Poor man's watch thread

[am55]

What do you think about French Riviera inspired brand Corniche?

Personally I like the clean design and the blue hands makes it pop a bit.

Not a fan.

It would be OK if this was yet another quartz-with-nice-ish-case $350 (!) dress watch, sure, it would blend in with the other thousand options at or below that price point (I'd personally go for a Citizen Stiletto). But the "Limited edition: 1 of 250" bit is what takes it into tacky territory.

It's about philosophy. Why does the watch have Roman numerals and no seconds hand? Because it's an evening watch, you're not supposed to keep track of time whilst enjoying the hospitality, so it's a bit harder to read and matched with understated quality. To then clamour the exclusivity like that... it's against the spirit. If you really must have it, have it on the back. There's no movement to look at anyway.

I don't mind the quartz part. Dress watches (for black tie) should be slim, and automatics are not, whilst manuals are rare at low price points in sufficiently classical design (IMO - can you think of any for < $300?). Perhaps I'd like it better with a cheap slim manual wind movement.

On the upside enamel dial and blued steel hands are nice to have.

 

[OdlanWH]

Not a fan.

It would be OK if this was yet another quartz-with-nice-ish-case $350 (!) dress watch, sure, it would blend in with the other thousand options at or below that price point (I'd personally go for a Citizen Stiletto). But the "Limited edition: 1 of 250" bit is what takes it into tacky territory.

It's about philosophy. Why does the watch have Roman numerals and no seconds hand? Because it's an evening watch, you're not supposed to keep track of time whilst enjoying the hospitality, so it's a bit harder to read and matched with understated quality. To then clamour the exclusivity like that... it's against the spirit. If you really must have it, have it on the back. There's no movement to look at anyway.

I don't mind the quartz part. Dress watches (for black tie) should be slim, and automatics are not, whilst manuals are rare at low price points in sufficiently classical design (IMO - can you think of any for < $300?). Perhaps I'd like it better with a cheap slim manual wind movement.

On the upside enamel dial and blued steel hands are nice to have.

 

[DerangedGoose]

I don't mind the quartz part. Dress watches (for black tie) should be slim, and automatics are not, whilst manuals are rare at low price points in sufficiently classical design (IMO - can you think of any for < $300?). Perhaps I'd like it better with a cheap slim manual wind movement.

On the upside enamel dial and blued steel hands are nice to have.

I too wish there was a greater availability of slim, manual wind dress watches (to me, a proper dress watch must have no date. No seconds is best but I am more flexible on this criteria).

Mechanical:

Orient Monarch, $268:


Beijing Watch Factory Zhufeng S $330




Beijing Watch Factory Behai 5.0 $400




Use lionseek.com to aggregate for-sale listings from all watch forums and you can find a good deal. If you are willing to expand your criteria to power reserve options and date-at-6 or date-symmetrical (its the date at 3 or 4 that ruins a dress watch), there are some decent options from Orient, Seiko, and the chinese manufacturers.

Personally, I would go vintage at this point as a proper dress watch also needs to be modestly sized, and the current fashion seems to be edging towards dinner-plate territory.

The Soviet 2209 movement was the thinnest in the world at its debut, and vintage examples from Luch, Poljot, Vympel, and Raketa can be had under $100 easily in excellent condition:













Aside from the Russian watches, vintage swiss watches can be had all day on ebay. My personal preference is Longines, which are extremely well made and sell relatively cheaply (under $500). Here is mine. I am not sure if the crown and hands are original, but it is 38mm (keep in mind vintage watches usually run 34-36mm, and there is a premium for bigger ones):







Another good swiss watch on the larger size is the Atlantic Worldmaster. Other, lesser known swiss names or defunct swiss brands sell even cheaper. Keep your eyes out and youll be able to find one under $300 easily in good condition. Sometimes the dials are restored / repainted, but to be honest I would prefer a very well executed restored dial to a worn and tattered original, as I am not a fan of the beat up look.

 

[DerangedGoose]

Also, this is one of my beloved Raketas. Its difficult to find sunburst dials in totally mint condition, as they tend to rust / oxidize in moisture, but this was a cheap beauty I couldnt pass up:






Large for a vintage watch (39mm), it technically resides in the wrong case; gold dials were sold in gold plated cases while silver sunburst dials (I am on the lookout for one) came with chrome plated cases like the one this one is housed in. To further make my search difficult, I collect only cyrillic dial models (millions of english ones were made for export), preferably with the USSR quality mark, shown in the catalog here:





Its a great hobby that doesnt break the bank! I dont think Ive paid more than $150 for a totally mint example

 

[TheWraith]

And wearing beads next to a watch really isn't on and can scratch a good quality watch as well. Not a good look, ditch it.

 

[New Shoes1]

It's an automatic, but the Hamilton Intramatic makes for a great PMW dress watch. It has a date, but no seconds hand. More importantly, it's 38 mm.

 

[ShawnBC]

^^ nice watch!

Edit* I meant "tie", but it still apply - the Intra-Matic looks really nice!

 

[tifosi]

Love that Hamilton. I just wish it was a couple MM smaller in diameter.

 

[New Shoes1]

It's a great value dress watch, but for some reason I never bonded with it. I wore it maybe 5 - 6 times max and have not pulled it out of the box in 8 months at this point in time.

 

[tifosi]



It's a great value dress watch, but for some reason I never bonded with it.  I wore it maybe 5 - 6 times max and have not pulled it out of the box in 8 months at this point in time. 

I tried it on quite a few times, but like I said, I just needed it to be 2 or so mm smaller.

 

[TheWraith]

38mm is a good size for a dress watch in modern times. 36mm-38mm is best today, I feel.

 

[tifosi]



38mm is a good size for a dress watch in modern times. 36mm-38mm is best today, I feel.

For me, I prefer 36 and I'd stretch it to 37 for certain options.

 

[TheWraith]

At the moment, I'm preferring 36mm too, but 38mm works for pretty much all wrist sizes today.

 

[tifosi]



At the moment, I'm preferring 36mm too, but 38mm works for pretty much all wrist sizes today.

I completely agree with that.

 

[OdlanWH]

I too wish there was a greater availability of slim, manual wind dress watches (to me, a proper dress watch must have no date. No seconds is best but I am more flexible on this criteria).

Mechanical:

Orient Monarch, $268:


Beijing Watch Factory Zhufeng S $330




Beijing Watch Factory Behai 5.0 $400




Use lionseek.com to aggregate for-sale listings from all watch forums and you can find a good deal. If you are willing to expand your criteria to power reserve options and date-at-6 or date-symmetrical (its the date at 3 or 4 that ruins a dress watch), there are some decent options from Orient, Seiko, and the chinese manufacturers.

Personally, I would go vintage at this point as a proper dress watch also needs to be modestly sized, and the current fashion seems to be edging towards dinner-plate territory.

The Soviet 2209 movement was the thinnest in the world at its debut, and vintage examples from Luch, Poljot, Vympel, and Raketa can be had under $100 easily in excellent condition:













Aside from the Russian watches, vintage swiss watches can be had all day on ebay. My personal preference is Longines, which are extremely well made and sell relatively cheaply (under $500). Here is mine. I am not sure if the crown and hands are original, but it is 38mm (keep in mind vintage watches usually run 34-36mm, and there is a premium for bigger ones):







Another good swiss watch on the larger size is the Atlantic Worldmaster. Other, lesser known swiss names or defunct swiss brands sell even cheaper. Keep your eyes out and youll be able to find one under $300 easily in good condition. Sometimes the dials are restored / repainted, but to be honest I would prefer a very well executed restored dial to a worn and tattered original, as I am not a fan of the beat up look.