• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

In the market for a new watch(my first watch)

Page 2 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.
pUciggJu0GKtG6NNfF1uwg.jpg
 
the cheapest thing you can find that holds a quartz crystal.
Watches as fashion accessories is a concept I don't get. Even if I were wealthy I think I'd rather show off a nice suit or shoes than something heavy, dangling from an appendage.
 
Might be going with the Seiko automatic in a few days. 65-75% chance I'm gonna go with it, My reasoning is, my phone is already quartz, my pc is quartz, my microwave is quartz. I just don''t have a mechanical time piece. I have to reset every so often cause it is not as accurate as quartz, so i can't just ignore it once i get it. Maybe it will make me more confident as a man(if only a placebo effect) Watch snobs will say automatics have souls, quartz don't, I want to have first hand experience with one to find out myself (i know thats silly)
 
shortylickens said:
the cheapest thing you can find that holds a quartz crystal.
Watches as fashion accessories is a concept I don't get. Even if I were wealthy I think I'd rather show off a nice suit or shoes than something heavy, dangling from an appendage.
Click to expand...
If you were wealthy, you'd have all of them.. That's the point. 🙂
 
DigDog said:
posting in Naer thread

1. the quartz vs mechanical is very much a fad. It does have a historical reason of being, where mechanical watches for many years pushed the envelope on accuracy and practicality. However, since the invention of quartz, most of these advances have become redundant.
Quartz watches are ridiculously accurate, far otclassing any mechanical watch.
the reason why mechanical watches still sell is because they are expensive, like jewelry.

2. i am currently wearing a Casio $20 watch from amazon. It looks great and has not lost a single second of time. There are good watches you can buy from $20 upwards to 2 grand, but realistically you start to hit a cap in price around the $500 mark. Anything above that is unnecessary markup.

3. depending on your budget, i would make a recommendation, but if you want to go all out and get an endgame watch, i would look into the Casio or Citizen radio-controlled series.
For example, the Casio OCW-S100-AJF
casio-oceanus-ocw-s100-1ajf-made-in-japan-radio-wave_425_1200x.jpg




This is a quartz watch that costs $500.
It is made of 100% ultralight, ipoallergenic titanium with a carbide hardened layer, and unscratchable synthetic sapphire glass
it is entirely solar-powered - never needs a battery
it is always 100% accurate to the second, tuning to the Atomic World Clock radio signal
includes a perpetual calendar (always the right date)
it has a feature to change timezone without any accuracy loss
it is full waterproof to diving depths
the case and bracelet are finished to top industry-standard (actually done by the Grand Seiko factory)

there is no mechanical watch under 3 grand that can even begin to compete. if you want accuracy and reliability, this is it.

if you want good looks, that's entirely up to you.



Invicta makes a machanical self-wnding diver watch that cost $100 and looks good, if that's what floats your boat.
Click to expand...
I have a number intro-low range fashion watches as accessories (like 100-1500), nothing quartz, but that's a really cool watch. Might have to think about it.
 
Last edited:
sdifox said:
Buying a lot of cheap watches just means you are cheap.
Click to expand...
Guess it's depends on your definition of cheap!

For myself, I rotate about 5 watches now (average price is about 650 I'd say). I could have bought one 3250 dollar watch for that, but then I wouldn't have the variety in the accessories that I want for current use. Over time, the average price point will probably continue to trend upward as my budget allows. It takes time to build a wardrobe.
 
I whole-heartedly recommend any Citizen Eco-Drive. Maintenance-free and tend to be more sturdy and less problematic than similar brands such as the Seiko Solar/Kinetic. Quite a wide variety of styles to choose from as well, starting around $60 (from Amazon.com).
 
I started wearing wristwatches when I was a kid...maybe 3rd grade. Not everyone can wear one comfortably. It just makes sense (to me) to start with a cheapo for a while...then, if he wants, step up to a better watch.
 
WelshBloke said:
That's all very well until you have to catch a train and you're trying to work out if you can fit another pint in at the pub!
Click to expand...
Catching the train could matter... that extra pint, not really. In any case, that aphorism has to be appreciated in the spirit in which it was intended. Having the attitude of getting to that spirit, understanding what the originator meant is pivotal in understanding the great quotations. Don't fight it, feel it.
 
Muse said:
Well, I suppose you live where getting down in the pub is highly revered.
Click to expand...

On a serious note I do revere pubs to a certain extent. I live in a village and our locals pub is a place that runs loads of fundraisers for the local schools and churches. It has a bunch of fetes and festivals. It provides cheap meals, a warm fire and company to some of the old people in the village.
It's a friendly place where you can take the kids and they can play games with the other children while you can grab a quick pint and a chat.

Muse said:
I'll give you a pass on it. Myself, I have many a pint at home if I care to access it.
Click to expand...

Its cheaper to drink at home but less sociable.
 
maybe ill take this occasion to vent. i mean, it's a naer thread anyway, so it's not like .. you know ..

i watch (lol) quite a lot of videos from Watchfinder & Co. and from Nick Shabazz, plus i got the r/watches on my home feed.

Watchfinder is all about .. "this watch is exquisite, notice the hand carved inlays made of pulverized diamond, tuned via a ionized platinum-filament-bound titanium spring.." which are all things which do absolutely nothing and wind up costing half a million dollah.
Sure; a fifty grand / half million watch LOOKS NICE, but i can't see any reason to buy it outside of being very rich and wanting to flaunt your riches, i'm talking Bentley-driving, Lear-jet-flying multimillionaires. And really, these aren't watches anymore, they are jewelry, afer all, a diamond is just a rock, and it literally does nothing.

Also please consider that these upgrades on watches exist because they increase accuracy, useability, add features, which are all useful aside from simple beautification. However most of these have become completely redundant since the invention of the quartz watch. There is no claim that an expense is motivated by any of these, if these are in your interest.
Obviously a simple mobile phone is better than a watch AND you will always have it, but with some concession to beauty, a nice watch that doesnt cost the world AND is accuracte can be had for $50, or slightly more. Anything more than this is simply a status sysmbol purchase.

r/watches is not as bad, but i do get sick when i see a scrawny wrist of a 18yo with a Nautilus or other 80-grand watch. I can tolerate a kid with a Lamborghini but a watch that cost as much as a house on a kid is repulsive to me. You do get the occasional broke guy on r/ who has some sense, and you'll often find people "promoting" their choice of Seiko 5, Invicta, Casio. Omega seems a favourite here, which isn't terribly bad since they top out at around 6 grand. It's still a lot of money, but for a very accurate watch that will last you a lifetime, and holds its resale value, i guess it can be excused. I've grown to dislike the look of Rolex, but in a sense Rolex and Omega are in the same ballpark. There is certainly more sanity on r/ although their love for crappy aftermarket straps is puzzling.

Nick Shabbaz is a far more practical chap - who is also a real character - and his target is sub-one-grand, generally between $350 and $500, focusing on things like Oceanus and Waveceptor, and tends to have a more realistic view on watches than Watchfinder or r/watches.
As you can tell i really like the Oceanus, i think it's not the most visually pleasing watch, but it is an incredible piece of technology when it comes to a watch being a watch, and i will always hold that if you actuially need an accurate watch, this - or something like it - is what you should get.


When it comes to watches as an item of beauty, first off let me give you a reality check, if you aren't attending any fancy dinner parties, nobody is gonna notice your swaggy five grand watch. And if people DO notice your watch, it's likely to cause more enmitty than joy. I guess it's ok to pick up chicks though, but then you should go with the classic Rolex, the most-easily-recognisable i-am-teh-rich watch on the market. Forget Vacheron Constantin and BS as such, you want a little sparkly thing that will catch the ey of a potential mate. Rolex it is.

If you are buying a watch as a beauty item, FOR YOURSELF, then remember that watches have ridiculous markups that would make a doctor blush. Citizen make a watch called the Chronomaster, it's a gorgeous little, simple but yet very accurate mechanical watch, and it goes for a tad over a grand and a half. As it only loses abotu 5 seconds a year, this is remarkable and deserves the money. However the same watch, but with the watch face covered with a special type of japanese paper called Washi, goes for over 3 grand. Twice the price for a 1 square inch of paper.

In the end i believe you can dress yourself up better by investing the money where it counts, on nice suits, shirts, Italian shoes, and if you really are keen on jewelry then rings, bracelets and chains are a better investment. Sure you can have a nice watch too but at that point just splurge five hundred dollars on a proper-made replica .. oh yeah.

The black beast of any watch aficionado, you can get replica watches, no not from Alibaba, but from companies which have dedicated years to perfecting these replicas, which hold up to a professional scrutiny. Realistically you get the same accuracy and features of the original watch, but at a fraction of the price, and you get the same level of bling. Five hundred dollars will get you a perfect replica of a 80-grand watch, and no watch aficionado has yet managed to bring up a valid argument why it would be a good idea to spend the other $79,500 to get the same thing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top