The Watch Appreciation Thread (Reviews and Photos of Men's Timepieces by Rolex, Patek Philippe, Brei

[Cylon]

batman is congruent with the hulk, but I have a feeling the bruiser will stick because thats what everyone thinks of when they hear black and blue

but how does frills feel?

 

[dopey]



A few more:

I think I mentioned before that I am a fan of this watch. Like you, I went through a period of hunting for it incessantly. Unlike you, I gave up, which is why I don't have one. I do have a regular Thommen altimeter though.
I also have the Revue Thommen Airspeed pilots watch. It doesn't get the love of IWC, and isn't internally finished to IWC standards, but the dial, crystal, hands, etc. make for a super legible and functional watch.

Read this review. really. http://pippick.com/reviews/airspeedreview.htm

 

[medtech_expat]



Must... resist... Must... See... In... Person... First...

Cool serial number on your eBay Art Deco though.

I think I'll just keep saving for the platinum Reverso Moonphase. Now that is a bazinga watch... which I've seen/held in person. Very rare in the secondary market, for obvious reasons.

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Silver powder numerals on a ruthenium dial... what else can I say right? Bazinga!!

I drooled over this particular piece for years and almost pulled the trigger on it six months ago. The dial and movement engraving are gorgeous, but for some reason I can't pull off the GT case as it sits awkwardly due to my wrist bone.

FWIW, the one I found is actually NIB... in Oz. PM if interested and I'll pull up the contact details.

 

[in stitches]



Random thought for the day - I can't believe I don't own a Reverso.

fix that now.

--
kai - great pics, awesome collection.

NS - agree 100%. i learned that same lesson in one of my first jobs as well. i was also talking to an art dealer recently who told me that she had just had a woman walk in that she literally thought was a homeless vagabond. but she treater like she would anyone else. the lady bought a painting for 900k on the spot.

 

[Kai]



I think I mentioned before that I am a fan of this watch. Like you, I went through a period of hunting for it incessantly. Unlike you, I gave up, which is why I don't have one. I do have a regular Thommen altimeter though.
I also have the Revue Thommen Airspeed pilots watch. It doesn't get the love of IWC, and isn't internally finished to IWC standards, but the dial, crystal, hands, etc. make for a super legible and functional watch.

Read this review. really. http://pippick.com/reviews/airspeedreview.htm

Nice review of the airspeed.

This altimeter went on Ebay for $686. Really good price for this watch.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/140953271524?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

 

[dopey]

Kai: Can you calibrate the altimeter to know that it is accurate? As cool as the watch is, I wonder whether it is really reliable. Especially after a watchmaker opens it up to tinker with th ewatch movement (like in that ebay watch). On the other hand, the last time I actually had to rely on an altimeter was more than 10 years ago, so who cares.

 

[Kai]



Kai: Can you calibrate the altimeter to know that it is accurate? As cool as the watch is, I wonder whether it is really reliable. Especially after a watchmaker opens it up to tinker with th ewatch movement (like in that ebay watch). On the other hand, the last time I actually had to rely on an altimeter was more than 10 years ago, so who cares.

It's pretty accurate. You can make adjustments for barometric pressure changes, but to service the altimeter itself requires a specialist watch shop.

I bought my watch from a Revue Thommen Authorized Dealer. It was new old stock, so it had sat in the box since 1998 unused. When I received it, the altimeter was not functioning. I had to send it to a factory authorized repair center for repair (which was done under warranty.) A month or so later I got it back, calibrated and working well.

Since then, I've been using it occasionally. It seems to be quite accurate. (I check it against my Suunto altimeter.)

It only reads in meters, so it's not compatible with American maps. Honestly, it's not really a replacement for something like a Suunto digital, but I like it for its mountaineering heritage.

 

[Dino944]

NS - agree 100%. i learned that same lesson in one of my first jobs as well. i was also talking to an art dealer recently who told me that she had just had a woman walk in that she literally thought was a homeless vagabond. but she treater like she would anyone else. the lady bought a painting for 900k on the spot.

Sales people would be wise to take the advice of Queen Elizabeth. One time she was asked something to the effect of, ...You deal with so many types of people from royalty and celebrities, to average people. Is it difficult knowing how to deal with different types of people? The Queen answered, "I have one set of manners and I use them for everyone."

The Ferrari dealer I visited wasn't actually interested in selling (new) Ferraris. He just wanted to sell cars to people he knew, who would then trade them back in so he could flip them for big profits. I don't think I've been treated with less interest and less respect at any car dealer I've ever visited (or just about any retailer for that matter.) He didn't want my business and made that abundantly clear.

Most Ferrari dealers have no unsold new models. There is usually a list to buy new ones, and some dealers policy was/and may still be...You have to buy a pre-owned Ferrari from them before they will put you on the list and take your order for a new one. Things may have changed since the economic down turn of say 2008/09.

Quote:

Quick anecdote re: customer service...

I was once in a local AD's shop looking at some watches when I heard my sales lady being paged overhead.

This is a pretty big place-- they've got JLC, Vacheron, Panerai, Tag, FP Journe, etc.....lots of jewelry, too. (No Rolex, interestingly).

Anyway, we were looking at ...oh Piaget! They've also got Piaget, and I was checking out one of those ultra-thin beauties, right? White gold, about 38mm. Black croc strap...it was perfect...but I digress.

So I've maybe already taken 10 minutes of her time, and it's understood that I'm not really buying on this particular day, but she's a really nice lady, good salesperson. Used to be with another national retail jewelry outfit. I had bought my 210 from her about a year before this.

Anyway, she had ignored that initial page, because she said was "already with a customer" (me.)

Sincere or not, it did make me feel ...valued.....if that's not overstating it.

After about another minute goes by, I hear her paged again. This time, she apologized profusely, but said she better excuse herself for a moment and see what's going on.

I told her no big deal, I should be going anyway. Thanked her for her time.

So she takes a couple steps towards the service counter, and out of my peripheral vision, I see a guy walking towards us.

Then I hear my lady say, in mock disgust, "Oh NO....not this guy again!" Real sarcastically.

This fairly tall dude walks up to us-- dark hair, cut very short-- dressed quite casual, shorts and a t-shirt-- even wearing flip-flops if I recall correctly.

He says that he's sorry for interrupting, didn't mean to be rude.

He sticks out his hand to shake, and introduces himself..."Hi, I'm Matt."

It's Matt Schaub, quarterback of the Houston Texans.

I said hello, nice to meet you.

Super-nice guy. He gave the lady a big hug, asked about her family.

She asked him about how his foot was doing (he had one of those Lisfranc (sp?) injuries, and he said the rehab was going well.

So we just kind of all did the small talk thing for a bit....and then I excused myself. "Have a great day".

Sales lady tells me thanks for coming in, see you next time. And I head on out.

All in all, a pretty cool experience.

I can only assume that Schaub does a good bit of business in there. And if I had a bunch of NFL money, I probably would too.


Bastard probably bought the Altiplano that I wanted.


TRUE STORY, BRO.

Great story!!! Also great taste. I love the Altiplanos...and it was the "One that got away." Years ago I was in Chicago. I popped into an AD. They had lost their Piaget franchise and all Piaget's were 50% off. I looked at a handsome rose gold round Altiplano I believe it was 38mm. MRSP was $9,995. I could have had it for about $5K. Hesitated and decided to think on it (had other expenses to consider at the time), when I went back the next day it was gone! ARHHRGG

Must... resist... Must... See... In... Person... First...

Cool serial number on your eBay Art Deco though.

I think I'll just keep saving for the platinum Reverso Moonphase. Now that is a bazinga watch... which I've seen/held in person. Very rare in the secondary market, for obvious reasons.

Silver powder numerals on a ruthenium dial... what else can I say right? Bazinga!!

I tried one of those on many years ago and it was way out of my price range....but that is my favorite Reverso of all time! I came close to buying the standard manual wind, RG Sun/Moon years ago...but was swayed by a VC. However, I look forward to joining the Reverso owners club some day.

 

[in stitches]



Sales people would be wise to take the advice of Queen Elizabeth.  One time she was asked something to the effect of, ...You deal with so many types of people from royalty and celebrities, to average people.  Is it difficult knowing how to deal with different types of people?  The Queen answered, "I have one set of manners and I use them for everyone." 

smart lady.

Most Ferrari dealers have no unsold new models.  There is usually a list to buy new ones, and some dealers policy was/and may still be...You have to buy a pre-owned Ferrari from them before they will put you on the list and take your order for a new one.  Things may have changed since the economic down turn of say 2008/09.

very often i hear there is a wait list for desirable pre-owned as well.

 

[McWu]

Speaking of Reversos, this one has percolated up to the very tippy-top of my list:

 

[in stitches]

i love the symmetry.
--
getting 5 watches ready for sale. 2 rolex, 2 breitling and a panny. so much fun !

 

[mimo]

i love the symmetry.

Me too. And the texture of the dial. I tried one of these on the other day. I really, really like the look of it.

But what I can't quite get past is looking at that movement. For all its prettiness, I rather agree with Apropos: "I wish that JLC had more Reverso models with blank solid (i.e. engraveable) casebacks.... There are way too many Reversos with display backs and unremarkable movements." This one's a good example - although it's nice enough to look at, the fact that the movement is held in a spacer for the unnecessarily larger case, doesnt' suggest to me that it should then be a display caseback. Of course that's true of many watches, now that bigger cases are the fashion, but given the history, and functionality, or the whole reverso concept...this one should be solid steel for writing stuff on.

 

[TheTukker]



A few more:

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Bumped for sheer beauty; what an awesome pic.

 

[scottcw]

I am really intrigued by GMT watches and thought this was one of the better embodiments I have seen...

And an IWC Der Flieger Chronograph with the day in Italian just for appreciation...

 

[Newcomer]

Rough week of exams are coming to an end. Some good stuff lately gents. Nothing like winding down with two of my best pals, the lady friend, and watching some Django (picture taken before she came over, of course). How long until you can introduce your girlfriend to teh styleforumz? I feel like TWAT is a little bit more manly at least...