MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
Eh ?
Never had any experience like that.
Fat wrists ?
They are called sports watches for a reason.
Fat wrists ?
Not in my case, no padding whatsoever and quite a protruding wrist bone.
Fat wrists ?
Not in my case either. 'Sports' as in diving, absolutely. 'Sports' as in jiggly/wiggly, not for me. Even my fat Polar altimeter watch is a bit much sometimes and it doesn't even have pointy bits.
Eaxlch to his own tho eh?
Do any of you worry about having several thousand pounds strapped to your wrist?
I still remember back in 1996 watching my dad ride into a gravel trap on Mammoth Mountain and go slow motion over the bars into the deep gravel. He came out unscathed but with a heavily scratched (couldn’t see through it)glass on his Speedmaster moon watch. He wasn’t bothered and it cleaned up fine with a bit of a polish. Still has it now and wouldn’t know.
I have a Panerai and a Rolex with fairly large sticky out bits. When riding they do irritate, the Rolex is especially uncomfortable. I now have a permanent small indent on my hand where it’s rubbed.
'I now have a permanent small indent on my hand where it’s rubbed.'
I have my watch on my right hand for that very reason! Normally wear a mid size Seamaster so isnt so much of a problem.
She be here! First impressions. Small, but I'll get used to it. The watch is in mint condition, and the box and papers immaculate. It's running about 40s/day fast so I may give a burst of demag but beat error is tight and.... it's a two-hander. Sat by the fire feeling very nervous.... 😀
I have my watch on my right hand
Yeah, I'm not American or one armed so, no thanks 🙂
@Harris, thanks! I've successfully posted a letter without breaking it 😀
Try this:
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Blimey thats some expensive looking bling.
Tried one of those on
They look even more stunning in the flesh, and reassuringly expensive lol
Do any of you worry about having several thousand pounds strapped to your wrist? I don’t think I would be able to relax on a night out, constantly worried someone was going to mug me?
Never really bothered me, but none of my watches were terribly expensive. That’s changed a bit over the last few years, with my Yema Rallygraf. My first ‘bought by me’ watch, and in 1970 it cost £50, quite a lot of money considering I earned a bit less than £10 a week! Birthday money helped, and I wore it continually until the mid-80’s when I bought a TAG Heuer Series 1000 ‘night diver’. Cost £250, and because it was a bit tougher than the Yema chrono, that got worn to death, on the bikes, at work, everywhere. It’s got a black PVD coating which is worn and chipped, as is the bracelet, I eventually swapped that for Animal Velcro straps, because the bracelet rattled a lot when riding, and used to leave black sweaty marks on my wrist. The Yema developed a bit of an issue but I wasn’t wearing it much anyway, and I’d bought several other watches, like a Yokobies mod Series 5, and a couple of cheap Casios.
Several years ago I found someone who could fix the Yema and service it, after the mainspring broke, which cost £460, which I considered worth it for its sentimental value, so I started wearing it again. Then I came across one online that had been auctioned in London, so I contacted them to find out what it had sold for - £3800! It’s no longer an everyday watch, but I do still wear it, I made a leather strap with the buckle from an older, worn-out strap, and I treasure that one. The TAG is now increasing in value, since it was discovered that it’s a ‘James Bond’ watch - Tim Dalton wore one in ‘The Living Daylights’, so it’s becoming a collectible now.
My daily beater is a Heimdallr ’Steel Tuna’ homage, which has in turn been modded, with new face and hands, and a fully lumed bezel insert, and a replacement movement, work carried out by one of this thread’s regulars; I’m reluctant to name him, I don’t want to be responsible for him getting a flood of requests for repairs and mods, so I’m keeping quiet, but it has a Seiko auto movement, it looks great, it’s very tough and I absolutely love how it looks; I do have another Heimdallr SKX007 mod homage, which hasn’t got much of a look-in lately, I just never take the Tuna off. Neither cost more than about £130-ish, I can’t justify paying more.
I really should start wearing the TAG a bit more, though, but it’s a bit small compared to the Heimdallr watches, and I’m more comfortable with the bigger case, even on my skinny wrists!
Oh, I meant to add, I was reading a Wired article earlier about Bremont watches, and their new building, very much worth a read…
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/bremont-british-watches
If I could actually afford a really good, expensive watch, other than a Tudor Pelageos, it would be a Bremont.
@brads, earlier this year I tried on the full rose gold Overseas perpetual calendar. (like below but with blue dial.
Not my cup of tea, which is lucky as I couldn't afford it without selling the house (and the manager was just humouring me :D).
The only VCs I really like at the moment are in the Historiques collection - again, all out of league but I have caressed them nevertheless 😀
Both lovely but the first would be too busy for me.
I need a plain , high contrast face or I can’t see the thing to tell the time lol
That Historiques is beautiful.
The manager (with whom I flirt relentlessly and pointlessly) told me a great story about one of her clients. Came in saying his watch wasn't working. Done anything to damage it Sir? Well, yes, I went jetskiing and didn't screw down the crowns on the full gold Overseas tourbillon... Apparently he took the write off quite well. There's a lot of seriously rich folks out there, beyond the comprehension of most of us.
PP 5146r. Doesnt come out to play often tho. If i can get the image to load....
Wowwweeeee
That strap looks too tight. Guess you want to know it's definitely on though
Thanks guys, she is a beaute. As i said I dont wear her often. I love the PP annual calendars, but the VC perpetual calendars are much nicer than PP. Hope to get one one day.
The beater watch, always on. Seamaster 300 (quartz - which they dont make any more) - and yes @boblo, 'wrong wrist' 😀
[url= https://flic.kr/p/2mSYFZB ]317B1297-4316-44BA-9371-62DDE008C338[/url]
Better than my previous attempt
Wow. The last few pages really have gone up several notches!
Wow. The last few pages really have gone up several notches!
Indeed, its kinda shelved my "should I buy this Sale Antartica Monster" idea - feels like pissing into the wind in comparison 😀
I know the collection is never 'done' but I'm pretty happy with it at the moment. I have a couple on sale on C24 (Sinn UX and Tudor BB ETA 'red smiley') but very little on the watch list, only this Patek pocket watch, which I don't need at all but can admire from afar. I have a couple of movements inbound, an ETA 6498-1 élaboré to complete a silver dial/heat-blued hands deck watch, and a decorated and skeletonised Seagull ST3620 to make a Panerai Radiomir type jobby, possibly with a California dial.
If I wanted a nice looking watch for not much, just for the occasional time when I go out and my old plastic Casio isn't appropriate, what should I look for? Wouldn't mind something second hand. Just looked up those Heimdallr watches on eBay and there's quite a lot from AliExpress etc, are they knock offs?
Heimdallr are just a fairly cheap brand that tend to copy other manufacturers designs, nothing wrong with them.
If by going out you mean a bit dressy, then the Orient Bambino range are well thought of at a lower price point. There is a huge variety of Seiko 5's too which are good value for money and a bit more sporty in style.
It all depends on how much you want to spend. And not a lot to some is a lot to others.
That Heimdallr Submariner with the ETA movement looks good and, well, with an ETA movement. Get the Subby look from afar with a half decent recognised movement ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ETA_SA) also give you a discussion point with the watch.
I remember reading once before about the gradients of fakes (replica watches), from rubbish materials to top notch quality materials ( http://express-press-release.net/37/Grades%20of%20Replica%20Swiss%20Watches.php) but why would you spend hundreds, nay thousands, on a fake?
Recommend look for secondhand/used piece which perhaps didnt get the 'love' on release, or something interesting but affordable. Tag, Longines, Tissot, Hamilton, Maurice Lacroix, Omega, .....
Googling Seiko 5 and lots came up on Etsy. Does anybody buy from there, can recommend any sellers? I like the Orient Bambino's. Probably looking at about £100 and fairly understated looking, plain leather strap for example. My dad has a nice Omega which I hope to inherit one day but he may decide to leave it to my son.
I'd take a Orient Bambino over a copycat brand any day. Their own design and they look nice.
Another interesting historical watch in the collection. Mid 1980s Seiko Memo Diary (UW02). Fully functional
An no i havent worn it since the clock change 😀
I've many reasonably strong opinions about various watches and chief amongst them is that the only real Bambino is a mk1 and the rest are basically heresy - other than the mk4 which I'll grudgingly accept. The mk5 however, well, that can get in the sea.
Merry Christmas!!
Another interesting piece from the collection
Vostok Amphibia - Восток Амфибия - (with Komandirskie Dial)
(about Vostok Amphibia https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/the-vostok-amphibia-scuba-dude-reference-420380)
@SSS That's not a brand I've come across before. Thanks for the link.
I have the IWC Pilot Mark XV1 on today.
Merry Christmas everybody.
Love a Vostock. I've got 3 Komandirskie, one USSR era paratrooper and a new submarine with the grey Titanium oxide coating. Final one is more of a Amphibia because its got 200m water resistance but says Komandirskie on the bright yellow dial.
Too much showroom bling here, anyone got anything "lived in" - had this 27 years and going strong. Recently serviced and had a few firm conversations about not restoring it.
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Bloody hell, that Sub looks like it's had a hard life... 🙃
My Seamaster is 20 years old this year and is looking like it is too
i like the scuffs and scratches. Looks like a proper tool that’s been worn and loved. It’s the only watch I have no desire to sell
Christmas Day watch today is my Visodate with a silver dial. Not expensive but a handsome thing regardless
Jeepers! What happened to dent the bezel?
Jeepers! What happened to dent the bezel?
It hit a rock. Quite hard. Underwater. That's one of the reasons I don't want it sorted, that dent is part of a memory for me.
Deflected a bullet while battling Spectre agents.
Edit - one second earlier that might have been vaguely amusing
Deflected a bullet while battling Spectre agents
Actually yeah that, the rock story is just my cover 😀
And too slow / fast again
Rubber B but I'm not impressed for the £, it's not lasted well (though obvs doesn't get an easy life with all the fighting evil criminal masterminds)
Have you considered looking into getting an endorsement deal? 😀
Happy Boxing Day!
I always fancied a JLC Master Calendar. I dont have a JLC in my collection. I did think about one before the PP.
Well lived in..... circa 1952 Rolex Speedking
It was my late fathers watch. The crown needs replaced as the screw threads have worn.
A lovely thing to be passed on. Nice dial too.
From a time that Rolex's were just decent watches and not expensive investments or an indictor of significant wealth, (obviously doesn't apply to everyone on here - thepurist particularly!)
From a time that Rolex’s were just decent watches and not expensive investments or an indictor of significant wealth
Indeed the choice of communist revolutionaries;
https://www.bobswatches.com/rolex-blog/just-because/rolex-watches-che-guevara.html
Jeez. Rock/bullet to bezel, ouch. I imagine a bruised wrist too!
Todays watch of the day 😀
I was given this as a gift from workmates as a leaving present. They knew i liked watches, and i used to say to them 'free mickey mouse watch with every project..'
I believe it to be a mass produced 1960s Ingersoll Mickey Mouse watch (even tho it doesnt have Ingersoll on the dial).
It doesnt have any great value, and as a mechanical wind up watch, it keeps terrible time, 5 minutes out every day.
But it is quite funky 😀
@SSS, do you rotate regularly? I must admit, I find it stressful and culled my collection of about 30 down to 8 so far, with a few more to go. I know it can change but all I want to wear day to day is my 214270 Exp, then Pelagos for the sea, g-shock for mtb, VC for formal. I'd like a very highly finished steel watch too but it can wait.
Missus' 50th is coming up so I'm mulling over JLC Reverso (red dial with diamonds) vs Cartier Tank but the new steel Musts look so sterile, and the step up to gold is v v large...
Gaidong, my wife has the Cartier Tank. Hers has the diamond bezel on a leather strap. It’s ok, but it just sort of looks dated. It’s about 4 years old. She feels old wearing it. She wears mens watches most of the time (Rolex Explorer or Breitling Superocean on a leather strap).
My answer to rotation was fairly simple….COVID struck and half of my collection is out in the States, so I’m down to just 6. But tend to wear only three of these. My daily is my Seiko Prospex divers, Oris TT for out and about and my BB58 when I go somewhere nicer. I have a Panerai and a Rolex Explorer II that I’ve not seen for over three years….guess I’m going to have a fairly large servicing bill to come.
@gaidong the only 2 i rotate regularly is the SMP 300 and the Submariner (no date). The Vostok comes a close 3rd. The 5146r and a Speedmaster Triple Date i have generally get the least wear as the complications and setting up. I dont use a watch winder. The others get wear time when i feel like a change, but with COVID and WFH, i would change often especially with going into the office.
Just got the Submariner back from a service few weeks back, so shes 'back in the game'....
The ones on my radar are perhaps a U-Boat as i quite like the look and style, a Breguet XXI in rose gold, a JLC Master Calendar (in steel) and a Omega AquaTerra 15000 Gauss.
The wife has a Tag Aquaracer with diamond face and bezel. She wants a 2 tone DateJust, but she doesnt wear a watch! So until she wears the AquaRacer regularly.....
Thanks W00dster and SSS,
One of the watches I sold was a 9002 U-Boat actually. Nothing wrong with it but I wasn't wearing it, which pains me. I actually want my watches to get enough patina, namely my 214270, so it'll mean more to my son when he gets it (I've got him wearing his first mechanical at 13 and he doesn't take it off :D). His name is Constantin, so obviously he'll get the VC too. And then I think of my daughter, who should inherit from her mum. They're both into horses, hence the oft-repeated link to the Reverso, but also the style is right up my wife's alley.
The Tank Louis are very nice but, IMO, need to be in gold to give them a bit of warmth. I've seen this Americaine in the flesh and it is extremely feminine.
Choices choices. I'm not going to go blind into such a big spend though. I'll take her to the shop and just ask the sales rep to hide all the prices, or she'll go ap€sh1t!
Ive only ever seen a Reverso once up close and personal, on the wrist of a guy i used to work with about 10 years ago.
The Master Calendar Perpetual is a steal compared to the Master Calendar!!
vs
Maybe change my mind 😀 @gaidong so many nice watches, decisions decisions!
Bought myself a new everyday wear watch a couple of weeks ago - a Christopher Ward C63 Sealander GMT. It's a good size for my little wrist (39mm), not too deep (11.85mm), Sellita SW330-2 movement with a 56 hour power reserve. Cordura/rubber blue/orange strap to match my bike too!
I bought a C60 trident bronze a couple of years ago - this is that little bit smaller.
</wrist nazi>
That looks nice. Is it on the approved limb...?
<wrist nazi>
It is if you're left handed!
My wife has a stainless steel quartz tank on bracelet. I think it's classic and elegant, she never ever ever ever ever ever wears it (which irritates a bit). She's worried of marking it. FFS, it's really not that expensive
@neilnevill, I don't think they look bad. Being a few years old, I presume your wife's is a Tank Solo, with the flattened brancards? At least that was its own watch. The new SS Musts have exactly the same shape as the Tank Louis, which has always been in precious metal. To my mind (like they care!), they are undermining their white gold Louis offering with the SS Musts. The WG Tanks are, currently, exclusively with diamonds but you can get the Musts with that too. Makes no sense.
Thats a nice Christopher Ward there @beej Nice and fresh and clean lines. Very clear too.
I havent worn the Triple Date in a while, so here it is
There wasnt much love for this model. It wasnt a true Speedy moonwatch, and it was based on the Valjoux 7751 (modified by Omega as the 3606 calibre).
I picked this up at less than 50% price at an AD. It had sat in the window for over 8 months so it got included in the sale window (with an Ebel 1911).
Its also on my right wrist to trigger @boblo OCD 😀
She’s worried of marking it
Pfft show how her my sub and SSS's speedking - though that probably counts as having a patina rather than being battered!
Too much showroom bling here, anyone got anything “lived in”
Well, my TAG Series 1000 certainly is! I have posted a photo of it before, but I’ll put another up just to prove it.
You’ll have to zoom in a bit, the wear is apparent on the edges of the lugs. The bracelet is very worn, but it’s never really fitted me very well and rattles, so it wears a James Bond nylon, the correct colours, not the grey and blue ones. Just to add, it’s not the original face, which had Series 1000 underneath the logo - the retaining pins broke and it went back for repairs and that was the face it came back with. Apparently there were a number of variants, as it was Heuer’s first dive/sport watch, and their first watch with TAG, so some variants just had Heuer, some like mine is now, and some had Series 1000. Bugger-all I could do about it really, it went back through the retailer in Bath I’d bought it from.
Tbh I don't know, I didn't buy it, she bought it (in a staff sale) before we met. Honestly, I can only think of once in a decade she's written it, it lives in the safe, I check it's still running one or twice a year, change the battery when needed, put it back in the safe. She wears my old 1961 manual wind seamaster if she wears a watch at all. I keep suggesting things that she might like but....
That's nice count, I like it.
Here you go, one for the (plastic) aficionados 😛
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I took a couple more photos of the TAG earlier, it’s tricky to get an idea of how ‘patinated’ it is, but I’ve included the bracelet which does show some wear and tear…
…and before some smartass makes a comment about the date being wrong, I haven’t worn it for yonks, but amazingly it was exactly an hour out, bar a few seconds, but I forgot to reset the calendar. There are other versions with a white date background as well. It was early days, so TAG/Heuer were basically winging it.
If I wanted a nice looking watch for not much, just for the occasional time when I go out and my old plastic Casio isn’t appropriate, what should I look for?
don’t know your budget, but a thd Longines Conquest quartz looks like a good buy. That said, i’m not sure if they are still available in the UK. they were £400 and have a carrera/explorer look.
alternatively, a quartz Grand Seiko or for less, one of the many great looking Seikos. you may need to order from overseas, though.
edit: some lovely watches turning up on this thread. the one time i was comfortable making a big watch purchase, i bottled it! i just couldn’t do it.