Watch Dorkery!

[empeg9000]

I am a self confessed watch dork and own more than I really need, mostly Automatics. My favorite watch however is the Omega Speedmaster, first watch on the moon.
Its the 50th of them being used by NASA . Omega launched a website for it with some cool clips.
Check out the Speedmaster 50th Anniversary Site (http://www.omegawatches.com/minisites/speedmaster_50th/)

[screwtop]

I am a self confessed watch dork and own more than I really need, mostly Automatics. My favorite watch however is the Omega Speedmaster, first watch on the moon.
Its the 50th of them being used by NASA . Omega launched a website for it with some cool clips.
Check out the Speedmaster 50th Anniversary Site (http://www.omegawatches.com/minisites/speedmaster_50th/)

Pretty cool site, thanks for sharing. When you say "Automatics" do you mean self-winding? Anyway, I recently got a Luminox watch that I really like.

[rinty]

Nothing dorkey about watches, Empeg; one of my favourite possessions is a 1974 GMT Master.

The first time I crossed the border back into Canada on my shiny new Pacific Blue RS, the Canada Border Services guy looked me over and said: "Nice watch!"

I was only slightly miffed. :laugh

Rinty

[empeg9000]

Pretty cool site, thanks for sharing. When you say "Automatics" do you mean self-winding? Anyway, I recently got a Luminox watch that I really like.
Yes I do although the Speedmaster and a Russian watch I own are both manual wind. Luminox is a cool watch and I wouldn't mind having one too! My wife told me no more for a while after I added the Speedmaster.

[empeg9000]

Nothing dorkey about watches, Empeg; one of my favourite possessions is a 1974 GMT Master.

The first time I crossed the border back into Canada on my shiny new Pacific Blue RS, the Canada Border Services guy looked me over and said: "Nice watch!"

I was only slightly miffed. :laugh

Rinty
Ohhh GMT master.... nice! I was hoping to get a Heuer Monaco someday, a real one not that thing they are passing off now. They however are going in the 5K range for a really nice one. You know very few people ever even notice the Speedmaster. I think its a little understated so most people don't notice. I have a Seiko Black Monster that I had customized while a GMT style face and that gets all kinds of comments. Then again its huge!

[2BikeMike]

I hate watches, always feel like it's an extension of my wife saying it's time to come home!!:uhoh

[Motor31]

My regular watch is a timex, about the $18.00 vintage. I tried good watches and always broke the darn things. The cheap Timex I have to either lose or kill with a hammer.

I have a couple that are more than the standard low budget. One is a Seiko and I put it away as too heavy and I was starting to get it all scratched up. The other I inherited. It's an Elgin. The only markings I can find on it are Boss and 25 year guarantee. The time period is long since up. I have it stored but occasionally wind it up for a couple days.

[rinty]

...with a GMT style face, and that gets lots of comments.... empeg

The red and blue bezel is quite noticeable, and I get a lot of compliments on it. I just hope that there will still be parts available for them in the future. Mine's over thirty years old now, and the most recent rebuild was 3 years ago.

Rinty

[BeemoKat]

I'm pretty immune to watches, but pocketknives....:doh

[Belquar]

I wear the humvee of watches. The G Shock. I have been a G Shock man for the last 15 years. I have had 3 of them. My third is a metal band. The other two were the black ones. I still have one of them. The other I left on a water buffalo in the Mojave Desert after washing up for chow.

Current vintage is atomic and solar. Pretty good watch. Serves the purpose. I have a swiss army watch with a broken band. That was a gift from the wife. She hated the black watch when she met me.

I have a co-worker that has a Tag....I never understood the need for a really expensive timepiece. What makes that watch better? I don't get it. But to each their own. I am all about functionality and indestructibility.

[rinty]

But to each their own. Belquar

It's really about having a piece of industrial art. A Chevy Cavalier will get you from A to B in much the same way as a Maserati will, but the latter is more interesting and, possibly, enjoyable, to own.

And a Swiss Army watch will probably do just as good a job at keeping time as most expensive watches, but it's not really art.

And an MV Agusta 1000 F4........:)

Rinty

[Rapid_Roy]

2 watches. A dress watch and a Swiss Army watch. I haven't worn either in years.

[soldemall]

That was a real treat, watching that rather complex video clip. Thanks for the link.
(Rolex Datejust, c 1971, that I bought used 15 years ago)

[EXR911]

Day-to-day I wear a 17 jewel Seiko automatic bilingual day/date which my wife bought me over 30 years ago. Several cleanings and crystals have been all it has needed in that time and it loses maybe a minute a day. It gets rough use.

For dress-up occasions, or where a stainless steel wrist watch with leather band might be "inappropriate" I use my grandfather's size 16, gilded Hunter case, 7 jewel Elgin with Roman numeral dial, one of a batch of 2,200 made by that American company in 1903. Recently serviced, it gains around 1 to 2 minutes per day. But since it should be wound daily, correcting it only takes a few seconds. There is a lot of family history in that watch - and something remembered every time I open the case to check the time.

PT9766

[Motor31]

PT,

On that Elgin, where do you find the model or specific info for it? The one I inherited now has 4 sets of initials in it with mine. I figure to add a 5th set when I pass it on to my son. I have no idea about the watch or where to find out about it.

[Czarnazoo]

There's a few magazines that I love to see in my PO Box...Watch Time is one of them. A few friends and I have really grown to appreciate watches. Understanding the movement and makers is just as gratifying as an understanding for a finely tuned motorcycle or a good bottle of wine. I started with a Tag Formula 1 (brother wears this one) - graduated to a Tag Kirium (sits in a drawer) - then a few years ago invested in my prize Chronoswiss Opus (sits in it's box in a drawer and is brought out on occasion) and seems to appreciate each year - during a trip to Grand Cayman last fall...found a great price and picked up an Oris TT1 Regulator with rubber and S/S band (now my everyday watch). Dream watches...there are too many to list and most are far from my budget... Peruse a copy of Watch Time on your next visit to a bookstore...think of a watch like a BMW for your wrist. I know the cheap ones do the same thing...but doesn't a beater 1980 Honda get you from point A to point B the same way....

[EXR911]

PT,

On that Elgin, where do you find the model or specific info for it? The one I inherited now has 4 sets of initials in it with mine. I figure to add a 5th set when I pass it on to my son. I have no idea about the watch or where to find out about it.

Try http://elginwatches.org

PT9766

[AllanCook]

My daily wearer:

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h52/allankcook/151P.jpg

RGM 151P automatic. No date, no frills, just the time.

[GRANT63RT]

I've got the model that recieves the signal from the atomic clock in Fort Colins, CO. This sucker is accurate! It also has multiple alarms, stopwatch, countdown timer, appointment calander, etc. All for $49. :dance

I also have a big square Tourneau that was awarded to me at work. It's sure looks expensive but it's not as much fun. I save that one for dress up occasions.

[Motor31]

Try http://elginwatches.org

PT9766



Thanks VERY much for the web site. I was able to find out the watch was manufactured in 1894 and is a lever model grade 10. That's more than I ever knew about it before. I inherited it when my Dad died back in 1960, I was only 6 then. My Mother had my innitials added to the 3 other sets there. That's really the only tie I have to my Dad's family.

[EXR911]

Thanks VERY much for the web site. I was able to find out the watch was manufactured in 1894 and is a lever model grade 10. That's more than I ever knew about it before. I inherited it when my Dad died back in 1960, I was only 6 then. My Mother had my innitials added to the 3 other sets there. That's really the only tie I have to my Dad's family.

Glad to have been able to be of assistance.
Sorry to rush off - am in the middle of a bike overhaul and prep for the season. Your Elgin sounds like a fine heirloom piece with that known history.
PT9766

[bobh41]

solar powered, with some kind of capacitor non-battery electrical storage, radio receiver tuned to Naval Observatory adjusts the time every morning to standard time, water resistant, 4 alarms, 12/24-hour display option, charge level indicator, received signal strength indicator. Heavy shock risistant case.

$38.00 with discounts at J.C. Penny two years ago. Made in Thailand. Best watch I've ever owned. Doesn't look as "neat" as my $500.00 Hamilton.

[GRANT63RT]

solar powered, with some kind of capacitor non-battery electrical storage, radio receiver tuned to Naval Observatory adjusts the time every morning to standard time, water resistant, 4 alarms, 12/24-hour display option, charge level indicator, received signal strength indicator. Heavy shock risistant case.

$38.00 with discounts at J.C. Penny two years ago. Made in Thailand. Best watch I've ever owned. Doesn't look as "neat" as my $500.00 Hamilton.

$38.00!!!? Darn, I paid $49.00 for mine. :cry

[john1691]

Stopped wearing a watch when I started my own business 3 1/2 years ago. Of course my cell phone and truck have clocks.........as does the K1200RS which I use for doing estimates when I can!

[pcsof8]

1. You're not a dork.
2. You are a collector.
People collect and admire their collections, be it condoms, or match books. I bet you'll find a watch club somewhere on the net if you look.
okeydoaky.

[paulsibek]

I have 2 Girard Perregaux, 2 Universal Geneve's, a Zenith, Rolex, 2 1940 & 1951 Bulovas, a Vulcain and others.

Like all great mechanical objects watches are masperpieces of mechanical technology. Name another that can run for 50-100 years without maintenance.

It seems like riding a BMW and wearing a fine mechanical time piece fo hand in hand, pun intended...

I have a GREAT guy in Florida that restores my watches and repairs too, if anybody needs to restore or repair. Let me know.

[EXR911]

While, like most North Americans, I have more than one watch, and through the blessing of the "cheap electronic era" ever appliance from a stove to a radio to a tv to a coffee maker has a darn clock feature, I am reminded of the old saying.

"A man who has a watch knows the time, a man who has two watches is never sure."

PT9766

[The_Veg]

I have never felt comfortable wearing a wristwatch (or necklaces or rings for that matter). Despite this I bought a Victorinox a few years ago to use in aviation, as the rented-Pipers I was flying had clocks about on par with those found in old airhead-fairings. It proved a handy timepiece, not only good for timing the fuel-tank changes and keeping track of when I had to return the plane, but it also proved very adept at surviving the washing-machine. I often put it in my pocket when I wasn't flying, and I found it at the bottom of the machine's tub a few times. The crystal never scratched, and it kept on tickin'. The fabric band didn't even shrink.
I got my first mobile phone in 2002 and I haven't worn a wristwatch since.