Watches.

It’s hard to totally kill a Rolex especially in your case when they were ( even more) made pretty much entirely by hand.

I have my grandfather’s gold manual watch that never leaves the watch box. That’s another one that needs servicing.
 
Bill D said:
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.
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Be sure to check out Orient as well. I believe it is owned by Seiko.
 
Oh yeah, I remember Orient. I will take a look

Hmm. If I didn’t already have my moonphase watch, I’d be interested in the kind they offer.
 
Bill D- Hope you get your grandfather`s watch up and running...and in use. Like I should talk with my heirloom watches just sitting in the safe :o
 
The watch could also use a nice leather strap. I was looking into a black alligator one for it. I ought to look into this. I never knew my grandfather and the watch would serve as a connection to him.
 
Bill D said:
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.
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I`m really not a watch guy, the Seiko on my wrist today and every day I bought over 30 years ago, and the only problem I`ve had with it was when they screwed up the gasket when I was getting the battery changed, and it would fog up inside when I was washing my hands. Which caused me to buy a wrench and a pack of the correct gaskets and now I change the battery myself.

That`s why I was intrigued with the Seiko`s (and I guess Citizens as well, since they are the same company) that are solar powered--the promise of never having to disturb the seal. Of course maybe I`m being naive thinking that everyone likes/wants a waterproof watch.
 
Setec Astronomy- Yeah, my wife has had her watches trashed during battery replacement, just got a new one (that she doesn`t like as well) because it happened again.

Heh heh, other than formal wear, I`d sure think any watch oughta be at least water resistant, if not truly water proof...wrists tend to get wet IRL. Well, at least in *my* real life.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
That`s why I was intrigued with the Seiko`s (and I guess Citizens as well, since they are the same company) that are solar powered--the promise of never having to disturb the seal. Of course maybe I`m being naive thinking that everyone likes/wants a waterproof watch.
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They promise to never need a battery replacement, and that is very accurate! But they absolutely need a capacitor replacement about every 10-15 years. It costs about $25 for the part vs two or three batteries during that time which might cost a total of $10 for all three. Its also a lot more work to replace that cap.
 
Dan said:
They promise to never need a battery replacement, and that is very accurate! But they absolutely need a capacitor replacement about every 10-15 years. It costs about $25 for the part vs two or three batteries during that time which might cost a total of $10 for all three. Its also a lot more work to replace that cap.
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Are you talking about the Kinetic (self-"winding") or the solar?
 
Gee, sounds like another case of "no free lunch".

This thread reminds me...I have a Swiss Army desk clock that`s basically just a kinda-big quartz watch in a little stand. Gotta find somebody to replace its battery some day, the local places couldn`t figure out how to open it...which sure surprised me.
 
Bill D said:
Can a regular jeweler service them or does the watch have to be shipped out for replacement?
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If I can do it, a jewler can do it, just depends on how confident they feel. Instead of a single screw or a tab that lifts up for a battery, you have to take apart a few other parts to get the cap out. Its a 15 minute job on most watches.
 
OK thanks. I’d try it myself if I had one since I do my own battery changes too. That is, unless the caps are hard to obtain
 
All watches fail eventually, even quartz ones. Last week I had an 18 year old one just not work any more even after putting two new batteries in it. I guess it could be the coil. I have even replaced a quartz movement on one of my watches but this one wasn’t worth it even though they don’t make it any more.
 
Very true, all of them eventually fail, though IMO the longest running are the cheap mechanicals like the Seiko 5, 15-25 years before opening them up is the norm. I like the Seiko perpetual calendar watches that they we selling about a decade ago, they came with massive batteries that went 10 years before needing to crack them open. They really were a set it and forget it watch.
 
Reminds of my garage door openers, took ten years before needing replacement and when they did, they require three batteries
 
Dan said:
They promise to never need a battery replacement, and that is very accurate! But they absolutely need a capacitor replacement about every 10-15 years. It costs about $25 for the part vs two or three batteries during that time which might cost a total of $10 for all three. Its also a lot more work to replace that cap.
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I think for many watch nerds though, what`s so cool about the Kinetic is that you are getting an automatic movement plus quartz accuracy. And for many that alone outweighs $25 every 15 years vs. $10 over the same time.
 
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