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

[Riva]

I was wondering where they were getting a hand wound column wheel chronograph movement at that price: coincidentally I'd just been eyeing a used one the other day.

I confess that Sea-Gull does not fill me with great confidence, but my prejudice might be misplaced. Has anyone actually had a Sea-Gull chrono? And do Baltic make any movement modifications?

Sea-Gull supposedly makes good reliable movements but I must admit that my only experience is getting a broken watch that had to be returned to China.

 

[skeen7908]

I'm more than certain that he's not worried about what other people think when he reads a post as laughable as your initial offering on the subject. Correcting an uninformed and false characterization of one's self doesn't equate to worrying about what other people think.

Are you sure ?
With this kind of pouting ?

Sounds like I'm damned if I do, damned if I don't...so why bother.

Compare and contrast with how cheerfully Riva reacts to being called a crass buffoon

 

[an draoi]

You win SF for the day, sir.

Cool! I'm going to drive it up and down King's Road with the top down, revving the engine.

*slow clap for an draoi*

I totally read that as if it were being delivered in Michael Buffer’s voice

As it was intended!

 

[Winot]

I haven’t been on this thread for a while so thought I’d pop back and see how it was doing. Having read the last few pages, I wish I hadn’t bothered.

 

[mimo]

Today's a golden oldie - given to my father in 1967 when he passed out of the Air Force college.

 

[Riva]

I haven’t been on this thread for a while so thought I’d pop back and see how it was doing. Having read the last few pages, I wish I hadn’t bothered.

Saw a similar post like this on another thread just yesterday. Did you guys find something more interesting during break time?

 

[Riva]

Today's a golden oldie - given to my father in 1967 when he passed out of the Air Force college.

View attachment 1162864

I love this style of Zenith the most and I think their latest models which carry the newest Elite movement reflect this era's design language.

 

[an draoi]

I have two thoughts to share: firstly, are we TWATBros generally aware of the phenomenon where an insecure youngster might pose as a wealthy, older and outspoken man about town, in order to attain some virtual status through notoriety, perhaps even sharing pictures of expensive items that do not belong to him, interspersed with more modest items of his own, in order to blur the distinction between a decent real life, and a fabulous virtual life? I'm told such things do happen.

If this is aimed at me, then yes okay I admit it, I took the pens from the stationery cupboard just to impress you all. There, I said it - I'm a fraud!

 

[Eisenhammer]

Nice Sailor. Which nib are you using?

Thank you. I'm using the 21K extra fine nib. It writes like a dream. Rarely do my other pens get used.

 

[mimo]

If this is aimed at me, then yes okay I admit it, I took the pens from the stationery cupboard just to impress you all. There, I said it - I'm a fraud!

Well you are the obvious target. Just don't mention my fake Stowa

 

[patrick_b]

Easy fella. While I generally appreciate your posts, you have a tendency to come across as incredibly condescending sometimes and push you opinions as facts. You cast a lot of stones in this thread yourself, so I would consider it a personal favor if you were a little less aggressive about things. Just because someone likes something you dont, doesnt mean they're wrong and you're right.

Try a little introspection about your own behavior here while you admonish others. With that said, I do appreciate what you bring to this forum, I just wish you were a little less of a dick about it sometimes.

I tend to agree but when I've stated something similar, @Riva's pointed out to me that he's only a dick on this thread. In the real world, he's a pleasant guy who puts out only positive energy, isn't always the voice of dissent or purport to be the smartest guy in the room.

 

[apropos]

Try a little introspection about your own behavior here while you admonish others. With that said, I do appreciate what you bring to this forum, I just wish you were a little less of a dick about it sometimes.

Yes, there is a lot of circle-J on SF and sometimes echo-chamber behaviour here, but that does not excuse the negative vibe he brings to this thread. I recognise the Riva phenotype - grew up/went to school with lots like him. I am going to show you how the sausage is made.

He is probably third or maybe fourth generation (filthy) rich Asian - Indonesian Chinese maybe? When I say rich, I mean rich in a way Americans mostly cannot understand. Most folk posting on this thread are upper middle class, mostly self-made sort of people. You know - professionals with mortgages on nicer houses.

I am just going to put it out there that this guy was almost certainly born into wealth - no other way you can explain that number/calibre of watches owned by a 30-something. This is not Porsche for 21st birthday wealth, more like maids and security guards and shopping trips to Europe wealth.

The previous generation in his family were probably heavily into "conventional" luxury - LV/Cartier/Rolex, etc etc. He was weaned on conventional luxury. So naturally he wants to differentiate himself. He wants to be for lack of better term - "woke".

When viewed through this prism the posting behaviour makes complete sense: humble-brags (solid silver belt buckle!), woker-than-thou comments (Dufour has poor finishing, "We can always break free from tradition, hype, and boredom yet still achieve our goal for wearing a watch."), attempts at iconoclastic behaviour (pink croc straps, lime green trousers with black loafers ), narcissism (I'll cross post my $$$$ watch instagram!), complete immunity to any sort of internet negative feedback (because rich), and an inability to empathise with or a tendency to dismiss out of hand the motivations of others with humbler backgrounds.

With the calibre of watches he posseses, just imagine if Riva brought to this thread the sort of good-natured posting that Dino944 does. Imagine if he went to the effort of actually sharing - explaining why he made his choices, why he chose X over Y, what his experiences were like, how he came to appreciate brand X. Instead...

 

[Texasmade]

So he's like the rich family from Crazy Rich Asians?

But yeah this is me to a T.
"Most folk posting on this thread are upper middle class, mostly self-made sort of people. You know - professionals with mortgages on nicer houses."

 

[rnguy001]

It's funny that a guy that's 4'8" can bring "down the vibe"of this thread. He's clearly in need of friends/drama, hence his internet trolling. I would block him, but honestly I find him hilarious as a great warning of what not to be.

Remember anyone can be brave on the internet. don't feed him if you don't like him.

 

[LA Guy]

But yeah this is me to a T.
"Most folk posting on this thread are upper middle class, mostly self-made sort of people. You know - professionals with mortgages on nicer houses."

Looking at not just the posting, but the IP addresses, times of posting an peak audience hours, etc... this is nearly assuredly a large fraction of the forum membership and general audience, and I assume even moreso in this thread, since even "affordable" watches are wildly expensive compared to most luxury goods.

It'd be a stretch to call my house "nicer" though. I like it, but man, maintenance and improvements to old houses which have gone through the hands of lots of owners with lots of ideas and some people who evidently fancied themselves good DIYers, can be a pain.