Watches N+1…

Maybe someone can help me out and suggest a place in Newcastle to service a Rolex? The background story is that it was my FIL’e and it has more value to me for sentimental reasons than timekeeping. It does keep decent time but I keep thinking I should  have it serviced just to make sure it’s in good condition. Having said that, I’m afraid the repair shop will take it to bits and then tell me it will cost a mint to service and reassemble  in which case I’d rather keep it as it is !!

One of the Seiko watches I’m looking at has -+17sec swing per day and that’s on a 600qiud watch.( Automatic)

They’re never as bad as the specs. My Mini Turtle with a 4S movements has been -7 this week. I’ve lost the records for my other ones with a a change of phone, but they were a all within 10 seconds.

@drj a lot of us here have used and recommend Calibre in Dundee. I had my Sub serviced there last year and the process was A1. I’m in Cambs and everything was easy peasy by post.

As above. I’ve measured of mine – 1 x 6r and 1 x 4r calibre to similar tolerances.

im falling for my Siekos again, after wearing the King Sam all week & the Arnie is my weekend watch.   I’ve discovered why I like big and / or heavier watches – I have virtually no “knuckle” bone so everything ends up at the end of my forearm rather than the end of my hand if that makes senses – the bigger watch’s cover the gap in my wrist to look more normally situated.

still can’t abide the orange 5kx though 🙁

@drj a lot of us here have used and recommend Calibre in Dundee

Thanks. I’ll take a look :-). What service did you use to send in your watch ?

Edit – I see they arrange that.

Edit – I see they arrange that.

They do and it’s painless.

… and fully insured.

I have just got two of my grandfather’s pocket watches back from being repaired. Sorry about the not great photos, but they are very lovely things and now holding time perfectly. 

Wow look at that!

They are absolutely beautiful!

Better photos would be good when you get the chance…..

Lovely @sanername who did the work?

@boblo can you give an idea of the cost of your service by calibre ? I appreciate it will vary depending on the work required, I wasn’t happy with the last one when the watch fell off my wrist the first time I wore it as they’d not attached the bracelet properly

@sprootlet I’m assuming your watch wasn’t serviced at Calibre when it fell to bits?

My last full service at Calibre was a bit less than £500 including fully insured Special Delivery each way. Back within a week IIRC and Steven fully photographed the process to satisfy my curiosity. Rolex in Mayfair wanted double that and a month IIRC. I had it serviced by Rolex previously and it was £600 probably ~15 years ago.

My 2006 Aquaracer chrono was £330 at Calibre during ‘21 lockdown, fully insured back and forth and hadn’t been serviced since I bought it.

Phew!

I opened my watch case and was worried to see a blank display on my Certina Chronolympic (ca. 1977).

The chances of finding a replacement module for this are low to zero so if a new battery didn’t revive it, it was toast.

I rummaged through my bits and bobs bin and wahey, I found a new Renata 390.

I couldn’t get the back off quickly enough! So, battery in place and back secured I nervously turned it over to see the result. LIFE – the display was working and the watch ready to set. Many sighs of relief.

It’s in lovely condition considering it’s 47 years old.

Re: Calibre

My Sub ND needs a service…15 years old and has had a hard life….its running quite fast now.

Is there any issue about future Rolex servicing (having had third party servicing) should they be used in the future…?

Thanks for the interest. I had the pocket watches serviced at Steven Hale by Bond street tube station. Not cheap, but they are quite valuable both sentimentally and monetarily. They are both gold repeaters

the golden coloured half hunter is a minute repeater by Audemars London, it has lovely blued hands and an inscribed back plate.

the silver coloured one doesn’t have a makers mark that I can see. it is a quarter repeater and has my grandfather’s initials on the front (as he signed them) and his name in Chinese on the back (he lived in China from the 20s to the 50s).

Got an email from Steinhart about this new model. I know it’s a Sub copy but I really like it.

https://www.steinhartwatches.de/en/ocean-one-gmt-black-green-ceramic.html?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Ocean%20One%20GMT%20black-green%20Ceramic%20EN&utm_content=Ocean%20One%20GMT%20black-green%20Ceramic%20EN+CID_e5c725cc5f05c02809b247bc17265ccc&utm_source=Email%20marketing%20software&utm_term=see%20watch

No it’s not,  it’s a sprite, a, version of the gmt.  Which does I admit look very very much like the sub.  I don’t think they share the same case oddly, I may be wrong but I think there are teenie tiny differences.

I was looking at that also the other day, but I have a thing against homages; I don’t want the “oh you have a…. Ah no, it isn’t”, and also I know it isn’t “real” despite being a perfectly adequate watch.  I want the real one.

Add to that I’m at a brick wall with my collection, I have everything I need, and anything I’d want to upgrade to is serious money, serious enough to have to cull the collection and need some serious saving to get to.   I keep looking at the £300-£600 range and thinking, “nah, it adds nothing other than just another watch to give me a daily indecision derived headache”.

Two days ago I got offered the grey graduated King Sumo for half price.   A while back I would have just bought it, but now it adds nothing really.  I keep looking at the latest half metal Solar Casioak, but why?  Equally the 63mas at 2/3 price – a significant upgrade theoretically to my King Sam & Slim turtle/Willard, but other than the GMT hand and the case shape I’m not getting anything else for my £1000 (except less watches).

Im in a weird space, sorry for the monologue mind dump.

I’d rather admire those pocket watches ^^^ and pieces like the Jacob & Co Astronomia Revolution seen here from 19 mins, let it play until you see the animation of the full watch build, holy crap that’s a thing…

If they made a Jacob & Co Astronomia Revolution pocket watch… well I’d look at it at and think it was a very nice thing.

Spotted on EBay this morning – definitely a ‘statement’ watch to wear on special occasions link

@ditch_jockey…I believe Mickey Mouse wears one of those.

https://www.thebulwark.com/p/everything-you-never-wanted-to-know

Something for everyone!

Boak

There’s also this, hahaha!

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lifestyle/style/trump-watch-likely-made-in-china-overpriced-1236013728/

Just popping in to confirm that the hot / freezing water thing over a rubber strap at the bottom of an appropriately sized mug works.  Cue cheap thick strap now is much softer and wears more comfortably with a curve to it.

Hope you took it off first ?

Anyone recommend me a nice 18mm leather deployment to dress up my new/old Seiko? This one has decent reviews and the price feels enough to be reasonable quality without being mad expensive seeing as I’d not really use it that often.

Booooo

My Helm Vanuatu has broken (but it’s still going).

At work today I noticed my watch was rattling, thought a pin had come loose and the bracelet was about to fall apart. Nope. All pins firm but giving the watch a little shake-wind and I can hear what I assume if the auto winding counter weight slopping around inside.  Just emailed Matt at Helm as I thought it was a 2 year warranty, but alas not, only 1 year. Hopefully a swift resolution with minimal cost to moi. Annoying though.

My Helm Vanuatu has broken

They give such an air of indestructibility but inside – there’s just a Seiko!

NH35 usually quite a solid movement. Not had issue with any one of my other autos. I’ve got a 6309 from the 80s still ticking

Will see what Helm say.

NH35 usually quite a solid movement. Not had issue with any one of my other autos. I’ve got a 6309 from the 80s still ticking

Sure, don’t get me wrong, I’m not dissing Seikos for a minute. I’ve a few of them and maybe half a dozen various micros and Ali specials with Seiko power on board, my oldest being a 7005-8042 from the seventies that was my dad’s. Timekeeping on my SKX779 is getting a bit wayward but the rest are running fine.

It’s just Helms look and feel like they’re a solid steel billet ( or Ti in my case).

A beater.  I quite like it.  Cost the same as 1.5 links for my Air King bracelet…..

I need some advice.   I’ve not found a watch I’d be interested in buying recently and so happy with the collection, I don’t have a twitching wallet.   Despite that,  after settling the mortgage I have spousal permission to “buy myself something”.  You may remember I had an interest to add a GMT to the collection.

So, I’ve negotiated 15% off this Seiko Craftmanship series GMT, a new piece launched recently.  My question is, it is worth the price* and the remove of a 5kx and Blue/Ice dial cocktail time – it the “hand made” & Urushi all a bit marketing bollocks or the chance to own something slightly special?

I very much don’t want “just another Seiko” and actually wanted to reduce the number of auto’s in my collection.   On the flip side I have located a birth year Omega Geneve auto day/date for £1k, serviced and vgc.

*edit I don’t mean to diminish the expertise & time shown in the video should that actually be applied to the piece I’d buy, but have this “just a Seiko” phrase in my head which is holding me back.

It’s a nice watch with a better movement than many Presage models but the face isn’t anywhere near as pretty as many cheaper Presage watches like my Irish Coffee variant.

For the extra cash I’d want more pizzazz

I’ve not found a watch I’d be interested in buying recently…

Stick the budget in a ‘pot’ and keep it until you find something. Don’t just blow it for the sake of buying ‘something’, you’ll only loose money on flipping when you find that next must have.

There you go, that’s my sensible head talking.

Every time I look at a ‘nice’ GMT, a dress one or whatever it should be called, I realise that the only watch I actually like and want and is realistically attainable for me is a Farer Lander IV. Which I see is getting some upgrades lately too.
But then it’s still a lot of money for me and I have an Apple Watch Ultra that I’d still wear 99% of the time probably, so I still don’t buy it.

Anyway, that Seiko GMT looks lovely and I don’t know if it’s much better under the hood, but I still think the Lander looks nicer for a similar price (little bit cheaper I guess).

@tthew you are right, my heart isn’t in it.

@milko9000 i had my eye on the Farer Foxe Workdtimer for ages, both lovely watches.  I’m pretty sure I don’t want another Seiko.

Any watch over a £15 job from Argos is being bought for reasons other than utility (actual deep sea divers, etc. excluded) so if you have to ask someone else if it’s worth it, then it probably isn’t as you aren’t that smitten with it.