August's Friday Watches - Bonus Content

[Wimm]

The record temperatures of August has passed us by and the summer draws to the close, even if the Summer Game will continue for a few more weeks yet. The holiday plans of most on this forum were thrown in to disarray by something so small that there it may not be alive. Some of us were able to rearrange their getaways, either staying in the UK or playing the international quarantine lottery. Others stayed at home and enjoyed the summer in their own residences (whether that be in a London apartment or beside a Spanish pool). So how was this reflected in our watch wearing habits?

We had a total of 644 watches and 122 brands which was fairly average. We managed to add a very respectable 20 new brands to the list. It was pretty much business as usual amongst the top three, even if the numbers were slightly lower there were some notable events further down the field. Citizen had their best month so far, narrowly missing out on ten examples in a single week on the 14th. Conversely Panerai had their worst month so far but only marginally. On the strength of the first sales of the Baby range Timefactors hit it's highest count since May. For me the most welcome appearance was that rarely seen but exceptional timepiece, the Offshore Professional which made a welcome return to the Friday thread, making its first appearance since January.

Enough preamble, here are the the figures:

1 Rolex 87
2 Seiko 72
3 Omega 58
4 Timefactors 34
5 Tudor 27
6 Citizen 20
7 G Shock 20
8 Panerai 18
9 Sinn 15
10 Grand Seiko 12
11 Zenith 12
12 CWC 11
13 Breitling 10
14 Longines 9
15 Damasko 8
16 Hamilton 8
17 Heuer 8
18 IWC 8
19 Fortis 7
20 Bremont 6
21 Patek Philippe 6
22 Tag Heuer 6
23 Audemars Piguet 5
24 Garmin 5
25 Oris 5
26 Apple 4
27 Bell & Ross 4
28 Casio 4
29 Glycine 4
30 Moser 4
31 Nomos 4
32 Tissot 4
33 Wolbrook 4
34 Yema 4
35 Blancpain 3
36 Hanhart 3
37 Helm 3
38 Jaeger-LeCoultre 3
39 Newmark (Modern) 3
40 Seaholm 3
41 Squale 3
42 Steinhart 3
43 Universal Geneve 3
44 Vostok 3
45 Archimede 2
46 Cartier 2
47 Christopher Ward 2
48 Chronoswiss 2
49 Dagaz 2
50 Eterna 2
51 Glaschutte Original 2
52 Helgray 2
53 Helson 2
54 Helvetia 2
55 Kemmner 2
56 Laco 2
57 Lemania 2
58 Linde Werdelin 2
59 Marathon 2
60 Maurice La Croix 2
61 Muhle 2
62 Offshore Professional 2
63 Orient 2
64 Schofield 2
65 Sterile 2
66 Technos 2
67 Unimatic 2
68 Aerowatch 1
69 Alpina 1
70 Apeks 1
71 Bulova 1
72 Choisi 1
73 Chopard 1
74 Davosa 1
75 Deep Blue 1
76 Didun Design 1
77 Dievas 1
78 Douglas 1
79 Doxa (modern) 1
80 Edox 1
81 Elliot Brown 1
82 Farer 1
83 Frederique Constant 1
84 Geralch 1
85 Halios 1
86 Heimdallr 1
87 Hima 1
88 Ingersoll 1
89 J W Benson 1
90 Jamaica Time 1
91 Le Monde 1
92 Limit 1
93 Mercer 1
94 Ming 1
95 Monta 1
96 Movado 1
97 Oak and Oscar 1
98 Ocean7 1
99 Oceanx 1
100 Phoibos 1
101 Pinion 1
102 Precista 1
103 Prometheus 1
104 Pulsar 1
105 Revue Thommen 1
106 Rotary 1
107 SarpanevaUhrenFabrik 1
108 Scurfa 1
109 Seagull 1
110 Siduna 1
111 Smith and Wesson 1
112 Smiths 1
113 Steeldive 1
114 Stowa 1
115 Talis 1
116 Traska 1
117 Trias 1
118 Vacheron Constantin 1
119 Victorinox 1
120 Wild Horologists & Team 1
121 Zelos 1
122 Zodiac 1

[Wimm]

Seeing as our host runs a highly successful microbrand this month's bonus content will focus on the more popular microbrands. I expect there will be some debate about what constitutes a microbrand and what doesn't. I have tried to steer a route between low production numbers and affordability (any brand who sells the majority of their models over £1,000 has not been included). However all of this is based on my perception rather than actuality as I have researched neither production numbers or prices. I am happy to consider adding others if requested. Fortunately the decision making hasn't been too difficult as many microbrands barely register more than one or two a month so the six that have made it are pretty much the most popular.

Unsurprisingly Timefactors rules the roost, firmly occupying the group behind the top three. Time factors watches regularly come in fourth and have only ever gone as low as sixth. This is not unsurprising not only because of our forum's association with the brand but also because of the watches Eddie produces and the brand names in his stable.

Ewan's re-incarnated Newmark started the year off strongly, on the back of the release of the great looking Newmark 71. Newmark carried this momentum through the early part of the year but has tailed off a little.

The new kid on the block is SteelDive. Having only entered the fray in May they are clocking up some impressive numbers being the second most popular microbrand for three months.

Halios and Squale have bubbled along quietly throughout the year. Halios' success is mainly down to Glen Goyne's Halios Seaforth Bronze which has been a regular throughout the year. An unintended consequence of this regularity, perhaps of particular interest to those fans of bronze cases, is the opportunity to witness how the patina has developed in that time.

The surprise entry is Christopher Ward. It appears not to be a very popular brand on the forum (it does elicit some opinions on occasion) but it has still managed to make an appearance every month this year.

For those of us who enjoy a good chart or two here are two (please excuse the slightly psychedelic nature of the second one):

on Flickr

on Flickr

[oldoakknives]

Thanks, a valuable insight into what is actually being worn.

[snowman]

I suspect Steeldive are actually huge in terms of production numbers...

M

[Wimm]

I thought Steeldive might have been the contentious choice.I was aware the cases were mass produced and are found being used by other brands. I hadn't appreciated that the whole watch was mass produced and then rebranded by whoever wants to start a new brand. So perhaps we can ignore Steeldive.

It is quite interesting to see how quickly they have caught on here in such a short time. As soon the first watches arrived on the scene they were hovering around the top twenty for three months after a brief drop down last month it looks like they are heading back up this month. It shows what happens when a brand hits the sweet spot of quality and price.

[sk2k]

The record temperatures of August has passed us by and the summer draws to the close, even if the Summer Game will continue for a few more weeks yet. The holiday plans of most on this forum were thrown in to disarray by something so small that there it may not be alive. Some of us were able to rearrange their getaways, either staying in the UK or playing the international quarantine lottery. Others stayed at home and enjoyed the summer in their own residences (whether that be in a London apartment or beside a Spanish pool). So how was this reflected in our watch wearing habits?

We had a total of 644 watches and 122 brands which was fairly average. We managed to add a very respectable 20 new brands to the list. It was pretty much business as usual amongst the top three, even if the numbers were slightly lower there were some notable events further down the field. Citizen had their best month so far, narrowly missing out on ten examples in a single week on the 14th. Conversely Panerai had their worst month so far but only marginally. On the strength of the first sales of the Baby range Timefactors hit it's highest count since May. For me the most welcome appearance was that rarely seen but exceptional timepiece, the Offshore Professional which made a welcome return to the Friday thread, making its first appearance since January.

Enough preamble, here are the the figures:

1 Rolex 87
2 Seiko 72
3 Omega 58
4 Timefactors 34
5 Tudor 27
6 Citizen 20
7 G Shock 20
8 Panerai 18
9 Sinn 15
10 Grand Seiko 12
11 Zenith 12
12 CWC 11
13 Breitling 10
14 Longines 9
15 Damasko 8
16 Hamilton 8
17 Heuer 8
18 IWC 8
19 Fortis 7
20 Bremont 6
21 Patek Philippe 6
22 Tag Heuer 6
23 Audemars Piguet 5
24 Garmin 5
25 Oris 5
26 Apple 4
27 Bell & Ross 4
28 Casio 4
29 Glycine 4
30 Moser 4
31 Nomos 4
32 Tissot 4
33 Wolbrook 4
34 Yema 4
35 Blancpain 3
36 Hanhart 3
37 Helm 3
38 Jaeger-LeCoultre 3
39 Newmark (Modern) 3
40 Seaholm 3
41 Squale 3
42 Steinhart 3
43 Universal Geneve 3
44 Vostok 3
45 Archimede 2
46 Cartier 2
47 Christopher Ward 2
48 Chronoswiss 2
49 Dagaz 2
50 Eterna 2
51 Glaschutte Original 2
52 Helgray 2
53 Helson 2
54 Helvetia 2
55 Kemmner 2
56 Laco 2
57 Lemania 2
58 Linde Werdelin 2
59 Marathon 2
60 Maurice La Croix 2
61 Muhle 2
62 Offshore Professional 2
63 Orient 2
64 Schofield 2
65 Sterile 2
66 Technos 2
67 Unimatic 2
68 Aerowatch 1
69 Alpina 1
70 Apeks 1
71 Bulova 1
72 Choisi 1
73 Chopard 1
74 Davosa 1
75 Deep Blue 1
76 Didun Design 1
77 Dievas 1
78 Douglas 1
79 Doxa (modern) 1
80 Edox 1
81 Elliot Brown 1
82 Farer 1
83 Frederique Constant 1
84 Geralch 1
85 Halios 1
86 Heimdallr 1
87 Hima 1
88 Ingersoll 1
89 J W Benson 1
90 Jamaica Time 1
91 Le Monde 1
92 Limit 1
93 Mercer 1
94 Ming 1
95 Monta 1
96 Movado 1
97 Oak and Oscar 1
98 Ocean7 1
99 Oceanx 1
100 Phoibos 1
101 Pinion 1
102 Precista 1
103 Prometheus 1
104 Pulsar 1
105 Revue Thommen 1
106 Rotary 1
107 SarpanevaUhrenFabrik 1
108 Scurfa 1
109 Seagull 1
110 Siduna 1
111 Smith and Wesson 1
112 Smiths 1
113 Steeldive 1
114 Stowa 1
115 Talis 1
116 Traska 1
117 Trias 1
118 Vacheron Constantin 1
119 Victorinox 1
120 Wild Horologists & Team 1
121 Zelos 1
122 Zodiac 1

surprised theres only 2 orients

[Glen Goyne]

Thanks. I wore the Halios Seaforth for 7 months daily, no one noticed but you picked it up and indeed patina went very dark quickly. Last trip swimming in the North Sea boosted that even further.

Some backrounnd: it was a great experiment to stick to one watchdog a longer period of time,
easier than I thought although I did swap straps. I just really like the watch and saw it more as a period of “growing patina” than “not wearing my other watches”.

After a lot of internal debate I just polished it, it looks close to brand new again now although I can’t remove 100 percent of the patina. I really wanted to see the shiny look again and I already have a “never polished” bronze Anonimo so the chance to polish this one I could not resist. Also patina will grow back and I now know how quick so no permanent damage done.

After and before




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