I haven’t owned a mechanical watch since I was a teenager. I decided I could use one as a short-term backup for when my regular watch needs a battery replacement. I’d like to beep it to less than $100 and be water resistant. Any suggestions?
Looking for a mechanical watch
- Thread starter gadabout
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Maybe a Seiko 5 on sale, or a Chinese watch from AliExpress, or a Vostok Amphibian. Really need a 50-300% higher budget to reach a wider selection of good choices.
Seiko 5's are fantastic watches. You might find one somewhere out there fairly cheap if you look around. Otherwise I am not sure. Hopefully other watch collectors might have a better suggestion.
I’ll second the Seiko 5. I’ve owned one now for 5 years. It keeps good time , but required an adjustment once after I dropped it (ouch!). It’s a fairly easy watch to adjust. They are not as precise as a quartz watch, with mine losing a couple of minutes every two weeks. I think I paid $65 for it on Amazon. It was a good deal and I love being able to see the mechanicals behind the clear cover.
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- #5
Thanks! The Seiko 5 seems like a great candidate.
Seiko 5, Vostok amphibia or vintage are going to be the only ones worth owning in that budget. Maybe an Orient or Citizen on sale.
There's also something like an Invicta (gaudy)
There's also something like an Invicta (gaudy)
Bought a Seiko 5 and a couple NATO bands in the fall(?), my wife now has one as well, we're both pleased, not
too big on a tiny woman's wrist and not too small on a much bigger male wrist.
dave
Appears there are endless mods that can be made to the watch itself to change the look if someone's so inclined.
too big on a tiny woman's wrist and not too small on a much bigger male wrist.
dave
Appears there are endless mods that can be made to the watch itself to change the look if someone's so inclined.
A Vostok Amphibian is a really cool watch, with a unique and purposeful design, for not a lot of money. The SE Amphibians from Meranom are a nice upgrade, but they are usually a bit more expensive than your $100 budget. If you can scrape together another 30 bucks, a SE Amphibian is a very nice watch for the money.
That SE Amphibian looks very interesting, though I know nothing about that particular watch. If the budget were increased by $30 then some of the Seiko 5 divers like the SNZF17 or SNZH57 (other colors also available) would be options.
For Seiko 5's at around that budget, you could try 'long island watch'.
I've ordered a couple watches from them with zero complaints.
I've ordered a couple watches from them with zero complaints.
In the $100 budget mechanical range, I would go for either a Seiko, Orient, or Invicta Pro Diver.
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- #12
Thanks all. I went ahead and ordered a Seiko 5.
I would have suggested Vostok Komandirskie, which is manual wind, not automatic, for this purpose. Very inexpensvie. One would have to re-set an automatic anyway if really using it to cov erf battery replacement. No big deal to wind this one up at the same time. Spend the price difference on pretty replacment bezel. That said, Seiko 5 is a significant upgrade to Vostok and a great watch.
Rhody
I'm a Lumberjack.
congrats
let us know when you get it
Good decision! You’re bound to be quite happy with it.
Thanks, that was an interesting look at its water resistance design.
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- #18
The watch arrived today. I’m extremely pleased with it. Thanks for the suggestions!
Nice watch! You’ll be happy with it.
A go to Automatic is the Seiko Baby Monster. Not quite $100 but can be had for under ~$150 once in a while. Massdrop had it recently for $140. It's a nice basic automatic.
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