The Watch Appreciation Thread - Part two (Rolex, Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Jaeger LeCoultre,

[NakedYoga]

View attachment 1570859
I switch out straps quite a bit (and also love to wear mine on a NATO) but it’s been on this shark mesh for a couple of months now, and probably will stay that way into spring/summer.

That dial and hands are so much better than the current iteration. I still wish the bezel were different, though.

 

[hpreston]

View attachment 1570859
I switch out straps quite a bit (and also love to wear mine on a NATO) but it’s been on this shark mesh for a couple of months now, and probably will stay that way into spring/summer.

This watch looks great on this bracelet.

 

[mak1277]

That dial and hands are so much better than the current iteration. I still wish the bezel were different, though.

The sword hands are great, and I am with you that the skeleton hands are...not great. The helium escape valve is always another feature that just puts me off. Unless it arms a bomb like in GoldenEye it's just an eye sore.

 

[esoxm]

The 2254 is a great reference and really easy to wear. I had one stolen (along with a few others) a few years back - ultimately traded up for the no date sub as a replacement - but its no where near as comfortable on the wrist.

 

[Thin White Duke]

The sword hands are great, and I am with you that the skeleton hands are...not great. The helium escape valve is always another feature that just puts me off. Unless it arms a bomb like in GoldenEye it's just an eye sore.

Exactly!
Other deep divers manage to solve the helium escape valve issue without adding an unecessary crown which appears to provide some function but seems largely vestigial. I wish Omega would drop that.

 

[dauster]

I know that some people are very transactional and just want a product at a good price, but good service, and a good experience, can really make a sale.

Back in my mid-20s, I went backpacking through Asia. After three months of island-hopping and mountain-climbing in Indonesia, I stopped off for a week in Singapore and took a walk up Orchard Road. I was dressed very casually - sweat-stained cap, t-shirt, cargo shorts and scuffed hiking boots - but was treated very nicely in all the stores I visited.

I looked in to the Lanvin store - this was back when Lanvin hadn't gone all streetwear and still sold lovely neckties that prominently featured "Lanvin blue" - and somehow ended up chatting with the two lovely salesladies about Chinese eunuchs and the Forbidden City in Beijing. Even though I didn't buy anything, I'd mentioned I had a couple of Lanvin ties back at home, and they gave me a Lanvin tie travel case as a gift.

I then strolled past the Armani store and saw a tie in the window, on the mannequin, that had a printed pattern of origami cranes all over it. I walked in and asked about the tie, and was told that the one on the mannequin was the last one. The salesperson apologised for the inconvenience, sat me down, gave me a glass of juice to drink while I waited, got the tie from the mannequin, lightly steamed the knot area to remove the creasing, and packaged it up in a presentation box, all the while apologising for making me wait.

That's the sort of service that you really remember, even a couple of decades later.



I don't know whether these stories are true, or involve a bit of exaggeration, but I heard a very similar story here in Australia.

An old schoolfriend of mine used to work as an accountant for a large Porsche dealership and when he started there, one of the staff told him about a time when a man in his 50s came in to the dealership. He was sunburned, had a bit of a beer gut, was dressed in a t-shirt and shorts. None of the salespeople wanted anything to do with him because they thought he looked like a tyre-kicker, but then a new salesperson thought that he may as well have a chat with him. It turned out that the customer owned a successful trucking company and was looking for a car for his wife. So the salesman sold him a Boxster for his wife and then a few weeks later, he came back to the dealership, asked for the same salesman, and bought a top-of-the-line 911 from him.

As I say, it may be apocryphal, but it certainly illustrates the old saw that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover - particularly nowadays when some of the wealthiest people dress very casually!

as a person in sales I will never understand that attitude. If you are busy of course you can't help somebody new but if you don't have anything to do why not chat with someone and do your job and SELL? seems to be the new normal and I have seen way too many times from toyota to porsche or ADs all over the world.

 

[taxgenius]

as a person in sales I will never understand that attitude. If you are busy of course you can't help somebody new but if you don't have anything to do why not chat with someone and do your job and SELL? seems to be the new normal and I have seen way too many times from toyota to porsche or ADs all over the world.

How do you explain it? Is it laziness? Do they hate their job?

 

[dauster]

How do you explain it? Is it laziness? Do they hate their job?

probably a mix of both but also selling products that sell themselves. I just ordered a porsche with the guy I bought one previously and he is great but told me he has clients (Silicon Valley) that order 30-50 cars per year for their employees just via phone. Hard be enthusiastic for someone like me (even though he is) that buys two cars in 4 years. Same goes for Rolex, AP and PP. Surprisingly, the on local AD that doesn't have hot brands offered me one of the nicest customer service experiences I have had in a while.

 

[Texasmade]

Exactly!
Other deep divers manage to solve the helium escape valve issue without adding an unecessary crown which appears to provide some function but seems largely vestigial. I wish Omega would drop that.

Of course Omega can easily build a dive watch without it but they leave it on to be different. Sort of like how Rolex has their cyclops on the date. It’s a design feature Omega intentionally left in.

 

[Scuppers]

I appreciate a good sales experience whether it’s a jovial word with the newsagent selling me my newspaper or with an individual selling me an object of considerably more cost. If it is your job, do it properly. Every transaction is an experience, not looking for an existential discussion on what retail is, just a pleasant transaction (And yes, largely commensurate to value: word with newsagent - champagne with wristwatch).

But that’s me. I appreciate some people have time constraints; a bullshit intolerance; or are merely transactional.

 

[ronscuba]

IDK about some of these overbuilt features on a watch. Who actually wears these watches on a dive at those depths ? Recreational divers who go to 130ft max wear a dive computer and/or equipment design dedicated for scuba diving. I am sure there might be a few scuba divers who might wear their Rolex or Omega on a dive, but I bet they are also wearing a dive computer.

I know many watch features are really more for visual appeal. Consumer dive watches with ratings beyond 100 meters is it just for bragging rights ?

 

[UnFacconable]

Omega FOIS on Uncle Seiko 1171 bracelet.

Thanks for this. That bracelet is far and away preferable to the stock bracelet from my Speedy. I need to grab that in case I ever take it off perlon.

probably a mix of both but also selling products that sell themselves. I just ordered a porsche with the guy I bought one previously and he is great but told me he has clients (Silicon Valley) that order 30-50 cars per year for their employees just via phone.

Is this common? Wasn’t aware there were companies handing out Porsches lol. That’s some next level schwag. Eat your heart out Yeti.

 

[MaE]

The watch

Spoiler: The scenery

 

[NakedYoga]

You better watch your speed!

 

[Phileas Fogg]

IDK about some of these overbuilt features on a watch. Who actually wears these watches on a dive at those depths ? Recreational divers who go to 130ft max wear a dive computer and/or equipment design dedicated for scuba diving. I am sure there might be a few scuba divers who might wear their Rolex or Omega on a dive, but I bet they are also wearing a dive computer.

I know many watch features are really more for visual appeal. Consumer dive watches with ratings beyond 100 meters is it just for bragging rights ?

I alluded to this a while back. Though I haven’t dove in years, when I did my five computer was far more functional.
One could certainly wear a dive watch, but the level of information conveyed regarding time at depth will not be as accurate.

Some dive watches are just too over the top. I’ll pick on Panerai for example. While I’m sure they are technically sophisticated, they are just too bulky to be worn as a casual daily watch. I’ve seen people with them on and it just looks odd.