Hey do you ever use that spinning bezel thing, or is it more of a decoration?
I'm looking at getting a Seiko 5. The Internet is telling me it's a great bang-for-buck watch and I've never really had a watch beyond an old Ironman or my Samsung smart watch. It sounds like the 5 is a good beginner nice watch.
The spinning bezel is for yachting; I assume this Seiko is a boating watch.
I have it on my Breitling Superocean Heritage and absolutely never rotate it. In fact I hate it when it accidentally gets rotated and I have to fully rotate it around to get straight again.
When I buy a yacht, answer may change.
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The Seiko Turtle is a diving watch. Unidirectional bezels on diver's watches are meant to be used for measuring how much oxygen (expressed as time remaining) you have left in your oxygen tank. That's why they're unidirectional -- you can only ever accidentally shorten the time, not extend it.
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Originally Posted by Azure
Typical dumb take.
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My dad gave me this watch (which used to be my grandpa’s) about 15-20 years ago. It worked fine (just had to restart it occasionally) but I stopped wearing it probably 10+ years ago. I’ve obviously kept it and while I don’t really have plans to wear it again, I’m not sure if I should get it serviced just to keep it working (it doesn’t seem to want to start again even though I’ve tried winding it and “shaking” it).
Should I bother at this point? And how much should I expect to pay? Recommendations on repair/service shops are also appreciated...
That is a sweet watch. There's just something about something timeless with a subtle patina to it that is just... awesome.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sliver
Hey do you ever use that spinning bezel thing, or is it more of a decoration?
I'm looking at getting a Seiko 5. The Internet is telling me it's a great bang-for-buck watch and I've never really had a watch beyond an old Ironman or my Samsung smart watch. It sounds like the 5 is a good beginner nice watch.
I on occasion use the bezel to give me an idea how much time has passed since I wanted to start tracking time, but most people will just remember a time and calculate how much time has passed.
The Seiko 5 is a fantastic watch and value wise, punches way above its weight class. In the watch world, I'd metaphorically compare it to something akin to a fully loaded Honda Accord. A fully loaded Accord is still an excellent car, but not really a car guy car. However, it's still an excellent product and should be a reliable and premium daily driver with tons of bells and whistles you'd appreciate.
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Hey do you ever use that spinning bezel thing, or is it more of a decoration?
I'm looking at getting a Seiko 5. The Internet is telling me it's a great bang-for-buck watch and I've never really had a watch beyond an old Ironman or my Samsung smart watch. It sounds like the 5 is a good beginner nice watch.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Winsor_Pilates
The spinning bezel is for yachting; I assume this Seiko is a boating watch.
I have it on my Breitling Superocean Heritage and absolutely never rotate it. In fact I hate it when it accidentally gets rotated and I have to fully rotate it around to get straight again.
When I buy a yacht, answer may change.
The Seiko MM300 is a dive watch, and I have a suspicion so is your super ocean. If you want to get super technical, the way to tell for sure is if the pip at the 12:00 position on the bezel is illuminated, and the bezel is uni-directional it is a dive watch. Dive watches rarely have and numerals on the dial either, just simple markings.
If the bezel has no illumination and is bi-directional, it is usually a boating watch.
Proper dive watches are ISO rated to 200m or more. 99.9% of these watches will never see depths like that, and for 99.9% of people, a G-Shock will suit their water sports needs. But it's more about engineering. It's a $5000 adjustable, carbon downforce rear spoiler on 1998 Honda civic, but on your wrist. Technically, it's functional. Realistically, it's major overkill and serves no real purpose but to look cool.
Proper dive watches will not have a display (glass) back.
These aren't hard and fast rules, but usually stuff outside of this category is microbrand stuff, or not mainstream.
And my Bezel's most common uses are to time laundry loads, and hard boiled eggs. At least I know I can do those things at 300M while welding the hull of a submarine.
Last edited by pylon; 01-05-2021 at 03:47 PM.
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I know this is nothing compared to the watches we see here, but I got a pair of this for Christmas for my wife and I:
What are you talking about?
G-shocks are amazing!
I have a bunch of them, and my Rangeman is an incredible watch. It’s multi-band 6, so I use it at my reference watch when I set whatever watch I’m wearing that day.
I know a guy that has a 6 figure watch collection. And he rocks G-shocks all the time.
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You can use the bezel on a dive watch as a kitchen or BBQ timer. Align the minute hand with the number of minutes you want on the bezel (counting backward from 60, so five minutes = 55 on the bezel). When the minute hand reaches the triangle on the bezel, your timer is up.
I wouldn’t recommend doing this for things with really short cooking times like steak, a chronograph is better for that.
__________________
-James
GO FLAMES GO.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Azure
Typical dumb take.
Last edited by TorqueDog; 01-06-2021 at 09:51 AM.
Reason: Clarifying instructions for count-down bezel use
I'm rethinking my watch purchase. Basically, these spinning bezels are just huge decorations on top of what is really already a decoration. I don't know if my eyes are quite seeing the aesthetic you all are appreciating with them. Up until yesterday, I had assumed a spinning bezel did something more useful...not sure what, but it takes up a ton of real estate on a watch for kind of a useless function IMO.
I'm rethinking my watch purchase. Basically, these spinning bezels are just huge decorations on top of what is really already a decoration. I don't know if my eyes are quite seeing the aesthetic you all are appreciating with them. Up until yesterday, I had assumed a spinning bezel did something more useful...not sure what, but it takes up a ton of real estate on a watch for kind of a useless function IMO.
There are several different types of bezels. Divers are pretty common. So is the tachymeter which is I think traditionally aviation focused to calculate speed. Breitlings come to mind with this type but there are many others. The third would be GMT, used for marking a second time zone, traditionally Greenwich Mean.
Basically, these spinning bezels are just huge decorations on top of what is really already a decoration. I don't know if my eyes are quite seeing the aesthetic you all are appreciating with them. Up until yesterday, I had assumed a spinning bezel did something more useful...not sure what, but it takes up a ton of real estate on a watch for kind of a useless function IMO.
... timing things. That's literally its point.
This video shows a 'count-up' method of using a dive-watch bezel, and the bezel they use lacks the individual minute indicators which the Seiko has, making the Seiko's bezel more useful. But you can use the count-up or count-down method. Count-down is as I explained; count backward the number of minutes from 60, and align that with the minute hand. When the minute hand reaches the arrow, your time is up.
Scroopy Noopers is correct. I guess I didn't realize it, but on the days I am wearing a watch with a bezel, it's kinda like an occasional fidget spinner. Not quite the same sound, but to me, somewhat as satisfying as the sound of a ratchet.
Keep in mind when you buy a watch to double check the bezel info. Not all bezels can move. Seiko 5 watches have versions with functional and non-functional bezels.
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Scroopy Noopers is correct. I guess I didn't realize it, but on the days I am wearing a watch with a bezel, it's kinda like an occasional fidget spinner. Not quite the same sound, but to me, somewhat as satisfying as the sound of a ratchet.
Keep in mind when you buy a watch to double check the bezel info. Not all bezels can move. Seiko 5 watches have versions with functional and non-functional bezels.
This is the one I like and it rotates, but thanks for making me double check.
Not sure if I love the NATO strap, but probably an upgrade from the silicone strap I'm currently wearing on my Samsung watch, so I'll give it a shot.
This video shows a 'count-up' method of using a dive-watch bezel, and the bezel they use lacks the individual minute indicators which the Seiko has, making the Seiko's bezel more useful. But you can use the count-up or count-down method. Count-down is as I explained; count backward the number of minutes from 60, and align that with the minute hand. When the minute hand reaches the arrow, your time is up.
Yeah, I do get how it works now, but let's be honest, with all the ways to count down or count up with my phone, my current smart watch, or even any quartz watch from the last 40 years, spinning a bezel around has to be up there with one of the worst.
. It’s a beauty though!
