Post Your Watches

I went a completely different direction. My friends have recommended that I should get a heart rate monitor for cycling so I can better regulate my exertion. So I bought my first... digital watch. (ew, that feels dirty to say)

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Garmin Instinct Solar. It doesn't have the full color display of the typical smart watch, but I also got it for $280. With the right light exposure and not using the pulse-oximeter feature too much, it theoretically never needs to be charged.

I love my Garmin watch. It's my everyday watch, and my fitness tracker.

If you do Strava, you can link your account to Garmin Connect and have your activities automatically entered.

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Just put in a pre order for a new limited edition piece just recently announced, will drop the reveal once I take delivery 👍🏼
 
By some minor miracle my special order GS arrived TWO DAYS after I put down my deposit which meant it was already on the way to my local boutique and I was just lucky enough to claim it.

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The SLGH009 limited edition Hi Beat 550 pieces worldwide to celebrate the 55th anniversary of their heritage 44GS case.

Here's the official press release from last month https://grandseikogs9club.com/chronicle-9/grand-seiko-44gs-limited-edition-slga013-slgh009/

Had a great buying experience at the Grand Seiko Boutique in Beverly Hills.

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I know the photo is a bit crap, but can someone ID the watch?
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So, the MoonSwatch.
Ever since @public sent me a link about it, I have been following the shitfest.
Here comes a bunch of opinions no one asked for, so feel free to skip this post.
First, the facts:
It's a plastic ("bioceramic"...yeah, right) replica of the Omega Speedmaster.
It's affordable. The colors and features are nice. It's not a limited piece.
I've wanted a Speedmaster ever since I started caring about watches, but I can't afford one now.
Now here are my opinions:
I don't like the Velcro strap, even though I understand why it has one.
People are crazy. Why stand in line for 10-12 hours for non-limited model? Paying thousands for the ones being flipped on eBay is beyond stupid.
The purists having their polishing cloths in a bunch over "brand dilution" kind of have a point. It's the Aston Martin Cygnet of watches, I get it. I still want one because I like how the black one looks, and I don't really cared if it says "Omega" or not on it. I would never buy a replica or a knock-off out of principle, but in this case, badges be damned. It could be the Swatch VelocityMaestro and I'd still buy it, change the strap and wear it.With that said, this is better than Rolex and their bullshit "requirements" for selling watches and false scarcity. More people enjoying nice watches is always better.
 
That case and face were 100% designed to show off the engineering, not for style of practicality. I would like one, but with a standard face with a smaller window into the heart of the mechanism rather than the whole thing be a view face.
 
For sure, but I am torn between the window to just peek at it and this HEY LOOK HOW COOL THIS IS approach.
It's like Koeniggseg laser engraving their pistons: nice touch, but no one will ever see it.
 
I absolutely love that style.

I would rock that if not for 2 little details.

20 units.

EUR 370,000
 
Curious, we seem to agree.
 
I like chronographs.
I enjoy seeing the seconds hand going around the dial, and I always thought it would be nice to see one where it moved faster, and I recently came across this watch:
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The Zenith Chronomaster Sport. Notice how the bezel says "1/10 of a second"? Yep, it takes 10 seconds to complete a lap around the dial.





Not fast enough for you?
How about one revolution per second? (Zenith Defy 21 Land Rover Edition)


This borders on the comical. Looks sped up.
I don't know why, but I am fascinated by this.
Sorry if this common knowledge and I am the guy coming to the car meets asking "You guys ever heard of a MIATA?", but this is the first time I came across this.

This video has some shots of the internals:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSmydTlc8e4
 
Yeah that's pretty crazy. It feels like the watch equivalent of the BMW V10 engine in the E60 M5: finely tuned to insane specifications, but likely to be an absolute pain to keep serviced and in tip-top shape.

And yes, Watchfinder is great; people on this particular forum will enjoy this video.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQanvesPvuU
 
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Yeah that's pretty crazy. It feels like the watch equivalent of the BMW V10 engine in the E60 M5: finely tuned to insane specifications, but likely to be an absolute pain to keep serviced and in tip-top shape.

And yes, Watchfinder is great; people on this particular forum will enjoy this video.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQanvesPvuU
Watchfinder <3

But yes, I keep wondering the same: does the fact that is "rev so high" makes maintenance more difficult?
Paging @Nabster
 
Ok, someone save me from this rabbit hole.

 
Oi. I've been so bad about checking in around these parts.

Watchfinder <3

But yes, I keep wondering the same: does the fact that is "rev so high" makes maintenance more difficult?
Paging @Nabster

Well, the 36,000 bph stuff isn't really any different. The higher beat rate tends to cause a little extra wear on the escapement, so if you slack on normal maintenance expect pallet and escape wheel issues after they run dry, which can be a problem years down the line if you don't go back to the manufacturer for service as getting replacement parts could be an issue for Joe Watchmaker in the corner shop without Big Brand™ parts accounts.

For those even higher rate chronos it's hard to say. The Zenith thing shouldn't be much different, though I expect the secondary escapement components to be changed as a part of regular service regardless just to ensure function.

The Tag Mikro series is another best altogether. Unfortunately I don't really have much knowledge on the construction of those so I can't speak much to them. From what I've heard of them discussed by other watchmakers who are more familiar with them they do have issues, so service is definitely not just a regular thing, but I guess there were some reliability issues which resulted in low production of them as well.

In other news, here's some stuff I've been up to recently:

A little skeleton action.
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And I continue to be the Van Cleef complications guys for North America, I've done more training on additional stuff. Here's a Rondes des Papillon, featuring some oval shaped gears.





And the new Pont des Amoreux, which I'm now the only watchmaker in the western hemisphere authorized to service.

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Glad to see you around again, and thanks for the insight on the questions I had.
 
I should get a battery for this. It’s my grandfathers that I’ve inherited. Don’t know if it’s all that great or just a tourist trap gift shop type thing…

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Slapped a Speidel Twist-o-Flex on my Chopard. Looks interesting; we’ll see how long it takes for the novelty to wear off.
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