# Forte' 24 hour watches



## Bourbon City

Does anyone have any experience on these watches? The are small with a 38mm case diamenter, but are nice looking. I also like that they have the 12 hour mark at the top of the face.

I found them here: www.aaa*watch*club.com/*24*_*hour*_dial

Thanks for your help.


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## Bourbon City

I could use some feedback if anyone knows of this brand.

Thanks.


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## Dennis Smith

Forte'? I don't know them. I tried to follow your link but it didn't work.


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## Xaque

Just missed the .html in the link:

24 Hour Watches - Watch With 24 Hour Dial

I also have no experience with this brand.

Perhaps someone on here knows *something*.


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## Bourbon City

Thanks Xaque for fixing the problem with my link.

I think the watch looks good and it's not too much money, but I'd like to see what other Forum Members can tell me.


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## Dennis Smith

Neat. Nice design. 5ATM isn't enough for me (living by the lake) but it might be plenty for some.


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## peagreen

I have been wearing one of their 12 at the top watches for a couple of years now and it works as expected. Keeps very good time.
Only problem is that at one point the dial came loose and started to revolve with he hands. Local jewellers said to throw it away "Couldn't be fixed." so I opened it up and put two drops of superglue on it diametrically opposed to each other and the dial hasn't revolved any more. Unfortunately the glue has left a bit of deposit (looks like condensation but isn't) on the inside of the watch glass.
It still tells perfect time so I won't replace it until I can get my dream watch.


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## RPZ

I like the dials; nice and simple with all numerals present. Think I'll put one on the shopping list. Only improvement would be a narrower case "rim" around the face allowing for a bigger dial and hence larger numerals etc.


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## peagreen

peagreen said:


> I have been wearing one of their 12 at the top watches for a couple of years now and it works as expected. Keeps very good time.
> Only problem is that at one point the dial came loose and started to revolve with he hands. Local jewellers said to throw it away "Couldn't be fixed." so I opened it up and put two drops of superglue on it diametrically opposed to each other and the dial hasn't revolved any more. Unfortunately the glue has left a bit of deposit (looks like condensation but isn't) on the inside of the watch glass.
> It still tells perfect time so I won't replace it until I can get my dream watch.


Something else I should perhaps mention: the 'paint' wears off the case.
Instead of a matt black case I now have one with bits of brass (?) showing through around the edges of the dial and also on the bits where the strap pins fit in. As soon as I get a chance I'll post a picture of mine in its present state.


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## pete.boardman

I think the Forté branding is new, but I've had all these watches for over 5 years (Search Results aaa watch « 24hourtime.info) and they work well. Accurate quartz, of course!  Obviously they're not heavy-duty or durable, but they're good prices. And they're nice folks too. (You can tell I've been in touch with them before from the text at the bottom of their 24 hour watch page...


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## _SBradley_

I have one of their 24-hour watches (the blue/silver 24-at-top, pre-Forté). It's been going well now for a number of years. It looks pretty much as it was new, aside from a (very) mild discolouring of the strap. I've replaced the battery three times, I think.

Now I'm saving up for a Vostok Expedition... Just not sure I can justify the price tag. ;-)


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## pope_face

I'm going to bump up this old thread, as I just stumbled across the same company and was seriously considering picking one up. Any more updates from previous owners, or any new owners wanna chime in? They even have some with lume on the hands and indices. Only thing I don't get is the laundry instructions on the dial, but at least it'll be a conversation starter. I may have to run this by the "boss" and see what she thinks... At under $150, shipped to my door, it seems like a cheap way to get into the 24 hour game, at least until I can put aside enough money to get myself a Volmax (or Fortis).


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## l3wy

pope_face said:


> I'm going to bump up this old thread, as I just stumbled across the same company and was seriously considering picking one up. Any more updates from previous owners, or any new owners wanna chime in? They even have some with lume on the hands and indices. Only thing I don't get is the laundry instructions on the dial, but at least it'll be a conversation starter. I may have to run this by the "boss" and see what she thinks... At under $150, shipped to my door, it seems like a cheap way to get into the 24 hour game, at least until I can put aside enough money to get myself a Volmax (or Fortis).


If you buy one, be sure not to get one with their bracelets... they're horrible.. I regretted it instantly. Other then that they're "ok" .. one of the 24 hour watches from fredswatch on ebay are a better deal, but larger.. and inconsistently available. Alpha has their large automatic for around 100.. and there are some brands that normally ship from germany (hummel and xen off the top of my head) that I think are also "ok" quality and in the price range of the aaa watch club stuff.


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## Broker

They look a lot like AirNautic don't they.


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## pope_face

Broker said:


> They look a lot like AirNautic don't they.


Indeed, they do...

Personally, I wouldn't get an AirNautic (or anything by Ocean7). I'm sure they're a great company, but what throws me off about them is that they only offer a 90 warranty for their LM-2AD (which is on clearance). All their other watches come with a 12 month warranty. It's like buying last year's model of car new off the lot, and only getting a 2 year warranty instead of a 10 year warranty. Just seems odd.

But, back to the Forte watches: Indeed, I've seen the Alpha, and seriously considered it, but it's really not my style. After looking at the watches that Forte offers (some of them look similar to the Alpha), I've realized that I don't like numbers all around the dial (I prefer indices in between), and I don't like the stenciled look of the letters on the dial. The stenciled letters are what threw me off the Momentum Base Layer too (before I got my Atlas).

I didn't know about Xen and Hummel though... I'll take a look at them. I really like the Volmax (as I mentioned in the last post), but I'm looking at around $400-500 new for that one. I check F29 pretty regularly, but they don't come up for sale often (or ever, hint-hint). I saw one on F29 (listed for $370 or so), but it's not exactly what I'm after. I can stomach $100 for something "close enough"; Any more than that, and "close enough" just isn't worth it.

Having said all that... I did some more poking around last night, and found a site that has a whole bunch of Raketa's listed at (what seems like) reasonable prices. I look around on WUS quickly, but I didn't find any info on them, so I'm skeptical... I know Ernie doesn't like links to other sites posted, so I don't know if I can ask about it outright.

EDIT: Nevermind, I found out that the seller I was looking at is apparently terrible, so that's a wash. Looks like the Forte is still a strong contender, unless I find a Raketa I like that's cheaper.


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## l3wy

You can try hitting up samun (his wus user name) .. he restores raketas and normally has a bunch up for sale on ebay (I forget his username there).


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## tylehman

pope_face said:


> EDIT: Nevermind, I found out that the seller I was looking at is apparently terrible, so that's a wash. Looks like the Forte is still a strong contender, unless I find a Raketa I like that's cheaper.


although the Raketas are not quartz like the Forte i really think that are more interesting. be sure to also look in the Russian forum if you want more info about them. i have 3 and think they are a great value. they all are hand wind, and most have an outer bezel that can show a second time zone, or the time at cities all around the world, or one that was supposed to be for work duties on a ship or something.

to add a picture to the is thread here are my 3


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