Poor man's watch thread

[duff406]

I can’t recall if I ever posted this here but I picked up this titanium Citizen ProMaster 5503 earlier this year and am in love with it. It’s similar in size to my Seiko Tuna SBBN007. I think my Tuna is a bit more comfortable but this gives it a run for the money. I’m usually not a “gold guy”, but I really like the gold accents here as, to me anyway, they have a bit of a rose gold hue.

Plus, I really like the old school scuba helmet on the caseback.

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That is pretty cool! Did you pick it up new or vintage?

 

[Michigan Planner]

I bought it second (third? forth?) hand. According to the serial number, it was manufactured in May 1991. I think they stopped making these shortly after that. Mine is in nearly mint condition. I thought it was perfect until I learned that the bezel is supposed to lock and only rotate when you push down on it, but I didn't know that was an intended feature until after I had it a few weeks and was looking into their history a bit more. Mine isn't loose, but it turns just like most other dive watches I've ever owned - without being pushing down on the bezel. I'd like to get that fixed but my quick and not very in-depth search for parts hasn't produced much in terms of parts.

I bought mine for what I think is a pretty fair price but I've occasionally seen them go for crazy inflated prices like $2k and in worse condition than mine.

There are also versions with 1300m water resist and 300m water resist. From what I can discern, the 1300m version wasn't produced very long at all and was mainly done as a marketing stunt by Citizen to show that they could beat some of the early Seiko Tunas in terms of depth ratings. I haven't seen one pop up on the Bay or in forums in a long time and the last one I did see, the owner wanted $4k for so that's outside of my price range, but if something ever popped up much lower, I might consider it.

Here's a picture (not mine) of the 1300m version. You can definitely see the Tuna influence on these:

The 300m version was produced the longest and is usually considered the predecessor to the EcoZilla diver. Here's a photo of one of the 300m versions (again, not mine). This one has the gold accents like the 800m and 1300m, but I think in some of the later ones you could get it without the gold accents (or maybe they stopped using the gold altogether in the later ones and that was the only way you could get it):

 

[mosy]

 

[Ebichuman]

^ That takes me back many, many years!

 

[ptfly]

I don't like it. It looks too hard to be retro.

Definitely a mixture of influences from at least 3 vintage divers. Etienne's father's influence is apparent and I don't see that as a negative.
I have far too many watches but after looking at the watch and the collection for several days I am going to give this a shot.
Looks like the unnumbered version will be available in a week for order.

 

[Lumaca]

#pilotwannabe

 

[Genericuser1]

I picked up a few watches from my FIL who has been in a retirement facility for a month or two. I'll get some pictures of them this week. Only two that I might wear; a Seiko Quartz Chrono (7T32-6A) and a Victorinox Swiss Army Alliance quartz, both from around 1995 I think. I took some macro shots just so I could make out the movements but I've forgotten. I remember that the Swiss Army uses a Rhonda movement.

There was a Casio quartz and a Werner Swiss Army that are in pretty rough shape. I've order batteries and gaskets for all of them so I hope to see if they work by the weekend.

I also ordered a new Seiko SRPB46 which should be here by the end of the week.

Update:
Found the Swiss Army online it's a model 24658

 

[New Shoes1]

On my wrist today. Dial is dark blue indoors and a more vibrant blue outdoors.

 

[New Shoes1]

Outdoor picture.

 

[Genericuser1]

Well no luck with the Swiss Army its a Ronda 715 and it looks like the battery corroded and the contact below the battery is gone now. The movement would need to be replaced which isn't that expensive but I don't really want to mess with trying to remove it from the watch face and re-gluing it.

The Casio AD-520 took the same battery and works just fine, maybe I'll use it as a beater.

 

[Genericuser1]

Arrived a day or two early.

 

[Riva]

 

[Milksteakboiledhard]

First foray into the world or real watches - Hamilton Khaki Navy

I need to take it to a jeweler/watch guy to get the band resized as I haven't had any luck with my own tool on either replacing the bracelet with a leather strap or removing links.

 

[Genericuser1]

What’s the difference between a Nato and Zulu strap?

 

[venessian]

What’s the difference between a Nato and Zulu strap?

ZULU straps (3-ring) have 1 single nylon strap, which threads above the spring bars (between the spring bars and the case back). These are the simplest, thinnest configuration, but the least secure.

NATO straps have a 2nd (attached, but shorter) strap piece; this 2nd piece threads below the spring bars, and so offers much more security.

ZULU straps (5-ring) are configured just like NATO straps, but are typically made of a slightly thicker nylon. Sometimes NATO and ZULU hardware differ slightly in terms of shape, etc.

Then there are 2-piece NATO/ZULUs, which are like any other standard 2-piece leather, etc., strap, and offer none of the original NATO/ZULU security.