My recent employment upgrade has been nice and I am in the market for a good watch as a result (no longer a junior so I can wear something nicer now). That said, I'm looking for something that is more useful than anything. I mean, heck, if I'm going to drop this much on what is essentially jewelry, I might as well get all the use out if it that I can. Can you point me to any good communities that may be of assistance? I've tried r/watches before, but reddit's search algo is just terrible.
Specifically, I'm looking for:
- Waterproof up to ~30m, more is fine.
- Complications of: Chronograph, Date, Tachymeter, Moon Phases (I surf when I have the time, so it's nice to know the tides and to wear the watch while surfing).
- Sapphire/hardened glass for scratch resistance.
- Bezel, as they are really cool.
- Quartz is fine, accuracy is really nice, though mechanical is ok.
- Standard 12 hour clock face, things like a Casio F-91W aren't the best ;)
- I'm a fairly large person, so I can withstand a large/bulky face on the arm, if that helps at all.
Thank you for any and all advice or recommendations, I appreciate it.
If you want to take it to the water it is usually recommended that the watch has 10bar (100m) water resistance.
The Breitling Navitimer 01 would tick many of your boxes (Chronograph, (Logscale)Bezel, Date) and is an iconic watch. However you can't swim with it.
Another iconic chronograph is the Zenith El Primero with the tri color dial. It is also WR to 100m.
Then there is the Omega Speedmaster "Man on the Moon" Chronograph.
Tudor also has a few nice watches: Black Bay Chrono, Black Bay Heritage, Black Bay 58, Black Bay GMT, Pelagos.
If you want a fine Quartz watch have a look at Grand Seiko and Citizen Chronomaster. These are High Accuracy Quartz (HAQ) watches which means +/- 5-10 seconds a year depending on the model.
For more classic looking watches have a look at Jaeger LeCoultre. I especially like their Masters collection.
If you mean a rotatable (dive) bezel, you’re looking for something very very specific. Also, if you take it surfing, you’d want screw down pushers if the watch is expensive. Even if you find a watch matching these specs, it probably won’t be what you want in terms of quality, looks, fit, or price. You should broaden your search.
Specifically, I'm looking for:
- Waterproof up to ~30m, more is fine.
- Complications of: Chronograph, Date, Tachymeter, Moon Phases (I surf when I have the time, so it's nice to know the tides and to wear the watch while surfing).
- Sapphire/hardened glass for scratch resistance.
- Bezel, as they are really cool.
- Quartz is fine, accuracy is really nice, though mechanical is ok.
- Standard 12 hour clock face, things like a Casio F-91W aren't the best ;)
- I'm a fairly large person, so I can withstand a large/bulky face on the arm, if that helps at all.
Thank you for any and all advice or recommendations, I appreciate it.