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Do you wear a non-smartwatch? If so, what do you have?
I recently went back from Pebbles to a green Casio F91W with a green NATO strap. I did a quick mod tonight to disable the beeping... which lead to everybody in multiple channels chatting about 'dumb' watches and even old calculator / data watches.
I love watches -- from reps to cheap Casios to fancier ones. Indulge me with a little show and tell :)
For my job I wanted to be able to check the time without pulling my phone out, so I got a Timex Weekender with a lens cover so I could bang it on things, and know the lens will be alright (I was a busser). It had a rubber nato-style band (One long strip, instead of the forky one), but now has a nylon NATO band on it.
I have a black Casio SNK809, but there's a problem with a hairpin in the mechanism that causes the watch to fail if it vibrates, like when I ride my bike over a rough patch of street, so I got the aforementioned Timex.
They are SO loud. I would have to keep them away in a drawer to not hear the movement of the quartz.
Definitely. I have to shove mine in my sock drawer at night, but even my cheap Seiko is pretty noisy and six times faster.
I don't get why NATOs aren't the standard. They're so nice. I love the Weekender.
Have you tried wearing your watch on the inside of your wrist? I was always worried about bumping watches and breaking them, so I started doing this. Its really nice and feels more natural -- which is probably due to time more than some deep evolutionary thing. Some folks also switch to their dominant wrist, but who knows if that is any better.
I did try wearing it on the inside, but it would catch on my hip, bussing tray, and pretty much everything else I had to hold. It's also just never been comfortable for me to put the watch on the inside. The phone-style lens cover was the best solution, because it covers enough of the face that the 1mm it's intended to not sit on still missed the brick walls and poles I would run into.
I love NATOs, or even just that rubber strip band I had, because the watch has no wobble on my wrist. It even felt better on my bicycle, because I don't have a lump of metal wobbling on my wrist.
I have a Casio G-Shock GMW-5610. I've thought about other styles, but have stuck with this one. G-Shocks are incredibly tough and this one syncs with radio time signals and is solar charged. I'm a fairly outdoor/active person and I also have a pathological need to know what time it is (not because I'm punctual mind you), the G-Shock works well with my activities. This thing has taken a beating: I broke my collarbone in a bike crash and the G-Shock held up just fine, only had to file the edges down a bit.
I never want to be worried that I can't tell the time, set alarms, or measure duration. With the G-Shock, I can wear it into the shower, sleep on it, read it in a remote campsite, and it will not run out of charge. G-Shocks certainly aren't for everyone and often have very particular faces, but if a reliable watch is what you want, you can't go wrong with a G-Shock.
G-Shocks are great. I've got a GBA-800, which I got because of the built-in pedometer. It syncs through Bluetooth and a phone app, so one can argue whether it is on the edge of being a smartwatch, but IMHO lack of watch apps and the fact that it lasts multiple years on one battery makes is simply a good traditional watch with modern (but optional) features.
ok -- that is really neat. How often does it sync up?
The watch attempts to sync up multiple times a night (from midnight to 0500 I think). Where I'm living now doesn't get the best reception, so in practice it syncs every few days.
pretty neat. I was wondering if you could use a raspberry pi with its radio transmitter to sync up and I found this repo. Might be a good option.
The little holder is classy.
Apparently you can also leave it around any kind of metal tube (bicycle handlebar, sink, etc.) and get a strong signal boost. I thought of building an amplifier but it kind of defeats the point of never having to worry about any aspect of your watch, which is the draw of these in my opinion.
I never considered that some watches and such were picking up time over radio. I wonder why all cars haven't been doing this.
There's an android app that helps sync the watch. I have exactly the same model as OP and used it with success on the first try: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jp.houryo.dcf77emulator
wtf. that's magical. @meff, have you tried this? It looks like there are also iOS options. I love stuff like this.
Haha not yet, looks like it's the jank method I mentioned earlier!
There's a really jank way of doing this by generating harmonics from a waveform. I was thinking of using the Web Audio API to try to do this to get the watch to sync.
I'm really disappointed that all clocks aren't using this radio stuff. I think I only have two clocks that don't update manually, but still -- the tech is there, it should be put to use.
Nowadays I wear an Apple Watch, largely as a fitness tracker.
Before I started having to track my activity because I'm trapped inside all the time, though, my daily driver was the green-dial Seiko Alpinist: https://i.redd.it/nw8rlr2lbrez.jpg
For dressier occasions I also have a FC. It's basically a Patek Calatrava knock-off, but it costs 1/20th the price so I was willing to settle. https://cdn.watchreviewblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Frederique-Constant-FC303S5B6.jpg
I considered also getting Timex's hand-winding mechanical piece when it came out just because I think it's an interesting bit of watch history. But I'm currently trying to declutter and buying useless baubles seems counterproductive.
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0074/5432/6835/products/timex-2-TW2R47900__74822.1521067222.1280.1280_1800x1800.jpg?v=1571442284
Someday I'd like to get myself a classic JLC Reverso or Vacheron Patriomony but that's probably not gonna happen unless I find a duffelbag full of money somewhere: https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftimeandtidewatches.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F10%2FJLC-Reverso-Tribute-Duoface-8.jpg&f=1&nofb=1
https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yRljPj0Bhjg/UGdQ1VlupzI/AAAAAAAAAyE/84MSHcSc6nQ/s640/Vacheron+Constantin+Patrimony+Traditionnelle+Self-Winding.jpeg
That mechanical Timex is beautiful. I'd definitely consider that if I was in the market for a non-smart-watch again!
Similar previous thread: https://tildes.net/~talk/uzr/any_fans_of_regular_non_smart_watches
I use a Casio digital watch for several reasons. I'm already addicted to my other online devices, and don't need another one to drag me to the internet. I really just wanna know the time. It looks cool, and I like traditions. It is also much cheaper than a smart watch.
I'd like to be able to wear wristwatches, but I have very thin wrists, which have made them challenging for me. I feel as though my wrists, by virtue of being thin, move and change their outside shape, particularly with tendons, as I move my hands. When I wear a wristwatch, I find that I can either make the strap loose enough that it will rotate freely and not be easily visible, or such that it will slightly impede motion of my hand. Wearing one will become uncomfortable, for example, if I am typing or playing a keyboard instrument. If I wear on one my right wrist, it makes it difficult to write for extended periods. I'm also somewhat limited because many wristwatches, especially mechanical ones, are either awkwardly large for me, or have diameters that are outright larger than my wrists.
I do have a few: I most commonly try to wear some very thin Citizen Eco-Drives, which are thin and small enough to look reasonable, but have the fit problem, and as my wrists are very rarely exposed to sunlight, the solar recharging is not as reliable as one might hope. I also have a 1940s Elgin with a small rectangular case, but the hairspring is detached, a 20th century wristwatch is too small for me to work on myself, and I don't know of anyone who would be able to repair it well, something made more difficult by the difficulty finding good information on people: I once sent an Elgin pocketwatch to a much-lauded Elgin specialist for service and repairs, for example, and months later, I received back a watch that has never run reliably since.
As a result, when I wear watches, they are primarily pocketwatches, as these don't impede my wrists.
I've flirted with the idea of getting one of the modern G-Shock Casios, but I just can't get over how cheap silicone bands look. And, since I have horrible contact dermatitis (it's so sensitive that I can't even have a leather wallet, since just the contact of it through pocket fabric causes me to break out-- same with long rides in cars with true leather interiors) brought on by both leather and any metal containing nickel, silicone and plastic are my only options. Even just a small metal clasp on a NATO strap gave me a painful wrist rash.
I'm just destined to never wear a watch, unless I drop the coin on one that's fully ceramic or made of precious metals, I guess.
My day-to-day watch is a Wenger Swiss Army (circa 1990s). It's a smaller watch, which I love- a lot of more 'modern' watch designs tend to be bigger and too clunky in my opinion. It has a date complication (that I keep on forgetting to reset) and water resistance up to 100 meters (though I've never tried that out). I bought it as a present to myself after graduating college- I figured if I was going to be a real adult with real money I ought to spend it on something that represented how I wanted to be as a 'real' adult- solid, dependable, relatively uncomplicated.
One of my best purchases to this day.
A Raketa Big Zero that I ordered off of eBay just arrived yesterday from Ukraine. I'm not a collector, but I really liked the look of it, and they go for pretty cheap, so I pulled the trigger. It's my first manual watch, winding it and hearing it tick is pretty fun.
I have a couple other fairly cheap watches: a Ted Baker (don't remember the model) and a Casio A168. All chosen for aesthetics and the fact that they don't cost a fortune. I just like the look of a watch as an accessory and have been wearing one for most of my life. Plus I find it easier to check the time on a wristwatch over looking at a phone, with the bonus of having fewer distractions in the form of push notifications.
that Raketa is a sexy piece! I can see how people become collectors.
Yeah, I feel myself teetering on the edge of the rabbit hole that is vintage watches. The rational part of my brain is saying no, but the lover-of-shiny-things part of my brain is giving an enthusiastic yes.
a few months ago I went down a rabbit hole of vintage soviet watches. There are some really nice pieces that aren't too expensive, either. I really want an analog 24h watch face for my next one, which has to be one of the silliest ideas for a watch :)
Seiko 5, which has an auto-winding mechanical movement.
I've got a Seiko auto-winder and love it. That's a classy piece.
I have two casios W800h. One has an inverted screen and the other is regular. I've used the regular one for years and I loved it. The reflective screen is so much better than any regular phone or smartwatch screens for outdoors visibility. The inverted one has worse contrast and is harder to see, specially in low light, but is cooler I guess :).
Recently I got a smartwatch because I wanted to measure my workouts and use the step counter, but the casios will always be the best I've used.
ha. I've thought about doing the inverted screen mod with my F91W. I'm going to fill it with mineral oil soon. The blank face mod would be sweet, but it seems like a pain in the ass to do.
I have a Luminox (forget the model) someone gave to me. They use tritium gas for illumination. They’re pretty neat, but mine had some issues a while ago, and is currently sitting in a box since I’ve been too lazy to send it in for repair. Which is stupid, because I can’t take my cellphone (or a smart watch, for that matter) into my facility’s protected area, and a timepiece would be very useful.
A Seiko SRPD55K1, a Bertucci DX3 Field and a Casio LRW200H-4BV that I just got today!
Yes! Aside from my Apple Watch I've got a modded Seiko as my daily. I've been meaning to pick up something new because it's been a while since I bought myself anything. I'm thinking of picking up a Sinn 104, but I also wouldn't mind a dress watch. I go through phases of finding a watch, falling in love, coming very close to buying it, then forgetting about it.
What sort of mods do you have for the Seiko? I had no idea that watch modding was such an active scene until I got into this casio.
I bought it with the mods already installed as this was before I got more into actual teardowns and movement repair. It's an NH36 movement in a Submariner style case with a sunburst blue Seiko PADI dial and plongeur hands. I've been thinking about replacing the bezel with a ceramic one but I'm not sure how it would look
that's so cool. I might venture down this path. Its neat to be able to replace everything on a watch like that.
Go for it! I’d recommend starting on a watch you don’t really care about in case you mess anything up. Get yourself a few cheap tools like a case holder, and you’ll be good!
I had no idea a case holder was a thing. Makes sense! If I end up doing it, I'll post it up. :)
I mainly use a Citizen AT0200-05E for casual wear. It’s a chronograph/stopwatch (a feature which I’ve honestly hardly ever used, but it feels nice to have). It also uses Citizen’s “eco-drive” technology which means the watch is solar powered. I’ve heard of them going for several months without access to any form of light. The other causal watch I have is a $20 Casio world time that is just nice to have if I don’t want to worry about injuring my watch.
I also have an Orient Ray II (relatively cheap automatic divers watch). I really haven’t worn it as often as I would like to. Along with that I have an Orient Esteem II open heart for dress occasions. I actually want to sell that one cause I feel like it’s a bit too flashy and large.
I use a garmin Forerunner 935 for working out (you can pick one up kinda cheap cause it’s older). And a Timex Ironman for working out if I don’t want the garmin.
This is my watch, a Soviet-made Raketa World Time. Truth be told I rarely wear it as I bought it more as a fashion accessory and tend to forget I own it. But I do think it's really cool.
yes! I love soviet pieces. They're so classy. Is that also a 24-hour face?! My dream watch! :)
I've got a Seiko Solar V158-0AB0 (black face, silver body). Originally wore it with a black leather band, but now use a military-green Eulit Baltic perlon strap. It's lightweight, solar powered, shows date and day of week, hour/minute/second hands, subtle glow-in-the-dark markings. Pairs well with most formality-level outfits, in my opinion.
is the entire face the panel? That looks so good.
As far as I can tell from close inspection, the entire face is the solar panel, yeah
that's so cool. Another great piece!