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Show me your very cheap but favorite low cost watch

Bruce235
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gmmy775 gmmy775
Nirva Day Date Automatic 25 Jewels cal. AS2066 Stainless Steel

As far as watches that I have acquired inexpensively, yet still get appreciable wrist time, this fairly unknown item is a favorite. When they say “what are the three most important aspects to a watch….dial, dial, dial”, they are referring to this guy. Even my most reserved multi-Rolex aficionado pals grin when I break this one out. I wouldn’t exactly call it a sunburst, but maybe a term from my gemological studies is apropos---chatoyant. I have owned it for quite a few years, but generally only wore it when I felt a lively green vibe was on call. Then it finally came up in the service rotation, and now that it has been sassed-up I buckle it on a couple of times a month. I think I will always own this one.
In a horologic sense, it isn’t anything to write home about, a generic AS 2066, the ubiquitous 70’s “Crystal” dial, and an interesting case. But the treatment of the dial is what wins me over, and….it’s running rather well for a 50 year-old wristwatch. Anyone know any detailed info on this brand?

Spec Sheet:
Nirva Day Date 25j AS2006 auto SS
Width w/o Crown: 37.65 mm
Length: 21.40 mm hidden lugs
Depth: 10.95 mm wo/crystal, 15.20 mm w/crystal
Lug Width: 18.05 mm
Crystal: 30.40Dia mm, in watch. Domed acrylic
Crown: 5.05Dia mm, signed
Engraving on outside case back: embossed Nirva “N” in center; Automatic; All Stainless Steel; Antimagnetic; Waterproof
Movement: A. Schild cal. 2066 25 jewel unadjusted Automatic, 19600 bph
Engraving on Movement: On rotor: 25 Jewels; Wwiss; AS 2006 with Schild Logo and K1 under balance

Timegrapher readings in dial up position: +16-19 seconds a day; 251 degrees of amplitude; 0.8 milliseconds of beat error
Cool, like a freshly cut lawn
 
Canuck
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Bruce235 Bruce235
You are correct sir. This caravelle has a 11DP which is a bulova 241. 17 jewel version for non US market.
Dial has applied numerals that seem to pick up a brownish tone that goes well with the brown strap. Signed crown too. Lots of value for your $13 in '66.
20230628_093304.jpg


This movement appears to be a Japanese clone of the ETA 1080 movement, shown here.

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ArchAngel
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Been wearing this "daily" for a couple decades. This is actually the 2nd one I've owned. Illustrates why the appeal of the 2500D Professional Seamaster is now on my radar.
 
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levkov
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It was cheaper than you think! 😉
I've just won this Sewills "Battle of Britain" Limited Edition chrono at auction. Don't have it just yet, but it's on way to me. I'm very excited, to say the least.
There's a lot to love here, the arrow hands, the bulky matt case, the 7750 movement, being one of my favourites, not to mention a - largely unknown - brand with lots of history. A must have for a British resident watch nut.
Yep I know there's probably not a lot of effort from Sewills side in making the watch, rather than just assembly, but still a very nice watch.
It commemorates the battle that probably turned the 2nd World War around.
Another nice personal connection is the Hawker Hurricane on the back - I had lived in Windsor, Berkshire for 10 years, the same town the designer of the fighter aircraft, Sydney Camm also used to live. There is a real Hurricane is displayed on the banks of the river Thames where i used to take walks feeding the swans..
upload_2023-10-27_16-47-55.gif 5142305f-cf41-4b27-b5be-b0930115480e.jpg b2c9e08d-7d45-4a96-976a-b0930114ebea.jpg IMG_3227.JPG upload_2023-10-27_16-47-55.gif
 
Ogion
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The F84w is my cheapest and I love it. Currently on a NATO for fun. Like the F91w but Japan only. I visited Japan when I was 10 and bought this as my first watch (which I lost a few years later). Last year I had one imported from Japan which cost me £18. Very nostalgic and I use in the gym.
 
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pdxleaf
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Ogion Ogion
The F84w is my cheapest and I love it. Currently on a NATO for fun. Like the F91w but Japan only. I visited Japan when I was 10 and bought this as my first watch (which I lost a few years later). Last year I had one imported from Japan which cost me £18. Very nostalgic and I use in the gym.


Never thought about putting a Casio on a NATO. That looks great, like a whole other watch. 👍
 
jayelblock
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My father's daily driver for the last several decades until he passed away at age 86, and now mine. So a cheapie, but rich with sentiment.

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CBM1590
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Ogion Ogion
The F84w is my cheapest and I love it. Currently on a NATO for fun. Like the F91w but Japan only. I visited Japan when I was 10 and bought this as my first watch (which I lost a few years later). Last year I had one imported from Japan which cost me £18. Very nostalgic and I use in the gym.
I was just thinking the other day what my G Shock would look and wear like on a nato. Gonna have to give that a shot. Nice thinking! (Photo from back in November…the last time I had it on.)
 
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Doc Savage
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My cheapest watch is this Pro Trek. I paid about $200 for it new a couple of years ago, and it's my backpacking/mountain biking watch. It's so light I forget I have it on, and with the solar cells under the dial, I don't ever have to change a battery. If I wasn't into mechanical watches, this would probably be a one watch collection for me.
 
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Olhenry56
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This was a "freebie" I got when I bought another watch from then member @janice&fred. Currently looking for a more appropriate 5-row BOR bracelet to get it off of this poorly-fitting cheapo bracelet, but the watch is a beauty.
Edited:
 
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Spruce
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Olhenry56 Olhenry56
This was a "freebie" I got when I bought another watch from then member @janice&fred. Currently looking for a more appropriate 5-row BOR bracelet to get it off of this poorly-fitting cheapo bracelet, but the watch is a beauty.

Which Seiko model is it? And I like the bracelet too.
 
Spruce
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This 1970s 37mm automatic had just been serviced and I was the only bidder (at £60 👍)

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Malthus101
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I wore this G-Shock all around South America and funnily enough, no one put a gun in my face to steal it! (served me well and I genuinely liked the low key look, smaller size of this simple model) :

Casio G-Shock DW-5600BB-1JF.jpg



Currently wearing this new Casio as all proper watches are in storage still:

IMG_20240216_131310.jpg


And finally, this one although about 6 x more expensive than either digital watch, is still "cheap" relative to the luxury watches we love:

0_Seiko Prospex Scuba SBDC003 Blumo.jpg


(wore than one whilst living in SEA - again, no problems)
 
Olhenry56
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Spruce Spruce
Which Seiko model is it? And I like the bracelet too.
Thanks. It's a 66-7109 (per the case back), though the dials on these all seem to say 66-7439S.
 
Snooz
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Got quite a few low budget pieces but have recently come to appreciate some of Pulsar's old diver & dive-style designs - here is my beaten up V071 X010 ana-digi from 2002, which cost me about the same as the price of a take-away pizza. 👍
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Larry S
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I wear this thing a lot. Third battery and I have my watchmaker pressure test it. I love it.
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Smashproof
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A cheap and cheerful pocketwatch my parents bought for me back in the mid 2000's in a Beijing gift shop - I think it was something around 80CNY?
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Being the old-fashioned kid I was (and admittedly still am) back in these days, I had this in my pocket more or less everytime I headed out... I guess there's something to do with the occasion of popping off the cover to check the time. For a few years this was my daily, even after the G-Shock arrived in 2006.
Eventually the inevitable accident happened - dropped it and offset the dial a quite a bit, but it still runs.
 
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