which Jaeger-LeCoultre do you have? now they make some truly outstanding timepieces!

 

its the bling factor that I love about big face watches, such as the Panerai, Breitling, etc....to each their own.

 

I agree. When in the navy I picked up a non-domestic Seiko World Timer (japanese i think). What everyone notices when they see it is how thin it is. A jeweler in Chicago told me it was somewhat rare.

Its over 12 years old and it is my "dress" watch. I've gone thru many Casio's Swatches, etc... my current fav is Navy Blue Casio G-Shock although sometimes its just too heavy.

Seiko Kinetic is my next watch. I'd never spend Rolex $ though.

 

I have a Hamilton Khaki Action auto, maybe 40mm. I like it for a number of reasons, the "biggest" is the ease of reading the face at night. The glow from the numbers lasts more than all night, and the large face makes it extremely legible. The rest of my watches have smaller faces, and are not quite as easy to read at night. My wrists are fairly large, so it doesn't look enormous, merely larger than average, IMHO.

Panerais are like Anonimo, bulky because they are designed to withstand tremendous pressures of the deep, despite the fact that the vast majority of owners take them off before showering Dive watches are not supposed to be slim on the wrist - a slim watch would be a pretty pancake after a trip to 100 meters down. Dress watches, on the other hand, are traditionally slim and elegant, and there are many, many examples of this. Criticizing a dive watch like a Panaerai for being bulky is silly. Criticizing owners for buying them merely for the bling factor, on the other hand, is fair game

 

most Panerai don't even have a dive bezel! just because they can withstand 100M depth doesn't make them dive watches. on a dive, one doesn't care so much as to how much time you have before lunch, but rather how much time you have before you need to start your ascent... hence the use of the dive bezel. and yes I am PADI certified and yes most people use dive computers these days... making most all dive watches *mostly* obsolete, but Panerai is even less useful without a dive bezel. a dive bezel is still a very handy thing to use when needing to check elapsed time (since there are no chronographs that I know of that can have their button clicked while submerged).

p.s.-- I've had my Swiss Army down 62 meters, and many many dive watches are capable of going 100M without imploding... and none are nearly as bulky as the Panerai. moreover, one is not going to go much beyond 65M on standard compressed air, so only a nitrox or tri-mix diver will be going to near the 100M depths... at which point they're using computers... but a dive bezel is still handy for the reasons I stated earlier.

basically, Panerai-- particularly the Panerai models without a dive bezel-- are just bling. the few models they have with a bezel are somewhat less so, but overall they are just bulky and overpriced. the idea that they have to be that bulky to withstand the pressures is bunk.

 

p.s.-- oh and regarding legibility at night, a watch is only as far away as your wrist, so I don't understand the need to have such a large face as the Panerai... so it can be read from across the room?

they remind me of overbuilt table clocks with straps.

 

I have a $30,000 digital clock, it's made by honda

I don't really like wearing watches but this one is in the mail
10,000 RPM Watch

 

Why not?

 

^ I've looked closely at them... and IMO, the quality of workmanship does not justify the price. I was considering one at one time for a dive watch... and I was disappointed at how poorly the bezel moved. the bands are ho-hum, the clasps the same, etc. moreover, I just don't like the styling.

it's all subjective, but for me, I'd much rather have an understated but superbly engineered watch, with an easy to read face (not "busy" like Breitling's... although with Breitling watches they're "busy" for aeronautical reasons), beautifully crafted metal band with a well-designed clasp. I even prefer stainless steel or titanium watches over precious metals for this reason. (which isn't to say that I don't drool over platinum watch complications by Patek or Jaeger-LeCoultre...)

on top of that, it seems that everybody has a Tag. they have an excellent advertising campaign.

full disclosure: I can't even begin to think about affording a Patek or Jaeger-LeCoultre. sure I could buy one, but I couldn't comfortably wear one without fear of scratching or losing it. I also have a real weakness for Audemars Piaget's Royal Oak line... but once again, can't afford. same with the Vacheron Constantin Overseas models.

$.02

 

oh, and I should say this too:

I think paying over $100 for any quartz watch is silly, no matter who makes the watch. an expensive quartz Rolex to me is like a Ferrari body with a 4-cyl Nissan motor.