Watchlopnik: Oppo, Help Me Find A New Watch

"Tim (Fractal Footwork)" (fractalfootwork) 05/02/2015 at 23:10 • Filed to: Watchlopnik, Fossil, Timex, Ironman

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Above is my current special-occasion watch by Fossil, and I really like it. I have a small wrist (a bit exaggerated by the picture, but nonetheless small.) so I don’t really do big-headed watches.

This Ironman triathlon is my daily driver for work and such; the best running watch money can buy. Though, I’ve probably gone through about 5 of these in the last 10 years because the plastic keeps deteriorating from all the miles I put them through.

But Anyways, I’m Looking for a New Special Watch. Can You Help?

I don’t really know the market that well, so I’m turing to you guys.

I’m looking for a special watch that has a smaller head, is motoring-inspired (or just really nice), with a leather strap. I hate the metal chain link stuff.

Carbon fiber would be cool, but whatever.

I’ve seen the Autodromo Stradale watches, but the head looks too big. I guess I’m willing to spend up to a grand, but I’d like to keep it down... depends on how cool the watch is, ultimately.

I have some brand attachment from Tag Heuer... I guess...

I’m pretty much lost about it all, can you tell?

...Apple Watch?

MLGCarGuy > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 05/02/2015 at 23:13

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If you want a smart watch consider the Pebble Time or Time Steel.

It works with both Android and iOS.

scoob > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 05/02/2015 at 23:15

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If you’re willing to go foreign and stray away from normal watches:

shop-teacher > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 05/02/2015 at 23:16

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I don’t like large headed watches either. I wear Skagens , they’re nice and thin and light.

BATC42 > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 05/02/2015 at 23:19

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I’m in love with my Tissot I got for Christmas. I hadn’t wore a watch in more than 2 years, and I’ve been wearing it non stop since I got it. It costs around the same price as a standard Apple Watch.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 05/02/2015 at 23:22

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Peugeot makes watches, not the same family, but it is the same name.

I have the black and white sport, and I changed the band to a button strap from FormFunctionForm.

I also have a Tokyobay Mason that I have gotten several compliments about. They have a good selection of different styles and the cases aren't huge.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 05/02/2015 at 23:27

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Timex Expedition digital combo: rugged looks, easy to read, timer & stopwatch. Also, Indiglo. The case is pretty small and the strap is only 20mm, so it won’t dwarf your hand. Mine’s got a cream face and gunmetal bezel.

jariten1781 > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 05/02/2015 at 23:28

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I also have a tiny wrist (enough that I actually bought tools so I could resize bands since stores would always leave them too loose...haha) and have hundreds of watches. My goto everyday watch is this older eco-drive (not sure if they make it anymore but I’m sure they’ve got something similar). Had it for about a decade and it fits well with everything from a suit to when I’m in a poopy suit in the shipyard. Its face is just the right size for my tiny wrists.

JR1 > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 05/02/2015 at 23:32

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I really like that this Buolva is a Quartz but it has a smooth second hand like a mechanical

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > scoob 05/02/2015 at 23:33

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I love the Moto360, but its anything but small...

Really, all the smartwatches save for the Pebble and small Apple watch are rather enormous.

Blake Noble > jariten1781 05/02/2015 at 23:39

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Is... is that a Lego kit of the Titanic seconds before it hit the iceberg?

Sneaky Pete > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 05/02/2015 at 23:39

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I also am cursed with small wrists, and love Tag Heuer watches. The answer to your question? Jorg Gray. I don’t recall what model this is exactly, but I have this one and one in all blue. Similar in style to the Tag Heuer Monaco Steve McQueen made famous in the movie Le Mans. I bought both for less than a hundred bucks a piece.

Supercharged-V8-Jag > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 05/02/2015 at 23:44

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Tags are nice but they don’t keep their time well. Personally I’d get this:

http://www.amazon.com/Alpina-Adventu…

It’s a sailing/ diving watch but it’s swiss made and has a swiss movement; an absolutely amazing deal.

CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist) > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 05/02/2015 at 23:47

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Here is my G-Shock G-5600RB, I bought it off eBay for 55 dollars a few days ago. It’s roughly 10 years old and was only sold in Japan/Asia. It’s a wee bit heavy. It’s reliable like a corolla, and useable everyday. It’s basically the same thing as the new one, but sans price and deprecation curve. It’s a not flashy special edition 5600 G shock, my mom still hasn’t noticed it.

I also have a Pebble Steel, which is heavy as balls, and has half decent steel and leather straps. Don’t get it, no matter how cheap. Get the pebble time. Very discreet though..and don’t get the apple watch. It’s still in the first generation and isn’t user fixable. But pebble has the worlds greatest customer service/RMA process.

Lastly, I have a BMW M/ watch. It’s made by Piqout-Meridien in Switzerland. Some guy in Europe is selling one for 300 dollars, I bought mine from a motorcycle shop new (and unused) for 75 dollars. It’s very thin and does not fit me well. From the BMW logo on the band, I suspect it came from the early 1990s.

And I'm on one removable link on my pebble band. Small wristed dude.

CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist) > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 05/02/2015 at 23:48

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The moto 360 I recall has serious back cracking issues and the bands are expensive as hell.

AddictedToM3s - Drives a GC > BATC42 05/02/2015 at 23:54

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That’s a beautiful watch you got there.

Frank Grimes > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 05/03/2015 at 00:08

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jariten1781 > Blake Noble 05/03/2015 at 00:13

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Nanoblocks, but yeah, good eye.

I build lots of them...haha

Blake Noble > jariten1781 05/03/2015 at 00:32

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Awesome, haha. That actually looks like a pretty nice kit when its finished. I’m guessing you have to swipe it from Amazon?

I tried building a model of the Titanic out of Legos when I was a kid. I realized somewhere along the way I didn’t have enough bricks of the right color, so I said screw it and wound up building its sister ship, the Olympic, in war paint.

jariten1781 > Blake Noble 05/03/2015 at 01:04

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The big kits come from Japan. There’s third party stores selling them on Amazon, but eBay is usually a better bet because people in the Philippines have a lower MSRP and it usually comes out a bit cheaper even with cross ocean shipping. Ohio Art has the license in the US and you can pick up the smaller kits (palm sized) at some Toys-R-Us and Hobby Lobbies.

wafflesnfalafel > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 05/03/2015 at 01:27

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I’m always breaking or loosing the darn things.. I have one nice Esso for dress up, but just get cheapo $30 Timex off Amazon or on sale for daily use.

KatzManDu > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 05/03/2015 at 02:45

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I’m a fan of getting cheap replica watches from China. They look like the real thing and since they’re cheap you can just keep getting newer ones. Of course, even with my tiny wrists I go for stuff that is big and gaudy because I can. But that doesn’t mean you have to follow my idiotic lead. You can also do vintage from e-bay, like an older Timex with a simple face or an Eglin ex-military watch that has a 24-hour dial.

https://www.ioffer.com/i/james-bond-0…

https://www.ioffer.com/i/bell-ross-av…

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-EL…

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-MI…

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-TI…

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-TI…

Dunnik > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 05/03/2015 at 04:21

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Go vintage? I have a similar watch to this one, a Longines from circa 1933 that was once my grandfathers.

It still works, as the old mechancial movements are bulletproof and its had periodic service in its life.

You can find similar vintages watches in the $1000-2000 range. Some may even appreciate in value.

Is it as accurate as the $20 Casio F-91W digital quartz watch I use for work? No, but that’s not really the point.

Tim (Fractal Footwork) > Supercharged-V8-Jag 05/03/2015 at 10:47

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I'm really liking these Aplinas

DipodomysDeserti > Supercharged-V8-Jag 05/03/2015 at 11:25

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No mechanic watch is going to keep time extreme accurately. If the Tag is quartz driven, then it should keep keep time as well as any other Quartz watch. If not it needs a cleaning. I fixed/built/maintained watches for four years in college. The best was when Rolex owners would come in wanting their mechanicals to keep exact time. Rolex owners are mostly like that rich guy who buys a Ferrari but knows nothing about cars.

boxrocket > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 05/03/2015 at 12:58

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Microsoft Band. The apple watch is f-ing huge and heavy, buggy, and grossly overpriced (duh, "apple tax"). The Band isn't the lightest or smallest thing, but it has the most sensors of any watch or fitness tracker in the market, is mostly unnoticeable when worn, and is the only fitness tracker I know of that works with all three major mobile operating systems (Windows Phone, Android, and ios). Stupidly easy to use, all-day battery life, charges quickly, and only $200 new, and most major electronics stores ands Microsoft Stores carry them.

Supercharged-V8-Jag > DipodomysDeserti 05/03/2015 at 14:48

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True, but if it’s an automatic Tag?... I’ve just heard some negative things about them..

Supercharged-V8-Jag > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 05/03/2015 at 14:49

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They’re really good looking watches.

DipodomysDeserti > Supercharged-V8-Jag 05/03/2015 at 15:22

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Automatic = mechanical. I’ve never owned an auto Tag, but from my experience most auto watches (including some $10k Rolex’s I've handled) don't keep perfect time. I wear a Tissot PR516 Which has a basic ETA auto movement in it. It's about a $600 watch so the cheapest you'd spend on a decent auto. It gains about two minutes every month. I think the cheapest tags would have the same movement.

redstationwagon > BATC42 05/03/2015 at 16:47

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TISSOT is a nice choice, especially if you want something cheap/automatic.

I got this one last year:

thefinalmonster > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 05/03/2015 at 20:48

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Hamilton Pan-Europ?

BATC42 > redstationwagon 05/03/2015 at 21:56

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Nice! Mine isn’t automatic though, just standard quartz movement. But it was one the cheapest nice watches money can buy (300€). And you know where it comes from.

bangishotyou > CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist) 05/05/2015 at 17:53

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The moto 360 I recall has serious back cracking issues and the bands are expensive as hell.

This is something I keep seeing “reported by others” but I’ve found no proof whatsoever of outside a very vocal minority saying it.

I own a Moto 360, as do a few other people I know, and I have no back cracking issues whatsoever and neither do the people I know. Now, I know that’s anecdotal, but bear with me, thus far I’ve only seen one person on Giz and any of the Gawker related sites present proof of a cracked back, more specifically of where the band meets the watch. To me that means it’s not as widespread as it’s made out to be. If on Giz, a tech oriented site only one person was able to present proof of something that “is a widespread issue” it reeks of “very vocal minority” to me.

That said, of all the watches out there, the Moto 360 is the one with the most options for large or small wrist. I’ve got relatively small wrists myself, not tiny ones though, and it’s not that big on my wrist at all. If you looked down at the watch on my wrist you’d see about half an inch of wrist on either side of the watch. Now thickness is something else entirely, but even then it’s not as bad as some more traditional watches I’ve seen worn. It’s as thick as a Pilot pen. The Precise V7 rolling ball pen to be exact. As for bands, they come in various styles and sizes . Although metal ones will set you back $50 a pop. Which isn’t quite expensive as hell, but it’s not cheap. That’s ignoring of course that you can buy pretty much any compatible watch band available and put it on yourself and do so at cost . There’s also plenty of official bands by other companies out there. TYLT silicone bands are $30 a pop and available in a variety of colors. Then there’s the Dodo premium leather bands, also available in a variety of colors, but do come with that premium leather price of $60 a pop.

I’d also like to add, before someone inevitably says it because there’s always at least one such person who has nothing else to fall back on, this isn’t me defending a product I own. This is me pointing out issues with something that was stated. If the back cracks were truly as common an occurrence as they’re made out to be someone could provide evidence and figures to support just how common it is. I’ve seen far more people say “mine is fine” than I’ve seen “mine isn’t”. As far bands, prices vary and there are so many options.

The best part and why I’d recommend it is the watch faces and styles. There’s just so many out there and the opportunity to make your own is easy peasy that you could switch faces a day every day of the year and likely even over two years without reusing one.