Watches.

Bill D said:
I had a Seiko Kinetic once (Do they still make them?). Eventually it died though. Wasn’t worth a fix to me.

I just saw a non working one exactly like the one I had for sale for $30 for parts.
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Yes they still make kinetics. The problem is the capacitors in them last about twice as long as a battery powered watch and are ten times more expensive to replace. I`ve replaced a couple myself after buying parts on eBay. Seiko and Citizen solar suffer from the exact same issue.

Seiko automatics easily go a quarter century without service.
 
Seiko makes some good basic watches. Wearing an SKX as I type this, and have a couple other Seiko. I decided that I wanted one of the new limited edition blue alpinists, but I seem to have missed the boat. Hard to find now without paying a premium to a reseller.
 
Bill D said:
I bet the whole assembly that holds the stem in place was repaired. Hate to go to change the time and have the whole thing pull out in your hand.
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That "pull out.." went on for ages, until the mid-`90s. They`d fix it and it`d promptly pull out again. After a few months/years it wouldn`t go back in and then they`d open it up (again). They finally came up with a retrofit that would hold up, been OK ever since.

On the "not servicing..." the Rolex guy who worked on it last said his hadn`t been open for well over a decade and that he had no intention of ever doing it unless something was really wrong. He encouraged me to *not* have it serviced unless I had to, perhaps because it`d already been torn down so many times.
 
Yeah I wouldn’t service it unless it starts acting wacky. My chronograph would keep time, stop, then run again hours later. Sometimes it would run for a few hours then just stop so it definitely needed a service. It got a complete break down, cleaning, re oiling, and needed a new barrel. I just paid the service bill and all is now fine again.
 
I have a $33 digital timex,,had to get a new one about 4 years ago,,,,my arm wasn`t long enough to read the time with out glasses so I needed bigger Numbers lol. Dont know what ill do when I can`t read this watch,,,,maybe by then "Jitterbug" lol will make one...
 
Bill D said:
Yeah I wouldn’t service it unless it starts acting wacky. My chronograph would keep time, stop, then run again hours later. Sometimes it would run for a few hours then just stop so it definitely needed a service. It got a complete break down, cleaning, re oiling, and needed a new barrel. I just paid the service bill and all is now fine again.
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My Seamaster is doing something similar. Stops and needs a thump or a ton more winding to get it going. I hate blowing $100+ on a cleaning when a new Seiko costs that much.
 
I just paid $132 for mine. Otherwise I would just have a fancy paperweight. I’m assuming I’m good to go for another 6 years.

If you want to hear a horror story, it cost $900 to service my Mom’s Datejust. Just sinful, eh?
 
Bill D said:
I just paid $132 for mine. Otherwise I would just have a fancy paperweight. I’m assuming I’m good to go for another 6 years.

If you want to hear a horror story, it cost $900 to service my Mom’s Datejust. Just sinful, eh?
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$900!?!? Ouch.

What`s a good active forum for buying and selling watches these days?
 
Bill D said:
If you want to hear a horror story, it cost $900 to service my Mom’s Datejust. Just sinful, eh?
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Heh heh, that would`ve been a bargain for what mine needed that last time (incl. the retrofit regarding the stem). Would`ve been even worse had I let them replace the (faded) face of it but to me that`s more of that patina I cherish (hey, this watch and I have had some experiences together, I hated that they had to replace the crystal once).

Mine has never actually quit, not even intermittently, just got behind more than I could tolerate.

Dan said:
I hate blowing $100+ on a cleaning when a new Seiko costs that much.
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BUT...would you enjoy the Seiko as much? This is like the cost of maintaining an old car/house/etc., it can easily exceed the cost of a replacement, but there are some things you can`t buy for any amount of money, and sometimes a [given object] is just one of those.

OTOH, my wife has little problem just replacing her daily-wear watch every so often. Had *zero* interest in my getting her a "good" one, literally wouldn`t take a Rolex if I gave it to her. Her criteria for a watch are simply different from mine so, well...OK.
 
It’s really good you didn’t let them replace the dial. It would’ve destroyed the originality/value of watch (understanding you’d never sell it any way)

Bernie Madoff was known for over restoring his Rolexes,ultimately actually making them less valuable. One of his watches appeared on Pawn Stars a while back.

Yes, repairs can exceed the $900 for sure. That was just a run of the mill servicing. When excessive parts need to be replaced, the cost skyrockets. Eek!
 
Accumulator said:
BUT...would you enjoy the Seiko as much? This is like the cost of maintaining an old car/house/etc., it can easily exceed the cost of a replacement, but there are some things you can`t buy for any amount of money, and sometimes a [given object] is just one of those.
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I actually enjoy my Seikos more than my more expensive watches! I can wear them without a care and I know they will work without any servicing. I have frequently thought about selling the expensive watches because of that, but I seem to have some sort of sentimental attachment to them.

That reminds me, one time I had my Seamaster serviced by an indy and he took it upon himself to polish the bracelet clasp to a mirror finish, it was previously brushed. I was LIVID.
 
I’m going to monitor the offerings from Seiko and Citizen to see if any strike my fancy. That’s how I bought my Seiko Kinetic that one time. I don’t think I’ve ever owned a Citizen.
 
I have 8 Sieko`s including my father`s old gold nugget one, and an automatic one. (I got all of the Sieko`s from my father)
3 Citizen Eco Drives, including a Perpetual Calendar that I really like
2 automatic Movados
an automatic Jermone LaMars
an automatic Grayton Diplomat
a Eone Bradley
2 Tissot MotoGP (2007 and 2018)
a Tag Heur Carrera Tiger Woods

Next is a the Tag Heur Senna Chronograph..

My dream is a rose gold Rolex Yatch Master II
 
Nice collection you have there! I’m definitely gonna take a look at that Citizen Eco Drive

My grail is probably a classic gold Day-Date
 
Bill D- Yeah, over-restoring *ANYTHING* is a mistake IMO, especially when it`s just part of the, uhm....Measuring Contest Mentality. Figures that [an individual] like Madoff would do it.

Dan- Oh man, I *bet* you were livid!

Your take on a Daily Watch sounds so much like my wife`s! Hey, it`s whatever makes the experience right for *you* that counts :D

Similarly, one thing I do love about my Sub is that it (now) always works. Period. Might not keep time like it oughta, never did since new, but it *works* in a way that whispers "hard to kill" to me and I like that. Even when the crystal was really busted and the movement was undoubtedly full of [crap], it kept running, and the whole Mechanical Watch thing (all those finely-fitted parts always moving, working in concert) somehow just does it for me.
 
I did seriously toy with getting an exhibition-back Reverso, but finally decided it`d just sit in the safe and that would bug me even more than my undriven Garage Queens.

Heh heh, I`m weirdly disinclined to wear any kind of (yellow or rose) gold anything, simply never do it.

Todd@Rupes- That is indeed a nice batch of watches, and IMO it`s just *so* great that you have your Dad`s watches!
 
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