Got a cool watch? Let's see it.

[revmaaatin]

Originally Posted by tslewisz

That guy is a bad influence on us all.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2

Yeah.
Its worse when he includes pictures!

ps. send pictures.

[Chisenhallw]

Originally Posted by CapCal1000

I expect to see a couple guys I know sporting this unit when it becomes available

That's what she said.

[Lobby]

Originally Posted by Flood

Leo, the movement is entry-level and can be accurate enough; at this price point, the quality control is just not very detailed. Google "regulating Seiko" and you can do it yourself easily with a caseback opener and a toothpick. You should be able to regulate it to within 5-25 seconds.

It's a bit annoying though, as you will open it every 24 hours until you're close.

Or just find a watch maker who is willing to do it for you.

I have the tools to remove the case back. Perhaps I'll play with it next week.

What's a better, more accurate movement? In other words, if an individual desires an auto but for non-Rolex prices?

[Flood]

One good step above is the 6R15 movement found in the Sumo (which looks very much like yours) or in the Alpinists you quoted above.

These watches should be around $600.

Top class are Grand Seikos, King Seikos, the Marine Master and the like.

[revmaaatin]

Originally Posted by Lobby

I have the tools to remove the case back. Perhaps I'll play with it next week.

What's a better, more accurate movement? In other words, if an individual desires an auto but for non-Rolex prices?

AS per SniperX's recc. I looked and bought the Invecta $99-150 mechanicals--are excellent and can be regulated to less than 1 min/week which seems to be acceptable by most here. Not a Rolex (etal) or even a $ieko, but the Invecta still gives accurate time and immense $atisfaction (at my pay grade)! I think I paid $109 for an Invecta Signature Series--Ocean Ghost Mld No 7235. If it will last 3 years, I rented it for $3/month.

How accurate do you need to be?
When I needed to put troops in a zone, +/- 5 sec due to supporting artillery fire, I always used a quartz watch. no two quartz watches. Mine and the copilots plus (both) aircraft mechanical clocks...mind you, that was before the use of GPS/satellite based clocks. Once, I somehow arrived at the zone early, wondering why the mortars were still landing--and that put the fear of God in me (smile) to pay attention to the clock. As it turned out, all was well. It was mostly noob jitters as I had never seen the explosion in a zone prepped with live fire; not that you really ever get used to it. You are always left to hope the heavey-weapons 'shooter' on the other end can tell time
Yes Virginia, some days you need an really, accurate watch....

[PirateJohn]

You guys were talking about eyesight ... I have gotten to the point where I cannot read the day/date on most watches. I have owned Breitling and TAG-Heuer among others, but honestly this one is about the best for my personal needs and taste these days.

5.11 Titanium. $300. Forget the silly built in routine to calculate trajectory for sniping ;)

[MoxNix]

Originally Posted by Lobby

What's a better, more accurate movement? In other words, if an individual desires an auto but for non-Rolex prices?

Just look for the COSC Certification on any mechanical.

Rolex conforms to this and provides papers as such, but so do about 100 other manufacturers.

As for watches, there is a manufacturers hierarchy with Rolex and Patek at the top, then all others. Patek has earned theirs through very high quality timepieces (look up Geneva Seal) and Rolex through brand recognition/resale value/desireability.

An Omega Seamaster is a better watch in all areas, save for resale, than a Rolex Sub- but the Rolex reamins at the top.

[Mav]

Originally Posted by PirateJohn

You guys were talking about eyesight ... I have gotten to the point where I cannot read the day/date on most watches. I have owned Breitling and TAG-Heuer among others, but honestly this one is about the best for my personal needs and taste these days.

5.11 Titanium. $300. Forget the silly built in routine to calculate trajectory for sniping ;)

Was the shot to give us an idea of how bad your eyesight is?

[maalstroom]

Originally Posted by MrPickle

I thought my Japanese Seiko tuna can was huge until I found the Eco-Drive. I really dig both these guys.

The Seiko is a shrouded diver but not a "tuna". It is called a "sawtooth," for future reference. Not to dig, I really like that watch.

[Manuel Garcia O'Kely]

Originally Posted by Lobby

I have the tools to remove the case back. Perhaps I'll play with it next week.

What's a better, more accurate movement? In other words, if an individual desires an auto but for non-Rolex prices?

I have a couple Seiko's with the 6R15 movement, the SARB017 and 059.

The same movement is had in a number of similarly priced watches including the "sumo" http://www.seiyajapan.com/product/S-...c-SBDC001.html

And the Ti version that looks a LOT like a Rolex Sub:
http://www.seiyajapan.com/product/S-...c-SBDC007.html

Mine are both running a few seconds a day fast - 5 to 8 seconds a day, which I consider to be pretty good at that price.

While you are at Seiya's site, go look at the Grand Seikos for the sin-qa-none of accuracy in mechanicals.

Oh, and Seiya-san is a a good businessman, I've had two transactions with him in the last 6 months and he's fast and honest.

[k7]

Originally Posted by Manuel Garcia O'Kely

Oh, and Seiya-san is a a good businessman, I've had two transactions with him in the last 6 months and he's fast and honest.

I've never done business w/ him but he has a solid reputation.

[Lobby]

Gosh, lots of great advice. Thanks.

I just purchased and downloaded a phone regulator app for my iPhone.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/kello/id380539253?mt=8

$9. Tried it here at the shop, but too much noise for it to pick up. I'll go buy a microphone and play with it. Not gonna mess with my phone until I get this app working, I think. Trial and error, to this engineer, seems sinful.

I'll report back, perhaps with pics in a few days...

[PirateJohn]

Originally Posted by Mav

Was the shot to give us an idea of how bad your eyesight is?

Funny! ;)

Naw ... That 's the lazy iPad camera shot. My vision is excellent in the distance and when riding but I need reading glasses just to read most watches.

[DR. Rock]

"Why don't you tell me about the mystery dance,
I wanna know about the mystery dance,
Why don't you show me
'Cause I've tried and I've tried, and I'm still mystified,
I can't do it anymore and I'm not satisfied.

-Elvis Costello & The Attractions

Originally Posted by Lobby

...Trial and error, to this engineer, seems sinful. ...

Unfortunately, that's what it'll take. The variables you can't account for are how much your daily activity (vibrations, position, temp changes, etc.) affects the regulation. It's not that tough to get a decent mechanical watch regulated to pretty tight tolerances if it sits in the same position like a clock on the wall, or even consistently moved, like on a winder.

I struggled for years to get my MKII Quad 10 (ETA 2824 elaboree) to within 10 seconds a day (averaged over weeks), wearing it on my wrist 24/7.

Just to give you an idea of the process, here is a sample of my notes:

4/22/11 @ 10am: set 3 min ahead.
5/2/11 @ 4pm: lost 34sec in 10d = 3.4sec/d. Set 3 min ahead.
6/27/11 @ 14:30 set to exact time.
7/1/11 @ 12:30pm: lost 10sec, ~3sec/day. Reset to 2 min ahead.
8/11/11 @ 12:30pm: gained 52sec over 41d, ~1.3sec/d fast. Set to actual atomic time.
8/31/11 @ 3pm: gained 3:55 (235 sec over 20d = 11.8sec/d fast. Set to actual atomic time.
11/1/11 @ 1:30pm: set 1 min. behind atomic time.
11/13/11 @ 1:30am. Gained 1:41 in 11d12h or 8.8sec/d
Set 1min behind atomic @ 7:30pm
12/6/11 @ 8:30p. Gained 378s in 547h or 16.6sec/d. Set 1min behind atomic @ 8:30pm
12/17/11 @ 10:30a: Gained 135sec in 10d14h or 12.8sec/d. Turned fine regulator screw back 2.5 marks. Set to actual atomic time @ 11a.
12/22/11 @ 10:30a: gained 45 sec in 5d or 9sec/day. Turned fine regulator screw back 2.5 marks to center point. Set to actual atomic time.
12/30/11 @ 6p: lost 33sec in 8d,7.5h or 4sec/day. Turned fine regulator screw forward 1 mark. Set to actual atomic time.

You can see, my adjustments were within the system noise -- no consistent cause & effect. As far as I could tell, the accuracy varied with my hair length divided by the Dow Jones moving average. But I got it pretty close. At times. Then I rode 2000+ miles of rocky terrain over 2 weeks on Mobius 9, and when I checked against the atomic clock, it had gained over a minute per day! I was almost early for our flight home! I HATE when that happens.

That's when I gave up, stopped worrying, and learned to love the bomb. And decided to pick up one of these:



I'm partial to simple, black faced watches (link to my March '07 post in this thread -- has it really been 5 years? ). I'm not in the sun too much, and I hate batteries. I want a watch that runs only as long as I need it to. When I stop moving, I want it to stop also. (My lasting legacy will be 72 hours of mainspring power -- future generations will thank me. )

As much as I try, I'm just not a bracelet guy, so I ditched it for a rubber strap: $11 shipped (i had a 15% off code). The lume on the bezel is cool. It has a 72h reserve, though I'm always wearing it, so it's always full wound. The GMT complication is well implemented (no need to stop the second hand to reset the local-time hour hand). I use military time at work, and like having those numbers on there. And I can actually read the date.

It's just a Seiko , nothing flashy, (we live in a dangerous big city, you know... wouldn't want to wear a target on my wrist), Despite not being certified by the Swiss , it keeps very accurate, and more importantly to me, very consistent time.

It runs 1-2 seconds fast per week. Every week. Week after week.

No muss, no fuss.

That's what I'm talkin' about.

[Lobby]

I'm not sure whether to groan about this journey I'm about to start, or just ask to send you my watch...