Watches

[Rubber]

Hey, i'm new to this forum too, i currently live in northern europe in a country called Finland. I'm currently 16 years old.

What i need is a good clean and stylish looking watch that preferably costs under 1000 euros which is around 1200 dollars or so.

It would have to be quite waterproof and have a good "insurance?" so i can swim around with it and use it everywhere from funeral to school. It's really hard to find a watch that pleases me and i've been trying to look for months but still hasn't seen anything that i would like.

Cheers, give it your best shot

And sorry about the **** of english language.

 

[Coffee]

Another finn, incredible!

I´m mostly into military and divers watches myself. Omega Seamaster Pros are very dependable and timeless although not as clean as you may like. They are also readily available in Finland.

Another good option is Sinn watches. Sinn offers a wide range of simple and rugged watches that often have many technical improvements. You can download their catalog at http://www.sinn.de/ or visit http://www.chronomaster.com/ for price reference.

 

[blackgrass]

I also like military and dive watches...
If I had 1200 US to spend on a watch I would buy two watches.
The first would be a nice English made Smiths. With some searching you could pick one up for around $600 or so. These watches would have been issued to the British military and Smiths is highly regarded in the military watch community. It would be nice enough to dress up with a leather band and you could also pull of more of a casual look. It is going to be a unique watch and one that you won't be seeing on the street. Here is a review with some pics...
http://www.broadarrow.net/smiths.htm

The other watch would be a custom watch by MKII watches. It is the Blackwater model shown here
http://www.mkiiwatches.com/WSWrapper...ypage=cd01.htm

You can choose from many different dial and hand combinations. The watch case was patterned after the old Benrus that was issued to the US Special Forces in the early 70's. You can get it tricked out to look like either the type one or type two which were orginally issued or design your own watch and go form more of the seamaster or a rolex type look.
I think both of these watches would be a good start to a nice collection. You would have a couple of very unique watches that would serve different functions....one more sporty and one a bit more formal.

One more I might mention that would be more along the lines of the Smiths is the Omega 53...I'm pretty sure it is going to cost a bit more than the Smiths though.

This is a pretty good forum for military watches...
http://www.broadarrow.net/

 

[seen]

Welcome to America, sort of. Why not try a classic American brand with swiss movement?

Hamilton!

 

[blackgrass]

Originally Posted by seen

Welcome to America, sort of. Why not try a classic American brand with swiss movement?

Hamilton!

Actually my everyday watch is an automatic Hamilton. Great watches as well. Having $1200 to blow on my watch fetish would be awesome...

 

[Hanseat]

http://www.chronomaster.co.uk/nomos_tangente.htm

The Nomos Tangente Sport would be your best bet in my opinion. You should be able to find it for less than 1000 €, it's a great watch, 98% German made (no screws from China... or even parts of the movement), perfect for swimming, diving, etc. and still is formal enough to go with everything.

 

[WN2]

Jahas, suomalaisten kokoontumisajot menossa.

New Omega watches cost more than 1000 euros around here, and it is pretty hard to get any discounts in the stores around here. Sinn is not available and would probably cost more than 1k even if it was. Hamilton would be a good choice, but they are not available in Finland. Of course, you can order it online, but I would advice against buying a watch without seeing it live first. That said, I did buy a Seiko Orange Monster without seeing it, but since it is so cheap I decided to take the dive.

One good choice might be Oris, which is available in Finland (you can Google the store name and location, I'm not sure if we are allowed to advertise here?). They make some very nice but affordable watches.

 

[Lucky Strike]

I support the recommendations of Sinn and Oris - but whatever you do, don't buy a new one. Few things depreciate as badly in value as a new, semi-expensive or expensive watch. Try looking at sites like these: http://www.chronomaster.co.uk/ http://www.watchuseek.com/site/forums.htm And particularly this one: http://www.pmwf.com/cgi-bin/Forum/webbbs_config.cgi

 

[Englandmj7]

Check out MTM Special Ops watches, they are extremely durable, stylish, and affordable:

http://www.specialopswatch.com/

Others:

- Citizen Nighthawk
- St. Moritz

All of these are great quality, and under $500. If you want something stylish and extremely durable, you don't have to spend 1000 euro......I bought my friend a St. Moritz for his time in Iraq and it hasn't missed a tick whilst being on the wrist of a person whose daily routine includes machine gun fire.....

 

[Rubber]

Originally Posted by Englandmj7

Check out MTM Special Ops watches, they are extremely durable, stylish, and affordable:

http://www.specialopswatch.com/
Others:
- Citizen Nighthawk
- St. Moritz

Maybe i didn't make myself very clear on the "clean" part, i mean i have no use for any other gadgets in the watch besides the calendar and clock fingers itself.
Nighthawk watch looks more like a circus.

 

[ceestand]

True waterproof watches tend to be expensive, which it seems you have no problem with, but they also tend to have all sorts of functions built in. Finding a "clean" one that you can swim with and not ruin will be very tough IMHO.

Also, keep in mind that the use or abuse that is put on a watch during swimming is quite different than that done while diving. Many diving watches won't hold up to the rigours of surface swimming.

 

[Rubber]

Originally Posted by ceestand

True waterproof watches tend to be expensive, which it seems you have no problem with, but they also tend to have all sorts of functions built in. Finding a "clean" one that you can swim with and not ruin will be very tough IMHO.

Also, keep in mind that the use or abuse that is put on a watch during swimming is quite different than that done while diving. Many diving watches won't hold up to the rigours of surface swimming.
I know, it seems like an impossible job, i've been trying for months

 

[gdl203]

How about a Nomos? The Tangente sport has a decent water resistance (10 ATM) so it is truly versatile. Much higher quality and finishing than most watches at that price point IMO...

 

[Tomasso]

Originally Posted by ceestand

Also, keep in mind that the use or abuse that is put on a watch during swimming is quite different than that done while diving. Many diving watches won't hold up to the rigours of surface swimming.

ceestand is correct. Lap swimming(as well as platform or board diving) can be particularly abusive to even the heartiest of watches. Buy something like a Timex Triathlon for swimming or water-sports.

 

[gdl203]

Originally Posted by Tomasso

ceestand is correct. Lap swimming(as well as platform or board diving) can be particularly abusive to even the heartiest of watches. Buy something like a Timex Triathlon for swimming or water-sports.

How about showing your proud Finnish colors with a Suunto?

I have this one (Regatta) and love it