# Watches from clothing stores..



## ChubbyTexan (Oct 17, 2011)

Yesterday, while the missus and I were at Joseph A Bank buying some ties, she noted that she liked their watches. These are Joseph A Bank brand watches which I know nothing about other than (a) she liked them (b) they look simple and straightforward - good thing in my mind (c) they're not too expensive. 

Does anyone know if they're any good? Worth buying? to be avoided?

Thanks!


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## tocqueville (Nov 15, 2009)

Probably not worth buying. What do they look like? Show me a link and I bet I can point you to something similar but better for the same price or less.


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## Bradford (Dec 10, 2004)

I'm pretty sure I've told this story before, but this brings to mind a time in the late-80's when my father and I were browsing in an Eddie Bauer store and I noticed they had salmon for sale. My father's quote was "I don't buy clothes at a fish store, so why would I buy fish at a clothing store."


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## Topsider (Jul 9, 2005)

They're invariably going to be cheap quartz watches with the JAB name on the dial. They're probably worth about fifty bucks. They're being sold (online, anyway) for at least twice that. Not a bargain, unless you can get them at a deep discount.


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## Bjorn (May 2, 2010)

Post a pic of what she liked and well find it with better quality for the same cost someplace else


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## 32rollandrock (May 1, 2008)

You should pass.


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## Essential (Mar 20, 2012)

What do you guys think about this? https://www.jcrew.com/mens_category/accessories/watchesandwatchstraps/PRDOVR~73045/73045.jsp


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## Taken Aback (Aug 3, 2009)

How about LL Bean? There's been some changes to the look of their watches in the last few years. Are their current offerings still decent? How about Orvis?


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## Youthful Repp-robate (Sep 26, 2011)

Essential said:


> What do you guys think about this? https://www.jcrew.com/mens_category/accessories/watchesandwatchstraps/PRDOVR~73045/73045.jsp


I think it's a nicely styled $425 quartz watch. It does look pretty good, but I reckon for that price you might be able to find something mechanical (which I think would be, generally speaking, cooler) or you might be able to find a quartz watch with similar styling for less money.


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## Trad-ish (Feb 19, 2011)

Chubbytexan, 

I've just looked at the watches on the Jos. Bank website. Yes, they are clean, simple and straightforward. However, as others have pointed out, you are probably over paying significantly for a basic quartz watch (by at least 200% in some cases just looking at the offerings). 

If it floats your boat then go for it but I really think many here could help you find a similar watch (of better quality) for the same price.


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## D&S (Mar 29, 2009)

Taken Aback said:


> How about LL Bean? There's been some changes to the look of their watches in the last few years. Are their current offerings still decent? How about Orvis?


Have an Orvis watch (model since discontinued) that I picked up for around $45 almost three years ago that's going strong on its second battery. Simple, gold-plated, and with a white face and a date window. I think it was ~70% off at the outlet at the time. It came with an attractive brown leather "croc" band but I wear it exclusively with grosgrain watch straps. If I needed to replace it, I would definitely consider another watch from Orvis.


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## 32rollandrock (May 1, 2008)

I bought an Orvis watch, one of their cheaper ones, and it quit after I forgot to take it off, dived in the pool and took it off less than a minute later. No great loss, as I paid something like $50 on sale, but I wouldn't do it again. Whoever said you don't buy fish in clothing stores and vice versa was dead on.


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## Taken Aback (Aug 3, 2009)

It was rated as water resistant and this still happened? Hmm.


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## 32rollandrock (May 1, 2008)

Yup. Really, it was just a junky made-in-China quartz watch. I've moved on to better, but not extravagant, stuff.



Taken Aback said:


> It was rated as water resistant and this still happened? Hmm.


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## LouB (Nov 8, 2010)

The JAB watches are apparently made (or marketed by) The Geneva Watch Group. From their website:

"Geneva Watch Group is the leading designer, manufacturer and retailer of high-quality brand watches, such as Kenneth Cole, BCBG, Tommy Bahama, Freestyle, and other brands. Founded in 1978, the company's rapid growth is attributed to the ongoing development of new watch brands, acquisition of successful licensing agreements, and the expansion of diverse, global channels of distribution."


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## MikeDT (Aug 22, 2009)

Taken Aback said:


> It was rated as water resistant and this still happened? Hmm.


I think there's quite a difference between a timepiece that's described as _water resistant_ as opposed to _water proof_, e.g. a diver's watch.

If I see _water resistant _on a watch, I wouldn't even attempt to submerge it. let alone go swimming with it. Probably be OK in the rain though and occasional splashes. If a watch is not marked as anything, just don't get it wet at all.

https://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_difference_between_water_resistant_and_water_proof


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## Bjorn (May 2, 2010)

MikeDT said:


> I think there's quite a difference between a timepiece that's described as _water resistant_ as opposed to _water proof_, e.g. a diver's watch.
> 
> If I see _water resistant _on a watch, I wouldn't even attempt to submerge it. Probably be OK in the rain though and occasional splashes.


Correct, water resistancy means you can get it a little wet in the rain or splash a little water on it when washing your hands, as long as you wipe it off right away, but no more.

I would not even swim with a watch that has 10 bar resistance, 100 metres, I would swim with on that has 20 bars.

IMO, Swiss made watches sold by clothes retailers tend to have very basic movements and little real charm.


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## Bjorn (May 2, 2010)

Essential said:


> What do you guys think about this? https://www.jcrew.com/mens_category/accessories/watchesandwatchstraps/PRDOVR~73045/73045.jsp


It's a B-Uhr Flieger (I think) with a navigators dial. They are actually referencing Luftwaffe WWII watches rather than the 20s (again, I think). I guess the WWII Luftwaffe isn't a selling point to j crew customers, go figure 

The flieger watches with either A-dial, pilots dial (the usual configuration) or B-dial, navigators dial as seen above, are seriously good looking watches. I have a basic Laco by Lacher A-dial with Miyota Asian movement, they are quite cheap from Lacos website and are very sturdy, and the movement is very adequate.
This is the €200 (inc 19% vat) B-dial from Laco with Miyota movement:

I would suggest that brand instead, maybe with a Swiss movement if you want to spend a little more. Stowa is also good.

The crap j crew sells actually has a quartz movement. For that price that is theft. Swiss made quartz movement??? Whatever would the point be with that?

A flieger should be German, but a more affordable alternative is the basic Seiko 5 B-Dial model SNK803, 805, 807, 809:

They have the Seiko 7s26 automatic movement, which just keeps on ticking. Really good value at around 50-70$ and maybe a tad more in a B&M shop.


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## tocqueville (Nov 15, 2009)

Taken Aback said:


> How about LL Bean? There's been some changes to the look of their watches in the last few years. Are their current offerings still decent? How about Orvis?


There are similarly styled Seikos that are WAY better and may even cost less. As a general rule, when shopping for low-end watches (i.e. $200 and below), stick to Seiko and Citizen. That way you'll always be able to buy with confidence. As for the Bean field watch, for example, Seiko makes at least a dozen variations of that theme (black dial, white dial, green, big, little, bracelet, strap, etc. etc.) in quartz, auto, and solar, all of which represent much greater values than the Bean watch and are likely to work flawlessly for many years.

Check out these prices:
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fr...3&_nkw=seiko+snk809&_sacat=See-All-Categories

In addition to the Seiko stuff, sharp looking used Hamilton field watches regularly turn up on the watch forum sales corners at really nice prices, although it's not actually clear that they're better built than the Seikos.


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## tocqueville (Nov 15, 2009)

Bjorn, you and I think alike. I hand't seen your post before I posted about the Seiko military watches. And as soon as I saw the post about the JCrew watch I thought of Laco with the miyota movement. Amazon's selling it for $289. One should add that Laco's one of the five German watch makers that actually made these things for the Luftwaffe back in the day. So it's not only better and cheaper than the JCrew, it has a legitimate claim to authenticity.

The Stowa version (Stowa's also one of the five) is prettier, but costs a lot more.



Bjorn said:


> It's a B-Uhr Flieger (I think) with a navigators dial. They are actually referencing Luftwaffe WWII watches rather than the 20s (again, I think). I guess the WWII Luftwaffe isn't a selling point to j crew customers, go figure
> 
> The flieger watches with either A-dial, pilots dial (the usual configuration) or B-dial, navigators dial as seen above, are seriously good looking watches. I have a basic Laco by Lacher A-dial with Miyota Asian movement, they are quite cheap from Lacos website and are very sturdy, and the movement is very adequate.
> This is the €200 (inc 19% vat) B-dial from Laco with Miyota movement:
> ...


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## Bjorn (May 2, 2010)

tocqueville said:


> Bjorn, you and I think alike. I hand't seen your post before I posted about the Seiko military watches. And as soon as I saw the post about the JCrew watch I thought of Laco with the miyota movement. Amazon's selling it for $289. One should add that Laco's one of the five German watch makers that actually made these things for the Luftwaffe back in the day. So it's not only better and cheaper than the JCrew, it has a legitimate claim to authenticity.
> 
> The Stowa version (Stowa's also one of the five) is prettier, but costs a lot more.


Great minds think alike 

And for a serious splash, there's the IWC...

I think I don't need any other watches than Seikos, even though I've always wanted a standard milsub Rolex...

This SARB017 for around 500$ is real pretty, really want it:


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## tocqueville (Nov 15, 2009)

Bjorn said:


> Great minds think alike
> 
> And for a serious splash, there's the IWC...
> 
> ...


The only non-seiko I want is a speedmaster. If I weren't attempting to save for that, I'd buy the Sarb017 or the sarb035. Though lately the weird 065 has caught my eye.


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## tocqueville (Nov 15, 2009)

tocqueville said:


> The only non-seiko I want is a speedmaster. If I weren't attempting to save for that, I'd buy the Sarb017 or the sarb035. Though lately the weird 065 has caught my eye.


Let me amend that: I would be delighted to own pretty much everything Stowa makes.


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## 32rollandrock (May 1, 2008)

I agree. The fact it didn't survive a dip in the pool isn't/wasn't the central point. Rather, I came to the belief it was actually a pretty crappy watch and wasn't at all sad to see it die.



MikeDT said:


> I think there's quite a difference between a timepiece that's described as _water resistant_ as opposed to _water proof_, e.g. a diver's watch.
> 
> If I see _water resistant _on a watch, I wouldn't even attempt to submerge it. let alone go swimming with it. Probably be OK in the rain though and occasional splashes. If a watch is not marked as anything, just don't get it wet at all.
> 
> https://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_difference_between_water_resistant_and_water_proof


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## 32rollandrock (May 1, 2008)

Yes on the Seiko 5. And I'll also give a shout-out for Wenger/Swiss Army. I have two of the latter, both quartz, that I like very much and one of the former, purchased for around $75 on TOF. So far, they've been bullet-proof, and the styling, I think, is very good.


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## tocqueville (Nov 15, 2009)

32rollandrock said:


> Yes on the Seiko 5. And I'll also give a shout-out for Wenger/Swiss Army. I have two of the latter, both quartz, that I like very much and one of the former, purchased for around $75 on TOF. So far, they've been bullet-proof, and the styling, I think, is very good.


What's "TOF"?


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## filfoster (Aug 23, 2011)

32rollandrock said:


> Yes on the Seiko 5. And I'll also give a shout-out for Wenger/Swiss Army. I have two of the latter, both quartz, that I like very much and one of the former, purchased for around $75 on TOF. So far, they've been bullet-proof, and the styling, I think, is very good.


Got a black face/bezel Seiko 5 automatic dive watch (23 jewel) last month and love it. Got it for the looks and to wear to the pool. 
Some of the retailers have attactive dress watches but they are almost every one a Japanese (decent) or Chinese (less great) quartz movement. Why pay over $300 for some of these quartz ones, when you can get a decent automatic for that price?


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## ChubbyTexan (Oct 17, 2011)

wow that's a lot of replies. Thanks for the thoughts. The ones that she liked (roughly) were these. Suggestions are welcome. I'm trying to improve my style and need all the help I can get. 

https://www.josbank.com/menswear/shop/Product_11001_10050_336184

https://www.josbank.com/menswear/shop/Product_11001_10050_356306

https://www.josbank.com/menswear/shop/Product_11001_10050_343622

https://www.josbank.com/menswear/shop/Product_11001_10050_343612


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## Essential (Mar 20, 2012)

Bjorn said:


> It's a B-Uhr Flieger (I think) with a navigators dial. They are actually referencing Luftwaffe WWII watches rather than the 20s (again, I think). I guess the WWII Luftwaffe isn't a selling point to j crew customers, go figure  The flieger watches with either A-dial, pilots dial (the usual configuration) or B-dial, navigators dial as seen above, are seriously good looking watches. I have a basic Laco by Lacher A-dial with Miyota Asian movement, they are quite cheap from Lacos website and are very sturdy, and the movement is very adequate. This is the €200 (inc 19% vat) B-dial from Laco with Miyota movement: I would suggest that brand instead, maybe with a Swiss movement if you want to spend a little more. Stowa is also good. The crap j crew sells actually has a quartz movement. For that price that is theft. Swiss made quartz movement??? Whatever would the point be with that?


 I got interested in the Laco after you pointed it out but I'm hooked onto the Jcrew one again. Excuse my watch noobiness, but the style on the Jcrew one seems to be a lot better because it seems thinner (don't know if it's really) and the background of the watch is yellowish, compared to the black color of the Laco one.


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## Walter Denton (Sep 11, 2011)

By all accounts the Seiko 5s are fine watches but I'm amazed anyone would pay more than $70 "buy it now" on EBay for one when they are almost always available directlly from Amazon for less with free shipping and returns and no hassle.

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=seiko+5


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## arkirshner (May 10, 2005)

ChubbyTexan said:


> wow that's a lot of replies. Thanks for the thoughts. The ones that she liked (roughly) were these. Suggestions are welcome. I'm trying to improve my style and need all the help I can get.
> 
> https://www.josbank.com/menswear/shop/Product_11001_10050_336184
> 
> ...


Today is buy one get two free. For about $100 you get three wearable watches with the bonus that your wife likes them. Most watches are really quite awful. If the JABs are better than what you wear now, and they probably are, get them.


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## hardline_42 (Jan 20, 2010)

Walter Denton said:


> By all accounts the Seiko 5s are fine watches but I'm amazed anyone would pay more than $70 "buy it now" on EBay for one when they are almost always available directlly from Amazon for less with free shipping and returns and no hassle.
> 
> https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=seiko+5


There are many different varieties of the Seiko 5, and not all of them are available for the U.S. market except through a small number of retailers and eBay. These will usually fetch the higher prices.


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## TSWalker (Nov 2, 2011)

arkirshner said:


> Today is buy one get two free. For about $100 you get three wearable watches with the bonus that your wife likes them. Most watches are really quite awful. If the JABs are better than what you wear now, and they probably are, get them.


Sadly the JAB sale excludes watches. Anyone still need shoe trees?


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## tocqueville (Nov 15, 2009)

ChubbyTexan said:


> wow that's a lot of replies. Thanks for the thoughts. The ones that she liked (roughly) were these. Suggestions are welcome. I'm trying to improve my style and need all the help I can get.
> 
> https://www.josbank.com/menswear/shop/Product_11001_10050_336184
> 
> ...


Those are nice looking. You have good taste.

One way to do this is just buy these. Style-wise they're spot on. Or, if you're value-minded (i.e. you care about how well these things are made and are likely to last), spend some time doing searches for Seikos on Overstock, Amazon, Roachman.com, jomashop, creation watches, etc. so that you find one of those that approximate the JoSBank watches. Also see what Citizen and Orient have to offer. When you go above $200, a lot of other brands open up, but around $100 the Japanese stuff is where it's at.

Not everyone cares. My wife needed a new watch and I spent a ton of time trying to find the best quality watch I could find for under $500. She was unimpressed and picked out a Kenneth Cole that, I must confess, is aesthetically quite striking and interesting. She doesn't care how long it lasts.

By the way, the watch I picked out for my wife was a Mido Commander, a mid-sized model I found for under $500. It had 50m WR and an ETA auto movement. She wasn't interested.

Some searches with options:
https://www.google.com/search?aq=f&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=seiko+quartz+chronograph


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## arkirshner (May 10, 2005)

TSWalker said:


> Sadly the JAB sale excludes watches. Anyone still need shoe trees?


Ooops.


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## ChubbyTexan (Oct 17, 2011)

tocqueville said:


> Those are nice looking. You have good taste.
> 
> One way to do this is just buy these. Style-wise they're spot on. Or, if you're value-minded (i.e. you care about how well these things are made and are likely to last), spend some time doing searches for Seikos on Overstock, Amazon, Roachman.com, jomashop, creation watches, etc. so that you find one of those that approximate the JoSBank watches. Also see what Citizen and Orient have to offer. When you go above $200, a lot of other brands open up, but around $100 the Japanese stuff is where it's at.
> 
> ...


I currently don't own a watch, so in that regard anything is an improvement. I do care about value, and am willing to invest. I'm probably not willing to drop a ton of cash on my first "nice: watch. Too much room for a mistake to be made. However, I would rather pay a bit more than buy junk. I've heard of Citizen, but never heard of Orient so will have to check them out. Are there other brands you'd recommend I check out?

Thanks again for the advice. This is all pretty new to me.


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## tocqueville (Nov 15, 2009)

ChubbyTexan said:


> I currently don't own a watch, so in that regard anything is an improvement. I do care about value, and am willing to invest. I'm probably not willing to drop a ton of cash on my first "nice: watch. Too much room for a mistake to be made. However, I would rather pay a bit more than buy junk. I've heard of Citizen, but never heard of Orient so will have to check them out. Are there other brands you'd recommend I check out?
> 
> Thanks again for the advice. This is all pretty new to me.


As mentioned below, the Swiss Army watches are good values. Well made. Otherwise, stick with these brands we've mentioned: Seiko, Citizen, Orient. When you go above $200, some other brands come into play (Tissot, Hamilton, Christopher Ward, and a few others)

Orient is famous for the "Mako" dive watch, which is a sharp looking automatic watch that represents an amazing value. I think they can be found for under $100. You'll need to poke around, though, since there's a difference between MSRP and street price. That's true for all of these things, which is one reason why you should purchase on-line and not in a store. There are forums like these about the Orient, with some nice pics and testimonials:

https://forums.watchuseek.com/f410/

I've never cared much for Citizen watches, although I can't put my finger on why. Looks, really. But that's a matter of taste. Objectively speaking, they're supposed to be excellent. Well built. And you can find them in malls, so go take a look. Their forté is the "eco drive"...a solar-powered movement. It's reported to work very well. Seiko's also getting more and more into solar, and I think they do a better job than Citizen of masking the fact that the dial is a solar cell.

Seiko has always really impressed me for two reasons: 1. there's a Seiko for every look at every price point, from $50 to $7000, and at every price point their offering is an outstanding value. The down side is that they make an insane number of models, and you'll never find a single store or website that will give you anything like a comprehensive collection. Plus, let's be honest, many of those models are ugly. I find that they often go one detail too far...still, with so many to chose from, there's bound to be a few that really stand out. Like the SKX007, the SARB035, SARB065, SARB017, to say nothing of a few of the high-end Grand Seikos, which are stunning. As for the Seiko 5s, there must be 100 variants, some better looking than others. Some I'd proudly wear and would get a thumbs up from all the style snobs here at AAAC; some would not. There are lengthy discussions on watch forums about "favorite Seiko 5s" that you might want to track down in order to single out the really nice looking ones.

When trying to decide, make sure the watch NOT have an "integrated bracelet." If a watch does, it's hard to replace the bracelet with an after-market bracelet or strap, and I think it's great to have that option. That's esp. true for low-end watches, which often come with crappy straps or bracelets. What people do is buy a $70 Seiko 5 and then a $100 leather strap, resulting in a watch that looks like it costs many times that amount.

The second reason why I like Seiko is that they make amazingly good, cheap, automatic movements that are bullet proof. You can expect at least 10 years of problem free, accurate operation. My grandfather's 40-yr old Seiko Auto works flawlessly, although it's slow. One of these days I'll get it serviced so that it will be back up to spec. My skx013 uses the same movement as most of those Seiko 5s, and it's dead accurate. I won't have to worry about it for many years. I picked it up off Ebay with a gorgeous aftermarket bracelet for $150.

The only Seikos to avoid are the "kinetics," which have had some problems over the years. Seiko's apparently ironed those out, but I've also read that Seiko's abandoning the technology in favor of solars.

Don't sweat the solar v. quartz v. auto debate. I prefer autos, but I can't justify my preference. They're all good. One of the big objections to autos is the cost of servicing them, but a) that's only a big deal with expensive watches, which cost a fortune to service, and b) these cheap Seiko and Orient autos can be replaced for less than it costs to service them, and I'm not convinced one needs to for many, many years. By the time you'll need to get an auto serviced, esp. a Seiko auto, you'll have moved on to other watches, anyways.


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

^^
+1 regarding the Seiko 5. Otherwise, cruise in to your local Walmart and pick up a Timex Easy Reader. Save money and get a reliable timepiece, "getten er all done" and all at the same time (pun, admittedly weak but still, intended!).


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## Bjorn (May 2, 2010)

Essential said:


> I got interested in the Laco after you pointed it out but I'm hooked onto the Jcrew one again. Excuse my watch noobiness, but the style on the Jcrew one seems to be a lot better because it seems thinner (don't know if it's really) and the background of the watch is yellowish, compared to the black color of the Laco one.


The J crew one is thinner, but it's a quartz watch. It's strictly a fashion watch, albeit a nice looking one. It's way too expensive.

The original fliegers were huge, 50mm and thick, worn outside of the jacket. A really thin one would not float my boat.

I can comfortably wear my Laco under all my shirt cuffs, and it's not a 'big' watch by todays standards.

The J Crew is a no-no from my perspective, if I were you I would look around further.

Check the models sold by seiyajapan, they have a nice selection of Japanese market Seikos.


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## Larsd4 (Oct 14, 2005)

"Timex. Anything less is junk. Anything more is jewelry."

(I should've been a Mad Man).


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## filfoster (Aug 23, 2011)

Walter Denton said:


> By all accounts the Seiko 5s are fine watches but I'm amazed anyone would pay more than $70 "buy it now" on EBay for one when they are almost always available directlly from Amazon for less with free shipping and returns and no hassle.
> 
> https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=seiko+5


The automatic dive watches - here's the one I bought: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001JQC96W/ref=oh_details_o06_s00_i00are some multiple of that but still nice watches for the money.
It's not the enormous, hip hop rapper sized bling dive watch that seems so popular now, it's more 'Rolex' sized, but without the Rolex price (I have two of those, non-dive Datejusts, that I bought when I had more money and less sense. Yeah, I know I could wear those to the pool too, but why?).


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## tocqueville (Nov 15, 2009)

Larsd4 said:


> "Timex. Anything less is junk. Anything more is jewelry."


I suppose that's true, esp. the first sentence. If you only have $30 to spend, then absolutely get a Timex and look no further. Still, they look cheap. If it's going to be on my wrist all day, after having spent so much $$$ and attention on the rest of my wardrobe, I don't see the point of going that cheap if one has a choice. The extra $20-30 bucks it takes to move up to a Seiko 5 is like moving up from those cheap corrected leather, rubber slip on "dress" shoes one sees everywhere to a pair of Allen Edmonds.


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## Essential (Mar 20, 2012)

Bjorn said:


> The J crew one is thinner, but it's a quartz watch. It's strictly a fashion watch, albeit a nice looking one. It's way too expensive.
> 
> The original fliegers were huge, 50mm and thick, worn outside of the jacket. A really thin one would not float my boat.
> 
> ...


Thanks for all the help. I decided to find the difference between the quartz and automatic as well. It seems quartz should be cheaper and is more accurate. But deviating from the normal trad style, I like the watch because of the way it looks and not how advanced it is. The watch helps me tell the time, looks good; the only negative is its price. But then again I don't plan to use this watch for too long. I'm graduating high school and I'm planning to use it for college before I start working. Any other thin watches that look good? The seiko 5 doesn't seem to pop for me.


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## tocqueville (Nov 15, 2009)

Essential said:


> Thanks for all the help. I decided to find the difference between the quartz and automatic as well. It seems quartz should be cheaper and is more accurate. But deviating from the normal trad style, I like the watch because of the way it looks and not how advanced it is. The watch helps me tell the time, looks good; the only negative is its price. But then again I don't plan to use this watch for too long. I'm graduating high school and I'm planning to use it for college before I start working. Any other thin watches that look good? The seiko 5 doesn't seem to pop for me.


JCrew knows what it's doing. It picked a watch that you, a high-school student, would really like. My problem with the watch is the price.

Try Christopher Ward for comparably priced stuff that's good quality and more likely to "pop" than the Seikos. See this for example, which is an excellent value:
https://www.christopherward-usa.com/men/aviation/c5awt-mk2.html


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## Racer (Apr 16, 2010)

ChubbyTexan said:


> Yesterday, while the missus and I were at Joseph A Bank buying some ties, she noted that she liked their watches. These are Joseph A Bank brand watches which I know nothing about other than (a) she liked them (b) they look simple and straightforward - good thing in my mind (c) they're not too expensive.


Most of the JAB-branded watches are made by Geneva Watch Group, which supplies many licensed brand watches, such as Kenneth Cole and Tommy Bahama. Despite the "Geneva" in the company's name, the watches are made in China.


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## Bjorn (May 2, 2010)

I just bought an Orient Mako (CEM6500) for around 100$ incl freight from Singapore. 

This model (Pepsi colors)


It's also available in blue and black




Just wanted a Pepsi diver to wear on weekends in the summer. Orient is another Japanese brand that one can look at. It's also sized 'correctly' at 41 mm, it's not oversized and will fit beneath a shirt.


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## Bjorn (May 2, 2010)

Also got this whiskey shell cordovan strap for 30&euro;:


More reasonably priced than a lot of the shell watch straps showing up right now. Many priced at +100$. It's horse for gods sake, not unicorn.


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## blue suede shoes (Mar 22, 2010)

tocqueville said:


> JCrew knows what it's doing. It picked a watch that you, a high-school student, would really like. My problem with the watch is the price.
> 
> Try Christopher Ward for comparably priced stuff that's good quality and more likely to "pop" than the Seikos. See this for example, which is an excellent value:
> https://www.christopherward-usa.com/men/aviation/c5awt-mk2.html


+1 for Christopher Ward. They offer a very good watch for the money, better than most Swiss brands.


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## Bjorn (May 2, 2010)

Also, the new watches from Ralph Lauren are supposed to be very good, but then they do come at a premium.


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## Walter Denton (Sep 11, 2011)

Bjorn said:


> Also got this whiskey shell cordovan strap for 30€:
> 
> More reasonably priced than a lot of the shell watch straps showing up right now. Many priced at +100$. It's horse for gods sake, not unicorn.


Bjorn,
Nice looking strap. Where did you find it?


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## Bjorn (May 2, 2010)

Walter Denton said:


> Bjorn,
> Nice looking strap. Where did you find it?


German eBay seller who hasn't caught on to the fact that anything tagged Horween should be at at 100% markup. German made, American leather. Looks nice on the pic at least.


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