Yes and no. I also have two $20 watches with metal bands. They won’t last as long, mainly because I won’t pay to replace the battery when it dies, but they are good too.
So I’ve been enlightened on good brands. Here’s a question, then, I should’ve asked from the start: does it make a huge difference where I shop?
Depends on which brand. There is some advantage to buying from an authorized dealer for warranty purposes. I worry about this more for high end brands. Some brands like Rolex aren’t discounted much if at all. Many watches are marked up double. So a watch that costs $500 costs the dealer $250. This is a good rule of thumb for knowing how good of a deal you are getting.
I’ve bought several watches off Amazon - been happy more or less. If I could find one at a local dealer for close to the same price - I might do that instead. Jewelry stores usually have good service - will adjust the links for you for free - stuff like that.
I’ve worn the same seiko for 30 years. Couldn’t have been too terribly expensive, my wife got it for me when we were poor as churchmice. I buy (and have installed) a new band at Walmart every couple years. Oh, and she bought me an unlimited battery replacement certificate from a jewelry store that sidn’t expect me back regularly over 3 decades.
I just got back from a bit of looking in stores, and damn, I think I’m still in a bit of sticker shock. I looked mainly at Seikos and Citizens, since they were mentioned in this thread, and I don’t think I saw one that wasn’t triple digits, even the non-metal ones. Is this just the reality of the watch market these days?
“Triple digits?” Are you now complaining that you might need to spend a hundred bucks or so for a quality watch after complaining about the poor quality of the cheap ones?
Those are typically expensive watches, yes. Other brands like Casio, Armitron and Timex can still be had in the $40 to $140 range, with differing quality. Seiko and Citizen are like the next tier up.
Quality doesn’t have to mean $$$.
Sorry. I ddin’t realize that a watch costing a hundred bucks or so is $$$. I thought a hundred bucks, for something that one might use for years or decades, is a reasonable amount.
My father paid $20 for a Timex watch that lasted fifteen years. I stand by my statement.
And yes, a hundred bucks is $$$ for some people, especially for a watch.
This seiko is currently my “beater” watch.
It is $119 right now on amazon.
The brown version can be had (I have the black) for less than $100.
I’m pretty happy with it - even though I’ve only had it for about six months.
If you have a cheap watch whose design you like - if you post a pic/model number - I’d be happy to see if I can find something of a similar style - with a good brand - reasonably. Or one that is very expensive - I can do the reverse.
Yeah, I was seeing what I could get for, like, $60. My options were a LOT more limited than I thought.
So are those two brands I mentioned pretty much out of my reach for anything less than $150 or so? If so, what other, somewhat cheaper brands can I look at in terms of quality?
I have a Seiko Solar, and it’s aces. Accurate, metal band, sapphire crystal. I’m not really a watch junkie and I didn’t know if I’d wear it, but I feel naked without it now and seldom leave the house without it on.
It was about $300 Australian, but things are expensive here, so probably $100-150USD, and I don’t expect to by another watch for many years. So there’s that.
Okay, I’ve done some shopping, and have some further questions:
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What advantage is there to buying a watch that costs more than $100? It’s certainly more reliable than the cheapo ones I’ve been getting, but how much more than, say, a $70 one?
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I was told that Pulsar, which is much cheaper than Seiko, is a sister brand of Seiko. True? Any experience with them?
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I can see the advantages to getting a solar powered one, but is it worth the money? I can certainly see not having to look at a stopped watch without knowing what time it actually is to be extremely convenient.
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Is there any worthwhile Seiko or Citizen that’s less than $200? Is there a type or line of either I should avoid? I really can’t see myself spending more than that, and the cheaper the better. Where would I find such an animal in a brick and mortar store?
Thanks for the patience, folks.
I don’t know what you’re after specifically but I have a Sturhling watch that I love that is self-winding and I think quite nice looking. They seem to make a quality product but I guess you would need to check the reviews.
Here is what Amazon has that is under $100.
I’d hoped I explained in previous posts pretty well what I was looking for. Perhaps I was wrong. What needs clarifying?
I guess part of the problem is that the brands well known for quality are also well known for being really expensive, and I have no idea how much of a quality hit I should take to go cheaper, and what brands to do it with. I definitely don’t want to spend $60 if I’m going to spend it on junk because of ignorance; going to Amazon and just picking something will probably result in me doing so.
I think I’m about to throw up my hands here. I’m just going to go out tomorrow and just freaking buy something. Roll the freaking dice.
(Although now that I look at one of the links above — outside the brand it was set to — Amazon might be a source of discounted watches in the major brands already mentioned in this thread. Hmmmm.)
I got the impression you want a cheap, reliable watch. But that covers a lot of ground. You can get that with all different types of styles as I was trying to point out with those links. I think all of the Stuhrling watches are guaranteed to 10m water resistant, but you’d need to check and most are automatics - which I take to mean self winding.
The only real problem with ordering online is getting a sense of the size so make sure you take note of the case width and thickness. 50mm may not sound like a lot until you get it on your wrist at which point it looks huge. Same with thickness. 15mm is on the thick side. Stuhrling watches do tend to be a bit bulky in terms of being thicker than most but you can find many with case widths in the 40-45 mm and smaller range.
edit - btw, I keep mine in a winder and wear an old timex ironman but I change my own batteries which I buy online. Most people don’t want to do that especially when it comes to putting the rubber gasket back in place and shorting out the electrodes to properly clear the circuitry after the replacement.
So I got me a watch, in case anyone was wondering. It’s a Citizen solar powered one (not sure of the model), one of the lower-priced models that was 50% off, so I paid less than $100 for it. My first metal band watch — I’m already getting used to the weight.
I think/hope that I have something now that’ll last me for a long haul without the problems I’ve had with the cheapo ones. It’s a good feeling.
I have had a Skagen watch for a few years and it is probably the most comfortable watch I have ever owned in 50 years. The metal band is nice looking, does not pinch my arm hair and never wears out. I only regret that I have one with a black or dark grey face which makes it hard to read the time. It is a brand commonly sold in airline magazines, duty free shops and always at a good price on Ebay (around $100.)