• Home
    • Recent
    • Calendar
    • Register
    • Login
    Iron Heart Forum
    Iron Heart Forum

    Iron Heart Fall/Winter 2025 Collection Preview - Now Live

    The (Less intimidating) Watch Thread

    Accessories
    138
    1.6k
    544.3k
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as topic
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
    • neph93N
      neph93
      見習いボス
      Joined:

      @Chris:

      38mm absolutely is a doable size.

      Besides, I thought you'd learned by now to ignore me…

      I appreciate the advice my hairless compadré.

      Given that I wear jewellery on both wrists, a 38mm field watch seems like a good bet for me. Relatively plain, small and simple.

      «Stevie Heighway on the wing!
      We had dreams, and songs to sing…»

      • Dame Vera Lynn
      last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • GilesG
        Giles
        IHUK Crew
        Joined:

        I'm still at a loss to understand what a dive watch really is.  I dive with my Pinion.  It's waterproof to the depths I dive (65 Meters - 210' max), I can read it easily and have no need for a bezel (not sure what to do with one and I have dived seriously for 20 years)….

        "OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011

        last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • neph93N
          neph93
          見習いボス
          Joined:

          I’ve been assuming it’s a style of watch more than a practical descriptor.

          «Stevie Heighway on the wing!
          We had dreams, and songs to sing…»

          • Dame Vera Lynn
          last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • madmondayM
            madmonday
            Raw and Unwashed
            Joined:

            maybe this might be helpful for folks trying to figure out what size watch they are comfortable with

            it helped me and confirm I am a girly man who likes smaller watches to match my small donald trump hands

            head high, middle finger higher

            last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • manufc10M
              manufc10
              Iron Heart Deity
              Joined:

              Like others have said it's all going to depend on personal comfort and wrist size, but I prefer 42-48mm range.  Too small is too feminine IMO and too large is just…too large lol.  There's been a trend in the past several years of huge watch faces on men and it gets a little ridiculous sometimes.

              last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • JDelageJ
                JDelage
                啓蒙家
                Joined:

                @Giles:

                I'm still at a loss to understand what a dive watch really is.  I dive with my Pinion.  It's waterproof to the depths I dive (65 Meters - 210' max), I can read it easily and have no need for a bezel (not sure what to do with one and I have dived seriously for 20 years)….

                I suspect you say that tongue-in-cheek. As we all know, no one needs a watch to dive anymore, with the modern computers. Dive watches are the watches that have functions that were required of them when watches were an indispensable part of a diver's equipment, before computers. I learned to dive in 86 or so, and for the ~10 years after that dive computers (and BCDs by the way) were first inexistent and then very expensive and very rare. The divemasters had to rely on tables and time their dive at depth as precisely as possible, and for that a 1-way rotating bezel is very effective.

                As for the waterproof rating, it's a fairly abstract number. It's completely possible to flood a watch at a lower depth than it's rated for, depending on circumstances. Hopefully it's less likely to happen for a 300m rated watch than a 100m watch.

                I agree that nowadays, no diver needs a diving watch. Similarly, pilots don't need pilots' watches, athletes don't need a racing watch, yachtmen don't need yachting watches, doctors don't need doctors' watches, etc. All those cover sets of features that are not needed anymore for their intended use.

                last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • GilesG
                  Giles
                  IHUK Crew
                  Joined:

                  It was a little tongue in cheek, but not completely…..

                  "OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011

                  last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • JDelageJ
                    JDelage
                    啓蒙家
                    Joined:

                    Fair enough.

                    Personally I like diving watches because I have that connection with diving (although I don't rely on a watch for this) but also because I like the design and the fact that they're typically fairly rugged watches. They fit my tastes and lifestyle better than dress watch, chronos, and the like.

                    With this said, many of the "dive watches" are poorly designed for their original use. The bezel on my Seamaster (the blue James Bond model) has no sharp knurling, just a very smooth scalloping. It is hard to rotate when dry and would be impossible to do when wet, nevermind with gloves.

                    Dedicated watches are really an anachronism nowadays, ironically enough.

                    last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • neph93N
                      neph93
                      見習いボス
                      Joined:

                      @madmonday:

                      maybe this might be helpful for folks trying to figure out what size watch they are comfortable with

                      Thanks for that Mike. Helpful.

                      «Stevie Heighway on the wing!
                      We had dreams, and songs to sing…»

                      • Dame Vera Lynn
                      last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • neph93N
                        neph93
                        見習いボス
                        Joined:

                        Bearing in mind I know so very, very little about this (which is why this thread exists I suppose) is it odd that I find the lugs on most watches of 42mm or more inelegant? Feels like I'm missing something…

                        «Stevie Heighway on the wing!
                        We had dreams, and songs to sing…»

                        • Dame Vera Lynn
                        last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • DougNgD
                          DougNg
                          Joined:

                          I really don't feel like watches are an anachronism. It's not always convenient or wise to yank out your smartphone to check the time. 1. it can be seen as being rude 2. you can't always reach into your pocket 3. it gives you a chance to drop your phone 4. it's not always wise to light up your surroundings (I'm thinking the movie theatre)

                          Re: sizes. One thing most people don't realize about dive watches is the face and legibility is not as good as compared to a field watch of the same size. A field watch of the same size has a much larger face and is easier to read on the fly than a dive watch with the same diameter.

                          I know violence is not the answer, I got it wrong on purpose

                          last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • DougNgD
                            DougNg
                            Joined:

                            I think dive watches are pretty good at a whole bunch of things, but really the master of nothing.

                            They're better looking than a watch built for pure function. They're more durable than a dress watch. They have been around long enough and popular enough that plenty of companies have put work and thought into making them unique. If I wanted the absolute in those categories:

                            Beauty: pretty much anything from A. Lange and Sohne, but I wouldn't be caught dead gardening with one on.
                            Toughness: G-Shock. If anything were tougher, the Bureau of Prisons Search and Rescue Team would use them. You are not tougher than them.
                            Artistic experimentation: pretty much half the stuff Graeme posts up.

                            With all that being said, my Seamasters are my most worn watches, but I know their limitations.

                            I know violence is not the answer, I got it wrong on purpose

                            last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • JDelageJ
                              JDelage
                              啓蒙家
                              Joined:

                              Watches I thought would be super easy to read are often pilots' watches.

                              last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • GraemeG
                                Graeme
                                啓蒙家
                                Joined:

                                @Chris a 38 mm field watch will be fine. The Railmaster is that size, and here's a photo of it on my wrist.

                                Just don't go for something crazy. This is the Montblanc 60 mm pocket watch that I posted on the other thread in its arm strap. It's not entirely practical…

                                last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • waveoffazeW
                                  waveoffaze
                                  Joined:

                                  This Seiko 5 changed my life

                                  Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

                                  last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • GraemeG
                                    Graeme
                                    啓蒙家
                                    Joined:

                                    Heddels have a piece made for this thread:

                                    Automatic Diving Watches under $350

                                    @waveoffaze nice Seiko!

                                    last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • DougNgD
                                      DougNg
                                      Joined:

                                      That Tissell is ballsy…they even call it a Sub... ???

                                      I know violence is not the answer, I got it wrong on purpose

                                      last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • neph93N
                                        neph93
                                        見習いボス
                                        Joined:

                                        I feel like I'm moving closer to my first purchase. I want it to be relatively inexpensive, relatively simple and an "all round" watch. I don't need anything dressy just yet. The idea is to have something decent as a place to start.

                                        I was seriously considering the Pinion Atom, but the more advanced models are nicer so this is something I might save for an eventual watch number two, if I feel I want to develop a collection. Hamilton, mentioned earlier by @Untucked seem to have watches that fit the bill in their Field Khaki collection. Here are a couple I like a lot:

                                        http://www.hamiltonwatch.com/collection/khaki/field/auto-40mm/h70595963-khaki-field-auto-40mm

                                        I can only find this in a 42mm size in Norway, but that suits me better…

                                        http://www.hamiltonwatch.com/collection/khaki/field/auto-44mm/h70625533

                                        This one is an outside option and slightly dressier… I like the face colour/metal combo, but on the whole I'd prefer a leather/textile strap at this point.

                                        http://www.urverket.no/hamilton-khaki-field-gra-stal-o42-mm-p-305151.html

                                        «Stevie Heighway on the wing!
                                        We had dreams, and songs to sing…»

                                        • Dame Vera Lynn
                                        last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                        • ChrisC
                                          Chris
                                          Raw and Unwashed
                                          Joined:

                                          I always recommend buying a watch with a bracelet.  The increase in initial cost isn't as expensive as buying one later, and the market for straps is much more robust.  Hamilton makes pretty quality bracelets, too.

                                          last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                          • JDelageJ
                                            JDelage
                                            啓蒙家
                                            Joined:

                                            I find the dial on that Hamilton super busy, personally. With this said I like the version with a bracelet the best.

                                            last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                            • First post
                                              Last post
                                            Copyright Iron Heart 2025.