Got a cool watch? Let's see it.

For some reason I started looking at Omega. A local shop had a couple of used Speedmasters from the '80s. Both the same price and roughly the same condition. One had some numbers stamped on the side of the case. I went with that one after some negotiating. After some investigating on the internets, seems my example was one of the first 1000 of 2000 Apollo XI 20th anniversary LEs. Sometimes it is better to be lucky than...

Is that a pic of the actual watch you bought? Score!

I picked up an Invicta Pro Diver awhile back for around 95$ I was skeptical at first but its turned out to be a damn fine watch for the money! This one has the NH35A movement which is a Seiko if I'm not mistaken. I replaced the stock black bezel with an aftermarket nicer green one. Love the green/black combo. Still have good solid Casio quartz in black.

'Tis the one; just took the photo. Thanks.

Edit - it came with original bracelet, I had then throw in a nato as well.

How hard is it to swap out the bezel?

On this one it was quite easy. The stock Invicta bezel is only held on by tiny strips of 3m tape. I took an exacto knife and just pried it off around the inside. The bezel I got was designed to work on Rolex's as well so it was slightly thicker. It would fit pretty much flush, but I went the extra mile and filed down about half a millimeter from the bottom side with a moto-tool to make it fit perfectly. I then surgically applied tiny amounts of JB weld to the inside of the rotating piece and taped a milk carton cap to the bezel. The diameter of the plastic cap was perfect as it contacted the bezel in the near center without touching the glass. Once placed where I wanted it, I put a 5lb barbell weight on top of the cap to keep some weight on it until cured. luckily no spill over around the sides It can be easier than that, but I wanted to make it real solid. On actual Rolex's the bezels are press-fit into the rotating part, but these you gotta glue in.

Yep. That's an Eterna Pulsometer, a reissue of their first Pulsometer released in 1942. Their first Pulsometer was used, and frequently issued, to doctors around the country. Visually it is the same as the original, only the date window was added. They made 1942 of these, and this is number 281.

Eterna is about to drop a whole new line with their new in house movement. As such, their selling off their old stock at pretty steep discounts. The going rate for this one has been about $1300, a far cry from the $4900 it was selling at last year. I saw it coming up on an Amazon lightning deal and alerted the WUS community. I was on my tablet when it went live, and got it for $79.99. Obviously this was a huge pricing error, but Amazon honored it. Three of us over on WUS got one. It is an absolute keeper. I've already got a blue alligator on the way to match the dark blue font on the Pulsometer.

For anyone interested, Eterna made the first Pulsometer. Many other companies followed suit, and military docs were often issued them. They are convenient for frequent and easy pulse checks. Find the pulse, start the chronograph, and stop the chronograph on the 30th beat. The second hand will then be pointing at the pulse rate.

Sent by carrier pigeons to a guy with a teletype...

quartz? no thanks.

if I want a hyper accurate electronic watch, I look at my smartphone that syncs its time over the internet with atomic precision time servers.

on my wrist it's more than simply showing the time, and I love the mechanical complexity behind an automatic or manual winding movement a LOT more than a few seconds of precision.

I don't know if I could own a Grand Seiko that wasn't a spring drive. For me, that movement is exactly why you buy a GS.

Sent by carrier pigeons to a guy with a teletype...

Me too for $30. Even with the $US exchange.

If all we did was wear a watch for accuracy we'd have quartz watches and the brain tells us that. But the heart wants the mechanical movements with all their foibles.

Very cool!

Nomos Tangente Topper anniversary edition (Topper's being one of our two preferred dealers and all around good peoples)



Manual wind movement with Nomos' Swing System http://www.nomos-glashuette.com/nomos-glashuette/workshops/the-nomos-swing-system/

And a look inside Nomos: https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/inside-nomos-glashutte

Looks gold here, but is stainless on their website. I'm really close to pulling the trigger on a Nomos. I just can't decide which one.

Sent from the voices in my head and transcribed by their drinking buddy.

This one is steel, yeah. The light on the patio makes it look golden this morning, though. If you haven't seen one in person, I recommend you do. They wear very small. Design-wise, though, I really like the clean Bauhaus-ish look.

The SEIKO GS Quartz is not down played with SEIKO . They are proud of their 9F movements , the accuracy , the way the seconds have anti backlash features and a date window changes faster then an eye can catch , service intervals of over 50 years suggested by the manufacturer are amazing and if ever needed , the Quartz can be adjusted to regain its 10 seconds a year accuracy ... The GS SEIKOS , regardless of caliber are all perfection .

Many reasons I spent the coin on the Quartz vs a spring drive or highbeat , not that those two won't ever be in my collection .

Whether intentional or not you have bought an absolute keeper. If you get sick of it p.m. me and i'll take it off your hands.

I really like their Doctors Without Borders line.

For me personally, I'm having a hard time getting my head around the fact that a quality wrist watch isn't about telling the time, or that reliability isn't equally important as accuracy.

I really, really like quality stuff, hence the Grand Seiko, but I want to know the watch is bombproof, and that I can pretty much forget about it. I'm looking for an everyday watch that I can be pretty hard with.

Do you have a suggestion for a mechanical watch that I can wear everyday, which includes camping and fishing and bike riding, that will take a beating.

I had a Seiko kinetic in the $150 price range and it stopped working in 2-3 years max. A Seiko quartz my parents gave me for my 21st birthday, I'm 59 now, is still going strong. Just sayin'.