I'm looking for a decent watch...

D

drewski59

New member
UPDATE AND PIC ON PAGE 4

Any watchaholics out there?



I'm looking to replace my 5 yr old Swatch with something new.



I'm keeping my budget to below $200, but I want the best quality/accuracy/reliability I can for the money. :bigups



I think I've narrowed it down to these:

-Citizen Calibre 5700 Eco-Drive

-a Seiko chronograph

-a Hamilton(if I can find a nice one within my range)

-another Swatch(probably an automatic skeleton)





Any opinions on these? Any really good brands I'm leaving off of my list??



Thanks.
 
I should mention that I posted a poll between these on the TimeZone forum, and the Citizen was the leader by a wide margin.
 
If accuracy is important you want a watch with a chip in the back of it, not an automatic movement as these don't keep their time as well. I was told this when I bought my Rolex - Swiss Chronometer rated means it has to be accurate to within (-4) to (+6) seconds per day, which if you ask me is pretty inaccurate! A watch with a chip will be accurate to thousandths of a second per day.



Ben
 
General Lee said:
I have a Citizen Eco-drive, and couldn't be happier with it. It was in the 300 dollar range though.
Click to expand...



Well, the 5700 retails for $400, but Amazon and Overstock have them much, much cheaper :D
 
I'll stick with my Casio HT-G for $150.00. Solar charging and Atomic! I didnt think you could get much more accurate then an atomic setting, and last I checked, i wasnt launching rocketed satellites for a living!!
 
I love my Citizen, but I also love my Seiko, both are great watches. I think it should mostly come down to what style you like and size.
 
seiko automatic diver -- about $120 on ebay or other places. Built like a tank, waterproof, automatic movement, and you can re-sell it for about $100 - $120. Therefore you can basically wear the watch for a year or two for free.
 
Seiko is a solid brand......

...have you looked at Invicta ?

Got a couple of my groomsmen Invicta Divers last year

and they're very happy with them.
 
I think that it comes down to which watch you think looks the best. I have s Citizen Caliber 8700 that I love. But, I also have an older Guess that has been a great watch and a Nike and Timex that I also wear.



Good luck and let us know what you end up doing.
 
BenP said:
If accuracy is important you want a watch with a chip in the back of it, not an automatic movement as these don't keep their time as well.
Click to expand...



I've got a 40 year old Rolex that is off by 5 seconds when compared to my atomic clock.

I've got a wind up Bulova military watch (I collect them) with a hack setting from the Korean War that was issued to US airmen. I wind it every 24 hours and it is keeping perfect time, down to the second with my atomic clock. It's pretty amazing.



Drewski, here is a nice selection (23 pages) to choose from with cheap prices and shipping to help make up your mind. They have the Seiko chronographs you are looking for.



http://www.overstock.com/?PAGE=STOREPICK&STO_ID=4&STL_ID=136&CAT_SKUPAGE=96&CAT_SORTBY=0
 
DKNY watches are sexy...I've had mine for a little over year without any problems. I get compliments on it all the time...



31_1_b.JPG




http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-LUXURY-DKNY...077883115QQcategoryZ31387QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

$107 shipped
 
I'm another huge watchaholic too :o



I have a Frederique Constant Swiss moonphase on order. I finally found a quality moonphase watch that isn't complete junk or an expensive vintage make with questionable history, or an astronomically priced PP, VC, etc. :eek:



In that $200 price range, if you fancy the style, Invicta might be another decent choice. Check out ShopNBC.com for those. They are often on TV as well. More or less anything with an ETA movement is going to be pretty reliable.
 
Nice Bill! A vinatge moonphase (a triple date chronograph moon phase to be exact) is next for me in the collection. The ones I prize are so expensive, that I can't afford them. I won't buy stainless steel or gold plated. The 18k ones are like thousands and I gaze at them with envy. I was hinking about selling off some of my collection to own one or put money towards, but I can't part with any! I just can't do it! I've got at least 10 watches here (WW2 military government issued that I also bought original straps for too) that need major overhauls. (This guy does my work: http://www.farfo.com/)



Sorry to hijack the thread.



But anyone who wants a watch, definately check out overstock.com. Nobody sells cheaper or has better shipping charges for quality watches.
 
Yes, Overstock for sure :up



Oh yeah, another, perhaps less popular brand in that $200 range is Bulova. I usually scour Overstock, Froogle, and Ebay for starters to get an overview of the makes and models out there at a discounted price.
 
[quote name='Bill D']Yes, Overstock for sure :up



Oh yeah, another, perhaps less popular brand in that $200 range is Bulova.
The Bulova Accutrons are nice. In fact I'm wearing a 1970 Accutron model 214 as we speak as the watch of the week! I had it overhauled to run on a modern day battery which I replaced the other week. Flawless sweep second hand movement, a nice humming of the tuning fork and excellent time keeping (a few seconds fast). A neat time piece with a cool movement.



Here they are on Overstock. Mine has a Teju Lizard strap. Looks nothing like these. Great discounts though!



http://www.overstock.com/cgi-bin/d2...words=accutron&N=302136&PAGE=ENDECA&IMAGE.x=0
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for the comments. Keep em coming;)



Well, I've compared Overstock with Amazon, and Amazon is usually the cheaper bet, however Overstock has a nice 2 year(?) warranty on every watch they sell?? Is that correct? That's enticing.



But their Citizens and Seikos are easily about $75 more(each) than Amazon.



I'm not looking at digital watches, I appreciate the craftsmenship of mechanical watches(and the look, too:) )



I'm also not interested in 'fashion' watches like DKNY, Kenneth Cole, Fossil, etc...I want to stick with the proven quality brands.



Oh, and Bill, the guys over on Timezone heavily criticize Invicta for their shotty internal mechanicals...FYO ...I don't know if it is justified or not, but those guys sure know their watches like we know car products:D They even purchase and inspect $10,000+ watches and can find criticisms with them; pretty much IWC watches seem to be the preferred brand there, although for affordable pieces they like Seiko and Citizen, and(at a higher price point) Hamilton and Tissot.



I'm still very new at looking at watches, I'm just trying to find the best quality for my meager student budget!:D
 
FWIW, I have 3 invictas, two bulovas, a Movado and a just got an eco drive and love them all. I haven't had any problems with any of my Invictas(except that my dog chewed up one of my leather straps) and I think they have the best styling for the price.
 
Well, thanks for all your help. :woot:



I just purchased the Citizen 5700 from Amazon for $149 shipped!



I may want to switch it to a leather band sometime in the future, but we'll see...



I noticed that the Amazon prices on the Citizens were rising somewhat over the past week. If I didn't order when I did, maybe they would've even reached Overstock prices! :nervous:



So, I guess I'll post some pics of it after it arrives!
 
Sweet! Congrats.



If you want to get a leather band, I do all my purchasing here www.lonestarwatches.com



He sells top quality straps (Hirsch, Hadley Roma and other imported bands) at nice prices. He has nice prices on alligator bands. He even makes them too. I had a couple custom alligator straps made for my bulkier chronographs.



Also, ebay has a bunch of watch strap sellers. But be careful, stick with the quality strap makers. There is a lot of junk out there.
 
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