# Fun inexpensive waches



## madecov (Jan 19, 2005)

I'll start by saying that in the past I have owned expensive Swiss watches by Breitling, Rolex, Omega, Patek, Vacheron and others. I now don't own any of them.

Currently my most expensive watch is a Gervil steel and gold chronograph.

I have developed an affinity for the styling of Invicta watches. I have 2 of the all Swiss made automatics with gold bezels and recently picked up one of the myota powered divers as a beater watch. Mine keeps great time.

Today I picked up another of the Myota powered watches the new ocean Ghost 2 in all stainless with a silver dial. This is really a nice watch, the case is 47mm so it aint small. it is rated as 200 meter water resistant. the hands and markers are blued and give a really nice striking and best of all legible look. for an inexpensive watch it really seems well built. 

The Invicta's really give an expensive look for a decent price. I paid under $100.00

also just for grins and when I want a different look I picked up one of the very large Lupah chrono's. the movement is a Swiss movement (rhonda). Nicely detailed dial with engraving and the chrono sub dials are styled . It sort of has the Franc Mueller look. Paid under $150.00

They are a lot of look for little money


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## evanlocc (Jan 20, 2005)

In picture we see......all others are words.

Dont mind, thanks.


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## bjn70 (Jan 20, 2005)

I've been doing some reading on inexpensive automatic watches, and I bought a Seiko SKX173 diver. I've got a Seiko sports 5 and an Invicta 8926 in the mail to me now. It's amazing how inexpensive the watches are for what you get. Sandoz is another inexpensive brand but I think most of theirs are quartz. It's fun to just browse the photos posted on pmwf.com.


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## madecov (Jan 20, 2005)

No digicam, but here's a link to a photo of the Ocean Ghost I got

http://www.galeriasolar.com/ProdImages/2299L5.jpg

and the Lupah

http://www.galeriasolar.com/ProdImages/2094HL.jpg


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## Flying Turtle (Jan 20, 2005)

Is that a power reserve indicator I'm seeing in that Lupah pic?

Geoff


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## ACMarina (Jan 20, 2005)

My brother is a watch junkie. He's got one of those locking briefcases that spies carry in movies handcuffed to their wrist, but instead of top secret documents it's full of watches. They're all expensive, though, from Rolex to Breitling and stuff. But he doesn't wear them very often, because he's afraid of losing/damaging/etc them. I've got a beater Pulsar diver, and it's held up really well for the amount of stuff it's been subjected to. I've had it through a couple of battery changes and still feel comfortable enough to dive/swim/shower/sauna/steam with it, and while there are a few "battle scars" on it, I'm still happy. I'd be happier with Tritium, but what can you do? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif


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## bjn70 (Jan 20, 2005)

I have read that shower and sauna are not recommended for any watch, due to eventual damage to the seals.

I think some of the less expensive watches are very good deals. The Seiko automatic movements are very tough and long lasting, and relatively inexpensive. Seiko dive watches containing this movement can be bought easily for $125 or less, and the Seiko 5 series can be bought for half that, even new.

Just like lights, I can't settle on just one watch. I'd rather have several different inexpensive ones that I like rather than one expensive watch that I'm afraid of damaging or losing. I have 3 now and have my eye on a couple of more. Altogether the combined cost of these will only be a fraction of the cost of a low end Breitling or Omega. Not that I wouldn't like to have an Omega but I'm happy wearing the ones that I have.


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## Catdaddy (Jan 20, 2005)

I am going to have to get that ghost!


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## madecov (Jan 21, 2005)

The bottom register is the continous seconds. It uses a unique dual track where one tip of the secons hand reads the first 30 seconds and the other tip reads the second 30 seconds, all at the bottom.

The Ghost is a very large watch, but it is very stylish and attracts attention.


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## ACMarina (Jan 21, 2005)

Yeah, you're not supposed to wear watches in the shower, I know. But how are you supposed to know what time it is when you're showering? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif


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## Saaby (Jan 21, 2005)

I have a Swatch Irony and I love their Irony line. They're unique designs and most of them are made of Aluminum! It looks nice like Stainless Steel but it's super lightweight like Titanium. Mine is brushed Aluminum and it's a very distinctive, unique look.

It's really one of my favorite watches, at any price.


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## guncollector (Jan 21, 2005)

The Sandoz line makes some good, inexpensive watches in a variety of styles (many times popularized by other more famous watch makers). I believe the line uses Japanese Miyota movements.


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## cratz2 (Jan 24, 2005)

I have a few Bulova, Seiko and Citizen watches and I admit I've always loved the looks of chronographs (first one was the gold Seiko flight chonometer) but usually wear one of three <$5.00 Details watches from Walmart. I used to work in the kitchen of a casual restaurant and watched my manager break the face of a Rolex Mickey Mouse watch and that just kind of soured me from wearing nice watches.

I was just looking on eBay at some of the watches mentioned and the Swatch Irony YCB4000 looks how I like watches to look. The YCS1006 also looks nice.












And I know Seikos aren't generally loved by watch snobs btu if I were to buy an automatic watch under $100 today, it would probably be a Seiko SNX425K.


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## bjn70 (Jan 24, 2005)

The watch snobs talk about stuff you never heard of. More in line with people like us are probably the PM (poor men) of pmwf.com (poor man's watch forum). There Seiko's are held in good esteem.


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## Flying Turtle (Jan 24, 2005)

I've lurked a bit at pmwf.com. My impression is that most folks there must be far from poor, and more obsessed than us. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yellowlaugh.gif

Geoff


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## RonM (Jan 25, 2005)

I like the looks of a chrono, but can't stand the idea of having to manually adust the date at the start of each month. To me that's why I have the date on a watch, so I don't have to remember.

After years of searching, last year I bought a watch that IMHO was nearly ideal. It's the Timex 56371. It's a beautiful mix of analog hands over a digital watch face. The face changes per the mode your in. You can get it for only $50 here.


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## Lurker (Feb 1, 2005)

The watch experts at timezone.com generally prefer very expensive European watches, but they definitely do not turn their noses up at Seikos. Auto Seikos are generally highly regarded there. And that military one pictured above is very nice looking. The one thing I don't like about the day-date Seikos is that "Sunday" displays in red print rather than the same black print as the other week days. I don't understand why, but that always bothered me enough to sour me on those watches.


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## jsmn4vu (Feb 1, 2005)

[ QUOTE ]
*Lurker said:*
I don't understand why, but that always bothered me enough to sour me on those watches. 

[/ QUOTE ]

Any day out of the office is a red-letter day. Relax and enjoy!


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## TomH (Feb 1, 2005)

[ QUOTE ]
*Flying Turtle said:*
I've lurked a bit at pmwf.com. My impression is that most folks there must be far from poor, and more obsessed than us. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yellowlaugh.gif Geoff 

[/ QUOTE ]


As a member of PMWF I must comment. The "Poor" in PMWF is kind of misleading, as they consider any watch priced under $1K to be a "poor mans watch". And yes, we are just as obsessed about watches as most long-timers here are about flashlights. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif


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## bjn70 (Feb 1, 2005)

I'd be ashamed to tell you how many watches I bought in January alone, but I will tell you that by coincidence 4 arrived at my office yesterday, in 3 different packages from 3 different people. The cheapest one, which I have on right now, was only $15.50.


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## Flying Turtle (Feb 1, 2005)

Being also a bit obsessed about watches (cheap ones anyway), I just picked up another Vostok KGB at Restoration Hardware. The one I got a year ago, that still runs great, lost its bezel, so when I saw an $17.95 closeout price, well, you know. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif

Geoff


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## Penguin (Feb 3, 2005)

well if 100-150 is 'inexpensive' how are the countycomm navigators?


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## sween1911 (Feb 3, 2005)

[ QUOTE ]
*ACMarina said:*
Yeah, you're not supposed to wear watches in the shower, I know. But how are you supposed to know what time it is when you're showering? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif 

[/ QUOTE ]

I keep my old bulletproof 10-year-old-and-still-ticking Timex Ironman on the top of the shower door for just that purpose! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif


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## sween1911 (Feb 3, 2005)

Countycomm has a good selection of Marathon watches. I love the SAR. For a watch THAT tough, it's not a bad price. I'd prefer the sub-style bezel markings (10-20-30-40-50) instead of the 12 hour time zone offset markings though. Never understood what you were supposed to do with them as you don't have a GMT fourth hand, and the minutes get messed up if you turn the bezel. Do you use the internal markings for minutes and the outer bezel for hours? Or do you just kind of eyeball the minutes by looking at only the hour hand and the outer markings? Either way, it seems a bit odd, but since those watches are the real deal, I'm sure there's some reason it's laid out the way it is.


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## bjn70 (Feb 3, 2005)

I thought the GMT bezel got rotated so that the hour markings on it for the second timezone lined up with the hour markings on the dial for the primary time zone. Then you look at the time- the hour hand is pointing at the 4 on the dial meaning it is 4 oclock in Pennsylvania, but the bezel is showing 1 meaning it is 1 oclock on the west coast.


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## sween1911 (Feb 3, 2005)

I was referring to a GMT watch like a Rolex or Omega (admittedly, this is the fun inexpensive watch thread /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif) that a 4th hand that makes one revolution of the watch face every 24 hours. You can count the hours around the bezel, which is marked for 24 hours, and can rotate to change the time zone, leaving your original 3 hands to keep time in the current time zone. 






I suppose with the Marathon Navigator 12-hour style, you can turn the bezel and just keep an eye on the hour, and use the internal circle of markings to track the minutes. The 12 hour bezel also gives you the option of using it like a timer by multiplying the outer number by 5 to record minutes, like with a standard dive watch.

A guy I used to work with had a Rolex GMT-master that he bought in the 60's and he still wears it occasionally. I had no idea why the bezel was marked all funny until he showed me the 4th hand.


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## Lurker (Feb 4, 2005)

Sween1911, with the 12 hours bezel, for other time zones you are supposed to read the hour hand off of the bezel and the minute hand off of the face markings. The bezel also works as a standard diver's elapsed time bezel if you line it up with the minute hand and interpret the markings as multiples of 5 minutes just like on a standard clock face. It seems like a pretty versatile layout to me.


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## sween1911 (Feb 4, 2005)

Makes sense /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif


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## dukeleto (Feb 13, 2005)

I've got an amusing (to me!) watch from Pulsar, that's solar.
The black face is actually a disguised solar cell that charges a small battery somewhere, and according to the book, 3mins of direct sunlight is enough for 6 months battery. What's more, it actually looks good! Let's see if I can find a link... ah it looks a bit like this one:





Olivier


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## jabajet (Feb 13, 2005)

I really have strongly considered this watch, but am hesitant in that it might be too heavy/bulky for my liking. Any comments?

[ QUOTE ]
*RonM said:*
After years of searching, last year I bought a watch that IMHO was nearly ideal. It's the Timex 56371. It's a beautiful mix of analog hands over a digital watch face. The face changes per the mode your in. You can get it for only $50 here. 






[/ QUOTE ]


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## bindibadgi (Feb 14, 2005)

This may not be the spot for this, but which brands should I look out for? I'm probably going to need a new watch soon and I'll need something that I can wear in casual and formal situations (probably white face, two tone metal band). I'd like it to keep very good time (probably quartz then), and I like chronographs.

My budget will be around $100. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif


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