What Caliber is Your Watch?

[Texas Star]

First, I asked about watches on a S&W board because I knew that I'd get an informed answer from men who know watches as well as collect guns. And the watchuseek site was so cluttered and with so many posts long out of date, I thought it might take forever to get replies.
Ben, thanks. You nailed the matter square on when you cited that "caliber" means "model". I suspected that; wasn't sure.

Alnamvet, the Tudor is a good watch. But I don't like the hands shape and I think Ben is right about the movements and the difference in crowns. And Rolex has all that prestige going for it.You don't see the likes of Jackie Stewart, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Richard Leakey, Placido Domingo, or Chuck Yeager wearing Tudor watches and appearing in their ads.

BTW, my children and I were once honored to meet Placido Domingo and the great singer was in fact wearing a Rolex.

I wore a Rolex Explorer for several years, and had a Rolex service man tinker with it until it lost only about 30 seconds a week. Every two weeks, I'd re-set it, a nuisance.
I also was miffed that the Explorer 1 didn't have a sapphire crystal. It was acrylic, and scratched easily. Had to be polished a couple of times a year.

I sold it for about what I'd paid, something that I couldn't have done with a Tudor. (Or most other common brands.) It was replaced with a TAG-Heuer 2000 model. I've worn the TAG most of the time since. It is on my wrist now. It's the quartz version; they also made that basic model with an automatic movement.It's been reliable and the face and hands are easy to see at a glance, with the white hands on the black face. The hands closely resemble those on the Rolex Submariner.

I have learned that watch sizes are expressed in mm, but don't know if that measuremnt is across the face of the watch or from edge-to-edge of the whole watch ??

I also have two Seikos, one bought about 1983. It needs a new battery and I hope the seals and crown are okay.I'm going to have a jeweller check. The other is newer, bought maybe five years ago. It's their SGF 649 model. I've found pics of all my watches on the Net.The Seiko 649 (quartz) ticks loudly enough that I can easily hear it on my wrist when typing here. That's rather irritating, like hearing a faucet drip.

I know that Seiko makes some good, fairly inexpensive watches with auto movements in the Sports 5 series. Some sell for well under $100! Odd...but I bet it costs a lot to clean and oil them. One reason why I sold my Rolex is that basic cleaning costs hundreds of dollars now!

I'm also going to look into the Hamilton Khaki series that resemble military watches. I think this is what L.L. Bean has sold under their brand, too. I believe that Hamilton watches are Swiss, although it was once a US brand.

 

[Texas Star]

What does it mean when a book refers to a "hunter" watch? Not a wristwatch, but the old kind that goes into a watch pocket.

Is the reference to a hunting scene on the gold cover? That seems a common theme.

BTW, while I'm thinking of it, TAG means Techniques d' Avant Garde. TAG merged with or bought, Heuer years ago. Heuer was founded in 1860.

I have a character in my fan fiction about The Lost World carry a Heuer gold hunter watch and a couple of the women characters have Patek Phillipe watches. I checked to be sure that both firms were around long enough to be in those fics, which are set in the 1920's and 1930's.

And I want to include some watch material in a book that I'm writing. I think a wealthy character who may be a continuing one in a series of novels may be into expensive watches. This guy lives in Highland Park, TX and has some nice cars and famous name London "Best" guns.

Finally, how good are Grand Seiko watches and what do they cost? I get the impression from what I read on watchuseek that they are supposed to be pretty special. But how do they compare to famous Swiss brands?

And how do Swiss Army Brands watches compare to similar Seikos? I think the Swiss Army ones use ETA quartz movements. They have the Victorinox brand, but are surely not actually made by the knife company in Ibach-Schwyz. There are Wenger watches, too, again not really made by the knife manufacturer in Delemont.

 

[Ben_hutcherson]

What does it mean when a book refers to a "hunter" watch? Not a wristwatch, but the old kind that goes into a watch pocket.

Is the reference to a hunting scene on the gold cover? That seems a common theme.

A hunter(or hunting case, in American terminology) is a case with a metal cover that closes over the dial/crystal.

This is in contrast to an open face watch, with only a crystal covering the dial and hands.

One other thing-open face PWs properly have the winding stem(or pendant and bow if not a stemwind watch) at 12:00, and hunting case watches have it at 3:00.

 

[ditrina]

26 Year old Rolex Datejust Model 16233, Caliber 3135, 36mm, SS/18K YG, Oyster Perpetual, Fluted Bezel... as per the papers.

Given to me by my wife fro my 40th birthday

Currently at Rolex Dallas for it's 5 year check up

 

[Texas Star]

A hunter(or hunting case, in American terminology) is a case with a metal cover that closes over the dial/crystal.

This is in contrast to an open face watch, with only a crystal covering the dial and hands.

One other thing-open face PWs properly have the winding stem(or pendant and bow if not a stemwind watch) at 12:00, and hunting case watches have it at 3:00.

Ben-

Thanks. I theorize that hunting cases were developed to protect the watch during hunting and other field sports, while normal use was deemed safe with the watch in just a watch pocket?

I gather that "complications" means the number of features, like a Moon phase,etc.?

I want to know watches before I include them in a novel. i hate it when an author pretends knowledge that he/she doesn't have. It shows sloppy research. And watches interest me. If I was setting a book in ancient Rome, I'd want to know how sundials worked or hourglasses.

I was impressed when Ian Fleming had 007 use a Rolex, although he didn't specify an exact model. But because he dived (and Fleming did), I surmise that it was a Submariner. In the book where Bond used his watch as an improvised brass knuckle, he had to replace it and remarked that the Rolex was heavy, but was rugged and kept good time. (This was before quartz watches; Ian F. died in 1964.) I think his watch could have been easily repaired, and he might have even been able to get M to authorize funds for that, as it was damaged in service to the Crown. In other words, the Crown should pay for a new crystal and er, crown., Ha, ha.

 

[sqhead]

i own an omega dive watch i;ve had for years and just bought a breightling colt,both in quartz,i like the battery over self wind.
i pay the xtra because i believe in buying good stuff one time and taking care of it for life,pride in ownership....just like my smith and wessons....i could buy lesser quality watches and guns but,i choose not to.

 

[ditrina]

TS>>>

I was impressed when Ian Fleming had 007 use a Rolex, although he didn't specify an exact model. But because he dived (and Fleming did), I surmise that it was a Submariner. In the book where Bond used his watch as an improvised brass knuckle, he had to replace it and remarked that the Rolex was heavy, but was rugged and kept good time. (This was before quartz watches; Ian F. died in 1964.) I think his watch could have been easily repaired, and he might have even been able to get M to authorize funds for that, as it was damaged in service to the Crown. In other words, the Crown should pay for a new crystal and er, crown., Ha, ha.

A STRETCHHHHHHH But I LIKE it!

 

[Smith357]

ETA 2836-2

A couple of 2928-2s

A 2804-2

A Claro 888

A Unitas

and a couple of Miyota

And a bunch of Ronda and ETA quartz

 

[Texas Star]

Guy-Harold-

Thanks! I always admire your photos in these watch topics.

The Unitas resembles the Panerai? Is that the famous Italian brand?

My son has had several Rolexes and Omega dive watches (Seamaster) and likes the Omega a little better. I think it's just a matter of how they look and how they feel on his wrist. The lucky sod won a Rolex Yachtmaster as a door prize at a party sponsored for Americans by a very wealthy Kuwaiti lady. The Kuwaiti people seem very grateful to us for running Saddam Hussein's forces out of their country. It reminds me of how the people in Luxembourg still decorate graves and honor US war dead.

 

[Smith357]

Guy-Harold-

Thanks! I always admire your photos in these watch topics.

The Unitas resembles the Panerai? Is that the famous Italian brand?

That watch is a cheap clone of a $6000 Officine Panerai, Luminor Marina, with a Chinese Unitas 6498 hand wind Swan Neck movement. When I got it they were all over for $50, but Customs has cracked down on them, the supply dried up, and the clones are way over priced today.

Luminor Marina PAM00111 - Collection LUMINOR - Watches Officine Panerai

Go to a few of the watch forums and look at the Watch you Wearing, or Watch of the Day threads, find the style that suits you, and the makers who produce those styles, and do your research from there. Just like finding nice revolvers here, you can often find fine used watches on these forums classified sections at a decent price.

 

[rimfired]

I puked on my Seiko one night and it never ran again.

 

[dg101win]

Maybe not as pretty as all the others posted here. It was my fathers that he used on board ship during the war.

 

[rbmcmjr]

Watches can drain your bank accounts even faster than firearms. I like the midrange ETA movements for good accuracy at a reasonable cost.

These are both ETA 2824-2 caliber:

Custom Lum-Tec M25/42 Tungsten:

Steinhart/Debaufre Nav. B-Uhr 47mm Type A dial:

 

[Snapping Twig]

My Yachtmaster has the 3135 movement, which was introduced in the very late 90's, early 2000's.

My Submariner Date has the 3035 which was first introduced in the year I bought it in 1982. It was a high-beat movement and a variant of the caliber in the Day-Date in which it was first introduced.

I had a Daytona and it was the first year of the In-House Rolex movement, the number of which escapes me at the moment.

I've also got a couple Seiko's with the 7S26, a Monster and a Military (changed the date wheels to black background ones from a Monster - it looks WAY better). Completely In-House and never touched by a human. Basic, durable and if calibrated correctly, freakishly accurate.

I also have a 1974 Seiko 6105-8119. I got it from a friend and it replaces the one I had as a kid and foolishly sold. I have had it completely reworked, relumed, sapphire crystal, glass bead blasted and a triple lock crown installed. It's a guilty pleasure.

 

[LennyLames]

I have a couple of the aforementioned Swiss mechanical chronographs and wear them most of the time. I also have far less expensive and more accurate quartz watches, cell phone, GPS and PCs to get the time.

I calibrate all of them regularly with one clock that's radio synchronized from the atomic clock. I synchronize them all, including the kitchen ovens, HVAC systems, and the alarm system. When I'm on ham radio, I double-check the times with the WWV or WWVH broadcasts at 2.5, 5, 10, 15, 20 MHz. The mechanical chronographs are the least accurate of the lot.

I own the mechanical chronographs because I like them, not because I like to know the precise time. Also, in many other countries, what you wear on your wrist still counts a lot with people that you do business with (or hope to), so a watch is an important jewelry item. They actually check it out, and I've been surprised a few times when they recognize the watch I'm wearing, from the other end of the table. Unfortunately, after leaving the business meeting is when the hyper-expensive watch jewelry can be at highest risk for theft, so I make sure the sleeve covers it. At times, particularly at night when going out alone, it's better to leave the watch in the safe deposit box.

Just for keeping time, a quartz variant or cell phone is sufficient, but there are times when expensive watch jewelry can be justified, such as at resale time, although I've never resold any.

What does "caliber" mean in regards to watches? Are the really expensive ones "high caliber"?

A few years ago, I had my only experience with "watches" and "calibers." Someone had given me a very impressive looking but inauthentic "Breitling" mechanical chronograph. Yes, I was told it was a fake, my one and only fake.

One day, I was sighting in my then new S&W 460 XVR. First shot, I heard something land a couple of feet away. It was a round lens. My first thought was that the brand new Burris scope I had bought was a piece of trash. I checked the scope but couldn't see where it was missing a big lens. Next shot, a watch minute hand landed next to me. That's when I realized I had inadvertently left the fake watch on my wrist. That classified it as a low-caliber watch, probably rimfire variety. )

Seriously, when shooting I do not wear a watch. I do not even carry a phone. They just remind me to hurry up and leave, and they might get damaged from the recoil and the shock waves.

 

[shaggist]

Watches are amazing, and I admire those people who are very knowledgeable about them. They are man's ultimate representation of the mechanical arts.
I was given an Omega Seamaster Automatic for my high school graduation gift in 1960. It was a $100 watch at that time. I stopped wearing it in 1968, due to a massive wrist injury, that made it uncomfortable to wear. I recently sold it on Ebay for $361, and was astounded, as it was non-working and had a cracked crystal. It just goes to show that quality can't be duplicated and will always be recognized by those that know.

 

[HELLSING]

lol... I couldn't even tell you what mine is. All I know if my wife got mine. I only wear mine to "Special" dinners or meetings for work. For me it's more of a fancy item.

I have my cell phone for time.

 

[LouisianaJoe]

He used to but it made his wife mad.

Would that not mean that the train left the station?

 

[Ben_hutcherson]

Here's one of the prizes of my collection. This is a 20 size Waltham, as far as I know all original in a coin silver case. Original cases for these 20 sizes are quite a bit less common than the movements.

To put this in perspective, Waltham made fewer 20 size watches than Smith and Wesson made Registered Magnums. From what I've seen, the survival rates of the 20 sizes-especially in original cases-aren't that great either.

 

[LouisianaJoe]

I have an Elgin pocket watch made in 1925. It has my initials on the back. The reason that my initials are on the back is that I was named after my grandfather who bought the watch 20 years before I was born.