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

[Belligero]



i am not a fan of either of those watches.

Not my style, either. But I'm definitely going to get a photo when I come across not one, but two of the most-hated-on watches Rolex makes!

 

[DerekS]



Not my style, either. But I'm definitely going to get a photo when I come across not one, but two of the most-hated-on watches Rolex makes!

i dont blame you at all. im SO relieved they arent your personal watches.

 

[Dino944]

Pretty excited about the PP Nautilus Annual on a steel bracelet. Ref 5726. What I want is an annual calender watch durable enough for daily use and minimal immersion. Obviously $47k is a committment for most of us. Ouch. I will try to trade a 5146 on leather.

Am I stuck paying full price in the US for this new model?
Is there another steel annual suitable for daily wear?

Thank you

Most Patek dealers are saying they can't discount Pateks anymore. Maybe if you go to a small dealer, or try a big chain and open a credit account with them as I was offered 10% off list if I did that. If not sure where you are located, but last week I was in Las Vegas and between the 2 or 3 ADs located on "The Strip" they had every model of Nautilus in stock.

As for whether its durable enough for everyday use, it depends on how hard you are on your watches. My Dad used a time only Nautiuls as a daily wearer for about 3-4 years and he never had any problems. However, he babies his watches. Another friend of mine had a time only Nautiuls for about 10 years and he was in the restaurant business and he was very hard on his watches. He was always banging the heck out of it, and then having to send it in for service/regulation every year and a half to 2 years. He eventually sold it, saying it was just too delicate for daily use for him.

im a huge fan of the standard SS daytonas. I had the white and black dial both. fantastic watches...i really miss them. The solid 18K is on a whole different level. those are fantastic. ..... and heavy as a brick

At one point Daytonas were my absolute favorite watch and I owned them in steel & gold, all steel, white gold, and eventually yg). I did have black and white dial SS Daytonas at the same time. However, I decided I really preferred them with black dials and that I wanted a bit more diversity in my collection...so I traded/sold a few. So now for Daytonas I have 1 black dial all steel Daytona (with El Primero based movement), 1 black dial all steel Daytona (with inhouse movement) and a black dial gold Daytona with (El Primero based movement). You are right the all gold is heavy as a brick...which is something I really like about that watch.

dino - that all gold one is boss. takes some balls to pull that off.

When I haven't worn it for a while, it does feel a bit over the top when I put it on again...but after a few days I get used to it and it doesn't seem all that different than the steel. Every now and then its fun to wear something with a bit more pizzazz and presence than steel : )

 

[dbln79]

 

[Dino944]

Nice Panerai !

 

[DerekS]

dammit dino, somethings messing up on my computer..im unable to quote...wanted to ask your opinion on the zenith and in house movt daytonas...any preference? Ive only owned the in house on both of mine.

 

[yywwyy]

How big are the Panerais?

 

[in stitches]



Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

DUDE!!! that is the watch i am looking into getting. LOVE IT!! where did you kop?

How big are the Panerais?

the 112 above is 44mm

 

[in stitches]

we bought this a while back, wore it yesterday for fun. got it in a lot of 4 watches for 100 bucks.

18k tissot automatic

didnt bother to set the date tho

 

[in stitches]

and today. nothing like layers in the fall.

 

[Dino944]

dammit dino, somethings messing up on my computer..im unable to quote...wanted to ask your opinion on the zenith and in house movt daytonas...any preference? Ive only owned the in house on both of mine.

Hey Derek,

My computer wasn't letting me quote anything last night. Really strange!

If I could only have 1 Daytona, I'd have one with the El Primero based movement, and I'll explain why later. I think you have to ask whether you are buying something to wear but also as a collectible, or whether you are going to use it as a daily wearer and you want the newest maybe most rugged version on the market. The current Daytona has a much longer power reserve 72hrs vs roughly 42 (those are without the chronograph function activated). The newer one also has larger easier to see luminous markers, but they are a bit clumsy looking compared to the old one. The new movement has fewer parts so servicing is supposed to be easier/less complicated (although unless you are servicing it yourself, who cares?). In addition, the newest Daytonas have a bracelet with all solid links (although I owned Rolex watches on hollow Oyster bracelets for years and they held up very well). Although no one knows the production numbers for particular models of Rolex per year, most people believe that once Rolex was making Daytonas with in house movements, the production numbers increased drastically as they were no longer dependent on what others could supply them.

Both are nice solid watches, I've used each in the past as daily wearers. My prefernce is for the El Primero based watches largely due to its design and appearance ( and knock on wood I've never had a problem with them). Although they use the Zenith El Primero as a base movement, they are vastly different. The number of beats per hour was changed, and supposedly there are approximately 200 modifications made to the movement before it became Rolex Cal 4030. The first in house Daytona I had, after sitting for about 4-6 months when I activated the chronograph, the minute subdial went crazy and would jump in intervals of 3 minutes, 5 minutes etc even though the large chrongraph sweep hand had only made 1 revolution. It was fixed under warranty, so not a big deal, but it was the only time I've had an issue with a new Rolex...but don't let that make or break your decision. My current inhouse Daytona purchased new in 2005 is fine.

Overall, I perfer the appearance of the Zenith El Primero watch. Its just a more classic look when you put them side by side. The thin hour/minute hands and luminous markers around the dial are smaller and more elegant making the watch a bit more versatile (I think it looks better with a suit than the current model). I also prefer the centered look of the subdials on the Zenith version. The inhouse model, Rolex shifted the Subdials upward by a few degree in an effort people say to make it tougher to make copies. I also think the white/cream subdial trim rings on the black dial and the black subdial trim rings of the white dial look more elegant and are easier to read than the silver subdial trim rings of the current version. I also prefer the continuous seconds at 9 than at 6...I think it makes it a bit more interesting (tons of watches have it at 6). Then you can get into the various years if you want somewhat rare one, where the word Cosmograph is separated from the other text on the dial, or different fonts, or the different bezel only to 200 units on the early models (rather than 400).

Either should provide you with a great watch that you will enjoy for many years. If you choose to go for an inhouse movement opt for one made around 2005 or later with the fat hands. The early ones made from 2000-about 2004, just looked mismatched using larger luminous markers around the dial with the original thin style hands from the prior Zenith based model. Either get a Zenith based model all of which had thin hands & thin markers, or get the later inhouse version with fat hands and fat markers.

I hope that helps. If you have a more specific question that I didn't answer just let me know and I'll try to address it.

 

[Kai]

So, watch aficionados:

Other than the Breguet Reveil series, who currently makes a mechanical alarm watch?

 

[in stitches]

JLC makes plenty.

 

[gdl203]

I have a Panerai 98, which is a mechanical alarm using a Frederic Piguet movement - I think they re-issued it recently

As stitches said, JLC does, and you can also find a vintage memovox that would fit the bill

 

[DerekS]

still cant quote dammit.....but my favorite alarm watch is the panerai. VERY cool watch.

If i recall its a PAM098...could be wrong though and im too lazy to google.