[sgiitk]

I hope spares for my Speedmaster have finally come. Last time my son checked they were 'on the way'. I am awaiting the good news.

[ringoism]

As a hobby / side income I’vd picked up a couple hundred vintage Jap/Swiss wristwatches over the years,






....very few of which I ever intended to wear regularly, and none of which have ultimately succeeded in that role…

I’d altogether given up trying lately, a vintage Seiko 5 with black military dial being the latest victim of my sustained abuses (this shot taken prior to the sad results).











But monitoring time from the wrist is undeniably still (as the world first discovered a century or so ago) a lot more practical / safe than repeatedly hoisting a time-keeping device out of one’s pocket…


What an arduous search it has been, finally, to find a daily-wear piece suitable for my typically rough and varied uses – something slim enough to slip in and out of my tightly-cinched jacket sleeve while motorcycling, lightweight and unobtrusive enough to hardly be aware it’s on my wrist when walking around (which rules out clunky dive watches and the ubiquitous G-Shocks), but still water / damage resistant enough to hold up to the rigors of my ongoing metalworking / mechanical and other DIY pursuits. Oh, and with superior legibility both day and night (I’m pushing a half-century after all), something that of course tends to decrease with watch size (and price)...


Dress-style watches (like the 5mm thick, rectangular Citizen my mom gifted me in the early 90’s) – can be plenty slim and as such are less likely to take hard hits in the first place - but their thin bezels/glass/lugs lack robustness and the requisite WR-ratings, and lume tends to be sparse.


Military/Field Watches could fit in well, but not all have the improved 100M/10bar WR ratings, or offset/protected crowns; And even these can get thick / clunky, while others (like Citizen / Seiko’s excellent solar 8180 / SNE095) are a bit over-polished for my tastes, and lack – like the majority of the Wenger / Swiss Military / Victorinox options - scratch-proof sapphire crystals, at least within the modest price target in view for a true “beater” watch. Moreover while I’m not at peace with outright bling, a perfect circle with a crown sticking out of it could become a little uninspiring to look at after several hundred days.





So a very tall order, as I was to discover over many evenings scouring the web for my “ideal” watch. Like so many other things this side of heaven (incl. cars/bikes/tyres/), conformance to one particular requirement often pits it at odds with others, and while there are many appealing pieces out there, extremely few seemed to meet all my requirements.


The Titanium-cased, purposeful Bertucci’s were the most tempting for awhile,






but their double-edged benefit of a raised bezel/recessed glass to protect the latter has the downside of making the watch case as thick as some divers, and the robust pinless strap-mounts require one-piece straps which raise the cases even higher off the wrist. The high bezel also ensures that if the crystal does get scratched, there’s no easy way to polish it out again, and its sharp edge tends to get dented / nicked up a lot from what I’ve seen.

The St. Moritz/Momentum lineup (seen above in black) also has some nice pieces of equal or greater utility, some with alarm / GST functions – but the affordable ones are too plain-looking, and the more interesting / sapphire-glassed pieces pretty pricey.


The Russian Vostok Amphibians - the AK-47's of the horological world, they say - 200M WR and come in a wide variety of cases and dials, a few of them attractive, but they're automatics, the cases won't be especially lightweight, and the acrylic crystals, while easily polished, also scratch easily.





So at long last, here we go:






One of the other smaller makes that specializes in titanium cases is Boccia. Many of their offerings are style-oriented pieces, but this one seemed highly practical, and being pre-owned, cheap enough to work for me, while filling I think just about all my requirements pretty well:


-100M WR
-Light/strong/practically corrosion-proof Titanium case
-Scratch-proof, high-end Sapphire crystal
-Accurate / simple / lightweight quartz movement w/ date indication
-Midsized at 37mm diameter, not ridiculously large as is the current (but sure to pass) fashion.
-Protected crown
-Enough bezel to take some knocks, also polish-able if (/when) scratched/nicked
-sizeable luminous markings
-Not very thick as it's not a true dive-watch (sport-diver at most)
-Not a current model, bit unique, unlikely to find anyone else wearing one.
-$50 U.S. shipped!


Thank God!!! Now I can go to bed early, and try to forget about watches for awhile! Really looking forward to getting this one on my wrist, maybe with a NATO/ZULU-style strap, if not a vintage rubber diver piece... Let's see if I can keep it there pretty much 24/7...


Regards,

-Eric

[PPS]

Originally Posted by arindambasu13

I feel it is worth getting it form the US, given the substantial price difference.

Thanks to the link you provided, I placed an order & got it shipped to the US address of my uncle who flew down here last week.
Seiko SRPB46 costed me about $354. It has a beautiful chocolate brown dial which i feel is the USP of the watch. Today is the first time i wore it & I keep admiring it! Its also my first watch with a leather strap.
Any particular do's & dont's for an automatic watch? Will test the claimed 40hr power reserve.

Btw, I have another relative coming down from the US in March so I'm tempted to buy another watch. But that's for another post.









My Uncle's friend wore this watch the other day, claims it costs 12 lakhs!

[arindambasu13]

Originally Posted by PPS

Thanks to the link you provided ...
Any particular do's & dont's for an automatic watch? Will test the claimed 40hr power reserve.

Btw, I have another relative coming down from the US in March so I'm tempted to buy another watch. But that's for another post.

Wonderful sir, really glad that the link helped. Long Island Watches is a great website with fast and efficient service, and I have purchased three different watches from them with good experience with all- using exactly the same method that you have used, i.e. getting it shipped to a friend and having him carry it down. In the bargain, I save a real big chunk of hard earned cash, and end up getting models which are not even available in the Indian market. Win- win situation, I say!

Lovely watch, the brown Cocktail Time is a really uncommon piece. I personally would have chosen the blue, but then thats me, I absolutely adore blue dialled watches. The cocktail time series in particular is a real classy effort by Seiko!

As far as my limited experience with automatic watches go, the thumb rule which I personally follow is : give them a lot of love and time. In other words, don't keep them lying in the watch box, these are meant to be used and not using them for long periods of time often has detrimental effects. Of course, this is easier said than done, especially if you have multiple timepieces each vying for your wrist time- and thats a problem I face regularly. I have made it a habit to religiously wind all my automatics every day, or at least every 2-3 days so that they are all running and keeping the machinery inside well lubricated and in tip - top condition. Very much like a car- keep her unused for long periods of time and she is likely to throw a tantrum or two.

Other than this, there is nothing much that you need to worry about. Seiko watches, including the one you have purchased are robust pieces which generally keep very good time and perform solidly. The 4R35 movement that your watch carries bears a similar reputation of being a hardy one. I have the same movement in my Seiko Samurai and my experience has been nothing but good with its accuracy and general performance.

Perhaps give it in for service every 5-7 years, if at all required, but that's in the distant future. As of now, enjoy the watch!

PS: you mentioned that you might purchase another piece. What genre are you looking at ? Another dress watch or a sports/diver piece?

[PPS]

Originally Posted by arindambasu13

I personally would have chosen the blue, but then thats me, I absolutely adore blue dialled watches.

I liked the Blue as well but i hadn't seen it in the flesh & I had a Casio Edifice with a blue bezel so went in for this chocolate brown Seiko for a change.
Btw, really loved your Mako II.

don't keep them lying in the watch box, these are meant to be used and not using them for long periods of time often has detrimental effects.

I may anyway end up getting the Blue dial Seiko perhaps & keep rotating the 2 Seiko's between them from Monday-Friday but I'm not sure whether i should go in for the same brand/same collection. As you said lack of wrist time may be a concern. My watch is on my wrist for about 12hrs on weekdays.
The 2 of my oldest watches in my collection which are 5yrs old have started to gather rust. So I won't be wearing them much now. So I'm upgrading my small collection with a few new purchases.

PS: you mentioned that you might purchase another piece. What genre are you looking at ? Another dress watch or a sports/diver piece?

Not looking at any particular genre. It should cost below 40k. Already have a Raymond Weil Tango(quartz) which is a Diver. Since my aunt is coming down from US I'm tempted to buy another watch.

[dark.knight]

Originally Posted by PPS

My Uncle's friend wore this watch the other day, claims it costs 12 lakhs!

There are more than a couple of things off, here.. and of course I mean no offense at all by saying this, I'm merely going to reflect reality :

1) Its a Roger Dubuis.. rose gold with flying double-tourbillon (the two circles bottom of the dial), its actual price will be WAY more.. 10 times more, more like it.

2) Mostly, Roger Dubuis makes skeleton movements when it comes to double-tourbillons.. not a fully covered movement in this case.

3) I don't know if its the photo angle, low resolution or what, but the tourbillons seem to be rather poorly finished for what is basically a Geneva-Seal brand (top 1% in finishing), also they don't use cobalt-heat-blued screws on the tourbillon bridge if I remember right.

4) They've paired a rose-gold case to a rubber strap.. usually they don't.

5) Just google Excalibur Skeleton Double Flying Tourbillon.. there is NO resemblance.

6) There is the exact pic of the photo you've posted.. its a first-copy aka imitation.

That apart, congrats on your buy.

[arindambasu13]

Originally Posted by PPS

I may anyway end up getting the Blue dial Seiko perhaps & keep rotating the 2 Seiko's between them from Monday-Friday but I'm not sure whether i should go in for the same brand/same collection.
Not looking at any particular genre. It should cost below 40k. Already have a Raymond Weil Tango(quartz) which is a Diver. Since my aunt is coming down from US I'm tempted to buy another watch.

If you are looking at dress watches to wear with formal wear, and do not want another Cocktail Time watch, may I suggest the Orient Bambino range which has a large number of permutations and combinations and some really classy dial designs. I personally have one of these and have been wearing it as my daily watch to office for 8-9 months now. Superb value for money and one of the most popular does watch ranges in the sub USD 200 category. Alternatively, if you are looking at sportier watches, Seiko has innumerable automatic divers which are again superb value for money. You can take your pick from a huge selection of varied dial designs, case sizes and dial colours.

I personally prefer stickig to the Japanese brands since I feel they offer very good bang per buck, within my budget which is fairly limited. But if you have the bandwidth to consider Swiss pieces, Tissot and Hamilton both offer a good entry point in the INR 25K plus price range. The Tissot Visodate and Hamilton Khaki range come to mind. Steihhart is also a great brand with some quality offerings in this price range, I find their divers watches to be really well designed and desirable. Happy shopping!

[Thebat]

Posting a few pictures of my Orient Bambino, it is the most beautiful watch that I have and after wearing this timeless peice, all the other watches start to look dull in comparison. There is something about its raised crystal dome, the vintage lettering, the beautifully crafted and placed name plate and the hour indicators that makes this timepiece very special to me and the overall look, feel and the construction is top notch.

[TorqueyTechie]

Originally Posted by Thebat

Posting a few pictures of my Orient Bambino, it is the most beautiful watch that I have and after wearing this timeless peice, all the other watches start to look dull in comparison. There is something about its raised crystal dome, the vintage lettering, the beautifully crafted and placed name plate and the hour indicators that makes this timepiece very special to me and the overall look, feel and the construction is top notch.

Very beautiful minimalist watch! Good buy Thebat.

[Jr Godzilla]

For some reason I have a wrist which can ruin any waterproof watch.
My wrist likes only electronic watches.

Watches my wrist ruined
Enicar
Favre Leuba (hand winding)
Rado
Omega
Seiko chronograph
Omax
Ricoh
Timex
Fossil
Longines


Casio Gshock stayed with me for +8 years

Now
Festina
Samsung S3

I love the S3 and my personal opinion I rate this well over a Rolex.
My reasons: its overloaded with features and much much more than just display time.

[arindambasu13]

Originally Posted by Thebat

Posting a few pictures of my Orient Bambino, it is the most beautiful watch that I have and after wearing this timeless peice, all the other watches start to look dull in comparison. There is something about its raised crystal dome, the vintage lettering, the beautifully crafted and placed name plate and the hour indicators that makes this timepiece very special to me and the overall look, feel and the construction is top notch.

Awesome. I have the very same piece, though in a different dial colour. The vintage cream/ beige dial with cobalt blue hands. The Bambino is indeed a looker with superb build quality especially given the price point at which it is retailed. Have posted a detailed review and pictures several pages back when I purchased it.

[PPS]

Originally Posted by dark.knight

Its a Roger Dubuis.. rose gold with flying double-tourbillon .There is the exact pic of the photo you've posted.. its a first-copy aka imitation.

Just googled about it & as you rightly mentioned, the original costs well over 1 cr!

Originally Posted by arindambasu13

may I suggest the Orient Bambino range which has a large number of permutations and combinations and some really classy dial designs.

Its a very nice watch. But perhaps i'll skip another dress watch.

Tissot and Hamilton both offer a good entry point in the INR 25K plus price range. Steihhart is also a great brand with some quality offerings in this price range,

Already have a Tissot. Not heard much of the other 2 brands. I prefer seeing the watches in the flesh before buying.
Case in point being, i liked the Oris Aquis in the pics, in the flesh it also looked good but i personally felt my Raymond Weil was better finished.
Currently, I'm tilting more towards the Seiko Presage with the blue dial. Will wait to see it in the flesh before ordering.

[sandx]

My collection right now. For day to day use I mostly prefer the smart band.



L-R: Timex Expedition, Lenovo HW fitness band, Casio D011, Casio Enticer.

Do ignore the time variance.

[Gannu_1]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

Always wanted a Seiko just for the lume.

And here comes the surprise gift from my wife for the birthday!







The sapphire blue dial looks really nice.

The mandatory lume shot:

[arindambasu13]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

And here comes the surprise gift from my wife for the birthday!


The mandatory lume shot:

Love the blue dial, put it in sunlight and the sunburst dial will really pop. Nice choice by your wife and a really wonderful gift.

Seikos, especially the 5 series, is built to last a lifetime if taken good care of, and has a solid movement to back it up. More or less maintenance free other than the services which are few and far between. Not to mention the gorgeous Lumibrite. The lume on these Seiko sports pieces are just unbelievable.

One of these days Ill post a pic of the lime on my Seiko Samurai, that thing glows like a flashlight in the dark for hours on end.