Watches - another OCD problem
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the watch just didn't speak to me.
Anything specific, or just an overall impression?
I ask, because you told me you didn't like the Tudor Heritage chrono, then when I tried it on, I didn't really like it either…
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A little bit of both. It's really big and awkward looking, and that's a guy that wears G-Shocks all the time.
The dial is pretty, but the printed numbers don't really work for it.
The date and day/night indicator on either side of the second time zone makes it seem cramped. There's just too much shit on that quadrant of the dial.
The way you use the quickset hour is really cool, but it feels janky. The action of the bezel is squishy and the hour hand changing time wiggles, shakes and then groans over the the next hour maker.
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The metal sword hands really make the watch pop. Between that and the size and the sapphire crystal, I feel like it's worth the price. I used to have a Speedy sapphire sandwich, the plastic hands really took away from the watch.
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The metal sword hands really make the watch pop. Between that and the size and the sapphire crystal, I feel like it's worth the price. I used to have a Speedy sapphire sandwich, the plastic hands really took away from the watch.
That's fair–love the hands and don't "get" the enthusiasm for hesalite in a modern luxury or tool watch. I have an old Omega and there's only so much you can buff out, and there are some places where patina is undesirable (such as the crystal or an instrumented bezel). It's smart of them to cater to the "vintage, but modern crystal please" crowd.
Plus (heh heh heh) you can get it for far less than list with a 4 year warranty.
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I'm a huge fan of vintage designs with modern technology. Part of the reason why my next watch will be a MK11 repro with a sapphire crystal and Seiko 6r15 movement. Even has 100m water resistance.
I've heard enough mixed reviews of Jomashop I stay clear. Especially when you can get the Omega warranty for roughly the same price from a couple places. There's an independent dealer on WUS that's selling a NIB FOIS for roughly that price.
I've used the warranty from Omega for my Seamaster Professional and had a very good experience.
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Heh heh. I love vintage, but am in general a futurist, so those kinds of period hang-ups always struck me as a waste of energy.
The only reason NASA didn't approve sapphire was the danger of it shattering–acrylic won't shatter, and in a sealed spaceship in zero gravity shattering = bad. My understanding is that it was approved for later watch model crystals (not sure if this approval includes EVA). There's no practical reason for that conceit, but I do understand that some aesthetic ones are held by enthusiasts, even if I think they're silly.
Kind of reminds me of Haraki's vintage weaves coupled with modern construction (polycotton, etc). Homage to tradition, but usage of modern materials. Remember, at one point hesalite supplanted some other crystal material; watchmaking has always pushed technology (and has also honored tradition since there was one).
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I'm pretty sure there were a couple people in the 60's that would've killed for a scratch resistant crystal…
Not to mention dirt cheap, super accurate, super durable watches, like your beloved G-Shocks.
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@mclaincausey I've seen G-Shocks on the wrists of astronauts in space, so I know that mineral glass at a minimum are approved for space travel.
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The date issue (and let's face it, scarcity) of the Tudor GMT and the price of the Grand Seiko and Rolex variants have scared me off from those options in my quest for a daily banger GMT, but I really want a GMT with a jumping main hour hand. The massive Oris @DougNg wasn't enamored with is an interesting option, but it comes in fairly high on price as well, and is more in line with a flieger than a diver (mild preference for the latter). Generally I prefer the 24 hour sweep hand, but Oris managed a really nice alternative that is even easier to read and has that cool novel bezel adjustment.
Balancing price, functionality, reliability, and ruggedness, the most appealing remaining option of which I'm aware is the Prospex Kinetic models.
So, two questions:
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are there other GMT models with jumping main hour hands that I should consider?
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has anyone experience with SUN019P1 or similar Prospex models? Is kinetic any good? I don't need an automatic movement unless I'm dropping serious coin.
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Timex is going through a weird renaissance right now:
Might be worth a look.
Don't know about the jumping hour hand.
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Might be worth a look too:
I think the jumping hour hand is going to hold you back. But this has a lot of your check boxes: GMT, reasonably priced, diver (compressor style), date
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Yeah, it's almost G-Shock fugly
Jumping hour is a hard requirement for me.
The case shape is classic for Seiko divers, but definitely not for everyone–fans called the original "tuna" (since it resembles a tuna can) and believe it or not this version is a bit more svelte than the original, which had more vertical sides.
I grabbed one of the ugly mofos and will likely look for a third party bracelet if this one is as painful as I expect.
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Easier to set time zones traveling while maintaining accuracy. Having used the alternative, it's a hard requirement for me now. For seconds not to hack while changing time zones on the main dial of the watch is for me the essence of a useful GMT function.
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Oh no, it means that the minute and second hands don't hack or move with the adjustment, and that only the main hour hand will at a certain crown setting: you can see how that's super convenient for shifting time zones. Particularly if you have an accurate watch and maintaining accuracy is inportant to you. Grand Seiko, Rolex/Tudor, and it seems not too many others do this, since the ETA GMT calibers backing so many on the market don't do this.
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Looking into Sinns. Leaning heavily towards @appaff 's 104 on a leather band. Any advice on best place to buy? Also would likely be looking for an after market leather strap (I prefer a lighter tan color to the stock leather).
Not completely sold yet and am open to other routes, but Sinn seems like a sweet spot on the quality/price chart.
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