Watches you wear...

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Winsor_Pilates

Watches with batteries??
What is this sorcery?

Shh! I once got a spanking deal on a watch because the seller thought the battery was dead/needed replacing because it barely lasted a few seconds...

The watch was an automatic.

[FurnaceFace]

I have many quartz watches. I bought a blister pack of 100 batteries on eBay a few years ago and a watch case remover. Other than the one watch I had which I had to take to the guy in 5th Ave place and have him apply his jaws of life to get the screw back off, I’ve been able to do all of my own. The pack of batteries was dirt cheap and they seem to last reasonably long.

[t0rrent98]

I just recently bought the oneplus watch that came out a week ago. After wearing it for a week the watch is alright, does the same thing as the samsung and fitbit watches.

[homestand]

Originally Posted by Flabbibulin

Ya, I guess the official route of sending into Omega is an option, but it takes forever and costs a lot. Have gone this route in the past, but thankfully was always warranty repairs, so I could live with the wait.

Ive always heard good things about Swiss Watch Clinic, but looks like he is closed.

If anyone is interested, I can ask André if he is retired. The last time I talked to him he was uncertain about the potential rent increase with a new lease.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by Flabbibulin

Ya, I guess the official route of sending into Omega is an option, but it takes forever and costs a lot. Have gone this route in the past, but thankfully was always warranty repairs, so I could live with the wait.

Ive always heard good things about Swiss Watch Clinic, but looks like he is closed.

Not sure if you ever come to Vancouver or if sending it to Vancouver would be better than to Omega, but an option to potentially look into:
http://www.ottofriedlwatchservice.com/

I don't have any personal experience with them but have heard very good things.

[bossy22]

Christopher Ward has a voucher right now. $170 off any watch. I ended up ordering the C63 Sealander GMT. It looks similar to a Rolex Explorer 2.



170LOUPE21

[Hack&Lube]

Can anybody recommend someone who can service a 1940s Tudor Oyster that belonged to my grandfather? It runs but is about -60 seconds a day.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

Can anybody recommend someone who can service a 1940s Tudor Oyster that belonged to my grandfather? It runs but is about -60 seconds a day.

I don't have a helpful answer but can you post a pic of the watch? Would love to see it.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by Winsor_Pilates

I don't have a helpful answer but can you post a pic of the watch? Would love to see it.

It has blued hands that have survived any patina action which you can see on the dial. It has the Tudor Rose logo which was in used in the mid 40s and stopped in the early 50s. I haven't been able to precisely date it. The watch band is a 70s vintage Eterna I might replace.

[Fuzz]

The Alberta Time Services guy did great work on my Grandpa's old pocket watch. He'll open it up and give you a free estimate.

[VladtheImpaler]

Did a search, didn't see anything. Any views from the experts on the Shinola brand?

[Winsor_Pilates]

Not sure on quality, but Shinola isn't my cup of tee.
They make everything, so don't strike me as watch experts. I prefer a watch company to be primarily a watch company.

If you like a good American made story, might be a decent consideration though.

[TorqueDog]

I don't know which model you're looking at or what your buying motivations are, but if you like the Shinola designs, then you'll probably be happy with one.

Do you care about whether it's an automatic mechanical or a quartz movement? Unless you're buying one from the Automatic series, all of their watches are Swiss Ronda quartz movements. The Automatics are Sellita movements (also Swiss). Both should prove very reliable.


My personal opinion is that they're a bit overpriced for what they are. Quartz is really inexpensive to produce, so what you should be paying for is finishing and attention to detail. For the prices of many of their quartz movement watches ($395 - $1,675 CAD per their site), you could find both automatic and quartz versions of watches from Tissot, Longines, and Bulova, all of whom I would place above Shinola in the finishing department based on my experiences with them.

[NuclearFart]

Originally Posted by Winsor_Pilates

Watches and Wonders was a couple of weeks ago. It's one of the larger international watch fairs and many brands unveil new releases during it.

One of the more notable and controversial releases this year is the Audemars Piguet Black Panther Royal Oak Offshore.
The first in a new collaboration with Marvel they are doing and limited to 250 pieces.



LBJ has already got his and was wearing it courtside a few nights ago.
Most watch enthusiasts absolutely hate it and can't believe a classic brand like AP is doing this.

I think it's a monstrosity but interesting conversation at least.
Retail price is around $162,000 USD.

Still hoping to see a picture of the clock at 6:30

How gauche and gimmicky. Looks like something Hublot made for a man child named Kanye West.

[Hack&Lube]

Shinola doesn't have any watch heritage, it's a made up brand by an ex-Fossil (another gussied up fake brand behemoth) executive and while they say assembled in USA from Swiss parts, most of the parts of the movements are made in China, then assembled in Switzerland, then final assembly in Detroit.

The Real History of America's Most Authentic Fake Brand: A mogul from Texas is using the country's least aspirational city as the backdrop for his next global lifestyle company. Shinola, the $225 million experiment in manufactured authenticity.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by VladtheImpaler

Did a search, didn't see anything. Any views from the experts on the Shinola brand?

So the company was founded around 2011 and basically touts some sort of USA premium sort of objective.

Based on my quick search, Shinola started making quartz watches in 2013 and the watches are assembled with sourced parts from different places. This is done in the Detroit area by many former automotive business employees. I am not sure if there's crossover in skills that automotive business employees would obtain that could help them build great watches.

They only started assembling automatic watches in 2017. The watches look pretty nice, but at $1,250-1,600 USD, I don't know if it would be my first choice for a premium watch at that price. For a sorta collectable ish fashion piece or a specific type of conversation starter, I think it's doable.

https://www.shinola.com/mens/watches...a-monster.html

I also noted that the brand was started by the guy who founded Fossil. Fossil has some low key decent watches. Their automatics aren't bad, but usually depending on price, I like other stuff instead. I'd rate Fossil's automatics a slight tier below something like Orient, perhaps on par if not slightly better than Invicta. I'd assume these watches are assembled to that level of quality that Fossil had, so it should be pretty decent. IMO, it's slightly more fashion watch than something in someone's watch collection, but I don't think a Shinola watch would be out of place in someone's watch collection either.

My money, I personally wouldn't spend it for a Shinola watch. Not that the watch is bad, but at that price point, I have a ton of other stuff I'm interested in before it. I personally think I'd pony up and go a tier higher instead, but I wouldn't say no to it as a freebie or a steep discount (it feels 2-3x too expensive IMO, I'd rather chase an Orient Neptune for like 1/3 to 1/2 that price). If in my possession, I'd probably wear it on regular rotation.

[VladtheImpaler]

Thanks guys. I just happened to see them on the Bay's list and some of the designs looked attractive at first online glance. Will not look again.

[TorqueDog]

I would look at US grey market if I was limiting myself to that range, there's some pretty good options if you poke around and keep an eye on it.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by VladtheImpaler

Thanks guys. I just happened to see them on the Bay's list and some of the designs looked attractive at first online glance. Will not look again.

If there's a particular look you like and want some alternative suggestions, just ask.
I find most of their watches look very "inspired" by other watch models; so there may be a better option out there for the same style.

[cam_wmh]

Originally Posted by Winsor_Pilates

I don't have a helpful answer but can you post a pic of the watch? Would love to see it.

In his retirement, my grandfather would take on selective jobs. He was the Horologist for J.Vair Anderson for 30+ years. I'm sure he would've taken on such an old piece.

Originally Posted by Fuzz

The Alberta Time Services guy did great work on my Grandpa's old pocket watch. He'll open it up and give you a free estimate.

Since my grandfather has passed, we've taken ours to Alberta Time too.