Expensive watches on boats.

Refueler said:
Local guy to me - sadly he's passed on ... but he was 'old school' and you could tell his love for watches as he handled them. I spoke about this with him and he smiled ... moved a small pot across the bench and pointed at it ... THAT is what they charge you for ... as he smeared it around the case before putting the back on my watch ...
He personally g'teed the watch to the makers depth of water specs after doing that ...
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…and did you test it to that depth?
 
ghostlymoron2 said:
Since I've retired, I don't wear a watch except when I'm travelling. It gives me a great sense of freedom.
My friend has an expensive Omega or somesuch, he found that it cost him £500 to change the battery because it had to be returned to the manufacturer or the warrantee would be invalidated.
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I've rarely felt any need to wear a watch and have learned instead to rely instead on clocks and radio and more recently a phone or laptop to tell what the time is. There's a clock in every room in my home, which is close enough to the village church to hear the hour and quarter chimes, there's one in my car and one on my boat and my phone is invariably in my pocket when I'm out so there's absolutely no reason to wear one.

I do have a couple of inherited Omega watches, although I have no idea what models they are and the last time I wound one of those up and put it on was on my wedding day nearly 40 years ago. That was pretty much the last time I dressed up by putting a tie on too
 
As requested, a pic of my early Seiko clockwork - not automatic - watch.

Old school, to change the date the crown must be wound so the hands go through enough 12 hour passages until the date changes. Very easy to wear, looks good, simple classic face.

I have had it for 55 years. The only thing I have had longer than the Seiko is First Mate........................
 

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Bouba said:
True.....but there’s lots of things to wear that are more seaman like.....for example
Life jacket
Kill cord
Personal locator beacon
Binoculars
Knife
Multitool
Deck shoes
Sun blocker
Survival bag
Dry suit
Sunglasses
Cord for sunglasses
Portable VHF
Satellite phone
Tilley hat
Clothes (yes even yachties should wear them)

So while I agree that it’s nice to wear a watch....it could weigh you down
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I take 12 of these items every time I go boating.

But which 12?

Oh and a Sea master/Railmaster so I roughly know what time it is...
 
All this talk has prompted me to dig out my Seiko 5.

I think I bought it in Gibraltar mis 80's.

I've just set the time and date, I'll see if it's vaguely accurate over the next day or so..
 

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Hot Property said:
All this talk has prompted me to dig out my Seiko 5.

I think I bought it in Gibraltar mis 80's.

I've just set the time and date, I'll see if it's vaguely accurate over the next day or so..
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The problem with the 5 ... it does not have temperature compensator in it ... so as I found with mine - its daily error changes with season !!

Its a nice looking watch - but not one of Seiko's best !
 
My price limit for a watch or phone is 2 days wages... Ive donated a few to Mr David Jones over the years... The expensive ones dont float...
 
Mechanical watches are a bit like wind powered boats - they’re not exactly the perfect solution in many circumstances for our modern world, but hey, if they bring you joy, why not?

Some models may even be a reasonable investment. Win-win!
 
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Refueler said:
Bu***r that .... my Casio RM cost me about 10 mins 'wages' ..... (Actually I don't have wages or salary as such ... I have commissions).
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Out and about I mostly use my phone to tell the time.

That cost me an eye watering ten whole pounds to buy about 15 years ago, but it came out the box with £10 credit pre installed so really I got it for nothing. I was self employed back then so the purchase was a legitimate business expense which when declared shaved about £3 off my tax bill.

Win win.
 
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rotrax said:
As requested, a pic of my early Seiko clockwork - not automatic - watch.

Old school, to change the date the crown must be wound so the hands go through enough 12 hour passages until the date changes. Very easy to wear, looks good, simple classic face.

I have had it for 55 years. The only thing I have had longer than the Seiko is First Mate........................
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Good man.

I have a very similar Rolex in fact I think the Seiko may have been based on the basic Oysterdate Precision. I still have all the original paperwork including my letters to the importer:

"Dear Sir,
I am interested in your range of Rolex watches and would be grateful if you......."

and the replies:

" Dear ,
Thank you for your valued interest. I have enclosed......."

:)

After forty years of continuous use (it lives on the chart table when sailing) I could still get my paper money back times 4. Result.

.
 
Norman_E said:
I would not have a super expensive watch on a boat, no matter how waterproof it was. I used to sail wearing a Citizen Eco Drive, of the older type that had no separate removable back, but even that was nearly lost when the stainless bracelet came apart, and it fell onto a pontoon, just avoiding falling between the wooden slats. Same watch now has the bracelet from a cheap Casio watch.

EDIT. The best mechanical watch I had was a Universal Geneve Polerouter from the late 50's or early 60's which I obtained second hand. I got it cheap because the bracelet had failed, and had a new strap fitted. It was one of the thinnest self-winding watches of its era, and very good quality. I wore it for years but in the late 70's or early 80's I stopped using it in favour of a newer watch, and it has since been lost. A pity because it was such a neat watch, and worth many times what I paid for it.
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I have just found it. It was hiding in a box of model railway parts in the garage. A quick wind and its going. It probably has not been run for at least 45 years, so any lubricant in it will have most likely congealed and make it run a bit slow. On the upside, the watch mechanism will not have much wear for its age. Thinking about it, this was not the watch I bought in my teens, as that was a mass-produced watch, This watch was given to me by my uncle. He bought it second-hand, but it was not very old then, probably less than 10 years as the name did not start to be applied to these until 1954. It needs a new plexiglass, and the awful cheap stainless bracelet replacing with a good leather strap, but its still worth a few hundreds.Watch.jpg
 
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Norman_E said:
I have just found it. It was hiding in a box of model railway parts in the garage. A quick wind and its going. It probably has not been run for at least 45 years, so any lubricant in it will have most likely congealed and make it run a bit slow. On the upside, the watch mechanism will not have much wear for its age. Thinking about it, this was not the watch I bought in my teens, as that was a mass-produced watch, This watch was given to me by my uncle. He bought it second-hand, but it was not very old then, probably less than 10 years as the name did not start to be applied to these until 1954. It needs a new plexiglass, and the awful cheap stainless bracelet replacing with a good leather strap, but its still worth a few hundreds.View attachment 188065
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Sort of thing the Nekkid Watchmaker works miracles on and brings up like new on Youtube. Very entertaining.
 
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