Panerai 213 or 233
Anyone can own a R***x, an Omega, Breitling, or a Seiko for example, and `anyone` would probably be familiar with them, but which watch in your collection would you consider to be the one that confirms your status to be a `WIS`?
The one that is probably totally unknown to the general public should it come up in conversation?
The one which might strike up a conversation with another watch fancier should their gaze rest upon it?
The one which only another watch nerd would recognise?
Vintage stuff notwithstanding I suspect a lot of micro brands will be mentioned..
Panerai 213 or 233
RIAC
Don't know about the WIS status but this one 99% of people don't have a clue what it is.
Credit to Howard for the picture too (hhhh)
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My first thought would be a Grand Seiko, although a Sinn or maybe a Tutima or Damasko would be a giveaway too.
This Squale. A WIS would appreciate how fifty fathoms-esque it is.
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Not a vintage watch - that could be inherited by someone who doesn’t care less what it is. I once struck up a conversation with a guy wearing a Sinn U1. And surprise surprise he was a watch nut!
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Definitely Mr Curta's Polerouter. Gorgeous but otherwise unknown in the 'real' world (the watch, not Matthew).
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The ones that I hand built myself from quality Swiss manufactured parts! (That was before my poor eyesight and nerve damage put a stop to all that!).
And not forgetting anything from Eddie's stable
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My Sinn 556a. Young sales assistant at my local Goldsmiths got weirdly excited when he saw it. Think Sinn as a brand communicates WIS-status very effectively.
The only watch I have that has provoked comments from a fellow 'enthusiast' is this...
Although this one attracted positive comments from the non-WIS (Grand Seiko SBGT241G)
z
Last edited by zelig; 23rd April 2022 at 22:16. Reason: Another one
Definitely any of my Sinn 556a, 857 or 144
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When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
I'd say my CWC G10, GShock 5610 and my Linde Werdelins. Who but a wis would even come into contact with LW???
Also my standard Speedy Pro?
Surely a Seagull 1963 reissue, one of the older ones, 38mm diameter, acrylic crystal that pops off if you even look at it the wrong way.
It's the watch that brought me to this forum many years ago.
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Probably my 2 Stowa watches, Partitio and Antea KS.
Both have the old Stowa text on the dial so purchased in those ancient times when we discussed watches and not databases, market trends...........
Universal Geneve is the greatest 'dead' brand. But there are many other vintage watches that would mark you out as a WIS.
You could say a GW-5000 but they’re not exactly noticeable!!
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I think of myself as a lightweight WIS and only have two 'proper' watches, of which my Damasko Dsub1 is the one I love to witter about to anyone that shows the mildest interest: "made of submarine steel", "check out this precision German bezel movement". Conversations never last much further to be fair
Virtually any Heuer will confer WIS status.
I suspect my Bulova Accutron I inherited from my father (but unfortunately isn’t in running order at the moment) might be one that might only be appreciated by the WIS crowd.
Otherwise, perhaps my Sinn 857 UTC or GS Snowflake (I’ve definitely got a soft spot for interesting movement tech).
Anything from Nomos
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My Prs-29b gets more comments on UK/US watch Facebook pages than my other more well known watches.
My Speedmaster obviously:
Joking apart, how about:
Last edited by M4tt; 24th April 2022 at 00:33.
Anything with a lemania 5100
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Linde werdelin for me.
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Looking at my own collection
Anything from Sinn
Seiko Tuna, a face only a WIS could love
Orange Monster
D
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I'll stick my neck out and rank a few that I own / have owned / want to own -
Dekla > Archimede > Damasko > Sinn - reason being each produces similar tool-watches - often with hardened cases &c, but each one is more expensive than the last.
Minase > Kurono > Credor > Campanola > Grand Seiko - companies best known for superbly finished Japanese dress watches.
Random 'honourable mentions' -
Oris: now producing some excellent in-house movements and some great, creative, well-made watches at very fair prices.
L.U. Chopard: arguably the best VFM in 'haute horlogerie'.
Edox: quietly underrated.
I was going to reply “all of the ones I have left” from the SKX through the Speedmaster 3753-50 to the SD16600, but that would be my head still thinking it’s 2003. Who then would have bought a cheap Seiko dive watch, a laughably anachronistic manual-wind chronograph or the “wrong” Submariner, but a proper WIS? Same for the Seiko perpetual calendar SBMC023, or any of the Grand Seikos I used to own.
But…
I think that precludes any of the above. Even Grand Seiko has at least some residual brand recognition, so could not be “totally unknown”. I'd say a Smiths, but although that might have once conclusively marked you as a WIS, it may now mark you as that anti-WIS, the odious speculator. Social media and the dismal pursuit of “online status” has amplified everything about this interest, including all the tedious aspects.
So of my current diminishing crop, I go with the Credor Spring Drive. Surely zero recognition outside WIS circles, but of enough intrinsic interest to a WIS to spark some discussion if noticed.
I'll go with this.
Don't just do something, sit there. - TNH
From what I have in the watch box I'd say Grand Seiko (though also accept TT's perspective on that above), Sinn, Stowa, Damasko and Tutima. I'll also throw in my Tuna as although Seiko is known to all I'd argue that Tunas are more of a nerd/WIS model range. If I had my old SBDX001 I'd put that up as a WIS status watch for the same reason.
Minase
Mathey-Tissot
ZRC
Auricoste
BP 50 Fathoms
Laventure
Ming
Kurono
Eberhard
Dornbluth
As hinted at - anything that is in a store window, probably doesn’t fit in the niche………..
So, of mine:
Damasko DA36
Sewills Carmania
but maybe also my Blancpain Fifty Fathoms.
Lots of interesting suggestions, some of which are mildly surprising to me given them being relatively widely-known.
For me i`d like my WIS watch to be my Omega flightmaster, they`re not something you see very often, have a good reputation amongst collectors and that most distinctive of designs adds to the general super cool 70`s vibe of the things only someone `in-the-know` might be daft enough to wear and own.
Doubt many have heard of these...
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Probably this. I've lost count of the amount of times I've heard "that Seiko's worth how much?!!", even from other watch guys.
My first two thoughts were Sinn and any tuning fork watch.
M
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Breitling Cosmonaute 809 - What's not to like?
I would pick my Moser. Virtually zero brand recognition from Joe Public, which to me is a good thing.