What Is Your Favorite Watch?

[PeterB]

I used to use a small-ish TIMEX IronMan watch that had a metal band.  It was easy to read and served well but the band had a tendency to tear out of the lugs on the watch case, which was resin, after awhile.  I learned to live with it and to keep a spare on hand since they were not expensive.

A few years ago they discontinued that model so I was on a quest to find a suitable replacement before my last IronMan (of that specific model) gave up.

I must have looked at dozens of potential replacements. Casio is a very popular brand and makes a number of models that have the features I wanted:

Easily readable digital display to the second
Day and Date
stop watch
count down timer
back light
water proof sufficient for showers or swim, or occasional inadvertent dunking - not a dive watch
Attractive and unobtrusive

There must be at least a half dozen Casio models that look nearly identical to one another with various sorts of bands, face sizes, graphics, and lighting.  According to the reviews that I found most of them have inferior lighting. Also I did not want a plastic band as that is likely to break after a few months and I find them unattractive.  I finally decided to take a chance with:

Casio Model 3640 WD-1A  Men's silver watch with stainless steel band.

I have been wearing it for 20 months. It is holding up very well. The back light actually works as it should (unusual with many Casio similar models.)  I was concerned that the face (crystal) would scratch easily because it is quite exposed, but it has not, and this watch gets tough daily use.
It is attractive and not overly large so it would be equally at home on a lady's wrist as a man's.
It was not expensive so if you were really wanted to have reliable time off shore you can easily afford a spare to stow below. (The rate may be different when stowed than it is when you are wearing it on your wrist so you need to check each watch both ways)

Its rate on my wrist over the past 5 months has been 0.0186 seconds/day or approximately 54 days to loose a single second. Impressive!

If  you are seeking a timepiece for cel-nav this one is a good choice.  Be sure to copy that model number fully to get the correct version.
 
I have no affiliation with Casio or any seller of watches.

[Fred_B]

Now that's a handsome watch! Casio makes good watches. Many years ago, I think it was in the 1980's, I had a Casio that had an LCD analog display. Here it is- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oK3ixE91KjE

I love analog displays.

Timex, for my entire life, really do take a beating and then after about 1 years break. Remember Timex saying, "takes a beating and keeps in ticking?"

A friend has a Timex Expedition- the "Indiglo" failed after 6 months but the watch in very accurate not losing much time per day.

'Had wanted a Rolex and while they're expensive, you have to have them serviced every number of years. $$$$

Quartz watches are amazing- they put an end to mechanical watch dominance. But....mechanical watches are beautiful- especially considering how they are made (I refer to the expensive ones).

Fred

[PeterB]

Quartz watches are amazing- they put an end to mechanical watch dominance. But....mechanical watches are beautiful- especially considering how they are made (I refer to the expensive ones).

I agree that mechanical watches are beautiful if executed well. I have a Heuer Carrera I bought for myself in 1970 new that I wore for years and years. (Pre-dating TAG Heuer.) Self winding, water proof, date, and a stop watch.  I did a lot of navigating with that watch and grew to rely upon it in the most demanding of conditions. It had a very steady rate of 1 second per day (one minute per month.)   Some might have considered it a little in-elegant but it was the first automatic chronograph on the market.  It is no longer my daily watch as I value it too greatly (sentimental value) to risk destroying or loosing it, but when I do wear it it inevitably gets compliments from horologist fans.

I have long wanted a Zenith Primero a but there is no practical reason for me to acquire one.

About those Rolex -- I was on board a race boat as navigator at a big regatta. Serious stuff. Six very experienced and capable sailors on board and the owner came to win.  About a half hour before the start the professional helmsman asked who had a stop watch to time the start sequence?

Out of six of us my humble Iron Man was the only stop watch available -- because everyone else had a Rolex on their wrist!

We nailed the starts by the helmsman's skills and my timing. We found the marks in the thick fog on day two by a hand held GPS with no maps and my Iron Man watch. We won the division we were in.  And we won top performance in the regatta!  Guess what the prize for that was?

A Rolex watch!

Of course that went to the owner and I went back home with my Iron Man -- but I didn't mind.  You can win the Rolex at the regatta, but you can't win the regatta with the Rolex!   ;)

Peter

[craigsl]

PeterB,

That was glorious! And Rolex was the winning prize! But an Iron Man saved the day!

Well done and much satisfaction.

Craig