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Need a Fancy new Dress Watch


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Thanks everyone for the impressive array of informative and fun replies.

Maybe I'll have time for a hands on this weekend.

Especially for traveling, the functions (backlight/alarm) need to be there.

The dead watch (actually it is still ticking but I can't get the back to stay on any more after I did a self-battery install) is a Timex Expedition. What I like about its alarm is how easy it is to set the "under 1 hour" alarm. The outer housing is a dial, connected to a red arrow, next to the numbers. So to set it to go off anytime less than one hour, you rotate it to where the minute hand will be, then just pull the alarm button out. Pretty handy.

This whole watch business got me looking at watches I otherwise would not look at and I'm finding that, like other "fashion accessories" there are some deep discounts to be found. For example, this Invicta is significantly marked down.

Holy crap you're not kidding. What, did they fall off the truck?!

be

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David,

I'm SURE that I have the exception, not the rule. Their customer service has actually been quite good, it only cost $250 once for 4 trips back. My sister has a Constellation that has been perfect. Mine was purchased in 11/98 (still have the card and box) and loses time like mad.

I think we've had this discussion on another thread. All I can say is, that sucks. I wouldn't want to have spent that kind of $$$ on a watch and not have it work properly.

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Since you asked specifically for a watch with an alarm...

Under a grand, I'd look at Seiko, Citizen or Hamilton.

Over a grand, Breitling, Fortis or Tag.

Quick edit: The alarm is a bit of a trip wire for a nice watch. As they get more expensive, you typically get less stuff! If you don't need the alarm, the world is your oyster.

+1 to those brands. My oldest Seiko is a watch my father bought in Saigon in 1965...self-winding with date and after a good cleaning, is still running great.

I would add Tissot as another brand to consider. They've been around for ages and have some cool models with neat functions like altitutde, compass etc and they're not huge/gaudy. My brother-in-law has the titanium T-touch and loves it. http://www.bluedial.com/t0134204720100.htm

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've had a Citizen eco-drive watch now for several years and I love it. I bought one for my dad for his 75th birthday and he has been very happy with it as well. No winding, no batteries, no silly self-winder gizmos to go bye-bye on you when you least expect them to.

BlueDial is a good online store with good prices and excellent service. I believe they are located in Vegas.

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I just looked at the 'James Bond' watch in the link in an earlier post. Quite impressive, Water tight to 600 meters or 2000 feet! That is roughly 905 pounds per square inch of water pressure. Something tells me that this might be an error. Most good watches are listed to 200 meters or about 660 feet which yields about 300 PSI.

I have dove a cheap watch to destruction on a breath hold dive. It was rated at 100 feet/3 atm (Which is actually false as 100 feet is in reality 4 atm). It went nuts about 40 feet.

All this is not to say the Omega isn't a good watch. I just wonder if they might be slightly exaggerating the performance.

Jim

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I just looked at the 'James Bond' watch in the link in an earlier post. Quite impressive, Water tight to 600 meters or 2000 feet! That is roughly 905 pounds per square inch of water pressure. Something tells me that this might be an error. Most good watches are listed to 200 meters or about 660 feet which yields about 300 PSI.

I have dove a cheap watch to destruction on a breath hold dive. It was rated at 100 feet/3 atm (Which is actually false as 100 feet is in reality 4 atm). It went nuts about 40 feet.

All this is not to say the Omega isn't a good watch. I just wonder if they might be slightly exaggerating the performance.

Jim

Omega's are definitely good watches and they certainly aren't cheap. I think mine is somewhere near the bottom of their price range and still cost $3000. Most of the Omega's are rated at 300M like the one I have but, they do have this one that is rated for 1200M.

http://www.omegawatches.com/index.php?id=1328

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OK, I admit, I cannot justify spending over 4 grand for a watch. I'd even say that if I were to win the lottery Friday (200 million) I don't think I could spend that on a watch. Yes, I would go for a titanium Luminox, but that is about as far as I could go.

As for testing, the old records for air scuba used to be in the 400 plus foot range. Breath hold has actually pushed that. My personal best breath hold dive was just over 100 feet, the bottom precluded going deeper. 1200 meters is if nothing else an awesome bit of engineering. Of course as was stated earlier, you'd need and ALVIN to verify that your watch really withstood the pressures.

good luck on your search for a dress watch.

Jim

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I have a Benarus dive watch I recently purchased thats pressure rated to 1000m. As far as I'm concerned, 8' in the deep end of the pool is enough.... but it is the fattest watch I've ever seen at 16.5mm. That's over 1/2" thick.... I love it though.

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I have a Benarus dive watch I recently purchased thats pressure rated to 1000m. As far as I'm concerned, 8' in the deep end of the pool is enough.... but it is the fattest watch I've ever seen at 16.5mm. That's over 1/2" thick.... I love it though.

Kobold SEAL is 17.75mm thick! It's also waterproof down to 100atm with the crown locked (3,300ft). They add this: "*all ratings in accordance with the strict regulations set forth by the German Industrial Standard Bureau, DIN"

http://www.koboldwatch.com/products/seal_tac.htm#

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Kobold or new gun, Kobold or new..........DOH!

To make it worse they'll sell it to me at a major discount. It was used for a photo shoot for one of the watch mags so technically it's "used" and they won't sell it normally...only to "friends". They also offer a significant discount if you're law enforcement and you call and ask them nicely...it's worth the call! Ack...it's been eating at me for a while!

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Having seen your Kobold and one other, I can attest to their beauty. But the price tag for a layman is pretty steep.

Right now I'm excited about a smaller bunch of dive watch companies that are doing small runs of unusual case, dial designs... Benarus, Deep Blue, Serket... Little less expensive, but its less of a watch....

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