I love everything about your Hamilton. Great job on polishing the crystal.
The "Official" Watch Thread and all Things Horological
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The crystal looks 1,000 times better. The white balance is better, too.
Priller
Well-known member
Significant enough to make me want to go back to Raphael and see what else he's got with a nice dial but rough crystal!
Priller
Well-known member
Believe me, I know... I'm struggling to keep numbers down with new watches, so opening the vintage world up is genuinely bad news.
I suffer from 'good deal' syndrome, often buying watches just because they're good value rather than because it's something I'll actually wear. I have a green dial Citizen C7 on the way because I was buying an OEM bracelet for my Fugu and saw it on sale for less than $200, which I couldn't turn down. Now I have a watch that I'll almost never wear, but hey, it was a great deal!
Trying to keep it to one-in-one-out now, though if a decent '50s Longines Conquest comes up for a fair price, I'll be snapping it up...
I have a bunch that don’t get a lot of time on tbe wrist , but they didn’t cost much so they can sit around . I have a couple that would be considered high end , and I couldn’t justify more 8k watches that don’t get worn . But I’ll agree vintage , under 1k and I’m down the rabbit hole .
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This thread's been quiet for a while. I'm still trying to figure out the limitations on posted photo sizes, using the trial and error method. Let's see if this one works.
Here's a rubber strap that has endured much wear and many deep cold drysuit dives, with the aid of an intermediate extension. The end broke off so I trimmed it. I have a replacement around here somewhere. Can't find it.
Here's a rubber strap that has endured much wear and many deep cold drysuit dives, with the aid of an intermediate extension. The end broke off so I trimmed it. I have a replacement around here somewhere. Can't find it.
You're braver than I. I don't trust the rubber straps as there are many single failure points that cause it to disappear. On watches/computers I dive with, I have a secondary strap attached to both sides of the rubber strap. It may fall out of position if a pin or strap fails but it will still be on my arm.
That's a pretty solid strap, and something I used in the days when the only wearable computer available was The Edge. It was quite expensive, and regardless, I was not about to risk my life trusting any microchip and/or software. When I got my first computer I immediately removed the strap and made an ABS mount for it, with 2 (redundant) bungies. Later I made a larger one out of PVC septic pipe, so that it would double as a slate for noting F stops, shutter speeds and other notes for film photography. Here it is with a schooner anchor I found in Lake Huron.
Priller
Well-known member
The last of the three post-Christmas additions arrived recently, a Citizen C7 in green. I was actually shopping for an OEM bracelet to go on my Citizen Fugu, and found one at a Dutch online seller called Masters in Time. While poking around, I noticed that the JDM Citizen C7, already an insanely cheap watch, was on even deeper discount to under $200 CAD. Considering I was about to spend over half that on just a bracelet, I added it to the cart and bought purely on impulse.
After a long wait while it took the slow boat from the Netherlands, it finally showed up, and I'm very pleasantly surprised at how nice it is for the money:
The movement is Miyota's cheapest, though it seems to be running okay at around +7 seconds per day after just over 24 hrs on the wrist. It has an exhibition caseback to show off what isn't the most beautiful movement ever, though it's always satisfying to see the balance wheel whirring away. There's lots of cool details for such a cheap watch, like a brushed surround for the day window that contrasts in the light nicely with all the polished applied indices, the hands are beveled which gives them a precise look, there's tiny pips of lume at the hour markers and fine lines in the hands, and the dial is so sunray that it's almost too shiny. The biggest drawback is that it only has a mineral crystal, though I suppose that's appropriate considering it's an homage to the 1960's Crystal 7 model, their first to use a mineral crystal over acrylic. Here's one version of the original, which explains the unusual day window:
Anyway, now it's time to start wearing some watches instead of buying the bloody things...
After a long wait while it took the slow boat from the Netherlands, it finally showed up, and I'm very pleasantly surprised at how nice it is for the money:
The movement is Miyota's cheapest, though it seems to be running okay at around +7 seconds per day after just over 24 hrs on the wrist. It has an exhibition caseback to show off what isn't the most beautiful movement ever, though it's always satisfying to see the balance wheel whirring away. There's lots of cool details for such a cheap watch, like a brushed surround for the day window that contrasts in the light nicely with all the polished applied indices, the hands are beveled which gives them a precise look, there's tiny pips of lume at the hour markers and fine lines in the hands, and the dial is so sunray that it's almost too shiny. The biggest drawback is that it only has a mineral crystal, though I suppose that's appropriate considering it's an homage to the 1960's Crystal 7 model, their first to use a mineral crystal over acrylic. Here's one version of the original, which explains the unusual day window:
Anyway, now it's time to start wearing some watches instead of buying the bloody things...
I bought OEM bracelets for my Seiko BFK and Sportura Kinetic GTM (yeah, I have a Kinetic thing going on - wearing my Kinetic Flightmaster today) from Masters in Time. Weren't cheap, but they were one of the few places that had them in stock. Seamless deals and super fast shipping from them.
My kinetic stopped kineticing. Seems to work mechanically but almost zero power reserve. I haven't bothered to tear into it to figure out what failed (my first guess is energy storage device).
The capacitors have a 20 year lifespan. Probably needs replacing. If it goes to the 2 second jump on the second hand almost immediately it's the cap. They have been superseded with Li-Ion batteries now with the required extensions soldered on. They're about $25 on EBay. There's a guy in Vancouver on EBay that does Kinetic watches and parts. It's not that big of a job but is a bit fiddly with the insulator and such. Sometimes the induction coil(s) fail, but not that often. They are still available.
Priller
Well-known member
Yeah, not cheap, but not crazy. Price for mine was around $100, and you pay a $75 premium for the same watch on a bracelet, with the $25 difference accounted for in the rubber strap, I suppose. I tried a cheapo China-made strap from eBay on my NY0040, and it's noticeably crappier. This one has solid end links and pin-and-collar connections, so easily worth the extra. Masters in Time seems to carry OEM parts for most brands, so worth bookmarking for future reference...
The Seiko bracelets were both well north of $200 landed. Worth it for the real deal. Solid end links using Seikos 2.5mm "fat bar" spring bars. PITA to install without a tweezer type spring bar tool, but the system is bombproof.
*EDIT* @GreyGhost. If you have a solid caseback vs. display back, that's what the capacitor in your Kinetic looks like. A button "watch battery" with 2 contact tabs soldered on to it.
*EDIT* @GreyGhost. If you have a solid caseback vs. display back, that's what the capacitor in your Kinetic looks like. A button "watch battery" with 2 contact tabs soldered on to it.
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Priller
Well-known member
Holy crap, tell me about it. Took ages to get my bracelet on, especially as the Citizen lugs are curved, so there's no edge to catch on, and the end-link tolerance was super tight, so they couldn't be angled at all. Did lots of swearing, hunting for spring bars on the floor after they went pinging away, and trying different angles and hand positions before finally getting it to click home. Then had to repeat the process. Not fun...
It's a breeze with these. Invest in a pair. They're like $15-20 on Amazon.
Not sure why BestBuy seem to have decent sales on watches but anyway…
Citizen hybrid smartwatch $149 (300 off)
Citizen hybrid smartwatch $149 (300 off)
Priller
Well-known member
It's a breeze with these. Invest in a pair. They're like $15-20 on Amazon.
Ordered yesterday! Arrives tomorrow... (though $36 on Amazon now)
I posted about the 2nd gen version of that I bought from Best Buy (direct) earlier in the thread for $200. That's the 1st gen version, no idea what the differences are. I as far as smartwatches go, I really like the one I have (they did update with some golf features I'll never use), but have decided to go with a tracking ring instead (Oura or the new Samsung one) so I can keep wearing real watches. Plus, the strap irritated the crap out of my wrist, which is a problem I have with all synthetic straps.
