# Nixon Automatic SR



## Toom (Dec 1, 2010)

New to the forum and want your opinion on a Nixon Watch
The Nixon Automatc SR in black or in Silver/black
Nixon's Men's Watches online at NixonNow.com
http://image.nixonnow.com/image/product_detail/season3/products/hero/A006-hero-001.png

Do you guys consider this a fashion watch or something of good quality with some value in the future? I would like to buy the watch just for the looks, but it is too expensive to not think of the future value...

This is the spec. according to Nixon website:








Movement: 3 hand Swiss Made mechanical, automatic winding with day, date, sweeping seconds and 25 jewels.
Case: Custom 200 meter titanium carbide coated stainless steel or scratch resistant 200 meter stainless steel with scratch resistant sapphire crystal, raised tungsten or stainless steel bezel, custom numbered hardened mineral crystal caseback window and screw crown
Band: Custom scratch resistant solid stainless steel or titanium carbide coated stainless steel with solid bar double locking clasp.

Looking forward to some reviews/opinions


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## PhilR (Dec 20, 2006)

I think you'll find the resale value of Nixon watches is really low. You can probably find a similar looking Seiko automatic for about the same money and have a trusted brand with much better customer support and resale/collector value.


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## theinterchange (May 29, 2010)

I would have to agree with PhilR. While I _do _like the looks of the Nixon... wow, I just got a load of the price.

Seiko is a better option, and could be had for considerably less in many cases.

I am curious who makes their [Nixon] movement, though.

Randy

P.S the wow interjection was a stream of consciousness knee-jerk reaction to seeing the price of said Nixon in another tab.


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## Ironhead66 (Dec 16, 2010)

Depending on what swiss movement it has $700 is not _that_ bad for an MSRP. Figure it's probably a $400 watch with a $300 cost for having the Nixon logo on it. I looked at the watch after seeing the thread and was expecting something ridculous (over a $1000).

I would consider looking for a used one. Since it's fashion watch, you'll get a lot of impluse buyers looking to unload these after a few wears so they can finance their next impulse...


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## baserock love (Feb 1, 2011)

theinterchange said:


> I am curious who makes their [Nixon] movement, though.


I bought one of the very early Nixon models, possibly in their first line (called The Clutch) and when i was initially reading up on the company I read their movement was by Citizen in a couple places which made fairly good watches I heard then and on here now. Keep in mind this was about 12 odd years ago and the company seems to have metamorphosed from a watch upstart trying to fill the niche of rugged sport watches that don't look like ass (gshocks and frankly most others imo) but can take the abuse of skateboarding/snowboarding/surfing into an overpriced fashion accessory company so for all i know either they never used citizen guts or maybe they dump all their money into the look and design now and have garbage movement or hell, maybe it's a self perpetuating fallacy? Everybody seems to say Nixons are trash on watch forums yet nobody seems to really know what exactly is inside them. Has anybody even done an accuracy test on them or taken one apart? I did read on another forum that their "swiss" movement uses all chinese parts but that was just something he heard from somebody apparently.

I only say all this because i found my old Nixon Clutch analog watch in a drawer the other day which i hadn't worn in probably 5 years, it bears all the scars of my reckless balls out skateboarding (I went very big in street skating) youth, i probably fell on the thing literally hundreds of times, the last time I wore it i fell on it so hard and noticed an hour later it stopped working and had a fresh battery so i assumed i finally defeated it. I dont' think i removed the Nixon a single time from my wrist for 7 years and it far outlasted my victorionox swiss plastic watch and casio G shock which had a button stop functioning after i ground down the plastic on the corner of it and scratched up the plastic on the face to the point of near illegibility (plastic and concrete simply don't mix well at all). Meanwhile the Nixon looked pretty stylish still despite some scratches i buffed down a bit and a few deep scratches on the crystal which somehow never shattered and replacing the nylon band that eventually got shredded to nothing with a cheap stainless target band. On a lark i took it to a watch shop and got the battery replaced and amazingly, the thing still seems to work perfectly all these years later, still has all the waterproof gaskets in perfect condition and still looks pretty slick, battle scars and all.

I remembered how much i used to love watches and started looking at some of Nixon's super cool new designs and actually ended up here when trying to see if they even make good watches and apparently according to the watch buffs as a whole, they do not, you guys actually had me just pull the trigger on a Seiko SNDC09P1 chronograph instead as everybody on every watch forum seems to love Seiko and I hope the thing is a nice watch. It's a pity, the Nixon 42-20 chrono is incredibly sexy but i'm a stylish utilitarian guy. If i won't spend 190 bucks on some paper thin designer jeans when i can buy nice looking rugged levis for 1/5th the price why would i spend 400 dollars on an innacurate poorly made designer watch when i can get something more accurate and durable for 1/4 the price?

Sorry for the long first post, but since Nixon watches are part of what prompted me to register here, i figured i'd say my experience with the one I'm wearing right now and it's a very good experience. The thing is an absolute tank, only it doesn't at all look like a tank. The nixon of today seems like quite a different company though.


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## Ironhead66 (Dec 16, 2010)

Nothing wrong with Nixon if you remember that they're a fashion watch brand and are prepared to get a little less for your money than if you buy a similarly priced watch for a long established brand like Citizen or Seiko, or even limited run mom n' pop brands like Lum-Tec, Pyrolume or Tsovet. Their designs tend to be pretty disposable. I couldn't even find a picture of a Nixon Clutch on the internet, so their long term value is pretty low, save for a few of their staple lines.

I personally like alot of Nixon's designs (I agree with you about the 42-20) I think Nixon's are much better looking and for the most part better made watches compared to other fashion watches like Fossil, Diesel, Guess, Tauchmeister, Android etc. And I'd wear the ugliest, ****tiest Nixon anyday over an Invicta.

I only wish Nixon would be more transparent with what they put under the hood. I think they'd earn more fans here with some solid movements in their watches that would give people a reason to drop $600 for a 51-30 other than it's looks. But that's not their thing - they're hoping to appeal to people who just want a watch that tells time and looks cool and they obviously do a pretty job of doing that.

I also personally would never let opinions of others on a forum dictate what watch brands I should and shouldn't buy. Sure Seiko Citizen etc. makes some great watches, but those same companies also make _alot_ of cheap crap and there are times when a $100 watch really does look and feel like a $100 watch. You should wear what you think looks good and fits your budget and use the experience and knowledge on the forum as part of your decision making process.


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## digitator (Jan 17, 2011)

I'm a long-time Nixon owner, and have had my eye on the Automatic SR since it came out - along with the 42-20, 51-30, Magnacon, and Chronicle. They are all beautiful, and not something you usually see on the average wrist.

However, I just couldn't seem to pull the trigger. Even though my two Ventures have stood the test of time (and a ton of abuse), I think I just outgrew the brand. I'm now trying to decide between several Seiko and Citizen models to start with, and have started building a wish list of Steinhart, Archimede and Hamilton. I owe it all to Watchuseek.


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## vinylgreek (Feb 4, 2008)

Welcome to the forum. Your wish list seems to be a nicely varied selection of solid affordables. It appears you've been lurking awhile and taking notes.


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## digitator (Jan 17, 2011)

Thanks, vinylgreek. Yes, I've been lurking for a while; this site is an amazing resource.


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## Phreddo (Dec 30, 2014)

Zombie thread, don't care. I can't find much hands-on info for this watch, so I'll try to share.

I can't see any of the pictures, but if the model number is accurate, I think I got this watch. Nixon doesn't seem real helpful about proper watch identification other than "The Automatic" or "The Auto-F*cking-Matic." This thread is helpful in at least helping me to date the age of this watch.

Anyhow, I got one of these on a whim at the local pawn shop. I won't say what I paid, but let's just say for the feature set, it was a price I couldn't refuse.

In hand, this is an EXTREMELY nice watch. Heavy, but not too heavy. Not too big, not too thick. The movement is Swiss ETA day/date automatic with hacking and hand-winding , the crystal is sapphire, the bezel is tungsten, and the case is stainless. The crown also screws down, giving it 200 meter water resistance. For a fashion watch, this is a serious piece of kit. The lume is very sparse, but it seems to hold through the night. Can't say what it is, but in the morning twilight I can still make out the pips. The ONLY complaint is that only the hand tips are lumed, a-la Casio Protrek PRW-6000. This wouldn't be so bad, but the hour pip is almost impossible to pick out.

But for me, I now have in hand a Swiss Automatic dress/casual watch that didn't cost me an arm and a leg, so I don't feel bad keeping it even if it isn't exactly my taste.

And under normal circumstances I would NEVER get a fashion watch. But, despite the trend of putting cheap movements into garish cases and selling them at the mall, this particular model came out quite nice.


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## Deity42 (Jan 7, 2016)

I had to look up to confirm that some company is actually selling watches with "Auto F*king Matic" engraved on the back, but...it's true. That's a little tasteless, IMO, I would rather have some mild rap lyrics like yours.


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## CodeFarmer (Mar 29, 2019)

Thread necromancy: while the new Nixon Automatics may or may not present good value (FWIW i think the sage green one looks fantastic but would never consider buying one), I think the SR-era Automatics were and are pretty good. Mine's in better shape than Phreddo's above, but it's certainly got its fair share of dings and swirls now.

I've had mine since early 2011, when my wife bought it for my birthday... I'd been coveting one for a few years by then, it was the first time I'd had a watch that cost more than a hundred bucks or so, and honestly I still really like it. It has taken a ton of abuse (when I took it in for a service, the shop guy said "well this one's seen better days" - I wanted to yell at him, Nixon used to be a skatewear brand, I've climbed Alpine rock faces in this thing while you were still in high school).

It's a solid chunk of steel - not gigantic by today's standards but at the time it was a heavy, no-nonsense tank. I'm wearing it with a shirt at the moment but it's more often seen with a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. The bracelet can get a bit uncomfortable after a long day sweating under it, but it's better than most bracelets in that regard I guess. The face is still pretty elegant to my eye though I feel like the raised silver bezel has dated a little bit...

The bracelet is integrated into the lugs in quite a cool way, the whole impression is one of solidity and durability - which I can confirm. I use it as a "beater" not in the sense that I don't care what happens to it, but in the sense that it won't break if I happen to take a tumble. The new ones have a lifetime guarantee (whatever that means) and they did not at the time of this model, but the dealer repaired (strap pin eventually gave out, various non-Nixon jewellers made poor repairs) and serviced mine for GBP20 (sent to Spain) and it's currently running about +3s/day.


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## CodeFarmer (Mar 29, 2019)

(oops. browser malfunction.)


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## CodeFarmer (Mar 29, 2019)

Out in the garden.









It looks like this, ETA automatic movement, a bit under +3spd, it's a good watch, fashion brand or no.

(I had a look - the new Automatic II, while still an ETA 2836-2 and looking very nice to my eye, is £1,200.00. Which is a bit hard to swallow.)


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