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

[bdavro23]

Many thoughtful and helpful replies. Thank you for all of your input. I will let you know the result later this summer.

 

[bdavro23]

Also, why do I want a sword now?

 

[Darkside]

When I was 12, 13, 14, 15.....my mom would say to me...."Invite some friends over for your birthday and I will get some pizza/food and soda." I responded...."Just give me the money."

I am not crazy about parties for me either.

I do like surprise gifts. The women I have been involved with over my lifetime(4 seriously) knew my taste.

I also like surprising the women who I have been involved with gifts.

One Xmas, I reached out to a contact at WWD/W and asked where I could get a set of pearls for this particular GF. The contact knew one of the largest dealers in NYC. She gave me his number and told him that I would be calling.

I had an amazing pearl necklace made for her. She had no clue...never mentioned pearls and loved them(who wouldn't.) It was not her only gift from me that Xmas. I built up the suspense.

She actually wore them on her wedding day....to some other dude.

I got my fiancée a pair of all white Achilles lows our first Christmas together. Essentially the same as precious pearls.

/true story

 

[LA Guy]

I had an amazing pearl necklace made for her. She had no clue...never mentioned pearls and loved them(who wouldn't.) It was not her only gift from me that Xmas. I built up the suspense.

She actually wore them on her wedding day....to some other dude.

C'mon man. Don't leave out low hanging fruit like this. Now I'm torn between wanting to make the obvious jokes and not wanting to make those obvious jokes.

 

[ter1413]

C'mon man. Don't leave out low hanging fruit like this. Now I'm torn between wanting to make the obvious jokes and not wanting to make those obvious jokes.

I'm confused?

 

[Keith T]

I think it would seem natural enough to want a stolen watch replaced, particularly under those circumstances, and given the sentiment involved, etc. So I guess I'd try to be as direct as possible about my wanting the Speedy, without making it sound *too* presumptuous.

A tough line to walk, for sure. But that's what a life of wedded bliss is all about LOL. Hope it works out for you though, in all seriousness. And I'm sure it would make her happy to make...you..happy. If that makes sense.

@Dino944: enjoyed reading your initial thoughts on the 216750 and I also have to say that your 18-year old Exp II still looks amazing. I know that you're pretty careful with your stuff but man, that looks absolutely minty for something that you've had since Y2K.

Congrats again on the new acquisition....I've tried one on whenever you could find them in the ADs' cases (remember those times?) and it still kinda haunts me. The size on my wrist was maybe pushing it just a touch but I'm sure it would have been fine after getting used to it. IIRC you've got a Batman/BLNR as well, and I consider myself lucky that it's never appealed to me as much personally. Those have obviously gotten more scarce and expensive like everything else from Le Crown. I'll be looking forward to hearing some more in-depth commentary and pics on your latest pickup after it's been in rotation for a while.

In general the boxier / wider lug aesthetic *has* grown on me, so if I were hard-core shopping for a modern sports model it would probably come down to the Sub C, or the Explorer II. And I liked Belli's photo as well, but I'd probably go black dial even though I've got a "T-Rex" 214270.

The smarter economic play these days might be getting a gently-used 14060 while they're still somewhat reasonable. I mean, if smart had anything at all to do with this hobby.

 

[Keith T]

I may be in the minority here but I dislike surprises. Especially expensive ones. I would just be straightforward about it, but this obviously takes the romance and wonder out of the situation.

If you guys do somehow figure it out, I had an amazing experience (and price) from an AD in California when buying my Hesalite Speedmaster. 5 year manufacturer’s warranty in tact. Feel free to PM me.

Here it is today!

View attachment 1158120

Topo Chico FTW!

 

[Dino944]

duplicate

 

[usctrojans31]

My wife and I have a pretty strict no gifts over $20 rule as we both think the money is better allocated elsewhere, even if it's just going into the market. So when there's very little risk, we both love surprise gifts. It's been a helpful framework for us.

 

[Dino944]

@Dino944: enjoyed reading your initial thoughts on the 216750 and I also have to say that your 18-year old Exp II still looks amazing. I know that you're pretty careful with your stuff but man, that looks absolutely minty for something that you've had since Y2K.

Congrats again on the new acquisition....I've tried one on whenever you could find them in the ADs' cases (remember those times?) and it still kinda haunts me. The size on my wrist was maybe pushing it just a touch but I'm sure it would have been fine after getting used to it. IIRC you've got a Batman/BLNR as well, and I consider myself lucky that it's never appealed to me as much personally. Those have obviously gotten more scarce and expensive like everything else from Le Crown. I'll be looking forward to hearing some more in-depth commentary and pics on your latest pickup after it's been in rotation for a while.

In general the boxier / wider lug aesthetic *has* grown on me, so if I were hard-core shopping for a modern sports model it would probably come down to the Sub C, or the Explorer II. And I liked Belli's photo as well, but I'd probably go black dial even though I've got a "T-Rex" 214270.

The smarter economic play these days might be getting a gently-used 14060 while they're still somewhat reasonable. I mean, if smart had anything at all to do with this hobby.

Hi Keith, yes, I am really careful with my watches, but I do wear them a lot. That 18 year old Ex 2, is my most "Abused" watch and although it's been serviced by Rolex, I requested that it not be polished or refinished. It does have a few scratches and scuffs but nothing too serious.

Do I remember the days when you could find them in dealers cases? Man I remember when if you said the Sub, GMT or Exp II in the showcase had too much "Shop wear" from an occasional bumps against the case when they would take it out for people to try on, and they could simply go in the back and pull another fresh one out of the safe!

Yes, I do have the BLNR Batman. It wears and looks different on the wrist, in terms of size and fit. It's 2mm smaller in diameter, but has less tapered/boxier lugs, and its back and under section of the lugs are flatter. There is a bit of curvature to the back and lugs of the 216570 Exp II, to help it fit the wrist better, and not look as bulky as some other 42mm pieces. It definitely takes a little getting used to if you have worn 39-40 Rolex pieces in the past. However, for me it is far more wearable and a much better fit than say some 42 mm Panerais or IWCs were that an AD friend wanted me to try on years ago.
Yea, not sure smart has anything to do with this hobby. Its more like the old adage about a fool and his money...

 

[Journeyman]

C'mon man. Don't leave out low hanging fruit like this. Now I'm torn between wanting to make the obvious jokes and not wanting to make those obvious jokes.

I'm confused?

Sometimes, as Freud almost said, a pearl necklace is just a necklace.

At other times, it's an, um, intimate act (even though it's Wikipedia, don't click on this link at work):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl_necklace_(sexuality)

 

[ter1413]

Sometimes, as Freud almost said, a pearl necklace is just a necklace.

At other times, it's an, um, intimate act (even though it's Wikipedia, don't click on this link at work):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl_necklace_(sexuality)

Ah....never knew that.

 

[apropos]

So for a slight change of pace... Recently I managed to land one of my grail watches.

Spoiler

Surprised?

This is the Casio W-150 (aka H101) "Marlin". If you have a G-Shock watch - this is its grandfather.

It was one of first digital watches with 100m water resistance, and has a suspended module for shock resistance (like the G-shocks that came after it). The body is solid stainless steel (many early metal Casios were chromed base metal, and plenty "metal" Casios were chromed plastic), and unlike later Casios it was made in Japan. It sold for the princely sum of $59.95 when it was released in 1981 (~$185 today). The lithium battery lasts 5 years. It is accurate to +-15sec a month.

It was targeted at the "water sports" crowd, which I most certainly not a part of. Broadly there were 2 sorts of Casio digital metal-cased sports watches - the Marlins (cooler) and the non-Marlins (not as cool). Clearly this is a cool watch as anything with a sailfish on it is automatically cool. This prejudice against fishless sport Casios continues up to the present day amongst collectors, where Marlins go for up to twice as many shekels/camels/daughters as similar sans-Marlin models.

As a kid I lusted after one of these. Oh how I wanted a steel Casio. I still remember pressing my nose up against the glass display case in my local market to ogle this watch. Never got one though, my parents only loved me enough to get me the standard cheapie black plastic ones.

This is a 38 year old NOS find. It sat for 38 years in the window display of a watch repair shop in a small town in Taiwan, sad and unworn, and eventually found its way to me. A new battery later, it's working as perfectly as it would when it came out of the factory. I don't think you would be able to say the same for any fancy schmancy Swiss mechanical watch.

I know that some will say hey this belongs in the PMWT, but in my opinion this watch can stand amongst its peers here because unlike so many watches in the PMWT, it is not pretending to be, or approximating, something that it is not. It's not a "value buy", or a "bargain". It is not trying to impress or be fashionable. It simply is what it is - an early, rare, desireable example of an iconic and historically relevant digital sports watch.

This watch makes me silly/goofy happy in a way my conventionally nicer/prestigious watches do not. Even a Lange 1 in steel, a 15202, or even a platinum Corne de vache would struggle to provide more raw happiness, I think.

With some luck it'll go to my son someday. Thanks for listening guys.

 

[Belligero]

Quality post; thanks for the great read!

 

[an draoi]

So for a slight change of pace... Recently I managed to land one of my grail watches.

Spoiler

View attachment 1158550

Surprised?

This is the Casio W-150 (aka H101) "Marlin". If you have a G-Shock watch - this is its grandfather.

It was one of first digital watches with 100m water resistance, and has a suspended module for shock resistance (like the G-shocks that came after it). The body is solid stainless steel (many early metal Casios were chromed base metal, and plenty "metal" Casios were chromed plastic), and unlike later Casios it was made in Japan. It sold for the princely sum of $59.95 when it was released in 1981 (~$185 today). The lithium battery lasts 5 years. It is accurate to +-15sec a month.

It was targeted at the "water sports" crowd, which I most certainly not a part of. Broadly there were 2 sorts of Casio digital metal-cased sports watches - the Marlins (cooler) and the non-Marlins (not as cool). Clearly this is a cool watch as anything with a sailfish on it is automatically cool. This prejudice against fishless sport Casios continues up to the present day amongst collectors, where Marlins go for up to twice as many shekels/camels/daughters as similar sans-Marlin models.

As a kid I lusted after one of these. Oh how I wanted a steel Casio. I still remember pressing my nose up against the glass display case in my local market to ogle this watch. Never got one though, my parents only loved me enough to get me the standard cheapie black plastic ones.

This is a 38 year old NOS find. It sat for 38 years in the window display of a watch repair shop in a small town in Taiwan, sad and unworn, and eventually found its way to me. A new battery later, it's working as perfectly as it would when it came out of the factory. I don't think you would be able to say the same for any fancy schmancy Swiss mechanical watch.

I know that some will say hey this belongs in the PMWT, but in my opinion this watch can stand amongst its peers here because unlike so many watches in the PMWT, it is not pretending to be, or approximating, something that it is not. It's not a "value buy", or a "bargain". It is not trying to impress or be fashionable. It simply is what it is - an early, rare, desireable example of an iconic and historically relevant digital sports watch.

This watch makes me silly/goofy happy in a way my conventionally nicer/prestigious watches do not. Even a Lange 1 in steel, a 15202, or even a platinum Corne de vache would struggle to provide more raw happiness, I think.

With some luck it'll go to my son someday. Thanks for listening guys.

View attachment 1158546 View attachment 1158538 View attachment 1158523

Congrats. I love that you found something so obscure, if I may use that term, as NOS. Out of curiousity, how did you go about tracking it down?