# Rotary, As A Brand.



## bea13abc

Hello All,

The girlfriend took me into a watch shop the other day to get ideas about my upcoming birthday. Aint she nice!

Anyway, as we are young ish (23) we do not have alot of cash. So I can't ask for a Rolex or Cartier! (enter parents).

So I saw a Rotary watch. It was a "tank" shape (like a cartier tank shape, rectangle), gold plated I would imagine and had a croc dark brown strap. It also came with cuff links. A nice dress watch and was presented in a gift box.

Now, I have some watches, mostly fashion but one rado (enter parents with a typical indian wave).

Is Rotary a good brand? Does it stand up there with the big players?

Many Thanks,

Raj

p.s While I am here, could I asked the same about Swatch!


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## squareleg

They've been around a while, so have plenty of pedigree...

Wiki article.

Afaik, they used to make good, honest mechanicals but nowadays are almost exclusively quartz and of the 'dress fashion' variety. The present 'vintage' range is quite nice imo. Hth.


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## blackandgolduk

I've got a Rotary skeleton which was a 30th b'day gift from my bro - it's quite a nice little thing, well put together and with a Miyota (Citizen) automatic movement. Rotary seem to be moving back to mechanicals - I do like the look of many of their 'Editions' range, but would probably also look at Seiko, RLT and O&W in that price bracket.


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## Griff

Rotary IMO are making a bit of a comeback with some nice decent mechanicals.

Their Dolphin quartz range are also very good with many of them having sapphire crystals and Swiss Ronda multi jewelled quartz movements.

I've bought one of their newer mechs and 2 Dolphin quartz. The latter often have gold PVD finished cases but the case material is all st steel.

A good retailer will have a Rotary sales book so ask for them to look up the spec for you.

IMO they aint bad watches at all after many years of quite crap quartz.

Stick out for sapphire, all st steel whether PVD in gold or not, and Dolphin rating if quartz


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## Guest

Argos are knocking out a nice looking square cased Rotary, black dial, and sub second dial for less than half price. It's on offer at Â£38.


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## Parabola

Nice enough I suppose, but I'm a bit of a Seiko fan in that bracket


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## purplepantman

I got a couple of Rotary's a few years ago from their Elite range. They are the ones that look a bit like Panerai homages. They are quartz watches and built like a tank with w/r to 200m. Must say they've not skipped a beat in the 3 years I've had them. I bought them coz I liked the style, not because they were Rotary's!

I've recently seen in the high street that they've discounted their mechanical "Editions" range by as much as 50%. Some of these look really cool but I've read that they use cheap (but reliable) Chinese movements. I think with Rotary that you get what you pay for and if you can pick one up at half price then thats really what they're worth. They've got a little bit of an image problem. Don't know what it is. Most of their watches are rectangular and have roman numerals, which not everyone likes. They also do watches with reversible faces - could never understand that! Could never understand that matching cuff links thing they do either. I don't wear cuff links myself but if I went shopping for cuff links I wouldn't expect to come home with a matching watch, so why the other way around?

I'm sure if you bought any Rotary you'd get a half decent watch that would last you a good few years with no problems.

If I had Â£100 - Â£150 to spend on a watch would I buy a Rotary? No, I'd get a Seiko or a Citizen!

Just my two bobs worth!


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## thorpey69

Good watches,a Rotary got me into this mess a couple of years ago,and ive had a few since and still do,i rate them as excellent value and quality,and well in front of Alphas and the like


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## sean666

Seiko is the only brand to go for with that kind of money leaps and bounds above other watches in a similar price bracket.


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## Rotundus

why buy new? there is lots of nice vintage out there for that money.


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## martinus_scriblerus

desmondus rotundus said:


> why buy new? there is lots of nice vintage out there for that money.


I second this. Buy a cool old watch - the depreciation curve has already been encountered and the value may be on the upswing. On a non-financial basis, you can wear something you're not likely to see on anyone else's wrist anytime soon. You could have a very nice old Rado Manhattan for Â£150 I would guess, or a 40's pointer date, or even a Wittnauer Electro-Chron.


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## Mutley

squareleg said:


> They've been around a while, so have plenty of pedigree...
> 
> Wiki article.
> 
> Afaik, they used to make good, honest mechanicals but nowadays are almost exclusively quartz and of the 'dress fashion' variety. The present 'vintage' range is quite nice imo. Hth.


What he said, in the good old days they used to knock out proper watches with quality swiss movements

my favourite dress watch


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## bea13abc

Thank you all for your input!

Have a good weekend.

Raj


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## gallch

Rotary vintage certainly gets my vote - Chloe has my grandmother's manual wind Rotary ladies dress watch, bi-metal case and original blue leather strap, small face with roman numerals but very clean and easy to read - a nice thing altogether.

There was a period wasn't there when Rotary seemed to have gone downhill but I too have noticed some very attractive newer items.


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## tomshep

Watches bought as presents are bought to last a long time. Seikos are fine but, if the funds will stretch to it :rltb: Look at the RLT sales site. You'll find something durable and individual there for around the same price as an "ordinary" watch.

RLT 40, for example Â£149 for a watch that is personalised and mechanical can't be bad.


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## Cassie-O

Any more thoughts on Rotary? I am looking at a Rotary but the two i have had before, both failed. The first the winder came out and second one just stopped and a new battery didn't work. Should I give them a third and final chance, even though I swore to myself I wouldn't buy another Rotary?

Thanks

Cassie :king:


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## Chris 810

I can only say this

here is a photo of my sons watch i bought this for myself but gave it to him when he broke his other watch he was 12 he has worn it every day since a nd it still looks fantastic he is now 31 ( ps i gave him a rolex datejust for his 30th birthday, again one of mine) i got the rotary back.


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## Teg62x

I got this from Roger (@RWP) and have since passed it on to my Son-in-law and apart from a new battery it is still going!



Then I found this in a charity shop for £20, new strap from Roy and it is fine as a relatively dressy grab and go!


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## mrzee

Teg62x said:


> I got this from Roger (@RWP) and have since passed it on to my Son-in-law and apart from a new battery it is still going!


 Had one of these for 5 years. One strap and battery change but still going strong.


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## PC-Magician

The Mystery Bidder said:


> Any more thoughts on Rotary? I am looking at a Rotary but the two i have had before, both failed. The first the winder came out and second one just stopped and a new battery didn't work. Should I give them a third and final chance, even though I swore to myself I wouldn't buy another Rotary?
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Cassie :king:


 I have more than one Rotary and no complainta at all, my advice would be stick to the ones that have either a Ronda Quartz or an ETA 2824-2 auto movement.

The Chinese variants I would avoid.


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## Nigelp

might explain why most non watch fan Brits think they are a posh watch, still.

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British Army in World War 2: Rotary
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[IMG alt="Rotary became the official watch supplier to the British Army in 1940." data-ratio="100.00"]https://www.firstclasswatches.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/5111855883_447671f297_m.jpg[/IMG]

Rotary became the official watch supplier to the British Army in 1940.

Despite being a proud Swiss company since 1895, Rotary didn't stay neutral throughout World War 2!

Rotary opened an office in Britain during the 1920's in order to import Rotary watches into the country. They were already popular when, in 1940, they became the official watch supplier to the British Army. With the Second World War in full swing this move put a Rotary watch into almost every single household in the country. When young men returned to the UK following the war Rotary became a household name in the UK and, despite their proud Swiss heritage, they are a very British brand today.

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## Speedy112

50 Plus years ago they were seen as a serious good quality mechanical piece....but have probably been swamped by the deluge of new brands..the New models certainly catch the eye with some very attractive pieces at very reasonable prices..i don't know what the movements are probably some mass produced unit used by thousands of other brands.. but at this price point I guess you cant go wrong and I assume they offer a reasonable warranty...Buy what you like and fits your wrist....


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## Migzy

I only have one Rotary. It's automatic and 'swiss' and I've no issues with it yet.


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## Rab

I've got one of the Swiss made (or at least 60% by value swiss made) legacy models, had it a year, worn it a lot, keeps good time, looks nice, nothing's fallen off, crown threads feel a bit delicate, ceramic insert, sapphire crystal, RRP is a bit high but available with big discounts, bit of a dress diver, but I like it.


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## sewingman

Had this this 200m Rotary for at least 19 Year and apart from changing batteries, just a great watch......Bob.


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## WRENCH

All my oldies have survived dogs abuse.


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## JonnyOldBoy

For Non Swiss made its all to do with batches and projects. Those watches are outsourced lock stock and barrel to the Ocean Polluting Peoples Republic ( aka China ) and some models came back to the European market already falling to pieces ( Avenger quartz chrono for one ) yet some models came back looking like they had been made by Swatch group. So for me its a bit too random for the Chinese Rotaries....


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