Is there such a thing as a dress (or classy) digital watch anymore?

[J. Roger]

Well my 27 year old digital Seiko sadly died recently, and I'm looking for a replacement.

So far, I've looked at Seiko, Swiss Army, Timex, Citizen, Casio, Pulsar, and Laurus.

All I can find are either dress analog watches or sport digital watches.

The analog watches are beautiful, but I've become dependent on the features of my old watch (alarm, stopwatch, timer...could do without tachymeter).

So does such a thing exist today or am I just an old fart that should get with the times?

Wouldn't mind paying $200-$300.





Pictures of my now deceased baby:frown:
189569

[Thebigspendur]

The closest thing to a dress digital is probably that one made by that Swiss outfit whose name escapes me (I'm sure someone will come along with the name). They went out of business but someone took them over. Unfortunately their watches are like 2 grand and up.

Digitals are just not thought of as dress watches so they don't make them these days. Of course there are plenty of folks you see on T.V who wear them with a suit anyway like our Treasury secretary and the former one too. So if you like them don't let convention stand in your way.

Seiko makes a reissue of their digital from the 1980s which ain't bad and they make one using that new digital ink process like those readers they make now.

[M80]

http://www.creationwatches.com/products/images/medium/SBPG001_MED.jpg

[xraygun]

There are tons of digital watches out there. Most are sporty. No offense, but I wouldn't describe you old one as a "dress" model. To me it's more of a "sport" style from that era.
Dressier ones can be had still by many manufacturers. I saw a few on the Timex website as a starting point.
Walk into a few department stores. I bet you can find a bunch.
Even at the mid price manufacturers they have them. My Breitling Emergency had digital functions.

[J. Roger]

Seiko reissuing 80's watches...please tell me where, there is no mention on their site!

I've noticed that a few manufacturers have started combining both analog and digital, some more tastefully than others. Hopefully, its just a matter of time for the fashion world to swing back to digital.

Thebigspendur mentioned e-ink, that might just be the new technology that could open up a bunch of watchmaking possibilities. One could choose the functions and their layout on the watch-face itself...so you could customize it to your own taste...or they could have a bunch of preloaded "skins" to choose from...hey, that would be a pretty darn good idea!


If I have too, I'll do like most people and get both a rubber sports watch like an Ironman, and a dressy analog watch, but I'd like to avoid that.

[StylinLA]

Oops...over looked "digital"

[scottish steve]

Timezone.net awarded a mechanical digital watch of the year 2010. It cost a fortune. Can't remember the name. There's also the Orient quasi-digital, which is mechanical

[Thebigspendur]

Go to http://www.seiyajapan.com. He has several reissue Seiko Digital Watches and is a great place to buy from. The Swiss brand I was thinking of the other day is Ventura. Very much dress digital watches.

[linty]

what about a Tissot T-Touch on a bracelet?

[coffii]

digital lacks style

[kaseri]

Digital watches and the word "classy" don't mix in my opinion.

[nEver-Ready]

There are lots that have an analog face with digital as well, with alarms, chrono and the like, that are pretty dressy.

[Nishnabotna]

I always though some of the Suunto were kinda of classy looking for a digital if you replaced the plastic band.

[J. Roger]

Thanks very much for all the help guys!

I had never heard of Suunto watches before, but after going on their website, there are several models that I find very attractive (Core, Observer, X-Lander, Yachtsman). Do they have a good reputation?

I took a look at the site that sells reissued Seiko watches, but they are made in China, not Japan, and go for $700-$1000 :(

The Venutra and Tissot are just too rich for my blood.


Please keep the suggestions coming, but please keep them under $300.

[commanderkeen]

Thanks very much for all the help guys!

I had never heard of Suunto watches before, but after going on their website, there are several models that I find very attractive (Core, Observer, X-Lander, Yachtsman). Do they have a good reputation?

I took a look at the site that sells reissued Seiko watches, but they are made in China, not Japan, and go for $700-$1000 :(

The Venutra and Tissot are just too rich for my blood.


Please keep the suggestions coming, but please keep them under $300.

Suunto is very reputable. Their watches are mostly tool watches, and probably the best known are their dive computers. The watches have some unique features that you will be hard-pressed to find on others.

[Thebigspendur]

Just about all Japanese watches are made in China. In Seiko's case their main factory is in Singapore. It's their own facility and all their lower end watches are machine made so it doesn't matter where they are made the quality is the same. You have to go with higher end models and some Japan only models to get pieces actually made in Japan.

[Walter Sobchak]

What about this Casio EFA119BK-1AV?

They're dirt cheap, easily obtainable, and have all the functions you want.

[Masterkova]

I'd go with a Timex Ironman and call it a day. A digital watch with a shiny metal band seems like it's trying to be something it's not. An Ironman is cool, humble and honest all at once. And, if you look like you work out, can be perfectly acceptable with a well-tailored suit.

[maxman]

I asked this question not long ago.
Check out this thread (clicky clicky here) (http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/203709-Can-a-digital-watch-be-classy).

[tchudson]

I have a nice casio G-shock that is solar powered and also gets it's time from the atomic clock. The one I got was the black version, rubber band, etc. They did, however, have a sweet looking silver one with a metal band that would be a great dress digital. It was about $80 at Costco.

[J. Roger]

Well I'm 95% sure that I'll be getting 2 watches, a cheap digital (Timex or Casio) and simple, time-only analog possibly in the "diver's" style.

After doing research and reading other threads (like the one suggested by Maxman), there just doesn't seem like there is one watch out there at the time that will suit my needs. I haven't ruled out Suunto yet, because I haven't seen one in real life yet...hopefully they aren't too big.

I decided to go through the "Watch Ya Wearing" thread just to perhaps get some ideas. After 271 pages of pictures I was able to get an idea of what I liked and what I didn't.

Dislikes:
-huge oversize watches
-cluttered faces by either too many functions or textures or colors
-square or rectangular shaped watches
-gold color watches (like gold trim on a car...yuck:001_tt2:)

Likes:
-either black or silver base color with a just a touch of color
-clean simple lines
-something discrete and not overstated
-only time and perhaps the date function
-diver style is nice, but also saw a vintage white-faced Longines that was just beautiful (belonged to Pal)


I'll be calling some acquaintances in Montreal (closest big city) to get some ideas of where to shop for quality watches, and next time I'm up there, I'll do some shopping. If any of you have Montreal store suggestions, I'm all ears:001_smile

Again, thank-you all for the help.

[alex2363]

Go to http://www.seiyajapan.com. He has several reissue Seiko Digital Watches and is a great place to buy from. The Swiss brand I was thinking of the other day is Ventura. Very much dress digital watches.

nice link, they have great prices too.

[cbogg]

Rectangular and kinda big, but the e-ink really classes it up i think.

Phosphor dh03 ~$200 and you can change the brightness and display iirc.
http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTn6-4Hs5SMNUhI-vKgyjRkbJQreT1d5QzlS2uDFW9FzaeKffvFKQ

[scottish steve]

This is the orient i was talking about

[DGS]

Phosphor e-ink watches. http://www.phosphorwatches.com/

http://www.phosphorwatches.com/v/vspfiles/photos/70510565280-2T.gif

[hillbilly pick]

What about a pulsar PQ2001

[Kazeryu]

Digital watches and the word "classy" don't mix in my opinion.

+1.

I also think the watches that combine analog and digital faces look very silly.

Edit: I fell for a zombie thread. :(

[buffdaddy]

I've been using a Casio Edifice watch I bought a couple years back as something to wear on casual Fridays. It's a pretty decent watch for the money ($35.00) and is all stainless steel, including the housing.

It is one of those hybrid watches which is both analog and digital. Of course being a Casio it's jammed packed with all kinds of bells and whistles like stopwatches, countdown timers, alarms, world time and a thermometer. It's also water resistant and has a backlight. Maybe not the most stylish watch out there but it suits my my needs.

Here are a couple shots I took of it.

320841320842

[brucered]

the new Suunto Elementum line of watches are pretty classy if you ask me...$900 though

320852

[kornhead]

Tag Heuer made a Kiruim with a digital overlay on the crystal. You may find one used, but probably still over your desired price range.

[rushchairman]

This is a picture of my Adidas LED. It's a favorite of mine. The arm and hand belongs to someone else.
320947

[benvh]

Omega Spacemaster Z-33? More like $6k though...

[jlanger]

I'd have to second (or third) the casio's, their gshock is pretty decent looking IMO.

[little Big feather]

EUREKA!! Do you ever read or hear something....And it just rolls around in the back of your mind, trying to solve the problem,answer the
question? Well this has......Gucci, still makes a "classy" dress digital watch......:thumbup1:

[Cuttingboard]

This is a joke thread...right?

[professorchaos]

Was there ever such a thing as a dressy digital watch?

[brucered]

Was there ever such a thing as a dressy digital watch?

a buddy I know paid over $1K for this one :ohmy:

321406

[professorchaos]

Wow! That's something else.

[mhdena]

I never knew there was one in the 1st place that would be considered a dress watch.

I had I think a Pulsar watch in the 70's, push a button and it lit up red numbers.

[Larry C in Texas]

That was the Kojak watch. Very classy, and I wanted one VERY bad when they first came out, but they were pricey, pricey, pricey.


I never knew there was one in the 1st place that would be considered a dress watch.

I had I think a Pulsar watch in the 70's, push a button and it lit up red numbers.

[Zbig]

Take a look at the Watchismo web site. they have very creative watches in analog and digital varieties ranging for a few dozen dollars to the thousands.

[Reevers]

Sorry but the official answer is NO.


But for the money you mentioned I would look for 2 watches - a cheaper digital and the spend the rest on a smarter analogue watch.

[CryptoDave]

No.

[ChiefWahoo]

I say it depends on where you're going to wear it, but these days, anything goes with a suit if it fits your style and you can pull it off. Digital watches seem popular again and I don't look twice when I see someone wearing one at work. A simple G-Shock 5600 is reasonably sized and discreet under a cuff. The reissues are pretty awesome, too. Personally, if you're not wearing french cuffs or black tie, I think it's fine.

[SAFETYpin]

Seiko makes a few fancy digitals, a couple in your price range a couple that are not. I think the Eink seiko digital could pass a dress watch.

http://www.seiyajapan.com/c=syOyaV9Xm73Wk8HVOQCDRkJeb/category/4_seiko__quartz/

323303

[Samurai-5]

323496

I have one of these... I wear it occasionally, and it still works like a champ! I get compliments all the time.

[memnochlv]

There are lots that have an analog face with digital as well, with alarms, chrono and the like, that are pretty dressy.

http://www.yeswatch.com/ makes them like this. They're also not cheap. They have a great warranty, my paramour has had one for over ten years, had to pay to get it repaired when the glass of the face cracked, but it was less than $100 to repair it and they even dropped in the most updated module with the newest DST updates. Hers was an original run before they started putting serial numbers in them, her repaired watch has a serial number now. She loves being able to check sun and moon rise, check times in other cities, read it in the dark, see the alerts for lunar and solar events (equinoxes etc...). She also loves the weight and feels naked when it's off of her wrist. She doesn't care for metal bands however and it lead to the great watch band search for 2012. Ended up with a nice leather one, we'll see if the stitching in this one lasts better than the last.

She's a watch collector at that, so the fact that this ends up being her goto watch over all of her others (I haven't even tried counting, but we can call it Watch Aquisition Disorder for sure) really says something. She has some really nice, classy, and a lot of novel collectors pieces (limited edition Warner Brothers, Elvis Issues, the list goes on). Battery operated, self winding, hand winding, the list goes on and on...

[JDTTO]

Even though I prefer analogue watches, especially mechanical ones, I do find this casio to be quite elegant:
http://www.horloges.nl/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/475x440/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/b/6/b640wb-1bef.jpg
If they would drop the word "illuminator" (and maybe the pressure rating and button descriptions) I would call it a decent dress watch.

[Corsair66]

The short answer, if you have any sort of horological soul, is No. Digital watches, indeed quartz watches, are mere utilitarian devices. If you only want to tell the time, well, you've got a cell phone, right?

If you care about watchmaking, mechanically interesting pieces, and true craftsmanship, then only a fine, handmade (the degree of which will tend to vary directly with the price), analog watch will do. There are lots of great ones available, both manual and automatic, to pique your interest.

Ken

[anoop]

Gucci and Rado come to mind.

From newer ones, there's
http://getpebble.com/

Or just wait for the rumored iWatch from Apple. :)