Great episode! I wholeheartedly agree with the Thermarest Neoair Xtherm recommendation! I have used mine in the Alaska range, Antarctica, New Zealand and the Alps and it offers incredible warmth for the weight and packed size. Love the gear and travel tips that occasionally pop up amongst the more usual content here, keep it up gents!
I wear my 2007 Breitling Aerospace 3-5 days a week since its purchase earlier this year. No ticking seconds hand, of course. Incredible accuracy and plenty of extra functionality. As you say, "Grab and go." So convenient.
I've been looking at the Aerospace for a year now. Have a lead on a E65062 Repetition. Looking for something to wear on the weekend, coaching soccer, coaching skiing, etc. Or I can just drop 350 on a seiko solar dive. The hunt is just as fun as the purchase.
and I pulled the trigger on the aerospace this morning. E65062 in blue with the more 'stick-like' arabics. Now the question ... what straps to pair it with ...
Just finished, enjoyed this. I was going to submit a Q&A on the GS 9F. I too fell into the “it’s not mechanical” trap but after picking up a SBGN003 I wish I got on board sooner. It’s already been a great partner on many trips during our short time together.
One other I would mention is the new solar Seiko speed timers. That panda is awesome.
One more comment......Jason, I totally got sucked down the Wrist Watch Revival YouTube channel.
What I now know is A) Marshall HAS to be a guest on TGN. B) The A&F/Heuer Solunar is the coolest watch I never knew about C) I'm all in on learning how do become a hobbyist watch repairer.
Great Episode on an overlooked topic. I was thrilled when Cartier announced the Tank SolarBeat, seems perfect for the everyday watch when not on an adventure, which sadly is more days than not for me. I was in love with the whole approach, from the plant based strap, 16 year service cycle and solar movement. After an exhausted search I was told "The Tank SolarBeat timepiece you inquired about has been retired and thus, is unfortunately unavailable for purchase". I don't know if this is for the US market where I am based, or worldwide. That made the hunt even more alive and after calling around to Boutiques I found 1 large SolarBeat from a Boutique that agreed to allow me to buy the watch via wire and have them hold it until I could travel to pick it up. I jumped on it and by a stroke of pure luck have a friend traveling to this destination later this month who is going to pick it up for me. Can't wait, hopefully what ever issue is causing these to be delayed will be corrected so everyone that wants one can get one.
Citizen GMT Eco-drive Promaster Dive Watch -There are definitely too many great quartz watches to call out all of them. Though, the Citizen Watch Promaster BJ7111 deserves honorable mention. They have a good diver’s bezel, gmt function (with jumping hour hand), Eco-drive and is cased in titanium.
One quartz watch that I have and love is the Mondaine Stop2Go which pauses the second hand when it reaches 12 for 1-2 seconds, and then resumes--copying the clocks found all over Switzerland in their train stations. It's also an iconic dial layout and design--copied a little too closely by Apple in the early days of the iOS (you can google that, it's all resolved now).
Jason – my favorite part of “Walter Mitty” was seeing that Sean Penn uses our camera. 😊 I had to freeze frame on that. Also, Thanks also for Sicario recommendation. Without that, I don’t think I would have made it past the first 15 minutes, but it was worth it!
My issue with quartz watches is the ticking second hand. Feels cheap compared to a automatic watch. But I’ve seen some quartz watches with second hands that ticks 4 times a second. And I have a quartz wall clock that runs with a totally smooth swooping second hand. Why doesn’t more manufactures use quartz movements that has this feature?
It is doable, but uses a lot of energy. Not a problem with a wall clock. A bigger selling point is how long it can go without changing the battery. :-) I think Bulova has some too.
Here is one other watch to consider, even though it really isn’t in the TGN wheelhouse - the Hamilton Ventura. An original “electric watch” from the 1950’s, it really only makes sense as a battery powered timepiece - and it has the symbol for a resistor on the face!
The Ventura was the first nice watch I loved. This was likely due to the MIB connection. A few years after the love affair began I tried one on and realized the watch wasn't for me based on how it wore. Same is true of the Monaco. I still love them both from afar.
Thank you for a great episode about quartz watches. It ticked all my boxes.
I’ve been a quartz fan ever since I got my first “real” watch. A gift from my father, in 1986. That first watch was a Tag Heuer Formula 1 Ref 380.513/1. Still in my possession and I wear it now and then.
Being a teenager of the 80s, and a watch fan, quartz was the big thing. Remember my dad, who traveled a lot around the world visited Hong Kong in the late 80s, turning down a Submariner for the new two-tone Quartz Tag Heuer 1000 Professional Ref 980.020 N (almost the same price as the sub).
Got a chance to buy that Tag last year. Now wearing it on a grey NATO (of course) but the two-tone bracelet comes on now and then.
Another one of my quartz watches is the Seiko Chronograph Sports 100 Ref 7A38-7020, also a gift from my father, which is a very nice quartz watch.
In 1989 I received an Ebel Sport Wave (two tone) Ref 183903. A really thin dress watch which I don’t wear that often but it ticks on regardless. Not often talked about and not very expensive to buy these days.
In the 90s my quest for quartz watches continued. I adored my dads Aerospace in titanium and wanted something similar but less expensive. Two watches were on my wish list, the Bell&Ross Fusion was one and the other an Omega Seamaster. I fell for the Omega Seamaster 120 multifunction Ref 2521.81.00. And I must say both these watches are very good looking despite being analog/digital watches. And in my opinion maybe even better looking than the Aerospace. The Omega is also very thin and has a beautiful blue dial and you can always hide the digital display when you don’t need them.
Have a few automatic watches as well these days and love them just as much but that quartz movement will always have a special place in my heart.
Yeah, quartz was the Bomb back in the day. I had my heart spend on spending $250 on a new Rolex Sub, but then Seiko came out with cool quartz divers for less than half the price, and they were more accurate! ;-) Eventually I moved up to a TAG.
The first nice watch I ever owned was a Tag Heuer Professional 1000 two tone that my parents gave me in about 1986. The exact watch is still in my collection today. I still wear it in rotation although the jubilee style bracelet is all stretched out and unwearable. Pretty much lives on a grey NATO now!
I have a Bulova Lunar Pilot that is by far the most accurate watch in my collection. It is a high frequency quartz that is temp compensated. Rated to 10 sec per year. My example is about 1 sec every two to three months. Great watch!
I would classify smart watches as quartz. In reality they just have way better crystals (whether they are actual crystals or crystal oscillators) than most watches because of the requirements of the processors inside. They also operate at way higher frequencies than the highest high frequency quartz. On the order of several hundred MHz. I remember when the Apple watch debuted they made a big deal about it having the most accurate temperature compensated oscillators on the market. They use NTP (Network Time Protocol) to compensate for drift. I would bet Garmin does something similar. In fact, every Apple Watch is within 50 msec of UTC. You can place 100 apple watches next to each other and the seconds hands will be so close to being in sync that you wouldn't be able to tell with the naked eye.
A little reading from back in 2015 about the Apple Watch accuracy.
Not a knock on quartz, but an honest question: If you were going to (presumably) scale back to a 3 watch collection, would a quartz watch grab a spot? Based on Jason’s month with the seamaster, is there really anything you couldn’t do with a solid mechanical?
If I could only keep one watch, it would be my Grand Seiko Quartz GMT. The fit, finish, wrist comfort, and accuracy is my gold standard. It's hard to match that in anything that doesn't cost 5x the price. Besides, it's the watch I use to set all my mechanical watches to.
Kyle, while I wear one watch the very large majority of the time I can tell you that I actually have 3 quartz watches in my rotation. Both the Tag F1 and Seiko Sportura Honda F1 were very early grails for me. Neither gets a ton of wrist time any longer but they will never be sold.
My first watch of significant financial expense was a quartz Tag F1 (WAC1111-0). I still have it and throw it on every once in a while. Now that I have experienced more and know a bit more about watches, I wonder “why is watch is so damn heavy?”
Great episode! I wholeheartedly agree with the Thermarest Neoair Xtherm recommendation! I have used mine in the Alaska range, Antarctica, New Zealand and the Alps and it offers incredible warmth for the weight and packed size. Love the gear and travel tips that occasionally pop up amongst the more usual content here, keep it up gents!
Robi
8 min ago
I wear my 2007 Breitling Aerospace 3-5 days a week since its purchase earlier this year. No ticking seconds hand, of course. Incredible accuracy and plenty of extra functionality. As you say, "Grab and go." So convenient.
I've been looking at the Aerospace for a year now. Have a lead on a E65062 Repetition. Looking for something to wear on the weekend, coaching soccer, coaching skiing, etc. Or I can just drop 350 on a seiko solar dive. The hunt is just as fun as the purchase.
and I pulled the trigger on the aerospace this morning. E65062 in blue with the more 'stick-like' arabics. Now the question ... what straps to pair it with ...
Artem Straps from Australia just released a new navy blue sailcloth...
Just finished, enjoyed this. I was going to submit a Q&A on the GS 9F. I too fell into the “it’s not mechanical” trap but after picking up a SBGN003 I wish I got on board sooner. It’s already been a great partner on many trips during our short time together.
One other I would mention is the new solar Seiko speed timers. That panda is awesome.
One more comment......Jason, I totally got sucked down the Wrist Watch Revival YouTube channel.
What I now know is A) Marshall HAS to be a guest on TGN. B) The A&F/Heuer Solunar is the coolest watch I never knew about C) I'm all in on learning how do become a hobbyist watch repairer.
Great Episode on an overlooked topic. I was thrilled when Cartier announced the Tank SolarBeat, seems perfect for the everyday watch when not on an adventure, which sadly is more days than not for me. I was in love with the whole approach, from the plant based strap, 16 year service cycle and solar movement. After an exhausted search I was told "The Tank SolarBeat timepiece you inquired about has been retired and thus, is unfortunately unavailable for purchase". I don't know if this is for the US market where I am based, or worldwide. That made the hunt even more alive and after calling around to Boutiques I found 1 large SolarBeat from a Boutique that agreed to allow me to buy the watch via wire and have them hold it until I could travel to pick it up. I jumped on it and by a stroke of pure luck have a friend traveling to this destination later this month who is going to pick it up for me. Can't wait, hopefully what ever issue is causing these to be delayed will be corrected so everyone that wants one can get one.
Citizen GMT Eco-drive Promaster Dive Watch -There are definitely too many great quartz watches to call out all of them. Though, the Citizen Watch Promaster BJ7111 deserves honorable mention. They have a good diver’s bezel, gmt function (with jumping hour hand), Eco-drive and is cased in titanium.
One quartz watch that I have and love is the Mondaine Stop2Go which pauses the second hand when it reaches 12 for 1-2 seconds, and then resumes--copying the clocks found all over Switzerland in their train stations. It's also an iconic dial layout and design--copied a little too closely by Apple in the early days of the iOS (you can google that, it's all resolved now).
Jason – my favorite part of “Walter Mitty” was seeing that Sean Penn uses our camera. 😊 I had to freeze frame on that. Also, Thanks also for Sicario recommendation. Without that, I don’t think I would have made it past the first 15 minutes, but it was worth it!
Ever considered the possibility of adding photos in the comments field?
Drink every time they say “grab and go”😄🍻
My issue with quartz watches is the ticking second hand. Feels cheap compared to a automatic watch. But I’ve seen some quartz watches with second hands that ticks 4 times a second. And I have a quartz wall clock that runs with a totally smooth swooping second hand. Why doesn’t more manufactures use quartz movements that has this feature?
It is doable, but uses a lot of energy. Not a problem with a wall clock. A bigger selling point is how long it can go without changing the battery. :-) I think Bulova has some too.
Looks like Seiko VH31 Hybrid Quartz is one of these 4 tick's pr second movements. Not sure how many others there are.
Here is one other watch to consider, even though it really isn’t in the TGN wheelhouse - the Hamilton Ventura. An original “electric watch” from the 1950’s, it really only makes sense as a battery powered timepiece - and it has the symbol for a resistor on the face!
The Ventura was the first nice watch I loved. This was likely due to the MIB connection. A few years after the love affair began I tried one on and realized the watch wasn't for me based on how it wore. Same is true of the Monaco. I still love them both from afar.
Thank you for a great episode about quartz watches. It ticked all my boxes.
I’ve been a quartz fan ever since I got my first “real” watch. A gift from my father, in 1986. That first watch was a Tag Heuer Formula 1 Ref 380.513/1. Still in my possession and I wear it now and then.
Being a teenager of the 80s, and a watch fan, quartz was the big thing. Remember my dad, who traveled a lot around the world visited Hong Kong in the late 80s, turning down a Submariner for the new two-tone Quartz Tag Heuer 1000 Professional Ref 980.020 N (almost the same price as the sub).
Got a chance to buy that Tag last year. Now wearing it on a grey NATO (of course) but the two-tone bracelet comes on now and then.
Another one of my quartz watches is the Seiko Chronograph Sports 100 Ref 7A38-7020, also a gift from my father, which is a very nice quartz watch.
In 1989 I received an Ebel Sport Wave (two tone) Ref 183903. A really thin dress watch which I don’t wear that often but it ticks on regardless. Not often talked about and not very expensive to buy these days.
In the 90s my quest for quartz watches continued. I adored my dads Aerospace in titanium and wanted something similar but less expensive. Two watches were on my wish list, the Bell&Ross Fusion was one and the other an Omega Seamaster. I fell for the Omega Seamaster 120 multifunction Ref 2521.81.00. And I must say both these watches are very good looking despite being analog/digital watches. And in my opinion maybe even better looking than the Aerospace. The Omega is also very thin and has a beautiful blue dial and you can always hide the digital display when you don’t need them.
Have a few automatic watches as well these days and love them just as much but that quartz movement will always have a special place in my heart.
Thanks for a great show.
Yeah, quartz was the Bomb back in the day. I had my heart spend on spending $250 on a new Rolex Sub, but then Seiko came out with cool quartz divers for less than half the price, and they were more accurate! ;-) Eventually I moved up to a TAG.
The first nice watch I ever owned was a Tag Heuer Professional 1000 two tone that my parents gave me in about 1986. The exact watch is still in my collection today. I still wear it in rotation although the jubilee style bracelet is all stretched out and unwearable. Pretty much lives on a grey NATO now!
I have a Bulova Lunar Pilot that is by far the most accurate watch in my collection. It is a high frequency quartz that is temp compensated. Rated to 10 sec per year. My example is about 1 sec every two to three months. Great watch!
I would classify smart watches as quartz. In reality they just have way better crystals (whether they are actual crystals or crystal oscillators) than most watches because of the requirements of the processors inside. They also operate at way higher frequencies than the highest high frequency quartz. On the order of several hundred MHz. I remember when the Apple watch debuted they made a big deal about it having the most accurate temperature compensated oscillators on the market. They use NTP (Network Time Protocol) to compensate for drift. I would bet Garmin does something similar. In fact, every Apple Watch is within 50 msec of UTC. You can place 100 apple watches next to each other and the seconds hands will be so close to being in sync that you wouldn't be able to tell with the naked eye.
A little reading from back in 2015 about the Apple Watch accuracy.
Forgot the link! https://www.macrumors.com/2015/12/30/apple-watch-precise-time-keeping/
Not a knock on quartz, but an honest question: If you were going to (presumably) scale back to a 3 watch collection, would a quartz watch grab a spot? Based on Jason’s month with the seamaster, is there really anything you couldn’t do with a solid mechanical?
If I could only keep one watch, it would be my Grand Seiko Quartz GMT. The fit, finish, wrist comfort, and accuracy is my gold standard. It's hard to match that in anything that doesn't cost 5x the price. Besides, it's the watch I use to set all my mechanical watches to.
Kyle, while I wear one watch the very large majority of the time I can tell you that I actually have 3 quartz watches in my rotation. Both the Tag F1 and Seiko Sportura Honda F1 were very early grails for me. Neither gets a ton of wrist time any longer but they will never be sold.
My first watch of significant financial expense was a quartz Tag F1 (WAC1111-0). I still have it and throw it on every once in a while. Now that I have experienced more and know a bit more about watches, I wonder “why is watch is so damn heavy?”
Can we get Paul Scurfield back on TGN once he drops his newest quartz iteration? Would really enjoy hearing from him again!