if you can find a blind watchmaker, i hear they are very good :p

@Flem - Digital is fine for swimming I guess, but abge was very specific in not wanting all the buttons and bells and whistles. And yes, I wear my Seamaster *everywhere*. It is indestructible. I wear it working wood, working on the car, working on the lawn, swimming, biking, you name it... The steel case and sapphire crystal are simply the most durable watch surfaces you can get. About the only time I don't wear the seamaster is special occassions where a classy automatic is appropriate although I am wearing a Bulova automatic (the diver style one I mentioned above) right now at work as I didn't take the seamaster on the road, just the speedmaster and the two automatic bulovas. I just haven't swapped back on the seamaster since the trip.

Oh, and watches can be comfortable once you get used to them. I wear one in the shower and swimming. A good metal bracelet or rubber strap with a water resistant case (or 300 meter waterproof in the Seamaster's case) is much better than some stupid cellphone that shorts out when you get it wet.

Well, just came back from the mall. The only store that even *knew* what an automatic watch was was Swarovski and their cheapest was $2k. Looks like I'm going to have to find a real watch store.

Really? You don't have one of the big chains that carries Rolex and Bulova? Hell, even Kohl's has Bulova automatics around me. What sort of backwater town do you live in? :-)

lol. I technically live in a city. But yeah the selection was pretty horrible. Going to take a trip into a real city later this week.

Fairfield is technically a city all its own, but it is but a small part of what is called Greater Cincinnati and I will admit that Fairfield isn't a shopping mecca. Springdale, Colerain, and Kenwood are the big three near me with Springdale being closest and having everything from Jared to JB Robinson and most of the other big name jewelry chains.

If anyone is still interested, this is my current front-runner. Please disregard the strap; it's hideous and needs to be replaced.

http://www.amazon.com/Hamilton-H69419933-Khaki-Field-Black/dp/B0001WO7GK/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

Very nice. I didn't realize Hamilton made sapphire crystals. Her is a similar one with a leather band.

http://www.hamiltonwatch.com/en/gents/khaki/aviation/king-auto/H64455533

@Draug

Yes, I saw that. But, the one I linked is the only Mechanical one I could find. All their other watches are Automatic and around $150 more. I sort of like the idea of hand-winding the watch, so I don't see the point in paying more for an Automatic if I can avoid it.

Here is the automatic that is very similar in style, but with a leather band:

http://www.amazon.com/Hamilton-H70555533-Khaki-Field-Black/dp/B000EQ0BM2/ref=lp_5777494011_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1369797762&sr=1-4

So you want to hand wind instead of letting your body movement or a winder do it for you?

Kind of. I may regret it, but I've had a cuckoo clock for 3 years that I remember to wind every day.

That is the one I would take. Automatics are great. Just buy a $50 winder for when you are wearing a different watch.

We have two cuckoo clocks we wind every day, but that is easy to remember as they are front and center. If you don't wear the watch every day, you will likely forget to wind it. Automatics, after a good breaking in of a few days, usually have enough reserve to go a missed day of wearing.

Here is the quad winder I use. I love it.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005WAZXTQ/ref=oh_details_o05_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Yeah, I'll have to think it over. But, I think I'm certainly getting one of those two.

The second one is very nice. It is a tempting purchase as well, although I've always wanted this Hamilton Ventura Chronograph, even if it is a quartz movement.

http://www.amazon.com/Hamilton-H24412732-Ventura-Chronograph-Watch/dp/B001F7MJ3I/ref=lp_5777494011_1_36?ie=UTF8&qid=1369798165&sr=1-36

Oh my, that is an interesting design, isn't it?

You know, the more I think about it, giving my fidgety nature, if I got a mechanical watch, I could see myself constant pulling out the crown to wind it, which has to be woefully bad for the watch. So, for my sake as well as the watch's, I may be better off with an automatic so I'm not tempted to destroy it : )

Well then you will just keep taking it off and looking at the weight spin through the back. :-) But it is less harmful to the watch.

I know because I often find myself doing it during church sermons (bad Draugnar!)

Here's the watch I wear: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001EWEQ3K/ref=pe_56980_20354280_pe_vfe_dt2

It's cheap and still a nice mechanical watch. It might lose a minute or two over the course of a week, but it's a nice watch at a decent price

Used it for about two years by the way

They aren't bad for the money. Like Invictus (the watch, not the player here) they give you a diver's watch look without the cost of an Omega or Rolex (or even a Bulova). But I wouldn't abuse them like I do my Seamaster.

Decided to go with the hand-winding mechanical. I think I'll quite enjoy getting to wind it every day and as I plan on wearing it most days, I don't think I'll forget (although we'll see). Plus, with all the money I'm saving, I'm planning on buying a nice leather nato band, which I'm excited to try out.

In any case, thanks for all the help, guys.