Watch advice

dindude

Time (natch) for a new watch.

I buy a watch, wear it to bits for 2 to 3 years, then buy another as it’s either broken or I’m bored with it.
Needs to be something versatile that I can wear with smart work cloths, and also kicking around the weekends.
Looking for a clean modern but classic look.
Needs to be quartz as I can’t be doing with winding or charging, I really don’t take care of them, and unlike guitar related stuff, I’m not a purist.
Budget £400-ish

Very out of touch with what’s hip, my last watch was a Hamilton and perfectly good, what other brands should I be looking at before I default to a Hamilton Jazzmaster?

Cheers

stickyfiddle

Hamilton is good. Go for automatic (if self-winding) rather than quartz. It'll never stop if you wear it at least every other day.

I like the Khaki Field range a lot for that budget - not too big, and can easily be dressed up or down easily. 

dindude

That looks nice, why go auto instead of quartz out of interest.

Iamnobody

Tissot Visodate gets you clean and classic - maybe not modern. As above you’ll not need to wind if worn regularly, 

I miss mine - I tend  to wear my Apple watch these days. I honestly don’t think there’s a better looking watch in this style for £400 or probably 10 times that amount.

stickyfiddle

dindude said:

That looks nice, why go auto instead of quartz out of interest.

Because a good auto is bomb proof. No battery, no winding needed unless you leave it off your wrist for more than a couple of days. Just no hassle, basically. And the knowledge of all the clever engineering keeping it going.

They also have a much nicer sweep of the second hand, rather than the once-a-second tick of a quartz.

beed84

I've fancied a Nite watch for a while. They offer some really nice designs, and in-terms of flexibility they're reasonably all-rounded too. They're also made in the UK.

https://www.nitewatches.com/gb/

I've gotta say, that Marquess model is very tempting...

meltedbuzzbox

stickyfiddle said:

dindude said:

That looks nice, why go auto instead of quartz out of interest.

Because a good auto is bomb proof. No battery, no winding needed unless you leave it off your wrist for more than a couple of days. Just no hassle, basically. And the knowledge of all the clever engineering keeping it going.

They also have a much nicer sweep of the second hand, rather than the once-a-second tick of a quartz.

Totally agree. I was sceptical initially but I haven't wound my auto once since I got it in feb

dindude

beed84 said:

I've fancied a Nite watch for a while. They offer some really nice designs, and in-terms of flexibility they're reasonably all-rounded too. They're also made in the UK.

https://www.nitewatches.com/gb/

I've gotta say, that Marquess model is very tempting...

That looks very nice, def not uk made though, uk designed. See that with the offer code a marquess would be £200! Tempting....

stickyfiddle

That is a shitload to pay for a quartz watch imo. Brand-snobbery aside, they have a cheap Rhonda movement and are really super-generic. 

ThePrettyDamned

stickyfiddle said:

That is a shitload to pay for a quartz watch imo. Brand-snobbery aside, they have a cheap Rhonda movement and are really super-generic. 

Forgive my ignorance but provided the movement keeps time does it matter what one it is? 

I agree on the nite watch, though, not a fan... I like these. Smart and clean looking, self charging (not an automatic, but mine has kept excellent time) and good value. The catch is the movement doesn't take into account days in each month (mine is slightly different in that it has one date for the day and another for the date of the month, eg, Sunday 5th). 

https://www.watchshop.com/mens-citizen-eco-drive-watch-bm8240-11a-p99952857.html

I find most watches, particularly expensive ones, to be incredibly showy - big, too many faces, hands, bezels and other nonsense I don't need but there are some watch heads on here who love them and can give some really interesting history behind the many things on them  I'd like a nice automatic one day. 

stickyfiddle

ThePrettyDamned said:

stickyfiddle said:

That is a shitload to pay for a quartz watch imo. Brand-snobbery aside, they have a cheap Rhonda movement and are really super-generic. 

Forgive my ignorance but provided the movement keeps time does it matter what one it is? 

I agree on the nite watch, though, not a fan... I like these. Smart and clean looking, self charging (not an automatic, but mine has kept excellent time) and good value. The catch is the movement doesn't take into account days in each month (mine is slightly different in that it has one date for the day and another for the date of the month, eg, Sunday 5th). 

https://www.watchshop.com/mens-citizen-eco-drive-watch-bm8240-11a-p99952857.html

I find most watches, particularly expensive ones, to be incredibly showy - big, too many faces, hands, bezels and other nonsense I don't need but there are some watch heads on here who love them and can give some really interesting history behind the many things on them  I'd like a nice automatic one day. 

No, not necessarily. But equally I wouldn't want to pay over the odds for something with a £10 movement. It's vaguely analogous to buying a  £1000 guitar with cheap ceramic pickups - it'll play music just fine, but you're overpaying and could get something better for the money. 

I agree with you on "most watches", though possibly not the same ones. I'm a fan of the classics - Speedmaster, Submariner, simple pilot's watches, etc, but not all the blingy gold, diamond, shiny crap you get on a lot of high end stuff.

Dominic

That's just about enough money to buy a decent secondhand Ebel wave (mixed metal )
They were an 80s / 90s classic right up there with Cartier and Rolex at the time as a prestige brand.
They make very low prices now and are a huge amount of prestige watch for the money.
 It's like going out and buying a new Nissan v a moderate Classic Car

joneve

Iamnobody said:

Tissot Visodate gets you clean and classic - maybe not modern. As above you’ll not need to wind if worn regularly, 

I miss mine - I tend  to wear my Apple watch these days. I honestly don’t think there’s a better looking watch in this style for £400 or probably 10 times that amount.

Why the fuck have they ruined their logo?! 

stickyfiddle

joneve said:

Iamnobody said:

Tissot Visodate gets you clean and classic - maybe not modern. As above you’ll not need to wind if worn regularly, 

I miss mine - I tend  to wear my Apple watch these days. I honestly don’t think there’s a better looking watch in this style for £400 or probably 10 times that amount.

Why the fuck have they ruined their logo?! 

1) that's a vast improvement on the regular Tissot logo, 
2) it's only for the Visodate. All their other models still get the boring normal one

guitars4you

I've got 2 x Hamilton watches - Like them - Like the simplicity of how they look - But the straps are crap - Not had 2 years out of a strap yet and that is alternating between 2 watches - So in reality the strap lasts a year

Wolfetone

I have one of these - £280

EricTheWeary

I know my Citizen isn't posh but it's an auto winder and managed about 8 years so far without stopping. 

Dominic

Better Still ,I have a plan............
 Use the £400 to buy a moped and a flick knife ........then go and get a Free Rolex Daytona  

Iamnobody

stickyfiddle said:

joneve said:

Iamnobody said:

Tissot Visodate gets you clean and classic - maybe not modern. As above you’ll not need to wind if worn regularly, 

I miss mine - I tend  to wear my Apple watch these days. I honestly don’t think there’s a better looking watch in this style for £400 or probably 10 times that amount.

Why the fuck have they ruined their logo?! 

1) that's a vast improvement on the regular Tissot logo, 
2) it's only for the Visodate. All their other models still get the boring normal one

It’s based on the logo used in the 50s - I like it!

KKJale

Is a Merci too retro for you? 250-400 euros, lots of strap styles, choice of quartz or auto too.

https://i.imgur.com/WLTgbn6.jpg

John_P

I could do with a new everyday watch and thought about another Hamilton.   Looking at used Tag Heuer as well for some reason.  

I also prefer an automatic as i hate having to faff with batteries and like the smother movement.  

Whats the general view on sizes these days - I’d normally go for around 42-44 but see lots of 38mm for sale.