NWD! (New Watch Day). Does anyone else like mechanical wristwatches?

[mrpinter]

This just arrived today. I was planning on replacing the bracelet with a brown crocodile strap, as I'm not much of a bracelet guy; but I find that I'm liking this bracelet, with this watch, a lot. And it fills the last slot of my "nice watches" case. (Pics below). I know some of you must be into watches... let's see some.

 

[mayfly]

Nice! I've got an old Omega Constellation and a daily driver Seiko. My sister has my dad's Seamaster, which she *says* she's going to exchange for my mom's wedding rings.

 

[Wizard of Wailing]

My only watch is my Mickey Mouse NATO (that's what I call it anyway). It plays a beeps and boops version of It's a Small World. On a strange note I never have never heard my Dad complain about anything except how much he hates It's a Small World (the song and the ride).

 

[Scab Pickens]

The last wristwatch I had was a clear-bodied Swatch in the late '80s. Replaced the band so it would go with my bitchin' new pair of Oakley Razor Blades shades!

 

[teleme01]

I have not worn a watch this century, I know its time to eat when I'm hungry and time for a nap when I'm tired, I just don't have time for a watch (pun)

 

[u.9]

I've not heard of Mido before (you'd be surprised what I've not heard of before, lol) but they look very nice! I started building a small Skagen collection before getting my Garmin Instinct Solar Tactical. I've needed the smartwatch for some of the professional training I've been doing the past couple years so it's become my daily driver. I miss wearing my Skagens but they look so small now in comparison and the batteries never seem to last beyond a year, so I keep them mothballed until I have an occasion for them. Here they are adorning some Warmoth rosewood...

 

[mrpinter]

I've not heard of Mido before (you'd be surprised what I've not heard of before, lol) but they look very nice! I started building a small Skagen collection before getting my Garmin Instinct Solar Tactical. I've needed the smartwatch for some of the professional training I've been doing the past couple years so it's become my daily driver. I miss wearing my Skagens but they look so small now in comparison and the batteries never seem to last beyond a year, so I keep them mothballed until I have an occasion for them. Here they are adorning some Warmoth rosewood...

If you've been disappointed by reliance on batteries, it sounds like you could appreciate an automatic (self winding) watch. Here is one that is in roughly the same design family as your Skagens (a Nomos Tangente Neomatik 41). At 41mm it isn't what you'd call small, it's a pretty versatile size, with some presence.

 

[u.9]

Wow, that's a nice design! Will check them out. I also have a Citizen ecodrive solar that had excellent performance until the capacitor "battery" conked. A replacement was over $40 several years ago. But it would last several months in total darkness on a full charge.

 

[mrpinter]

Wow, that's a nice design! Will check them out. I also have a Citizen ecodrive solar that had excellent performance until the capacitor "battery" conked. A replacement was over $40 several years ago. But it would last several months in total darkness on a full charge.

If the Nomos is a bit rich for your blood, Stowa (a German company) has watches that look a lot like it for a lot less money. They only sell direct, and they're very nice watches (I own one and love it).

 

[mrpinter]

Here is a Stowa like I was talking about above: one of their Antea models:

 

[mrpinter]

Another one of my watches: a Tutima M2 Seven Seas diver. It's dive rated to 500 meters, but it will probably never even see a swimming pool.

 

[rockandroller]

Nice! I haven't worn a watch in more than ten years (phone in pocket all the time, it's my $1000 'watch') - but I used to have a nice 1940s Bulova 'tank', and a more recent Patek-Phillipe tank. I like tank watches with Arabic numbers best, but I've seen some pretty nice round watches over the years too

 

[mrpinter]

^^^Your wording "used to have" includes a Patek Philippe tank watch. I hope if you sold it you got a good price, those are very premium items.

Many years ago I was commissioned to do the photography for a vintage watch art book. Out of almost 200 timepieces I photographed, some of the nicest ones were Patek tanks. Here are a couple from that project:

 

[mrpinter]

Here's another of my "nice" watches: a made-in-the-USA automatic pilot - an RGM model 107; one of my favorite watches. It was a 50th birthday present to myself.

 

[Rick]

Me ... I'm a solar guy. I have two solar Citizen watches. One for the weekend, and one for work. I've had them now for 20 years. The only problem with them is you never need new batteries, they never break, always accurate. As such, no new watches. These mechanical watches look like fun though.

 

[mrpinter]

Me ... I'm a solar guy. I have two solar Citizen watches. One for the weekend, and one for work. I've had them now for 20 years. The only problem with them is you never need new batteries, they never break, always accurate. As such, no new watches. These mechanical watches look like fun though.

The fun part is wearing on your wrist a largely hand built, sophisticated miniature machine, the basic technology of which is a few hundred years old.

 

[mrpinter]

Here is my Labor Day watch

 

[stratamania]

Which watch would you choose if you could only keep one?

 

[mrpinter]

Which watch would you choose if you could only keep one?

That's a tough one - a lot of my watches are special to me for various reasons. They might represent a time or event, or they are just exceptional timepieces. I will narrow it down to two of my favorites, that I'm choosing for those reasons.

RGM model 107 Pilot - which I bought about 22 or 23 years ago. It has been serviced by the factory once in that time. One of the special things about it is that it was made in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, not Switzerland. To my eye it is the perfect pilot's watch - highly legible and just very businesslike in appearance. It has almost a Bauhaus quality to it.


Tutima Seven Seas Diver. It is dive rated to 500 meters, but it will probably never even see a swimming pool. It has many other great features and characteristics besides its water resistance: it has a nice heft to it, and a great solid feel, like it was machined out of a steel billet. And it's accurate, for a mechanical watch. With me being of German descent, I find it meaningful to have a German watch.

If a gun was put to my head to choose just one; I suppose it would be the Tutima. It's more sporty, which better suits my mostly casual lifestyle and dress. And I love the way the bracelet is so well integrated with the case of the watch, and that it opens and closes with the click of a button - without taking the time to fasten a buckle on a strap. I love watches on straps, but this one is so well designed that I make an exception from my usual preference.

 

[stratamania]

@mrpinter thanks for the kind reply. I was curious what you might choose out of the collection.