Watch Out or Watch on? Pt 2.

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ssjones

Moderator
Staff member
May 11, 2011
18,519
11,501
Maryland
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I was goofing around on Facebook with my son-in-law and brother, these bogus Omega Moonswatches came up, for $50. I gambled and ordered the Mission to Mercury, straight from China. The knock-off is amazing, fully Swatch packaging, including a pink Swatch bag. The velcro strap is silly, so I have it on a grey NATO for now. I have an incoming grey rubber strap from AliExpress. People say the quartz movement in these knock-offs are actually of a better quality than the $300 Swatch version.

Omega MoonSwatch (1).jpgOmega MoonSwatch (3).jpgOmega MoonSwatch (4).jpg
 

Grangerous

Lifer
Dec 8, 2020
3,270
13,171
East Coast USA
I was goofing around on Facebook with my son-in-law and brother, these bogus Omega Moonswatches came up, for $50. I gambled and ordered the Mission to Mercury, straight from China. The knock-off is amazing, fully Swatch packaging, including a pink Swatch bag. The velcro strap is silly, so I have it on a grey NATO for now. I have an incoming grey rubber strap from AliExpress. People say the quartz movement in these knock-offs are actually of a better quality than the $300 Swatch version.

View attachment 282250View attachment 282251View attachment 282252
That’s a strange move by the Swatch Group. I’m certain a well calculated one. But definitely a gamble.

It was designed to plant a seed of interest in luxury watches to an ignored market segment. At this stage of life, they cannot afford a luxury watch. But later…

The gamble is in the Swatch Group placing the name “Omega” onto a plastic quartz watch and thus cheapening their own brand. — There are many Speedmaster owners and collectors wondering why they would do this.

But TIME will TELL.
 
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agnosticpipe

Lifer
Nov 3, 2013
3,357
3,534
In the sticks in Mississippi
@agnosticpipe, I have a couple watches coming from AliExpress. TEMU is similar. Could be a fairly decent watch.

Any real life pictures?
Here's a quick shot I took of it on my wrist. All in all I'm pretty impressed with the quality of this watch at this price point. I like it too because it's not a chronograph but just a regular watch with a date window. Chronos look cool, and I've owned them in the past, but I've never had a use for those complications. For me it just makes the dial look busier and in some cases makes telling time more difficult. But that's just me and my old fart opinion.
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ssjones

Moderator
Staff member
May 11, 2011
18,519
11,501
Maryland
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Al is that case painted?
Colored plastic, made from recycled fishing nets and the tears of unicorns. Just like the real one.
I've watched a few Youtube comparison videos, the fakes hold up quite well. The chronograph hands don't reset to zero all the time, but apparently neither does the Swatch version. The battery cover is slightly different, the entire back pops off. But the movement is actually a better quartz than the Swatch version and it has a standard SW920 battery. The snap off back does have a rubber gasket (I put some silicone grease on it).

Omega MoonSwatch (6).jpgOmega MoonSwatch (8).jpgOmega MoonSwatch (9).jpg
 
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Briar Lee

Lifer
Sep 4, 2021
4,837
13,928
Humansville Missouri
My love of watches knows no bounds. I own several dozen.

But I’ve bought my last one:

IMG_6910.jpeg

It’s not perfect. I’d make it 100 meters water resistant with a sapphire crystal, if I had my druthers.

But the Orient Star Classic is a dead ringer for my father’s 1958 Hamilton Thin-O-Matic, which was in turn an American made Omega Pie Pan Domed Constellation (with a Swiss automatic movement) and I own one of those, too. The new Orient Star version is better, except it’s not gold.

This watch was made to be a new 1950s domed dress watch.


As a dress watch, when I wear a suit and tie, I’m happy as a clam with a $350 watch.

I can wear it after hours, but then my other watches would sleep in drawers always.

If I were compelled to have only one watch this would be the one.
 
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mikethompson

Lifer
Jun 26, 2016
11,364
23,561
Near Toronto, Ontario, Canada
The second new addition. I came across NOMOS Glashütte watches while looking for a nice German watch for the collection. I was instantly drawn to this minimalist design.

Screenshot_20240126-183821_Samsung Internet.jpg

However, a quick check of the old PayPal Watch/Pipe Fund shows that I was a bit short of the $3600 Cdn price for one.

Instead, I picked up this beauty from AliE for $25 Cdn.

20240126_183319.jpg20240126_183331.jpg20240126_183354.jpg

Its 'close enough' that I can live with the differences.
 

agnosticpipe

Lifer
Nov 3, 2013
3,357
3,534
In the sticks in Mississippi
I thought I'd post a pic of the watches I'm not using currently that I replaced with the Temu Reward brand watch. I've had these for over 15 years, but they need batteries and I decided it was time for a new watch. Why I would replace these fine Swiss watches with a Chinese watch is still a bit puzzling to me, but this is what it is for now. I know I'll miss the smaller size and thinness of these watches as the new watch is like a lot of the watches shown here being a diver style watch. It feels like I have a stack of silver dollars on my wrist that's going to be banging into things.
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Coreios

Lifer
Sep 23, 2022
1,630
2,696
41
United States Of America
I quit wearing a watch when I had kids. Changing diapers with a watch is not good. Scratch the kid, or get poop on it. lol My kids are 13 and 16 now and I can't wear one anymore. Feels constricted. I just pack a pocket watch with wifi and texting. lol Wish I could though you have a nice collection.
 

ssjones

Moderator
Staff member
May 11, 2011
18,519
11,501
Maryland
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Sadly, I wear a smart watch all the time now because I need a few features multiple times a day. Before that I wore my beloved, sun faded, beat to hell Citizen Promaster dive watch. With over 5k dives on it, most as a working diver, every single scratch and dent has a story.View attachment 283091
Glad to see this one, and with a lifetime of intended use! How did you pack in some many dives?
 
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Briar Lee

Lifer
Sep 4, 2021
4,837
13,928
Humansville Missouri
What I think is so cool about watches, is that the basic analog battery powered quartz movement hasn’t really changed enough to mention since 1979 when I paid $$37.50 for a basic Sieko day date watch at the Humansville Montgomery Ward’s catalog store. They had a rack of them on sale. The dial reads LeGant, but it’s a Sieko and it’s ran continuously now for 45 years with a new battery every few years, when the second hand skips.

It’s basically this Pulsar brand watch, except mine is all stainless.



I also own a Waltham 1883 movement pocket watch with an engraving Fred Hert -1892-.

It still works and keeps railroad time, plus or minus about ten seconds a week. A completely good and useable time piece, that served Fred Hert. a local farmer, as his Sunday watch for over sixty years. His great nephew remembered the old man wearing it.

My father left me his 1958 Hamilton Thin O Matic that I had serviced last about thirty years ago. It’s still all the watch I would ever need. Keeps great time, within a few seconds a week.

Our watches are going to outlive us by a hundred years and still work, if they aren’t just beat to death. New synthetic watch oils mean a mechanical watch only used occasionaly will run forever.

My father’s watch used a basic self winding ETA Swiss movement that is still made today in both Switzerland and copied in China, and the Chinese version likely costs less than in 1958.


A good new watch is kind of like a good new briar pipe.

Take your pick.

More money more fancy, but there are no bad new ones.
 

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