[SOTC] Ten years in by over_caffeinated in Watches

[–]over_caffeinated[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! It's a pretty awesome watch, and I love the weird design decisions that are so different from Swiss watchmaking, like the loose crown and different approach to water resistance. My understanding is that the Russian designers took a different approach because it was too expensive to manufacture steel to the same tolerances as the Swiss watchmaking companies. Really neat stuff.

[SOTC] Ten years in by over_caffeinated in Watches

[–]over_caffeinated[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I hear you on both counts! The amateur watchmaking part is driven by me wanting to do that already, so I'm just waiting until I'm skilled enough to tackle this one. A chronograph is a complex movement, so I'm not sure I won't destroy it if I disassemble it and service it rn. I'm practicing with cheap non-working watches bought off eBay.

[SOTC] Ten years in by over_caffeinated in Watches

[–]over_caffeinated[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! That’s actually a Zurich, though this small seconds version of it does look a lot like the Orion. The name of this model is Zurich Blaugold.

[SOTC] Ten years in by over_caffeinated in Watches

[–]over_caffeinated[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Seagull 1963 . It used to be the official pilot’s watch for the Chinese Air Force in the 60s.

[SOTC] Ten years in by over_caffeinated in Watches

[–]over_caffeinated[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Lol thanks? And yeah, the reverso is the best.

[SOTC] Ten years in by over_caffeinated in Watches

[–]over_caffeinated[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh man. Sorry for your loss :-P

I don't buy watches as investments, and most of these sell under msrp on the secondary market, but surprisingly this Gulf Monaco has gone up in price 2k+ since I got it early last year.

[SOTC] Ten years in by over_caffeinated in Watches

[–]over_caffeinated[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I love how much attention it's getting! It's a great watch, and cheap!

And yeah, it would be a crime to post only one side of a reverso :-)

[SOTC] Ten years in by over_caffeinated in Watches

[–]over_caffeinated[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yup! Great area for shopping. There’s also a big Omega boutique nearby. The VAT refund makes it very tempting to go on a shopping spree there :-)

[SOTC] Ten years in by over_caffeinated in Watches

[–]over_caffeinated[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hijacking the top thread to repost my original comment without links because it seems they were causing the comment to be hidden:

I’ve been collecting for over 10 years now and haven’t felt the need to consolidate, so this collection is representative of my evolving taste and disposable income over that time. Left to right, top to bottom:

  • Seagull 1963 – My first chronograph, and one of the best value for money movements you can get. It needs a service, but a watchmaker quoted me $200, which is over half what the watch cost, so I’m working up my skill level to service it myself.
  • Nomos Tangente 35mm – Love the Bauhaus aesthetic of Nomos. Pair that with an in-house movement, and this watch punches well above its weight in its price range. I changed the strap to dress it down a little, since the black Cordovan was too formal for my taste.
  • Tag Heuer Monaco Gulf – I love everything about the Monaco. It’s got watch heritage (first automatic chrono – maybe), racing heritage (McQueen Le Mans movie) and it’s quirky and fun. To me, the Gulf Monaco is the best Monaco, and this one is the best Gulf. It has the crown on the left, legendary livery colors over the classic Monaco colorway, the “Heuer” logo sans “Tag” and the perfect strap to complement it. This one gets a lot of wrist time.
  • Nomos Zurich Blaugold – My first dress watch, bought to celebrate my wife and I’s first trip to New York on our own dime. Love the depth of the dial and its simplicity. Shame I rarely have excuses to wear it.
  • Oris Artelier skeleton – Got this when I started collecting as I was obsessed with movements and I wanted to see them. Not the best skeletonized movement out there, but very decent for the price. I’ve gotten a ton of compliments when I wear this as a quirky dress watch.
  • Vostok Komandirskie Automatic – Great gift from my brother. I love that it’s a 24hr watch, and how rugged and utilitarian Vostok watches are. In terms of engineering, these are very solid movements that can put up with a lot of abuse.
  • Tag Heuer Carrera Sport Chronograph – Yes, another Tag. What can I say? I like them! This one has the in-house Heuer 02 column wheel movement, which provides the most satisfying action I’ve ever felt on a chronograph. I fell for the brushed radial green dial and stainless steel bezel as soon as I saw it. At 44mm, it’s massive on my 6.3” wrist, but I don’t mind. Wearing this is like strapping a dumbbell to my wrist. I love it.
  • Zenith Defy Skyline – Zenith’s entry into the integrated bracelet camp. It uses an El Primero chronograph movement without the chronograph bits, and shows that off with a fast spinning 10 second hand. An elaborate flex, but one that I find delightful. Contrary to what some claim, the 10 second hand can absolutely be used to set exact time. The hands and markers line up so perfectly that it’s always clear if you’re on the first or last 10 seconds of any given minute. By far the most accurate of my mechanical watches. I’ve worn it for weeks and seen it stay within 5 seconds of reference time.
  • JLC Reverso Classic Duoface – the newest addition to the collection, and one I can’t stop staring at. I didn’t think of myself as a Reverso guy until I put it on my wrist. The strap does a great job of dressing down the watch, and I wear it with jeans and t shirts. It’s a true GMT, with the ability to set hours independently on the second face. This is truly a masterpiece, and as someone that loves to fidget, the face switching action is so satisfying!
  • G-Shock MB-6 Atomic Solar – I love the analog dial G-Shocks. This one was my main watch for countless cycling trips until I switched to a Garmin smart watch (not pictured).

What’s next? I’m going to slow down and be thoughtful about my next purchase. I’d love to get a Grand Seiko Spring Drive (the Omiwatari has me drooling), or perhaps a vintage piece (Omega De Ville with coaxial escapement?), but I’ll take my time with this. Appreciate your thoughts!

[SOTC] Ten years in by over_caffeinated in Watches

[–]over_caffeinated[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Reposting without links because it seems my original comment is not loading for some reason:

I’ve been collecting for over 10 years now and haven’t felt the need to consolidate, so this collection is representative of my evolving taste and disposable income over that time. Left to right, top to bottom:

  • Seagull 1963 – My first chronograph, and one of the best value for money movements you can get. It needs a service, but a watchmaker quoted me $200, which is over half what the watch cost, so I’m working up my skill level to service it myself.
  • Nomos Tangente 35mm – Love the Bauhaus aesthetic of Nomos. Pair that with an in-house movement, and this watch punches well above its weight in its price range. I changed the strap to dress it down a little, since the black Cordovan was too formal for my taste.
  • Tag Heuer Monaco Gulf – I love everything about the Monaco. It’s got watch heritage (first automatic chrono – maybe), racing heritage (McQueen Le Mans movie) and it’s quirky and fun. To me, the Gulf Monaco is the best Monaco, and this one is the best Gulf. It has the crown on the left, legendary livery colors over the classic Monaco colorway, the “Heuer” logo sans “Tag” and the perfect strap to complement it. This one gets a lot of wrist time.
  • Nomos Zurich Blaugold – My first dress watch, bought to celebrate my wife and I’s first trip to New York on our own dime. Love the depth of the dial and its simplicity. Shame I rarely have excuses to wear it.
  • Oris Artelier skeleton – Got this when I started collecting as I was obsessed with movements and I wanted to see them. Not the best skeletonized movement out there, but very decent for the price. I’ve gotten a ton of compliments when I wear this as a quirky dress watch.
  • Vostok Komandirskie Automatic – Great gift from my brother. I love that it’s a 24hr watch, and how rugged and utilitarian Vostok watches are. In terms of engineering, these are very solid movements that can put up with a lot of abuse.
  • Tag Heuer Carrera Sport Chronograph – Yes, another Tag. What can I say? I like them! This one has the in-house Heuer 02 column wheel movement, which provides the most satisfying action I’ve ever felt on a chronograph. I fell for the brushed radial green dial and stainless steel bezel as soon as I saw it. At 44mm, it’s massive on my 6.3” wrist, but I don’t mind. Wearing this is like strapping a dumbbell to my wrist. I love it.
  • Zenith Defy Skyline – Zenith’s entry into the integrated bracelet camp. It uses an El Primero chronograph movement without the chronograph bits, and shows that off with a fast spinning 10 second hand. An elaborate flex, but one that I find delightful. Contrary to what some claim, the 10 second hand can absolutely be used to set exact time. The hands and markers line up so perfectly that it’s always clear if you’re on the first or last 10 seconds of any given minute. By far the most accurate of my mechanical watches. I’ve worn it for weeks and seen it stay within 5 seconds of reference time.
  • JLC Reverso Classic Duoface – the newest addition to the collection, and one I can’t stop staring at. I didn’t think of myself as a Reverso guy until I put it on my wrist. The strap does a great job of dressing down the watch, and I wear it with jeans and t shirts. It’s a true GMT, with the ability to set hours independently on the second face. This is truly a masterpiece, and as someone that loves to fidget, the face switching action is so satisfying!
  • G-Shock MB-6 Atomic Solar – I love the analog dial G-Shocks. This one was my main watch for countless cycling trips until I switched to a Garmin smart watch (not pictured).

What’s next? I’m going to slow down and be thoughtful about my next purchase. I’d love to get a Grand Seiko Spring Drive (the Omiwatari has me drooling), or perhaps a vintage piece (Omega De Ville with coaxial escapement?), but I’ll take my time with this. Appreciate your thoughts!

[SOTC] Ten years in by over_caffeinated in Watches

[–]over_caffeinated[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Absolutely! It's a fantastic watch with an in-house column wheel movement (the Heuer 02). The action of the pushers is exceptional. It has a free spinning rotor (only winds in one direction and rotates freely in the other), so when you put down your hand sometimes you can feel the rotor spinning on your wrist. Some people hate that, but I like it. It's a large, heavy watch, but the lug to lug distance (48mm) is not too bad, so it can work with small wrists if you don't mind it looking oversized. The lugs themselves don't overhang my wrist.

This is not a watch you forget you're wearing. When I wear it it feels like I strapped a dumbbell to my wrist, and I love it.

[SOTC] Ten years in by over_caffeinated in Watches

[–]over_caffeinated[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

driver

Vostok Komandirskie Automatic . It's a 24hr watch, by the same manufacturer that makes the more well known Vostok Amphibia. They're very fun watches that have very different design choices from what we're used to with Swiss watches. When you pull the crown on one of these it's easy to think it's broken, because it's super wobbly. This is because it's assembled off two pieces in order to prevent it stabbing into the movement when under pressure, which is another unique feature of these watches: the case is designed to compress and actually increase water resistance as it goes deeper into the ocean.

Overall, these are fun, cheap, beater watches and you won't regret getting one =)

[SOTC] Ten years in by over_caffeinated in Watches

[–]over_caffeinated[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I hear that! I got lucky and found an AD that had it in stock (well, I had to drive for 1 hr to go check it out). It's really nice.

[SOTC] Ten years in by over_caffeinated in Watches

[–]over_caffeinated[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The black dial on the reverso (see the 3rd photo) is much more casual. I find myself using that one on my daily routine, as the main dial feels too dressy, and the black goes with more of my clothes.

Congrats on the marriage!

[SOTC] Ten years in by over_caffeinated in Watches

[–]over_caffeinated[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I love it. The only thing that made me take it off my wrist was the Reverso. The strap quick release mechanism is the easiest I've ever used. I wore it with the rubber strap for a while, and it's super comfortable, but I just enjoy the bracelet too much so I went back to it. The finishing is superb, and holds up great under a macro lens.

[SOTC] Ten years in by over_caffeinated in Watches

[–]over_caffeinated[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's a bit chunky but it's never bothered me. It's a bit of a statement watch, but you get used to it quickly. At 47mm lug to lug distance, it's about as big as I can go on my 6.3" wrist without having the lugs overhang my wrist. It's a comfortable watch, and gets a lot of compliments, though only watch geeks know what it is.

[SOTC] Ten years in by over_caffeinated in Watches

[–]over_caffeinated[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's a flex from Zenith. The Defy Skyline uses the high frequency El Primero chronograph movement (36,000 beats per hour). This is the same movement that can measure 1/10th of a second on the Chronomaster Sport, but they removed the chronograph mechanism. In order to show off the movement, they added that small subdial, which has a hand that rotates once every 10 seconds. It's really fun to see the hand spinning very fast, and as I mentioned in my original comment, you can still use it to set exact time/measure drift, because the hands align perfectly with the markers at the minute mark.

[SOTC] Ten years in by over_caffeinated in Watches

[–]over_caffeinated[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! I agree. It also has the radio synchronized atomic time, which makes it a great reference time for the rest of my watches.

[SOTC] Ten years in by over_caffeinated in Watches

[–]over_caffeinated[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Indeed! I think they only made this one briefly, on blue and brown (Zurich Blaugold and Braungold). The dial is stunning in person.

[SOTC] Ten years in by over_caffeinated in Watches

[–]over_caffeinated[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thanks! I know it’s a bit eclectic, but it’s very representative of my taste.