So I’ve been getting back into my interest in watches again, ever since I got my Seiko 5 last week. I absolutely love that watch! It spurred my memory of another watch that I used to own back in high school – a Timex titanium watch. I don’t think I would have ever thrown that watch away, so I can only assume that it got left behind somewhere when I moved. Anyways, I was thinking how it was such a great-looking watch, so I Googled it and found a photo of the same model and… I guess it is not as nice as my memory led me to believe! 😮
It’s not a terrible-looking watch, but I guess what I find attractive in a watch has changed a bit. I prefer a design with clean edges, and the old watch has the indents around the edges which I am not fond of. Here’s a photo of my Seiko 5, which has a thinner bezel and cleaner look:
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.6, 1/100 sec, ISO2500 “Pillow Watch” Cedar Park, 2017
Oh well, I guess I don’t need to find the old Timex on Ebay to add to my collection, right? 😝
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5, 1/30 sec, ISO3200 “Spectre Bond Strap” Cedar Park, 2017
こんばんは。Are you well today?
Continuing with my mini-obsession with my new watch, I decided to get a couple new watch straps. I mentioned in a previous post that the band that came with the watch wasn’t highly regarded and that a NATO strap replacement is recommended. Well, I did a little research into the style I wanted, and I ended up going with the “Bond Strap”, which is the same design that James Bond wore. But, he actually wore a couple different styles. In 1964’s Goldfinger, Sean Connery wore a black, green, and red striped design, while in 2015’s Spectre, Daniel Craig wore a black and grey striped design. Naturally, I got both!
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/40 sec, ISO3200 “Goldfinger Bond Strap” Cedar Park, 2017
What is nice about the NATO style straps is that they are very inexpensive. I paid about $10 each. They are both pretty good, but not perfect. The black and grey Spectre strap is a good thickness, softer, and more comfortable, but the buckles are a shiny stainless steel. I prefer the darker matte finish of the stock band. The black, green, and red Goldfinger strap is thinner, harder, and the buckles are a nice matte nickel color. Unfortunately, they are a little too big and prominent, plus I think there are one too many buckles. There’s a way to loop the strap around two of the buckles so that it is more secure, but I don’t think I need that, so I might Dremel off one of them.
I like the NATO straps, though, and I bet if I search hard enough, I will find the combination of smaller matte buckles and softness. But perhaps it’s not about finding the perfect one, but enjoying the variety that comes with owning several different types. 😊 Luckily, NATO straps are easily removed and replaces, so switching it up to suit your mood is not an inconvenience at all.
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/100 sec, ISO640 “New Seiko 5” Cedar Park, 2017
こんばんは。Howzit?
One of the things that I am guilty of collecting are watches. I love them! I must have owned about 15 of them during my lifetime, and yesterday I had a total of 6. But now, that total is 7 because I just got a new one – a Seiko 5 model SNK809. It’s my first Seiko and also my first “Mechanical” watch. I love it!
I had to Google the difference between “Mechanical” and “Quartz” watches, and during my research, I found out that mechanical watches (no battery) are preferred by the traditionalists while battery-powered quartz watches are preferred by the more practical people. The Seiko 5 is an Automatic mechanical watch, which means that you don’t need to wind it to provide power – the kinetic movement that is generated by just wearing it will wind up the spring. It’s very cool! I love not having to worry about a battery.
The downside of this type of watch is that if you don’t wear it for a couple days, it will stop running, so you’ll have to reset the time if that happens. Fortunately, just a few shakes of the watch will “wind up the spring” and it will start running again. Also they are not as accurate as a quartz watch, but losing or gaining a few seconds a day is acceptable to me.
There’s definitely an allure to these purely mechanical watches. There’s a smoothly sweeping second hand instead of the quartz “stepped” movement, a nice ticking sound (like the show 60 Minutes), and the transparent back allows you to see the moving pieces. They are certainly more charming than the cold “soul-less” quartz watches. At least according to most watch aficionados. 😄 But I think I’d agree with that. I get the sense after reading the forums that people form more of a bond with their mechanical watches vs quartz models.
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/100 sec, ISO2500 “Seiko 5 Display” Cedar Park, 2017
The Seiko 5 is considered a decent entry-level automatic watch. I bought mine for about $53, which is a real value. Build quality is excellent, but the band that comes with it is regarded poorly. I ordered a “Nato” band which will arrive in a couple days so we’ll see the difference. Honestly, the stock band seems ok, if a little rough. But since almost all the watch otaku say to replace it with a $10 Nato, I figured there must be something to that.
Like I mentioned, watches are one of the things I like to obsess over, cameras being the other. There’s a watch shop near my parents’ house that I have to visit whenever we are in SoCal. I haven’t bought a new one since 2011, so I have been overdue!
I hope you had a nice day!
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