Horological Meandering

Hi,

I am a relatively new member (and of course a newbie in this arena) and made only few posts so far.  This is a great site and have met many great people at the recent gathering in NY.  Thank you, Bill and Z3 for great photo + report !

Now, I am getting more interested in watches and am wondering what people here think about what I am kind of looking for.  For business and private, I call and visit abroad or west coast relatively frequently.  I don't have problem with adjusting watch by the annoucement in the flight and remembering how many hours behind or ahead from my home.  Or, I can guess or check when calling overseas what time it is there - I admit that I don't call around the world randomly, but call only specific several countries. 

It would be nice to have a nice watch which helps with those things - practically.  So, I would like your opinions wrt which would you recommend - dual time or world time and, perhaps, which one.  I have other "preferences" such as:  I like white metal (SS/WG/PT), I have small wrist and I don't like big watches (up to 39mm).  Date is a "must", Day/Night indicator is nice, and PR is a nice "plus" that I would like.  I know I am asking a lot

This time I want something really practical - but hopefully something that can hold its value...

Thank you!

Ken

This message has been edited by KIH on 2008-02-13 06:02:27

Hi Ken,

I have had a few dual zone watches and I tend to use it for travel when I want to know the local time back home.  It works well for this purpose.  However, I have recently got a world time for the missus and I think I like the idea more of being able to see the time simultaneously in 24 cities around the world.  I am usually concerned with two or three max but it is real easy.  Here is a pic of the GP Lady WW.TC







Now for you, if you like the world time concept,  I would  one of the two below.

From GP - there are many models to chose from. 

Here is a link to the full post on GP

gp.watchprosite.com




Let me know what you think.

OOPPS .  I forgot that you needed the date.  Oh well enjoy while I think this through again.



Bill

39 mm maxi, white metal, date, GMT or World Time ...Wow, you're a difficult guy.
Only two watches come to my mind, immediately:

1/ Vacheron Constantin Evasion, less than 39mm, World time and Date:



2/ Ulysse Nardin Perpetual Calendar with GMT Function:



White Gold, 38,5 mm...

Some thoughts...
The date is not that cool esthetically speaking...Do you or can you imagine such a beautiful watch like the Patek Worldtime...See Bill's pic above, with a date???
Best.
Nicolas

I've just bought this VC Evasion World Time, and found what I presume to be one photograph taken by your good self some years go.

My favourite is GP specialy

ww.tc CALENDRIER PERPETUEL

No1 for world traveler ....my opinion

Let's say you visit California. You set your watch on the airplane. When it's noon in California, you want to look down at your wrist and see both hands on the main dial pointing straight up.

Each watch with a "time zone" function has a hand or dial part that can be made to jump in one-hour increments. On some, the main hour hand jumps while another indicator continues to show "home time." On others, the hour hand on a subdial jumps; there are even some where the hands don't jump at all and only a bezel jumps. What I have found is that the only way a time zone watch does me any good is if the main hour hand jumps. The subdial is too small to see and the other arrangements require more thinking than it would take simply not to reset the watch and to calculate the time.

Watches whose main hour hands jump include: Rolex GMT and Explorer II; IWC UTC; Ulyse Nardin GMT; Oris Worldtimer; JLC Hometime models; Gerald Genta Night and Day. In the upper tier, I think the Lange Time Zone also can function that way; Vacheron and AP do not offer that function; and Patek has it in a manually-wound version. A Patek automatic and the Omega Hour Vision offer hour hands that jump to reflect time zone changes but do not directly show the time in a second time zone. I'm sure there are plenty of others I either don't know or have forgotten to list. Happy searching.

Thanks for all of your valuable inputs.
I realize that I MAY be too picky...
I agree that GP is a good one - but is too big...
UN seems fine - but too busy?  I will think it over...
About the date or no-date -- when you travel overseas, "date" on the watch seems a "must" to me...

Other ones I have seen...
PP Travel time - attractive, I wish it had date!
Blancpain dual time - not bad.  PR would be nice...
JLC Master Geo (old 38mm model) - good size, but not sure of its practicality?
Lange Timezone - too big!  too bad...  I am a Lange fan.

I will search more, in the meantime, please let me know of other candidates/ brands - doesn't have to be hi-end at all.  I just want a practical one - daily wear, not too flashy, not too shabby...  I don't have enough knowledge and your inputs are very much apreciated!

Ken

and I love it. It is simple, has a 37mm case and is very practical. I prefer gmt watches over world-timers as I find the dials on world-timers to be way too busy.
Patek also has the watch in white gold if money is a concern. It is my favorite watch and I highly recommend it. Good luck in your search.

Hi John,

Thanks.  agree that it is simple and the "right" size for me.  I don't know much about PP, but it seems that this model is one of the "less" discussed ones.  I wonder why.  Money is always a concern , but I prefer the dial of the Pt model.  Don't you miss "date" - just a bit, in practice?  Anyway, you have a very nice watch!

Ken

the dates on most watches anyway. If the 5134 had the date it would detract from the beauty and simplicity of its dial I think. I really love the Patek 5134 in either Platinum or WG and highly recommend it. The only other PP I would really like to get is the 5098, but that one will have to wait a few years. Good luck with you decision.

The old model, in 38mm, I believe, I have to check the size, but this JLC is one of these watches that made me dream a long time.
This is not a so difficult watch to use, when you travel.
I think that you may try one.
You have a winner with this JLC.
Best.
Nicolas

Hi Nicolas,

Thanks!  That is encouraging.  This is one model I found "right" size, not-too-flashy, and looks "practical".  All I wondered was how practical in real use - when I travel.  I may pursue this.  Thank you!

Ken 

has all that you want.  It is available in steel (to keep the price reasonable) as well.  If the Grande Reverso is too large, there was a limited edition in the smaller case size which does become available from time to time on the secondary market (it may be only in rose gold, however).  The ease of use is very appealing--on arrival at your destination merely flip the case to see the local time. 

tempusfugit 

Wow.  I didn't know this model.  Interesting.  Yes, it may be a bit big and I may not like rectangular watches, but never really thought about it.  I may convert easily.  With other wonderful suggestions, I will play with the idea and enjoy pondering.

Thank you.

Ken

video.  It portrays the JLC Reverso GMT quite well....

www.youtube.com

tempusfugit

Ulysse Nardin big date GMT is the simplest, but most versatile in my opinion: there are endless variations of it and 100m water resistance makes it suitable for swimming. It is hard to beat perpetual/gmt combination though. My only complain about the reverso is that the date is on the home time side, so if you need to see a date, you will have to flip the watch. If you can skip the date, Duometre unique travel time will be amazing choice. Another option would be GO Cosmopolite. It is quite large though (larger than Duometre) and the date change is done via the corrector.