The Watches Thread

[jamcg]

[DaveE]

I picked up one of these from eBay recently for £30 (pretty much brand, box etc)

It's become a bit of a go-to and gets lots of compliments/comments

I prefer the more toned down, "dirty" yellow colour to the brighter yellow of the newer, solar powered version btw - makes it look older and more worn in...

[Explosive Newt]

I decided that I am not going to buy an Omega any time soon as I am saving for Fun Car, so I went down the rabbit warren of inexpensive 'homage' automatic watches and settled on this.

So far - keeps time well, feels nice on my wrist and looks decent. And the crystal back kept my nephew excited seeing the cogs move (yes, and me).

[DeskJockey]

Not come across Ulysse Nardin before.



I think it is too big, even for me. Quite a delicious design though.

[mik]

Chris Ward's "Twelve" range has never really grabbed me from a design perspective, but they have just released a super-slim version. Manual wind only, but 6.6mm case thickness (hence the "Twelve-660" moniker) for a mechanical watch is pretty impressive. (The original version - with auto wind - is 10mm thick).

https://www.christopherward.com/twelve-660-landing.html

[duncs500]

Chris Ward's "Twelve" range has never really grabbed me from a design perspective, but they have just released a super-slim version. Manual wind only, but 6.6mm case thickness (hence the "Twelve-660" moniker) for a mechanical watch is pretty impressive. (The original version - with auto wind - is 10mm thick).

https://www.christopherward.com/twelve-660-landing.html

I like that, and I do want a manual wind. Too expensive for what it is though, why are manual winds always more than autos!? Doesn't make sense in my head, although I'm sure there's a reason.

[Jobbo]

Very much a Gerald Genta rip-off. Also:
Available in four dial colours; Grn, Blu, Wht & Blk

Wnk.

[duncs500]

If there's one certainty in this world, it's that Jobbo will slate CW.

[mik]

Very much a Gerald Genta rip-off

It looks nothing like him - doesn’t even have a moustache.

[Jobbo]

If there's one certainty in this world, it's that Jobbo will slate CW.

Chr Wrd you mean

Actually I did have a look at their website because (logo aside) I think it looks quite nice. I'd prefer an automatic but 10mm thick isn't too bad still. That Sellita movement isn't particularly appealing though; a copy of an ETA 2824 which has a habit of breaking its crown pinion when manually winding it. Hope that doesn't apply to the manual wind only version.

[GG.]

Apologies to those who it offends but they're really not my cup of tea either. Many are priced in the 1,000s but look like fashion watches in the low £100s. The list of small / independent brands I'd rather have is long but would include things like Serica, Unimatic, Autodromo, Farer, some Nivadas, etc.

[John]

I own a Christopher Ward watch, bought when they were much more affordable. Mine is an acquired taste though and I believe is one of less than five produced in that colour combination. I bought it in the sale when they seemed to be having a clearout of prototype watches and others they seemed to have put together with parts they had laying around.

[mik]

@John I considered one of them at the time - I think I mentioned before there was a 675LT owners edition made.

[John]

Yes, I remember that one. I'm a bit unsure about car themed watches to be honest.

[mik]

Fair point




Although it is really just a Hornet with an extra badge. It was the (non extra badge) Hornet that I nearly went for in their sale one year.....

[mik]

My Alpina stopped running a couple of weeks back. I could tell it was fully wound - something was preventing the mech from working.

It uses an "AL525" movement, which is a modified Sellita SW200. Despite this, I struggled to get anyone who would take it on (repair, and - as it's now 8 years old - may as well do a service). I know that Martin's of Glasgow work on Alpina, but when I enquired about a service a couple of years ago it was coming in at more than I paid for the watch (which I bought 2nd hand - at around 2 years old).

So I thought I'd take a quick look myself - with my confidence boosted by youtube vids.

I left the mech in the watch case, removed the balance weight, and the auto wind mechanism (the first two steps in the video below) and very gingerly prodded the gear immediately underneath that assembly. At which point it sprung back into life, and has been running merrily for the last couple of days (with it's normal - excellent - accuracy). Which is but also

1. My eyes aren't what they used to be. Even using magnifying loupes and a head torch it wasn't easy. I got to appreciate that the folks who do this all the time must have good vision and bloody steady hands!

2. Immediate need gone, but I guess I should probably get it serviced anyway in the near future. Hopefully that should be an easier ask for a 'shop (?)

[Jobbo]

That Sellita movement isn't particularly appealing though; a copy of an ETA 2824 which has a habit of breaking its crown pinion when manually winding it.

Eek, hope that wasn't prescient! Timing of my post on 28 August seems uncanny.

[mik]

That Sellita movement isn't particularly appealing though; a copy of an ETA 2824 which has a habit of breaking its crown pinion when manually winding it.

Eek, hope that wasn't prescient! Timing of my post on 28 August seems uncanny.

Nah - crown is good. Although I've seen several vids that highlight that the process to release the crown is unusual on the SW200/ETA2824 and will almost certainly break if you try to remove it using a conventional approach.

No issues with the winding mechanism - something else was causing it to hang.