# New to Stowa and curious of quality/longevity



## thumper07 (Apr 12, 2011)

Hi everyone.

I made the mistake of buying a limited edition Oris Pilot last year. I love its looks and wanted something different, that nobody else had. It was inexpensive (compared to its Swiss brothers) and I was worried if I wasted my money.

I had it for 1 week and it fell off the kitchen counter (about 1 1/2 meters) on to the floor and BROKE!! The second hand came off and the luminous digits all came off and were tumbling around inside the watch.

Thank GOD I was able to return it. I swore I'd never buy another BUDGET minded watch again.

Then, one day, I came across Stowa. Wow, I love this watch. The looks are so simple and structured. 

But, I am afraid that I'll waste my money again on something that will break the first time it's dropped on the floor.

What assurance can you offer me to convince me that your watches will withstand normal every day abuse and last a long long time??

Thanks,

Tom Longo
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA


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## fotoman (Jun 2, 2010)

Dollar for dollar, I would be quite confident with a Timex Ironman or Casio G-shock on my wrist. Unless smashed purposely, these watches can pretty much survive any harsh conditions like swimming, diving, dropping from 4ft or more from above. But for mechanical watches, I personally don't think any brand would guarantee DROP proof, but normally mechanical watches can withstand daily use for many years when taken good care of. 

Stowa watches are precise time pieces and quality is very good. I would assume it runs strong for many years and won't fall into parts.


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## thumper07 (Apr 12, 2011)

I have an Omega Seamaster Professional that has not left my wrist in nearly 11 years. It's been through 3 seasons of motorcross racing and hundreds of wild jet ski ventures and snow skiing vacations in Vermont and a host of other rigorous hobbies. It's been wacked, smacked, cracked, clunked, bunked and banged and still functions like new. I had it serviced at its 5 year mark and is just unbelievable in its durability.

1 drop off of my kitchen counter onto a vinyl floor and the second hand pops off and all of the luminous dots fall off inside the glass of the Oris????

Forget it! Piece of junk waste of 1,000 USD.

I don't expect an automatic watch to be bomb proof.....but then the second hand and the luminous dots had nothing to do with the mechanical function of the watch anyway...right?


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## fotoman (Jun 2, 2010)

thumper07 said:


> I have an Omega Seamaster Professional that has not left my wrist in nearly 11 years. It's been through 3 seasons of motorcross racing and hundreds of wild jet ski ventures and snow skiing vacations in Vermont and a host of other rigorous hobbies. It's been wacked, smacked, cracked, clunked, bunked and banged and still functions like new. I had it serviced at its 5 year mark and is just unbelievable in its durability.
> 
> 1 drop off of my kitchen counter onto a vinyl floor and the second hand pops off and all of the luminous dots fall off inside the glass of the Oris????
> 
> ...


Actually the damage of dropping the Oris to the vinyl floor could be more severe than wearing the Seamaster in those rigorous sports games. I made this assumption based on Physics: Impulse (physics) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Oris is a nice watch though, I have seen both hands and lume dots falling off the dial when the watch has been dropped, on some big names like IWC. But none of them are piece of junk IMO.


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## Manolete (Sep 13, 2010)

Not to sound like a moderator here, but this thread has gone way off topic. The man asked a question: "What assurance can you offer me to convince me that [Stowas] will withstand normal every day abuse and last a long long time??" I own a Stowa, but I'd like to hear the answer to that question.


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## StufflerMike (Mar 23, 2010)

I do think that all watches can break. It really depends on how they hit the floor. However these Stowa watches survived 40 years of wear and tear


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## thumper07 (Apr 12, 2011)

Thanks, Mike.

How much more accurate is the optional Chrono motor?


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## StufflerMike (Mar 23, 2010)

Please try the search function just typing COSC. Lots of threads covering this issue.

Sources you may look at: wikipedia, www.eta.ch.

Standard and Elaboré:
Mainspring - Nivaflex NO
Shock protection - Etachocs
Pallet stones - Polyrubies, Epilame-coated
Balance - Nickel gilt
Balance staff - Epilame coated
Collet - Nivatronic
Hairspring - Nivarox 2
Hairspring heat treatment - Etastable

Top and Chronometre:
Mainspring - NivaflexNM
Shock protection - Incabloc
Pallet stones - Red rubies, Epilame-coated
Balance - Glucydur gilt
Balance staff - Epilame coated
Collet - Nivatronic
Hairspring - Anachron
Hairspring heat treatment - Etastable

The performance differences are the big differences between the various grades: ("The limit values are subject to interpretation: 95% of the pieces delivered in a lot must be within the specified limits.")

Standard:
2 positions (CH, 6H)
daily rate: +/-12 sec/day
Maximum positional variation: 30 sec
Isochronism (between 0 and 24 hours): +/- 20 sec

Elaboré:
3 positions (CH, 6H, 9H)
daily rate: +/-7 sec/day
Maximum positional variation: 20 sec
Isochronism (between 0 and 24 hours): +/- 15 sec

Top:
5 positions (CH, FH, 6H, 9H, 3H)
daily rate: +/-4 sec/day
Maximum positional variation: 15 sec
Isochronism (between 0 and 24 hours): +/- 10 sec

Chronometre:
As per COSC specifications, which as far as most owners will notice, isn't much different from Top grade.
For COSC see: www.cosc.ch


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## HilltopMichael (Mar 5, 2008)

thumper07 said:


> I had it for 1 week and it fell off the kitchen counter (about 1 1/2 meters) on to the floor and BROKE!! The second hand came off and the luminous digits all came off and were tumbling around inside the watch.
> 
> ...
> 
> ...


I doubt that anyone will give you an assurance that you can drop your mechanical watch on the floor and that nothing will break. Dropping a watch is not "normal every day abuse"

If you really do expect to be dropping your watches often, you'd probably be happier with a gshock or some other, inexpensive quartz watch. Preferably digital without any analog hands. Many should be able to survive a fall to the floor without severe damage, and even if it does get damaged or destroyed it's not that big of a financial hardship.

Stowas, like many other watches discussed here, are fine, well made and reasonably durable watches. There's some shock protection in the movement, but not enough to guarantee that it'll always survive a drop. There's also the issue that the balance spring may get tangled up due to a hard fall and that'll result in the watch running very, very fast. Some watches may not scratch as easily due to their sapphire crystals or how the case is treated and some movements may even have some additional shock protection (such as an IWC Ingenieur) but none are ones that I would purposely drop on the floor and not expect some damage.

Thankfully I've yet to drop a watch on a hard floor. I do wear my mechanical watches when riding motorcycles, swimming, doing yard work and for just about everything else that I do, and I have yet to have any serious problems. I've scratched the watches of course, but no watch has ever stopped running or had pieces break off...


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## thumper07 (Apr 12, 2011)

Well, according to everyone here, it seems as if a short drop on a semi soft floor is hazardous to a mechanical watch. I guess I got spoiled by the toughness of my Omega and thought that all watches should hold up as well.

I guess I was wrong. I guess if I suspect it may ever be possible that I drop my watch on the floor that I should buy a 20 dollar Timex instead of something nice.

Thanks for the tips.

Tom


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## martin_blank (May 19, 2010)

Im sure if you spend sometime reading the forums you will find plenty of examples of very well made watches, breaking when dropped a certain distance. it can happen to all, no matter the brand or cost. 

I think if you are in the market for a mechical watch a Stowa a great choice, in terms quality and durability but would say, the model is probably more of factor than brand or cost.


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## Renisin (Jan 29, 2011)

You have got to be kidding me!!!!! Who among you expects your watch to fall to the floor and nothing will happen to it? Any watch that takes a fall can be damaged,all of them,period. It goes without question that a precise mechanical devise such as a watch could be damaged from a three foot drop. NO watch maker is going to warranty a watch for damages as a direct result from a dropped watch. Even your precious Omega would not be covered!!! Would you take a Mercedes off road four wheeling and expect to perform equally to a jeep or humvee,NOOOOO! Well then maybe a cheap quartz watch would be better suited for your needs. 

I thought that common sense would prevail, I guess I was wrong!


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## 1R0NH31D3 (Jan 8, 2009)

Yes everyone thing here is telling you the right answer. Mechanical watches can be fragile, I'm not going to speak for your Oris watch but I can speak for my Stowa Prodiver. I have dropped it a couple of times on hardwood and it was fine. That being said it could have just as easily dislodge the second or caused and number of issues on the inside of the watch. Have you looked inside of a mechanical watch?

Yes you are wrong. Omega's are the toughest strongest watches in the world and completely indestructible, and no other watch can really live up to their longevity. Could you post a picture of your battle scarred Omega time piece? It is rare to see really beat up omega's and I would really like to see one that has been worn to it's limits and not babied by the owner.



thumper07 said:


> Well, according to everyone here, it seems as if a short drop on a semi soft floor is hazardous to a mechanical watch. I guess I got spoiled by the toughness of my Omega and thought that all watches should hold up as well.
> 
> I guess I was wrong. I guess if I suspect it may ever be possible that I drop my watch on the floor that I should buy a 20 dollar Timex instead of something nice.
> 
> ...


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## MickDaid (Apr 15, 2011)

I am curious about the COSC materials (listed above) and how they could improve longevity compared to a movement made of standard materials.... 
Has anyone got an opinion of this? Does it make more than a negligible difference?


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## StufflerMike (Mar 23, 2010)

MickDaid said:


> I am curious about the COSC materials (listed above) and how they could improve longevity compared to a movement made of standard materials....
> Has anyone got an opinion of this? Does it make more than a negligible difference?


COSC and the materials used to achieve a *performance* according to the COSC regulations have nothing to do with "life expectancy" as such. If you look for ingredients which may have influence on *longevity* look for oil free escapements, si movement parts or Diamond Like Carbon/ DLC coating which all will reduce friction which has an impact on longevity.
references: Sinn (Diaphal), Ulysse Nardin (Diamaze), Damasko (Oil free escapement, EPS spring).


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## MickDaid (Apr 15, 2011)

Thanks for the insight on that. Its a very interesting topic.
I am in no way worried about the longevity of the watch I've ordered. Just like any other machine, I'll keep it serviced and not be too rough on it.
Thanks Mike


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## JerD (Feb 21, 2010)

I get that mechanical watches, unless specifically designed to do so, are not designed to survive a drop of any distance to a hard surface. 
However, what did people do before 1969? Buy a new watch every couple of months?

BTW-The green Stowa Seatime is the most awesome thing I've ever seen.


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## pas (May 3, 2012)

This thread is quite old.

Anyway, I think the answer is relatively simple: people "before 1969" either took good care of their watches or made frequent trips to watch repair shops.


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## JerD (Feb 21, 2010)

What's your point?


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## senna89wc12 (Feb 27, 2009)

I don't expect good things when a mechanical watch is dropped to a hard floor. There are just too many moving parts that can break if that happens. A G-Shock on the other hand is just bulletproof in that regard.

Stowa watches are great quality and can last so many years without problems as long as you take good care of them. I have had a Stowa Flieger for almost 3 years. I think I am the fifth/sixth owner of that watch. And I used to own an used Stowa Prodiver (made in 2008) that it went through maybe 3 previous owners. Not sure what they went through before but even though they went through so many former owners they have been performing flawlessly on my hands. This underlines the quality of a Stowa watch.


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## al3xx (Aug 10, 2011)

Just some food for thought: if you drop a watch from 1 meter, the amount of shock experienced by the watch is quite conservatively at least 200 g's. Considering how precise a mechanical movement is and how many moving parts there are, it really cannot stand up to that sort of abuse unless there is a specifically designed shock absorbing system. Mechanical watches are in no way designed for abuse! If you are doing action sports or any of the sort and don't want to needlessly destroy your fine watch, wear a G-Shock. Your wallet and peace of mind will thank you.


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## StufflerMike (Mar 23, 2010)

JerD said:


> I get that mechanical watches, unless specifically designed to do so, are not designed to survive a drop of any distance to a hard surface.
> However, what did people do before 1969? Buy a new watch every couple of months?


They did not drop. Simple as that.


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## Pinfold (Aug 30, 2011)

Don't forget in those days mechanical movements were the norm and watch owners were well aware that to drop a watch was to risk serious damage. So we took care not to!


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## bigdog (Dec 30, 2012)

pas said:


> This thread is quite old.
> 
> Anyway, I think the answer is relatively simple: people "before 1969" either took good care of their watches or made frequent trips to watch repair shops.


And one needs to factor in what those watches cost so long ago compared to today. Mechanical/automatics were the norm. And so they weren't the super expensive luxury item they are today. Case in point. I found an advert for an Omega seamaster watch from 1956 that is still being made today. It was $95 USD new in 1956. If you factor in inflation. $95 dollars in 1956 equals about $800 today. When was the last time you saw a new Omega Seamaster for $800? So it wasn't such an economic disaster back then if one did flub and drop their watch.

Just like the OP I just discovered Stowa while researching watches on the net. Never heard of them before. And I only live about 90 minutes from their building. I do believe a trip is in order. Along with ordering one of their pilots watches.

Cheers from an American in Deutchland


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