[NotVenkman]

...But at least it's not a 'how much is this worth?' post.

For a few months I've been gazing at Seiko Pogues on the usual auction site, plus this and other forums. Much as they seem to be calling to my very soul, there's no getting around the stark financial reality of my ridiculous salary. The watch buying budget -if there's a birthday or Christmas nearby- is limited to around half the price of a reasonable model, which I'll be honest, sucks.
So I've looked around for similar and cheaper ones to maybe scratch the itch. Unfortunately that combo of red, blue, stainless steel and gold just isn't easy going to appear on many pieces.
Finally by pure chance I found the Casio AMW320D-9EV, and an eyebrow was raised.
I think it's a fair nod in the right direction, the closest I've seen unless someone can steer me elsewhere. As it's a more modern watch, it wouldn't be a labour of love to maintain it, wouldn't need expensive services and would be much easier to replace if it was lost/broken/stolen. My wife would also (probably) not refer to it as an 'old fashioned thing'. From my current perspective it's by far the better option, until I find a dufflebag of used notes or my numbers come up.

And so now to the questions:

How hard would it be to find a red & blue Pepsi-style bezel insert for one of these and install it? Are they anything like a standard size?

These are almost always seen (on Arnie's and Denzel Washington's wrists, no less) with a black rubber strap. What would you recommend as a modern and compatible version of the chunky stainless 70s Pogue bracelet?

Many thanks for reading.

 

[rfortson]

So, what exactly is your budget? I've seen Pogues go from anywhere from $200 to $400. I got a nice one for under $200 but I lucked into it at a watch show.

Personally, I'd say go for the Pogue. It's a great watch for the money, and it's what you want anyway. Whatever you spend on the Casio is a significant percentage of what you'd spend on the Pogue.

Not sure of your financial situation, but $20/week in a watch fund would pay for the Pogue by the fall, and you can use the time to learn all you want about them so that you're a well-educated buyer (especially if you're looking on ePrey).

As for your wife, explain to her why you want the watch, the attraction and such. Also you can point out that this is not coming at the expense of any home/family commitments. (Again, I don't know your situation, but my wife and I have 3 accounts, hers, mine and ours. Ours covers the family, and the other two are our own individual accounts. No angst over what the other does with that money.)

Good luck. If you must have something now, take $40 and find a cool Casio/Timex/whatever that will tide you over while you save up for the Pogue. Resist the temptation to spend more as this will delay your Pogue.

Happy hunting.

EDIT - Where did you see Denzel wearing a Pogue? That would be cool.

 

[NotVenkman]

All good advice, and I suppose the Casio is a sort of Methadone to the real deal. Whilst I'm a comfortably safe distance from having to use food banks, it's hard to justify splurging on a watch when there's always something else more important to consider. A fund does sound like a good plan, and there's a couple of things I could offload onto EvilBay. It's definitely not an impossible dream or anything, but the longer it's left on the shelf the older these watches get.

And I'm sorry if you thought Denzel had worn a Pogue! It was the Casio there's a pic of him wearing. Arnie wore one in Kindergarten Cop and Last Action Hero, and I'm a sucker for movie-related wearables.


Budget? Around £100 max. That's what I spent on one last holiday and some years ago I managed to track down the Seiko Chronograph worn by Ripley in Aliens, for £90(!!!).