Recommend an automatic

quarryman

I'm on the look out for a watch as a wedding present for myself.

Ideally I'd like an automatic, I don't want to have to change a battery every few years.

I had originally thought I'd like a leather strap design but tried a few metal strap watches on and they look great too.

I'll probably limit the budget to €500.

As a guide, I tried this model on and loved it, although it's not an automatic.

I'm leaning towards something Seiko or Tissot.

edt: also, I'd to get a NEW watch rather than something vintage.

Nolimits

You'll be hard pressed to find an automatic chronograph in your budget, one option would be to buy second hand from somewhere like adverts, though your probably better at RLT, TZ-UK or WUS.

Seiko is a very good option, it is worth noting that the kinetics that would be in your price range are like a cross between a mechanical and battery watch.

The good news is there is plenty of choice in your budget, it's nice to see you haven't limited yourself to Swiss. I'll start off by recomending two brands to you first I will suggest Steinhart. Steinhart use Swiss workhorse Swiss movements that no competent watchmaker would have any issue servicing once it is out of warranty.

Have a look through their collection http://www.steinhartwatches.de/index.php?id=67&artnr=397&Sel_ID=27#397
I've always likes their diver range located here http://www.steinhartwatches.de/index.php?id=67&Sel_ID=9

A couple of examples of what I like from there

and



They come in at €390, and €320, so plenty of change for you.


The other brand I will recommend to you are Orient, they are Japanese company, bought by Seiko a few years ago but ran as a seperate entity. They are not sold in Ireland, and although there are a few places to get them like skywatches or Creation watches I will recommend http://orientwatchusa.com/

Once again I will pick out a couple that I like, but there are loads there, any price you see you can take 50% off using a variety of codes, think international50 is the one you should use. Most models are available in a vareity of colours. Orient use their own movements, there are not many other companys out there the size of Orient that don't use in house movements.

This first one is a semi skeleton model with a power reserve, the power reserve is a regular in Orient models and a nice feature to have in my opinion


The second one has a gmt function of sorts, so you can keep track of the times in every timezone with just a glance at your watch, how this works is explained along with the video review of the watch.



I'm sure others will be along to offer their views aswell, good luck with your search, any more questions and feel free to ask, just let us know what you decide in the end.

foxyboxer

Longines HydroConquest. At circa 800 euro it's above budget but is a good price for an automatic.

quarryman

Nolimits wrote: »

The other brand I will recommend to you are Orient, they are Japanese company, bought by Seiko a few years ago but ran as a seperate entity

Orient look like great value! Automatics that look as good as an Omega or top end Seiko for a fraction of the price.

I'll look into them, thanks!

quarryman

Can someone educate me a little.

It seems Seikos sub €500 models are automatic but they charge a capacitor and use quartz. "Autoquartz"

However the Orients seem to be mechanical automatics, ie no quartz.

Do I have that correct?

Nolimits

quarryman wrote: »

Can someone educate me a little.

It seems Seikos sub €500 models are automatic but they charge a capacitor and use quartz. "Autoquartz"

However the Orients seem to be mechanical automatics, ie no quartz.

Do I have that correct?

Yes you're right, although seiko do plenty of automatics cheap, the seiko 5 line and seiko 5 sports are amongst the best value for money that you can get, I'm wearing one now. They also do a lot of dive watches amongst others. They have a watch for any occasion no matter what your budget is.

if you're going to order from OrientUSA its worth noting that they themselves don't ship internationally, you need to use a forwarding company, they recommend shipitto.com the other companies i mentioned do ship internationally.

quarryman

Nolimits wrote: »

Yes you're right, although seiko do plenty of automatics cheap, the seiko 5 line and seiko 5 sports are amongst the best value for money that you can get, I'm wearing one now. They also do a lot of dive watches amongst others. They have a watch for any occasion no matter what your budget is.

if you're going to order from OrientUSA its worth noting that they themselves don't ship internationally, you need to use a forwarding company, they recommend shipitto.com the other companies i mentioned do ship internationally.

ah thanks.

but the Seiko 5s aren't true automatic mechanicals, they're auto-quartz?

If they are the same cost (Seiko vs Orient) I think I'd prefer the idea of a true mechanical auto (ie the Orient).

However, I'm assuming the Seiko autoquartz would have far better accuracy than the Orient mechanical?

Nolimits

quarryman wrote: »

Nolimits wrote: »

Yes you're right, although seiko do plenty of automatics cheap, the seiko 5 line and seiko 5 sports are amongst the best value for money that you can get, I'm wearing one now. They also do a lot of dive watches amongst others. They have a watch for any occasion no matter what your budget is.

if you're going to order from OrientUSA its worth noting that they themselves don't ship internationally, you need to use a forwarding company, they recommend shipitto.com the other companies i mentioned do ship internationally.

ah thanks.

but the Seiko 5s aren't true automatic mechanicals, they're auto-quartz?

If they are the same cost (Seiko vs Orient) I think I'd prefer the idea of a true mechanical auto (ie the Orient).

However, I'm assuming the Seiko autoquartz would have far better accuracy than the Orient mechanical?

Nope the 5 range are true autos. The 5 stands for the 5 things seiko say a watch should have. Day display, date display, automatic, shock resistant and water resistant. These watches start from about €60. Kinetic means the auto quartz, automatic means mechanical, no battery. Your right about kinetic keeping better time.

Bluefoam

I have the Tissot Le Locle square face. It's has a large face but is quite classy.

The round face is also nice, and more subtle. Apparently the mechanism is the same as used in some Tag Heuers.

http://www.watchesretailer.com/Images/tissot/T0067071103300.jpg

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRsN5jbBBKppeTE7XB6uAndsGjxSgaz8CdcWo8osgVP9yMXZE2X

peasant

I'd very much second the Orient suggestion, real value for money in automatics.

Take a look at this seller
http://www.orientuhren.de/
less choice, usually bad pictures (search google for better ones:D) but keen prices and no hassle with shipping or customs.

For your budget you could get two decent watches there.

If you have you heart set on a chrono, you should look at russian watches:

http://www.poljot24.de/en/pi1305878045.htm?categoryId=1

EXAMPLES


All well within budget and with enough money left to buy a nice bracelet or a second quartz dress watch, should you wish to do so


EDIT:
Please note: none of the above chronos is automatic, they are all strictly handwind
Sounds old fashioned ...but IMO it just adds some more tactile pleasure to the whole mechanical watch experience

Nolimits

Thanks for that Peasent, I wasn't aware of that site, bookmarked.

Bullseye1

This is a nice dress watch from that site.
http://www.poljot24.de/en/pd-1498822970.htm?categoryId=2

Flashwatches

How about something like this? It has a rubber strap, but you could change that for a leather one. costs $699 so not far off your budget.

Edit, I just read that they are giving a mesh braclet with it free for a limited time.

http://www.ocean7watchco.com/cs2/index.php?dispatch=products.view&product_id=127

Cyrus

quarryman wrote: »

Ideally I'd like an automatic, I don't want to have to change a battery every few years.

not sure if it has been said but you are aware that an auto will require servicing every 4-5 years and its not normally cheap

quarryman

Cyrus wrote: »

not sure if it has been said but you are aware that an auto will require servicing every 4-5 years and its not normally cheap

I didn't know that, thanks.

peasant

on the other hand ....

If you don't go overboard on your initial budget and just spend a few hundred on your automatic watch, you will actually dare to wear it a good bit and by the time it's finally due a service it will be so battered and worn that you just start over again with another new one

quarryman

peasant wrote: »

on the other hand ....

If you don't go overboard on your initial budget and just spend a few hundred on your automatic watch, you will actually dare to wear it a good bit and by the time it's finally due a service it will be so battered and worn that you just start over again with another new one

That's reasonable logic i guess. But this would be a gift to me so I'd hope to keep for a LONG time. Should I spending more on something requiring less servicing or do all automatics need the same frequency on servicing?

Or as a long term purchase with minimum servicing should I look at a quartz option?

Nolimits

Manufacturers recommend servicing every 5 years, most people will only service them when they notice something wrong (not everyone some people will do it every 5 years or so). I know of people who have had a watch 40 years and never had it serviced and it still keeps good time. Most of the time a service will just be stripping it down, cleaning and re-oiling it, it shouldnt be too expensive.

Trampoline

quarryman wrote: »

That's reasonable logic i guess. But this would be a gift to me so I'd hope to keep for a LONG time. Should I spending more on something requiring less servicing or do all automatics need the same frequency on servicing?

Or as a long term purchase with minimum servicing should I look at a quartz option?

Hello.

If your reason for going Automatic is just to avoid changing the hassle of changing a battery then you should consider Citizen Eco-Drive.

These are solar powered and constantly recharge their power reserve with exposure to any light, meaning that under normal use you won't have to worry about any battery change or recharging. The vast majority of Citizen watches sold in Ireland feature Eco-Drive technology, and most of them sell for below €500.

Disclaimer: I am not impartial on this matter as I'm affiliated with Calcul, the distributor of Citizen watches in Ireland.

peasant

quarryman wrote: »

That's reasonable logic i guess. But this would be a gift to me so I'd hope to keep for a LONG time. Should I spending more on something requiring less servicing or do all automatics need the same frequency on servicing?

Or as a long term purchase with minimum servicing should I look at a quartz option?

Well look at it this way ...

If you bought a 20k certified chronometer watch and after 5 years or so it starts to fall outside spec by a few seconds because the oil is getting a bit viscous ...you'd be rightly pissed off and have it serviced for lots of dosh to bring it back into specification.

If your reasonably priced automatic watch after 5-10 years starts running a minute slow, you buy a new one and give the old one pride of place on a shelf somewhere. You take it down every so often and wear it on special occasions where exact time doesn't matter but the idea of what you're wearing does.
And for your silver wedding anniversary you get your kids to pay for a service and restore it back to glory.

Flashwatches

peasant wrote: »

Well look at it this way ...

If you bought a 20k certified chronometer watch and after 5 years or so it starts to fall outside spec by a few seconds because the oil is getting a bit viscous ...you'd be rightly pissed off and have it serviced for lots of dosh to bring it back into specification.
.............

A Swiss certified chronometer movement is certified before it is even put in the watch. The cert states that the movement ran to within specified amount during testing. This is not a guarantee that it will run to those specs when you receive it. It does not cover if for example the watchmaker had an off-day and knocked the movement while essembling, or dropped by a clumsy shop assistant.