Features of a 'good' watch?

[caelte]

"Good watch" reminds me of good china, or good rugs or a good car...It all sounds so middle class and lacklustre..so conventional and styleless.

It's not what you wear it's how you wear it.

 

[Coho]

1. Mechanical movement, Swiss, American, or German--will keep good time 2. Sapphire Crystal 3. Relatively Water Proof 4. Small ( 33-35mm) I personally hate big watches like Panerai but it's purely personal preference 5. Clean and Beautiful Dial 6. Hands are beautifully aligned. 7. High Quality Bracelet (only matters in the +1000 USD) Keep in mind that anything above 500 dollars is really entering the realm of good watch + some brand name My daily wearer is a Ulysse Nardin 1846...good size, keeps good time, and definitely stylish for those in the know. If you're new to watches, I suggest you buy a new Movado Kingmatic (the best price/quality ratio) I've found, even better than the Omega Dynamic that's floating around on ebay for 600-800 dollars. Otherwise, go Vintage--I suggest Vintage American Hamilton watches esp. their masterpiece. You won't be disappointed.

 

[whacked]

Originally Posted by caelte

"Good belt buckle" reminds me of good china, or good rugs or a good car...It all sounds so middle class and lacklustre..so conventional and styleless.

It's not what you wear it's how you wear it.

Fixed.

 

[raphael]

Originally Posted by Renault78law

what did/does clinton wear? an ironman watch (timex)?

Clinton wore different watches for different events. That is, he knew when wearing a timex watch would be appropriate - such as when he was hobnobbing with donors.

At one of his last press conferences as president, he was clearly wearing a Patek Philippe Calatrava, a modest-looking gold watch on a leather strap that goes for about $15,000 on the white market.

 

[Coho]

"white market" pricing is just ridiculous. I know a buddy who got one for 3500 USD a few years back.

Originally Posted by raphael

Clinton wore different watches for different events. That is, he knew when wearing a timex watch would be appropriate - such as when he was hobnobbing with donors.

At one of his last press conferences as president, he was clearly wearing a Patek Philippe Calatrava, a modest-looking gold watch on a leather strap that goes for about $15,000 on the white market.

 

[caelte]

Originally Posted by whacked

Fixed.

 

[SoCal2NYC]

Now Clinton has some special thing going on with AP and joked about being the "poorest President" and never having thought in his life he would have such a watch.

 

[raphael]

Originally Posted by SoCal2NYC

Now Clinton has some special thing going on with AP and joked about being the "poorest President" and never having thought in his life he would have such a watch.

AP makes great sports watches and passable tourbillon movements but "presidential"? I don't see it. He should have stuck with the classic Calatrava.

 

[SoCal2NYC]

$98-131k
http://www.mensvogue.com/clothing/ar...time_in_office

 

[sho'nuff]

a good watch got to have one of those state-of-the-art unidirectional moving bezels.

 

[LabelKing]

I think an old Bulova Accutron is a good watch, and yet it has a battery.

 

[leon12]

Omega makes an excellent watch.. but I'm assuming anything in the $200 range is vintage or fake. Buying vintage can be tricky and most serious collectors would advise against it without knowing a fair amount about watches. You may get the watch for $200, but it may need $1000 worth of work to make it run. It's difficult to tell these things from pictures.

For more modern watches in the sub-$500 range, I would look at Hamilton, Oris, Tissot, O&W, Archimede, Sinn or the Seiko automatic divers.. but there are numerous other options. I've seen Omega Seamaster Pro's in good shape go for $700 on timezone.com.

If you want something used, I would suggest spending some time on the sales forums at www.timezone.com and www.pmwf.com rather than watching ebay. Great deals can be had and the "collectors" that sell there take care of their watches. Buy the seller, not the watch.

Originally Posted by ms244

Not to hijack a topic, but could some of the more knowledgeble people out there recommend some tips for checking out a used mechanical watch and possibly some good watches to look for.

Browsing around on ebay, I see there are several Omega Geneve watches that can be had for under $200. Any thoughts on this item?

 

[imageWIS]

OMG talk about a blast from the past.

Jon.

 

[misterbowles]

...

 

[roo]

Five Signs of a Quality Watch

Sign One: Weight
Sign Two: The Movement (The Sweep)
Sign Three: The Name & The Tradition
Sign Four: Swiss Branding
Sign Five: Accuracy