The Watch thread

[spenaroo]

I dont know about you guys,

but I feel like a watch is the single piece of jewelry that all men can pull off.

personally Im a fan of Pulsar/Seiko they make up most of my collection. (all around the $300 mark - used to buy them for milestone birthdays)

 

but lately been enjoying Pobeda/zim movements,

these are 80's Russian movements. that are refurbished into "frankenwatches" in Ukraine

New case, face, hands and strap. mechanical watch for $100 - all the style and substance, none of the collectible price tag

 

this is my latest purchase to replace one I broke.

had the first one for about 4 years. only broke as I dropped it onto a tiled floor and the second hand fell off - tried to repair.

but ended up breaking a spring while i was fiddling with the internals - figured it was more economical to just replace then find a repairer

 

 

Edited April 18 by spenaroo

[willedoo]

Watches are the one part of Soviet flight gear that I don't have. I always intended to collect a couple for if I ever get around to setting up some pilot mannequins. A friend of mine in the U.S. recently bought a Raketa Baikonur, 60th anniversary of the 1st manned space flight in 1961 edition of their 24-hour cosmonaut watch. It looks like a nice watch, but a bit out of my price range at a guess. Some photos of the type:

 

[willedoo]

I guess at under 2,000 USD, the 0247 Baikonur is more affordable than the Breitling Cosmonaut counterpart at 13,000 USD. I think around $100 would be my budget.

[willedoo]

1 hour ago, spenaroo said:

this is my latest purchase to replace one I broke.

I like the colour of the face.

[spenaroo]

14 hours ago, willedoo said:

I guess at under 2,000 USD, the 0247 Baikonur is more affordable than the Breitling Cosmonaut counterpart at 13,000 USD. I think around $100 would be my budget.

Sturmanskie Gagarin clone, from the same Ukrainian watch makers would fit the bill.

no where near as fancy - but in budget

[willedoo]

The Russian word Sturman covers a bit of ground from navigator (steerman) to pilot and helmsman.

[Marty_d]

It's funny, I've never been able to put up with something on my wrist.  Prior to mobile phones I never knew what the time was unless there was a wall clock somewhere.

[spenaroo]

I go through periods of wearing it all the time and feeling naked without it. Or enjoying feeling light and fresh without it.

 

I bought a 6 watch case, and only have 5 watches...

 

So jumped on ebay looking for an orange faced dive watch - inspired by my favourite fictional character Dirk Pitt (Clive Cussler novels) I can't afford a Doxa, but the orange face is always in the description.

 

Found this new unwanted gift and put a bid on it, as the only bidder I won it for $60.  Though its just a budget quartz movement so not a bargain.

 

Just arrived and mixed feelings. Face and case are great, hands and bezel are a bit industrial. The watch band is the best rubber one I've encountered. Feels comfortable and quality. Perfect for an everyday wear

 

However, while I think the strap is a standout - I'm going to change it. Aesthetically I think an orange NATO strap will work better (already on order) just too much black currently.

 

will save this strap to put on a watch with a stainless case.

Edited April 19 by spenaroo

[willedoo]

My parents bought me a Wallace Bishop watch for my 21'st birthday. I think a watch for males for a 21'st present might have been a bit of a tradition back in the day. I only wore it for a year or so. A bit like Marty, I don't like wearing them and haven't done so since. My dad wore his to bed, the only time he ever took it off was to have a shower. I remember years ago getting the Wallace Bishop watch, a second cheaper watch and a Micky Mouse watch together. I wound the three up and listened to the action of them (hearing was better back then). There was a big difference; you could really hear the finer workings of the Wallace Bishop watch. The $10 Mickey Mouse watch was very clunky but it worked.

[willedoo]

In the past I've looked at a lot of photos of Soviet, Russian Federation and Ukrainian pilots to see what type of watch they wear. There's a variety and it doesn't appear like there's a standard issue pilot's watch. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think in most airforces it's a pilot's personal property rather than an issued item.

[willedoo]

I'll be talking to a couple of ex RAAF pilots next week. I'll ask them about it.

[Jerry_Atrick]

I have a Brietling Navitmer like the one below. I bought it at the end of 1997 at Heathrow Airport on a flight back to Aus. It was one full year after I moved out here, I had a good job where I was on the road a lot, no kids, no mortgage, little rent and was in a flying hiatus so I had some spare cash as I had just started going my relationship wit my then girlfriend, now partner. Before that, I only had cheap watches, usually digital from the Vic Market that would last until their battery went flat and never would revive. As I bought it at the airport, I figured it was slightly cheaper than the London shops, being duty free. But I thought if I had waited til I got to Singapore, I could have probably saved myself a couple of hundred pounds. As it turned out, they had them in Singapore, but it would have cost me a couple of hundred pounds more to wait.

 

After buying it, I joked to my partner to get her to ask me the time. My first response was, "Well, that cost £x; ask me again", after which I replied, "Well that cost $ (x / 2)"'. On a personal item outside the car, shareoplane, or house, it was the most expensive purchase I had made. When I tried it on, it was quite heavy and sometimes still feels it after all these years (26 of them). What I didn't know was they have to be serviced; it is claimed they have more moving parts in them than a car (I have never been bothered to check that claim out - but probably would have more than an EV). If you don't service them, they start losing time and then stop. The services have consistently been around £250 - £300 and I get it done about every three years. And yes, they come with a service book. But the last service was over £1,000!

 

The other thing I didn't know is that their value does appreciate over time. Every 3 years, my insurer requires me to get a certified valuation - with the service history it is worth almost 4 times over what I paid; without it, it is worth under a little over half. I guess, it means original cost + services - inflation means I am in the break even territory, but would be better off just servicing it when it broke.

 

I did use it for in flight calculations as it has a rotating bezel a nd a circular slide rule/flight computer, but SkyDemon now has that mantle.

 

I don't treat it with kit gloves; I am a little on the clumsy side, and pass stationery objects like walls and doors and gates, very close , often brushing them. And the watch, because of the width of its profile is often being hit, grrabbled and the like by some pretty tough materials. Yet at work this week someone asked if I had a new watch - it is built to take some pretty rough treatment.

 

All in all, despite its original aand ongoing cost, I don't regret it (like I did when it started losing time and was told it had to be serviced and got the bill). Also, it does provide some comfort that if I did sell it, it would be like I had it for 20-odd years rent free. But, on reflection, if I had of known about what it really entailed, I probably would have bought a cheap rip-off in Hong Kong.

 

 

 

Side profile:

 

 

 

[red750]

Willie said I should post this here (already in silly pictures thread).

 

[spenaroo]

On 19/04/2024 at 6:28 PM, willedoo said:

I'll be talking to a couple of ex RAAF pilots next week. I'll ask them about it.

Ive been doing some research, and couldnt find anything on the RAAF,

there was some pilots who did an IWC remake from the early 40s but it was a custom order job and personal watch.

The RAF on the other hand is suprising.

despite what Breitling's marketing say's they arent the watch used.
the standard issue was a seiko, then a pulsar chronograph.

 

which makes sense - why buy an expensive luxury watch when a $150 will do the same job.

 

unfortunetly Pulsar was shut down be Seiko a couple of years ago....

and since then its gotten difficult to find

 

however they kept the Lorus Brand and moved the design across.

currently about $150

 

Edited April 21 by spenaroo

[Jerry_Atrick]

I could be wrong, but I thought Brietling donated watches to the Red Arrows pilots as a bit of marketing. However, according to this site, a Red Arrows pilot is donating his Brietling for an auction for Aerobility, which is a charity set up to get disabled people flying to PPL standard (the CAA and their medics are very supportive of this): https://www.air-shows.org.uk/2020/11/airshow-news-red-arrows-and-breitling-fly-in-to-support-the-aerobility-grand-auction/

 

As a side note, Aerobility is based at Blackbushe, which is where I had my YB20 Shareoplane.. and some bastards broke into the Aerobility Warriors and nicked the avionics. Counts, minus the "u" comes into mind.

 

 

[red750]

Minus the "o".

[Marty_d]

He might be using an Irish accent Peter.  In that case minus the "u" would get you the right sound...

[spenaroo]

The difference a strap makes

Edited April 22 by spenaroo

[facthunter]

You're not the guy in the Honda HRV advert are you?.  Nev

[spenaroo]

1 minute ago, facthunter said:

You're not the guy in the Honda HRV advert are you?.  Nev

unfortunately that reference went over my head

[facthunter]

He turns into Dr. Jekel with hairy hands when he gets behind the wheel..  Nev

[spenaroo]

Family trait... on my mums side.

there is a reason I don't like wearing shorts