any watch afficianados or collectors around?

[Black&Tan]

Can anyone point me in the right direction to find watches by Hi-Tek Designs? I've searched online, but to no avail. These watches place more emphasis on design and style, and as a designer, I find these watches very ineresting.

 

[gwuMACaddict]

havent heard of them. xemex makes interesting watches that often win design awards from the major watch magazines.

 

[Black&Tan]

I've got 2 Hi-Tek watches, and as far as I can tell, they were only available in the UK. The first one, I bought about 11 years ago on one of the kitschy tourist streets in London. The second one I bought about 5 years ago in a neighborhood near Soho. The store also sold leather biker paraphanelia. Definitely not a high class place, but the watches were very distinctive. The last time I visited London, I tried to find another Hi-Tek watch, but couldn't even find a place that sold them.

 

[gwuMACaddict]

their old internet domain name doesnt appear to be registered anymore... you might be out of luck. its hard for watches that rely strictly on design and nothing else to remain in business for any substantial period of time.

 

[Gee]

I have been collecting fine watches for going on 5 years now. Just wondering if anyone else got as exicted about fine watches as i do?

If you're interested, there's a really cool watch magazine called QP that one of my friends writes for: www.qpmagazine.com

Check it out....

 

[gwuMACaddict]

not much to check out except for a link to send them money for a subscription... its a shame they dont have a larger online description or examples of their articles.

 

[davegoody]

I have a few nice watches !

eeeewwww... wouldnt it be more fun to put that money towards a used lange and sohn or blancpain? something no one else has.

i'm just giving you a hard time. i think that rolex is a little overrated, though the new daytona movement is nice. before last year rolex used the zenith el primero chronograph movement which was the first wrist watch chrono movement. but you could get in a bunch of other watches too.

I have a Breitling Emergency Mission (With Radio emergency transmitter), Breitling Navitimer, IWC Deep One GST, Maurice Lacroix, plus a few less valuable - funnily enough, the most accurate of them all is a £20 ($40) el Cheapo Casio Digital - and the battery has lasted 5 years too ! - Oh well, suppose that is the price of progress !

 

[gwuMACaddict]

I have a ... IWC Deep One GST

the one with the mechanical depth gauge? i've been looking for this watch for years. they are very, very hard to find here in the states... thats quite a nice piece- congrats! my younger brother lusts after the breitling emergency, i just cant justify the cost that high for a quartz watch in my head.

 

[davegoody]

the one with the mechanical depth gauge? i've been looking for this watch for years. they are very, very hard to find here in the states... thats quite a nice piece- congrats! my younger brother lusts after the breitling emergency, i just cant justify the cost that high for a quartz watch in my head.

All very nice watches - funnily enough I purchased the IWC when in New York around four years ago. As for the Breitling Emergency Mission, wearing it now, it is HEAVY and you have to be careful not to scratch the Powerbook AL 17" keyboard surface whey you are typing with it. The Breitling Emergency is a different beast, lighter (Titanium) and with a digital display as well as analogue - the Emergency Mission is fully analogue, is accurate (though still not as accurate as the cheapo Casio ) but is a real conversation piece.

The Dollar rate is great for us Brits at the moment, so back in NYC later this month to potentially expand the collection, fancy a nice Movado or maybe something else - like BIG watches mainly (as you can tell by the current collection !)

 

[Black&Tan]

Damn. It was worth a shot. I'll still keep my eyes open every once in a while and I'll check out Xemex to see what they have to offer... thanks.

 

[absolut_mac]

the first comerically available quartz watch didnt appear until 1969, when it was offered by seiko. so i have NO idea what you're talking about when you say the 1920's had anything to do with the swiss mechanical era of that time. The first comercially available automatic mechanical chronograph hadn't even been released yet.

I think that you misinterpreted what I said, or maybe I just didn't state it clearly enough.

All I was implying is that from the time that the American companies started making watches in large numbers until shortly before their demise (or bought out by the Swiss and the Japanese) the quality of their watches was far superior to that of most Swiss watches, even although the American watches were far cheaper and produced in greater numbers too. The time span that I'm referring to is around 1880 to the early 1960's.

A perfect example of the above is Hamilton's amazing achievement of making ships chronometers during WW2 in considerably larger numbers than any Swiss company at the time. Although these were produced by the thousands, they were far more accurate and reliable than their Swiss equivalents. According to Marvin Whitney - author of Ships Chronometer - they were accurate to around 1 second a month under war time conditions i.e. ships plowing through the seas firing those huge canons and being fired upon in return, and enduring very wide temperature swings. This amazing achievement has never been equaled, let alone bettered by any mechanical watch.

When you see American watches from that time that haven't had their appearance destroyed by inept watchmakers, they look like they came out of the factory this morning.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0918845084/102-1462352-3431366

 

[gwuMACaddict]

All I was implying is that from the time that the American companies started making watches in large numbers until shortly before their demise (or bought out by the Swiss and the Japanese) the quality of their watches was far superior to that of most Swiss watches, even although the American watches were far cheaper and produced in greater numbers too. The time span that I'm referring to is around 1880 to the early 1960's

i think its difficult to make such a blanket statement. there were awful watchmakers on each side of the atlantic then, just as there are now. and there are amazing watchmakers on each side of the pond today too. ulysse nardin is one ships chronomoter maker that comes to mind from europe.

 

[absolut_mac]

i think its difficult to make such a blanket statement. there were awful watchmakers on each side of the atlantic then, just as there are now. and there are amazing watchmakers on each side of the pond today too. ulysse nardin is one ships chronomoter maker that comes to mind from europe.

Read Marvin's book.

Hamilton's chronometer was based on the Ulysee Nardin one, but with a few improvements, both to help increase production and its accuracy and reliability. So while it might not have the same snob appeal of its Swiss sibling, it was - and still is - far superior to any other ships chronometer according to all the experts, not just Marvin.

As stated earlier, I was referring mostly to the larger successful American watch companies - Hamilton, Elgin, Waltham etc

 

[EGT]

the best price i found was 1550 for an automatic...i wish rolex had something in that range, or omega

i just discovered some decently priced hamilton autos...under 400 dollars

Well my Blackbird was £1600 ( ) ... well worth it when compared to the price of a new one. It will be easy enough to sell on, it came with its original sales certificate and everything and I’ve just realised breitling has stopped making the blackbird so it has lived up to its “serie Speciale” name.

I've had my eye on breitling for ages and tried a few on at Heathrow... oh they had Fortis watches their too, vvverrrryy cool watches..

Thanks gwuMACaddict, the matte finish is very cool as is the sapphire face which has a nifty blue tint to it

 

[noel4r]

For the watch experts out there: I recently got an Omega Speedmaster Date. Any opinions about that watch? How long do these watches lasts? Also, other than the obvious, any special tips I can do so it keeps looking new?

 

[gwuMACaddict]

omega speedmaster is a great watch... as for keeping it looking new? thats tough, when you wear watches- they get scratched. i try to keep different watches for different occasions so not one in particular is taking all the abuse.

 

[absolut_mac]

For the watch experts out there: I recently got an Omega Speedmaster Date. Any opinions about that watch? How long do these watches lasts? Also, other than the obvious, any special tips I can do so it keeps looking new?

Great watch - post a pic, or a model number.

Don't use the chrono when the watch is wet, otherwise this will force moisture into the case. Only the Seamaster Chronos have special pushers that can be used under water that will not allow water into the case.

Have it tested once a year to make sure that it is water resistant, and have it serviced once every 5 or 6 years to keep it in tip top shape.

Enjoy your new watch

 

[Giaguara]

i dont collect watches .. i dont even like them. anytime i have one, just wearing it normally makes me discharge the battery in 2 months. otehr ppl can have the battery last the normal time = 1-2 years, for me they never last more than 3 months = really annoying.

the most recent example: bought a watch 20 nov 04 .. a few weeks ago it was already missing time a lot

 

[andym172]

My current watches:

IWC Portuguese:

Panerai Luminor Marina:

I also have a Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date which I didn't have photographed.

On order: SS Daytona

 

[gwuMACaddict]

i like the IWC the best, based on your collection. seems like you gravitate towards big watches? that trend started a few years ago, i'm not a big fan... i just dont like how the big watches look on me.

stainless daytona, eh? how long have you been waiting? how long do you anticipate waiting? for the money- approx $6000 US, right? i'd get something like a jaeger reverso, or a blanpain.

 

[Black&Tan]

Does anyone know anything about Oakley watches? While this is not a collectors watch, it is similar in style to the Hi-Tek watches I was mentioning earlier.

http://oakley.com/catalog/colors/watches/analog/crush_2.0/stainless_steel_black/

The link is to the Oakley Crush 2.5. A very stylized timepiece. What I like about the watch is the shape, the curving face and the integration with the watchband. But I have no idea what the band is made of. Oakley calls it "unobtainium." Is this just a fancy term for a rubber/plastic composite? Thanks!

 

[gwuMACaddict]

the strap is rubber.

for that much money you may want to consider a seiko? they have been releasing watches with interesting designs for the past few years

 

[absolut_mac]

stainless daytona, eh? how long have you been waiting? how long do you anticipate waiting? for the money- approx $6000 US, right? i'd get something like a jaeger reverso, or a blanpain.

hahaha let me know where you can buy a stainless steel Daytona for $6,000. The current going rate is around $9,000 - 50% above retail. Now that's what you call successful marketing

 

[gwuMACaddict]

a reputable jeweler is not going to charge him more than retail. if he wants to pay over retail for that watch, i think he's a huge sucker. or that we just don't see eye to eye with respect to taste in watches

yes, it is some amazing marketing by rolex.

 

[Black&Tan]

Thanks! Rubber is definitely not an option. I have a hard enough time with metal straps, my sweat turns them green!! I'll look at some of the Seikos...