RS Grant

Right, my 21st Birthday is coming up.

I am looking for some websites which have pics, specs and prices for some nice watches as this is what my mum and dad would like to buy me to mark my 21st Birthday.

Any help greatly appreciated...

Cheers,
Grant

RS Grant

Not too sure about price ranges to be honest...

Nothing that is into the thousands, but something that you cant buy at Argos I suppose!!

Cheers,
Grant

angrynorth

Raymond Weil are a nice mid range watch.

www.raymondweil.com

Old_Fart

Hmmmm If you are talking hundreds then you really would be best to go down to the high street and peer in the windows, then go in and ask to see things that you like the look of.
Otherwise Seiko, Gucci, Tissot, Longines, Raymond Weil all do good sub-£1k stuff.
www.blitzwatches.co.uk have a few things to look at.
Cman

grovesy

I have just come back from magaluf... got a bargan TAG for 10 euros.

ScoobyK

I was recently in Gran Canaria, and offered a "Brietdling" for 10 euros

Best bet as above is to wander down the hg strt and see what takes ur fancy

andym172

I recently bought Panerai Luminor Marina (which you can see here: http://www.panerai.com/s_page.xpd?id...d_categoria=34 ).

Not to everybody's taste, but very well made and not the 'norm'.

I'd advise you steer clear of the Omega Seamaster range as I've had a few problems with mine and so too have a few friends of mine.

Mungo

But on the otherhand, I've had a Seamaster for a few years and it's been excellent. Not as flashy as a Rolex, but a really nice watch.

mad_dr

Are Panerai's under a grand now then?

Boss Hogg

I got a Steel/black face Tag Heuer 2000 series for my 21st - still wear it 10 years on, never let me down, survived a bike crash and all sorts, it's classy so why bother spending more on replacing it? I remember when I first had it tho - loads of ppl would ask me if it was fake, as they couldn't understand why some scrot of a student was wearing a real one.....

Mike P

Oris make some lovely watches. I own one of the Big Crown range. It's an automatic, pretty discrete and I had a plain black leather strap fitted. Cost about 300 quid all told from a jeweller.

http://www.oris.ch/english/index.htm (Check out the Big Crown Originals)

Costs enough so that you know it's very well made, but no so much as to be vulgar. None of this Nouveau Riche Rolex nonsense

Plus you can see the self winder mechanism through the back.

yoza

Not giving me a price to play with is a bit limiting.

Whats expensive for a watch ?

To me, over £2000 is expensive.

To my bird £200 is too is expensive.

From what I can gather you want sub £1000.

If you were me, I would do this......

Buy a Poljot, Ruslan, Blue Angels, (Blue face, St.Steel strap, and optional glass back.) $390 USD, spend the rest on loose women, and beer.

WWW.POLJOT.COM

PS. These watches are top quality, and should be triple the listed price.

Got to chrono in listings and pick Ruslan, also look at the Aviator series.

Later YOZA

David_Wallis

they dont look too bad

TelBoy

LOL, i've got a headache just from thinking about that!

Old_Fart

Those look like cheap Breitling Navitimer imitations Yoza. I'm sure they are quality timepieces since you've listed them...but....still look like cheap wannabee's.
What history do they have? Are the Breitlings, in fact, Russian watch rip-offs?
Chuck
PS Interesting to note that the Evisu brand of clothing (now soo expensive in Britain) started as a cheap Levi's jeans knock-off shop in Japan LOL

yoza

I may be wrong but here goes.

Poljot is a Russian watchmakers who bought all their machines and know how from Rolex, or at least the machine manufacuturer who supplied Rolex also supplied Poljot.

How true?

Dont know, but I was told by a reputable "know all" watch dealer, whom I trust.

Their timepieces are excellent, accurate and well made, the watch and movement detail is meticulous.

Maybe my taste is a bit skew whiff, but there are plenty of models to choose from.

Remember they are not all automatic, most are manual wind, so make sure you know what your after.....

Old_Fart

I think you've excellent taste (he says having bought a black face Montbrilliant at the weekend ) I've seen some nice looking pieces on the site, I take it you've ordered and taken delivery of watches from these people?
C

yoza

Yes I have.

3 separate orders, two for presents, and one I was made a cash offer on that I couldnt refuse.(Two Aviators, and a Ruslan.)

I was collered for import duty on all three, mine where delivered by UPS.
Not sure if they still use them.

My orders where 03/03, 08/03, & 01/04.

The nice UPS man wouldnt give me the items until I payed him the duty, and a handling charge of £15.

I think one of our MOD's bought an Aviator, but didnt reply on any threads as to what he thought of it.

yoza

PS Montbrilliant DATORA....Tell me it was.

Old_Fart

Afraid it's a plain-vanilla Mont, I'm not keen on the metal bracelets, and I've very small wrists, so smaller face is important. It's my favourite Breitling though, so very happy. Wife less so LOL
C

yoza

Nice one.

Other half thing, been there, done that.

yoza

Some history


Alarm watches have been around for as long as there have been wearable mechanical timepieces. However, although the wristwatch entered common civilian use in the 1920s, it wasn't until 1947 that the first alarm wristwatch was made. This was the legendary Vulcain Cricket watch of choice for several US presidents. An avalanche of alarm watches hit the markets shortly after, and the popularity of this type of watch continued right up to the advent of the digital watch in the early '70s. Most featured Swiss movements, but many seem to have been assembled in the USA.

Both manual-wind and automatic watches were offered. Some watches such as the prestigious Jaeger LeCoutre Memovox featured tiny bells to produce a melodic ringing tone. Others followed the Vulcain example and employed a striking-pin fixed to the case-back to produce a flat buzzing sound with an accompanying tactile vibration. The Cricket used the crown-and-button interface still found on many quartz analogue alarm watches. The other popular system adopted by many watchmakers, including Jaeger, was the two-crown.


In 1959 the Soviet Union's elite 1st Moscow Watch Factory (1-MChZ) created the 'Signal' developed from an Adolf Schilde movement, but with improvements. The resultant 2612 movement was a shock-proof, manual-wind, 18 jewel, 2-crown, buzzing alarm. Simple, but effective. The current 2612.1 differs only in minor detail.

Since 1936 the factory had been the official supplier of watches to the Soviet air-force and aerospace industry and remain so today. Following Yuri Gagarin's historical first space-flight in 1961 wearing a 1-MChZ 'Shturmanskie' chronometer, the factory changed it's name to Poljot ('Flight'). The current Poljot range includes alarm watches in the 'Aviator' and 'Russian Aviator' series, and several styled after the airforce-issue Buran chronographs of the early '90s.

Besides plugging their aviation heritage for all it's worth, Poljot are also keen to showcase their workmanship for its own sake their new 'Navigator' and 'Pop' models are fitted with glass case-back and striking-pin!

Recently the 1st Moscow Watch Factory surrendered the rights to the name 'Poljot'. Their range is now being consolidated into distinct series that will serve as brand-names from now on e.g. Classic, Shturmanskie, Buran, Aviator.


Why bother?


There are many reasons why any Poljot Signal is a desirable acquisition. Mechanical watches of any kind are unusual these days, especially affordable new ones. There is a delightful simplicity in the design, and manual winding makes watch ownership a more active experience. The alarm is a fun gadget to play with. The homely buzz of the alarm connects you to a simpler past that has been largely swept aside by a world of electronic blips and beeps. And the two-crown look is distinctly different to anything else around.

And then there is the sheer efficiency of this alarm system compared to most others. Modern quartz watch manufacturers are only now beginning to turn again to crown-set all analogue alarms after decades of annoying button pressing proof of the soundness of the original alarm watch concept. The single alarm-hand system does limit precision to about the nearest 3 minutes, but does it really matter that you wake up at exactly 6:30am to the very second? The trade-off is an alarm that can be set and re-set in an instant, encouraging its use throughout the day, rather than merely to wake you in the morning.


How it works


The 2612 is basically a fairly typical manual wind movement with 18 jewels. Added to this is an alarm mechanism tripped by the hour hand. The alarm has its own spring barrel that is wound separately to power a tiny hammer that bangs against a stumpy pin welded to the inside of the case-back.

The 4 o'clock crown is to wind the mainspring and set the time in the conventional fashion with the proviso that the hour hand must never be turned backwards past the alarm hand. The 2 o'clock crown operates in a like fashion to wind and set the alarm. A 4th hand, coaxial with the hour, minute and second hands shows when the alarm will trigger. The alarm hand may only be turned counter-clockwise.

Yes, it's as simple as that.


The Watches


The watches listed below are not necessarily representative of the full range of Poljot Signals. They're simply what fell to hand when I went looking for some examples to compare. Within this group is a 30 year old but well preserved used example, a new watch, one possible factory reject and a near-new demo model.

Later Yoza

yoza

HISTORY OF "POLJOT" WATCH FACTORY

On December 20th 1927 the Soviet government made a decision to establish a watch industry. In April 1930 construction of the main block of "Poljot" factory was started in the place of an old tobacco factory, and seven months later the factory came into operation in line with other active enterprises in the country. The first 50 pocket watches were made for November 7th 1930 from the parts manufactured at the factory itself. From this date the count of time began for the First Moscow Watch Factory. 1935 - the year in which the factory was given the name Sergei Mironovich Kirov - was a crucial year in the history of the factory. The reconstruction of the enterprise was undertaken. The production of pocket watches rose to 450 thousand. In addition, the manufacturing of special clocks for cars and airplanes was launched. In 1955 the factory's annual watches output reached 1,100,000.00. Introduction of new equipment and new technological processes lead to the release of new watch types with complex mechanisms: with a central second hand. Watch models such as "Moskva", "Mayak", "Sportivnie", "Rodina", "Kirovskie" appeared. On April 12 1961 Yuriy Alekseevich Gararin took a "Shturmanskie" watch with him, while performing the first space flight in the history of mankind. The watch successfully sustained the space trial. The staff of the enterprise maintained close contact with Soviet cosmonauts throughout the history of space industry. During their time in space Russian cosmonauts always utilized the factory's time-measuring devices. The name "Poljot" was received by the factory in commemoration of space travels. In 1977 marine chronometers and deck clocks from the First Moscow Factory cruised to the North Pole on an atomic-powered vessel "Arktika" and sustained this ordeal with honor as well. According to the results of the performance in 1991, 1992 and 1993, the factory was awarded International rewards "For Quality". The First Moscow Watch Factory is the pioneer of watch manufacturing in the USSR. Almost all types of famous USSR men's mechanical watches were developed and produced at "Poljot" factory.

"POLJOT" WATCH FACTORY & SPACE


On April 12th 1961 Yuri Gagarin became the first man performing a space flight. While in space, the cosmonaut was wearing a "Shturmanskie" watch, manufactured at the First Moscow Watch Factory. Later this flight was celebrated by the release of several models with "space" names: in 1962 - "Orbit" 2415, in 1963 - "Cosmos" 2416. From 1964 the watches of the First Moscow Factory have been marked by a trademark "ПОЛЕТ" and "POLJOT", which in translation from Russian means "flight" and is a tribute to the number of space trips our watches have accomplished. The factory's trademarks are registered in 30 countries and are well-known around the world. "Poljot" 3133 were taken into space by cosmonauts from Russia, France, Germany, Ukraine. On the hand of V.V. Polyakov "Poljot" 3133 chronograph movement-based watch set a space record for the longest space flight in history.

Enjoy.........

Alan C

All this effort and Mr Grant has yet to reply... I'm going to buy a Poljot just from the effort Yoza's put in!

Well, after my Omega Speedmaster has died...

moses

i dont know why people need to spend alot of money just to find out the time

yoza

Moses,

You dont get it, do you.

You need educating.

mj

, cool..





, nice....




so in real money, if the price on the site says 240$, how does this convert to £££'s after you've imported it and paid duty etc?

moses

yoza mate i wouldnt spend over 50 quids on a watch or max 100 quid , i got a special edition celtic watch last yr for a 100 quid thats why i spent that much

but normally no chance, i bought it coz larssons last season and i wanted to keep the memory

Leslie

Your 21st is of course a defining time of your life and a wristwatch is such a good way for your parents to mark it for you.

Your watch is one of your really personal possessions as well and for this occasion then it is of course down to you to choose something of good quality and with the appearance which appeals to you without becoming boring in the future.

Only you can make that choice and I wish you luck, I am not knowledgeable enough to point you in any particular direction, but there are a few here who can give you some good advice.

Les