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A discussion forum for chronographs, dive watches and other tool-type wristwatches and timepieces |
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I think it's great that we spend some time on the definitional issues, before really going live and loud. Great topic!!
I believe that all these watches would be classified as "tool watches", with the likely exception of the moon phase. That said, some of these watches may have strayed a little from being dedicated solely to the performance of their designated tasks.
In my favorite definition of a "tool watch", we see this element: Racecar designers sometimes say that a racecar should not have any component that doesn't make the car go faster . . . safety equipment and sponsors' decals may be the obvious exceptions, though they each play the role in making the car go faster. By analogy, we have to allow those desgining and wearing tool watches a little slack, to add some gold, or a fancy lug, or some other decorative elements.
All this, in my humble opinion / personal view.
Maybe we have scan day, for the "Ultimate Tool Watches", and see what people think? We could send folks from the Omega Forum and Heuer Forum, over here, to see whether we can fine tune the definition of "Tool Watch".
Jeff
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Sam:
The design of the tool is defined by it's duty with minimal design influences being given over to styling features that add little or nothing to functionality.
So when people begin to dress up a tool watch, and add decorative elements, they do stray from the pure design of a watch dedicated solely to performing its function. But let's remember that even the chronographs worn on the ultimate mission -- Speedmasters worn in space and on the moom -- had the decorative element of the tachy bezel, which was of absolutely no use in space or on the moon. And we didn't see NASA pulling off the bezels, to lighten the watches or clean up the look.
: Chuck and Jeff: I'm having a bit of fun not so
: much "pushing the envelope" as
: "defining the envelope".
: I posted watches that were definitely vintage
: and we decided: alarm watches are tool
: watches
: drivers watches are tool watches
: but tool watches tend to have purpose-driven
: design, not appearance driven design, and
: gold and gems therefore are mostly excluded.
: We also established Chuck doesn't want to see
: anything that looks too dressy -- a point he
: proved by posting a dressy watch he owns?
: (just teasing you Chuck)
: Do we have age restrictions here?
: Do we allow quartz?
: Let's try a few examples, including more modern
: watches, and see the reactions. First some
: easy "NOs".
: While this one is not particularly dressy, and
: one might argue the extended pushers were an
: attempt to increase water resistance
: (diver's moonphase -- nah?!), this is not a
: tool watch
:
:
: This one is a quartz multifunction
:
:
: countdown timer, alarm, chronograph, date on
: one side, time on the other
: I think this one is not. I can't point to a
: reason in the definitions, but it just
: isn't.
:
: This one doesn't belong here because it is an
: Omega. But what about quartz chronographs,
: particularly with LCD displays?
:
: Grudgingly, I think this one comes in, except
: for the brand, despite two strikes: dressy
: and quartz.
:
: What about a less than 15 year old quartz, with
: no chronograph, LCD display only, whose
: tool-like purpose was to provide data?
:
: Did I mention it is as "ugly as sin"?
: This thing actually has a bar code reader
: built into it.
: Technically, it's a tool watch. But . . . .
:
: You knew one of these was coming:
: Tool watch?
:
: Same functions more elegantly and cleverly
:
: Tool watch?
:
: Coming back to more familiar ground -- only a
: couple of years old
:
: But it has this
:
: Modern, dressy and with a display back -- is it
: still a tool watch?
:
: This one is -- just because of the heritage
:
: Wht do you think?
: Sam aka Hewybaby
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