i wouldn't call 42mm average. maybe amongst poker players, but not most people or those with any taste.

How comparable would Ball be to IWC in their ETA refinement/value?

Love this, 41mm, 3.5k

is buying a watch as a birthday gift for a girl friend a bad idea? anyone have some wisdom they would like to share on the topic?

if you know what watch she wants specifically it's a great gift, otherwise take her to buy one in person.

Pretty Milgaussy looking Ball, eta 2824 goes for 1.3k


I can't stop looking at Balls (lol), but I'm not in love with their tubez yet.

I actually plan on ordering the Ball Engineer Master II classic (the black faced ball in your pics) today. I can pick it up on the black leather strap with white contrast stiching for $1100. I will post pics/review when I get it. I am on a budget of ~$1k, and the Balls really seem to be the best value. Anyone have any other opinions in this price range?

FWIW, found this the other day, EMIIC supposedly never worn from a seller with a good rep at a glance, currently at $800, ends Friday. Does have the orange stitching that I'm not a fan of though.

any tips on wher ei could pick one up online?

I really like that white faced one

Me too. Details? Link? Price?

Trainmaster Cleveland Express model, eta 2836, 41mm, 2.2k. They have a bunch of variants in color etc, the GMTs go for about 1k more, the ones with a power reserve meter are a few mm bigger and go for about 4k









Lots of em here

Some press stuff/more pics http://basel.watchprosite.com/show-n...ost/ti-361697/

Blued numerals are hot.

Picked up this Longines from Tourneau for 2250 (sales person gave 10% off with no argument).



It's tough to find a good picture of it online, buts its a really beautiful watch, I'm pretty happy with it.

^^ I like that also

There are no Ball ADs which will allow you to purchase thru a shopping cart online. However, there are several ADs with a web pressence that will allow you to see all the models on line but require you to place the order by telephone. I placed my order with www.thetimezone.com but I also reccomend www.abouttime.com and www.topperjewelers.com.

just was cruising through tourneau and tried this omega on. idk why but im in love with it. its just so simple and clean and sturdy. i think it would be perfect for summer, being in the water some, boating etc. i like the one w the orange bezel too but i feel like that could get old. this is the 42mm, it's so weird it being 'small' at 42 but i really liked the way it looked compared to the 45 and all my other watches are huge too so...

I'd go with the Orange but I like both

Daddy, I've tried that watch on and like it alot. Fyi, last time I was in Tourneau the salesman told me they can give the customer 25% off the display price. (who knows it might even be more)

i asked the rep today about deals bc i was being really impulsive and prob woulda bought it if she gave me one, but she said this was a new series or w/e so she couldnt but could give deals on other stuff. no idea about %'s tho

Son of a god damn bitch! I suck at haggling, and when the guy asked if I was interested when trying on, my gf half jokingly said "well maybe if you make us a deal?", he said name a number, and she goes "ugh.....10%?". he did the whole "oh, I'd have to clear that with my boss...", then made it happen. Afterwards I told her I'd heard here that they def do deals, and she goes
"well then why didn't ask for more?"
"........"

It's still a sweet watch and not a bad price, congrats man.

Is the datewheel sunken on yours? Meaning is there a significant gap between the dial and the datewheel?

get the orange snipes

15-25% off list is generally what a store can do. This varies by brand, model, clearance status, etc. I think at any Tourneau, about 20% is standard.

BTW I am liking the Black on the Seamaster. Sooooo classic.

The POs are great watches IMHO, I have the orange one picutured above with the bracelet. Wear it just about all the time. Great watch.

I found the sales pitch a little too high pressure at Tourneau when I was there in December. There is a smaller place in the Forum Shops called Roman Times that I got mine from. They did a bigger discount than Tourneau, and their customer service was fantastic. Their selection is obviously smaller than Tourneau's, but they do carry a lot of Omegas. (Disclaimer: I'm in no way associated with Roman Times.)

A watch forum I read had a thread about "top ten japanese watches every collector should have." I made a list that was focused primarily on Seikos since that's the bulk of my collection. Instead of listing particular pieces I tried to list ten categories, in which you could find new or vintage pieces.

Obviously some people will go in the opposite direction and build a highly-focused collection of various pieces that are all in a narrow group, but I think this method gives you a good exposure to all the big categories, letting you really figure out where you want to specialize.

I've expanded and refined this list a bit from what I originally wrote.

In no particular order:

1. A classic diver. You get a lot of leeway here, you can go for the vintage models or something brand new. 6306, 6309, 7002, or SKX007.

SKX007 (new):


6309 (vintage):


Alternatively, the Tuna Can models also qualify in my book as "classic" divers, since they're both uniquely and iconicly Seiko AND have a lot of history in the series. You can similarly find both new and vintage pieces here.

SBBN007 (recently discontinued):


7C46-7008 (vintage):


2. A non-"classic" diver. Preferably something big and chunky, with a high-visibility dial. Orange monster, SKXA35, SKA367, or even a SNDA15.

SKX781 (Orange Monster):


SNDA15:


If you want to look at vintage pieces, there are a ton of super-interesting Rally Divers out there.





3. An 8F perpetual calendar quartz. Preferably an 8F56 with GMT. These are rated +/- 20 sec/year. These are marvels of engineering IMO; you get a high-end quartz movement that will endure (these are durable movements that are built with servicability in mind, they're not disposable like most quartz movements) for an incredible price.

SLT077 (discontinued):


SBQJ015 (new):


The SBQJ015 is nicer, but doesn't have the rotating bezel, which is a big functionality plus. To save a little money here, you could go with the (non-GMT) SBQK079 (8F32).

SBQK079 (new):


SBQK081 (new):


There are a few ISO-rated divers with these movements as well.

SBCJ001 (8F56, discontinued):


unknown titanium model:


These movements used to only be found in the mid-high-end (and Japan-only) Brightz sub-line, which is generally pretty expensive because they all have treated, carbon-coated titanium cases.



4. Mechanical chrono. Most new auto chronos are going to be way outside the beginning collector's budget

SBGC001:


SBDS0011 (Flightmaster):
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x...n/SBDS0011.jpg

There are lots of vintage pieces that are easy to find and quite reasonably priced. The 6139 is particularly noteworthy. So much history here. If you're going to get one of these, you should "do it right" and get the famous "Pouge" model.



Other noteworthy 6139 models include the various "Helmet" chronos:









5. Quartz chrono. I'm really liking the 7T62 movement here all of a sudden, since the second hand on the main dial moves at 5hz.

SNA141:


SNAB17:


SBPP001:


If you want to go all-out here, a 9T82 would be a particularly nice way to top-off your collection. This movement, a hand-assembled kinetic, is incredibly impressive, and the watches that use it are all quite, err, unique.





6. Military style. The standard here would be the SCFF001 4S15 SUS, but it's very hard to find.

SCFF001 (vintage):


SBPP007:


For the collector on a budget, there are tons of new and vintage automatics under $100 to choose from in this category.

Citizen Promaster NH6050:


7. Classic Japanese-style dress watch. The standard style here would be dauphine hands, baton markers, simple dial (perhaps with a sunburst, but always in a neutral color). Lots of 6R15 pieces to choose from here.

SARB033:


On a budget, you could go with a quartz piece like a SGF719.



There are also a lot of really nice vintage Grand/King Seikos in this vein.



King Seiko 4420-9990:
[/img]http://www.csce.uark.edu/~jgauch/photos/watch1/ks_history/4420-9990/026.jpg[/img]

8. A more stylized dress watch. Something retro, perhaps with a domed crystal, or thin, straight lugs. Again, lots of 6R15 pieces here. All dial and no bezel makes these wear larger than they are.

SARB031:


Lots of weird and quirky vintage possibilities here.

7009-5019:


7006-5019:


9. Non-diver sport watch. It's going to be hard to beat the BFS ("Big ****ing Seiko") here on a bang-for-the-buck basis.

SNKF11:


SBCS005/SCBS007:


SARB017 (alpinist):


If you want to go vintage here, the Seiko ANA is a surefire winner.



7019-6040:


6117-6410 (GMT, vintage):


In the high-end category, I love the SBGE001:


10. Ana-digi or LCD. G-shocks, of course, are currently the reigning champs here. You can go really crazy here and get something cutting-edge with all the bells and whistles, solar power, atomic radio-sync, etc. But if you're building an exclusively Seiko collection, this is a good place to go vintage with a Arnie.

H558-5009:


SBPG001 (an old-school LCD with modern features):


Now, the great thing about this list is that you can find reasonably-priced pieces in all of these categories, and in any one of these categories you can "break out" and spend a lot more if you want to get one particularly rare or expensive piece. Also, while you're building a collection, there are plenty of pieces that can fill more than one slot on this list. For example, the SNA141 meets both "military style" and "quartz chrono" categories. The SBCM023 would meet both "perpetual calendar" and "classic diver".

Does anyone have any input on this watch. It seems like a nice looking steal. Personally im not huge on watches just want something nice to wear couple times a month.

http://www.overstock.com/Jewelry-Wat...0/product.html