What time is it? Watches and horology

Those are fucking brilliant. The sales manager for victorinox is a friend of mine and when he first brought those to show us, the adverts victorinox were using was all about running those watches over with a tank and dropping them from hot air balloons. We took his sample off his wrist I tied it round a brick and we threw it out the fucking window!!
It was fine .

epic patina

:-)

Thats why its my Zombie Apocalypse watch!

The thing is a beast.

pm me your address and I'll send you a free velcro strap and little pocket knife with a strap tool on it.

you gem!!

Good choice CB.

right, so I've ordered an SKX007 and am on the hunt for an Isofrane strap for it, anyone got one they'd sell? or a decent 'ladder' replica? Benarus etc... Am I able to buy one in London over the counter?
Cheers,
Matt

the adverts victorinox were using was all about running those watches over with a tank and dropping them from hot air balloons. We took his sample off his wrist I tied it round a brick and we threw it out the fucking window!!
It was fine .

Sapphire glass. Just saying.

built like a brick shithouse you mean.......

Also that, but I like trolling people in here who pay lots of money for watches with plastic instead of glass.

Timefactors do the best budget dive straps imo. They are PU rather than natural rubber and cost £15. http://timefactors.com/rubberstraps.htm They are closed until 25th July though.

Obris Morgan do some good options for about $20 http://www.obrismorgan.com/natural_rubber_01_blk_22.html

I buy CUDA straps which are natural rubber and match the quality of the Isofrane ones although they are still $$ and hard to find in the UK

I have only cracked glass crystals before. That's probably because at last count i have 30+ watches with glass and only two or three with plastic though :D

excellent cheers! Obris Morgan look good but seem to only come in vanilla scent... I'll take a punt on one but was hoping to find something quickly as the SKX007 may have to stand in as a gift for someone and the rubber strap that is comes with looks naff imo...

Isofrane and CUDA also come only in vanilla and cocoa butter scent respectively and it is really very mild so I wouldn't worry. You can barely smell it and it fades after six months or so of use, depending on how much time it spends in the sea and sun.

And yes, I hate the Seiko rubber strap too but it IS authentic...

I don't understand the same feeling with regards to watches though.

You've sort of answered your own question really. You don't.

How do the manufacturers justify the cost and what is it that makes the consumer willing to spend so much? (Let's pick an arbitrary amount of £5k for example)

It's an incredibly complex combination of economics and marketing. Fundamentally it's about convincing the target consumer that the features they are currently offering are a benefit.

PP make a big deal of legacy (aka hand-me-downs)...which is totally warped if you think about it.

At a £5k you get an entry level Rolex. For that you get brand, trickle down "R&D", build quality, and once depreciated an inflation proof investment. You can assign objective values, but they are inherently meaningless concepts that individuals choose to assign values to. The only things that should matter are comfort on wrist, accuracy, and c.20ft. water proofing.

I thought you guys were taking the mickey... Fucking scented watch straps?! LOL

supply and demand.

Something is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

IE its not purely about the manufacturing costs.

Yeah, have no idea if it was borne out of necessity or not but it does seem pretty weird doesn't it? Isofrane straps have been scented for fifty years!

Oh I see what you did there....that was a slight against my love of the greatest watch ever made!!
I can easily get you a moonwatch you know , you need to stop protesting too much .

Thanks, I'll let me know before I set off.

But shit like this still costs a fair bit:

... although its probably still only 0.01% of a what they spend on marketing.

Bought a 'genuine' Seiko bracelet from the bay, for the Arctura. Blatant fake POS. never felt such a shit bracelet. I can't believe it could be real. £10 was £9 too much for it.

interestingly I wanted to upgrade the strap to the Parachord one...

£80?!?! Ouch

I know. Stick to the rubber.