Ares Watch Company

[Wondering Beard]

A Rolex isn't a high end watch in the world of horology. Kinda the Cadillac or Lexus of watches.

It's priced at an amount a professional could afford if they wanted to.

There isn't anything really high end or exclusive that's sold in every mall in America like the Rolex is.

The Big 3 watchmakers are Audemars Piguet, Vacheron Constantin and Patek Philippe. All 3 make watches in the 6 figures.

I'd add A. Lange & Söhne to that list.

[HopetonBrown]

I'd add A. Lange & Söhne to that list.

No.

The Big 3 have been in business continually since the 18th and 19th centuries. A Lange started in the '90s.

A Lange was described to me as like a beautifully finished bespoke suit. But if you removed the lining, you'll see loose threads, ragged cuts and sloppy stitching. The Patek, Audemars or Vacheron would be just as finely finished on the interior you don't see as the case and dial.

[RJ]

I pretty much wear a Rolex 24/7. I cut my lawns, do plumbing, shoot, and anything else with a watch on my wrist. The reason I started wearing a Rolex had to do with work, namely I needed accurate timekeeping in locations with large magnetic fields. I ended up with a Milgauss which did the trick. Now there are watches with more resistance to magnetic fields, but back in the late 1980s, the Milgauss was it.

Rolex makes a tough watch but there are easy ways to wreck one. The easiest is to drop it on a tiled floor. That usually takes out the crystal, allowing synthetic sapphire into the movement. At that point, the watch has to be stopped and serviced. For that reason, a Rolex is safest on the wrist.

That is pretty much me, as well, for the last 24 years or so, with a few exceptions.

When I shoot, I take off my wedding ring and put on a well-used Timex Indiglo Ironman in OD/Black. I've had this Timex maybe 3 years. It is beat up but keeps perfect time.

When I need a lightweight, low visibility travel watch, I put on my other Timex Indiglo Ironman in Blue/Black. It is what I wear when I don't, really, want to be flashy.

When I was diving (a lot) I used my Citizen Aqualand. I had it over ten years, and had it serviced regularly to replace all the seals, batteries, and verify water proofness at the Sport Diving depths I was at (max approx 130 fsw).

The only time I've not used my Citizen was on a liveaboard dive trip on the Cayman Aggressor in the 90s. On that weeklong trip, I used my sub because you know, Dive Watch and all. It performed flawlessly. It was only after the trip it occurred to me that on The Wall off Cayman, with the blue abyss dissappearing in the gloom below me to 4,000 ft, was probably not a good time to be wearing a watch that cost me four figures.

But literally every other waking moment over the last couple dozen years I've worn my sub. To work, play, fun, sports, etc. I've changed the oil in my E46 wearing it.

It has worn surprisingly well over the years. I have a few "beauty impacts" on the gold especially where I've bumped into something or other. Last service i had to get a new stem as well as a new bezel, because I had some chips. That was not cheap, gold being what it is these days.

And it still came back from Rolex looking marrrrrvelous, all bright and shiny.

So, just as an observation, if you see a Rolex and it's all nice and bright, it may be a pretty experienced watch; I know mine is.

(and in case he is monitoring this thread, I have put it in my Will to give to my son when I croak. )

[That Guy]

A mechanical watch is not inherently more durable or shock resistant than a quartz. In fact, probably the opposite, given that there's way more moving parts to go wrong. I love my Sinn U2S, but because I use it as a beater, it has had to have service multiple times to rectify issues with the movement (generally excessive accuracy issues that I couldn't fix via just demagnetizing).

While you have a point on the increased mechanical complexities of a mechanical watch, my cheap watches typically were not killed by hard impacts or the like. They normally just... stopped working. Like the one that's supposed to charge its internal battery from being exposed to light, but the battery holds only a very small charge. Or a previous watch that just stopped working and replacing the battery didn't help. At this point I have enough experience with cheaper quartz watches to not trust them at all. And I've tried the inexpensive Seiko mechanical route as well, and that did not go well either. So personally, when someone says a cheap watch is "just as good" as a more expensive one, I disagree with that. I at least hope that the more expensive ones are not going to go tits up in a few years, get tossed into garbage, and end up in a landfill while the next piece of cheap Chinese junk takes its place.

Still though, what you said about your U2 was both disappointing and concerning news to me. If possible, I would be interested in hearing more about how much beating has the watch taken and what were its limits.

[olstyn]

Here's one that's over a million.

https://www.patek.com/en/collection/...ions/6002G-010

Attachment 45607

Beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder. I'm probably just an uncultured heathen, but to my eyes, that watch is seriously ugly.

[oregon45]

Any recent experiences with Ares watches? I've got my eye on a quartz Diver 1.

[Totem Polar]

Any recent experiences with Ares watches? I've got my eye on a quartz Diver 1.

Nothing to note beyond the fact that I’m still wearing mine. This thing and a Sinn U1 are the only watches I’ve worn long-term that I didn’t end up having to repair.

[oregon45]

Nothing to note beyond the fact that I’m still wearing mine. This thing and a Sinn U1 are the only watches I’ve worn long-term that I didn’t end up having to repair.

Thanks Totem, that's the kind of feedback I was looking for. Really interested in a Diver 1 quartz as a "set and forget" alternative to my automatic watches.

[Totem Polar]

Thanks Totem, that's the kind of feedback I was looking for. Really interested in a Diver 1 quartz as a "set and forget" alternative to my automatic watches.

Best use, IMHO. As a grab n go that’s always on. I typically only re-set it each daylight saving switch. I swap bands a lot more than I unscrew the crown, that’s for sure.

[rd62]

This is timely as I recently got a promotion and my open water certification. In celebration I was considering buying myself a new dive watch. I daily wear a Seiko SKX007 but it needs service (gains substantial time daily and I have to reset the time most mornings) and I was also looking for something a little higher end. Rolex and Omega are out of my price range.

I was considering either the Ares Diver-1 or a Marathon GSAR. I was leaning toward the Ares but in looking at reviews via Google see a lot of people calling out QC issues. I know people usually only post the problems though and not good experiences.

Anyone have noteworthy QC or CS issues?