User Panel
Posted: 8/18/2022 12:20:06 AM EDT
I was on ebay recently (not looking for a watch.) A recent email ad now shows me Hamilton manual-wind watches, of the "field" variety. These are not the inexpensive manual wind Timexes of my youth. These things are $300-$600, so not cheap. They are simple, but look good to me.
I am an electronic watch guy, have been for decades. I like the accuracy, light weight, and ruggedness of electronic watches. But the manual function appeals to me, as it needs zero batteries. Simple. Why should I buy a manual winder? Are the Hamiltons gtg? ETA: What are some good web sites to purchase, say, a Hamilton manual wind watch? |
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You shouldn't, you have to remember to wind them.
If you must buy a watch you manually wind, you should get an Omega Speedmaster. |
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Quoted: I was on ebay recently (not looking for a watch.) A recent email ad now shows me Hamilton manual-wind watches, of the "field" variety. These are not the inexpensive manual wind Timexes of my youth. These things are $300-$600, so not cheap. They are simple, but look good to me. I am an electronic watch guy, have been for decades. I like the accuracy, light weight, and ruggedness of electronic watches. But the manual function appeals to me, as it needs zero batteries. Simple. Why should I buy a manual winder? Are the Hamiltons gtg? View Quote Why? Because you're not quite fly enough, or you're just edgy enough, to want a mechanical watch that is not self-winding. Kick out between another $10 to $200 for a self-winder, and as long as you wear, or care for, the watch, it will wind itself on your wrist or on your winder forever, with no batteries needed. |
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Quoted: You shouldn't, you have to remember to wind them. If you must buy a watch you manually wind, you should get an Omega Speedmaster. View Quote I can remember to wind a watch every couple days. I'm old, but not that old. Besides manual wind, what do you know about them? Are they accurate? Are they durable? |
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I could talk for hours about watches, but the short answer is Hamiltons are gtg.
Mech watches will never be as accurate as digital, so if that's why you want one, you'll be disappointed. They are accurate enough though. The degree of accuracy depends on the quality of the movement inside. |
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Hamiltons had an excellent rep "back in the day." They were known as a fairly quality time piece that you would take to the jeweler to get cleaned every few years.
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Quoted: Why? Because you're not quite fly enough, or you're just edgy enough, to want a mechanical watch that is not self-winding. Kick out between another $10 to $200 for a self-winder, and as long as you wear, or care for, the watch, it will wind itself on your wrist or on your winder forever, with no batteries needed. View Quote My fly is fine, thanks for asking. I don't want to "care" for a watch. I want it to tell time, reasonably accurately, as simply as possible. The self-winders are notorious for being not very accurate, and the expensive ones require tune-ups (LOL!) that can cost hundreds of dollars just to get it to tell mediocre time. No thanks. The self-winding mechanisms also seem fragile, and some even recommend no swimming, apparently because the impact of the watch on the water is bad. That's all a no-go for me. Are the manual winders accurate? Durable? How about some info. instead of snark? |
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Quoted: I could talk for hours about watches, but the short answer is Hamiltons are gtg. Mech watches will never be as accurate as digital, so if that's why you want one, you'll be disappointed. They are accurate enough though. The degree of accuracy depends on the quality of the movement inside. View Quote I'm not a digital guy, I'm an electronic analog guy. My favorite watch is an older Swiss Army electronic w/sapphire crystal. That thing has been through hell and it still runs. Crystal looks like new, unbelievably. Give me a range for accuracy on the Hamilton self-winder: +/- how many seconds per day? |
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Quoted: My fly is fine, thanks for asking. I don't want to "care" for a watch. I want it to tell time, reasonably accurately, as simply as possible. The self-winders are notorious for being not very accurate, and the expensive ones require tune-ups (LOL!) that can cost hundreds of dollars just to get it to tell mediocre time. No thanks. The self-winding mechanisms also seem fragile, and some even recommend no swimming, apparently because the impact of the watch on the water is bad. That's all a no-go for me. Are the manual winders accurate? Durable? How about some info. instead of snark? View Quote There is no intrinsic difference in accuracy between winders or non-winders. That is down to the precision and accuracy of the movement, and the extent to which it is tunable and tuned, for non-differentiable factors. A self-winding mechanism is an addendum to the timekeeping works, not a factor in intrinsic accuracy. Water resistance is a separate and irrelevant factor compared to the intrinsic accuracy of the core works. |
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Quoted: My fly is fine, thanks for asking. I don't want to "care" for a watch. I want it to tell time, reasonably accurately, as simply as possible. The self-winders are notorious for being not very accurate, and the expensive ones require tune-ups (LOL!) that can cost hundreds of dollars just to get it to tell mediocre time. No thanks. The self-winding mechanisms also seem fragile, and some even recommend no swimming, apparently because the impact of the watch on the water is bad. That's all a no-go for me. Are the manual winders accurate? Durable? How about some info. instead of snark? View Quote All mechanical watches require maintenance at some point, doesn't matter if it's self wind or manual. Self and manual are tiny machines in the end, so they are both sensitive to impact. Anything modern will be robust enough to survive daily life unless you operate a jackhammer or something. |
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Quoted: There is no intrinsic difference in accuracy between winders or non-winders. That is down to the precision and accuracy of the movement, and the extent to which it is tunable and tuned, for non-differentiable factors. A self-winding mechanism is an addendum to the timekeeping works, not a factor in intrinsic accuracy. Water resistance is a separate and irrelevant factor compared to the intrinsic accuracy of the core works. View Quote Understood, but the self-winders have to be much more complex to get the job done. There are a lot more moving parts. They are also heavier and bulkier, typically. |
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Quoted: All mechanical watches require maintenance at some point, doesn't matter if it's self wind or manual. Self and manual are tiny machines in the end, so they are both sensitive to impact. Anything modern will be robust enough to survive daily life unless you operate a jackhammer or something. View Quote I've seen specific warnings about swimming with some relatively expensive self-winders. That's a huge no-go for me. But yeah, they are tiny machines. I don't mind a modest fee every decade or so to keep it running well, but tune-ups costing hundreds of dollars? Yeah, no. Not gonna happen. |
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Quoted: I'm not a digital guy, I'm an electronic analog guy. My favorite watch is an older Swiss Army electronic w/sapphire crystal. That thing has been through hell and it still runs. Crystal looks like new, unbelievably. Give me a range for accuracy on the Hamilton self-winder: +/- how many seconds per day? View Quote |
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Quoted: I've seen specific warnings about swimming with some relatively expensive self-winders. That's a huge no-go for me. But yeah, they are tiny machines. I don't mind a modest fee every decade or so to keep it running well, but tune-ups costing hundreds of dollars? Yeah, no. Not gonna happen. View Quote |
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Quoted: I've seen specific warnings about swimming with some relatively expensive self-winders. That's a huge no-go for me. But yeah, they are tiny machines. I don't mind a modest fee every decade or so to keep it running well, but tune-ups costing hundreds of dollars? Yeah, no. Not gonna happen. View Quote A purely mechanical device, whether manually wound or with an inertial winding works, will require maintenance. The single greatest factor of advancement in the industrial age is having gone over to solid-state electronics, which do not experience the same factors of wear-from-use that mechanical devices experience. They have different wear factors and different wear paths than purely-mechanical devices, but orders of magnitude lower instances of spontaneous initial disfunction, along with greater longevity than the average mechanical device for durability of use. |
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Quoted: You can swim with it if it has enough water resistance. Unless it is a dive watch, a lot of the fancy stuff are dress watches with low (or no) water resistance. View Quote I can't remember the brand, but I was perusing a self-winding "field" watch in the $3k range, so not Tier 1 but not cheap. It had good water resistance, down to XXX meters, but the description specifically said "not recommended for swimming". I assumed it was because the slapping motion of the arm on the water surface disturbed the winding mechanism, since the static water resistance was quite good. But IDK. |
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Quoted: A purely mechanical device, whether manually wound or with an inertial winding works, will require maintenance. The single greatest factor of advancement in the industrial age is having gone over to solid-state electronics, which do not experience the same factors of wear-from-use that mechanical devices experience. They have different wear factors and different wear paths than purely-mechanical devices, but orders of magnitude lower instances of spontaneous initial disfunction, along with greater longevity than the average mechanical device for durability of use. View Quote Yeah, it's why I like them. Cost is another. |
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I have a self-winder Seiko that’s done just fine for me for at least 5 years. If I don’t wear it for a couple days it shuts down and then when I put it on and it senses a little motion, it’ll go active and catch everything up. If I haven’t worn it for a couple weeks, it may take awhile for the hands to spool around but they always do.
I’ve never had it serviced though as I remember it’s recommended every year, probably should do that sometime. Accuracy? Not sure. Holds well under a couple min per month compared to my cell phone so fine for me. Funny thing is, I don’t wear it as a fashion statement, honestly couldn’t care less if anyone even notices I HAVE a watch. I just like wearing a watch when I’m in public. I wasn’t insanely expensive but not cheap. Cost maybe $600 or so new. Didn’t want to fork out Rolex price or more for an exotic. Just wanted a decent timepiece on my wrist when I go off the farm. |
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Quoted: My fly is fine, thanks for asking. I don't want to "care" for a watch. I want it to tell time, reasonably accurately, as simply as possible. The self-winders are notorious for being not very accurate, and the expensive ones require tune-ups (LOL!) that can cost hundreds of dollars just to get it to tell mediocre time. No thanks. The self-winding mechanisms also seem fragile, and some even recommend no swimming, apparently because the impact of the watch on the water is bad. That's all a no-go for me. Are the manual winders accurate? Durable? How about some info. instead of snark? View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Why? Because you're not quite fly enough, or you're just edgy enough, to want a mechanical watch that is not self-winding. Kick out between another $10 to $200 for a self-winder, and as long as you wear, or care for, the watch, it will wind itself on your wrist or on your winder forever, with no batteries needed. My fly is fine, thanks for asking. I don't want to "care" for a watch. I want it to tell time, reasonably accurately, as simply as possible. The self-winders are notorious for being not very accurate, and the expensive ones require tune-ups (LOL!) that can cost hundreds of dollars just to get it to tell mediocre time. No thanks. The self-winding mechanisms also seem fragile, and some even recommend no swimming, apparently because the impact of the watch on the water is bad. That's all a no-go for me. Are the manual winders accurate? Durable? How about some info. instead of snark? I have several automatic watches. You'll spend less time adjusting for inaccuracy in a month than you will winding. My daily wear watch comes off at night and is just fine in the AM when I put it back on. Any decent watch will be waterproof. I suggest a Seiko as a place to start. I have a winder with a couple of watches simmering. If I'm not regularly wearing my autos I let them stop and just give them a few cranks when I want to wear them again. FWIW, Hamilton makes a good watch, but why manual wind?? Autos are great. |
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Quoted: I've seen specific warnings about swimming with some relatively expensive self-winders. That's a huge no-go for me. But yeah, they are tiny machines. I don't mind a modest fee every decade or so to keep it running well, but tune-ups costing hundreds of dollars? Yeah, no. Not gonna happen. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: All mechanical watches require maintenance at some point, doesn't matter if it's self wind or manual. Self and manual are tiny machines in the end, so they are both sensitive to impact. Anything modern will be robust enough to survive daily life unless you operate a jackhammer or something. I've seen specific warnings about swimming with some relatively expensive self-winders. That's a huge no-go for me. But yeah, they are tiny machines. I don't mind a modest fee every decade or so to keep it running well, but tune-ups costing hundreds of dollars? Yeah, no. Not gonna happen. My relatively expensive self winder is good for 500m. My cheaper self winders are good for 2-300m. Is that sufficient. Seiko SKX007: 200M water resistance. $300. If you like simple and slim, try a Glycine combat classic. $350 50m. |
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I have my grandpa's Omega auto winder from long ago, and a Hamilton GG-w-113 1969 Vietnam pilots manual winder watch. They both work well. All of my other watches, are pocket watches, 1 from mid 1800's, 3 railroad watches, from the early 1900's. Old railroad watch, is best watch. They are high quality, and a work of art. This is a Hampden Watch Co. from 1907. Attached File
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Have a Hamilton Jazzmaster. I really like it, but need to get it serviced. Haven't worn it in 4-5 years
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Quoted: I'm not spending that kind of money on a device that tells time and little else. I'm also never going to spend hundreds to get a "tune-up". View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: My SeaDweller is manual wind and holds time quite nicely. I'm not spending that kind of money on a device that tells time and little else. I'm also never going to spend hundreds to get a "tune-up". Every mechanical watch, whether an automatic or manual, will need to be serviced if you want it to continue working - just like any other precision machine that is used heavily. If that's unacceptable to you for some reason, just stick with quartz. There are a ton of cool quartz watches out there too. |
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I've been looking at some Hamilton automatics, but have other priorities at the moment.
I have a pair of Seiko 5 Sports watches that are decent to look at and people say good things about them. Definitely more on the budget side as they were $200 and $260ish. |
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I have a 50's longine, white gold case, found it in the trunk under the spare, must have come off putting the tire back in, it cost 200.00 for cleaning, new crystal, and an alligator band, it was appraised at 1500. 25 years ago, still works good when its out of the safe.
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I never had a manual watch that I didn't end up over winding and bust the spring on. I'm sort of surprised they still make them.
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Quoted: I can remember to wind a watch every couple days. I'm old, but not that old. Besides manual wind, what do you know about them? Are they accurate? Are they durable? View Quote Compared to a quartz watch no they are not accurate. If you don't care about a second here and therr accurate enough. The price point you said is cheap for a mechanical watch. Check out some wristwatch revival on youtube. Mechanical watches are really beautiful machines. |
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Quoted: I've seen specific warnings about swimming with some relatively expensive self-winders. That's a huge no-go for me. But yeah, they are tiny machines. I don't mind a modest fee every decade or so to keep it running well, but tune-ups costing hundreds of dollars? Yeah, no. Not gonna happen. View Quote Any mechanical watch needs to be fully disassembled to be maintained. Yeah a rolex might be spendy to get serviced as they will make you send them in to keep the warranty or something but it aint cheap either way |
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Hamilton is good to go for a solid day to day watch.
Attached File If you want to step it up a bit... Attached File |
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The "slapping on the water" thing is not a concern. You can go by the water resistance. The description you read may have had a typo.
I don't get automatics serviced unless they are having an issue winding or keeping time. I'd be more proactive if I had a Rolex. I'd expect many years out of a Swiss auto without service. For a <$500 watch that has already been worn for a decade it would probably have to be a sentimental reason to get it tuned up when it starts to go. Hamilton is GTG, and automatics are the way to go generally. A mechanical would be fine if you just have a routine (like wind it when you remove it to shower every day) but you do have to be careful not to overwind it. Jomashop has a variety of Hamilton autos under $500. Unless you dislike bracelets, it is best to buy one with it included and put it on a strap of your choosing later if you like. Not a dive watch, but good enough for swimming (as stated in the description as well). https://www.jomashop.com/hamilton-mens-watch-h64455133.html $435 |
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Quoted: Um no, that is an automatic watch that can be manually wound if needed. Most automatic mechanical watches can be manually wound by the crown to get started. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: My SeaDweller is manual wind and holds time quite nicely. Um no, that is an automatic watch that can be manually wound if needed. Most automatic mechanical watches can be manually wound by the crown to get started. Makes you wonder if he really has one, no?? If so, ignorance is bliss, I guess. |
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Buy a Rolex and never look back. Rolex makes expensive watches but their Oyster Perpetual DateJust is a little more then everyday watches but have a proud heritage you will be styling with while wearing.
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I recently purchased a Hamilton Khaki auto off Ashley website for around $425.
I put a NATO style band on. Good watch. Attached File |
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Just wind it every morning when you put it on. That’s what I do.
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Quoted: I've seen specific warnings about swimming with some relatively expensive self-winders. That's a huge no-go for me. But yeah, they are tiny machines. I don't mind a modest fee every decade or so to keep it running well, but tune-ups costing hundreds of dollars? Yeah, no. Not gonna happen. View Quote Sounds like you would be happier with a nice quartz watch. |
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Owning watches in the modern era is about enjoyment. If you want practicality, buy a Casio.
One of my custom hand crankers. Attached File Attached File |
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There are plenty of watches available with the ETA 2824-2/SW200 automatic movement in that price range, not to mention the various automatic Seikos.
Buy the Hamilton if you really have a hard on for it. Otherwise, seek out a self-winder. |
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Quoted: Understood, but the self-winders have to be much more complex to get the job done. There are a lot more moving parts. They are also heavier and bulkier, typically. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: There is no intrinsic difference in accuracy between winders or non-winders. That is down to the precision and accuracy of the movement, and the extent to which it is tunable and tuned, for non-differentiable factors. A self-winding mechanism is an addendum to the timekeeping works, not a factor in intrinsic accuracy. Water resistance is a separate and irrelevant factor compared to the intrinsic accuracy of the core works. Understood, but the self-winders have to be much more complex to get the job done. There are a lot more moving parts. They are also heavier and bulkier, typically. That’s not really true, at least not practically. A self-winding mechanism is just the hammer and a couple of simple escapements. They can be as slim as most digital watches, too. It’s not “Tier 1” - or even “Tier 2” - but check out the Seiko SNK809. They’re inexpensive, slim, have the “field” look, and work very well. They don’t even have a manual wind mechanism, but as long as you wear it it’ll last basically forever. They’re ~$100. |
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Rolex thread is now an Omega thread.
Omega. You will never be disappointed and it will live longer than you will. Most likely. Or stick with electronic..? There are A few battery operated 300’+ water resistant choices that are more dress like in appearance. |
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OP clearly doesn’t want a mechanical watch of any type and has made that clear in the first post, and in the many incorrect assumptions made about automatic watches in the following posts. Get a Garmin or Apple Watch.
We get it, you’re not willing to do any maintenance. When is the last time you changed your vehicle’s oil? I daily a Sinn U2, which is 2,000 Meter water resistant, shock resistant, extreme temperature resistant, and anti magnetic, but it’s not for everyone. It’s like a Tesla vs a classic Ferrari. The Tesla will always be faster, more reliable, safer, more features, etc. The Ferrari is a mechanical masterpiece, but needs attention and servicing to function. “Simplicity” is not an argument for a mechanical watch, it’s the argument for a quartz watch. |
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I've had a hamilton khaki mechanical for about 5 years now without issue, yes you have to remember to wind it but it isn't bad and has a small internal battery backup.
No complaints here, life doesn't have to all be on auto pilot. |
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Speedy is the king of the manual wind.
The Hamilton ones are also awesome and the midcase is super thin. |
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My manual wind ETA 2824-2 Victorinox
I enjoy it when I wear it. Accurate, too. Attached File Attached File |
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