I wanted to get my hands on a nice vintage Timex. There's so many to choose from on eBay. You can pay $20 bucks for an old Timex and you can pay $300. When it comes to vintage watches on eBay, it's like the Wild West. Maybe I'm just cheap, but I think $125 bucks for a beat up run-of-the-mill Timex is a little too much to ask.

A lot of them are in really bad shape too. I just can't see myself dropping over hundred bucks for a watch that has a scratched up face. You have hunt and peck a little to find something in mint condition at a good price. Also, vintage watches of the 60s and 70s tended to run pretty small. 30mm is sort of a standard size for an old Timex. 35mm was considered big back then. I'm not sure if a 30mm watch is going to look silly on my wrist. I don't want to spend $125 bucks on a vintage Timex and not wear it because it looks like a kid's watch.

I want to dip my toes in the vintage watch pond, but not break the bank. I figured, something no more than $50 bucks. I scoured eBay and found this little gem for $44 bucks. It's a 1973 30mm military-inspired manual wind field watch. Pretty sweet. I wish it was 35mm, but beggars can't be choosers.



It came on a 16mm brown leather strap. I didn't really like the strap, and any field watch that comes in this house immediately goes on a NATO.

I jumped on Amazon and picked up a 16mm green NATO strap. It was pretty cheap, only $10 bucks. I think it looks pretty awesome on a NATO.



To my surprise, I don't think it looks horrible on my wrist. I'm not 100% sold on it yet, but it's growing on me. It's a fun little watch that goes great with shorts and a t-shirt. Nothing too serious. If I end up not wearing it, I can always give it to one of my kids. It was only $44 bucks, so it won't feel too bad about it.