The (Less intimidating) Watch Thread

[Graeme]

@manufc10:

I love watches and they are a mandatory accessory for me, I feel naked if I leave the house without one.  With that being said I am by no means a watch "snob" and my knowledge regarding movements, etc… is nonexistent. So this thread is perfect for me.  I'm a sucker for chronograph's, metal bands, and in the 42mm to 48mm range. Two brands I like that fall under the less intimidating category are Tissot and Nixon.

I rate Tissot, largely because of their success in chronometry competitions. These used to be run regularly, as a way of testing watch accuracy, but were killed off by development of quartz. They were revived in 2009, and have been run every two years after that.

There's a tourbillon category, which is full of the sort of watches that @Chris has banned me from mentioning in this thread, and a classic category, which has been won by Tissot in 2011, 2013, and 2015. (I don't know if there was a competition last year.)

In 2011, a Tissot Le Locle Chronometer won with 764 points out of 1000. The runner up, on 488 points, was an FP Journe Chronomètre Souverain, which is from a boutique brand run by one of the greatest living watchmakers.

Jack Forster, who writes for Hodinkee, asked whether the Tissot Le Locle was the world's most interesting watch. I'm inclined to agree with him, though I don't like the gold plating on that example.

[JDelage]

I spent the last couple of hours exploring bronze dive watches. Boy, I didn't know there were so many micro brands….

[Graeme]

@JDelage:

Who makes nice bronze watches?

Oris offer the Carl Brashear limited edition. Hodinkee have a write up. The price listed on the website is CHF 2700, so I'd expect it to be around $2700.

Tudor do the Black Bay Bronze, but it's around $4000.

If you're looking for something cheaper, Gear Patrol and Watch Time have lists.

Whilst I don't know anything about the brand, I do like the Archimede Pilot in bronze, particularly the stripped-back no date model. It's available in two sizes (39mm and 42mm), and is based around an ETA movement, so should be pretty reliable and accurate.

[JDelage]

Thanks - I was just looking at the Oris. It's the rare bronze dive watch that doesn't look like a 1/10th scale brutalist building. They tend to be … hmm ... lacking in subtlety.

Edit: That Anonimo Militare is gorgeous. Not cheap, but very nice.

[DougNg]

Re: accuracy. If you want the absolute in accuracy, look at the watches that get a radio signal daily. You won't be able to beat that.

Re: Rolex. a couple of months ago I had a Submariner in hand and was about to purchase it to commemorate a new business venture. I gave it a solid look and looked down at my Omega SMPc and decided that the Omega was more for me. Plus it was the watch I wore while setting up the company, not just a commemoration of it.

Just some random thoughts about goals. Wound up not getting the Rolex.

[Graeme]

@JDelage:

Thanks - I was just looking at the Oris. It's the rare bronze dive watch that doesn't look like a 1/10th scale brutalist building. They tend to be … hmm ... lacking in subtlety.

I really like the Oris Divers Sixty-Five, which I think is the base for the bronze one.

If I was going for a bronze diver's watch I'd push the budget up and get the Tudor. My favourite piece in this material has to be the Montblanc 1858 Chronograph Tachymeter, just don't look at the price.

I'd agree with the brutalist comment. Most bronze watches are designed for diving, and so tend to be large, before having the case size bulked up another couple of millimetres, just because.

[bryaneidins70]

That Oris above is sexy as hell.

[Chris]

Holy crap, The movement on that Montblanc is fantastic looking.  I think the watch would look better in a rose gold case, though.  The oxidized bronze doesn't really mesh with the refined look the watch has overall, in my opinion.

[Seul]

That's a 27.5k watch… Graeme: can you fuck off back to the other thread please?.. 

(PS: I read your posts religiously... So it actually doesn't matter where you post...  )

[Chris]

I tried to redirect him politely, but the big git just ignored me.

(And I feel the same way about his posts…)

[UnTucked]

His expert insight is welcomed, definitely… And, it's nice to see the "extreme" versions of what we're discussing. *every once in a while

BUT, we do need to remember this is the LESS INTIMIDATING watch thread, lol

[Aetas]

As "Less Intimidating" as possible.
Seiko 5
Hodinkee story about the Seiko 5 here.

[Graeme]

OK, something less (or more) intimidating, depending on your viewpoint: The Casio F-91W.

The Guardian and Highsnobiety have similar pieces saying that this cheap, little Casio is the choice of hipsters and terrorists everywhere.

The little Casio is accurate, durable, and can easily be modified to act as the timer on an IED.

[DougNg]

Also something less or more intimidating:

[DougNg]

I feel like this thread needs some guidelines as what is "less intimidating".

For me, the sub 1k USD mark can lead to a really interesting conversation. I love my luxury timepieces, but the accessibility of a sub 1k watch is intrigueing.

Plus less expensive watches generally go through more ugly things and have better stories. I'm trying to get a picture of my friends watch that was damaged when he breached a door with an explosive charge (as part of a SWAT team).

[JDelage]

I just pulled the trigger on the watchuseek forum for a bronze Evant Tropic dive watch with a black fume dial, basically this model:

http://www.gnomonwatches.com/tropic-diver-bronze-fume-black-limited-edition-100-sold-out

I've been wanting a bronze dive watch for a while. My itch is scratched, for now.

[DougNg]

Ha, you said "pulled the trigger"

Chris is going to love that

[Giles]

Shit, I love that.  Well done Josh…..

[JDelage]

Joss - no 'h'. 

I thought of you actually because the bezel has that vintage look you also see on the Fifty Fathoms.

[JDelage]

I compiled a list of diver's bronze watches. A couple (Oris, Eterna) are above the $2,000, but the others are mostly sub $1,000. A couple are brass, and some models are not available at this time. For your enjoyment:

http://www.anonimo.com/collections/militare/AM-1020.04.003.A03 (love that one!)
http://aquadive.com/dive-watch-bathyscaphe-100-bronze/
http://www.aquaticowatch.com/dolphin-3000m-c-87_88/
https://www.archimede-watches.com/sporttaucher-bronze-trbr-sw-sk.html
http://www.armidawatches.com/collection.php#!/Armida-A1-45mm-bronze-black/p/80575018/category=22784162
https://www.borealiswatch.com/store/Borealis-Oceanaut-c24773388
https://www.christopherward.com/watches/dive/c60-trident-bronze-pro-600-range
http://eterna.com/en/news/detail-page/news/kontiki-bronze-manufacture/
https://www.evantwatches.com/collections/frontpage
https://www.h2o-watch.com/h2o-orca-bronze-configurator.html
https://www.h2o-watch.com/helberg/helberg-ch8-config.html
https://helsonwatches.com/shop.php#!/Shark-Diver-42-bronze-green/p/80706134/category=22810077
https://www.lum-tec.com/collections/b19-bronze.html
http://www.magrette.com/shop/7347878853 (love that one too!)
https://www.makarawatches.com/collections/watches
http://www.maranez.com/watches.php#!/c/0/offset=0&sort=normal
https://www.oris.ch/en/watch/oris-carl-brashear-limited-edition/01-733-7720-3185-set-ls
https://schofieldwatchcompany.com/product/patinated-bronze-beater/
https://www.steinhartwatches.de/en/diver-watch/ocean-1-bronze-629.html
http://www.bucherer.com/uk/tudor-heritage-black-bay-bronze-43mm-automatic-blue-dial-mens-watch-m79250bb-0001.html#technical-info
https://ventuswatches.com/products/mori-300m-brass-diver-m-2v-preorder
https://zeloswatches.com/collections/hammerhead-preorder/products/hammerhead-1000m-diver-meteorite-full-bronze-preorder-2
http://www.zoretto.com/indy.php
https://helsonwatches.com/shop.php#!/Skindiver-bronze/c/22810153/offset=0&sort=normal

Those makers have made bronze watches but they're not available at this time:
http://www.benarus.com
http://halioswatches.com
https://www.gruppogammawatches.com/