What watch do you wear?
- Thread starter Doran
- Start date
Man of Honour
Hmm good point, naval heart of the UK, I'll have to go on a "daily exercise mr officer" soon then!
Soldato
I've been wearing a Seiko Prospex SRPC07 for the last few weeks at work, lovely watch and probably the most expensive one in my collection:
https://designeroptics.com/products...MIuevBoP-_7gIVxu7tCh1giwY8EAQYCCABEgK3VvD_BwE
Of course, I didn't spend anywhere near that on it, imported it for much less money.
Once my webspace is working again, I'll post an on-the-wrist shot
https://designeroptics.com/products...MIuevBoP-_7gIVxu7tCh1giwY8EAQYCCABEgK3VvD_BwE
Of course, I didn't spend anywhere near that on it, imported it for much less money.
Once my webspace is working again, I'll post an on-the-wrist shot
Soldato
@mrk do you still have your Pelagos? Or your Nomos?
Man of Honour
I sold the Pelagos as it was a bit too big for my liking in the end. The NOMOS has also gone to make way for a few other watches since then. Thinking back, I don't actually miss those watches but I do others like the Halios Tropik SS and Longines HydroConquest 39mm. The fact that I don't miss the NOMOS and Tudor tells me that they weren't the watches for me I guess!
Soldato
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Quick and dirty shot of my new-to-me Grand Seiko which landed this morning - been hunting for this original, old logo variant for a good while. The sapphire bezel means it changes from black, to silver, grey and even white at certain angles. Not one for those who can't stand reflections. It's a beaut and a prime example of some 44mm watches totally belying their size when on wrist:
Man of Honour
That is rather great, any close-ups of the dial and bezel from various angles? Always like seeing how light plays with such finishes.
As it's Flieger Friday...
As it's Flieger Friday...
Really love this! The date is very cool. What is the inner most dial?Quick and dirty shot of my new-to-me Grand Seiko which landed this morning - been hunting for this original, old logo variant for a good while. The sapphire bezel means it changes from black, to silver, grey and even white at certain angles. Not one for those who can't stand reflections. It's a beaut and a prime example of some 44mm watches totally belying their size when on wrist:
Needs a better pic of the bezel.
Man of Honour
I remember years ago I really wanted the Explorer II, it was the only Rolex I'd ever liked and thought I'd buy one day but as interest in watches grew I learned it was 42mm and back then didn't even know Grand Seiko existed, so once I'd learned of them a Spring Drive GS had replaced the Explorer.
Looking at Rolex's site it seemsthe 39mm Explorer only comes with a black dial whilst the 42mm ones offer white which is a bit of a bummer as I really like the white dial.
Onto straps, anyone cut their rubber straps to make them shorter or thinking about doing so? Mainly thinking NATOs here or single pass. In the past I've done this but just did it with a pair of scissors and hacked away. I took a bit of care to do the Zuludiver 298 today as on the Hamilton the tail stuck out just where my wrist bone is so the keeper rested on this too which I could feel as I go about working on stuff at the desk etc. On other watches I have had the same strap they've all been 39mm or above case size so not had the same issue.
I used a sotchbrite style sanding pad to then smooth the edges and round it off so it looks factory finish which worked surprisingly well.
Before:
After:
The 2 keepers there protect the buckle from scratching when exploring desk fields because the buckle cost more than the watch and I'd rather keep it unscuffed for as long as possible
Canvas NATOs are much easier, just cut and use a heat gun or flame to singe seal the ends - Sounds ghetto but the results are excellent.
Looking at Rolex's site it seemsthe 39mm Explorer only comes with a black dial whilst the 42mm ones offer white which is a bit of a bummer as I really like the white dial.
Onto straps, anyone cut their rubber straps to make them shorter or thinking about doing so? Mainly thinking NATOs here or single pass. In the past I've done this but just did it with a pair of scissors and hacked away. I took a bit of care to do the Zuludiver 298 today as on the Hamilton the tail stuck out just where my wrist bone is so the keeper rested on this too which I could feel as I go about working on stuff at the desk etc. On other watches I have had the same strap they've all been 39mm or above case size so not had the same issue.
I used a sotchbrite style sanding pad to then smooth the edges and round it off so it looks factory finish which worked surprisingly well.
Before:
After:
The 2 keepers there protect the buckle from scratching when exploring desk fields because the buckle cost more than the watch and I'd rather keep it unscuffed for as long as possible
Canvas NATOs are much easier, just cut and use a heat gun or flame to singe seal the ends - Sounds ghetto but the results are excellent.
Bad photo but picked this up last week. Had an Explorer II a while ago which I loved but it was on the thick side. This one is a keeper. At least it is for now!
I'll be after one of these next I think, but would like a fluted bezel and rhodium dial.
Explorer 2 is a big (ish) watch, I have a 7" wrist, and can just about get away with it. I don't think I would get away with it with anything smaller.
Soldato
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Soldato
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It's the fixed inner chapter ring for the GMT hand that shows the 'missing' numbers from the bezel. This is so you can use the usual hands for local time, the GMT hand + fixed chapter ring for one time zone, and the GMT hand + rotating bezel for another time zone.
A few photos above with the bezel too. I really like it also!
These movements really take advantage of the Spring Drive accuracy, as it allows you to change the hour hand without hacking the movement (a.k.a. a travellers GMT), so you never interrupt the movement. My other SD isn't able to do this, so when you change time zone you have to fully stop the movement to change the time. Independent hour hands are great when the movement is accurate enough to benefit from it.
Of course, it's not that useful right now, and it's never exactly a faff to hack when changing the hour...but it's a cool feature.
Soldato
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The 39mm is the Explorer and only in black, but the 42mm is the Explorer 2 and comes in both black and polar dials. They're very different watches given the Explorer is a time only piece, whilst the Explorer 2 has a date complication as well as the GMT function.
There's also rumours of a new Explorer 2 about to come out.
I sold my old black dialled five digit Exp 2 a few years back...for 2.5k (essentially mates rates on a forum). They're now 5k upwards. I don't really miss it that much given I kept the five digit Sub and I use a rotating bezel far more than a GMT function, but it was still a cool piece despite the fixed bezel. Wore very snug against the wrist and was supremely comfortable on the Oyster.
Man of Honour
Ah cheers for the pics both above and info, that's handy to know if the chance ever comes up about the Explorer in the future. As it stands the only 4 figure watch I'll likely add is a GS Spring Drive as mentioned but it has to be a certain design I like not just any GS!
All in good time
All in good time
Soldato
To be honest, as nice as the 39mm Explorer is, I really love the classic 114270
Soldato
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I'm biased as I get real pleasure in the Spring Drive movements - it's extremely hard to get over their sub-sub-sub-second accuracy, even in the context of very decent mechanical accuracies of a couple of seconds a day. The sweep is also mesmerising, but that can be captured with a high beat movement like Zenith's El Primero which has a similar visual effect, but rather impacted service intervals as a result. Some dislike quartz's involvement in the SD, but I can get over that given its hybrid mechanical nature!Ah cheers for the pics both above and info, that's handy to know if the chance ever comes up about the Explorer in the future. As it stands the only 4 figure watch I'll likely add is a GS Spring Drive as mentioned but it has to be a certain design I like not just any GS!
All in good time
It's an enjoyable quest, and one to not rush into for sure.
Man of Honour
Yeah whilst SD has a quartz element it's not battery powered so not the same and IMO it is the best of both worlds and engineered to some sort of wizard-like perfection. They are hand made by a Takumi in Seiko's master workshop where iirc only a select few are chosen as "capable" of creating a GS watch like the hand finished components etc. To me that's a level of perfection that many Swiss luxury brands can't match to the point even the underside of a hand on the dial is hand-polished.
In fact here's a Hodinkee vid on GS that I'd seen couple years back but long forgot:
Their ethos reminds me of Nissan's Takumi division who are in charge of making the NIssan GT-R or Toyota's people in charge of the LFA. Things are so anal that even the weight of the dust caps matter and that's kind of awesome.
Bulova have smooth sweepingquartz watches too and have done for generations - They are purely quartz though and will run out of battery after 1-2 years. Very nice otherwise.
In fact here's a Hodinkee vid on GS that I'd seen couple years back but long forgot:
Their ethos reminds me of Nissan's Takumi division who are in charge of making the NIssan GT-R or Toyota's people in charge of the LFA. Things are so anal that even the weight of the dust caps matter and that's kind of awesome.
Bulova have smooth sweepingquartz watches too and have done for generations - They are purely quartz though and will run out of battery after 1-2 years. Very nice otherwise.
My CWC Mellor 72 developed condensation on the underside of the crystal after a couple of weeks of ownership. No swimming or showering. They were very good and swapped it in person at their London HQ. No issues so far with the replacement.