Reply With QuoteSeiko do a nice one in the '50 fathoms' series . Cheap cheap .
Hi all,
I am in the market for a World Timer in the under £500 price bracket.
Doesn't seem to be that much out there... any recommendations?
Here's my criteria:
- Under £500 (new or nearly-new)
- No bigger than 42mm
- Not too dressy
- Not digital
Here's what I have seen so far:
Frederique Constant Index Wordtimer - This is great but a but I'd prefer something a bit less dressy.
Swiss Military Worldtimer - not bad but would prefer something better quality and at the higher end of the budget.
Hamilton Khaki Worldtimer - This is great and has a style I like, but isn't this a "dual time" or something rather than a true World Timer? Anyway, I'd like to be able to see all the city names on the face so I can see all time zones at a glance, so this one is out.
Thanks in advance, P
Seiko do a nice one in the '50 fathoms' series . Cheap cheap .
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
Thanks for the reply. Did you mean this one ?
That's a good one to add to the list, and only £104 at Creation Watches!
That's the one . It comes in several different colour ways .
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
Thanks. this one will be hard to beat at the cheaper end of the scale.
More options very welcome if anyone has any...
Seiko put the 5T82 caliber into their world timers, maybe you'll find a model to your liking.
For example, it is used in this Sportura: http://www.watches88.com/pd-seiko-cr...ion-spl023.cfm
Tissot do a nice world timer, vintage seastar T12. Around £300 mark
The oris full steel world timer is a lovely thing.
Probably hard to get hold of these days though.
That's a corker!!Originally Posted by TakesALickin
Game over!
Thanks for bringing vintage Tissot to my attention - looks like there might be something there for me.
The Seikos are all so close but there always seems to be a design feature I don't like on them (lugs, face texture, etc) - it's like they are just a bit over-designed for me.
The Oris and Hamikton are very nice, but strictly speaking are dual time zone not world timers.
Have also discovered the Vostok World Timer which is now a contender.
Another one: the Hamilton Jazzmaster GMT is now also in the running. It's quite dressy but I think i could handle it.
Funnily enough I was looking at that watch on their website yesterday - although the GMT hand looks a considerably brighter blue on the Hamilton site compared to the eBay sellers picture.
http://www.hamiltonwatch.com/collect...to/h32605551-0
Looks even better with the blue accents. I'm sure that photo is more accurate than the eBay one.
They also do it with a black face and red accents. I would have a hard time choosing between the two I think...
http://www.hamiltonwatch.com/collect...to/h32695731-0
I've just realised something: I made an assumption on how these watches work - I thought that once you set the rotating world time ring it would then move with the movement and keep in time, but I think on most of these watches it is not connected to the movement at all but needs to be adjusted each time you want to read the time in a different timezone... that's a bit of a disappointment.
If I'm right then it looks like I might have to spend a lot more to get what I want... can't seem to find anything under £1000 yet.
The only other WT I've actually tried on was the Bremont, and that was the same (manually operated bezel). And it was £4k...
The eBay price for the Hamilton is really good compared to UK prices, even after adding the delivery and VAT for import the saving is around £300. Might seriously consider that...
Yeah it's a good price for the hamilton, especially if you get lucky with customs :)
I also see them new on Chrono24 from sellers in Europe for around £550 + delivery.
I've researched how that one works and the city names ring is indeed completely independent from the movement, unfortunately. The idea is you turn it so the name of your second time zone is at the top by the marker that's the same colour as the second time zone hand (aka GMT hand), so it's purely a reminder to you of what you set that hand to. So not a World Timer in the strict sense despite all the city names.
In terms of watches where the world time ring moves with the movement, these are the cheapest I have found so far:
Alpina Startimer Worldtime - £1229 new on Chrono24
Frederique Constant Classic World Timer - £1492 new on Chrono24
Both of these watches are great and seem fantastic value compared to other similar watches, but unfortunately they are well out of my budget at the moment.
Hopefully one or the other will pop up in Sales Corner some time soon! :)
Here's another great option:
Longines Master Collection GMT (which despite the name is a proper worldtimer - see a great review here from a fellow forum member) - £1148 new on Chrono24
I think this is probably my favourite now actually...
You can get a very cheap and cheerful vintage Raketa Worldtimer for around £50 (and spend the other £450 on one of the above mentioned watches).
The dials come in a variety of metallic colours and it's also possible to get an English bezel rather than the Cyrillic one shown in the photo below:
Or the 24hour Raketa with rotating inner bezel:
Last edited by Lampoc; 24th October 2014 at 15:32.
Cool - loving that green face. I suppose eBay is the best place for these? Thanks
Wow that is a great deal on the Longines - I would find it hard to resist that if I saw it! Will keep my eyes open.
I've decided now that the Longines is my favourite and is ideally what I would like to get.
It is quite dressy for me but it's dressy in a classic way and could definitely be dressed down a bit when required with a more casual leather strap.
I am going to pick up something cheap in the next few days to see me through and play the long game on the Longines :)
Will hopefully update with the new purchase quite soon.
Thanks for the input all.
Have been watching a few world timers on eBay and ended up winning two - ha ha!
Both very interesting pieces not yet mentioned in this thread, one modern and one vintage.
Will post some pics once they arrive.
Pics when you get them!
I found the Hamilton (black dial, red accents) for sale from a UK AD at £500 delivered, and couldn't resist it. Expecting it to land in the next day or two.
First one arrived today... big disappointment unfortunately so it's going back.
It was a vintage Edox Geoscope - an amazing 70s watch that I only just discovered.
However it didn't seem very "vintage" when it arrived and after a bit of online research I've discovered it's a modern replica of not very good quality.
These are great watches though and it's definitely on my list for the future if I can find a genuine one, although i think that will be expensive.
The other one I'm waiting on is an Orient from a few years ago (an all black version of this one). Will post pics once it arrives.
Great deal on the Hamilton! They are very nice - please also post a pic or two when you get it.
I like the Orient.
Shame about the Edox, though you seem to be enjoying the hunt.
Yes, I am actually!
Don't buy a world-timer, because:
1 In real life, they're illegible.
2 One day, you'll be where it doesn't say on the dial.
3 They don't do half hours.
4 Unless they're Patek Philippe, they don't re-sell well.
5 Four good reasons is enough.
Thanks, but I think I'm gonna have to disagree with your reasoning there!
I agree with 1 to the extent that regular ole GMTs tend to be easier to read. 2, you just have to know your international capital and other major cities. So, fair point, given state of general knowledge ;). 3, also a fair point, and one that blitzes almost all GMTs too. But 4, only applies to dedicated buyer-flippers, not normal people!
...but what do I know; I don't even like watches!
1. Should have gone to Specsavers.
2. I live in Leeds. Pretty much every day I'm where it doesn't say on the dial.
3. Half past the hour time zones are for wimps.
4. You should never buy a watch thinking about the resale value. It'll end in varying degrees of tears.
5. Four good reasons would be enough, if you had four good reasons...
:-)
A good example of a pretty World Time dial, but illegible on the wrist and, at £3850, not something the OP wants to read on his bank statement, either:
p.s. Tried one today.
Last edited by Tinker; 30th October 2014 at 01:48.
How very presumptuous. It's not all flat caps and whippets up here you know
Never been much of a photographer, but here goes...
I didn't say it was. I said you were.How very presumptuous. It's not all flat caps and whippets up here you know
Hamilton looking very nice! Really like the black and red combo. Are you pleased with it now you have it in the flesh?
I love that Nomos, especially in that colour. Shame it's 10 times over budget... :)
My Orient just turned up. First impressions are I like the dial but overall it's quite chunky and heavy for me. I think it's the bracelet mainly so I just ordered a leather strap for it, which i think will soften it a lot. Pics once the strap arrives.
Very pleased - I was a bit worried that I would be disappointed as I had pretty much decided on the silver/blue, but couldn't pass up the deal on the black/red. But it's a really classy watch and very comfortable to wear. Certainly not regretting the purchase!
It'll be nice to see the Orient once you get the strap sorted.
I'm still waiting for the strap for my Orient to turn up...
But in the meantime i picked up another one on eBay... :)
This is a Hamilton World Timer from 1988 - really liking this one.
It's a 38mm quartz.
Came on a manky old croc strap so I put it on this new dark brown perlon for now. Will probably source brown and black leather straps for it too for smart use.
There are a few nicks and scratches to the case (especially around the lug holes) which I may try to refinish at some point, but generally it's in great shape for it's age.
I like the Hamilton black/red, it's lovely - the 1988 one not so much.
I don't like the face of the Nomos Wedlzeit. My son has a Tangomat and a Zurich which are lovely watches, and after the cool simplicity of their dials the Weldzeit is just a mess.
Oh yes, I like your new find (Hammy 1988)
It's restrained for a world timer, not too in your face.
Strap arrived for the Orient.
Very happy with it and it's a completely different watch now it's off the clunky bracelet.
I was wondering if I'd flip this one or not but definitely not now.
Orient ... good watch.
You, however, have bizarre taste in straps.
Ha! I guess straps are a very personal choice :)
The Orient Star WorldTime would also fit the bill, can be found for about the budget especially if you buy straight from Japan and it's a really nice watch for the money, very well finished. Same for the new GMT models although you're probably looking strictly for a WorldTimer.
Check models WZ0021JC, WZ0011JC, WZ0031JC (WorldTime) and WZ0061DJ, WZ0071DJ, WZ0081DJ (GMT)
Some good quality pics here and here.
And a video
The Christopher Ward World timer comes up occasionally used within you price range. I have one of the C11 models, nice quality watch for the money.
So, what did you end up getting? :)
Horses for courses - to my eyes (IMHO etc) that is the only ugly Nomos I have ever seen. Mind you I don't really like the World-Time complication in general and the Nomos approach seems quite neat and original!A good example of a pretty World Time dial, but illegible on the wrist and, at £3850, not something the OP wants to read on his bank statement, either:
p.s. Tried one today.
Hi,
This fills the budget but rather blingy on bracelet. How ever Eddie“s Aviator or similar leather makes it more sporty. Movement is Orient in house but similar to user as is ETA 2893-2 so you can adjust the 24 hour hand what ever full hour time you like.
http://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.ph...ghlight=orient
JP
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