WOTD (watch of the day) Thread. Post yours!

[bkbrno]

Rolex cranks out watches by the millions. What they have mastered is creating the illusion that they are rare and ALMOST unobtainable. People are hooked on that shit like it's crack cocaine.

 

[Bongo Lewi]

A jeweler noticed the watch I mentioned and in the following discussion told me that he could think of a dozen premium quality watches that are better than a Rolex. He also told me it is damn near impossible to find a qualified Rolex watchmaker to do repairs. He said they are all 90 years old and there are fewer of them every year. A dying art, I suppose.

As the saying goes, the value of something is what somebody thinks it's worth. Brand matters to a lot of people. Like how nothing came between Brooke Shields and her Calvin Klein jeans. Rolex is perceived by many as the best. Like Cadillac.

The chemical that causes nostalgia is missing from my brain. The good old days were not that great. We just like to pretend they were. I prefer to live in the moment.

 

[Racer88]

He also told me it is damn near impossible to find a qualified Rolex watchmaker to do repairs. He said they are all 90 years old and there are fewer of them every year. A dying art, I suppose.

Hardly. It's quite easy to get them serviced. Not cheap! But absolutely there are PLENTY of qualified watchmakers, including Rolex in Switzerland. I got mine serviced by a Rolex-certified master watchmaker right here locally.

told me that he could think of a dozen premium quality watches that are better than a Rolex.

Definitely true. I won't buy another Rolex, though I used to covet a Daytona. Not anymore... due to the business practices of Rolex.

 

[Racer88]

Rolex cranks out watches by the millions. What they have mastered is creating the illusion that they are rare and ALMOST unobtainable. People are hooked on that shit like it's crack cocaine.

No. Not by the millionS. But yeah, about 1 million per year.

Go try to buy a new one at an authorized dealer today. Or tomorrow. Or the next day. You will NOT be able to do it. Not a new one from an authorized dealer. Not even in Vegas... not even if you show up with cash in hand fresh off the casino floor.

 

[Racer88]

Try to sell a Rolex outright and you will see what they are really worth.

A good friend passed away. I was helping his widow sell his 18K all gold Rolex. Box, papers, everything, just as it came from the Rolex dealer. Every offer from usual sources was nothing more than the gold content about $2500 at the time. Odd, not one cent for the name on the dial.

Usual sources?? Who is that? You can EASILY sell a Rolex privately for GOOD money. Every day and twice on Sunday. If someone offered you only the gold content, LOL.... I'm literally laughing as I type this.... You are being taken as a chump by a predator. Go on Watchuseek.com forum and you'll see plenty of legit pre-owned Rolex sales.... for real money.

Lets not get into Rolex's insane requirements for service and repairs. I'm sure an authorized dealer would have offered an impressive number on a trade for a new Rolex but that is not what she wanted.

Requirements? They're expensive, yes. So, as far as I know, the only requirement is that you're willing to pay for it.

I declined the $1350 replacement dial. There were a couple of very small scratches on it from when I dropped it face-down and shattered the original crystal several years back. Back then I had a non-certified watchmaker replace the crystal. But for this certified service I did request replacing the hands and the crystal (since the previous crystal was not genuine Rolex). The service was done by an in-house Rolex-certified master watchmaker, so the Yachtmaster didn’t have to return to its Swiss homeland.

Fuck Rolex and their fanboys and fangirls.

Believe me, I've "lost that lovin' feeling" for Rolex as a company. But I'll keep my Yachtmaster that I've had for over 20 years. It's a nice watch. Gift from my wife, just like the Breitling. But it's highly unlikely I'll ever buy another Rolex.

I'm a pretty good watch spotter and I can't discern a Rolex from an Invicta copy at greater than 2 feet.

Ha! Well, I'm not super-expert, but I can spot them easily. Plenty of fakes / counterfeits out there. But yeah... I can tell the difference easily.

 

[Bongo Lewi]

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Watches are nice but I'd rather have a set of 1911s made from a meteor. I'm sure someone will pipe in and say a CZ made from a crashed alien space ship is better. Maybe so. But I'd like to see the photos (that don't exist).

 

[bkbrno]

Don't buy into the selling myth. My one adventure into the selling arena was very instructive. I went to a pawn broker that I've known well for 40 years and specializes in Rolex. I went to a work friend that flips a Rolex a week. I went to an authorized dealer. All the offers to buy were within a few $$ of each other. I tried a private sale on WUS. That was interesting. If you are in the club, so to speak, people will buy from you. If your history is boring Seiko related, you are gutter trash. Kind of like the bench rest competitions I hear about. I am not an expert but I know a few things. Down to the details of the box they come in and the paper used in the documents. I had pictures to show all of that. Talking about it and doing it are very different.

Ebay is a minefield. Buyers will buy them, swap the movement, claim it is a clone and demand their money back which they will get. Then you are stuck with a piece of junk. Send it to an agent and they will get a good price but after their cut, you net the same as the the outright offers you had. A California resident can make $200,000/yr but after taxes and fees is not better off than the Arkansas red neck making $75,000 at his HVAC job. The CA guy does get to brag about his huge income so he's got that going for him.

All of these stories of astronomical values are based on what an AD gave in trade. Try to sell one outright and it is an entirely different market. Just like a $20,000 wedding band. Try to sell that outright and you will be lucking to get a few grand.

I could have had that Rolex for a good price but I got a 1911, a few Seiko, and a full contribution to my Roth IRA instead.

 

[Bongo Lewi]

I have some diamond jewelry that I didn't relinquish to my first wife. I thought about fashioning the gold and stones into a Prince Albert. But I was traveling a lot and was worried about metal detectors at the airport.

 

[bkbrno]

Behold, $4.5 Million One-of-a-Kind Meteorite Handguns

In an exclusive reveal, we present the world’s most expensive guns—made from genuine space rock…

robbreport.com

Watches are nice but I'd rather have a set of 1911s made from a meteor. I'm sure someone will pipe in and say a CZ made from a crashed alien space ship is better. Maybe so. But I'd like to see the photos (that don't exist).

CZs are not made of crashed UFO metal but close. You see, there was an alien junkyard in the Czech Republic where the old used up spacecraft were dumped 25,000 years ago. The metal infused their iron ore and gives it special properties. I read it on the internet but the source has been scrubbed because "they" don't want the truth to get out.

Don't believe me? Cycle the bolt on a CZ BRNO Mauser and then a Germany made Mauser. There is magic in the CZ steel. "They" can't hide that.

 

[Bongo Lewi]

CZs are not made of crashed UFO metal but close. You see, there was an alien junkyard in the Czech Republic where the old used up spacecraft were dumped 25,000 years ago. The metal infused their iron ore and gives it special properties. I read it on the internet but the source has been scrubbed because "they" don't want the truth to get out.

Don't believe me? Cycle the bolt on a CZ BRNO Mauser and then a Germany made Mauser. There is magic in the CZ steel. "They" can't hide that.

Good to know. I have always been suspicious of "they".

 

[bkbrno]

Circling back to an earlier post. I got my Bulova Sea King. It's big but fits fine on my scrawny wrist. I didn't see this in pictures but the case back is deeply engraved with very sharp edges. A detail I despise. I wore it on a camping trip and it chewed up my wrist to the point of taking the watch off after a day.

I have another watch with a case back like this, not at all collectable. I went after it with a dremel cratex wheel. The edges are softened but it looks like shit now. In a search for a skin safe coating, there was one product that cost a fortune but sounded suspiciously like lacquer paint. I had a can of clear lacquer spray paint on the shelf. I decanted a little into a jar and used a fine paint brush to fill in around all the sharp edges. It looks OK and can be removed if needed.

The 262hz hole in my collection is filled and the watch is wearable now. The smooth sweep is interesting but not awe inspiring as some would have you believe.

 

[Racer88]

I didn't see this in pictures but the case back is deeply engraved with very sharp edges. A detail I despise. I wore it on a camping trip and it chewed up my wrist to the point of taking the watch off after a day.

That's interesting. I don't feel the back engraving at all on my wrist. And I mean zero. I can wear it all day for days on end. My left wrist has a bit of a flat profile, so maybe that's why. I like the looks of the Sea King back engraving, though! I think it's cool.

The 262hz hole in my collection is filled and the watch is wearable now. The smooth sweep is interesting but not awe inspiring as some would have you believe.

My Sea King is one of my favorites. It's a beast. But I just dig the overall vibe. Super-accurate, too.

 

[Bongo Lewi]

View: https://youtu.be/nkIuQuy4whI?feature=shared

 

[bkbrno]

The bone bump on my wrist is very prominent. Combine that with my strong preference for a looser fit and any engraving on the back is a meat grinder. It's a personal problem and I do what I can to adapt.

The watch seems to off by 1 second it almost two months of wear. One could do a little better with a high accuracy quartz. I'm not willing to spend a thousand bucks to get .5 second/month better.

 

[Racer88]

The watch seems to off by 1 second it almost two months of wear. One could do a little better with a high accuracy quartz. I'm not willing to spend a thousand bucks to get .5 second/month better.

Yeah, exactly a HAQ watch is considerably more expensive. "Bang for the buck," the 262kHz quartz by Bulova is pretty amazing. I have two... the Sea King and the Lunar Pilot. Both are <4 seconds per YEAR.

 

[Bongo Lewi]

I finally reached the point in life where I don't care what time it is.

 

[Racer88]

I finally reached the point in life where I don't care what time it is.

I will always wear a watch. Always have, always will. An actual watch.... never an apple watch. That shit's gay!

 

[bkbrno]

I finally reached the point in life where I don't care what time it is.

I'm looking forward to that day. I may build a retirement watch. No hands for time. Dial that covers the Date, and only shows Day. I don't want to miss senior special days.

 

[Bongo Lewi]

I will always wear a watch. Always have, always will. An actual watch.... never an apple watch. That shit's gay!

Not that there's anything wrong with that!

I have the big Apple Watch. I like it. Mainly because it's also a phone and it works as a phone when my phone isnt around. The apps... I dont use them much. other than txt, maps, calendar, occasional email. Alerts are sometimes useful. I like the compass when I'm out in the woods.

The health functions are kind of interesting. BPM max/avg, resting rate. Also steps taken, distance, stairs. And EGC, blood oxygen.

 

[Racer88]

Not that there's anything wrong with that!

I have the big Apple Watch. I like it. Mainly because it's also a phone and it works as a phone when my phone isnt around. The apps... I dont use them much. other than txt, maps, calendar, occasional email. Alerts are sometimes useful. I like the compass.

The health functions are kind of interesting. BPM max/avg, resting rate. Also steps taken, distance, stairs. And EGC, blood oxygen.

That's one of the many reasons I'll never wear one.... it's another phone. I don't need another phone. I've never owned an apple phone and never will. I've got an android for many years. I'm just not a fan of Apple or their user interface or system. Android / PC is much easier for me.

But I don't use a phone like most people. 99% of my online stuff is done on a laptop. I have land lines at home and work. So, I don't even use the cell phone for calls very much.

For when I want to track exercise, hikes, etc., I do have a Garmin watch. But I'll wear that on my right wrist and a regular watch on my left simultaneously.

Just not a fan of "smart watches," as I really don't have much use for them. And... they're gay!