If only everything in life was as reliable as a Volkswagen...

Having been let down on several occasions recently, most notably and disappointingly by someone I once trusted, it got me thinking about reliability (tenuous link for a post if ever there was one). 

So, what's the most reliable watch in your collection, the one you'd trust if your life depended on it? The Brick.

Conversely, which of your collection is more on the fragile side. The one that would let you down right at the point you really needed it. The Brick with a capital P as it were.

For me this would be the watch I'd trust not to let me down. 

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Its just solid, unflappable and it's not missed a beat since I bought it about 6 years ago.

Conversely, the watch most likely to let me down is this. 

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It looks great but it just isn't as good as it should be for the money. The screw in crown was "gritty" and I had to take it apart to grease the threads to make it bearable. I also had to regulate it as it was fairly hopeless out of the box. It just doesn't fill me with confidence... I think it may have built on a Friday afternoon. Tough to admit as a Seikophile.

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Don’t worry Warren Gatland is heading back to save your Welsh Rugby Team. Can’t go wrong with a Longines but Seiko had the same experience with a new one a couple of years back, will only go with vintage ones now. Take care up there in the Northern Hemisphere

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Most reliable is my spring drive.  Fewer moving parts means less wear.

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Least reliable?  Cartier Roadster.  Chronographs man.  I've owned it for a decade and it's been in for servicing...4 times?  I love this watch so much but Chronos are just fiddly.

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My most reliable is my Explorer/Atlantis. I've owned one for years and never had an issue, apart from the fact it's not pretty. 

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My least reliable is definitely my Seagull 1963. Least WR, and most suspect/fragile movement. I nearly went with my MoonSwatch, but the movement is more reliable despite the watch overall being more fragile. 

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Most reliable:

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My Amfibia will survive everything and keep on ticking.

Least reliable:

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Something is always slightly off or not working whenever I pick up my Amfibia.

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Wouldn’t most reliable be a rock, not a brick? If I say my computer was bricked, it certainly conveys anything but reliability. 

Semantics aside, my most reliable watch is probably my Seiko 5 Sea Urchin. My first mechanical watch, bought in 2016. Still keeps relatively decent time, still fits the submariner homage role I bought it for, hasnt needed a service. Just looks the part. 

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My least reliable watch is also a Seiko, my SSC489 world timer. The watch has so many functions (alarm, world time, chronograph) that I often forget how to use them all given how infrequently I wear the watch. Legibility isn’t the best and the date window is at times unusable given how small it is. Also, it’s still wearable at 46mm lug to lug, but the 44mm diameter is an impediment to getting it worn. 

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Well my Swiss army Automatic

been with me for years never failed me and still ticking without any service …

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And the most unreliable…hmmm I have to admit my Seiko monster, don’t  Get me wrong it keeps time but the manual wind is already shut can’t manual wind it…

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Timex wants to be included!

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My Nite Hawk T100.  Quartz with ten year battery and lume that lasts for years, also carbon composite so won't tarnish.

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GoingTopShelf

Wouldn’t most reliable be a rock, not a brick? If I say my computer was bricked, it certainly conveys anything but reliability. 

Semantics aside, my most reliable watch is probably my Seiko 5 Sea Urchin. My first mechanical watch, bought in 2016. Still keeps relatively decent time, still fits the submariner homage role I bought it for, hasnt needed a service. Just looks the part. 

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My least reliable watch is also a Seiko, my SSC489 world timer. The watch has so many functions (alarm, world time, chronograph) that I often forget how to use them all given how infrequently I wear the watch. Legibility isn’t the best and the date window is at times unusable given how small it is. Also, it’s still wearable at 46mm lug to lug, but the 44mm diameter is an impediment to getting it worn. 

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I was once let down very badly by a rock. 😉

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Edge168n

Most reliable is my spring drive.  Fewer moving parts means less wear.

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Least reliable?  Cartier Roadster.  Chronographs man.  I've owned it for a decade and it's been in for servicing...4 times?  I love this watch so much but Chronos are just fiddly.

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Good lord, same story with my TAG. Not leaving my collection for sentimental reasons but doubt I’ll ever get another chrono down the line. 

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Speaking of Volkswagen, the most unreliable mechanical item I've ever been around was the 2000 Passat that my wife bought new.  That thing was tragic.  We had a running joke for a long time that any time we turned on Car Talk they were talking about something that had gone wrong with that car.

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ds760476

Speaking of Volkswagen, the most unreliable mechanical item I've ever been around was the 2000 Passat that my wife bought new.  That thing was tragic.  We had a running joke for a long time that any time we turned on Car Talk they were talking about something that had gone wrong with that car.

I love my VW. Had plenty of adventures in it and it's never let me down. 

I've also owned an Alfa. Much like @robwei's Amfibia it was the best car I've ever owned at the same time as being the worst car I've ever owned.

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GasWorks

I love my VW. Had plenty of adventures in it and it's never let me down. 

I've also owned an Alfa. Much like @robwei's Amfibia it was the best car I've ever owned at the same time as being the worst car I've ever owned.

I'm glad yours has held up!  The engine was out of ours on an almost monthly basis by the time the thing was 2 years old.  She kept it maybe another year after that.  Since then I can't talk her out of Hondas.

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Dependable: G-Shock

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If I was to go Mechanical, my Ball Engineer III would be my choice. Anti-Shock, 1000 gauss protection, 100 m WR, 904l steal, radioactive tritium, COSC. 
 

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Not so much: Presage

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50 m WR and acrylic. -20 seconds/day. 

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Won't let me down...

Imagen De Jesus GIF - ImagenDeJesus - Discover & Share GIFs | Jesus, Jesus  peace, Jesus photo

Will let me down...

Everything GIFs | Tenor
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Can't beat an Orient! Just ordered a new Ray 2. £120 brand new. Amazing value..

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I only have 3 watches but I guess the chronograph has the most moving parts. Never had issues with it though. 

But my Seiko chronograph sucked ass and broke itself within a couple months. Sold it marked as damaged. 

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Much if my mechanicals and autos have been if similar reliability, so big issues.  So in that sense I’ll choose my Breitling Super Ocean Heritage 2 with the Tudor sources cosc movemen, rock solid stem and crown assembly and clasp that while not innovative will go nowhere.

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least: probably my Seiko Sport quartz.  Runs slow often but Morris for the cheap bracelet and clasp that could pop open at any minute.  Got it as a gift at work.  
 

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It's tough to say - All the divers and 200m+ seem excellent at timekeeping, swimming, kayaking, rock climbing, cycling, etc... and taking a beating at my job.  But I am a bit more careful with my 2 dress style watches, with WR of 30m and push pull crowns.  Happily, my SW200s, 4R36, powermatic 80, and 6R35 all seem very sturdy and very very accurate.  My STP1-11 Sea Wolf is COSC and keeps +1 a day.

So, will say my home-made and no name 'it's a white dial watch' with 8000 Miyota is the least reliable. It looses about 20 sec a day, the most of any of my watches, and I think a shower might kill it.

But looks pretty reflecting christmas lights!

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And the Spring Drive Prospex LX is probably the most bomb proof reliable.  300m, Ti, 0.1 sec, perfect timekeeping, mechanical movement.  And 300m water depth will kill me before the watch ever gets in danger.

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The movements have variable accuaracy. 

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I'm a Seikomaniac so it's hard not list one of my cherished sekosha sweethearts. 

However when it comes to dependability, These two aren't pretty lookin' but they're pretty tough!

The Timex has been Surfing, skiing, Hiking, fishing and taking the garbage out and rocking' since 1993

and the G-Shock Rangeman has been through hell and back and never let me down.

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Fieldwalker

It's tough to say - All the divers and 200m+ seem excellent at timekeeping, swimming, kayaking, rock climbing, cycling, etc... and taking a beating at my job.  But I am a bit more careful with my 2 dress style watches, with WR of 30m and push pull crowns.  Happily, my SW200s, 4R36, powermatic 80, and 6R35 all seem very sturdy and very very accurate.  My STP1-11 Sea Wolf is COSC and keeps +1 a day.

So, will say my home-made and no name 'it's a white dial watch' with 8000 Miyota is the least reliable. It looses about 20 sec a day, the most of any of my watches, and I think a shower might kill it.

But looks pretty reflecting christmas lights!

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And the Spring Drive Prospex LX is probably the most bomb proof reliable.  300m, Ti, 0.1 sec, perfect timekeeping, mechanical movement.  And 300m water depth will kill me before the watch ever gets in danger.

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The "Knight Biker" rides again!

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ds760476

Speaking of Volkswagen, the most unreliable mechanical item I've ever been around was the 2000 Passat that my wife bought new.  That thing was tragic.  We had a running joke for a long time that any time we turned on Car Talk they were talking about something that had gone wrong with that car.

I had a Volkswagen Golf from about that same time period. (1998/9?) Worst. Car. Ever. It was relatively low mileage too at less than 100k miles. No, that's not new, but my 200k mile 2001 Pathfinder ran for 4 years needing only a battery and a module that controls the climate control fan speed. The VW, so many electrical problems. The radio would only turn on when the car was running. Not when the key was in the running position, but only when the engine was actually running. Somehow it must have cross connected with a fuel pump circuit. The horn wouldn't work, unless the key swung in between the steering wheel and the steering column, and then it would randomly go off when just driving around a corner. Rear washer fluid would randomly spray on the back window. Taillights stopped working randomly. Back up lights worked sometimes but not other times. Sometimes it would accelerate. Sometimes it was like driving in mud with flat tires. It was a mess.

Volkswagens are terrible cars. 

AND, when Volkswagen bought Ducati for a few years there, Ducatis were plagued with electrical problems. It's a pattern. 

For shits and giggles, I would drive around town for work and count the number of cars with burnt out headlights and I would keep score. Volkswagens (and Audi to be fair, but it's the same company) vs ALL OTHER CARS COMBINED. More often than not I would count more VWs with burnt out headlights than ALL OTHER CARS COMBINED!!!!!! How is that even possible? 

I was good friends with a certified Volkswagen mechanic at the time I owned the Golf. You know what he drove? A Mazda. 

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Oh boy! I've tried to let go of the unreliable ones 😂...I feel reliability may mean different things right? 

Like for timekeeping I can't trust anything more than my GS SBGP003. With a 9F quartz movement, I synchronize everything else to this piece.

To take me through some hardcore stuff, surely my G shock G5600KG ...but the watch that makes me feel I can rely on the most when I wear it is my Submariner 🤷

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Whitesalmon

The "Knight Biker" rides again!

Tonight the freezing rain stopped!  EZ commute after all!

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I drove a WV Golf for 4 years and it was one of the less reliable car that I owned. For example I got rear ended because the brake light switch went kaput at an intersection and the car following me didn't realize I was braking to a slow stop.

For me the most reliable watch is the G-Shock GW-M5610U, or any other square. It's perfect.

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The least reliable watch that I own isn't really a watch. It's my Smartwatch. It will get irresponsive and need the occasional reset. it will discharge suddenly and go flat just when you really need it and it will constantly annoy you with an endless stream of notification. I'm glad that I'm no longer wearing it.

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as the owner of a Golf 8, I would not recommend to use VW as a reliability benchmark. The electronics screen keeps failing me, with the GPS being completely lost at times, all lane-assist/anti-collision devices shutting down without notice, to mention a few

the watch I would trust the most : my little quartz SCURFA. Trust these guys

A bit disappointed by my Tudor BlackBay58 (great looking watch, BTW), sliding from 9 seconds fast fresh from the AD to slow 5 secs/day now, while being pampered and not worn much. This "pseudo in-house Kenissi" thing may be a tad overhyped

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For those wondering why I chose the phrase "If only everything in life was as reliable as a Volkswagen". It comes from this...

https://youtu.be/1-LUaPuia7k

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It’s difficult for me to make much of a contribution here because all of my watches are relatively new. Obviously the majority being G-Shocks are all very reliable with the multiband models being the most accurate. Out of my 5 autos (2x 7S26, NH35, Orient F6922, Miyota 8205) remarkably it’s the scruffy Miyota that comes in first for accuracy (+4s/day no fibs) closely followed by the NH35. The Orient seems to be running slightly faster than when I first bought it and I do wonder if it’s very slightly magnetised but it’s still +5 or +6 so not too bad. 
I guess in terms of longer term reliability only “time“ will tell 😉

I drive an aging but fun 2007 Honda Accord EX 2.4L  which is generally pretty damn reliable and has enjoyable handling 😁

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Most reliable... I only ever service this watch beacause I feel guilty that I never service it.

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Least reliable, demands service by not working on a fairly predictable basis.....

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