Date Options

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timor54
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Re: Date Options

Post by timor54 »

timor54 wrote: Sat Jul 13, 2019 8:30 pm I’m ambivalent about date windows. Done well they’re OK, but equally I do like a classic non-date like the C65 Diver.

I’d prefer them to be at 6 for symmetry, but I draw the line at the window being at 4.5 which I think is an abomination :bäh:
Forgot to mention, I hate cyclops...
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Re: Date Options

Post by TigerChris »

albionphoto wrote: Sat Jul 13, 2019 8:37 pm t... Let's fight... err, this is the CW forum, so let's,politely, agree to disagree. :D
I'll take the fight option, don't mind a bit of a scrap :lol: :lol: :lol:
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Re: Date Options

Post by Thermexman »

I bought all my watches, past and present because I liked the particular watch and that was irrespective of wether or not it had a date window.

I’ve also never bought a watch that was offered with a choice of date or no date. This post has caused me to look at my collection and try to imagine which option I’d have gone for if I’d had the choice.

Truth is, I can’t imagine each watch with the opposite option to that which it has. I guess if I was given the choice it would make for some very hard decisions!

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Re: Date Options

Post by Craig64 »

Thermexman wrote: Sat Jul 13, 2019 9:06 pm I bought all my watches, past and present because I liked the particular watch and that was irrespective of wether or not it had a date window.

I’ve also never bought a watch that was offered with a choice of date or no date. This post has caused me to look at my collection and try to imagine which option I’d have gone for if I’d had the choice.

Truth is, I can’t imagine each watch with the opposite option to that which it has. I guess if I was given the choice it would make for some very hard decisions!

Eeny, meeny, miny mo!
Please Sir, could you reveal how many of your watches have date windows compared to no date?

Your answer might be very revealing...... :thumbup:
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Re: Date Options

Post by Kip »

I must admit that I never thought of a watch with a date as having a corrupted dial. Personally for daily use I preference a date. I just don't think it is practical for most brands to offer models with and without a date. Not a bad idea, but there is probably research somewhere that shows stats on what sells better or is preferred.

I do like the simplicity of a no date dial, but only on dress watches and have no serious preference. I tend to judge a watch as an overall unit and overlook things that make others crazy. I don't even care where the date is on the dal as long as I like the overall look.
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Re: Date Options

Post by Essex Paul »

I have a date on my Submariner which I can read clearly due to the cyclops as I too have failing sight due to getting older.
I like the cyclops, makes the sub-date a unique piece.
I also have an old cheapo that has a date which I cannot read at all without glasses.
Therefore I will try and stay away from any date dials if I can. Unless I REALLY like the watch.
In an ideal world they’d always be two versions which I know isn’t practical.
That’s why I’m nearing the purchase of a C65 Trident Diver over the Auto version. Plus I don’t have a hand wound in my collection. :thumbup:
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Re: Date Options

Post by Thegreyman »

The only no date watches I have are a Rolex Sub, Tudor BB/Ranger and Panerai. Majority of these watches don’t come with a date so I didn’t make the conscious decision not to choose a date other than the Sub. To answer @craig64 the no date Sub is about £1200 iirc less than the date Sub (of course Rolex throw in a free Cyclops!). I went for the no date for reasons of dial purity, not really liking a Cyclops and of course being tight :lol:

The rest of my watches do have dates and I find that quite useful on a day to basis although not a deal breaker when buying a watch. I do like a balanced dial so the 6 o’clock position is good, both my Halios and Hamilton have that, actually Halios offered both options with no cost differential.
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Re: Date Options

Post by PaulJS »

It is interesting to see peoples' different views on this. Looking at others' thinking I realise that there are a few further factors pushing me towards no date options:

- Since stopping working in a formal a capacity ( I now just have the never ending job list from SWMBO :lol: ) it is far less significant to me what the date is.
- As has been mentioned, it can be a chore to keep resetting the date on automatics when rotating watches every other day or so.
- There have been a couple of watches that I really wanted but could not put up with the impact of the date on the numerals, which is frustrating. Maybe using the term 'corrupting' the face is a bit strong, maybe detracting from the purity of the design is a better description.

Talking about the prohibitive cost to small manufacturers of offering a no date option, it was seeing that the latest Dan Henry watches all offer this, and they are a tiny brand, that was partly responsible for starting me thinking along these lines. They probably just leave the mechanism in situ and omit the window, but with a quartz your interaction with the winder is going to be minimal - twice a year? - so having a redundant position on the crown would not bother me.

Maybe perversely I don't have the same dislike for chronograph dials that can clutter the face, chop up numerals and markers with impunity and also often have such small detail that a microscope is required to read them!

Its a funny old world!

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Re: Date Options

Post by H0rati0 »

Personally, I much prefer the date on a wrist watch, the only watches I have with no date are pocket watches. As a rule I would not buy a wrist watch without at least a date. That said, I am considering one at present just because I like it - though its style is reminiscent of a pocket watch. I would however prefer that it had a date.

I have two watches with big dates both of which I like very much and I have no problem with a cyclops. For me, the date should be easily legible without glasses so long as the overall style works.

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Re: Date Options

Post by Amor Vincit Omnia »

Having read this with interest, I think it’s a sign of the times that we possibly need the date rather less than we used to.

Not sure about other people, but I don’t write letters anymore, and emails are automatically dated. I used to write cheques and don’t anymore, and electronic transactions are automatically dated.

Slightly off topic but I used to remember a fair number of significant telephone numbers in my head. I can still remember some of them, but now of course all the ones I need are stored in my phone.

As I said I am largely ambivalent to the presence or absence of a date window. I always know what day it is; I might forget occasionally on holiday but they tend to remind me when I have to go home. :(

I think a year indicator would be just as useful for me. If I do have to put the date on anything it usually takes me until about March to get the year right! :lol:
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Re: Date Options

Post by nbg »

Thegreyman wrote: Sun Jul 14, 2019 8:30 am To answer @craig64 the no date Sub is about £1200 iirc less than the date Sub (of course Rolex throw in a free Cyclops!). I went for the no date for reasons of dial purity, not really liking a Cyclops and of course being tight :lol:
Patrick I wouldn’t want anyone thinking that Rolex charge an excessive difference between Submariner and Submariner Date models - the difference is only £800. :lol:

Just thinking that for those that like a date function, the cyclops is a useful device. It allows the owner to take a wrist shot at an angle where the cyclops obscures the date, allowing the wearer to post a wrist shot, without having to say “old pic” when they reuse the pic on a different day. :D

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Re: Date Options

Post by Thegreyman »

nbg wrote: Sun Jul 14, 2019 9:03 am
Thegreyman wrote: Sun Jul 14, 2019 8:30 am To answer @craig64 the no date Sub is about £1200 iirc less than the date Sub (of course Rolex throw in a free Cyclops!). I went for the no date for reasons of dial purity, not really liking a Cyclops and of course being tight :lol:
Patrick I wouldn’t want anyone thinking that Rolex charge an excessive difference between Submariner and Submariner Date models - the difference is only £800. :lol:

Just thinking that for those that like a date function, the cyclops is a useful device. It allows the owner to take a wrist shot at an angle where the cyclops obscures the date, allowing the wearer to post a wrist shot, without having to say “old pic” when they reuse the pic on a different day. :D

Neil
Thanks for correcting me on the cost difference for the Sub date, it’s actually a bargain then!

The Cyclops true function is to make the date more difficult to read...who knew :lol:
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Re: Date Options

Post by Danbailey007 »

I, like others it seems, have no particular preference to whether it has a date window or not for me to buy. Having looked just now all of my watches have a date window, some at the 3 o clock position, one at 4 and 2 at 4-30. They all seem to suit though as they work around other bits of styling, chrono, numerals etc.

I'd like a no date option at some point, just for symmetry of the face but if I like the watch that much and it only comes with a date window then so be it. Not a fan of cyclops but I doubt I'd ever be able to afford a watch that has one anyway!
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Re: Date Options

Post by TheBeatles »

When I said I prefer a no date option, this is when there is no date wheel behind the dial.

If there is a date wheel anyway, I would go for the date option.

The recent Hamtun on Kickstarter and the new Dan Henry 1962 both offer no date options, but both have a hidden date wheel.
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Re: Date Options

Post by magicman »

That hidden date wheel thing is strange.
I wonder if there's a moonphase, lurking behind a plain dail somewhere in my collection :D.

Good article here.
https://www.ablogtowatch.com/watches-date-displays/

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