Re: Alpha watch arrived today, and...

On 2006-07-25, Jack Denver <nunuvyer@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

"Longfellow" <not@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:12camsj6hmght4e@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I was out when it got here. Wife left it on the desk. Stuff was a
while being unloaded from the car while I unpacked the thing.

To the untrained eye, it looks just fine: polished stainless steel on
the sides and bezel, and a fine brush pattern on top and the metal
bracelet. Screw down crown and three pushers (it's a triple date).

You don't need 3 pushers for a triple date unless you want it to look like a
fake chrono. Alpha spends a lot more time finishing the outside than the
inside - outside finish is acceptable, almost nice from what I have seen.

Maybe my terminology is wrong. These are not the buttons like a
chronograph uses, they are dimples in the case side. Forgotten what
they should be called. The crown has three positions: 1) Screwed down.
2) Hand wind. 3) Hand set. And it hacks!. So the crown has no
quickset day-date position .


Looking at the dial side under a glass reveals no obvious flaws,
although I think it probably lacks the finish of a Swiss version. The
reverse side, however, is another story. At a glance, it seems okay:
auto rotor (?) is clean with a low sheen, but below that things get a
bit less well finished. No anglage, of course, and the sides/ends of
the bridges and cocks have not seen a file. The top of the regulator,
right next to the anti-shock spring, has what looks like a spot of
corrosion, but probably is not. No dirt visible, at least at first
look.

I've no tools (yet), and so cannot report in more detail, but I suspect
a tear-down is unlikely to reveal much else.

Runs at a very leisurely pace, looks like about 12600 bph.


Highly unlikely - it's probably an 18k or more likely a 21.6k. Modern
watches with frequencies less than 18kbph are almost unheard of.

Yes, I was very surprised. Counted the ticks at seven every two
seconds. Recounted just now at four per second. That would be 14.4k,
would it not? Five per second is 18k, six is 21.6, seven is 25.2K, 8 is
28.8k, nine is 32.4k, and ten is 36k. At least that's what the little
echo in my head is telling me ;)

But you're right; I've not seen anything less than 18k advertized and
mostly looked at the ETA 28xx high beat at 28.8k (can't afford an El
Primero just yet... :D ). So this is an odd-ball.

Question for general readership: can anyone confirm my observation?

I'm wearing it as I type: It's a bit heavier than the Seiko SQ and quite
a bit thicker, of course, but it's only some 36mm or so in width. I'm
quickly getting comfortable with it.

So now I'm facing the entire point of all this: How do I feel about
having more than one watch to wear?

You should feel about the same as having more than 1 shirt or 1 pair of
shoes, or eating 1 potato chip - bet you can't eat just one!

Aw jeez... well, too late to worry about that now; I hear watch
addiction is nigh well incurable short of really drastic and invasive
treatment of the kind I'd rather not experience (again).
Cantafforditis, I believe...


I've got a NOS Clinton dress watch
that I picked up at an old drug store for <$40.00US, and it is almost
weightless compared to the Seiko, has a cheap black leather strap. I've
worn it out just once, but will probably do so any time I'm dressed
appropriately (which seldom occurs, now that I'm retired :) ).

Get a better strap for it - nothing dresses a watch up more than a quality
band.

Yeah, this is (was?) an issue: I've strapped it to my wrist a few
times, and now the band shows buckle creases, which means it's no longer
pristine as a collectible, I suppose. I mean, think about it: a few
years down the road and suddenly these things become worth a few hundred
dollars and I've blown it by ruining the strap! I could actually have a
hissy-fit just thinking about it!

ROFL!!!!

The reality is probably that if I do decide to wear it for dress, I'd
best replace the strap with a quality item and leave the NOS strap in
the box, just in case it... well, you know what I mean... lol!!


This
watch, however, doesn't have such an obvious purpose, so I don't know
where or how it will fit in my life.

Wear it because it's Tuesday, or because it's sunny out or just for the hell
of it.

There was a time when what I wore was something to be considered, and
watches were not a part of that then. Now, I dress in jeans and old
dress shirts (running out of those...) because that's all anyone else
wears around here (Pacific Northwest). And now, NOW, watches have
decided to become important? WTF!?

What's going to happen is that the jeans and old dress shirts are going
to go away and I'll start wearing slacks and *new* shirts (shiver...)
again! And all because I got a watch jones.

Seriously, though, I've discovered something already. Readability and
fancy complications can be incompatible if the hands are polished chrome against
a silver dial. The date hand and the second hand both have red tips and
the hour and minute hand are "swords" or "leaves" with no lume or
outline.

I can now appreciate the black face SQ with the lume hands and markers
to an extent I only imagined before. So I can see how blocky and
brightly lumed hands and markers have a real practical value. It's just
that they are also... well, aesthetically unedifying, I guess.

-----

Next will be a chronograph, I think. At least, all the clutter on the
dial will have a purpose other than to appear "cool". Looking at the
Alpha chronographs for $115US, and wondering how long it will take me to
justify an El Primero, or Speedmaster, or...

Are we having fun yet? Just starting to get an answer, and I think we
are. :D)

Longfellow

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