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Thread: date windows, 24 hour rings, dial design etc

  1. #1
    Apprentice
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    date windows, 24 hour rings, dial design etc

    who likes date windows? they always make a watch face look off center or imbalanced and are just otherwise unsightly. there's hardly a utilitarian value to them as well so it makes them both pointless and ugly.

    24 hour rings are just condescending and almost always found on military-style watches and field watches. just add 12 to whatever number the little hand is pointing at! you expect our boys to be able to operate all kinds of military equipment but not add 12?

    less is more. agree or disagree?

  2. #2
    Master
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    Less is boring. Prefer a bit of design and complications on my watches

  3. #3
    Master
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    Prefer a date window set at the 6 marker which keeps the watch face symmetrical.

    Can’t say I’m keen on the 24 hour ring as they tend to make the watch face look too busy.

    Likewise I’m not at all keen on arabic or roman numerals much preferring a baton dial.

  4. #4
    Master Geralt's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jared View Post
    ...
    24 hour rings are just condescending and almost always found on military-style watches and field watches. just add 12 to whatever number the little hand is pointing at! you expect our boys to be able to operate all kinds of military equipment but not add 12?
    Can only emphatically agree. I've never understood the point of 24hr markings. Grinds me gears (pun intended). Can't folks count from 13 to 24? Interestingly, you only (usually) find them on US style mil watches, not MOD stuff! Just sayin'...

    Date windows I can tolerate put prefer without. Less is more.

  5. #5
    Master
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    Date is fine in my opinion, just no cyclops magnifiers.

  6. #6
    Craftsman
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    I really miss having a date window if I’m wearing a watch without one. One of those instances of not appreciating how often you use something until it’s gone.

  7. #7
    Master
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    Aesthetically, I much prefer a three hand dial. Now my longsightedness is worsening, a date window is wasted on me! That doesn’t stop me enjoying other designs though, it just makes me less willing to invest my hard earned in features I can’t won’t use.


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  8. #8
    Craftsman
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    I like a date window.

    I also think a Submariner looks wrong without a cyclops.

  9. #9
    I’m currently favouring simple dials but do like a busy chronograph too even though I’ve never found a use for a Tachymetre.

    I don’t mind a date window either if the date is correct all the time, it bugs me a little that watches costing several thousand pounds still display the incorrect date 5 months of the year.

  10. #10
    Can't stand large dates, especially those with the digits in separate windows. Always over-dominate the watch face.

  11. #11
    Craftsman
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    I'm not a huge fan of date windows especially non colour matched ones.

  12. #12
    Craftsman
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    Quote Originally Posted by jared View Post
    who likes date windows? they always make a watch face look off center or imbalanced and are just otherwise unsightly. there's hardly a utilitarian value to them as well so it makes them both pointless and ugly.

    24 hour rings are just condescending and almost always found on military-style watches and field watches. just add 12 to whatever number the little hand is pointing at! you expect our boys to be able to operate all kinds of military equipment but not add 12?

    less is more. agree or disagree?
    Depends on a lot of factors, least of all, what mood im in on a particular day.


    - Where the logo is and how its shaped. a long logo positioned beside the 9 marker may be balanced by a day/date complication on the other side. Or a simple logo under the 12 may be balanced by a date above the 6.
    - if the watch has roman, arabic or indices markers.
    - dial color
    - case shape, simplicity/complexity.
    - supposed purpose of the watch. at the end of the day a watch is a watch and outside of water resistance, any watch will work in any situation, but we still have field watches, pilot watches, trench watches, dress watches etc etc etc. Certain elements of styling are necessary to give the watch its "purpose".


    Regarding the thought " you expect our boys to be able to operate all kinds of military equipment but not add 12?". Its not about considering anyone unable to add 12 to a small number, its about giving people one less thing to have to think about, small conveniences, like the type we apply all over our lives and modern world. why do architects/draftsmen have scale rule's? can they not do simple division & multiplication? of course they can, but it makes their lives a little bit simpler.

  13. #13
    Craftsman
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    The Seamaster I bought last month has a very discrete date window at 6 and is great because the location means the display is balanced and secondly it’s there on the few occasions I might need it but not in your face like some are.




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  14. #14
    Craftsman
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    Happy with or without date window. Just can’t stand cyclops!

  15. #15
    Journeyman
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    I like a date window at 3. It makes the watch seem like a purposeful accessory to the day akin to a diary or notebook. The slightly unbalanced placement of it at 3 as opposed to 6 adds to the feel it is functional first and formal second. And what's wrong with a bit of asymmetry?

  16. #16
    Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by timor54 View Post
    Happy with or without date window. Just can’t stand cyclops!
    Me too.

  17. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by Kallang View Post
    I like a date window at 3. It makes the watch seem like a purposeful accessory to the day akin to a diary or notebook. The slightly unbalanced placement of it at 3 as opposed to 6 adds to the feel it is functional first and formal second. And what's wrong with a bit of asymmetry?
    And it's (often) out from the shirt cuff.
    Last edited by Kingstepper; 6th October 2019 at 21:03.

  18. #18
    Craftsman
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    date windows, 24 hour rings, dial design etc

    I like what Nomos did on this by putting a date window under the seconds sub dial, where there’s a bit too much void otherwise. Quite clever and handy in its bold readability -




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  19. #19
    What about date window at 4.30 like in the sinn 6068. Mixed feelings for me

  20. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by dpc View Post
    What about date window at 4.30 like in the sinn 6068. Mixed feelings for me
    No problem with 4:30, just think it would look far better vertical, not at that jaunty angle. Others, like the 756 do it far better IMO. What I don't like is dates in some indeterminate position - closer to the 4 than the 5, like 4:20 say, especially if between batons.



    Last edited by Kingstepper; 6th October 2019 at 22:19.

  21. #21
    Agree. Vertical would look better

  22. #22
    Craftsman NCC66's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by pete-r View Post
    Date is fine in my opinion, just no cyclops magnifiers.
    This!

    I definitely prefer simple no date dials, mainly because resetting the date is one more fuss I could do without. However, cyclops really do, somewhat irrationally, bug me.

    On reflection, this all probably says more about me and my relative state of mind, than the true value of any watch complication. First world problems and all that.....


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  23. #23
    Journeyman
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    The only brand that does 4.30 date nicely is B&R

    Personally I prefer a watch with no extra complications to keep the dial simple

  24. #24
    Master sean's Avatar
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    If you're going to do a date window, do it right.



    Put some thought into making it more than just a cut out. Omega did it best here. Lovely curved corners, subtle highlight with the white outline, and clear white font on black background for excellent legibility.

  25. #25
    Quote Originally Posted by CatalystGuy View Post
    The Seamaster I bought last month has a very discrete date window at 6 and is great because the location means the display is balanced and secondly it’s there on the few occasions I might need it but not in your face like some are.




    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Agree.
    Also IMO, one of the best divers, strike that - one of the best watches on market currently.
    Skeleton hands notwithstanding.

  26. #26
    Journeyman
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    I think date display looks good at 12, 3 and 6, as long as it is discreet, really don't like the 4 or 5 position or big/double date windows just looks wrong to my eyes and definitely stops me buying the watch. Watch for every taste though!

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  27. #27
    Master
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    Well, a date window does have the function of showing the errrm...Date, which is useful.
    Look, I think watches without super complex chrono dials are dull, so a watch without even a date window would be seriously miserable! I'd like the old Day & Date windows to return - they seem to have gone out of fashion!

  28. #28
    Craftsman
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    date windows, 24 hour rings, dial design etc

    Quote Originally Posted by dpc View Post
    Agree. Vertical would look better
    Got a vertical 4:30 date on my Tudor Fastrider, I think it’s pretty good...


  29. #29
    Craftsman
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    Quote Originally Posted by benwisback View Post
    Got a vertical 4:30 date on my Tudor Fastrider, I think it’s pretty good...

    The pusher at 9 to quick change the date is handy on these also

  30. #30
    I think it depends on the watch, a dial can look very plain without one.

    It is the Cyclops that I have a problem with and have never bought a watch with one of those fitted

  31. #31
    Grand Master MartynJC (UK)'s Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by CatalystGuy View Post
    The Seamaster I bought last month has a very discrete date window at 6 and is great because the location means the display is balanced and secondly it’s there on the few occasions I might need it but not in your face like some are.




    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

    Non-date for me. Joking aside - yours is great too.



    Martyn

  32. #32
    Apprentice
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    Quote Originally Posted by sean View Post
    If you're going to do a date window, do it right.

    [IMG][/IMG]

    Put some thought into making it more than just a cut out. Omega did it best here. Lovely curved corners, subtle highlight with the white outline, and clear white font on black background for excellent legibility.
    I will admit that I find this quite nice. Like you said, they actually put thought into it.

  33. #33
    Master Saxon007's Avatar
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    I'm not a fan of the date function so none of my watches have it.

    I find the watches look cleaner and can be set in a jiffy.

    One of my watches, a Hamilton Khaki Field watch, has the 24 hour markers. I'd prefer it didn't have them but I can live with them.

  34. #34

    date windows, 24 hour rings, dial design etc

    I won’t buy/wear a watch without a date. It’s as intrinsic to the function of the thing as hours and minutes, in my mind.
    I can’t stand date at 4o’clock though! Just awful, so many nice pieces ruined by it.

    24hr on a GMT is a necessary.
    24hr inner ring or whatever - depends how it’s done, but I don’t get all emotional about it. I take it on a per watch basis

    Nice little 24hrs.....

    This one’s a bit busy... you must hate it!!!




    Much improved with a date window.....


    Prefer it with....




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    Last edited by notenoughwrists; 11th October 2019 at 12:04.

  35. #35
    Master
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    I don't like date windows; I like the simplicity of a watch that just tells the time. However, I do like a cyclops on a Rolex; it's just part of the trademark 'look'. So - since a cyclops to magnify the 3 o'clock baton or numeral would be a bit perverse, I do like a date window on a Rolex.

    More generally I like the date window, if there must one, to be at 4, or between 4 and 5. I just think it has a certain rakish charm like that.

    From a practical point of view I like date windows, notwithstanding my general dislike of them, that expose three dates.

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