out of complete boredom today in almost lockdown conditions I decide to review and compare 4 of my favourite watches which I currently own .
Why review and compare these 4 pieces ? Well for one I own them all at the moment , and they are similarly priced at RRP and also at used mint condition.
All these watches are sold at RRP around the £4000 or just over , and all can be bought used in mint condition between £2600 to £2800 at the moment .
So if you have a budget of around £2500 or just over , then all these are an option for you .
First of all is my heuer autavia panda chrono . It’s a real beauty and one of the only tag’s I like and would actually buy . It’s colour scheme is stunning , and it has an exhibition caseback too . It comes on the beads of rice bracelet which I have mint In The box but prefer it on this short length leather racer strap . My only gripe is I wish it was a mm or 2 thinner
Secondly is my blue pelagos , the blue is simply stunning and the contrast between the white markers and hands is stunning , the lume is atomic and the case is hard as nails titanium . My favourite aspect is Tudors iconic snowflake hour hand . My only gripe is the titanium bracelet is a bit of a hair puller when on the wrist
My third is my speedy moonwatch , this one has the stunning curved plexi glass which shows very fine scratches but I wouldn’t change it for the harder sapphire crystal glass as this one has bags more character , the design is iconic and rivals the Daytona for looks in my opinion . My only gripe would be that the crown is tricky to operate as it’s small and fidelly compared to the other 3
Finally my limited edition seiko SLA033 , my favourite out of all the current seiko re-issues , it’s an iconic design based on the original turtles and is as strong as a tank . It’s 4pm crown position , square markers and great lume scream seiko at its finest . The bezel is also a major step up from all sub £1000 seikos . My only gripe is the case shape and size is quite large and borderline too big for my skinny wrists .
There you have it guys , an honest comparison of 4 stunning watches ,
Pic to follow and let me know your thoughts
What’s your favourite in this lineup ?
Speedy takes it on size. They're all crackers but the others just too big for perfection.
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I, too, would take the Speedy over any of the others.
Funnily enough, unlike the OP I detest the snowflake hands on the Tudor, they just look clumsy to me.
IMO the Moonwatch is the definitive chronograph and I much prefer it to a Daytona.
Last edited by JeremyO; 22nd March 2020 at 17:51.
Lovely watches, all of them. I'm in the Speedy camp as well.
How's the Seadweller doing? Still enjoying it?
Cheers,
Christian
I agree with the speedy fans.....
however - is that because it’s on bracelet over straps on some of the others?
Just looks more “finished” due to that I think
Lovely watches. I would of put myself in the Speedie camp and whenever I see the pictures I still say that but, having owned one and sold it, it clearly wasn’t for me. So from that I’d surely love to try the Heuer.
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That Seiko looks amazing.
I have and love the Speedy, but I keep considering trading it in for a Pelagos. I take it based on the previous comments, that wouldn’t be a popular choice.
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Pelagos for me all day bro,love the blue and the clean dial
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For me it's the Speedy, Tag, Seiko (not keen on the case design) the then Tudor due to that God awful hour hand. Nice collection👍
Fantastic collection
Interestingly they're all essentially reissues of originals. The Speedy technically isn't because it's been in continuous production since a handful went to the moon but it's fair to say had the watch not gone into space production would have stopped 40 years ago. The Autavia is my least favourite, I still don't get why they bothered to ask everyone to vote for what they wanted and then give us a mishmash of everything. The 39mm manual, no-date, Rindt Autavia won but they made it an auto and gave it the date and case size of the 42mm automatic 1163 and 11630 Autavias. I'm afraid I don't get the Seiko, you can buy an original for a LOT less (and for me there's no attraction to a Speedy made after the moon landings) but the blue Pelagos is a watch I've wanted since it came out, and will continue to want even if Tudor does the sensible thing and restarts production of the 39mm Submariner case and movement and fits it with a blue dial without white gold round the hour plots.
Four modern takes on classics, all watches you can swim in and which won't cost a fortune to repair if you damage something. Thinking about it, I still have a pre-moon Speedy and a couple of 2446 Autavias but I sold my Snowflake (AAAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHH!) and my 6105-8110 (and 8119 before it). That blue Pelagos though. Stop thinking about it...
"A man of little significance"
Have a speedy and love it, but there’s something about the blue Pelagos that draws me in, it’s a fantastic piece
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For me the pick of the litter would be the Pelagos, albeit the ETA version. It also benefits from less text on the dial. Match it with the basic Moonwatch and you’ve a perfect two watch collection.
Nice comparison, its a tie between the Omega and the Tudor for me
For me, in order....
TAG. Easiest of the four to read, (both time and chrono), would have been even better without the date complication. I'd have this over a Daytona any day of the week.
Speedy. Iconic timeless design, lovely proportions. What's not to like. I'm puzzled though that since I saw one on a work colleagues wrist in 1971 I've always wanted one but never bought one - can't work out why as I love them!
Seiko. Classic uncomplicated design. Screams functionality and robustness. I must be one of only a few people who love the crown at 4 - the most logical place to avoid it diging into the back of the hand/wrist whilst making it easy to access.
Tudor. Last, and very much least for me. Typical 'Rolex', cram as much meaningless wording on an otherwise lovely dial as possible. And then those hands, why? The only one of the four I personally wouldn't buy, sorry!
Best Regards - Peter
I'd hate to be with you when you're on your own.
I just love how Rolex and Daytona creep up into discussion about Tag vs ........:-)
Very amusing. Massive hang ups.
Good thread not too many to chose from
Speedy
Heuer
Seiko
Tudor
would be my rank order but it was close between the chrono's.
4 lovely watches, from the title I wasn't expecting the Heuer to be the one I liked best but from the pictures that's where I ended up.
Tudor
Speedy
Tag, it's not one my favourite tags though
Seiko
I'd go with Speedy, Seiko, Tag then Tudor.
I always liked the look of the Pelagos but tried one on a few weeks ago and it did nothing for me.
Omega I would pick any day. Seiko wouldn't even be on my list at all, I don't rate them as much as some people. Their steel is soft, one bump and there is a noticeable dent in the steel that would have done zero damage to an Omega.
I like that Tag, looks ace.
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The only one of these I own is the Speedy, and I haven’t exactly bonded with it.
The SLA033, that must be a very private pleasure, as it doesn’t look like an expensive watch, even though it’s very high quality.
The Pelagos is a fine watch, although I find that shade of blue a bit too much for me. For a daily dive watch to spare wear on the Sea Dweller it’s a very solid choice
I like TH and the Autavia has an excellent movement, and is one of their best. Slightly big and thick bezeled?
Dave
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Some great comments and such varied opinions on these 4 beauties
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i have had both a speedmaster pro and a pelagos, both fine watches, but something about them made them not keepers. I do love all the stuff you get with the speedy though and for me a nato it looks ace.
Lots of different opinions on the thread, which is great :)
For me its between the Speedy and the Tudor, but the Speedy gets it as it's just so iconic.
Already posted in trio thread but seen as I went to trouble of taking it.....
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Oh I kinda guessed that
Yep, he certainly comes across that way. And in further support of TAG, until i bought a Longines VHP last year my humble Quartz Link was the most accurate watch in my collection; even better than my much more expensive Breitling Aerospace and that has a thermocompensated movement! Accurate to within 10 seconds between DST changes. It also has the most comfortable bracelet of all my watches.
Best Regards - Peter
I'd hate to be with you when you're on your own.
Ah, so you're unhappy that your watch failed out of waranty and they wanted to charge you to fix it? That I can understand IF it was indeed the day after the warrant expired, though there seems to be some doubt about that! Hardly justifies your "inferior in every way" comment IMO.
Best Regards - Peter
I'd hate to be with you when you're on your own.
Great watches! Thanks for sharing.
Speedy all the way, but then I'm biased. It's the only one of the four I own. Classic, history, readability.
Would love a Pelagos though on the technicals and the bracelet. Not 100% committed yet due to not quite being able to get over comparisons I read with a casino chip.
Have owned a few Seiko diver models of various vintages, great watches but struggle to really 'feel' the difference, perhaps the catalogue is just to wide and too many minor evolutions. A connoisseur would know all the design differences between a super rare 1980s model and a 2020 cheapo. Perhaps I need to buy more!
Tried the Autavia twice in the AD. Should tick all the boxes from a design side but I didn't bond with it. Might buy used at some point to see if a week on the wrist helps.
A bad experience with customer service is not the same as the brand being inferior though. I have had poor experience with Seiko customer service but as a brand I cant say they are poor quality watches for example I would compare a Seiko SARB to a similar priced Citizen in build, accuracy etc even though the Citizen customer service is far better. There are plenty of people who have had a bad experience with the Tudor GMT with the date wheel issue but while many are not happy with this very few say the watch is "Poor in every way" or worse still the entire brand is.
Just my own experience, I currently own a Tudor and Omega watch. I like both but personally find the Tudor slightly better (I have a speedmaster and GMT) The speedmaster may be a classic watch but when I look at brands like Sinn, Damasko, Eberhardt etc I find it to be grossly overpriced for what it is (Thankfully I bought it a few years ago) I had a Tag watch a few years ago and for the price I cannot fault the watch at all. I think what I am slightly confused over is what about the watch itself was inferior? Was it the build quality, the fit of the watch, the timekeeping? Like I say, I had a poor experience with Seiko customer service but years later the watch is still with me and ticking away without a problem.
Is anyone like me , having a wristwatch change every couple of hours whilst sitting alone on the sofa during lockdown or am I slowly going crazy ?
Hello TZ,
Boredom has a grip on us all and I like to add my 2 cents to this thread as I have coincidentaly one of each brand myself too:
1. The Tag Heuer 2000 Professional was my first nice watch offered to me by my dad when I turned 21 (almost 28 years ago). The battery is empty and I have not worn it in years but it has been a daily wearer for the best part of 10 years and never missed a beat. Feels a bit flimsy nowadays but so does any 28 year old Rolex or Omega
2. The Seiko SLA019 is a beast of a watch and soooo nice with in green. This is my 3 MM and my go to watch when I travel anywhere. I run, swim, dive with it and it accompanied me on my World trip last in this year July 2019 to February 2020. Love it!
3. The Tudor BBC with the ´in-house´ movement (actually a Breitling). Fantastic and solid. My daily wearer to the office. No real sentimental value but a good watch for a reasonable amount of money. By far the most reliable and precise watch of them all.
4. The Omega Planet Ocean 42mm with 8500 movement. Also here the 3 iteration of this watch I owned and this is a keeper. though having rather manly wrists, this fits much better than the bigger ones I owned. It just yells quality and is the my fiancée´s favourite on me..
I had many other Omegas, Seikos, Tag Heuers in my run and the Speedy was and is one of my favourites of all time. I don't have one at the moment but it won't take long.
The only Seikos that ever rocked my boat has been the MM and I would like to try a Tudor GMT soon.
Tag Heuer´s offering does not do anything for me anymore.
Have a nice quarantine day.
Cheers,
Serge
Speedy for me