Bobbers did tell me to buy it!!!

AVI-8 Spitfire Woolston Ltd edition, with discount code £239.25, I have a bit of a personal connection to this as Woolston was the main design and assembly plant for the Spitfire, my Grandfather was ground crew repairing them and I lived in Woolston for a period of my life.

[Bobberoo]

Thanks chaps, i shall of course post pics and thoughts when it arrives.