Wrist watch and timepiece discussion thread

I’m a big watch fan. Mainly I focus on vintage, and primarily on iconic watches (very similar to my love of bikes). As with bikes the thing I love is the hunt & chase, finding the perfect watch in barn find or NOS condition.
I have high end and low end and love them the same. The value of the watch is immaterial, it’s the design I love. I have Jellyfish swatches, 70s digital, one of the first Rolex sports watches from the 50s, McQueen Heuer Monaco from the 60s, loads of Omegas from the 70s, Rolex Explorers from the 60s to 90s, Quartz watches (including a funky Rolex quartz) from the 70s, the same omega from the same year that Neil Armstrong wore on the moon….

I’ve got somewhere in the region of 50 watches and, until 10 years ago, the hobby used to be filled with strange men with chunky jumpers and beards all sharing stories about beat rates, service cycles, cape cod cloth and the like. Wait lists were reserved for the rarest watches like the Daytona (mine took 2 years), you never paid full retail, in fact you assumed a 10% discount on any watch you bought new including Rolex.
But then Instagram happened and the sockless, shaved arm, white trouser-wearing, rented-car driving, crypto-promoting, dubai-holidaying fake-ass wankers took over. Suddenly the hobby was all about returns on investment, on grey market dealers, on stupid cartoon nicknames for watches, on preventing ‘micro scratches‘ and just focusing on a brand not the movement, the history or design.

Doesn’t stop me collecting though, I still focus on vintage, which most watch wankers wouldnt appreciate.
 
Here’s some of them
 

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Few more..
 

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That’s quite an eclectic collection of very nice watches. I especiially enjoyed the Ploprof. I always wondered if anyone actually wore one.
 
That’s quite an eclectic collection of very nice watches. I especiially enjoyed the Ploprof. I always wondered if anyone actually wore one.
Oh yes, I wear it. It’s like weight lifting for the wrist. I also have a Seamaster 1000 from the same period that’s equally hefty, and a modern Seadweller Deepsea thats just insane. Nearest any of them get to water is when I do the washing up…
 
Wow Pete, thats some collection!
Thanks! I was lucky that I started collecting years ago, before the recent tsunami of interest in watches so I didn’t have to pay the mad prices of today. I also bought into 70s watches when no one else was showing love for them so got them cheap, I just loved their crazy designs.

Sad thing is some of my watches have gone up so much in value that it takes the fun out of wearing them and I’ve had to get a safe deposit box at the bank to store them, but I swap them around every few weeks and wear them all on rotation. No safe queens here. My absolute favourite is my Explorer 1655. The previous owner wore it every day for 40 years and loved it, so I have to continue that tradition.

i do post up a few more on my IG @stonethrowing along with a bunch of bikes, and cats…
 
Well if we can bitch..

I don't get the watch/wrist jewelry game.. seems to be targeted towards golfers or folks with low self esteem, sports car mentality, small penis syndrome, call it what you will..

I've been wearing the same watch since the mid 90's, it still tells the time, watches serve little purpose in the age of tech other than a display one's wealth, makes me cringe. I never take mine off so my wrist feels weird without it, if i could just overcome this mental hurdle, i wouldn't wear one.

No offence to the watch guys, it's just my personal opinion and like arseholes ect... 😁

By the same token we would all be riding Raleigh Activator's :LOL:
 
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