What watch do you wear?

MookJong · 21 Sep 2020 at 08:52

I have pretty small wrists and don't like large watches so buying a modern watch that looks like it fits me, usually means buying quartz, ugh

So I was forced down the vintage watches route for an automatic. I bought a vintage Tudor Oyster 18 months ago but it took a knock recently at work and looking at the prices online it is worth over £1,200 now so I'm scared to wear it for work any longer. So I treated myself to a "cheap" vintage (1974) Seiko Lord Matic over the weekend. Its coming from Japan. Anyone got any experiences with import charges and the like, anything I should know?

Wizardskills · 21 Sep 2020 at 09:22

MookJong said:
I have pretty small wrists and don't like large watches so buying a modern watch that looks like it fits me, usually means buying quartz, ugh

So I was forced down the vintage watches route for an automatic. I bought a vintage Tudor Oyster 18 months ago but it took a knock recently at work and looking at the prices online it is worth over £1,200 now so I'm scared to wear it for work any longer. So I treated myself to a "cheap" vintage (1974) Seiko Lord Matic over the weekend. Its coming from Japan. Anyone got any experiences with import charges and the like, anything I should know?

Nice watch. I've imported stuff from Japan before. The amount you'll pay will depend on how you've been changed in Japan. Japan has a 10% purchase tax on everything that is sold. You may have already paid that although it isn't always clear when buying things. For example, items purchased on Yahoo Japan! need to have this tax added onto them. There will also be a 20% import tax applied by UK customs. This 20% will be on the Japan price + Japanese Purchase Tax (10%) + postage cost. Most couriers will also charge a small fee to handling the customs process as well, typically around £12. So as an example, lets say I buy something in Japan for £100 (13500 yen) where no taxes have been accounted for and postage is £20.

£100 + 10% = £110 (Japanese purchase tax)
£110 + £20 = £130 (Postage)
£130 + 20% = £156 (UK import tax)
£156 + £12 = £168 (Courier handling charge)

As you can see it can add up quickly, especially for more affordable items. However, for more expensive smaller items where postage costs are not too large you can typically take the yen price and divide it by 100 to give you the rough cost.

BananaDunka · 21 Sep 2020 at 10:08

I like that, nice to see a dress watch without a date window too as the versions of this with date window (or windows as some have 2 individual windows!) just ruins the aesthetic on this dial. I have noticed a lot of brands are now doing smaller pieces around 38mm and offering variations of date and no date. Seems there's a gradual shift in size and type where last few years it's all been 42mm or bigger and now things are going back to traditional sizes again which is good to see.

I've just had notification that my new watch will be assembled this week and should ship by end of the month. It uses C1 lume by default but cheekily I have asked since it's being assembled, could they whack in a dial with BGW9 or X1 as blue lume is my favourite. Figured it's no extra hassle for them since it's being assembled and I get something a little more custom direct.

Edit*
They have no blue lumed dials so green it is!

Nick1881 · 21 Sep 2020 at 13:33

I've noticed my Tudor BB58 seems to run slow, I've never really measured it though, today I set it exactly with the atomic clock at 11:30, it seems to be about 2 seconds behind already, should it really lose 1 second every hour?

BananaDunka · 21 Sep 2020 at 14:21

That's a chronometer certified movement but even movements that are not should not be losing a second per hour. Sounds like it's lost its regulation or maybe a symptom of another issue? My friend's BB58 had another issue before whereby hand winding it the movement sounded like a bag of rocks being ground so it was sent to an AD to have that looked at as well. Don't think his lost time though but there do appear to be a handful of users who have been having some issues. This movement was specifically created for the BB58 so any issues may only start to show up as time goes on for them I guess.

Wizardskills · 21 Sep 2020 at 14:33

Nick1881 said:
I've noticed my Tudor BB58 seems to run slow, I've never really measured it though, today I set it exactly with the atomic clock at 11:30, it seems to be about 2 seconds behind already, should it really lose 1 second every hour?

You should measure it over a 24 hour period. Watch movements perform differently depending on what orientation they are being held in. So if you are working at a desk the watch will be in a different position compared with if you are walking. Over a day these differences should average out.

If it is constantly loosing time over a period of days then something is up and should be investigated.

BananaDunka · 21 Sep 2020 at 15:24

Hmm but surely the thing is part of that movement's factory adjustments cover all of these positions. The timegrapher will measure the beat rate and calculate +/- s/day in each position, so even if he was at a desk for a couple hours, there should be little to no change in accuracy from a sync just a couple hours earlier. And part of chronometer certification is also allowing for accuracy in varying climates too. The fact that he's noticed it being slow over time and now since a sync has seen it's out by a second per hour would indicate something is up!

COSC spec is -4 to +6s a day and this variation should be consistently regular in order to gain certification in all positions tested.

Wizardskills · 21 Sep 2020 at 15:35

mrk said:
Hmm but surely the thing is part of that movement's factory adjustments cover all of these positions. The timegrapher will measure the beat rate and calculate +/- s/day in each position, so even if he was at a desk for a couple hours, there should be little to no change in accuracy from a sync just a couple hours earlier. And part of chronometer certification is also allowing for accuracy in varying climates too. The fact that he's noticed it being slow over time and now since a sync has seen it's out by a second per hour would indicate something is up!

COSC spec is -4 to +6s a day and this variation should be consistently regular in order to gain certification in all positions tested.

The positional meausments are only taken when a watch is still in different positions. Moving your wrist around will cause shocks to the movement. To see this in action just put a watch on a timegrapher and set it measuring. Then move the watch to another position, you will see the measurements wildly fluctuate. These sorts of errors build up over the day and should average out. Just taking a measurement over 1 hour is not enough, more time will be needed to get a good average.

Just to be clear, this 1 second loss per hour that @Nick1881 has observed is a little odd but for all we know he could have been riding a bike for 45 mins of that time. All things need to be taken into consideration.

Raymond Lin · 21 Sep 2020 at 15:37

Got an Apple Watch on the weekend...it feels like a toy compared to my old Steinhart.

But it's not having to think about accuracy anymore but not as nice worrying about battery life.

Nick1881 · 21 Sep 2020 at 15:44

Wizardskills said:
The positional meausments are only taken when a watch is still in different positions. Moving your wrist around will cause shocks to the movement. To see this in action just put a watch on a timegrapher and set it measuring. Then move the watch to another position, you will see the measurements wildly fluctuate. These sorts of errors build up over the day and should average out. Just taking a measurement over 1 hour is not enough, more time will be needed to get a good average.

Just to be clear, this 1 second loss per hour that @Nick1881 has observed is a little odd but for all we know he could have been riding a bike for 45 mins of that time. All things need to be taken into consideration.

I haven't left the house today, spent a lot of time at my desk. Still seems to be 2 seconds behind at the moment. I'll check it before bed tonight, then again in the morning after it's been sat still.

Wizardskills · 21 Sep 2020 at 15:52

Nick1881 said:
I haven't left the house today, spent a lot of time at my desk. Still seems to be 2 seconds behind at the moment. I'll check it before bed tonight, then again in the morning after it's been sat still.

Sounds like a plan. Keep an eye on it. If it keeps losing time and you are concerned, let it run down on its power reserve and contact your AD. It should still be covered under warranty (https://www.tudorwatch.com/en/inside-tudor/watchmaking/tudor-guarantee).

Janesy B · 21 Sep 2020 at 15:59

Nick1881 said:
I've noticed my Tudor BB58 seems to run slow, I've never really measured it though, today I set it exactly with the atomic clock at 11:30, it seems to be about 2 seconds behind already, should it really lose 1 second every hour?

Is it fully wound?

Raymond Lin · 21 Sep 2020 at 16:05

Nick1881 said:
I've noticed my Tudor BB58 seems to run slow, I've never really measured it though, today I set it exactly with the atomic clock at 11:30, it seems to be about 2 seconds behind already, should it really lose 1 second every hour?

24 seconds a day? that's like 15mins a month.

I don't think my Steinhart loses or gain more than 24 seconds a month.

BananaDunka · 21 Sep 2020 at 21:30

Quite a neat dismantling!

Nick1881 · 21 Sep 2020 at 22:56

Raymond Lin said:
24 seconds a day? that's like 15mins a month.

I don't think my Steinhart loses or gain more than 24 seconds a month.

It seems to have lost only 4 seconds now in almost 12 hours on the wrist.

iMacMart · 22 Sep 2020 at 10:55

Morning all

My birthday is in a few weeks and I'd like to get a new watch for around £150/£200 and TW Steel range seem to fit the bill chronograph with a date and water proof look nice but where would be the best place to order from as the forest have some nice looking models but want to make sure I get the best deal for my money?

Thanks

Minusorange · 22 Sep 2020 at 13:09

iMacMart said:
Morning all

My birthday is in a few weeks and I'd like to get a new watch for around £150/£200 and TW Steel range seem to fit the bill chronograph with a date and water proof look nice but where would be the best place to order from as the forest have some nice looking models but want to make sure I get the best deal for my money?

Thanks

If you can stretch an extra £50 I'd get this - https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/ci...graph-titanium-watch-3547756#comment-41989701 while it's available

Raymond Lin · 22 Sep 2020 at 13:37

Nick1881 said:
It seems to have lost only 4 seconds now in almost 12 hours on the wrist.

It could be settling down.

iMacMart · 22 Sep 2020 at 13:59

Minusorange said:
If you can stretch an extra £50 I'd get this - https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/ci...graph-titanium-watch-3547756#comment-41989701 while it's available

I work for TKMaxx so get staff discount (10%), the colour isn't to my taste though.....

Minusorange · 22 Sep 2020 at 14:47

iMacMart said:
I work for TKMaxx so get staff discount (10%), the colour isn't to my taste though.....

Fair enough what was you looking at from TW ?