The Watch Appreciation Thread (Reviews and Photos of Men's Timepieces by Rolex, Patek Philippe, Brei

[no frills]

You sir are a lucky man. It must be great pulling the "But I'm buying it for the both of us!" card when purchasing a new piece lol

EXAC-SOLUTE-LY. Variations include "yeah, but this piece will really go well with that (fill in color) dress of yours, right?"

 

[in stitches]



not too sure.. it looks like a chronomat model from the 90's.. not big at all.. I would say 39mm-40mm...I def understand from the sentimental aspect and thus I'm keeping it. I just wondered what people thought about it in general with the quartz movement. I saw him wearing it a couple times as a kid but have not seen the watch in maybe 10 years. So just from memory and I matched the style to that general line from observation.

personally, i dont see myself in a quartz, but i have no issue with them, and if there was a sentimental reason for me to wear one, id do it.

Er, yeah. Basically I got her one piece every time I got myself one...

good man. -- academe - that AP is fantastic.

 

[Dino944]

Also - I like hearing about what our significant others are wearing also.

Any thoughts on Bell & Ross?

I agree with Gauss. See below.

If I were going to get a watch in that style, I would rather go for a Sinn. They did designs for Bell and Ross, so it is no surprise they look similar. The Sinn is better made and less expensive.

+1
I'd rather get a Sinn than at B&R. I liked more of B&Rs designs when they were involved with Sinn. Now I find many of their designs goofy.

 

[Dino944]

+ 1

My wife is definitely not a WIS. She has a few quartz Mondaines which are her daily wearers, but on occasion will wear this:



AP Jules Audemars Small Seconds with in-house hand-wound calibre 3090. Pink gold with watered silk and leather band.

I am inheriting a Breiting watch from my dad for being a new dad to my little girl. It was purchased in the 90's and its a quartz. I dont see a lot of love on here for quartz watches being of course the art behind automatic movements. What is the general consensus behind the Breitling brand and one that's a quartz?

Congrats on becoming a Dad, and I hope you enjoy your dad's watch. Quartz are not favored by collectors, but that doesn't make them a bad thing. I own a Rolex Oysterquartz ref 17000. For a quartz watch it had a lot of firsts other Rolex watches (particularly those in steel) did not get until much later (perhaps your Breitling has some special features). I love the design. Its great having a watch that I can grab at a moment's notice and wear without setting the time, even if it hasn't been worn in several weeks. I often use it to set the time on other watches.

Some watches are not easy to live with if they are a quartz model, like some of the PP Nautiluses or AP ROs of the 1980s. Opening the cases for those is more labor intensive and I've heard of people getting rediculous bills just to change their batteries. Rolex is pretty straight forward and they change the battery and pressure test their quartz watches for free.

Breitling has had its ups and downs. They do make some blingy models that would not appeal to me. However, they have several classic models, and they have been doing more to make their own movements, which helps build interest and respect for the brand. One of my friends has 2 Breitlings and he really likes them. Wishing you luck as a new dad and I hope you enjoy your father's watch!

 

[Belligero]



Congrats on becoming a Dad, and I hope you enjoy your dad's watch.  Quartz are not favored by collectors, but that doesn't make them a bad thing.   I own a Rolex Oysterquartz ref 17000.  For a quartz watch it had a lot of firsts other Rolex watches (particularly those in steel) did not get until much later (perhaps your Breitling has some special features).  I love the design.  Its great having a watch that I can grab at a moment's notice and wear without setting the time, even if it hasn't been worn in several weeks.  I often use it to set the time on other watches. [...]

OQ is way cool. It's one of those watches that I'd love to have but I have yet to see in person. Got any photos!?

 

[Dino944]

OQ is way cool. It's one of those watches that I'd love to have but I have yet to see in person. Got any photos!?

Thanks. Yes, here are a few photos.

 

[Belligero]



Thanks. Yes, here are a few photos.

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Many thanks. That looks great in steel, especially with the non-fluted bezel.

 

[ErikW]

Any thoughts on Bell & Ross?

can you be more specific? like many brands, i like some of their offerings, and dislike some others.

I find them to be very overpriced for what you get. Kind of like a Hugo Boss suit, you pay for the name rather than anything substantial. Pretty sure they use completely unmodified ETA movements.

If I were going to get a watch in that style, I would rather go for a Sinn. They did designs for Bell and Ross, so it is no surprise they look similar. The Sinn is better made and less expensive.

Sinn and Bell & Ross haven't collaborated in about 10 years and since, B&R designs are completely different from Sinn's. The square instrument style BR03 models have been around for many years and have been a huge success for the company.

I don't know if the movements are modified or not and probably not as for a few years now ETA has not allowed their customers to modify the movements. Then again there's nothing at all wrong with an unmodified ETA movement, especially if it's a higher grade version. Their watches also hold value pretty well on the secondary market.

I'm liking the BR-03-92. I really like the Phantom and the Black & Blue Model. Any thoughts on them? I've never seen a Sinn that looks like these...

 

[kentyman]

I am inheriting a Breiting watch from my dad for being a new dad to my little girl. It was purchased in the 90's and its a quartz. I dont see a lot of love on here for quartz watches being of course the art behind automatic movements. What is the general consensus behind the Breitling brand and one that's a quartz?

I, too, would like to echo all the support above for your sentimental quartz. To think any less of this gift because of the actual implementation of spinning hands would miss the whole point, and sadly devalue such a special gesture.

In support of sentimental quartz watches, let me introduce the only watch I own that isn't more at home in the in the Poor Man's Watch Thread: the Omega Speedmaster Professional X-33 that I'm wearing today. It was given to me by my father, who was lucky enough to pilot STS-125, the final Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. My understanding is that though it was already being discontinued, Omega did a special run of a hundred-or-so watches to allow astronauts aboard the last handful of Space Shuttle missions to continue the tradition of buying a Speedmaster for use in space. There was a limit of one per person, but a fellow crew member passed on the opportunity so my dad bough one for me and my brother. He wore mine, my brothers, and a third that he borrowed from NASA for his own use, during the actual launch into orbit.

Anyway, it's a quartz. And hell, considering what it was made for, it absolutely should be. Regardless, I would never let it take away from the sentimental value of this gift, and I surely wouldn't trade it for any mechanical watch in the world. This is something I plan on passing on to my son, and your Breitling sounds like a perfect eventual gift for your daughter's first son.








(Sorry for the blurry photos. And while it has a titanium bracelet, but I usually like to usually like to wear it on NATOs.)

 

[rnguy001]

Great gift, my man!

I, too, would like to echo all the support above for your sentimental quartz. To think any less of this gift because of the actual implementation of spinning hands would miss the whole point, and sadly devalue such a special gesture. In support of sentimental quartz watches, let me introduce the only watch I own that isn't more at home in the in the Poor Man's Watch Thread: the Omega Speedmaster Professional X-33 that I'm wearing today. It was given to me by my father, who was lucky enough to pilot STS-125, the final Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. My understanding is that though it was already being discontinued, Omega did a special run of a hundred-or-so watches to allow astronauts aboard the last handful of Space Shuttle missions to continue the tradition of buying a Speedmaster for use in space. There was a limit of one per person, but a fellow crew member passed on the opportunity so my dad bough one for me and my brother. He wore mine, my brothers, and a third that he borrowed from NASA for his own use, during the actual launch into orbit. Anyway, it's a quartz. And hell, considering what it was made for, it absolutely should be. Regardless, I would never let it take away from the sentimental value of this gift, and I surely wouldn't trade it for any mechanical watch in the world . This is something I plan on passing on to my son, and your Breitling sounds like a perfect eventual gift for your daughter's first son. (Sorry for the blurry photos. And while it has a titanium bracelet, but I usually like to usually like to wear it on NATOs.)

 

[Belligero]



I, too, would like to echo all the support above for your sentimental quartz. To think any less of this gift because of the actual implementation of spinning hands would miss the whole point, and sadly devalue such a special gesture. In support of sentimental quartz watches, let me introduce the only watch I own that isn't more at home in the in the Poor Man's Watch Thread: the Omega Speedmaster Professional X-33 that I'm wearing today. It was given to me by my father, who was lucky enough to pilot STS-125, the final Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission.

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

My understanding is that though it was already being discontinued, Omega did a special run of a hundred-or-so watches to allow astronauts aboard the last handful of Space Shuttle missions to continue the tradition of buying a Speedmaster for use in space. There was a limit of one per person, but a fellow crew member passed on the opportunity so my dad bough one for me and my brother. He wore mine, my brothers, and a third that he borrowed from NASA for his own use, during the actual launch into orbit. Anyway, it's a quartz. And hell, considering what it was made for, it absolutely should be. Regardless, I would never let it take away from the sentimental value of this gift, and I surely wouldn't trade it for any mechanical watch in the world . This is something I plan on passing on to my son, and your Breitling sounds like a perfect eventual gift for your daughter's first son.

(Sorry for the blurry photos. And while it has a titanium bracelet, but I usually like to usually like to wear it on NATOs.)

I wouldn't trade that for any other watch in the world if I were you, either.

 

[in stitches]



im not a huge fan of their square watches, though i like a few. but if they suit your wrist, that is a different story.

 

[in stitches]



I wouldn't trade that for any other watch in the world if I were you, either.

this

 

[Hampton]

What does this model call? Never seen this royal oak before.

Just got this, the 40th anniversary royal oak

 

[Dino944]

That looks great in steel, especially with the non-fluted bezel.

Thanks. I don't think I've ever seen a ref 17000 with anything other than the smooth bezel. I believe you could only get a fluted bezel on models that used a gold bezel.

Quote:

I, too, would like to echo all the support above for your sentimental quartz. To think any less of this gift because of the actual implementation of spinning hands would miss the whole point, and sadly devalue such a special gesture.


In support of sentimental quartz watches, let me introduce the only watch I own that isn't more at home in the in the Poor Man's Watch Thread: the Omega Speedmaster Professional X-33 that I'm wearing today. It was given to me by my father, who was lucky enough to pilot STS-125, the final Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. My understanding is that though it was already being discontinued, Omega did a special run of a hundred-or-so watches to allow astronauts aboard the last handful of Space Shuttle missions to continue the tradition of buying a Speedmaster for use in space. There was a limit of one per person, but a fellow crew member passed on the opportunity so my dad bough one for me and my brother. He wore mine, my brothers, and a third that he borrowed from NASA for his own use, during the actual launch into orbit.



Anyway, it's a quartz. And hell, considering what it was made for, it absolutely should be. Regardless, I would never let it take away from the sentimental value of this gift, and I surely wouldn't trade it for any mechanical watch in the world. This is something I plan on passing on to my son, and your Breitling sounds like a perfect eventual gift for your daughter's first son.

Great story about the watches your dad gave you and your brother!