I need a good / cheap watch

[CeeDub]

Tell me about Seka.

Campmor brah.

[TMN]

What about the Swiss Army watches? I have 2. My favorite one survived my first grade classroom. It's one rough cookie. Spent about $125 on it and it is waterproof, kidproof and I've only had to replace the battery once in 6 years.

[bdlaw]

Saga continues....

After missa graciously replaced the battery and instructed me on the chrono, this watch went to Central America with me and died a slow death by moisture in the case (mostly likely because I am an *idiot* and wore it snorkeling).

Now that it is no longer under warranty, it may cost upwards of 300 bucks to repair.

So I am looking into a replacement- tritium illuminated if possible and preferably (though not necessary) with a chrono.  Would prefer not to break the bank.  I have been looking at Traser's mostly, along with Luminox again- since I already own two Luminox compatible bands.

I had looked at Seiko's and Citizens as well but really really liked the tritium concept in my Luminox.

[bdlaw]

How does "free" sound?

I forgot I received a free "commemorative" watch when I bought a couple pair of 5.11 pants.

Fugly to an extent, "tacticool" in a way that annoys me, kind of uncomfortable, but it tells time.

missa, if you do know anybody that can hook me up with repairs on a Luminox, I'd love to hear about it.  I'm having a hard time finding my receipt.   

[Bobblehead]

missa, my Seiko kinetic stopped working a few years ago--wouldn't hold a charge after a year's use. It was just beyond the warranty, so Seiko said "ship it to us and we'll see what we can do." My experience with factory service (cameras) has left me with a bad taste in my mouth, so I was hesitant. I'm pretty sure their response would have been "we can fix it for $100, or we can charge you $30 to ship it back to you unfixed."

What's your opinion?

[missa]

Tell me about Seiko.

inexpensive japanese quartz, automatic and "kinetic" (automatic rechargable hybrid) watches.  pretty basic and reliable.  usually find parts available for a few years so if you need a new bracelet/crystal/crown, they are relatively easy to find. 

imho they are the toyota of watches... 

[bdlaw]

Tell me about Seiko.

[missa]

• "disposable"--just like a Timex, who the heck cares what happens to your Swatch?


Cons:

• made by the Swiss--god, I can't stand the Swiss

if you saw how many times people would bring it in for a crystal or a new crown you would see how much people love them...

we just cant do any work on them...  

swiss are okay.  they make damn find chocolate, and much better timepieces than the americans  

[CeeDub]

Why, thank you sir.

Re: the altimeter - I would "set" mine whilst driving over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel to +20 feet, then watch it read down to -40 when going thru the 2 tunnel sections.  It read out in 20' increments.  This was a while back, I think Bush the Stupid was in office, his son being Bush the Stupider, of course.

[missa]

I suppose I could have thrown out my 13 year old timex that still works perfectly (even the indiglo still works!). But i just can't bring myself to.

i meant that insofar as that if you put a new battery in and it doesnt work, the only thing you can do is throw it out

[Bobblehead]

Oh, and on the G Shock, I found one in the middle of the road down by the shore, it worked fine, until my 2 year old son got his hands on it (button failure).

[Bobblehead]

I also received a Timex for HS graduation.  I learned that water resistant menas you can wear it in the rain but you cannot wear it in the surf.  I still have it tho.  I also have a Bulova that was given to all 3rd year lettermen and women by State U.  I put a Speidel twistoflex on it and when I need some flash (like with a penguin suit), it does fine.  Sometimes I even set it and wind it.

But I stopped wearing watches for the most part.  The cell phone has a clock.  The car has a clock.  The radio, computer, stove, microwave, coffeemaker, cablebox, bank, bankcrawler, tv, all have clocks.  We are surrounded by clocks.

And yet, what do we do with our time?

Campmor has the bestus cheapest selection of slave bracelets, from less than $10 to altimeter pulse detecting Dick Tracy worthy stuff.

Damn, CeeDub, I was just going to say most of this, but you said it better.    "Slave bracelets"  

After going through countless $200+ watches (hey, I live hard, what can I say?) I stopped wearing watches simply because I was NEVER more than 10' from something telling me the time.  

Then, whoa, I started being able to do things, like bike for a couple hours with my kids, which means I needed to know when to come back home. So I bought a Swatch. Pros:

• cheap--$50 gets you a very realiable timepiece
• durable--lasted just as long or longer than watches costing 5x more
• light--important to a man on the go like me  
• water resistant--I swim in them (not below 10') without any problems
• "disposable"--just like a Timex, who the heck cares what happens to your Swatch?
• stylish--they have conservative styles, which should fit your rectilinear worldview, BD, and funky ones, for the rest of us. :flipoff2:

Cons:

• made by the Swiss--god, I can't stand the Swiss

[bdlaw]

I *didn't* send it yet, missa.

Suggestions/advice/assistance more than welcome.  I'd prefer to keep it local if possible but the warranty basically says "send it to us and we'll do it for free".

It is a Luminox chrono.

FYI I'm leaning toward a G Shock.  They have a kinda expensive one that has an alti as well as a chrono.

Anyone have any feedback on these?

[CeeDub]

I also received a Timex for HS graduation.  I learned that water resistant menas you can wear it in the rain but you cannot wear it in the surf.  I still have it tho.  I also have a Bulova that was given to all 3rd year lettermen and women by State U.  I put a Speidel twistoflex on it and when I need some flash (like with a penguin suit), it does fine.  Sometimes I even set it and wind it.

But I stopped wearing watches for the most part.  The cell phone has a clock.  The car has a clock.  The radio, computer, stove, microwave, coffeemaker, cablebox, bank, bankcrawler, tv, all have clocks.  We are surrounded by clocks.

And yet, what do we do with our time?

Campmor has the bestus cheapest selection of slave bracelets, from less than $10 to altimeter pulse detecting Dick Tracy worthy stuff.

[NON]

timex is totally disposable.

 

I suppose I could have thrown out my 13 year old timex that still works perfectly (even the indiglo still works!). But i just can't bring myself to.

[missa]

my first question is why did you send it to rhode island before asking  me ?

timex is totally disposable.

fossil can look nice and can be fixed very easily if you would like.

i wouldn't won't and can't touch swatch.

i would also recommend esq.  they are made by the movado group and are pretty nice looking.  you might like it for something to "knock around" with.

you can find some good deals on overstock.com for watches that are a few seasons old, and are decent makes (seiko, esq, etc.) for under a hundred.

[MCA™]

+1 on Timex. Takes a licking and keeps on ticking. I'd also look at a Swatch.

[NON]

Get yerself a nice classy good ol' American Timex.  They make some really nice traditional ones that are not a ton of money.  In fact, I am wearing an oversized man's Timex watch right now.  And you know that I am completely superficial and worry constantly about what people think of me, so it MUST be cool...   

credit where credit is due, the bracelet band timex that i have had since high school still works perfectly. i don't even know if i have ever changed the battery (though i must have, right?). i wear it when i don french cuffs (such as on wednesday), since it fits under the sleeve better than my everyday watch.

[jennymayla]

Get yerself a nice classy good ol' American Timex.  They make some really nice traditional ones that are not a ton of money.  In fact, I am wearing an oversized man's Timex watch right now.  And you know that I am completely superficial and worry constantly about what people think of me, so it MUST be cool...   

[NON]

So I have to send my nice watch to like Rhode Island or somewhere for repairs because the chronograph somehow got jostled while we were in Michigan and it doesn't work properly anymore, and as a result the second hand is stuck.  According to the warranty all I have to do is send it back to them and they'll repair it for free.

But this leaves me watch-less for a week or so.

Any recommendations for a good, inexpensive (I'm thinking less than 100 bucks) watch that also won't make me look like more of a Poindexter than I already do?

Fossils typically run under $100, there's a million styles (check out Macy's in Newport), and they're pretty reliable. They actually make a lot of the designer brands like Diesel as well.

Depending on what you're looking for you could get a demure one for $75-95

[Kindelan]

Time is an illusion my friend.

[elgoodo]

Lots of Ronex's on Canal Street.

[bdlaw]

So I have to send my nice watch to like Rhode Island or somewhere for repairs because the chronograph somehow got jostled while we were in Michigan and it doesn't work properly anymore, and as a result the second hand is stuck.  According to the warranty all I have to do is send it back to them and they'll repair it for free.

But this leaves me watch-less for a week or so.

Any recommendations for a good, inexpensive (I'm thinking less than 100 bucks) watch that also won't make me look like more of a Poindexter than I already do?

• Tweet