Reply With QuoteQuartz, set it forget it.
Quartz on holiday, mechanical at home
Mechanical all the way down
My usual holiday watch has been a Seiko SKX007 with a G-Shock as backup (and beach if I'm feeling precious about the 007).
Last week, however, for some reason I decided I needed a quartz watch as a holiday watch - specifically a CWC diver. I'm not sure what brought this on, but I do remember a few on here saying they used a quartz as a holiday watch, with mechanicals presumably when not on holiday.
I was wondering for what reasons you choose quartz over mechanical for holidays or not as the case may be. Is it cost - leaving the more expensive watches at home? Reliability? Ruggedness?
Thanks in advance for your comments.
Quartz, set it forget it.
I've said quartz for a holiday watch. In my case its because I need a decent WR in my holiday watches and all (both) my divers happen to be quartz. If I happened to have a lowish cost mechanical diver kicking about I'm sure that would get a look in too.
Recently picked up a Seiko solar diver so that will probably be my holiday watch of choice for a while.
David
I have always had an Orange Monster as my holiday watch. I wear it at home very occasionally (on bracelet) but stick it on rubber for beach and pool duty. Something I have noticed with my Monster since taking it abroad several times is that the timekeeping is absolutely shagged. When I got it it was +3 or something crazy, but since going through a bunch of airport scanners and getting knocked about in the surf for a few years it's now horrendous like +35 at the last count I think.
For this reason my next holiday diver will be a quartz - maybe one of the Scurfa's as they're cheap enough and look the part.
Took my G shock as holiday watch,with a Kemmner 007 and Prs20 .The G shock was great for beach or pool,only £30 and waterproof so no worries.
Quartz has more soul, so seems better in a holiday setting especially with charming company.
I tend to take a G-Shock and my Seiko SNKH63K with Yobokies dial.
http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s...d/IMG_3011.jpg
I used to use my Omega Quartz Seamaster, as it's had a great facility for hacking the hour hand.
tou could jump the forward or backward without stopping the minutes or seconds, which is a great idea for travelling.
Stupidly I sold it a while back...for no real reason, other than a lack of use!
I still use Quartz watches for holidays, but usually cheaper dive watches (Citizen/Aqualung) as I usually do a few dives whenever I get to warmer climates.
Not such a big deal if it gets pinched or broken!
Stu
I've used a G-Shock for when I'm off the beaten path; however, each time I've used one in an urban/populated area, I find myself wishing I had a mechanical watch for no other reason than I like to look back on the history of my watches and know which adventures they've been on. Inexpensive quartz/solar watches still feel 'disposable' to me, whereas a mechanical watch, no matter how inexpensive (think Vostok) doesn't. A strange personal quirk but one I can recognise in myself.
I think it primarily comes down to whether your a Speedo or Boardies man.
Of course avoid the pitfalls if you plan to wear a man-kini...as any watch would be considered an unforgivable fashion faux-pas
Always a G-shock. Accurate, water resistant, different time-zones at the touch of a button and alarms to remind me to get to the airport on time.
Only Quartz I have is an Inox which I got as a grab and go for mucky/tough stuff so don't have to worry about setting time.
Tend to take 2 on holiday one for beach/pool etc and one for the evening, both mechanical.
I Always take a mechanical when abroad as there's a small chance the battery might run out whilst away and it's not always easy to find someone who can replace and water test the watch.
Last holiday it was a solar atomic G-Shock. I had to make sure I could adjust the time zones before I went - help came from the forum :)
Definitly Quartz...
When I am on holiday I want to relax and enjoy!
And that means also holiday from watches... not thinking about it, not worrying about if it will stop after two days or not...
Just relax!
The CWC RN quartz is my choice for holidays. I take three Natos so always one on during the day, one clean and ready to go for the evening, and the third washed and drying. If it was lost or stolen then easy to replace.
F.T.F.A.
UK holidays I continue to wear my Sub but abroad holidays I take a G Shock. Purely because I don't wear a watch through the day on holiday, it's too hot and messy with suncream and sand. So a mechanical never stays wound with just a few hours wear on the evening, I found I was shaking the 007 every night to get it going again so just resorted to my G.
So my vote goes Quartz.
Surely the choice is for a watch that can get wet, sandy, covered in sun cream and generally used, whilst still wearable in all situations, beach, bar, restaurant or whatever else you do on holiday. The wearability may also be affected by value.
If it hour hacks, then all the more convenient (provided it is accurate enough to use this ability)
A watch that does all this can be mechanical or quartz, but hour hacking is most commonly found in Quartz or Kinetics.
I like to take a solar quartz so that it can enjoy basking in the sun with me. ;)
Mechanical all the way for me, skx007 for the beach and snorkelling, a Speedbird 3 for the evening.
I can't vote either way as I don't have a massive preference either way.
In fact, I usually wear mechanical, at home or on holiday, but I sometimes take my Breitling B-1 on trips as it's easy to set for multiple timezones (home and away) and the alarm comes in handy.
Last holiday was to Malta and I only took my Longines Hydroconquest, but I've only taken my Citizen 300 Dive watch on some diving trips (mostly UK ones) and sometimes I take my Dreadnought Voyager on longer haul trips because it does the two timezones AND I can dive in it.
So, neither, I wear what I fancy and what fits the bill.
Next planned 'holiday' is a city break to Stockholm, but I've no idea what I'll wear there.
M.
PS What's "Hour Hacking"?
Last edited by snowman; 14th July 2015 at 11:56.
A CWC RN quartz has just arrived from Silvermans but the bezel is loose. I have an automatic as well and there is no play at all in that one's bezel. Anyone else got a quartz? Is there any movement in the bezel?Originally Posted by magirus
Also, how long do I get when the battery end of life indicator kicks in? Hours, days or weeks?
Doesn`t matter whether it's quartz or mechanical to me, what matters is wearing something I`m not too precious about. Holidays are all about relaxation and minimising stress; I don`t want to fret about damaging a watch, so I take something that I can refinish easily if it gets a mark or two. Late 90s Omega Dynamic fits the bill for me thesedays.
If taking a quartz watch it might be worth considering when it last had a battery.
Paul
I sent mine to Genesis a couple of years ago as it was stopping, then running for a few hours and stopping again. Turned out to be the seconds hand fouling and not the battery I thought it was, although I had a new battery fitted anyway and also a pressure test. The battery indicator is the seconds hand jumping in 4 second jumps, and you probably have several days before it stops. The watch also had a slightly sloppy bezel, and it came back nice and tight, but I don't know if a new spring was fitted or the original just tweaked.
Thanks for that. I've contacted Silvermans about the bezel so I'll see what they say.
having just come back from hols, it was a bit of a pain, took two mechanicals, the one i wore at night stopped every night cos i didnt wear it for long enough, maybe quartz is better
I've always taken my Citizen Eco-Drive on holiday in the past, as it had a multiple time zone feature. However, as I don't have it any more I'm planning on taking my mechanical Tudor Heritage Ranger away with me this year. It's waterproof so I can swim in it but it's less of a theft risk than my Sea-Dweller, and better looking and a better time keeper than my Amphibia
Casio Oceanus s100 - small, light, atomic, solar, fine for dinner and you can swim in it.
Following on from another thread, I just had this one arrive today.
The bracelet was of poor quality so I've binned it and stuck on a mesh which I bought from Cousins a couple of years ago thats been sat in the drawer ever since.
For less than £50 I'm more than happy. I'm off for 3 weeks camping in the South of France shortly and this will cover all the bases for me.
Cheap Quartz beater for me - currently a Seiko SBCA001, which due to its smallish size and low profile is more comfortable than a G- Shock for me.
I tend to take the watch off on dry land for much of the day to avoid tan lines, so no point taking a more expensive watch on holiday. This is cheap enough that I won't be too upset if it goes missing or gets damaged.
Also, this has a fixed bezel so no worries about sand getting under the bezel.
Always mechanical for me.
Mechanics for me, can change strap for nighttime if you choose.
I'm surprised at all the Quartz comments, I have taken moderately expensive (2k) automatic watches on holiday and not really been bothered. They are either in a safe in my room or on my wrist. I don't feel like I'm taking a risk wearing them or wearing them out.
^^^ This^^^
I use my expl 2 especially when travelling abroad, weekends away and even skiing earlier this year. Or my fortis b-42 for easey besel use for swimming / snorkelling. I enjoy using a watch for something like its intended purpose, don't normally get knocked around or damaged
Jon
Usually a mechanical Vostok - reliable and tough
Having said that, I wore my 1990 Seiko 7002 to Italy this year - fancied a change
A Protrek atomic with world time, compass etc, possibly a Citizen or Seiko solar diver too but definitely also a Rodina Bauhaus automatic for evenings, relaxed but smart. Nothing that I would regret losing or having nicked.
Wear what you want, all of the time. You're a long time dead ;-)
I voted mechanical, but come to think of it I used to take my quartz tag f1 on holiday! It was a great holiday beater, until it broke
I usually take a good quality automatic and always have a backup Casio F-91W in the bag.
A combination- usually take one or two G Shocks and several autos.
Enough to be able to change during the day but never more than 10.
Ne eve really had a watch stolen during a holiday, so that's not really concern.
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A combination- usually take one or two G Shocks and several autos.
Enough to be able to change during the day but never more than 10.
Never really had a watch stolen during a holiday, so that's not really concern.
I really don't see the issue. Wear what you would normally wear at home. I'm just back from Sardinia, lots of time on beaches and in the sea - wore my Rolex LVc as I do at home. In my mind, similar chances of mishap there as here. If I were going to somewhere deemed high-risk, I might reconsider.
My travel watch of choice, when crossing time zones, is my Omega Seamaster Quartz 2264. As others have mentioned, it has a quick-set hour hand which allows it to be moved backwards or forward in one-hours jumps. It's also robust and water-resistant, so safe on the beach and in the surf, yet smart enough to be worn for business functions.
On an extended trip I usually also take my Fortis chrono - the Lemania 5100 movement makes it good for timing travel, parking, etc; for a domestic ski or sailing trip, where there are no time zones to cross, I'll usually take my Fortis on its own and make use of the timing functions.
I also have a G-Shock 5600, but don't especially enjoy it as an only watch - it does make a good travel alarm though. And if I were going somewhere for a period with juts the Omega, it would add the stopwatch etc functionality that the Omega lacks.
I've even thinking about this lately and we're going to Spain next month and I was thinking I may get a G-Shock for when we are over there... Wouldn't want to take a decent expensive watch over on holiday in case something happened to it or it got damaged.
I take my beater on holiday, an O&M M4 diver. A relatively cheap, reliable, swiss auto, 200m water resistant, plenty of dings already, yet still quite smart. Who needs an alarm function on holiday?
My choice for holidays is my SMP300 quartz for its easy time zone changes and robustness.
I voted mechanical, but always travel with a couple of watches, or more.
I like the simplicity of one watch on holiday - sometimes gives me the chance to properly bond with a piece that maybe gets less wear at home. Quartz or auto/mechanical - doesn't really matter to me.
SGR
For me both mechanical or Quartz are fine on holiday as long as the face isn't too large. Otherwise I come home with a large watch shape spot on my wrist and everything else is tanned!
It depends on where I am going, just finishing a holiday in Canada with the family and grandchildren (woods, lakes, swimming and canoeing) so wore a g-shock.
An earlier holiday this year Aegean cruise with the wife so wore my 8500 PO for easy time zone changing with the stepping hour hand.
both for me, I will be taking my SubC 114060, Hamilton dress watch and this Scurfa I picked up on the forum from messym, the scurfa is the perfect beach and walkabout town watch, while the Rolex and Hamilton will be worn on the boat (going on a cruise)
as stated before the Scurfa looks the part, but I wont be in tears if I lose/damage it.
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