Orient watches have been selling here for a few decades already. It is now a subsidiary of Seiko. One thing that I notice about Orient automatics is the smooth rotor movement compared to Seiko. They are ok and some say that the finishing is better than Seiko.

Firstly, I'm not a sifu. Bell & Ross have nice designs but I think that they are overpriced. Most of their range of watches are using standard ETA movements that IMO does not justify their high price.

Yes. Thank you for clarifying. I should have said stock ETA movements instead. It was 1am in the morning, and I was a bit tired.
I'd like to add:
There are 4 grades for ETA movements (standard, elaborate, top and chronometer) and elaborated is the second higher grade.
A Top grade ETA 2892-A2-TOP with Glucydur Balance costs roughly USD270 from the retail market.
It is adjusted in five positions with an average rate of +/-4 seconds/day, with a maximum daily variation of +/-15 seconds/day.

TAG Heuer Malaysia
Customer Service
A division of LVMH Watch & Jewellery Malaysia Sdn Bhd
Suite 2305-06, 23rd Floor, Central Plaza
34, Jalan Sultan Ismail
50250 Kuala Lumpur
Telephone : (+60) 03 2141 6328
Fax : (+60) 03 2143 9257

I'll be paying them a visit next week. Hopefully, they will roll out the red carpet for me.

I don't sweat on the small stuff and let the chauffeur handle the situation. My only dilemma is what car should I choose to take out from the garage?. Rolls Royce Phantom or Maybach 63? Or maybe should I just take the monorail just like everyone else?

Went to TAG Heuer Service center to get my watch serviced today. The 1st service after 17years +.

Mine is a TAG Heuer 2000 series model WE1221-2 Mid sized watch. Same watch pictured here.
Bought on 21/12/94. If it is rare like what was posted in the thread, I'll keep it.
Price at that time, MYR 1570 after 10% discount. These days Swiss watch prices have gone through the roof. If I'm not mistaken, you can get a Rolex GMT for around 8K at that time.

I was pleasantly surprised that TAG Heuer still keep parts for my watch.
Breakdown of charges:
Maintenance Service - RM 120.00
Change bracelet end fitting - RM 50.00
Change Crown - RM 200.00
Total - RM 370.00

Since I opted for the crown replacement, it will take 2 months. Otherwise I could collect it on the same day for maintenance and change bracelet end fitting.
I'm satisfied with their service and will probably get another TAG in the future.

You could try City Time at Pertama Complex. They offered me a good discount off the retail price there.

I haven't been to Singapore for a very long time. Last time was in 1990. Maybe someone else can help.

Read their Terms and Conditions here.

How much depends on the model and movement of your watch. Anyway, it is good to send it for servicing if you have worn the watch daily for 2.5 years. The moving parts of the watch needs to be cleaned and relubricated.
Some movements need more care and attention than others. Not sure about yours since you never specified, but you can see the consequences of not servicing a Rolex here.

In a way, one even might say that a Seiko 7S26 auto winding mechanism is better than a Cal 3135.

For an automatic, I recommend a Seiko SRP207K1. There are also several color versions. SRP201K1 (White), SRP203K1 (Blue) and SRP205K1 (Green).
All are powered by a Seiko Cal. 4R36 movement with stop second function (for easy calibrating to atomic time), with day and date and can be found for less than 500 while some of the more expensive watches in the Seiko / Citizen range are non hacking.

Similar to a basic Swiss automatic watch, but at a lower price.

I forgot to mention that the 4R36 can also be handwound....

This post has been edited by Catnip: May 18 2012, 09:54 PM

Yup. For Swiss automatic movements yes. For Japanese movements no.

For 7S26, 7S35, 7S36 and 4R15 just need to swing from side to side in a horizontal arc for about 30 seconds if it stops and wear it. The normal wrist motion will do the rest.
Not a big issue anyway if the watch is worn more than 8 hours daily and it has roughly a 40 hours reserve.

My 7S26 watch has a daily gain of +4 secs, around +30 secs a week. To put it in another way, it has a daily accuracy of 99.995% and I don't have to pay through the nose to get a good accurate mechanical watch.

For plain models, the lowest price for a Seiko 5 is RM180~RM200 after discount and go all the way to RM1K+ for those diving and sports models.

COSC specs? IMO it's outdated and merely a marketing tool.
Bear in mind that the specs listed in the link are the old standard. I'm not willing to buy the technical papers for the revised ISO3159:2009 standard.

No, my watch does not meet COSC specs. Since 7S26 is non hackable, it can't be synched with an atomic time. So the relative accuracy will be in the range of -25/+35 seconds per day. More importantly, the accuracy of the watch also depends on the owner. If someone is riding a heavily vibrating motorcycle, operating a machine like a jackhammer or an impact drill etc, then the accuracy will be different for that individual. The +4 sec daily gain result is from my daily use and daily activity. Not static position like the COSC tests.

Only in your dreams.

True. But, if the person asking the question would increase the budget from 1K to 1.3K then that person can get a Swatch Irony Chrono Automatic #SVGB400.

Swiss Made = Yes
Chronograph Function = Yes
Automatic = Yes

This.

In addition, if I have to choose a single watch to wear in my lifetime, that would be it.

I dunno, perhaps they are afraid/don't know how to remove the removable links on the bracelet to get a perfect fit? I prefer mine to be snug with my index finger able to inserted under the clasp. Due to water retention my wrist will be slightly bigger in the morning and the braclet feels tighter.

Those Swiss watch companies will charge as much as they want for their straps and bracelets as long as they can get away with it. When people stop buying, then perhaps they will charge more reasonbly. Currently the Swiss watch industry is experiencing tremendous growth.

Seiko Ananta Spring Drive GMT RP of USD 4.3K
Seiko Ananta Spring Drive Chronograph RP USD 6.4K

I'd love to get one but the only problem that I forsee buying these watches is when you need to send it for servicing or repairs. I wonder if Thong Sia (Malaysia) will assist in getting the watch serviced through their channels.

I read that Seiko employs only 5 persons (including 1 female employee) to assemble the spring drive movements. Perhaps these same persons are responsible for service and repairs that contributes to long waiting times.


What they are telling you is equivalent to running your car without servicing till it finally has problems. The glide wheel on the spring drive spins at 8 revolutions per second = 28800 revolutions per hour. Imagine after 4 years. Can the lubricant last much longer? Better get a second opinion from Seiko Japan.

A jumping second hand is easier to read than a sweeping second hand.
If anyone wants a quartz with sweeping second hand then get a Bulova Accutron.

The latest is the Bulova Precisionist.

It is a quartz mechanical movement and more expensive than a Bulova.

Nothing wrong with a ticking seconds hand and it has the advantage of easy and precise reading the seconds off on the dial. It all depends on how one uses the watch. Seeing how my old Seiko Kinetic is running perfectly after overhaul, I'm planning to add another Seiko Kinetic and Quartz Chronograph in my collection in the future.

Bulova Precisionist Champlain Review
Bulova Precisionist Claremont Review