[nirupesh]

Originally Posted by arindambasu13

Hence, rather than trying to restrict oneself to watches for specific situations, if you are a one watch collection kind of guy, then you should look for versatility in one's timepiece to go with various situations that one finds oneself in from time to time. Of course, if you are open to having a multi- watch collection (3, 5 or more) then by all means buy timepieces which are meant for specific categories as you go about building your collection. In that case, versatility may not be as important as when you are restricting yourself to one high quality watch within your budget.

But the OP said he had a budget, threw a few brand names he liked, and asked for suggestions and I gave him a few. I won't pretend to make a decision for whether the OP needs one-watch or multiple watches.

Originally Posted by amansanc

Ended up falling in love with a Frederique Constant watch. It is from the Runabout collection. The model is FC-303RMN5B4 which is a limited edition model limited to 2888 pieces (quite high I know but liked it being numbered ). The box this watch comes in is a piece of art itself and reeks luxury. Liked the rose gold plated casing together with the blue strap and dial and hence picked it up from Ethos Watches.

FQ are great watches with decent fit and finish. The runabout collection is great and would make a great everyday-work sort of piece. The dial offers some versatility by including Arabic numerals which give the watch a little sporty appeal and would help you dress it down for the evenings and maybe even weekends if paired well.

If you were to move up a little in the FQ catalog's price range, you'd bump into the chronographs. I am not a stickler for in-house movements but the fit and finish on the watches carrying the manufacture chronograph movements are a class apart.

Nevertheless, wear your FQ Runabout in good health!

[arindambasu13]

Originally Posted by nirupesh

But the OP said he had a budget, threw a few brand names he liked, and asked for suggestions and I gave him a few. I won't pretend to make a decision for whether the OP needs one-watch or multiple watches.

What brands you recommend to someone seeking advice is certainly your prerogative. You will note however, that there was no pretense of any manner of decision-making in my post. On the contrary, I referenced both scenarios: one watch and multiple watch collections, depending on one's personal preference.

Of course, it's now a moot point given that the watch in question has been purchased.

@amansanc: congrats on your choice, do post some wrist shots!

[rageshgr]

Originally Posted by amansanc

......Ended up falling in love with a Frederique Constant watch. It is from the Runabout collection. The model is FC-303RMN5B4 which is a limited edition model limited to 2888 pieces (quite high I know but liked it being numbered ). The box this watch comes in is a piece of art itself and reeks luxury. Liked the rose gold plated casing together with the blue strap and dial and hence picked it up from Ethos Watches....

Great choice FC303 with the guilloiche dial is an absolute beauty. In fact 6 years ago it was an FC303 that I fell in love with, but it was out if my budget and hence I bought a Tissot LeLocle

[amansanc]

Originally Posted by nirupesh

FQ are great watches with decent fit and finish. The runabout collection is great and would make a great everyday-work sort of piece. The dial offers some versatility by including Arabic numerals which give the watch a little sporty appeal and would help you dress it down for the evenings and maybe even weekends if paired well.

Nevertheless, wear your FQ Runabout in good health!

Indeed is a great everyday-work piece. However, not wearing it everyday just yet. Waiting for the weather to chill up a little in Berlin and then it will be on my wrist every day. Have already worn it for a few evenings and have also paired it with casual weekend attire, works well I think.

Originally Posted by arindambasu13

@amansanc: congrats on your choice, do post some wrist shots!

Thanks! Clicked a few random wrist shots on the phone. No clue how to click proper ones

Originally Posted by rageshgr

Great choice FC303 with the guilloiche dial is an absolute beauty. In fact 6 years ago it was an FC303 that I fell in love with, but it was out if my budget and hence I bought a Tissot LeLocle

The dial is what caught my fancy first and then the complete watch. Took a look at the black dial with brown strap variant too but the blue on blue clicked more with me.

[bivin]

Hi,

Nice to see a healthy crowd of watch nerds in this forum. I stopped wearing watches for a while until very recently.

My grandfather had an old Seiko Chronograph which hadnt run in a while. It was gifted to him by his brother sometime during the 80s.

I gifted him a new Seiko 5 Automatic for his use, while I took on the older watch to try and restore.

Some digging on the internet later revealed that the older model is known as a Seiko 6138-8020. It is affectionately called the Seiko "Panda" due to the contrasting sub dials. (Although technically it classifies as a "Sub-Panda" since there are 2 sub-dials instead of 3).

A quick google search returned some watch specialists who said they could "fix the watch". This is over the phone mind you, without them even seeing the watch. And their rates were around a modest AED 1-2k AED + VAT.

Eventually found a watch repair shop with a competent mechanic who wasnt charging me a bomb for no reason whatsoever. (If you are based in Dubai, you probably have heard of the famous Irshad Watch Repair. Cannot recommend him enough).

Watch stayed with him for a good 3 months while he was sourcing some parts to replace some worn out mechanical bits. Eventually he got these and sorted my watch out. It was back to its former running glory.

Dont have any actual pictures of the Panda currently so heres one off the internet. The Panda is running great and is my daily right now. This watch has kick started my passion for watches all over again.

Now the itch to "mod" it has kicked in, and am considering ordering a strap to refresh its look.

Cheers

[motorworks]

Although Im not a fan of smart watches, I was sort of forced in to buying one recently. Long story short,I was gifted a fossil watch, and I absolutely hate anything apart from my G-Shocks. Over the years I have given away all my other watches to family and have now only 3 G-Shocks and a Casio edifice which my wife gifted during our marriage.

So I knew I would never use the fossil, hence I went back to the showroom where it was bought and obviously I could exchange it only for another fossil. There was none that I liked and hence paid around 9k extra to get the fossil gen 4 smart watch. I figured I would have never invested something like 20k on a smart watch ever, so took a chance by paying up the difference between the watch I was gifted and this gen 4.

And I find it absolutely useless. The battery does not last beyond 6-7 hours! I mean not much of usage, but just regular notifications which I dont even view, and yet the watch has lost all battery in 6 hours! I gave the watch back to fossil for them to check it out since they claimed some 12 hours usage! And voila, they just reset the watch and gave it back to me and its now as useless again!
Sure, the fitness app in the watch is helpful when you do some running and cycling etc. But otherwise its not something you can wear to work.

Im not a gadget guy, im quite satisfied with my iPhone XR and would never opt for a wearable device to see notifications and the likes. I would rather see it in the phone when I have the time.
So there goes a good 8-9k down the drain!

[architect]

Originally Posted by bivin

Now the itch to "mod" it has kicked in, and am considering ordering a strap to refresh its look.
Cheers

The Panda is a classic. I suggest you restrict your mods to the strap only, as it has already been mechanically restored. That will also retain its value.

[sharktale]

Had to replace my 10 year old Kenneth Cole (Japan Movt) due to frequent failures.

During my Euro trip last month, visited a normal store in Interlaken, Switzerland and got myself a Swiss Military watch, for 120 Euros.

I travel via public transport and ding my watch often, thus I did not want to invest a lot of Vitamin M on an Automatic Swiss/Tissot watches, which were costing over 300 Euros.
This is a Swiss Movt Quartz watch, and has sapphire glass on top. Looking forward to wearing it to office for the next 5-6 years, after which I plan to invest in a Seiko Automatic.

Does the navy blue watch strap match the dial? My mom's asking me to get something funky like an electric blue strap or dark brown. Any recommendations shall be much appreciated.

PS : The band is a silicone 20mm strap ordered from Aliexpress. Due to extreme sweating, I soil my bands within a year max!

[bivin]

Originally Posted by architect

The Panda is a classic. I suggest you restrict your mods to the strap only, as it has already been mechanically restored. That will also retain its value.

Id never consider selling the watch. Although some research online indicates a clean example can easily fetch upwards of $1,000 which was a pleasant surprise.

A strap is the only "mod" per se. Ordered one from AliExpress as a "Test fit". The leather is terrible. Seems the cow had a skin rash of some sort

Planning to order a proper one from Barton Watch Bands:

https://www.bartonwatchbands.com/

At some point in its life, the crystal was changed out for a cheap looking acrylic one. Have ordered a replacement from EBay UK.

Will post pictures of a before and after once these have been fitted.

[arindambasu13]

Originally Posted by sharktale

Had to replace my 10 year old Kenneth Cole (Japan Movt) due to frequent failures.

Suggest you explore Barton watch straps for a perfect match for that blue dial. I own an Orient Mako with almost that exact dial shade of electric blue and I have paired mine with a blue silicone strap from Barton. Great quality and can withstand everyday wear and abuse. They have a huge variety of silicone straps and they are priced very reasonably as well. Highly recommended based on my use over the last couple of years.

As for protection against soiling and grime from everyday wear, silicone straps are super easy to clean with just a basic soap and water wash.

[sharktale]

Originally Posted by arindambasu13

As for protection against soiling and grime from everyday wear, silicone straps are super easy to clean with just a basic soap and water wash.

Thank you for the suggestion. I'll definitely consider this for my next replacement. At the present, I'm really satisfied with these Aliexpress ones i got for INR 400, and have already lasted me 3+ years.

[ringoism]

Either of these could qualify (for me!) as "everyday watches" as someone defined / outlined not far down in the thread




WENGER 7275x:

It could have rightly been called the "Constellation" I suppose, what with the extensive lume on a rather complicated watch as analog pieces go... Real-world functionality via the worldtime and alarm features (second-hand, alarm on-off, and day on the subdials, date on the main dail at 4), case not too big, not too small, and essentially similar to some of their Terragraphs (which I'd been looking for at the time) with the full crown-guard (mostly lost in the shadow here), but this also having a domed crystal, etc. Just a great all-rounder, and a fairly rare piece.



-[/ATTACH]:

CASIO PAG-50: I've built up a fair collection of Pro-Trek's / Pathfinders, but this is one model I hadn't got ahold of till recently. I guess from the early 2000's, it looked a little UFO-like in photos and I wasn't at all sure I would like it, but on the wrist in real-life, it is perfect, a real looker, my new favorite (replacing the PAW-1500 posted earlier, at least temporarily). The "50" is a big, thick piece, if I'm not mistaken Casio's first solar-recharged trekking watch, and like the non-solar PAG-40 before it, the display is much bigger / bolder / more readable than Casio's modern (offline) "ABC" watches. The 1500 is slimmer, has a more damage-resistant ss bezel, and the moonphase/tidegraph functions... and it's a good looker in its own right. But this 50 is unashamedly audacious, yet not for its own sake, it is essentially all in the name of functionality. Some "wow" factor in the implementation of the compass as shown, a beautiful full automatic backlight (sensor "knows" when you've picked up / twisted your arm into typical viewing position), altitude and weather (barometric) functions, besides temperature. Great waterproofing (been wearing it in the bath) and pretty comfy to wear, too. And you never have to update software, worry about security/privacy, or dread the day when a message comes up telling you that your $600 three-year-old smartwatch is "no longer supported").

Look back from the 1980's till now and you can't help but admire Casio's innovation and technology in timepieces. Gaming watches, remote-TV-control watches, calculator watches (everyone remembers those!), infrared-temperature-sensing watches, etc etc... all surprisingly reliable, as well (I've got a battered Casio calculator from the late 1980's that still works fine... this company knew how to build electronics to last).

Not to mention the G-Shocks and others which really pressed the limits as far as design, color, fashion sense, construction, size go.

I met a cute little teenaged Nepali girl the other day who was wearing an absolutely enormous black G-Shock that would be "too big" for almost any man in the traditional way of thinking... But love it or hate it, Casio actually created the fashion - leaders, not followers.

Really quite amazing.

-Eric

[surjaonwheelz]

Hello Seiko lovers,

By now you might be knowing that the popular SKX line-up is discontinued. Existing stocks are retailing for around $400 or more.

In Baselworld, 2019 Seiko announced a new Seiko 5 Sports line-up. I'm happy to see that the entire collection is available with Indian retailers now starting at Rs. 19,500/-
I'm not able to get their US Dollar price, should be around $250

Seiko product page

They are also available with Ethos & Helios watch stores (online). Seiko India never did justice to the Seiko 5 collection in India. Good to see that they have launched their entire line up globally including India.

Brief specs:
Caliber Number - 4R36
Movement Type - Automatic with manual winding capacity
Duration - Approx. 41 hours
Water Resistance - 10 bar [Not 200m]

Other features:
Screw case back
See-through case back
Unidirectional rotating bezel
24 jewels
Day/Date display
Stop seconds hand function

SRPD53K1


I would love to buy from this collection but I've still not broken the mental barrier of having a watch costlier than my mobile phone!

Cheers,
surjaonwheelz

[AnandB]

Have been using Tag Heuer Formula 1 Calibre 5 past 4 years. Got it for 1300usd from Mumbai Airport.

[arindambasu13]

Originally Posted by surjaonwheelz

By now you might be knowing that the popular SKX line-up is discontinued. Existing stocks are retailing for around $400 or more.

In Baselworld, 2019 Seiko announced a new Seiko 5 Sports line-up. I'm happy to see that the entire collection is available with Indian retailers now starting at Rs. 19,500/-
I'm not able to get their US Dollar price, should be around $250


I would love to buy from this collection but I've still not broken the mental barrier of having a watch costlier than my mobile phone!

While the SKX is a decent watch with a cult following, the fact that it had a non hacking and hand winding movement, with very iffy accuracy, was a turn off for me. My automatic watch journey started with its immediate, and in my opinion, more worthy competitor, the Orient Mako II. I wear the Mako regularly and absolutely love the watch, far more than the SKX. Of course, that is a personal view and lot of people swear by the SKX globally. Make no mistake, I am a Seiko fanboy myself, and watches in my collection include the Seiko Samurai, the Seiko Alpinist and the Seiko SARB033, all of which I absolutely love. The SKX has never struck that chord with me though.

I am happy that the movement has finally been upgraded in the new Seiko 5 range. The 4R36 movement is leagues ahead of the 7S26 movement on the SKX. Pretty accurate too, if one wears the watch regularly. I am actually quite surprised that the USA and Indian prices are in the same ball park, give or take a couple of thousands. Usually, automatic Seikos are atrociously overpriced when sold in the Indian market.

As for your mental barrier, think of it this way. A mobile phone is a very short lived commodity, which typically is used for 2-3 years at best, and then sold off at a huge depreciation most of the time. On the other hand, a good quality budget automatic at a price range of Rs. 20 K (or in fact, even lesser) will literally last you a lifetime with regular servicing and good care. It is a companion for life and an investment, and even if you want to sell and upgrade, you will most likely get a decent price for it. Seikos especially, are super reliable and easy to get serviced too. Their diver watches are extremely hardy and can take lots of abuse, great as a daily wear watch.