burritos;842806604 said:

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Are those timeless pieces? Cause the metal with bluish face remind me of the watches that my dad and uncles wore 40 years ago, though I have no idea what the brands were.

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hard to say what your father was wearing. a lot of reputable brands have something similar

beeasyed;842806607 said:

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hard to say what your father was wearing. a lot of reputable brands have something similar

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Yeah. Probably not going to figure out the brand. As someone with little to no fashion sense, I just wanted to educate myself/confirm that this style is timeless. Cause when I googled the watch, the first impression I got(which could definitely be mistaken or errantly biased) was that these blue faced watches were similar to what my father and uncles wore when I was a kid.

For what it's worth, I don't think Shinola watches are worth their price. Lots of hype, not as much quality to back it up and the aethestics are basically close to that of a Timex Weekender with a better strap.

Timex Weekender Alternative - $60
Timex Expedition Alternative - $42
Timex Waterbury - $100

And then pair with a strap like this one for $38

Pretty close look-wise at a fraction of the cost. And the Shinola build quality really isn't good enough to make up for it. I'd rather get a nice Seiko automatic if you're going to be spending hundreds.

StillNoStanfurdium;842806702 said:

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For what it's worth, I don't think Shinola watches are worth their price. Lots of hype, not as much quality to back it up and the aethestics are basically close to that of a Timex Weekender with a better strap.

Timex Weekender Alternative - $60
Timex Expedition Alternative - $42
Timex Waterbury - $100

And then pair with a strap like this one for $38

Pretty close look-wise at a fraction of the cost. And the Shinola build quality really isn't good enough to make up for it. I'd rather get a nice Seiko automatic if you're going to be spending hundreds.

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I have an old Timex Indiglo and it's one of my favorite watches. It has kept perfect time forever and the clean design is a timeless masterpiece. It's an example of excellent industrial design.

I received a vintage Seiko Chronograph as a gift for graduating from Cal. Really like that watch, especially the self-winding feature. The color is almost perfect.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]6188[/ATTACH]

This thread is relevant to my interests. I wouldn't call myself an Apple fanboy but I find myself being drawn to their products because I'm sick of trying to "maintain" a windows computer just so that I can browse the web. I have an iphone and I've been buying ipads for my parents for a while because it does most of what they want from a computer without some of the issues of having a full-blown computer. I am also a watch geek. I bought myself a Seamaster Pro (2254.50 for the fellow Omega fans in this thread - love everything about it other than the bezel) with my second or third check when I started working and wore that for the bulk of the next five years and have been sporadically buying mechanical watches that catch my eye for the past decade. Everything from old-stock Chinese and Indian hand crankers that I got on the 'bay for <$30 to a couple of mechanical chronographs. I have a few quartz watches that I found interesting (solar atomic g-shock, Citizen eco-drive which I recall from a story I read runs on 1/100000 the current-draw of an Apple watch) so I don't think of myself as a mechanical-or-bust snob. I also have a fitbit I use as a fitness tracker and as a morning alarm. With that said, I don't see myself buying an Apple watch until a few things change. The battery life is a huge deal to me but it seems like they've made the decision that charging every night is something everyone is okay with. It basically means that it cannot be used as a morning vibrating alarm, which is probably my favorite fitbit feature. A power reserve long enough for a watch to sit on the nightstand for a weekend and still be wound and ready to go on a Monday for the work week was something the mechanical watch world used to strive for. Similar to that, a five day battery life out of the Apple watch so that it can last a work week is what I'd like to see them aim for, but it really looks like they don't care. I also question the utility of a screen that's so small. I guess it just reinforces to me that not every device has to serve every feasible technical function. I wear a watch, it tells me what time it is. It would be nice if it could do some of the things a smart watch is trying to do but not with the current trade-offs. As for the Apple watch killing off luxury watches, I would think the lower-end of the market is vulnerable. Things like $400-500 Hamiltons. The higher end has its problems as well but those issues aren't really caused by the Apple watch. Also, a lot of these articles seem predicated on people having just one watch. Maybe that's true for the general population but most watch geeks have more than one watch. I've got more than 25. If I bought an Apple watch tomorrow, it wouldn't mean I'd either get rid of what I already have or cease buying watches that pique my interest. Maybe I'm just sick and need to stop hoarding?

The Pilot line from IWC.

semi-related 3rd hand anecdote:

my dad was an elevator operator in NYC back in the early 50s. the lobby of the building in which he worked had one of the first digital-display clocks, and visitors to the building could be seen adjusting their watches to the digital clock every morning. what they didn't know is that the digital clock was powered off along with the lights every evening, and that every morning the first workers in would power on everything and set the time to their wrist watch (or pocket watch).

rathokan;842806806 said:

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semi-related 3rd hand anecdote:

my dad was an elevator operator in NYC back in the early 50s. the lobby of the building in which he worked had one of the first digital-display clocks, and visitors to the building could be seen adjusting their watches to the digital clock every morning. what they didn't know is that the digital clock was powered off along with the lights every evening, and that every morning the first workers in would power on everything and set the time to their wrist watch (or pocket watch).

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Amusing story. I wonder if the Campanile's time is adjusted everyday by some dude's Apple watch.

oskirules;842806799 said:

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The Pilot line from IWC.

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Owned one once...traded it in on a Glashutte...now I miss it. Nothing wrong with the Glashutte, looks very similar, the IWC case is slightly narrower...as 62 Bear notes, mechanical watches are a unique presentation of time.

Number 031343;842806835 said:

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Owned one once...traded it in on a Glashutte...now I miss it. Nothing wrong with the Glashutte, looks very similar, the IWC case is slightly narrower...as 62 Bear notes, mechanical watches are a unique presentation of time.

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Glashutte...wow, they don't come cheap.
Here's a video on John Mayer talking about the new IWC Big Pilot collection.

https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/john-mayer-talks-original-iwc-big-pilot-the-new-big-pilot-collection-and-the-infamous-letter-video

Number 031343;842806835 said:

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Owned one once...traded it in on a Glashutte...now I miss it. Nothing wrong with the Glashutte, looks very similar, the IWC case is slightly narrower...as 62 Bear notes, mechanical watches are a unique presentation of time.

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purdy. Can't go wrong with IWC.

oskirules;842806887 said:

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Glashutte...wow, they don't come cheap.
Here's a video on John Mayer talking about the new IWC Big Pilot collection.

https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/john-mayer-talks-original-iwc-big-pilot-the-new-big-pilot-collection-and-the-infamous-letter-video

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Thanks for the vid, .....great looking watches, now I really miss it.

Anyone going to get the new Blackberry?
http://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/25/blackberry-keyone-launch-physical-keyboard-android-specs-price.html

burritos;842813077 said:

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Anyone going to get the new Blackberry?
http://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/25/blackberry-keyone-launch-physical-keyboard-android-specs-price.html

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Blackberry must have paid for a lot of product placement on the Amazon series, Patriot. A whole scene was based on a BB's calendar function lol

LACalFan;842813088 said:

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Blackberry must have paid for a lot of product placement on the Amazon series, Patriot. A whole scene was based on a BB's calendar function lol

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Apple destroyed the high end button industry I've heard.

burritos;842813077 said:

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Anyone going to get the new Blackberry?http://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/25/blackberry-keyone-launch-physical-keyboard-android-specs-price.html

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The blackberry name is a licensed name, they didn't actually make it

$27,000 Apple Watch look-alikes are nearly sold out, but they can only tell time

Quote:

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The nearly 200-year Switzerland-based company, H. Moser & Cie, announced its $26,900 timepiece — The Swiss Alp Watch Zzzz — via a press release last week. The rectangular case and glossy black dial — sans label — of the Zzzz could be “mistaken for a smartwatch on standby,” the company said. Among those it resembles is Apple’s AAPL, -0.17% own Watch.

But the Zzzz has one function only: it tells the time.

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Can't you just staple your bank statement to your forehead with golden staples and be done with it?

burritos;842842436 said:

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$27,000 Apple Watch look-alikes are nearly sold out, but they can only tell time




Can't you just staple your bank statement to your forehead with golden staples and be done with it?

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That's some bs. Needs some curly cues.

burritos;842805411 said:

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These watches cost 100-300k? That seems like a lot to me. Do Rolex owners think this is excessive?

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In 1989, I purchased a Patek at Little Switzerland in St. John for about $6K. It's a Calatrava. Nothing fancy about it. In fact, I like a clean white background against the hands and the numerals. My friend, the watch freak, told me it's now worth about five times that amount. A good watch can also be a good investment.

Number 031343;842806835 said:

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Owned one once...traded it in on a Glashutte...now I miss it. Nothing wrong with the Glashutte, looks very similar, the IWC case is slightly narrower...as 62 Bear notes, mechanical watches are a unique presentation of time.

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I wear an IWC every day. Great watch. Slightly tinted brown/black background with white hands and plain white numerals. I have stopwatch, date and something else (I haven't figured it out yet.) No one has mentioned Breguet (my next favorite to buy) or Jaeger-LeCoutre or Breitling (way, way too thick).

6bear6;842842617 said:

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In 1989, I purchased a Patek at Little Switzerland in St. John for about $6K. It's a Calatrava. Nothing fancy about it. In fact, I like a clean white background against the hands and the numerals. My friend, the watch freak, told me it's now worth about five times that amount. A good watch can also be a good investment.

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That's over 5% annualized over 28 years. That's not bad.

burritos;842842629 said:

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That's over 5% annualized over 28 years. That's not bad.

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What if you bought 6k of apple stock in 1989?

tommie317;842842739 said:

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What if you bought 6k of apple stock in 1989?

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Then I would have been smart enough to short Chipotle after the e.coli outbreak and buy priceline when everyone was crapping on William Shatner's commercials.

Bear8 said:

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burritos;842805411 said:

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These watches cost 100-300k? That seems like a lot to me. Do Rolex owners think this is excessive?

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In 1989, I purchased a Patek at Little Switzerland in St. John for about $6K. It's a Calatrava. Nothing fancy about it. In fact, I like a clean white background against the hands and the numerals. My friend, the watch freak, told me it's now worth about five times that amount. A good watch can also be a good investment.

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This guy agrees:

A blast from the past. Forgot about this thread. What inspired you to dig this up?

I saw it logging out of my email and was reminded of this watch thread. Great story and I love the guy's reaction.

LACalFan said:

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Bear8 said:

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burritos;842805411 said:

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These watches cost 100-300k? That seems like a lot to me. Do Rolex owners think this is excessive?

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In 1989, I purchased a Patek at Little Switzerland in St. John for about $6K. It's a Calatrava. Nothing fancy about it. In fact, I like a clean white background against the hands and the numerals. My friend, the watch freak, told me it's now worth about five times that amount. A good watch can also be a good investment.

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This guy agrees:

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$345?!!!!!!

Feels like the offseason.

NYCGOBEARS said:

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LACalFan said:

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Bear8 said:

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burritos;842805411 said:

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These watches cost 100-300k? That seems like a lot to me. Do Rolex owners think this is excessive?

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In 1989, I purchased a Patek at Little Switzerland in St. John for about $6K. It's a Calatrava. Nothing fancy about it. In fact, I like a clean white background against the hands and the numerals. My friend, the watch freak, told me it's now worth about five times that amount. A good watch can also be a good investment.

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This guy agrees:

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$345?!!!!!!

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That's insane. Would anyone here pay 5k for it with the caveat that they couldn't sell it or show it off?

Son-of-California said:

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It sure seems like you are one of those sad, judgmental people that have a problem with Apple, high-end watches, luxury goods, people with good jobs, nice cars, nice homes, disposable income and so many other things...or the people that have them. Not to get political, your posts read like a Bernie rally.

burritos;842805278 said:

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I apologize if the tone of my comments appeared hostile towards higher end analog watches. I have no doubt the high skill required to make these fine watches is very rare. And thus the pricing for these items may well be commensurately justified. And there still is purposeful functionality with these items(as opposed to say a diamond which aren't rare by the way).

If people appreciate these fine pieces of engineering/design and want to pay for them, good for them and all the gainfully and honestly employed people who work for the industry. As the frugal person that I am, I would not buy myself either the apple watch or a high end watch as neither seem worth it to me. But as I strolled through the apple store, seeing the apple watches being displayed, it got me to thinking. That's why I posted the observation. Seeing the responses here I think there will still be a continued demand for high end watches and that they will not go the way of the digital phone or blackberry any time soon.

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somebody get the guillotine

Great story and watch. I have a friend who has a similar watch (don't think it says "oyster") with an interesting story but he wears it every day because it's special to him. I would imagine he would feel differently if it were worth $400k or more though!

This was a great thread. I hope they let us do some of these on Growls, during the off-season.

I sure hope they don't kill these watches. I need them to last long enough for me to make money and buy the Patek Philippe with a sailboat on it! Such beautiful pieces of art.

https://www.atimelyperspective.com/patek-philippe-unveils-half-million-dollar-ref-5531r-world-time-minute-repeater-at-baselworld-2018/