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

Originally Posted by culverwood

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Does anyone know much about Graham watches?

All i know is hey had a write up in WatchTime in the fly-back chronograph test. Doesn't look like a $8,500 watch to me.

My current modest collection:

I bought this in 1989 when I got my first proper job. Back then I definitely bought it in ignorance thinking it was "the best". That said, I wore it every day for over 10 years in all circumstances and it has held up fantastically. It's had one service!




I tend to wear this one with suits or when I don't want a nice watch to be noticed (which is quite often as I travel a lot). I reckon I've had this about 8 years. I'm not normally a fan of Cartier, but this one caught my eye and I've stuck with it.




I've had this one about five years. I almost feel ashamed of jumping on the Panerai bandwagon but the heart wants what the heart wants and it now gets more wear than anything else.







I've bought and sold a number of others over the years, including a Blancpain Flyback that my wife pointed out might be better in the shape of a Landcruiser when our first child was born.....

Beatiful collection - the Cartier isn't my favourite model and I'm personally not very fond of Panerai, but it's a very classic three-watch nice sport/dress/fun setup.

If I'd to the same (with my existing collection - a wish list would most likely be different...), it would probably end up with my birth year Datejust, MarineMaster and '69 Speedy.

/M

Originally Posted by Singular

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Beautiful collection ........a very classic three-watch nice sport/dress/fun setup.


Which is the dress watch?

Lots of nice looking vintage watches appearing these past few days. Even the Cartier in the post above is not that old but I don't believe that Cartier has anything like it in their current lineup. Here is something vintage to continue the thread.

Originally Posted by Tomasso

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Which is the dress watch?

Anyone up for guessing...?

/M

I'll have a go

I'm not really a fan of the "classic" thin dress watch on a strap, they tend to get a bit lost on me. I wear the Cartier with a suit generally but I wear any of them when they take my mood.

About the only no-no for me is to wear the GMT with a suit because often it can give people (clients/co-workers/boss) the wrong impression (i.e. that I'm flash and label-oriented). The irony of not wearing a Rolex because of the impression it creates is not lost on me

For some reason, 90% of people can spot a Rolex and they either decide it's a fake and therefore I'm trying to be flash without the means, or that it's real, and that I'm trying to be flash anyway.

The sad thing here is that they are bloody good watches. If I can use an analogy from earlier in the thread, I would liken Rolex to BMW. Very good pieces of equipment, but both carry a huge stigma with the brand and tend to be worn/driven by a certain type of person (I sold my BMW because I was sick of the way I was treated on the roads....).

Cartier would be Jaguar - stylish European trading on past glories.

Panerai would be Audi - solid heritage which not many people knew about, suddenly hugely popular but we really know it's a Volkswagen underneath

Cheers,

TB

Me and a friend (also in marketing) made up a huge list of car and watch brands on a long road bike ride...

it was something like this (and remember - just for fun...);

Rolex - Mercedes (quality benchmark, the sign of wealth, conservative styling)
Breitling - BMW (shiny, sporty, young - and it is often the same persons owning both)
Omega - Volvo (well-working, strong heritage, "own" brand in the Ford concern - and every Swede has one) or Audi (refined "standard" pieces from Swatch/VAG with a sporty and technical approach)
IWC - Saab? (aviation history, technology, discrection)
Seiko - Toyota (japanese industry at its finest, excellent value, no hassle, wide range...)
JLC - Maserati (the discrete and potent alternative)
Tissot - VW (same "base" as Omega, but...yes, basic)
Glashütte - Porsche (premium German workmanship)
Sinn - Land Rover (purpose-built and rugged, the pro's choice)
Vacheron Constantin - Bentley (in class with PP/RR, but not...)
Patek Philippe - Rolls Royce (non plus ultra)
Panerai - Hummer (no need for explanation...)
Cartier - Ferrari (80's luxury icons from strong, traditional luxury brands)
Audemars Piguet - Lamborghini (yes, hip hop fame for an old premium brand...)
Blancpain - Jaguar (old and traditional, but somehow pushed around in SG/Ford. The rich, spoiled and forgotten kid)

/M

anybody know about Ball watches?

they got some good looking ones like the Engineer and stuff. very good prices.

anyone care to comment on the brand? thanks.

Originally Posted by shoe

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anybody know about Ball watches?

they got some good looking ones like the Engineer and stuff. very good prices.

anyone care to comment on the brand? thanks.

They gave one away at the Tampa TimeZone GTG a year ago and the watches looked nice for the money. The lumination is superb, maybe the best I have seen. A friend won the contest and says it is a good watch but I have no first hand experience.

Originally Posted by SoCal2NYC

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Those sound like hefty discounts...are you certain they are authorized dealers?

In LA, I got my IWC and JLC for 30 and 35 percent off MSRP from an authorized, well-known dealer. My JLC Hometime was even ordered from JLC because I did not want the showcase model. There wasn't much bargaining involved in either case.

--Andre

I sure like the GMT Rolex with a black face. It is a handsome watch. What a great all-around watch and ideal for travel.

Originally Posted by Singular

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Me and a friend (also in marketing) made up a huge list of car and watch brands on a long road bike ride...

it was something like this (and remember - just for fun...);

Rolex - Mercedes (quality benchmark, the sign of wealth, conservative styling)
Breitling - BMW (shiny, sporty, young - and it is often the same persons owning both)
Omega - Volvo (well-working, strong heritage, "own" brand in the Ford concern - and every Swede has one) or Audi (refined "standard" pieces from Swatch/VAG with a sporty and technical approach)
IWC - Saab? (aviation history, technology, discrection)
Seiko - Toyota (japanese industry at its finest, excellent value, no hassle, wide range...)
JLC - Maserati (the discrete and potent alternative)
Tissot - VW (same "base" as Omega, but...yes, basic)
Glashütte - Porsche (premium German workmanship)
Sinn - Land Rover (purpose-built and rugged, the pro's choice)
Vacheron Constantin - Bentley (in class with PP/RR, but not...)
Patek Philippe - Rolls Royce (non plus ultra)
Panerai - Hummer (no need for explanation...)
Cartier - Ferrari (80's luxury icons from strong, traditional luxury brands)
Audemars Piguet - Lamborghini (yes, hip hop fame for an old premium brand...)
Blancpain - Jaguar (old and traditional, but somehow pushed around in SG/Ford. The rich, spoiled and forgotten kid)

/M

funny list.

what's the pick for tool watch/tool's car?

Originally Posted by bcate3

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funny list.

what's the pick for tool watch/tool's car?

Sinn/Land Rover for tool-that-is-still-tool, Panerai/Hummer for tool-gone-fool

/M

Originally Posted by Singular

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Sinn/Land Rover for tool-that-is-still-tool, Panerai/Hummer for tool-gone-fool

/M
Yeah, the Panerai is the watch of Stripey Shirt Guy. I will laugh when all of these Panerai tools are looking at their collections of 10k pieces of ugly junk in a few years.