Reply With QuoteSurely you never bought it to tell the time or date
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I've reached the ripe old age of 44 and now find myself struggling to see the date on my newly purchased Deepsea. My fault, I should have gone for something with a cyclops, but alas I'll struggle through.
To be fair though, it's not a massive problem. However it reminded me of older threads I used to read where people used to bemoan a fussy dial or people finding it difficult to tell the time on some chronographs such as a Daytona and I never really could see what the problem was. Now I know. My old age and failing eyesight are taking their toll...
Surely you never bought it to tell the time or date
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Feeling your pain +1.5 decades... Damn annoying at times, and has certainly changed my attitude to grande date complications...
Which reference deep sea?
The 136660 has an 8% bigger date window. Not quite 2.5x magnification but handy.
Last edited by wileeeeeey; 29th March 2023 at 18:18.
10 years ahead of you and mulling over selling the G shock collection for exactly that reason! - my eyesight isn’t bad to be fair but in the last 5 years the close up vision has taken a hit. Why did I sell my Panerai base model??!! They were only £1500 back then too! - I remember seeing the Victor Meldrew actor wearing a Panerai, and so does the lovely Felicity Kendall. It’s not for fashion, it’s so they can tell the time!!
I’ve never understood those tiny ladies Datejusts on middle aged women either - they must wear them as a bracelet, usually tiny gold hands on a tiny gold dial too, what’s that all about??
It’s a 126660 James Cameron. I didn’t really there was a change to the date window with the 136660!Originally Posted by wileeeeeey
I'm moving towards watches with no date. That way I can ignore the problem as I age.
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Buy a MilSub.
Easy to tell the time, no date to complicate things
Don't be buying a Jacopo Dondi 24 hour dial, single hander
I find black hands on a white dial are easiest to read. Pity only one of my small collection is adorned in this way.
That's a new brand to me and I really do like the look of it.Don't be buying a Jacopo Dondi 24 hour dial, single hander
Happily , or maybe sadly, I'm now retired so the date is not so important, but , hang on, neither is the time , I suppose...Why do I still have all these watches about me ??? A not uncommon OCD compels be to ensure the dates are correct, pretty sure I am not alone ...
Lange 1....
That's why the Submariner 124060 is the perfect dive watch.
Unfortunately it only goes in one direction, you’re still near the top of the slope.
Ironically, I can fix watches with no problem, working with the right magnifiers combined with the right technique and a steady hand is paramount and I tick those boxes. However, I can build a chronograph, fit the hands, case it up, then struggle to read the thing, even with varifocal glasses I struggle.
Ageing is a process that happens to the best of us, don’t fight it, just learn to roll with the punches.
20 years ahead of you.
It gets worse......
A pair of +1.5 readers should so the trick nicely
I remember seeing somewhere that Hugh Grant was a panerai wearer, and he justified it by saying his eyesight was terrible so he needed a watch on which he could tell the time!
A 44mm slab of metal with simple dial might be the way forward
48 next month. Started to occasionally wear reading glasses at 45 with a +2 rating after a few years of denial. I can't read the date on my seamster without my glasses on which, being as that's only happened once so far I forgot to actually check to see it was even correct and think it's probably 3 days adrift now. Other than that I'm in fine fetal, apart from sciatica, dodgy knees /elbows / neck, mild dose of rosacea.
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I never liked cyclops lenses before I realised how useful they are. I tend to prefer no date watches but I love my new Nivada Spider and I won’t have a date watch without a cyclops lens now.
I have just picked up one of these, the date digits are tiny, I am shortsighted so not to bad with glasses off but a blurry mess with glasses on. It’s reaching the point where varifocals are needed. (Phil borrowed from internet)
Wait until the floaters arrive.
David
Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations
I read that too and having become a reading glasses wearer, despite having 4 pairs about the house and my person I am quite often finding myself without them. So time only, legible dials are my preference these days. While I've owned a Speedy for years, being unable to actually read the chronograph makes that feature somewhat redundant vs the Apple Watch on my other wrist with a few taps easily setting a count up or down timer that I can see without much more than a squint! That said, reading the time on it is remarkably easy as the sub-dials seem to disappear into the background when not needed. I must admit to having been tempted to let it go to acquire a base Panerai...
Buy at least 10 pairs of cheap readers and spread them all over including regular use jacket pockets.
Then my an IWC Mark XX, perfect … although you will need one of those 10 pairs for the date.
I hope I don't offend anyone here, but to be frank, if at age 44 you are having difficulty reading the date on your watch, you need glasses or a better optometrist! I went to see an ophthalmic surgeon about 12 years ago as I had been diagnosed as having narrow angles and therefore at risk of angle-closure glaucoma (I had to have laser iridotomies performed). I asked the surgeon about my sight, difficulty reading, computer screens, hazing around lights, difficulty night-driving etc, thinking I might have early cataracts, as my prescription was fairly recent. He just laughed like a drain and said "You're over 40 and you need varifocals, just accept it!"
Duly noted and , after consulting my optometrist, getting said varifocals and a couple of weeks getting used to them, I have never looked back. Providing I have a regular and thorough eye check every two years and change prescriptions accordingly, there is nothing I can't see or read.
Obvious disclaimer here - if you are much older or have any other eye condition (cataracts, macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy), this advice isn't going to help, so apologies. And if you suddenly start to notice an increase in floaters, then you should be off to the Eye Casualty department pronto...
I'm caught between the last two posts. Readers dotted everywhere/get down to specsavers.
I'm starting to notice mid-distance issues, especially while driving. I curse date windows without the cyclops. Curse them!
The answer to all your problems...
Slowly getting there myself too at 46, my last eye test I left with some readers (only 1.25)
I still like my watches simple with time and date only and have recently noticed the dates are getting harder to read,
I don't like cyclops and don't think I will ever change my view on that, I'll make do without a date (or being able to see it!)
I am 42 and have been wearing glasses for 40 years (I still have my first tiny pair). I am short sighted but have quite a low prescription so it’s not too bad yet. I can still read the date of a watch with out the specs on - can’t see what is across the road though!
Having had narrow angle glaucoma due to a winning combo of narrow angles, small eye balls and highish +6 prescription I can relate to this. The iridotomies kept it at bay for 7 or so years. Last year the gradually thickening lenses associated with age tipped me over and I had both replaced on the NHS. In effect cataract ops which has fixed the pressure issue. My eyesight is actually a lot better now so whilst I still use varifocals they are so much thinner than before and going out I can make do without contact lenses and just use cheap readers for menus etc. So it's been overall a win for me if not a particularly enjoyable process.
Would an Oris pointer date be any use to the myopic?
The track looks really small but at least you could guess the date after a while.
I like the new cervo volante versions but they're a tight 38mm instead of the usual 40mm, which won't help.
Meh, bought the 40mm railway ltd edition one. Black with a red pointer, I’ll soon be able to guess the date!
Last edited by Fender; 2nd April 2023 at 10:31.
Get some varifocals, job done! :0)
Feel exactly the same, I got myself a reissue of the Seiko Arnie and couldn't read the digital part at all!!!
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Get a GBD200, I've got the screen set to the enormous single time and it's great.
Off to the opticians tomorrow so should have a new date watch and my first pair of prescription bins the same day.
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This thread made me chuckle, I turned 50 on Monday and I need glasses for reading or close up work with any detail..... It's just a blur otherwise!
I recently bought a Hamilton navy diver. The massive ugly titanium one with the red bezel. I absolutely love it, I can even read the time without having to put my glasses on
I have found that I cannot be bothered with, or am drawn to, anything with a fussy dial
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Im 45 and you have "cant read a datejust or a Daytona" ahead of you.
I`m 65 and my eyesight deteriorated in my early 20s, ended up quite short-sighted but OK for close-up. Hit mid-40s and the age-related presbyopia set in, that was corrected by varifocals and still is to an extent. I now have reading glasses and what I term workbench glasses, which are like a varifocal with a strongish reading power at the bottom and an intermediate at the top that allows me to see at around 6 feet, so I can see the workbench and computer screen but they're useless for anything else. I do some refinishing work on my garage workbench which involves a trip outside through the back patio doors, I`m too lazy to take the workbench glasses off so the trip outside is done in a myopic haze. Just been out to refinish a caseback, to put the concentric grained finish on (takes about 30 seconds after setting everything up). I could do with a different pair of intermediate glasses for car work, you end up with your head in the wrong place with normal varifocals when crawling around the garage floor.
I`ve worked on cars since I was 18, to me it's like riding a bike, you never forget how to do stuff even after a lengthy break, but I find deteriorating eyesight the biggest handicap that slows me down. Ironically, doing watch movement work isn`t a problem because it involves strong magnifiers and strong lighting, I can build a watch then struggle to read the chronograph sub-dials.
All part of the ageing process, can`t fight it. My advice to anyone in their 40s who's atarting to struggle is to accept it and don't go into denial. There are far worse things than needing to wear glasses.
Went to opticians and was disappointed to learn that I only require reading glasses. Wanted to look like a professor.
"your close vision can't be helped, it just gets worse with age - so that will never end"
Er, I think it will...
A great quip that earned me a genuine giggle from the young lady optometrist. I could tell she was impressed by the wit only extensive maturity can bring. We flirted a little more, back and forth.
I was escorted out of specsavers with a real spring in my step. Well, my legs were swinging in the air but you catch my drift.
are you trying to tell us that this is the time for a minute repeater?
Don't get a Sinn EZM3, vaguely remember it does have a red date wheel on there somewhere but at 54 I'll be darned if I can see it anymore.
Do however buy a credit card size fresnel lens, great for date wheels, cooking instructions etc
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Last edited by cad monkey; 11th April 2023 at 07:56.
Yes, date window on an EZM-3 is virtually invisible ?
M
Breitling Cosmonaute 809 - What's not to like?
Over the years as my reading sight increasingly relied on spectacles I’ve simply ignored the date on my watches and don’t bother to set it as a I can’t read it anyway.
I’m getting to the stage that a giant cyclops is needed to cover the whole watch glass.
That said, I’ve found the hands and dial on my new Tudor BB36 to be very legible and easy to read in most lighting conditions, and by far the easiest watch to read that I have, even without specs. The Pagani Design knock-off of the Speedmaster is clear too, and great as a daily beater.
Spot on!
And don’t forget you can double up pairs of specs for small work
That made me chuckleWent to opticians and was disappointed to learn that I only require reading glasses. Wanted to look like a professor.
"your close vision can't be helped, it just gets worse with age - so that will never end"
Er, I think it will...
Good idea. Any recommendations as to a supplier?The answer to all your problems...
I recognise that, and find that good lighting is also important to me when working on small stuff (or reading print)
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