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The "Official" Watch Thread and all Things Horological
- Thread starter backmarkerducati
- Start date
Not watch related, but I did mention earlier that I have a fondness for titanium. I think it would be great to have a titanium watch. Amongst a few other artifacts, I have a few scraps of titanium left over from the Avro Arrow. My Dad worked on the project. You guys will probably find these interesting. They are about 8" X 12".
Cool. I know a few people with Iroqouis blades. I am not one of them.
My Dad was hired by the RCAF on two occasions in the early '50s to salvage crashed CF 100s in Lake Nipissing. That was when he was working for Orenda Engines. He brought home many souvenirs. Over time and through moves they all disappeared except a .50 caliber belted bullet that I gave to a buddy, and a mangled turbine blade that I still have.
If you decide to machine up some titanium be pretty careful with the swarf. I have no experience but everything I’ve read is the shreddings are really combustible?
Citizen has introduced a Titanium dive watch. The clearance shop at the outlet mall on Trafalgar rd Milton has one on display. I didn’t price it .
Sent from my iPhone using GTAMotorcycle.com
Citizen has introduced a Titanium dive watch. The clearance shop at the outlet mall on Trafalgar rd Milton has one on display. I didn’t price it .
Sent from my iPhone using GTAMotorcycle.com
No. Mg, yeah, you might want to be careful.
Long time ago my gfs grandfather also worked on the Avro program. His souvenir was a set of bearings used in the landing gear. Very cool indeed. A part of our Canadian history.
I've checked out the Citizens online but haven't seen one in the metal yet. I did try on a Tudor Pelagos at Humbertown. Pretty nice.
I hadn't heard about the combustibility. I have no intentions of altering my titanium. I think they are valuable artifacts. A friend has offered to trade me a guitar for one. I'd like to get a credible estimation of their value, but don't know where or how. I guess I need to take them to the Pawn Stars, but they've probably never heard of the Arrow.
I can vouch for the combustibility of magnesium chips, from first hand experience. A small quantity, mixed with some potassium nitrate can light up an entire Toronto park instantly. :^)
Priller
Well-known member
Probably the Fujitsubo, a remake of a '70s Challenge Diver with a bit of a stretch for a backstory (one got lost, was found many years later encrusted in barnacles and still worked, fujitsubo is barnacle in Japanese etc.). I think it's a gorgeous watch, though verging a bit towards Rolex 'inspired'. I suppose the same could be said for a huge percentage of divers...
Also comes in blue on a Ti bracelet:
And a blacked out version, also all Ti:
Citizen makes a whole bunch of titanium watches, but the one I like best is the Promaster Tough, Citizen's take on a zombie apocalype watch. Everything is overbuilt, and it's going for a true tool watch vibe. Sadly, I don't think they sell it in North America (as usual, lots of their best stuff only goes to Asia and Europe):
Amazon targeted me with this. Interesting. According to the specs Sapphire, Miyota automatic, 20 atm, internally rotating bezel, $150. It's far from premium but if you want an interesting daily beater, it may be worth a shot. I don't love the rubber strap design but that's easy to change.
Rolex copied Blancpain. Fight me.
Seiko has been making Ti watches/bracelets for years. I have a dress(ish) Ti Seiko (SGG711) I bought last century. Ti case and bracelet. 36mm. weighs a rediculous 42 gr. I was looking through pics for something else yesterday and came across a pic of it I took in 2012. The date on it in the pic was SUN21. Weird.
Stock pic from the internets for reference.
Entirely reasonable and no way in hell would I trust that as a dive watch but as a daily, internal bezel doesn't get worn like an external bezel (for better or worse).
I don't see any glowing reviews of Bernys (first I'd heard of them). Is the 200m rating legit? Who knows. I know the 180m rating on this compressor is legit. They're out of the UK, only do dive watches, and their watches get good reviews, though.
No idea if the dodgy Berny is telling the truth. I can only test up to 11 bar (theoretically, in practice, I only have 120 psi available so that is my max). If I had one, I would definitely throw it in the tester. In practice, as I am not using mechanicals as dive watches, a pass at 120 psi means I should have trouble drowning the watch. In my experience, watches are more likely to fail the vacuum test than the pressure test (especially those without screw-down crowns).I don't see any glowing reviews of Bernys (first I'd heard of them). Is the 200m rating legit? Who knows. I know the 180m rating on this compressor is legit. They're out of the UK, only do dive watches, and their watches get good reviews, though.
The spinnaker looks nice. Cost is roughly double the Berny. I was just surprised that most of the desirable checklist items made it so low on the price tree (theoretically, I wouldnt be surprised if it failed before 20 atm or if the glass was mineral glass).
Priller
Well-known member
There's a review here: Trust the hype? Berny Review | WatchCrunch
Sounds like it's mostly as you'd expect for the price on a mushroom brand, though the bezel not rotating properly would be a dealbreaker for me. Knowing the QC at that price, I'm sure most work fine, but a few leak through that don't. If it's sold by Amazon with free returns, might be worth a punt if you like the style...
Supposedly the original 'Super Compressor' design was to actually aid in water resistance by using the compressive force of the water pressure to squeeze the seals tighter, but I've never been clear on why that meant the bezel needed to be under the crystal. For some reason, the name stuck to any watch with an encased bezel, despite almost none actually being compressor watches. Longines and Alpina make versions with 300 m resistance, so it can be made truly water tight, but I wouldn't want to be fiddling with a tiny crown to adjust while actually diving. Here's an interesting list of examples, though none are for me, personally. I mostly don't like how the internal bezel makes the face of the watch look big and the actual dial look undersized. The ones with contrasting bezels look better to my eyes:
Why a Super Compressor Is the Best Alternative to Traditional Dive Watches
You'll get no fight from me! I admire Rolex in many ways, but they're generally not my cuppa. The only one that really floats my boat is the Explorer...
If you get titanium to combust the results are quite fun… https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/citations/ADA538662 The oxide is used in smoke grenades.
As a dust it’s much more likely than as shavings but you’ll need an ignition source) but then again, you can get talc powder to combust easily as dust.
As a dust it’s much more likely than as shavings but you’ll need an ignition source) but then again, you can get talc powder to combust easily as dust.
One of the biggest explosions in Ontario was caused by flour dust. Robin Hood - Welland.
Lumbermills are bad for that too. One little explosion shakes dust into the entire air volume and then a second explosion flattens the whole thing.
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