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

[suaviter]

With the recent talk of boring fonts and box and papers, this might me a good time to post my latest acquisition:

Gorgeous. A friend has one as his daily driver and I constantly stare at it. It is the epitome of elegant simplicity, IMO.

 

[Wes Bourne]



Gorgeous.  A friend has one as his daily driver and I constantly stare at it.  It is the epitome of elegant simplicity, IMO. 

I agree. That pretty much sums up why I was drawn to it.

The only other place those strap reference numbers show up on-line, is on an official looking chart from 2002. I doubt you could still get hold of many of these straps, but if anyone knows different I'd love to hear about it.

As for squeezing a 20mm strap, I'm sure it can be done. I do it often with a NATO (or RAF) strap, and while fitting it is easy enough, there is some visual overhang (which I don't really mind with a canvas or nylon strap).

Btw, here's another note on straps, that may or may not be of import to you. While I think the black buffalo looks great on the deployant buckle in the 19-16mm size, I also got an IWC 16mm tang buckle and when using that, I think a 19-16mm strap tapers too much. If I were to get a custom strap I'd get the 18mm tang buckle from IWC and get a 19-18mm strap.
zippyh, do you (or anyone else) know where to get this strap? If not, who's my best bet for a custom copy?

Can't you get just about any replacement strap from an IWC AD?

Dude I bought the XV from thinks early XVs were (also) offered with black croc on deployant, but he could be hallucinating. That was when they did the mesh/beads of rice bracelet too. Fwiw, mine is an older one with the Tritium markers and hands.

I took off the leather strap this afternoon and treated the watch to a little soapy water bath and brushing. Put it back on an Admiralty Grey Phoenix brand NATO. The weave is finer than most other nylon NATO straps so fitting it was very easy. There's a bit of overhang, but I don't mind either. Will try to post a pic of that later.

Yeah, squeezing/compressing a 20mm strap shouldn't be a problem, but I imagine getting it off afterwards might be a p.i.t.a. I'm only speculating based on how much fiddling I have to do to get the spring bar tool between the strap and lug on a proper width strap...

My strap is 19-16mm with a tang buckle. I don't mind the taper. If I order a custom Short strap from TWB (I assume they only make them 19-16mm, but I could be wrong), I'll likely just get a RIOS deployant. I got a 16mm one for my Heuer and like it a lot.

 

[Kaplan]

When I've been talking to local ADs, they usually just show me non-IWC branded options, but I will check with them to see if they can get that strap (if anyone stumbles upon it, I'm all ears). As for a custom strap from TWB it looks like you can put in whatever lug and buckle width you may like.

From my old research I never came across anyone mentioning the Mk XV being offered with an alligator strap. Kind of funny how they then offered the Mk XVI with a tang buckle instead of the previous deployant, but now coupled with alligator instead of buffalo. Dressing one part down while dressing the other up

Btw, just stumbled upon this glorious photo:

 

[Wes Bourne]

 

[Kaplan]

^ Nice. Strap looks darker than the one I've been planning to pick up from Timefactors. Actually, looking at their site just now, I see they'll be phasing in some new straps with chunkier hardware. Prefering the old type it looks like it's time to order...

 

[Wes Bourne]

I have Timefactors straps too. They're extremely well made, with very solid welding and no scabbing at all on the holes. I've had mine for a few years and have washed them a bunch of times and they've held up great, softening up over time. Of all the solid color NATOs I have from various suppliers, I'd rate theirs as the best quality.

Only knock is that their Grey is a bit too pale/silvery. In fact, several TZ-UK members have urged Eddie to produce Admiralty Grey straps. Btw, their striped ones (Bond, Speedbird) aren't as thick as the solid colors and are prone to some fraying.

Phoenix makes the genuine MOD ones. Thems are the straps you often see put on vintage MilSubs.

You can get them from several vendors; I bought mine from Monkey Swag. Use code monkeyfan77 for 10% off.

Another darker Grey I have that's nice is this one. Thickness is somewhere between a TF and Phoenix strap.

*Edit: Timefactor's new 2014 Grey NATOs look much darker than the old ones I have. Maybe too dark? Also, I don't like the new hardware. But the 20mm Coyote Brown looks nice.

 

[Kaplan]

I actually agree - the Timefactor's grey does look a bit too silvery, which has held me back from getting it so far. And back when I first was looking for the Phoenix straps, for some reason I only found US sources so this is perfect, thanks for the link!

 

[Wes Bourne]

You can also buy them from GGB.

And perhaps you can darken (and condition) your Camille Fournet strap with some Sno Seal?

 

[CTLION]

Omega Speedmaster acquisition update. I had some issues initially, and they may have been user error. Having never owned a manual wind watch I am not sure I appreciated the tension in the watch. When I wound it the first time I wound it maybe 7-10 times and was having issues with the watch stopping.

Over the weekend I realized that I was mistaking tension for the watch being wound. A full wind seems to be in the 20-30 rotations and since discovering this I have had no issues. I feel like an idiot, but I am so happy that the watch is running well.

I also went out this weekend and purchased a new brown alligator strap to give me a bit more flexibility with my suits of choice.

A question: Can someone recommend a tool to remove and replace straps on my own?

 

[tifosi]



Omega Speedmaster acquisition update. I had some issues initially, and they may have been user error. Having never owned a manual wind watch I am not sure I appreciated the tension in the watch. When I wound it the first time I wound it maybe 7-10 times and was having issues with the watch stopping.

Over the weekend I realized that I was mistaking tension for the watch being wound. A full wind seems to be in the 20-30 rotations and since discovering this I have had no issues. I feel like an idiot, but I am so happy that the watch is running well.

I also went out this weekend and purchased a new brown alligator strap to give me a bit more flexibility with my suits of choice.

A question: Can someone recommend a tool to remove and replace straps on my own?

The Speedy is more like 30-40 turns to full wind. Just wind it till the crown stops turning. That is your best bet.

You can't go wrong with the FB-504.
http://www.ofrei.com/page_226.html

 

[CTLION]

Omega Speedmaster Professional question. I assume the answer is yes, but. I should ask this stupid question.

Is it ok to wind the watch before the reserve runs out? For instance will I do any damage winding the watch every 15 hours to insure that it never dies on me?

I apologize for my green nature.

 

[tifosi]



Omega Speedmaster Professional question. I assume the answer is yes, but. I should ask this stupid question.

Is it ok to wind the watch before the reserve runs out? For instance will I do any damage winding the watch every 15 hours to insure that it never dies on me?

I apologize for my green nature.

I wind mine fully (till the crown stops) every morning. No harm will be done.

 

[in stitches]

what he said. as long as you dont wind it past the stopping point, you should be fine in whatever winding regiment you choose.

 

[Kaplan]



And perhaps you can darken (and condition) your Camille Fournet strap with some Sno Seal?

I had actually considered dark brown shoe cream - not sure if it'll rub off though.

A question: Can someone recommend a tool to remove and replace straps on my own?

Will depend on your specific needs (I don't know what's required for a Speedy), but I'm using a Bergeon 6767.

 

[dieworkwear]

I know very little about watches, so please be gentle ...

I was looking at the Rolex Daytona and Submariner recently at a local shop, and am leaning towards getting a vintage Daytona. Was wondering:

1. Am I correct in thinking that most vintage Daytonas will be around $25k?
2. Is paying $25k for these kinds of movements a bad idea? Don't know much about watches, but the Daytona seems a bit expensive for the complications. I assume a lot of this is because of the hype and limited releases, but would be curious to hear from more knowledgable members about whether this would be a bad purchase.

TIA.