The under £200 watch thread!

[Toyoda]

Just picked up one of these with plenty of change in budget. The Orient Ray 2. Self winding, hand winding, hacks, and hopefully a nice first foray into the world of automatic watches for me.

Edited by Toyoda on Monday 5th February 09:42

[catso]

I've got this;



Does everything you need and can be had for under £200.

[Bobberoo99]

Both nice, I was looking at Seiko's on the weekend, found one on line which I really liked, just within budget, then Mrs Bobbers suggested I leave it as she would like to buy me something special for my 50th, it's over 2years away!!!!
What's the Orient like? I've seen a few on line and I do like the look of them, showing my ignorance now too but what is this about "Hack"?

[Toyoda]

Bobberoo99 said:

Both nice, I was looking at Seiko's on the weekend, found one on line which I really liked, just within budget, then Mrs Bobbers suggested I leave it as she would like to buy me something special for my 50th, it's over 2years away!!!!
What's the Orient like? I've seen a few on line and I do like the look of them, showing my ignorance now too but what is this about "Hack"?

I'm a novice so not the best person to answer in any detail, but basically means when you pull the crown out to adjust the time, the second hand also stops. It helps when you're synchronising it to another watch, or to real time!

Only had the Orient a few days. The end links are hollow and were a bit rattly so I had to tighten them up. It's gaining approx 8 seconds a day, which is well within tolerance for the watch. For the money, it's a great looking watch, feels and looks on a par with a Certina I briefly owned which was triple the price. You can pick up the Orients for the similar money to the Seiko posted above (SKX??) but the Seiko is a bit sportier and I wanted something a bit smarter, plus the bezel is bevelled/sloped so it fits under a shirt cuff easier. As well as the Ray, there's the Mako which is similar. I did a fair bit of reading up on the watch before buying and it seems like a great starter watch if you're looking at automatics.

[Doofus]

Bobberoo99 said:

What's the Orient like? I've seen a few on line and I do like the look of them, showing my ignorance now too but what is this about "Hack"?

I had an Orient Yellow Mako some years ago, and it was a nice enough thing. Not the most detailed finishing, but solid and reliable. Mine was a bit bright though, so I sold it on.



Hacking is when the movement stops when you pull out the crown, so you can set the time more accurately.

[catso]

Doofus said:

Hacking is when the movement stops when you pull out the crown, so you can set the time more accurately.

You can stop the second hand on a Seiko by applying a little backwards pressure on the crown but, yes it's easier to set it accurately when it stops.

[Doofus]

Now I think about it, I had an Orient Dolphin too, but the minute hand fouled on the hour hand at 4:30.




I had a Citizen Nighthawk too, and a Bullhead, which I didn't get on with.

[Bobberoo99]

Thanks for the info on hacks, I think my Bulova, Sekonda and Rotary all stop when the crown is pulled out. That Orient Dolphin is a nice looking watch, but I don't think I'd get on with the Bullhead either!! I like the Invicta too, although yeah it's a little on the loud side!

[Toyoda]

Any quartz watch second hand will stop if you pull the crown out, we're talking mechanical watches here. Take a look on the watchuseek website forum and fill yer boots with knowledge!

[Bobberoo99]

Toyoda said:

Any quartz watch second hand will stop if you pull the crown out, we're talking mechanical watches here. Take a look on the watchuseek website forum and fill yer boots with knowledge!

AAhhhhhh I see!! DUH!! Now you know why I'm employed for my looks!!!

[liner33]

catso said:

I've got this;



Does everything you need and can be had for under £200.

Which model is that ?

[catso]

liner33 said:

Which model is that ?

SXK009; basically the same watch as the SXK007 but with the blue/red colour scheme rather than all black.

[liner33]

catso said:

SXK009; basically the same watch as the SXK007 but with the blue/red colour scheme rather than all black.

Pic makes it look really good, you have just tempted me into a SKA759P1 on Creation , I think the last thing I need is another watch though

[catso]

There you go and under the £200 budget too...

[CardShark]

Toyoda said:

Just picked up one of these with plenty of change in budget. The Orient Ray 2. Self winding, hand winding, hacks, and hopefully a nice first foray into the world of automatic watches for me.

Edited by Toyoda on Monday 5th February 09:42

Great entry point, that.

Keeping on the sports/diver theme along with the other Orients and the SKX here's my Citizen NY0040, currently being worn on its rubber strap rather than the aftermarket NATO seen here.

[catso]

CardShark said:

Great entry point, that.

Keeping on the sports/diver theme along with the other Orients and the SKX here's my Citizen NY0040, currently being worn on its rubber strap rather than the aftermarket NATO seen here.

Nice looking watch.

Is it a left-handed watch, or is there another crown on the right?

[liner33]

I have one of those as well , it feels a bit small so I rarely wear it

[CardShark]

catso said:

Nice looking watch.

Is it a left-handed watch, or is there another crown on the right?

Thanks

Just the one crown, it's positioned there so that when the wrist is flexed it removes the possibility of it digging into the top of the hand. Your SKX has the crown at 4pm for the same reason

[GOG440]

My current smart watch


Bought from the kickstarter for around the thread budget, currently on sale for £189.

[Spickles1972]

Here's my collection. In chronological order. All under £200. Apologies for the crappy pics.