Welcome to the OR Mark !

Ordered one today!

Mark , welcome to this site , prepare to loose some coins and banknotes along the way.

Ed , you have european SKU's ??

The watch face is huge.
I don't have a skinny, or fat wrist, but the face fills up my whole wrist.
As for kinetic vs battery, the battery is actually more accurate in the long run.

Just because the weather station says it's zero degrees, or -10 for example, doesn't mean that it is that cold on your wrist. If things right next to your skin are below freezing you have more to worry about than telling the time.

This is a reply to the price point of watches and a few link for those who want to learn more about watches and their effect on the public.

$0 - $200; Also known as a poor mans watch. (PMW)
$200 - $500
$500 - $1000 Some say anything under this is also PMW
$1000 - $5000
$5000 - $15000
$15,000 - $30,000
$30,000 - $50,000
$50,000 - $100,000
$100,000 - $300,000

$300,000 +

*edit to clear confusion.

Essential links to brush up on your Watch knowledge.

www.timezone.com
under resource and tools you will find some good basic. Forums are okay.

www.equationoftime.com
Good place to get questions out and answered. Some good info
on watch terminology and movements.

www.aficionadozone.com
Another good forum, not as beginner friendly compared to some of the others.

www.PMWF.com Poor man's watch Forum. great place to talk about watches under 1k.

Enjoy. If you use these tools, you should be able to get around the 'Marketing Fog' the Watch industry pulls over consumers eyes and make better watch purchase decisions.

I personally think that 'USA made" should be the standard.

Very cool links, Jon; I've been to a few and they can be interesting and informative.

However, those brackets only speak to a certain population; a certain (admittedly relatively substantial) watch-culture. I think Oakley, as per Jim's comments, made the TT independent of the accepted way of classifying timepieces. I think that a big consequence of Oakley-thinking is making existing classifications obsolete. (See: Eyeshade, M Frame, Eye Jacket)

Not my thing, the available colors are also pretty bland, and like Steve, not a fan of oversized watches.

The band is nice and detailed, but the square face doesnt look too good to me.

The news page has been revised and there is now a pdf brochure which shows a pic of the leather strap version. I have to say I'm loving the look of this watch, just need to try it on and then find $1000!

http://mi.oakley.com/media/brochures/news/watch/tank_release/time_tank.pdf

C'mon guys, putting this watch into a "category" is just a waste of time. Enjoy the work of Oakley design, you either hate it or love it. If you hate it its not for you, and I don't think Oakley is going to lose any sleep over it.

I'm not trying to place anything in a catagory that it isn't. Just give a overview on other watches. The more you know about Horology, the more you will respect Oakley's.

The tools listed above will give you a good starting point to find even more information when searching for Oakley time products. Some web pages will only list certain products with in those $ brackets. Knowing which Oakley falls into will stream-line any future indepth research.

I personally believe that certain Oakley watches are as radical in design as the mid 50's Ventura’s and so forth. It's good to see that kind of separation from the main stream design market today as we did in the 50's.

I find that the more you know about horology, the less respect you pay to quartz and more respect you pay to mechanical movements, no matter how pretty the watch may be.

let us know how it is to those that have placed an order for o
ne ;)

I find that the more you know about horology, the less respect you pay to quartz and more respect you pay to mechanical movements, no matter how pretty the watch may be.

Great point.

Mechanical watches hold a special place in my heart. But I don't see much a future for them outside of relics. The future in watches will be quartz and the technology that can be intergrated within. We (Americans) lost the values our grandparents and great-grandparents held in watches. I can only assume that my grandkids will have completly contrasting views on watches that I do today. example...

"I remember a conversation with my grandfather on the topic of his first "Led" watch. He went on and on about, during "his day", there was nothing else like it and everyone who was anyone had one. This may seem trivial to us today, but it did mark a major advance in wristwatches.)

The big divide between wrist watch movements ( in my opinion ) came with Swatchs' "disposable' quartz movement. This movement was so thin and so cheap, that the watch was never ment to be serviced, just thrown away. This had a huge effect on the perception and value of watches.

As I know the difference between a no jewel quartz movement made in Thailand,(guess fossil etc) and E.T.A. Flatline or Ronda normtech. I can still value quartz and case design when the foundation of Horological Swiss loyalist might prefer mechanical movements.

I..

...am not a "swiss" "Japan" or Mechanical" loyalist.

...Do not believe the "best" watches are made in Switzerland because "they always have been" or they have some "history."

...think the C.O.S.C. is a scam. Maybe once was a legit idea.

... still hold value in "MADE IN THE U.S.A"

So if you do read up on watches. Don't let "one is FACTUALLY better than another get you down.

As an Oakley fan and lover you are not likley to let popular opinion lock you in to a specific mind-set.

Hope I didn't lose you all on this post. GF due home soon SO the proof reading and consistany went out the window to make room for speed!

Great post. Though I can't agree on many points, I respect them greatly.

I had been a collector of watches (or WIS if you're into calling me that) for several years before giving up the hobby a year and a half ago. During that time I did come to conclude that I prefer mechanicals over quartzes, autoquartzes, Ecodrives and the like. I don't get the same feelings of being awed when looking at quartz movements as I do when I looking into the display back of a JLC or a Lange and viewing the intricately detailed/decorated movement. That's not to say I'm opposed to quartz. Indeed, I've got many of those and wear them regularly. If a watch has a great design and great wearability, I'd consider any watch....for the right price, that is.

I find that the more you know about horology, the less respect you pay to quartz and more respect you pay to mechanical movements, no matter how pretty the watch may be.

Why? Quartz movements are more accurate and require a lot less maintenance.
This watch will sell because it looks great. Rolex sells watches because it's what you buy when you reach a certain income level.

Yes, the movement is impressive, but the "certified chronometer" plastic riband is the added value.

The Time Tank will sell because it looks like nothing else, and because of the name on the box. The movement, however many jewels it has, will merely be something salespeople mention when an awkward pause develops in a conversation with customers.

Oh, and Bong seems to be the only other person who knew that the Blade, Judge and GMT all use Swiss movements already.

I think you guys are taking this watch thing a litte to far. The most important thing about a watch for me is how it looks and if it is unique. 99% of people could give a shit if its quartz, mechanical or what brand it is. Most of those high end watches look like something my grandpa would wear and all look the same. As far as I'm concerned looks is the only thing that counts with watches and oakley makes sweet unique looking timepieces. The tank is a piece of art.

For those of you who haven't seen the pdf brochure:

Metal and Leather Time Tanks

Oh, and Bong seems to be the only other person who knew that the Blade, Judge and GMT all use Swiss movements already.

Wasn't the GMT using Japanese movement for awhile?

ok,
couple of things here, as Im reading days worther of posts at a time!

The zero degrees (freezing thing) hadnt noticed that but I think that has more to do with the battery performance rather than the watch performance - batteries do not work well at zero & below (as the batteries in my walky talkies will tell you - normal temp 5 days use, used in the alps, lucky to last the day!).

Everyone's categorizing this watch, its an oakley watch, although functional it is essentially a fashion item, whereas the other manufacturers you mention (rolex, seiko, brietling) also make fashion watches but also have a hardcore standard line that hardly changes from year to year.

Oh and Rolex's - trash. For the money they are unreliable and have to be serviced at least once a year to maintain time - I had one for 4 years (still got it stuck in the back of a draw somewhere!!), and tbh much prefer my all black Nixon rover ss - never misses a beat

can the leather band be purchased seperately?

lets not categorise, i agree, the only category that this watch fits into is the 'oakley' category, enough said

alot of things oakley are impractical or not as good as they could be, but they are oakley, simple as that

if you like it, buy it!

two please!!

Why? Quartz movements are more accurate and require a lot less maintenance.

Not only that, Quartzes are generally less expensive to produce and buy as well as being more durable. Oddly enough, accuracy, durability and cost aren't the biggest factors when it comes to haute horology.

As a person learns more about horology and wristwatches in general, the majority tend to gravitate towards the mechannicals. This phenomenon isn't entirely unexplained, however. There's just something appealing and more interesting about something like George Daniels' Coaxial Escapement, a column wheel chronograph, or Patek's Skymoon Tourbillon that isn't found in any quartz. The work done on high-end watches become less of machines and more of an art, not unlike us appreciating the work done on our favourite eyewear. Other than being real pretty, that's why I suspect people have more respect for mechanicals than quartzes when they learn more about horology.

But I should digress....before this very, very interesting thread is locked due to going off topic.

For fans of the outline drawings:


And the colors:

titanium case, silver dial please!!!

I wonder where those images came from Dann!