Show me your watch!

I'm going to continue spamming this thread with my favorite watches, including this one.

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The Graf Zeppelin LZ129 Moonphase. Made in Germany, by the same company that used to make giant airships. This thing is beautiful and also a pain in the ass to set, which makes me happy it's quartz so that I won't have to set the moon phase again for a long while.

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And because I love Hamilton and I love movie watches, I'm strongly considering one day picking up one of these.

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The Hamilton Ventura, originally designed in the late 50's and the world's first electric (but not quartz) powered watch. Famously worn by Elvis Presley and featured as the watch of choice in the Men in Black movies.

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And because I love Hamilton and I love movie watches, I'm strongly considering one day picking up one of these.

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The Hamilton Ventura, originally designed in the late 50's and the world's first electric (but not quartz) powered watch. Famously worn by Elvis Presley and featured as the watch of choice in the Men in Black movies.

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This looks like you could press a button on it or draw it back like a slingshot, and then it'd fly out, conk someone on the head, then fly back into your hand. And then you coolly, nonchalantly clip it back onto your wrist.
 
it'd fly out, conk someone on the head, then fly back into your hand.
No, no. It'd fly out of its own accord like something out of Batteries Not Included, make tiny little pew! pew! lasers at its target, and then fly back and dock with your wrist on its own, no fussing with the clasp necessary.

--Patrick
 
No, no. It'd fly out of its own accord like something out of Batteries Not Included, make tiny little pew! pew! lasers at its target, and then fly back and dock with your wrist on its own, no fussing with the clasp necessary.

--Patrick
Oh I can't afford the deluxe version.
 
The ventura also comes in a few different iterations, such as various mechanical options, most having some sort of open heart or skeletal dial.

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But as much as I love mechanical over quartz, this is one of the few times it feels like quartz is the right option, keeping the classic electrical circuit design on the face for being originally electric.
 
So my watch battery died. I looked up watch stores near my workplace and walked to the nearest one, and asked them to swap out the battery. And then I realized I'd accidentally walked into what appeared to be a very fancy, classy, and expensive watch store. There were many watches that had price tags well into five figures USD. Some of the watches were your typical luxury brands, like Mont Blanc, Gucci, and Cartier. There were the luxury watch brands too, like Rolex, Patek Phillipe, Omega, etc. But there were also a whole bunch of brands I'd never heard of. Presumably these were the brands for people who really know watches, the ones who can tell a real watch brand from the ones that are just a name.

And there I was, asking them to change my Swatch battery. I felt like I'd gone into a three-star restaurant to ask for a glass of water, or driven into a Ferrari dealership to ask them to check my tire pressure.
 
So my watch battery died. I looked up watch stores near my workplace and walked to the nearest one, and asked them to swap out the battery. And then I realized I'd accidentally walked into what appeared to be a very fancy, classy, and expensive watch store. There were many watches that had price tags well into five figures USD. Some of the watches were your typical luxury brands, like Mont Blanc, Gucci, and Cartier. There were the luxury watch brands too, like Rolex, Patek Phillipe, Omega, etc. But there were also a whole bunch of brands I'd never heard of. Presumably these were the brands for people who really know watches, the ones who can tell a real watch brand from the ones that are just a name.

And there I was, asking them to change my Swatch battery. I felt like I'd gone into a three-star restaurant to ask for a glass of water, or driven into a Ferrari dealership to ask them to check my tire pressure.
Swatch owns Omega, among others.
 
So my watch battery died. I looked up watch stores near my workplace and walked to the nearest one, and asked them to swap out the battery. And then I realized I'd accidentally walked into what appeared to be a very fancy, classy, and expensive watch store. There were many watches that had price tags well into five figures USD. Some of the watches were your typical luxury brands, like Mont Blanc, Gucci, and Cartier. There were the luxury watch brands too, like Rolex, Patek Phillipe, Omega, etc. But there were also a whole bunch of brands I'd never heard of. Presumably these were the brands for people who really know watches, the ones who can tell a real watch brand from the ones that are just a name.

And there I was, asking them to change my Swatch battery. I felt like I'd gone into a three-star restaurant to ask for a glass of water, or driven into a Ferrari dealership to ask them to check my tire pressure.
Among watch enthusiasts Swatch is well respected. While the brand name Swatch is targeted to more affordable watches (it stands for second watch, aka what you wear everyday when not wearing a pricier one) they are still a Swiss company with a long history, and there are many big names under the Swatch group umbrella. Omega was already mentioned, as well as my personal favorite Hamilton.

Also, Gucci watches are trash, you really are just paying for the name.
 
I only have one watch. My dad bought it for me after I graduated high school. Seiko Premier Kinetic, so I never have to replace the batteries, either.

 
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My latest acquisition, a Hamilton Meastro Chronograph, snagged at a practical steal because the person selling it misidentified it and sold it at half the price.
 
Does anyone know if Swarovski watches are any good? My wife saw one she rather liked the look of, but she'd rather have a reliable watch instead of a pretty but unreliable one.
 
Does anyone know if Swarovski watches are any good? My wife saw one she rather liked the look of, but she'd rather have a reliable watch instead of a pretty but unreliable one.
Swarovski is a fashion company, not a watch company. So long as you don't pay an arm and a leg for them their watches aren't bad, just know that they aren't great either. You are buying a fashion accessory that happens to have some watch functions, and the inside is likely a cheap mass produced quartz.

If your wife wants a quality watch that also has fashion-like designs, I'd recommend pretty much anything from the Swatch-group.
 
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Picked up yet another Hamilton, this one a 38mm manual wind khaki field watch, a model that's been used in the US military since the early 70s
 
I got a new one, and this time it's digital, but this isn't your granddaddy's digital watch...

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Actually, it might be your granddaddy's watch, this is a reissue of the Hamilton Pulsar, the first digital wristwatch ever made, originally released in 1972, and famously worn by Roger Moore in his first Bond movie Live and Let Die.

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This reissue, released by Hamilton last year, is a modern recreation. I decided to go with the reissue rather than vintage, because you can actually find batteries for the modern version.

The Pulsar kicked off a new craze of LED watches, with other companies quickly racing to release their own. But this was a short lived era of watch making, as LCD technology came out the after, killing the LED market only 5 years later.

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But if you ask me, it still looks great
 
My band teacher had one, too.
It was the first watch I had ever seen that didn't always display the time.

--Patrick
 
My band teacher had one, too.
It was the first watch I had ever seen that didn't always display the time.

--Patrick
Yep, to save battery the original only showed the time after pressing the button on the side. One nice benefit of the reissue is it does include an always on LCD display underneath the LED display, which you can see under the right light without pressing the button.
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@Ravenpoe so do you happen to have a preferred dealer for your fancy watches if someone were inclined to purchase one?

i’m a former invicta diver collector who is kinda jealous of that Pulsar
 
@Ravenpoe so do you happen to have a preferred dealer for your fancy watches if someone were inclined to purchase one?

i’m a former invicta diver collector who is kinda jealous of that Pulsar
Invicta was my first automatic watch. Invicta gets a bad rap, some of it deserved, but they do tend to be stepping stones up to 'real' watches.

I buy most of my watches from ebay, but I do a lot of research first. If you know what to look for you can identify good deals on ebay, as well as tell the obvious fakes. And ebay has a great return policy if you receive something different than what was advertised.

For new watches, I buy from jomashop. They are a grey market dealer, which means you will be getting a warranty through jomashop and not the manufacturer, but you can get far better deals by going through grey market than you can paying retail price at an AD like some sort of loser.
 
Tag Heuer is parterning with Nintendo to make a Mario watch.

No pictures of the watch are available yet. Nor is a price or anything else. Details might be released on Jul 13th, or possibly 15th.
While blanket statements are never good and you have to look at things on a watch by watch basis, Tag Heuer is kinda shit. The only reason they're still a big name and able to trick people into their overinflated prices is they're still riding on the coattails of the Monaco (though this can be said for a lot of watch companies).

Heuer was great, if you can find old Heuer watches you should get them. Especially the original Monaco. But once they were acquired by Tag it was all downhill.

Ok, watch snobbery over.
 
I bought a “dad watch”
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Respect. I know I'm a watch snob, but a classic Timex or Casio is way better than pretty much anything by fashion brands like mvmt or daniel wellington. (If anyone has one of these and loves them, hey, you do you, I just don't like them)

I don't have a Timex digital (I do have a timex weekender though, I think currently the only non-digital quartz in my collection) but I've got a Casio Worldtimer.

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I posted this over on the discord when I first got it, but I'll go ahead and put it here too. A dive watch from Phoibos, a decent little microbrand known for making dive watches. And I know I'm a watch fan when I get just as excited for >$300 watch as I do one that costs thousands.

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Tag Heuer is parterning with Nintendo to make a Mario watch.

No pictures of the watch are available yet. Nor is a price or anything else. Details might be released on Jul 13th, or possibly 15th.
Information has come out now. It's two grand, and it's a smart watch.


Now, listen. There's nothing wrong with a smart watch. I own one, they're very convenient, and a fun little gadget. But they are a gadget, and ultimately disposable. In no way should you pay luxury watch prices for a smart watch, which will be obsolete in a few years and practically worthless.
 
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