The WANT Thread

[ScottyB]

yeah i'm gonna have to look for one of those. i love how intricate these things are.

[WRXtranceformed]

The watch arrived, it is absolutely beautiful. Makes a reassuring ticking sound and it keeps absolutely perfect time. It took me a while and some research to figure out how to set it. This is a lever set model, meaning you have to take off of the front face with the crystal, which in of itself is nerve racking when you exposure the face and delicate hands. There is a tiny lever at the 1 o'clock mark that you have to pull out with your fingernail and then you wind the stem to set the time. The inside looks flawless and it may have been serviced recently but I can't tell. I am going to continue research on that front and try to find a local expert to give it a once over. I will keep you guys with similar watches updated on scope / costs etc. Apparently it is getting harder and harder to repair stuff on these if it breaks because the components other than the main spring and some internals just aren't made anymore.

[WRXtranceformed]

Visited my local jeweler who I have worked with and sent a lot of business to. He does not work on pocket watches and he said there is really nobody in the Charlotte area or NC that he knows of in general that is qualified to work on these types of watches. He did say that if your watch is operational not to have anyone work on it or service it. Any time it is taken apart there is a chance something else could break...and if it breaks it either has to be replaced with parts that generally aren't made anymore or they have to be remanufactured. So basically other than that, the only time to take it in for service is if something breaks or it is broken :lol: These can be maintained by winding them up (and not overwinding them) every now and then to keep the springs in good shape. if they sit for a long time unwound they can wear out apparently.

Hopefully you guys in VA will have better luck locating someone who can work on that kind of movement. Apparently most of them are retiring because it's pretty much a dying art to service mechanical movements.

[davej]

So I'm turning into an old man by the minute.

welcome to the club man, it's best just to embrace it. =)

I had done a semester abroad in Greece back in 2000 and bombed around Europe after for a month or so afterwards and was an a stupid spending spree. cause you know, funny money. anyway, knew i wanted to get a swiss watch while there, but knew squat about them. ended up buying this in Zurich. Think it's an Argent Massif line, but the write-up i did to go with it seems to have gone a different way. It might be a 17 jewel? sterling case.









it was kind of a funny/odd experience, here's a young, probably homeless looking kid, walking into a high end jewelry store and asking about pocket watches. sales lady leaves me a tray to look through which ranged from $500-35k pieces. some were absolute amazing.

I also gained an appreciation for old watches when working at an antique store, must have sold a small fortune of them online for the owner while i was there.

[WRXtranceformed]

Dude that is beautiful! I love the double skeleton face. There is just becoming less and less of an appreciation for "old" things now and it is fun to keep that alive. Whether that is antiques or simply technology that is become antiquated. It kind of bummed me out when my jeweler told me that antique pocket watch maintenance was a dying art because most of the people who can do it are either retired or have passed away.

[davej]

I hear ya. just came across this piece of mechanical porn today and was in awe of the talent it would take to make that now, much less back then.

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BP0ucmhyHU">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BP0ucmhyHU</a><!-- m -->

[CaptainHenreh]

Creeeeepyyyyy

[WRXtranceformed]

Yeah!!! Mad creepy doll!!

[CaptainHenreh]

So I bought a new watch. Don't know if I'm gonna keep it on my wrist or attach it to a pack or what:



Red Clover XPLOR

It's big, but the display is nice and readable from damn near across the room. I also think inverted LCD's are the way to go for digital watches, it's way easier to read.

It's got a bunch of goofy shit I'll probably never use. A thermometer that only works when you're not wearing it, an altimter, barometer, compass, all that shit. My office is 409 meters above sea level, according to my watch. :dunno: It takes barometer readings over the last 15 hours and gives you a little weather report, GON' BE CLOUDY TODAY. Two time zones, does anyone actually use any of this shit on their watch? I don't even know. I think I am gonna try to figure out how to plastidip the bezel, it moves very freely (I know, for compass navigation, I get it) but the red is almost offensively garish.

Oh well, for 29 bucks I could not resist.

[Goodspeed]

[Jake]

Looks nice, Rex. Particularly for the price. I agree on the inverted LCD bit. And I like the red, I'd keep it.

[CaptainHenreh]

Looks nice, Rex. Particularly for the price. I agree on the inverted LCD bit. And I like the red, I'd keep it.

You wear green suede shoes, jake...

[Jake]

Looks nice, Rex. Particularly for the price. I agree on the inverted LCD bit. And I like the red, I'd keep it.

You wear green suede shoes, jake...

So what you're saying is you don't have big enough cojones to pull off a little red on a watch? :mrgreen:

[BLINGMW]

I hear ya. just came across this piece of mechanical porn today and was in awe of the talent it would take to make that now, much less back then.

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BP0ucmhyHU">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BP0ucmhyHU</a><!-- m -->

THAT is incredible.

[CaptainHenreh]

Looks nice, Rex. Particularly for the price. I agree on the inverted LCD bit. And I like the red, I'd keep it.

You wear green suede shoes, jake...

So what you're saying is you don't have big enough cojones to pull off a little red on a watch? :mrgreen:

Bitch please. I just don't need to draw attention to my wrist.

[WRXtranceformed]

Looks great Rex! Where did you find it for $29? It is $118 on that link. Has tons of the good features for when SHTF, looks durable and styled like the expensive Suuntos. You could probably remove that bezel and paint it if you wanted, I don't mind the red either though

I am also a huge fan of negative faces. Seen here on my PRG-130Y Protrek at a mile high

[CaptainHenreh]

Looks great Rex! Where did you find it for $29? It is $118 on that link.

I think the Suunto is what it's cross-shopped against. Anyway, I got it from precisiontimeco: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://precisiontimeco.com/outlet/12-days-of-savings?p=2">http://precisiontimeco.com/outlet/12-da ... avings?p=2</a><!-- m -->

They had it on clearance for 39.99, had a coupon code "freeks" for 10 dolla off. Free shipping.

[WRXtranceformed]

That is a steal! Nice work.

Recently I have been fascinated by watches with tritium lume. Basically radioactive tritium is sealed in capsules and as it degrades it reacts with paint on the capsule to illuminate the watch. The benefit is that it glows in the day, night, whenever without being "charged" by sunlight or ambient light. A lot of the watches originally made for spec ops / military use tritium. The watch will glow until the half life of the tritium expires (+/- 12 years)

The two main types I have seen it used in are diver watches or the style Rex bought ("tactical")
There are two types, T25 and T100. The number relates to the amount of tritium used. T100 is more rare and apparently harder for a company to get due to a more arduous permit process from the gubbernment. It's also apparently a lot brighter, although a lot of people debate that.

Diver style T100 watches:
Deep Blue (<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.deepbluewatches.com/">http://www.deepbluewatches.com/</a><!-- m -->)
My favorite unfortunately sold out in blue:









Tactical style T100 (this particular one is made by a company that makes a form of Gorilla glass for the military apparently)
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.isobrite.com/">http://www.isobrite.com/</a><!-- m -->



Have not pulled the trigger yet because I am trolling the used forums for a similar one to that first Deep Blue listed since they are discontinued and I can't find that color anymore

If any of you desk divers are looking for an awesome, bulletproof diver I picked this up for my boss who just accepted an internal opportunity in Detroit. He went above and beyond for me this year and got me "into" watches therefore it was fitting.
Seiko SKX007K2

It looks incredible with a suit or with a polo shirt, good compromise for a dress up or down watch

[CaptainHenreh]

Luminox, if you want tritium. OG is da beesssttt. I wish Trijicon would make a tritium watch though.

[Apoc]

I used to wear a watch. Then they invented cell phones.