Wittnauer litium longlife battery?

I don't know the method of attachment to the caseback but I suspect it is
less than permanent - it might even be just double stick tape. I think when
the battery goes bad in 20 years, you just replace it with another.

Post by w***@sympatico.ca
I was shopping eBay for a new watch to give as a gift and I noticed
Wittnauer's longlife battery--20 year life--and was looking for some
input on these batteries.
http://tinyurl.com/3cu8nn
Q. How long does a battery last in my watch?
A. In a Wittnauer Longlife the lithium cell will last 20 years;
however in the average watch, a silver oxide battery will last from 2
to 5 years and a lithium battery will last up to 10 years.
And this link which states that these watches have been around since
http://tinyurl.com/3auk7t
This link has a poster with a much lower assessment of longlife solar
http://tinyurl.com/2we9qg
One poster talks about how the battery actually looks in the Wittnauer
"Couple of years ago I got a chance to see the battery while my
watchmaker opened the caseback to repair the crown. It didn't look
like a regular tiny cell. It was a big & flat battery, same size as
caseback and attached to it."
"25 YEAR BATTERY WATCH (LITHIUM IODINE SOLID POLYMER CELL), ADAPTED
FROM PACEMAKER BATTERY TECHNOLOGY"
So, what happens when the battery dies? Toss the watch? New
movement? Replace the battery? Any ideas?
Thanks all,
--
Paul Raposo
Moe: What does your watch say?
Shemp: It don't say nothing; you've got to look at it.

salmonella

2008-01-13 21:39:41 UTC

Maybe things are different in Canada, but here's my tale in the USA.

In the mid-90s, my wife conceived a great liking for one of these.
It really looked nice with a black leather strap, grey titanium case,
and plain dial, and she was intrigued by the 20-yr battery as well. I
bought one for her, and another matching on for me.

Last year, her watch stopped. Local (expert, professional, not a
hack) watchmaker looked at it, said he thought the battery was dead,
showed us how the battery was integrated with the case back, said he
couldn't get the battery, and suggested we contact Wittnauer for
services.

As of then, the only Wittnauer factory service in the USA was handled
by Bulova in New York or possibly New Jersey, and the long-life
watches had not been sold for at least a decade. When we sent them
the watch, they advised us that originally the battery had been used
and developed for implanted heart pacemakers,It was no longer
available, and Wittnauer had developed a kit to replaced the so-called
20-year battery with a more conventional one lasting 2-5 years, which
left the watch "cosmetiacally the same as before." This meant that
the appearance, weight, etc. of the cased watch was the same as
before. I advised my wife to accept this, as it seemed reasonable to
me, considering the cost of the kit installed was maybe $80 US. Hell,
there are some high-end watches where walking in the door of the
factory service center for a common battery replacement will cost
that.

My wife refused this. She said this was a disfigurement of the watch
and its design, even if it looked the same as before, and she thought
that Wittnauer ought to have arranged to have replacements available
for longer than twelve years--if Leica serviced cameras for seventy
years, and other watches could be repaired a hundred years after
purchase, she thought that twelve years was ridiculous for a $500
Wittnauer watch. So the watch is sitting in a drawer here, even as we
speak.

I would be quite interested to know if there really is services for
these things in Canada, and reportedly they are still for sale there,
or the if the advice quoted is old, out of date, or misinformed.

Salmonella Scripsit

salmonella

2008-01-13 21:48:38 UTC

Maybe things are different in Canada, but here's my tale in the USA.
In the mid-90s, my wife conceived a great liking for one of these.
It really looked nice with a black leather strap, grey titanium case,
and plain dial, and she was intrigued by the 20-yr battery as well. I
bought one for her, and another matching on for me.
Last year, her watch stopped. Local (expert, professional, not a
hack) watchmaker looked at it, said he thought the battery was dead,
showed us how the battery was integrated with the case back, said he
couldn't get the battery, and suggested we contact Wittnauer for
services.
As of then, the only Wittnauer factory service in the USA was handled
by Bulova in New York or possibly New Jersey, and the long-life
watches had not been sold for at least a decade. When we sent them
the watch, they advised us that originally the battery had been used
and developed for implanted heart pacemakers,It was no longer
available, and Wittnauer had developed a kit to replaced the so-called
20-year battery with a more conventional one lasting 2-5 years, which
left the watch "cosmetiacally the same as before." This meant that
the appearance, weight, etc. of the cased watch was the same as
before. I advised my wife to accept this, as it seemed reasonable to
me, considering the cost of the kit installed was maybe $80 US. Hell,
there are some high-end watches where walking in the door of the
factory service center for a common battery replacement will cost
that.
My wife refused this. She said this was a disfigurement of the watch
and its design, even if it looked the same as before, and she thought
that Wittnauer ought to have arranged to have replacements available
for longer than twelve years--if Leica serviced cameras for seventy
years, and other watches could be repaired a hundred years after
purchase, she thought that twelve years was ridiculous for a $500
Wittnauer watch. So the watch is sitting in a drawer here, even as we
speak.
I would be quite interested to know if there really is services for
these things in Canada, and reportedly they are still for sale there,
or the if the advice quoted is old, out of date, or misinformed.
Salmonella Scripsit

PS--I made a search when I recalled i had made a previous rant about
this in a previous avatar "Buck" when I had a previous computer. It
seems it wasn't last year, it was 2004. Search for "Wittnauer Long
Life."

I also note after rereading the original post here and now, that there
is a reference to EBay. It makes you wonder just how long the
merchandise for sale has been sitting around getting older

SS

Jack Denver

2008-01-14 01:32:53 UTC

I don't know how long it's been since Wittnauer discontinued these but they
are available on closeout for $59 delivered:

http://thewatchfactoryoutlet.com/shop.php

At that price they strike me as a pretty good deal even if the battery goes
dead and you must trash the watch after 10 years or so (or spend another $80
on a kit). $6/ yr to own a pretty nice looking dive watch. Yes I suspect
these are NOS from around 1996.

I'm not sure that I understand your wife's attitude - for $80 she could have
a nice watch going forward - now she has nothing. This is called "cutting
off your nose to spite your face." I assume that this is not even
Wittnauer's fault - I'm guessing the original battery (which they did not
make) is no longer made. It's nice of them to make the adapter kit - they
ARE supporting the watch as best as they can under the circumstances.

Maybe things are different in Canada, but here's my tale in the USA.
In the mid-90s, my wife conceived a great liking for one of these.
It really looked nice with a black leather strap, grey titanium case,
and plain dial, and she was intrigued by the 20-yr battery as well. I
bought one for her, and another matching on for me.
Last year, her watch stopped. Local (expert, professional, not a
hack) watchmaker looked at it, said he thought the battery was dead,
showed us how the battery was integrated with the case back, said he
couldn't get the battery, and suggested we contact Wittnauer for
services.
As of then, the only Wittnauer factory service in the USA was handled
by Bulova in New York or possibly New Jersey, and the long-life
watches had not been sold for at least a decade. When we sent them
the watch, they advised us that originally the battery had been used
and developed for implanted heart pacemakers,It was no longer
available, and Wittnauer had developed a kit to replaced the so-called
20-year battery with a more conventional one lasting 2-5 years, which
left the watch "cosmetiacally the same as before." This meant that
the appearance, weight, etc. of the cased watch was the same as
before. I advised my wife to accept this, as it seemed reasonable to
me, considering the cost of the kit installed was maybe $80 US. Hell,
there are some high-end watches where walking in the door of the
factory service center for a common battery replacement will cost
that.
My wife refused this. She said this was a disfigurement of the watch
and its design, even if it looked the same as before, and she thought
that Wittnauer ought to have arranged to have replacements available
for longer than twelve years--if Leica serviced cameras for seventy
years, and other watches could be repaired a hundred years after
purchase, she thought that twelve years was ridiculous for a $500
Wittnauer watch. So the watch is sitting in a drawer here, even as we
speak.
I would be quite interested to know if there really is services for
these things in Canada, and reportedly they are still for sale there,
or the if the advice quoted is old, out of date, or misinformed.
Salmonella Scripsit

Norman M. Schwartz

2008-01-14 19:20:12 UTC

Does anyone think this one has a "long life" lithium battery similar to
those being discussed here?
http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/cb.aspx?a=335631

Jack Denver

2008-01-14 20:27:54 UTC

Post by Norman M. Schwartz
Does anyone think this one has a "long life" lithium battery similar to
those being discussed here?
http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/cb.aspx?a=335631

I doubt it - that watch probably just has an ordinary lithium coin cell such
as a CR2016, not an exotic lithium iodide pacemaker battery. A battery like
this would give in the range of 5 to 10 years, not 20, but you could buy it
at any drugstore (more commonly seen as a battery in car remotes, etc. than
in watches) for a couple of $.

If the watch industry wasn't so "conservative"/cheap, they would have gone
over to movements based on these cells years ago - they cut the battery
change interval considerably and add little thickness because they can
usually be installed flat against the case back (are in fact thinner than
most "button" silver batteries). They are found in a few movements (the
Timex perpetuals) but most manufacturers are content to use the same $10
quartz movements with 2 year batteries they have used for the last 30 years.

Revision

2008-01-15 08:47:13 UTC

A large battery is still used to achieve a long change interval. The Seiko
8F32 is supposed to be good for ten years using a Seiko CR 2412 battery.

http://www.pmwf.com/Watches/Seiko/TiPerpCalBackOpen.htm

On a side note, earlier Seiko perpetual calendar watches could be set using
external buttons. This recent model requires the user to open the watch and
touch various tabs with a jumper wire.

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

Jack Denver

2008-01-16 16:42:58 UTC

It's interesting that the perpetuals (Seiko, Timex) all use long life
batteries - I suppose that's in part due to the fact that they are tricky to
reset and so you want to do this as little as possible.

Also, the perpetuals are examples of watches where the manufacturer has
actually given some thought to the movement and not just designed something
attractive on the outside, where the movement is an afterthought like 99% of
Swiss quartz where $1000 or more buys you a nicely styled case but inside is
the same $10 1/2 sec/day, dumb 31 day calendar, 2 year battery ETA or
Ronda that the manuf. has been using for the last 25 years. The Seikos not
only have a perpetual calendar but they are extremely accurate, on the order
of 20 secs/ year.

Post by Revision
A large battery is still used to achieve a long change interval. The Seiko
8F32 is supposed to be good for ten years using a Seiko CR 2412 battery.
http://www.pmwf.com/Watches/Seiko/TiPerpCalBackOpen.htm
On a side note, earlier Seiko perpetual calendar watches could be set
using external buttons. This recent model requires the user to open the
watch and touch various tabs with a jumper wire.
--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

Revision

2008-01-16 06:39:53 UTC

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

Jack Denver

2008-01-16 14:35:00 UTC

I assume that they really intend an authorized service agent (or at least a
service agent) and not the end user to do this. Given that a reset is done
only once every 10 years (and if you change the battery before it's totally
dead you don't have to do it at all) it makes sense to do this the cheapest
way rather than dedicate buttons to the job. Also, once you make the reset
sequence accessible from the buttons there's the chance that you'll
accidentally trigger it when playing with the watch/ changing the time. I'd
rather have this on the inside where no accidental reset is possible.

Revision

2008-01-17 02:06:59 UTC

"Jack Denver"

Post by Jack Denver
I assume that they really intend an authorized service agent (or at least a
service agent) and not the end user to do this. Given that a reset is done
only once every 10 years (and if you change the battery before it's totally
dead you don't have to do it at all) it makes sense to do this the
cheapest way rather than dedicate buttons to the job.

Yes, these are fair points. The 8F32 manual says the user has 3 minutes to
put the battery in, so yeah, there is an excellent chance that the watch
never has to be reset. This 196 kHz model is keeping timer here in the 2
sec/month range (haven't had the patience to time it closely.) Sapphire
crystal, too.

(The [discontinued, sadly] 6M15 has a lot of buttons, but it also has a
chrono, alarm, alternate time zones, etc. and is in a different functional
class.)

The 6A32 is the more comparable, and manages to accomplish the date an time
setting with only a crown and an auxilliary button at 2 o'clock. 32kHz, but
in the 5 sec/month range, so the 8F32 does not pose a major advantage in
timekeeping, at least between the two on my desk. I have one too many.

All three are good designs and stand apart from the plastic and tinfoil
quartz offerings elsewhere.

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

Jack Denver

2008-01-17 04:49:39 UTC

"Revision" <***@NOJUNKcharter.net> wrote in message news:478eac89$0$25981$***@free.teranews.com...
.

Post by Revision
All three are good designs and stand apart from the plastic and tinfoil
quartz offerings elsewhere.

8F32 would be my choice though none are bad.

I wish they had used something like 2016 battery instead of 2412. You can
get a 2016 anywhere (20mm x 1.6 mm) while a 2412 (24mm x 1.2mm) is virtually
the same size but much harder to source because it has no common
applications (2016 is used in car remotes and all sorts of things). My
daughter's Timex Ironman digital takes a 2016 battery and I appreciate that
I can get this battery now for a couple of $ and will be able to get it 20
years from now. Not so sure about the 2412.

dAz

2008-01-18 23:49:45 UTC

Post by Jack Denver
8F32 would be my choice though none are bad.
I wish they had used something like 2016 battery instead of 2412. You can
get a 2016 anywhere (20mm x 1.6 mm) while a 2412 (24mm x 1.2mm) is virtually
the same size but much harder to source because it has no common
applications (2016 is used in car remotes and all sorts of things). My
daughter's Timex Ironman digital takes a 2016 battery and I appreciate that
I can get this battery now for a couple of $ and will be able to get it 20
years from now. Not so sure about the 2412.

just been looking at the data sheets on the lithium batteries, never
really took note of what the difference was between the BR and CR prefix

http://www.panasonic.com/industrial/battery/oem/chem/lith/coin1.htm

also as you may know the battery number is the size mm for diameter and
thickness, so the 2016 is 20mm dia and 1.6mm thick where the 2412 is
24mm dia and 1.2mm thick. movements and cases generally don't allow for
much leeway for fitting a different sized battery, and as far as those
two batteries go there is only a 10mAh difference in capacity.

but I do agree they should use a more common battery size, same problem
I have in a few older watches where for example the 388 mercury battery
used in some Omega quartz is a very odd size, the nearest that will fit
is a 329 which is a similar height but smaller in the diameter and
capacity, where the owner should get 2 years running now only has
10months battery life.

Jack Denver

2008-01-19 16:53:14 UTC

Post by dAz
also as you may know the battery number is the size mm for diameter and
thickness, so the 2016 is 20mm dia and 1.6mm thick where the 2412 is 24mm
dia and 1.2mm thick. movements and cases generally don't allow for much
leeway for fitting a different sized battery, and as far as those two
batteries go there is only a 10mAh difference in capacity.

Just to clarify, I wasn't implying that you could fit a different sized
battery in an existing watch, I was trying to say Seiko should have selected
the more common battery size when they designed the watch. From looking at
the link you gave, in some ways the BR series look more suitable for watches
("extended reliability and safety") but they are not available in the thin
(1.2 or 1.6 mm) sizes - I don't think I've ever actually seen a BR in the
wild.

Post by dAz
but I do agree they should use a more common battery size, same problem I
have in a few older watches where for example the 388 mercury battery used
in some Omega quartz is a very odd size, the nearest that will fit is a
329 which is a similar height but smaller in the diameter and capacity,
where the owner should get 2 years running now only has 10months battery
life.

They went a little nuts and phased out the mercury batteries while at the
same time there are millions upon millions of fluorescent lamps (now the
"hot" environmental product) that each have a nice little bead of mercury in
them. The old Accutrons have problems with silver batteries because of the
difference in voltage.

Appin

2008-01-19 18:54:07 UTC

Agreed on all counts, but there are workarounds for most of the problems.

http://www.smallbattery.company.org.uk/sbc_mercury_catalogue.htm

b***@gmail.com

2014-12-03 15:33:45 UTC

I am on 22 years with my watch at this time. Still keeps perfect time. I will want to "convert" it when the time comes. There was a titanium band available, I would like to see if there any of those available somewhere...

Moka Java

2008-01-14 20:52:04 UTC

I'm sorta surprised that Wittnauer has a relatively reasonably priced
kit to replace defunct battery in the Longlife. Most watch companies
would just as soon have you throw your old watches in the trash. The
Longlife doesn't do much for me, looks too much like a Hag Tauer. But
I've wanted a reasonably priced Xemex for a while . . .

R "so thanks for the link" TF

Post by Jack Denver
I don't know how long it's been since Wittnauer discontinued these but they
http://thewatchfactoryoutlet.com/shop.php
At that price they strike me as a pretty good deal even if the battery goes
dead and you must trash the watch after 10 years or so (or spend another $80
on a kit). $6/ yr to own a pretty nice looking dive watch. Yes I suspect
these are NOS from around 1996.
I'm not sure that I understand your wife's attitude - for $80 she could have
a nice watch going forward - now she has nothing. This is called "cutting
off your nose to spite your face." I assume that this is not even
Wittnauer's fault - I'm guessing the original battery (which they did not
make) is no longer made. It's nice of them to make the adapter kit - they
ARE supporting the watch as best as they can under the circumstances.

Maybe things are different in Canada, but here's my tale in the USA.
In the mid-90s, my wife conceived a great liking for one of these.
It really looked nice with a black leather strap, grey titanium case,
and plain dial, and she was intrigued by the 20-yr battery as well. I
bought one for her, and another matching on for me.
Last year, her watch stopped. Local (expert, professional, not a
hack) watchmaker looked at it, said he thought the battery was dead,
showed us how the battery was integrated with the case back, said he
couldn't get the battery, and suggested we contact Wittnauer for
services.
As of then, the only Wittnauer factory service in the USA was handled
by Bulova in New York or possibly New Jersey, and the long-life
watches had not been sold for at least a decade. When we sent them
the watch, they advised us that originally the battery had been used
and developed for implanted heart pacemakers,It was no longer
available, and Wittnauer had developed a kit to replaced the so-called
20-year battery with a more conventional one lasting 2-5 years, which
left the watch "cosmetiacally the same as before." This meant that
the appearance, weight, etc. of the cased watch was the same as
before. I advised my wife to accept this, as it seemed reasonable to
me, considering the cost of the kit installed was maybe $80 US. Hell,
there are some high-end watches where walking in the door of the
factory service center for a common battery replacement will cost
that.
My wife refused this. She said this was a disfigurement of the watch
and its design, even if it looked the same as before, and she thought
that Wittnauer ought to have arranged to have replacements available
for longer than twelve years--if Leica serviced cameras for seventy
years, and other watches could be repaired a hundred years after
purchase, she thought that twelve years was ridiculous for a $500
Wittnauer watch. So the watch is sitting in a drawer here, even as we
speak.
I would be quite interested to know if there really is services for
these things in Canada, and reportedly they are still for sale there,
or the if the advice quoted is old, out of date, or misinformed.
Salmonella Scripsit

Jack Denver

2008-01-14 21:41:38 UTC

You're welcome. I remember a few years ago when Xemex US was on shaky
ground and so was Ashford.com, I came "that" close to buying a Xemex auto.
But something about the styling and the proportions just didn't seem right
to my eye and it still doesn't, but YMMV.

I suspect that the watches on that website are NOS and may be several years
old. But I doubt this makes much of a difference in a quartz watch as long
as the battery has not leaked. I don't know what the warranty status is
either, and I can't recommend (or not recommend) the site as it just came up
in a google search and I've never dealt with them. All that being said,
$125 delivered for an Off-road is a great price.

Now that you point it out, the watch does look like a Tag, but the Tag looks
like an Omega which looks like a Rolex, etc. - I long ago came to the
conclusion that if anyone makes a watch that is truly "original", you
probably don't want it anyway - it's either incredibly ugly or unreadable or
both. Personally I dislike watches that are tied to proprietary bracelets
(not to mention proprietary batteries) but again the equation at $59
delivered is a lot different than it is at $300 or $450 - you are not (at
least I am not) going to spend a lot of money fixing a $59 watch anyway. For
that price, when it breaks, into the junk drawer it goes (somehow I never
have the heart to actually put them in the trash). But I'm full up on "dive"
watches now anyway, considering the closest I've ever gotten to diving was
watching a Jacques Cousteau program on TV.

I'm sorta surprised that Wittnauer has a relatively reasonably priced kit
to replace defunct battery in the Longlife. Most watch companies would
just as soon have you throw your old watches in the trash. The Longlife
doesn't do much for me, looks too much like a Hag Tauer. But I've wanted
a reasonably priced Xemex for a while . . .
R "so thanks for the link" TF

Post by Jack Denver
I don't know how long it's been since Wittnauer discontinued these but
http://thewatchfactoryoutlet.com/shop.php
At that price they strike me as a pretty good deal even if the battery
goes dead and you must trash the watch after 10 years or so (or spend
another $80 on a kit). $6/ yr to own a pretty nice looking dive watch.
Yes I suspect these are NOS from around 1996.
I'm not sure that I understand your wife's attitude - for $80 she could
have a nice watch going forward - now she has nothing. This is called
"cutting off your nose to spite your face." I assume that this is not
even Wittnauer's fault - I'm guessing the original battery (which they
did not make) is no longer made. It's nice of them to make the adapter
kit - they ARE supporting the watch as best as they can under the
circumstances.

Maybe things are different in Canada, but here's my tale in the USA.
In the mid-90s, my wife conceived a great liking for one of these.
It really looked nice with a black leather strap, grey titanium case,
and plain dial, and she was intrigued by the 20-yr battery as well. I
bought one for her, and another matching on for me.
Last year, her watch stopped. Local (expert, professional, not a
hack) watchmaker looked at it, said he thought the battery was dead,
showed us how the battery was integrated with the case back, said he
couldn't get the battery, and suggested we contact Wittnauer for
services.
As of then, the only Wittnauer factory service in the USA was handled
by Bulova in New York or possibly New Jersey, and the long-life
watches had not been sold for at least a decade. When we sent them
the watch, they advised us that originally the battery had been used
and developed for implanted heart pacemakers,It was no longer
available, and Wittnauer had developed a kit to replaced the so-called
20-year battery with a more conventional one lasting 2-5 years, which
left the watch "cosmetiacally the same as before." This meant that
the appearance, weight, etc. of the cased watch was the same as
before. I advised my wife to accept this, as it seemed reasonable to
me, considering the cost of the kit installed was maybe $80 US. Hell,
there are some high-end watches where walking in the door of the
factory service center for a common battery replacement will cost
that.
My wife refused this. She said this was a disfigurement of the watch
and its design, even if it looked the same as before, and she thought
that Wittnauer ought to have arranged to have replacements available
for longer than twelve years--if Leica serviced cameras for seventy
years, and other watches could be repaired a hundred years after
purchase, she thought that twelve years was ridiculous for a $500
Wittnauer watch. So the watch is sitting in a drawer here, even as we
speak.
I would be quite interested to know if there really is services for
these things in Canada, and reportedly they are still for sale there,
or the if the advice quoted is old, out of date, or misinformed.
Salmonella Scripsit

Moka Java

2008-01-15 15:59:12 UTC

Pretty good price, a few $ less than what they seem to be going for on
Ebay. I ordered the one with the bracelet. It's a nice bracelet for
$54 and I can change to a strap easily enough. If I don't like the
watch it's easier to re-sell with the original bracelet. As for the
seller, I paid with Paypal, very buyer friendly and paid Paypal w/
AMEX, also very buyer friendly.

I'm not quite sure what's going on with these Xemex watches. The
Offroad series is still on the Xemex website but the model #s don't
match up. Maybe not a close out but a change of distributorship?

R "will probably end up hating it" TF

Post by Jack Denver
You're welcome. I remember a few years ago when Xemex US was on shaky
ground and so was Ashford.com, I came "that" close to buying a Xemex auto.
But something about the styling and the proportions just didn't seem right
to my eye and it still doesn't, but YMMV.
I suspect that the watches on that website are NOS and may be several years
old. But I doubt this makes much of a difference in a quartz watch as long
as the battery has not leaked. I don't know what the warranty status is
either, and I can't recommend (or not recommend) the site as it just came up
in a google search and I've never dealt with them. All that being said,
$125 delivered for an Off-road is a great price.
Now that you point it out, the watch does look like a Tag, but the Tag looks
like an Omega which looks like a Rolex, etc. - I long ago came to the
conclusion that if anyone makes a watch that is truly "original", you
probably don't want it anyway - it's either incredibly ugly or unreadable or
both. Personally I dislike watches that are tied to proprietary bracelets
(not to mention proprietary batteries) but again the equation at $59
delivered is a lot different than it is at $300 or $450 - you are not (at
least I am not) going to spend a lot of money fixing a $59 watch anyway. For
that price, when it breaks, into the junk drawer it goes (somehow I never
have the heart to actually put them in the trash). But I'm full up on "dive"
watches now anyway, considering the closest I've ever gotten to diving was
watching a Jacques Cousteau program on TV.

I'm sorta surprised that Wittnauer has a relatively reasonably priced kit
to replace defunct battery in the Longlife. Most watch companies would
just as soon have you throw your old watches in the trash. The Longlife
doesn't do much for me, looks too much like a Hag Tauer. But I've wanted
a reasonably priced Xemex for a while . . .
R "so thanks for the link" TF

Maybe things are different in Canada, but here's my tale in the USA.
In the mid-90s, my wife conceived a great liking for one of these.
It really looked nice with a black leather strap, grey titanium case,
and plain dial, and she was intrigued by the 20-yr battery as well. I
bought one for her, and another matching on for me.
Last year, her watch stopped. Local (expert, professional, not a
hack) watchmaker looked at it, said he thought the battery was dead,
showed us how the battery was integrated with the case back, said he
couldn't get the battery, and suggested we contact Wittnauer for
services.
As of then, the only Wittnauer factory service in the USA was handled
by Bulova in New York or possibly New Jersey, and the long-life
watches had not been sold for at least a decade. When we sent them
the watch, they advised us that originally the battery had been used
and developed for implanted heart pacemakers,It was no longer
available, and Wittnauer had developed a kit to replaced the so-called
20-year battery with a more conventional one lasting 2-5 years, which
left the watch "cosmetiacally the same as before." This meant that
the appearance, weight, etc. of the cased watch was the same as
before. I advised my wife to accept this, as it seemed reasonable to
me, considering the cost of the kit installed was maybe $80 US. Hell,
there are some high-end watches where walking in the door of the
factory service center for a common battery replacement will cost
that.
My wife refused this. She said this was a disfigurement of the watch
and its design, even if it looked the same as before, and she thought
that Wittnauer ought to have arranged to have replacements available
for longer than twelve years--if Leica serviced cameras for seventy
years, and other watches could be repaired a hundred years after
purchase, she thought that twelve years was ridiculous for a $500
Wittnauer watch. So the watch is sitting in a drawer here, even as we
speak.
I would be quite interested to know if there really is services for
these things in Canada, and reportedly they are still for sale there,
or the if the advice quoted is old, out of date, or misinformed.
Salmonella Scripsit

Jack Denver

2008-01-15 16:14:32 UTC

I don't know the exact history, but it's my impression that Xemex went thru
a sort of near death experience and then a relaunch and they are doing
better now. The model #'s may have changed somewhere in all the turmoil,
especially since, as I guessed before, the one you are buying was produced
some years ago.

Post by Moka Java
Pretty good price, a few $ less than what they seem to be going for on
Ebay. I ordered the one with the bracelet. It's a nice bracelet for $54
and I can change to a strap easily enough. If I don't like the watch it's
easier to re-sell with the original bracelet. As for the seller, I paid
with Paypal, very buyer friendly and paid Paypal w/ AMEX, also very buyer
friendly.
I'm not quite sure what's going on with these Xemex watches. The Offroad
series is still on the Xemex website but the model #s don't match up.
Maybe not a close out but a change of distributorship?
R "will probably end up hating it" TF

Post by Jack Denver
You're welcome. I remember a few years ago when Xemex US was on shaky
ground and so was Ashford.com, I came "that" close to buying a Xemex
auto. But something about the styling and the proportions just didn't
seem right to my eye and it still doesn't, but YMMV.
I suspect that the watches on that website are NOS and may be several
years old. But I doubt this makes much of a difference in a quartz watch
as long as the battery has not leaked. I don't know what the warranty
status is either, and I can't recommend (or not recommend) the site as it
just came up in a google search and I've never dealt with them. All that
being said, $125 delivered for an Off-road is a great price.
Now that you point it out, the watch does look like a Tag, but the Tag
looks like an Omega which looks like a Rolex, etc. - I long ago came to
the conclusion that if anyone makes a watch that is truly "original", you
probably don't want it anyway - it's either incredibly ugly or unreadable
or both. Personally I dislike watches that are tied to proprietary
bracelets (not to mention proprietary batteries) but again the equation
at $59 delivered is a lot different than it is at $300 or $450 - you are
not (at least I am not) going to spend a lot of money fixing a $59 watch
anyway. For that price, when it breaks, into the junk drawer it goes
(somehow I never have the heart to actually put them in the trash). But
I'm full up on "dive" watches now anyway, considering the closest I've
ever gotten to diving was watching a Jacques Cousteau program on TV.

Post by Moka Java
I'm sorta surprised that Wittnauer has a relatively reasonably priced
kit to replace defunct battery in the Longlife. Most watch companies
would just as soon have you throw your old watches in the trash. The
Longlife doesn't do much for me, looks too much like a Hag Tauer. But
I've wanted a reasonably priced Xemex for a while . . .
R "so thanks for the link" TF

Post by Jack Denver
I don't know how long it's been since Wittnauer discontinued these but
http://thewatchfactoryoutlet.com/shop.php
At that price they strike me as a pretty good deal even if the battery
goes dead and you must trash the watch after 10 years or so (or spend
another $80 on a kit). $6/ yr to own a pretty nice looking dive
watch. Yes I suspect these are NOS from around 1996.
I'm not sure that I understand your wife's attitude - for $80 she could
have a nice watch going forward - now she has nothing. This is called
"cutting off your nose to spite your face." I assume that this is
not even Wittnauer's fault - I'm guessing the original battery (which
they did not make) is no longer made. It's nice of them to make the
adapter kit - they ARE supporting the watch as best as they can under
the circumstances.

Maybe things are different in Canada, but here's my tale in the USA.
In the mid-90s, my wife conceived a great liking for one of these.
It really looked nice with a black leather strap, grey titanium case,
and plain dial, and she was intrigued by the 20-yr battery as well. I
bought one for her, and another matching on for me.
Last year, her watch stopped. Local (expert, professional, not a
hack) watchmaker looked at it, said he thought the battery was dead,
showed us how the battery was integrated with the case back, said he
couldn't get the battery, and suggested we contact Wittnauer for
services.
As of then, the only Wittnauer factory service in the USA was handled
by Bulova in New York or possibly New Jersey, and the long-life
watches had not been sold for at least a decade. When we sent them
the watch, they advised us that originally the battery had been used
and developed for implanted heart pacemakers,It was no longer
available, and Wittnauer had developed a kit to replaced the so-called
20-year battery with a more conventional one lasting 2-5 years, which
left the watch "cosmetiacally the same as before." This meant that
the appearance, weight, etc. of the cased watch was the same as
before. I advised my wife to accept this, as it seemed reasonable to
me, considering the cost of the kit installed was maybe $80 US. Hell,
there are some high-end watches where walking in the door of the
factory service center for a common battery replacement will cost
that.
My wife refused this. She said this was a disfigurement of the watch
and its design, even if it looked the same as before, and she thought
that Wittnauer ought to have arranged to have replacements available
for longer than twelve years--if Leica serviced cameras for seventy
years, and other watches could be repaired a hundred years after
purchase, she thought that twelve years was ridiculous for a $500
Wittnauer watch. So the watch is sitting in a drawer here, even as we
speak.
I would be quite interested to know if there really is services for
these things in Canada, and reportedly they are still for sale there,
or the if the advice quoted is old, out of date, or misinformed.
Salmonella Scripsit

Moka Java

2008-01-18 17:05:09 UTC

Jack Denver wrote:
I can't recommend (or not recommend) the site as it just came up

Post by Jack Denver
in a google search

Jack Denver

2008-01-18 21:52:46 UTC

Post by Jack Denver
I can't recommend (or not recommend) the site as it just came up

Post by Jack Denver
in a google search

The watch arrived today and it's new with plastic on the back and band.
The watch is listed as coming with the box and is shown with a hang tag.
I have the watch but no box or hang tag. So that's the scoop on the
seller. I sent an email.
R "nothing is ever easy" TF
Oh, well. At least they sent the watch and it is new. They didn't say
anything about a hang tag in the listing but they did mention a "manual" -
did you get the booklet? I would have the baterry changed or at least
checked - I've bought NOS watches before and the battery goes flat in a
short time. Last thing you want is a battery leak. I wonder what
manufacturer's warranty (if any) this watch has? You can't expect a 100%
authorized dealer type experience when you buy a watch for 85% off list. ,
but you should still get what was expressly promised or at least a few more
$ off if they don't deliver. They do offer a refund, supposedly but then
you'd probably end up eating shipping. For that price I'd keep it even if
no box or credit is forthcoming. Frankly, the boxes are useless and you
don't need a manual for a simple quartz watch.

Moka Java

2008-01-22 20:00:36 UTC

Post by Jack Denver
I can't recommend (or not recommend) the site as it just came up

Post by Jack Denver
in a google search

The box and instructions are useless if my intention is to wear the
watch. But if you consider that today's close out bargain might be
tomorrows collectors item then the box and instructions have value.
I'll keep the Xemex no matter what but it pisses me off that it's listed
as new with the box, the seller ships it w/o the box and doesn't respond
to my emails. So I filed a dispute w/Paypal and now his account is
frozen for the $179 purchase price. That usually gets a response.

R "and my bluetooth headset ended up in the washer" TF

Jack Denver

2008-01-23 01:27:43 UTC

The box and instructions are useless if my intention is to wear the watch.
But if you consider that today's close out bargain might be tomorrows
collectors item then the box and instructions have value. I'll keep the
Xemex no matter what but it pisses me off that it's listed as new with the
box, the seller ships it w/o the box and doesn't respond to my emails. So
I filed a dispute w/Paypal and now his account is frozen for the $179
purchase price. That usually gets a response.
R "and my bluetooth headset ended up in the washer" TF

Ya pays yer money and ya takes yer chances. The lack of communication is a
bad sign but Paypal will get his attention for sure.

Moka Java

2008-01-23 16:13:53 UTC

The box and instructions are useless if my intention is to wear the watch.
But if you consider that today's close out bargain might be tomorrows
collectors item then the box and instructions have value. I'll keep the
Xemex no matter what but it pisses me off that it's listed as new with the
box, the seller ships it w/o the box and doesn't respond to my emails. So
I filed a dispute w/Paypal and now his account is frozen for the $179
purchase price. That usually gets a response.
R "and my bluetooth headset ended up in the washer" TF

Ya pays yer money and ya takes yer chances. The lack of communication is a
bad sign but Paypal will get his attention for sure.

Seems like it will work out. The seller has a plausible excuse for not
responding to my email. He's sending the box, hang tags and offered a
substantial discount on a 2nd watch.

R "just what I need, another watch" TF

Jack Denver

2008-01-23 16:46:18 UTC

Post by Moka Java
Seems like it will work out. The seller has a plausible excuse for not
responding to my email. He's sending the box, hang tags and offered a
substantial discount on a 2nd watch.
R "just what I need, another watch" TF

All's well that ends well. Another Xemex or a Wittnauer? If you are
looking to bet on a long term collectible, it sounds like the Wittnauer has
potential because the pacemaker battery thing was unique to that watch.
OTOH, when the battery goes dead and can't be replaced with another iodide
battery, I'm not sure what that means in collectible terms.

I was in a mall recently and one of the mall jewelers ( I think it was a
Zales) had a display of Wittnauers among its other brands - every one they
had , mens and ladies, was all done up bling style with glass crystals all
over the place -extremely ghetto looking. Like this:

Loading Image...

I'd seen things like this before in center city Phila in stores with "urban"
appeal, but I was a little shocked to see them in a mainstream mall jeweler
and with the Wittnauer name. I guess you gotta sell what people are buying.

Moka Java

2008-01-23 17:17:22 UTC

I bought another Xemex, this one with a leather band. I have no
interest in the Wittnauer; the tired Hag Tauer look and the $80 to
convert to a regular battery are a real turn off. I've done very well
buying and selling watches over the year by buying stuff that I like.

Post by Jack Denver
I was in a mall recently and one of the mall jewelers ( I think it was a
Zales) had a display of Wittnauers among its other brands - every one they
had , mens and ladies, was all done up bling style with glass crystals all
http://zales.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/pZALE1-2341917t400.jpg
I'd seen things like this before in center city Phila in stores with "urban"
appeal, but I was a little shocked to see them in a mainstream mall jeweler
and with the Wittnauer name. I guess you gotta sell what people are buying.

ACK!!! My eyes are bleeding!

R "and that's why I stay out of malls" TF

Jack Denver

2008-01-23 17:35:49 UTC

I bought another Xemex, this one with a leather band. I have no interest
in the Wittnauer; the tired Hag Tauer look and the $80 to convert to a
regular battery are a real turn off. I've done very well buying and
selling watches over the year by buying stuff that I like.

There no doubt that from a design quality and originality POV the carefully
thought out Xemex is in a completely different league than the very boring
and copycat Wittnauer style. But like I said before, the Wittnauer has some
collectible potential as an oddity because of the wierd battery - oddities
don't have to be well designed, just odd.>>
.

ACK!!! My eyes are bleeding!
R "and that's why I stay out of malls" TF

My wife drags me sometimes and I usually wander into the jewelers while she
is in some clothes shop, just to see what it selling to the masses nowadays
(not just the masses - this mall has a Tourneau in it ) . BTW, if you DO
want to go to a mall, now is the time of year - the same mall that was
crawling with people in December, you could have shot a cannon down the
middle of last weekend and not hit anyone.

Yes, and your friend's eyes would bleed too if you raked them with the
crystal facets. Maybe that's the idea.

Moka Java

2008-01-24 03:24:37 UTC

This post might be inappropriate. Click to display it.

Jack Denver

2008-01-24 04:53:45 UTC