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good, affordable, mechanical watch?

us Offline Lynn LeFey

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good, affordable, mechanical watch?
on: March 18, 2014, 09:41:25 PM
Is there a good, reliable, affordable, purely mechanical watch available?

I'm not planning on rushing out and buying one. I was just curious.

When I say 'mechanical', I mean 'doesn't run on batteries'.

Thanks for any input.


us Offline Aloha

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Re: good, affordable, mechanical watch?
Reply #1 on: March 18, 2014, 09:58:00 PM
There are some very good ones.  I like the manufacturer Orient for one and there are some great looking affordable watches coming from them.  Tissot is for me another great option as well as Citizen.  My girls wear many different style watches as does my roomate so these manufactures would be a good start.
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us Offline captain spaulding

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Re: good, affordable, mechanical watch?
Reply #2 on: March 19, 2014, 12:22:16 AM
Check out the Seiko 5 Automatic.
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us Offline sawman

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Re: good, affordable, mechanical watch?
Reply #3 on: March 19, 2014, 12:35:17 AM
Citizen changed my entire perspective about light-powered watches. They're very high quality and can be found on Ebay for much less than their retail price.
SAW


us Offline blooper

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Re: good, affordable, mechanical watch?
Reply #4 on: March 19, 2014, 01:35:21 AM
I have a couple seikos. Both auto and solar. I would say if you're ok with wearing a watch everyday then both auto and solar are nice options.

If price is important, Seiko 5 (autos) would be my suggestion. Very affordable and great looking watches.

But ultimately I would recommend spending just a tad more on a solar Seiko or even citizen Eco drive. They are much more accurate than affordable autos and do not require daily attention. And generally could be more durable because of the lack of moving internals. Shouldnt be an issue in most regular cases. But if you're rough on your watches just keep that in mind.

Lots of other brands out there. But those are the ones I'm most familiar with.


us Offline jerseydevil

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Re: good, affordable, mechanical watch?
Reply #5 on: March 19, 2014, 02:07:42 AM
I'm gonna have to say Seiko 5 as well.  I love mine.  :tu:  Reasonably priced, and lots of options as to colors, bands, etc.
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us Offline Aloha

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Re: good, affordable, mechanical watch?
Reply #6 on: March 19, 2014, 02:44:45 AM
Mechanical and ladies watch are sadly still a combination that watchmakers aren't overly interested in.  If you can wear a smaller mans watch 40mm-45mm then there are more options available.  How about a Swatch Auto Swiss ETA movement? 
Esse Quam Videri


us Offline nate j

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Re: good, affordable, mechanical watch?
Reply #7 on: March 19, 2014, 03:38:07 AM
I would recommend spending just a tad more on a solar Seiko or even citizen Eco drive. They are much more accurate than affordable autos and do not require daily attention.

+1.  If you're set on an automatic, Seiko makes some nice reasonably priced ones for men, but sadly doesn't offer any autos for women.  I have a Seiko black monster, but it has been replaced as my regular watch by a Seiko solar diver, due to the issues above.  I often wear a watch during the week but not on weekends, and the monster would run down and stop if not worn/wound all weekend, so I would then have to reset the time on Monday.  And, if I did remember to wear it enough on the weekends to keep it running, it would lose a couple of minutes per week, so I would have to reset the time every four weeks or so anyway to keep it reasonably close.


us Offline Lynn LeFey

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Re: good, affordable, mechanical watch?
Reply #8 on: March 19, 2014, 03:43:55 AM
I'm built like a stump, so men's watches fit and look reasonable on my wrist. If that's any help.


Offline Whuds

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Re: good, affordable, mechanical watch?
Reply #9 on: March 19, 2014, 04:26:20 AM
Check out Caveman watch forum I'm an original member. There are several nice Seiko 5 models You can get on eBay low cost and the new 4r36A movement is automatic and winds/hacks we have lots of pics on that forum , Bill

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pt Offline RamoN

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Re: good, affordable, mechanical watch?
Reply #10 on: March 19, 2014, 04:31:07 AM
Just to add variety the new swatch sistem 51 was made exactly to be an affordable mechanical watch.

It has several colour and stle options but it was just released so there wont be any long term testing for a while.

It was suppoused to retail U$s 150 but its above that for now, suppouse it will go down when all the novelty settles.


http://www.swatch.com/zz_en/sistem51.html



au Offline PTRSAK

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Re: good, affordable, mechanical watch?
Reply #11 on: March 19, 2014, 04:58:28 AM
Check out the Seiko 5 Automatic.

+1  on the Seiko 5 range. Decent quality and cheap(ish).


us Offline Aloha

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Re: good, affordable, mechanical watch?
Reply #12 on: March 19, 2014, 06:23:39 AM
I'm built like a stump, so men's watches fit and look reasonable on my wrist. If that's any help.


It does help I'll add some more specific watches tomm. 

Just to add variety the new swatch sistem 51 was made exactly to be an affordable mechanical watch.

It has several colour and stle options but it was just released so there wont be any long term testing for a while.

It was suppoused to retail U$s 150 but its above that for now, suppouse it will go down when all the novelty settles.


http://www.swatch.com/zz_en/sistem51.html


This is exactly what I was referring to. Neat watch by Swatch and a nice ETA movement too. 
Esse Quam Videri


au Offline PTRSAK

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Re: good, affordable, mechanical watch?
Reply #13 on: March 19, 2014, 08:38:02 AM
I would recommend spending just a tad more on a solar Seiko or even citizen Eco drive. They are much more accurate than affordable autos and do not require daily attention.

+1.  If you're set on an automatic, Seiko makes some nice reasonably priced ones for men, but sadly doesn't offer any autos for women.  I have a Seiko black monster, but it has been replaced as my regular watch by a Seiko solar diver, due to the issues above.  I often wear a watch during the week but not on weekends, and the monster would run down and stop if not worn/wound all weekend, so I would then have to reset the time on Monday.  And, if I did remember to wear it enough on the weekends to keep it running, it would lose a couple of minutes per week, so I would have to reset the time every four weeks or so anyway to keep it reasonably close.

I beg to differ, I bought my ex a nice ladies Seiko 5 auto for Xmas before last.

a quick eBay search for Seiko 5 ladies gets over 400 results.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid=p2053587.m570.l1313.TR2.TRC1.A0.H0.Xseiko+5+ladies&_nkw=seiko+5+ladies&_sacat=0&_from=R40


us Offline ducttapetech

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Re: good, affordable, mechanical watch?
Reply #14 on: March 19, 2014, 09:16:57 AM
Do you want just a wrist watch?

that's us mobile

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SEND IT!


us Offline Lynn LeFey

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Re: good, affordable, mechanical watch?
Reply #15 on: March 19, 2014, 03:42:43 PM
I'm not certain this will ever lead to actually owning a watch at all, but the basic idea is 'time keeping in a world where no one is producing batteries anymore'. So, other time keeping devices (fobs, chain pocket watches, and even small clocks) are all fine to mention, too.


us Offline Aloha

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Re: good, affordable, mechanical watch?
Reply #16 on: March 19, 2014, 03:49:20 PM
Well now, while mechanical is great in this case I'd say solar atomic is a great option.  While they do store energy in the battery we are talking about a battery that can also be charged from indoor lights as well.  The battery in my experience has been a maintenance free battery that lasts a long time ( 10 years on one of my watches ).  I'll post some other ideas but this to me is a great option vs mechanical for accurate time keeping and maintenance free ownership.       
Esse Quam Videri


us Offline ducttapetech

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Re: good, affordable, mechanical watch?
Reply #17 on: March 19, 2014, 04:07:34 PM
Charles-Hubert makes some very nice mechanical watches. They seem to keep great time, and have a good warranty.

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pt Offline pfrsantos

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Re: good, affordable, mechanical watch?
Reply #18 on: March 19, 2014, 05:21:29 PM
I'm not certain this will ever lead to actually owning a watch at all, but the basic idea is 'time keeping in a world where no one is producing batteries anymore'. So, other time keeping devices (fobs, chain pocket watches, and even small clocks) are all fine to mention, too.

I have a Seiko 5, too. Not the most accurate but it's perfect if you don't need a to-the-second precision. Battery free (main reason I bought it) and quite good looking IMHO.

I'd sugest you go into a shop and try a few watches on to see how you like the look and feel of them.
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gb Offline Zed

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Re: good, affordable, mechanical watch?
Reply #19 on: March 19, 2014, 06:32:33 PM
I would go solar lynn as even mechanicals need regular servicing plus winding (auto needing to be worn regularly ) or just get a badic g-shock and stock up on betteries as they have around a 10 year shelf life  :tu:


us Offline nate j

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Re: good, affordable, mechanical watch?
Reply #20 on: March 20, 2014, 03:47:47 AM
I would recommend spending just a tad more on a solar Seiko or even citizen Eco drive. They are much more accurate than affordable autos and do not require daily attention.

+1.  If you're set on an automatic, Seiko makes some nice reasonably priced ones for men, but sadly doesn't offer any autos for women.  I have a Seiko black monster, but it has been replaced as my regular watch by a Seiko solar diver, due to the issues above.  I often wear a watch during the week but not on weekends, and the monster would run down and stop if not worn/wound all weekend, so I would then have to reset the time on Monday.  And, if I did remember to wear it enough on the weekends to keep it running, it would lose a couple of minutes per week, so I would have to reset the time every four weeks or so anyway to keep it reasonably close.

I beg to differ, I bought my ex a nice ladies Seiko 5 auto for Xmas before last.

a quick eBay search for Seiko 5 ladies gets over 400 results.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid=p2053587.m570.l1313.TR2.TRC1.A0.H0.Xseiko+5+ladies&_nkw=seiko+5+ladies&_sacat=0&_from=R40

Interesting.  Perhaps they used to make them, but don't anymore?  If one checks http://www.seikousa.com/gallery/index.php , it quickly becomes apparent that crossing "women" with either "mechanical" or "spring drive" yields no results.


us Offline blooper

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Re: good, affordable, mechanical watch?
Reply #21 on: April 03, 2014, 10:59:56 AM
Gshocks come in solar variety also. But they tend to be pretty pricey. Casio makes some nice lower end solar watches as well under their "tough solar" name. Heck, there are some solar atomic watches too if you're worried about accuracy also. I was looking at a few a while ago but ive got enough watches to rotate already. Couldn't see myself getting another watch.


us Offline Singh

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Re: good, affordable, mechanical watch?
Reply #22 on: April 05, 2014, 03:48:35 PM
I would NOT recommend a Seiko 5.

I had a Seiko 5 that worked well for about a year, then it started gaining/losing 5-10 minutes PER DAY. No amount of regulating could fix it.


I now have a Citizen Eco-Drive and I'm very pleased with it.
« Last Edit: April 05, 2014, 03:51:10 PM by shamus »


pt Offline pfrsantos

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Re: good, affordable, mechanical watch?
Reply #23 on: April 07, 2014, 01:06:30 PM
I would NOT recommend a Seiko 5.

I had a Seiko 5 that worked well for about a year, then it started gaining/losing 5-10 minutes PER DAY. No amount of regulating could fix it.


I now have a Citizen Eco-Drive and I'm very pleased with it.

Wow! You just got me looking like your avatar...
 :ahhh :ahhh :ahhh :ahhh

Wasn't the watch covered by warranty? I believe mine has a 2 year warranty...
 :think: :think:
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Eff the ineffable, scrut the inscrutable.

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00 Offline gorbag

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Re: good, affordable, mechanical watch?
Reply #24 on: April 08, 2014, 02:25:24 AM
Casio's Forester model is one of their low end models, but it's held up.  Solar charging, it loses maybe a second a month (if that), durable, and it cost me all of $40.  I rotate it through when the G Shocks would be inappropriate.

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us Offline Pacu

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Re: good, affordable, mechanical watch?
Reply #25 on: April 08, 2014, 03:19:20 AM
orient mako is a looker
:like:    :MTO:


au Offline mr626

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Re: good, affordable, mechanical watch?
Reply #26 on: April 08, 2014, 03:47:10 AM
A few thoughts:

-Seiko are generally excellent bang for buck. I have a SKX007 and love it. The 7s26 movement it uses (also used in a few other models) has a good reputation and has been know to last for decades without being serviced.

-Orient are a great choice also. A friend of mine owns a Black Mako and is very happy with it. Orient movements are produced 'in house' and are generally well regarded.

-For something a bit different (and less than half the price of the above two options) consider a Vostok Amphibia. A little bit quirky, but sturdy and built to last. VERY cheap to fix/repair if needed.


us Offline Singh

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Re: good, affordable, mechanical watch?
Reply #27 on: July 21, 2014, 02:29:18 PM
I'm giving Seiko another try. I got a great deal on a Seiko 5 SNK809 that was too good to pass up.  So far, it's running about +10 seconds per day, which is great, but time will tell. I am very skeptical, but for the price it's worth another shot. And I got the three year warranty, so what the hey, right?

My eco-drive is still my main watch, but I'll play around with this one for awhile.

 
« Last Edit: July 21, 2014, 02:49:13 PM by shamus »


ca Offline jekostas

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Re: good, affordable, mechanical watch?
Reply #28 on: July 22, 2014, 07:47:37 AM
There are no watches that are truly maintenance free.  Current solars are probably the closest, but even they will need the capacitor changed eventually.

As for mechanicals, the Seiko 5 watches using the 7s26 (and variant) movements were designed to run for decades without needing servicing.  However, dust and water incursion in to the case from a degraded seal will gum them up pretty quick, as well as hard shocks and heavy magnetic fields.

If you want mechanical, and you want a good "deal", check out the current series of Invicta automatic pro divers.  For less than $100, you get a watch using a high quality Seiko NH35 movement, which is the market-branded version of the Seiko 4r35 (day only) or Seiko 4r36 (day/date).  Oddly enough, this is actually a superior movement to the 7s26x series that Seiko puts in their own watches at the same price point.

The market is weird at times.


us Offline Singh

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Re: good, affordable, mechanical watch?
Reply #29 on: August 09, 2014, 04:15:26 PM
Good suggestion. I looked into Invictas. Not bad at all.


 

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