Need good self winding watch

[dprimm]

So the Egad thread reminded me - I need a good watch. What I want is one that is self winding. One that won’t get magnetized when I wear it!!!

My mom bought me one. I have to demag it regularly at work else it goes crazy and stops keeping time.

I currently have my exercise watch and a cheap digital. But I want a good self winding watch.

Suggestions?

 

[k12lts]

I have a couple Citizen Eco Drive watches that are powered by light. Never need winding or battery replacement and keeps time accurately.

 

[ditcherman]

So the Egad thread reminded me - I need a good watch. What I want is one that is self winding. One that won’t get magnetized when I wear it!!!

My mom bought me one. I have to demag it regularly at work else it goes crazy and stops keeping time.

I currently have my exercise watch and a cheap digital. But I want a good self winding watch.

Suggestions?

I have a $50 Timex expedition that I’ve worn for just over a year now, after not wearing a watch for a couple decades.

The lume is pretty terrible but what can I expect for $50?

I’ve been toying with the idea of upgrading to an Eco drive for dress but then the Egard thread was posted. Would love to support that.

The Egard marketing is pretty moving, and I’m convinced they really do believe what they say, but is their watch worth the money?

It’s either their V2 stealth or the citizen Chandler…

ETA as far as I know my watch is not magnetized and I never wind it, to answer your question.

 

[armalitesheepdog]

So the Egad thread reminded me - I need a good watch. What I want is one that is self winding. One that won’t get magnetized when I wear it!!!

My mom bought me one. I have to demag it regularly at work else it goes crazy and stops keeping time.

I currently have my exercise watch and a cheap digital. But I want a good self winding watch.

Suggestions?

How do you demagntize a watch. I have a self winding Bolivia that works like crap. Stops..looses 15 minutes a day ect

 

[dprimm]

How do you demagntize a watch. I have a self winding Bolivia that works like crap. Stops..looses 15 minutes a day ect

I put it in the demag machine at work.

No clue how it does it.

 

[Creedmoor]

I put it in the demag machine at work.

No clue how it does it.

Decepticons.... Just Say'in

 

[Tryin']

What's your price point? Tissot, Seiko, Orient, and Hamilton are all good to go. No idea about degaussing ability though.

 

[ditcherman]

How does a watch get magnetized?

How is a “self winding” watch different than the one with a “battery”?

 

[dprimm]

What's your price point? Tissot, Seiko, Orient, and Hamilton are all good to go. No idea about degaussing ability though.

No real clue. 2-300 probably.

 

[ditcherman]

How do you demagntize a watch. I have a self winding Bolivia that works like crap. Stops..looses 15 minutes a day ect

This is the first time I ever heard of a demagnetizer. Post 14 in case it doesn’t copy right to that.

Magnetic handgun holders and magnetization

Hoping this doesn’t sound too horribly ignorant, but is there any chance of magnetizing a handgun slide by using one of those magnetic mounts one sees advertised for in-car carry?

www.indianagunowners.com

 

[dprimm]

How does a watch get magnetized?

How is a “self winding” watch different than the one with a “battery”?

I have no clue how it get magnetized. Just does as I wear it.

No battery. The movement of the arm (watch) winds a spring to keep watch working.

 

[Tryin']

No real clue. 2-300 probably.

Orient will have the most models in that price point.

 

[armalitesheepdog]

I have no clue how it get magnetized. Just does as I wear it.

No battery. The movement of the arm (watch) winds a spring to keep watch working.

Your personality?

 

[dprimm]

Your personality?

Yes. Mine gets magnetized and stops working when I wear it regularly

 

[Creedmoor]

Yes. Mine gets magnetized and stops working when I wear it regularly

Do you leave it next to or on top of your phone or electronics?

 

[Expat]

I was going to suggest the one I wear for a self winder but I bought mine 4 years ago for under a hundred dollars. It has almost doubled since then...

Amazon product ASIN B002SSUQFG

 

[BJHay]

Orient will have the most models in that price point.

I bought an Orient Mako II years ago for $250. It's made in Japan and has been a great watch. The Seko 5 line has a lot of different models but mine isn't near the quality of the Orient.

Be careful if you're shopping price or buying from small Amazon sellers. There are a lot of fakes on the market.

 

[bgcatty]

Seiko 5 Sports Series Automatic watches cannot be beat for the money. Period!
They come in all sizes and colors. Here is an example.

 

[dprimm]

Do you leave it next to or on top of your phone or electronics?

No. Not normally

 

[JAL]

OK -- I admit zombifying this thread. I've accumulated watches for the past couple decades (yeah -- along with thousands of movies) and have quite a few. Numerous quartz, and many mechanical. Saw the questions about magnetized mechanical movements and scanned the thread. Dumping my $0.02 in on it . . . and on the "affordable decent mechanical watch" question.

Magnetization . . .
Nearly all the materials in mechanical watches are non-ferrous and can't be magnetized. The couple that can be are the springs . . . notably the mainspring that stores the winding energy to power the watch, and the hairspring which performs the same function as a pendulum with the balance wheel. If you've seen a mechanical run, the balance wheel is the one the rotates back and forth and the coiled spring that that expands and contracts in the process is the hairspring, one of the most fragile parts of the movement. Not much can occur if the mainspring becomes magnetized other than perhaps not having as much energy reserve as it might. However, if the hairspring becomes magnetized, it wants to remain more contracted than it normally would. Symptoms of it are radical gain of time daily -- running very fast -- however it can occasionally cause it to run very slow. In addition, the "amplitude" -- how many degrees the balance wheel rotates back and forth -- will also suffer with lower amplitude than it should have (also a symptom of weak hairspring; typical of very old watches). Measuring the amplitude requires a Timegrapher, which most watch owners would not want to buy as they're made for and used by watchmakers for helping diagnose mechanical movement problems, and measure watch accuracy.

Most modern watches are designed to resist becoming magnetized. Requires some significant source of magnetism for one to become magnetized. There are simple and relatively inexpensive demagnetizers made for dealing with hand tools that can be used on a watch . . . but it must be used correctly. A decent watchmaker can quickly demagnetize one without disassembling it.

Regarding a decent mechanical watch, Seiko makes some good ones, along with Orient. Also consider . . .

• Long Island Watch Company's Islander house brand. If you guessed he's on Long Island, NY, you're right. The owner has a stellar reputation and has his house brand is custom made to his specs. He has a large social media presence on YouTube. Sells online worldwide. Has many other brands including Seiko and Orient. Most of his Islander watches use Seiko Instruments movements -- the same as used in Seiko mechanicals, but with an SII caliber number (e.g. SII NH35 == Seiko 4R35). A few have Miyota 9xxxx series (see remarks about Miyota below) and a few have Swiss Made Sellita movements (see remarks about ETA, Sellita and Soprod below).
• Aragon Watch. Based in Florida, Wing Liang has been making and selling his own watch brand for quite a few years. Originally started as "Android" and he sold his trademarks for that brand to Google a number of years ago -- after filing a Federal Lawsuit with Google for Trademark infringement when Google started making smart watches. He had Google over a barrel, but keeping his trademarks wouldn't have been a long-term victory, so he sold them to Google . . . for an undisclosed amount . . . but it was into the millions . . . and it funded rebranding and expanding his business operation. His used to make large watches, but of late has been offering them in smaller diameters in the 40mm - 43mm range. Most of Wing's mechanical offerings also use Seiko Instruments movements. He's also using some Swiss Made ETA and Soprod movements. Prices on them are accordingly much higher (most about twice that for one with a Seiko movement inside). ETA are made by the Swatch Group (which includes a dozen and a half brands including Hamilton, Longines, and Omega). Soprod are made by the Festina Group which developed them as an alternative to ETA. I don't know if he's used Sellita yet, another ETA alternative. Swatch Group reducing sales of ETA movements to companies outside the Swatch Group brands prompted Sellita and Festina to develop well made drop-in alternatives. Swatch Group doing what it did some years ago is a sordid tale for another time.
• I do NOT recommend Invicta. IMHO they're grossly oversized, garish, not as well finished as their main competitors, and Invicta has a horrid quality control record. I have one . . . just one . . . Invicta and in hindsight I wouldn't buy it again. I tolerate it because it does have a Swiss Made ETA inside.
• Likewise, avoid the Chinesium brands, such as Seagull, with Chinese movements inside. Their quality control sucks, and their long term reliability and durability aren't good.
• Also avoid the "designer fashion brands". If they're a clothing company, they're not really a watch company, and you're paying mostly for a brand logo on the dial with dirt cheap guts on the inside.
• There are a lot of micro-brands, many of which are overpriced for what you get. Some of that driven by very low quantity production and inability to leverage volume production to lower their materials and movement costs -- so they resort to cheap movements. You really have to know what to look for regarding the movement inside them.

Miyota:
As a point of information, Miyota is owned by Citizen watch company and makes the movements for them in addition to selling to other manufacturers. Some Miyota mechanical movements are very good -- the 9xxxx series -- and quite a few are "cheap" -- the 8xxxx series. The latter end up in many micro-brands with prices approaching those of an entry level Swiss Made watch with an ETA, Sellita or Soprod movement.

Seiko Instruments:
Most of the ones used in other non-Seiko brands are the same as Seiko's 4Rxx movements. The SII NH3x are the most common: NH34, NH35, and NH36. Solid workhorse movements with excellent reliability and durability.

Bulova:
What was an American brand is now owned by Citizen. Their current mechanicals use Miyota movements. The bulk of them are the cheapest entry level Miyota with the watch overpriced for the movement inside.

If someone wants to ask about watch brands . . . toss the question in my direction. Cannot guarantee knowledge about most micro-brands as there are too many of them (a dime a dozen) but can take a look and render my take on them. When it comes to mechanical watches, the first thing you want to know is what movement is inside the watch. Some brands make it very difficult to figure that out.