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First Chronograph - help pick between these two

3K views 27 replies 12 participants last post by  Sirjohn 
#1 ·
Hunting for my first chronograph. My other watches are a Seiko 5, a Casio EF106, and a Seagull open heart automatic. Found closeout deals on Wittnauer that seemed to hit most everything I want. Basically made by citizen with Miyota movements and hard to find sapphire crystal at this price level. Want to go with a nice metal band on this one. I don't care for the band on the casio (too pinchy, hair pulling, and can't quite get a good fit) but the leather on my other two get too sweaty and sticky. I don't like the look of the nato/cloth bands or rubber/plastic (which also tends to feel sweaty).

Two choices:
Wittnauer WN3003 - 42mm case, 11mm depth. Miyota OS20
or
Wittnauer WN3070 - 44mm case, 13mm depth. Miyota OS22

I don't have enough posts to do links, yet apparently.
I have a 7 inch wrist on the flatter side so there is a question of whether the larger WN3070 will be too big. The mesh band is less likely to pull arm hair though and I really like the retrograde hand and 1/20 second timing, even if I never will use it.

I know look is personal, but any preference on look? My wife likes both, but prefers the WN3003. My son liked the WN3070.
 
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#2 · (Edited)
#7 ·
If you're finding a really good deal, say $50-75 or under, then it's probably reasonable.

Wittnauer used to be a very respectable brand, but at this point, they're a sub-brand of Bulova (which is a great brand still) which is a sub-brand of Citizen group. Wittnauer is currently moving into the market catering to people who wear watches as pure jewelry and focuses in on the bling factor-- almost every current model is covered in Swarovski crystals... I have a 20+ year old Wittnauer but it pains me to say the brand seems to be in trouble as it competes with Chinese knockoffs and other similarly situated brands for those who want the bling over all else.

This is really the case where the watch itself could be good but the branding isn't doing it any favors. Of the two I think the first one, the Wittnauer WN3003 is probably better but you could possibly pull off the other one if you prefer the larger size. The mesh bracelet, though, doesn't add any value. You could always buy one like that for $20 on the aftermarket. Note that this appears to be a ladies' model in the lineup although it doesn't appear to be particularly "girly." Appearances are that the bracelet is of decent quality, but they're hard to find in stores anymore around here.

Good luck-- if you pick it up at the right price, I think you'll do OK. It won't have much resale, but at ~$50 ish you can't really complain about that.
 
#13 ·
I slightly prefer the first one myself. Better size and less fussy. Those lug screws for example.
But really they're both fine. Yank'Exp' is obviously speaking from experience, get the one your wife prefers.

At 42mm, and with those looks, particularly the bezel and the bracelet. It's not a womans watch.
 
#22 ·
Cool! Let us know what you think (since I don't see a whole lot of discussion on Wittnauer these days) and which one you picked!
 
#23 ·
Hunting for my first chronograph. My other watches are a Seiko 5, a Casio EF106, and a Seagull open heart automatic. Found closeout deals on Wittnauer that seemed to hit most everything I want. Basically made by citizen with Miyota movements and hard to find sapphire crystal at this price level. Want to go with a nice metal band on this one. I don't care for the band on the casio (too pinchy, hair pulling, and can't quite get a good fit) but the leather on my other two get too sweaty and sticky. I don't like the look of the nato/cloth bands or rubber/plastic (which also tends to feel sweaty).

Two choices:
Wittnauer WN3003 - 42mm case, 11mm depth. Miyota OS20
or
Wittnauer WN3070 - 44mm case, 13mm depth. Miyota OS22

I don't have enough posts to do links, yet apparently.
I have a 7 inch wrist on the flatter side so there is a question of whether the larger WN3070 will be too big. The mesh band is less likely to pull arm hair though and I really like the retrograde hand and 1/20 second timing, even if I never will use it.

I know look is personal, but any preference on look? My wife likes both, but prefers the WN3003. My son liked the WN3070.
yes too big! and sizes are finally treading down.
 
#24 ·
I like the overall aesthetic of the 3003 better.

And what is the crystal made of? The first link says sapphire in one place and mineral in the another. And Amazon says Hardlex - which it clearly isn’t because Hardlex is proprietary to Seiko.
 
#25 ·
I like the overall aesthetic of the 3003 better.

And what is the crystal made of? The first link says sapphire in one place and mineral in the another. And Amazon says Hardlex - which it clearly isn't because Hardlex is proprietary to Seiko.
Pictures of the back case clearly say Sapphire. That is consistent across the entire Wittnauer line of this period it seems from all the ones I've found on various sites. Citizen was trying to position this as a luxury brand for themselves and they quickly gave up on it. The watches all date 2014-2016 from what I can find. The Wittnauer website is basically dead. Here's an article from 2014 that talks about Citizen bringing the brand back.
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/09/26/business/seiko-citizen-target-upmarket-foothold-u-s/
Here's a supposed "review" of the black version from December 2015
MY FIRST WITTNAUER WATCH + REVIEW - THE PREP GUY

My speculation: Citizen probably killed Wittnauer again as part of the deal when they bought Frederique Constant in 2016. No sense in trying to compete with itself and it will be easier to penetrate the luxury market through an existing active brand than through trying to restart a defunct brand.
 
#26 ·
Yeah, it's not "dead dead" but all that remains are highly blingy crystal encrusted watches. That's a very specific set of demographics who won't buy the more classic Frederique Constant line, or even the more architectural dressy style of nice Bulovas. (There are a few Bulovas with some gemstones unfortunately, but they are more restrained than modern Wittnauer.)

I have to assume the current ones are pretty much just Caravelle (the value brand of Bulova) with a coat of lipstick.
 
#27 ·
Another clue - Forbes interviewed Jeffrey Cohen, who took over Bulova and Citizen Watch US leadership in January 2017. One of his answers to questions is how he does not want them to cannibalize themselves with competing lineups from their brands. I imagine he immediately put any remaining Wittnauer work on ice as the Wittnauer stuff is just covering the same area the main Bulova brand was already covering. The Wittnauer attempt was the work of the previous head of US operations.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robert...us-swiss-watch-japanese-watches/#25725b961050
 
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