Watches

[HeadphoneAddict]

Seiko 5 is nice - I gave one to my older brother for his birthday last year, and I gave away my other one last month but can't even remember who got it.  I'm getting old-timer's disease...  I still have one from the 70's but misplaced it last summer, and it really needed to be serviced - so cheaper to just replace it than do a COA on it.

Edited August 21, 2015 by HeadphoneAddict

[Hopstretch]

Well, I decided to not send my GMT Master out, quite yet.  With the stock market as it is, I don't want to move any more money than I have to, and honestly, the watch could wait another couple years until the next service.  However, I had to deal with the lugs.  I had dropped my dad's watch, which chipped the crystal and scratched one of the lugs, and my local master watchmaker refinished the lugs and swapped out the crystal for me.  He put on a contemporary polish, which was very conservative.  On vintage watches, the lugs are brushed at a forty degree or so angle, and it's a coarser polish than the brushing on the bracelet.  He gave the lugs the same brushing as the bracelet.  I didn't like that, and he didn't like it when I complained.  I guess I won't be going back.  

Well, tonight, I decided to re-brush the lugs.  I used a dark blue/blue nail buffer, along with the courage and steady hands that come with 6 cocktails (don't do this at home, I've been polishing Rolex bracelets for a good long time, and I had been polishing kitchen knives by hand before that).  Every lug got four careful strokes, inside to outside, with the coarse dark blue side, and then two careful strokes, with more pressure, inside to outside, with the light blue, finer, side.  I then hit the polished sides of the case with Cape Cod cloth to take out any errant scratches.  It's not perfect, but it's not going to be noticeable to anybody who doesn't look at the watch with a 5X loupe and a good idea of where the imperfections are, and I'll actually wear the watch again, now, as the lugs really bothered me.

Those deep scratches on the bracelet, due south of the "10," are the last remnants from when my father dropped a 1973 VW Beetle engine on his hand, in the mid 80s.  As the engine moved downhill, it fucked up the bezel insert and crystal (both of which were replaced by Rolex), scratched the bracelet up (which was never completely taken out), and was finally stopped by his wedding ring, which was crushed.  He was basically unharmed.  I've always asked that the scratches not be totally removed from the bracelet, and I wear the wedding ring, which was returned to good condition (boy, gold sure is neat stuff) and eventually was stretched for my sausage fingers.

I'm pretty happy with how this turned out.

 

This is epic! 

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Which part, Stretch?

Anyway, I might have a deal for the Glashutte.  Should know more Monday.  

Well, I hope you get it - the only one I'd miss is the Tudor as well, but the GO is more special.

[Torpedo]

This was my father's daily wear since 1969 until he passed away. I don't wear it much. It's an alarm wristwatch. The button at 2 is the alarm on/off switch plus the quick day jump by pushing. The crown at 3 winds the alarm spring, adjusts hour and week day (no quick jump, you may need to turn the hands 12 times to get where you want to), and adjusts (first position) the alarm time which is displayed by the inner rotating bezel. Like many automatic Seiko of its time, you need to wear it to wind the movement for not having a manual winding position.

It looks larger in the pic than it actually is at just 38mm, probably due to the light, my rather thin wrist, and the outer bezel/case being pretty slim too. It's been recently adjusted, there're no spare parts so when something breaks probably no chances to get it back working. It's going about +10 seconds/day on the winder, a bit less on my wrist.

The pic doesn't really make it justice, the dial has this metal finish, so the center inside has a different reflection pattern than the ring delimited by the hour marks. I can't capture that without getting an annoying reflexion on the plexiglass glass. Maybe when I get a decent camera.

[HeadphoneAddict]

Try a polarized lens in front of the camera lens?  Maybe even one for another camera and hold it there is using a phone camera?

[Torpedo]

Thanks for the tips, Larry. This is the iPhone camera. I keep a couple of filters that I used with the lenses on the film cameras I still keep (Nikon and Pentax) but none of them is polarised, all are UV to remove the excessive glare on sunny pics.

[blessingx]

MIT & Google are on it. 

http://www.popsci.com/mit-and-googles-new-algorithm-eliminates-reflections-and-fences-photos 

[Torpedo]

 Now they just need to make the App to use it on the iPhone.

[recstar24]

It is weird but very cool actually owning a real watch! Sometimes it's the simple things we don't realize how enjoyable they can be. I love it Jacob, I appreciate the recommendation. Already looking at my next bambino, the rose dial with brown band is tempting...

[Hopstretch]

Already looking at my next bambino, the rose dial with brown band is tempting...

And so it begins ... 

Enjoy!

[HeadphoneAddict]

Massdrop - two nice Seiko watches I found on sale:

Seiko SARB dress watch

Seiko Prospex Kinetic Diver

I have all these nice Rolex and Omega watches, and still have the hots for the Prospex Kinetic Diver.  Something is wrong with me.

[recstar24]

Newb question alert!

ive been wearing my bambino every day since I've gotten it (Monday) for at least 9 hours (more than that for sure) and just noticed today it was about 4 seconds behind. Just confirming that is normal for an automatic watch of this type. 

[recstar24]

Sweet. 

[HeadphoneAddict]

I have a Seiko SKA371.  It's my "camping, outdoors, shooting" watch. Nice enough watch, and certainly very well made.  

I'm kinda tempted to get the Seiko SARB033, at that price, but I'm going to hold off.

Do you think I would enjoy the SKA371 more than my 3 year old Seiko automatic SKX173 that gains 10-20 seconds a day?  These days if I want something more accurate as a beater, then I wear my Victorinox Divemaster 500 automatic or quartz, or one of my Luminox watches, so I didn't pounce on the SKA371 kinetic. But I think it's pretty attractive.

Well, I also didn't pounce because I bought that Seiko Astron GPS Solar watch.  But now I'm thinking I may give it to Ben for graduation as a surprise.  I haven't even sized it yet, because he really wants the Ti Limited Ed version with white dial.

I could return the black one for the Ti one though.

[HeadphoneAddict]

You did a great job.  

When my '83 Rolex Submariner was serviced in 2012 I didn't have any casework done, as I didn't want to end up with an over-polish or other issue, because my watchmaker was still new to me (he'd only done clocks for us before).  I didn't get to know him better until 2013 when I had him do my Seamaster Planet Ocean 2500, and 2014 when he did my 1976 Moonwatch and Omega Great White. Now I feel comfortable with him doing the case, but I want to wait until I have the next service.

[HeadphoneAddict]

I usually take one Rolex GMT and one beater watch with me when I travel, and that's it.  Usually it's been my Explorer II or GMT II Coke, and my Casio Protrek Solar (with altimeter for knowing if I'm over 7,500 feet and at higher risk of pulmonary hemorrhage and edema with my bad lung).

[HeadphoneAddict]

That is a nice looking watch.  If I didn't already have a '76 Speedmaster Moonwatch, an Omega Seamaster Pro chrono with the Valjoux based movement, and Hamilton chrono with the Valjoux based movement I'd be interested.  I'm also not exited about any more watches with aging tritium based paint.

[grawk]

too bad it's a 2004, I would need a 97, 99, 02, or 06, to be able to buy it for my kids

[HeadphoneAddict]

Jacob, what happens when you tell an administrator other than you to go ... NVM I don't care anymore...

 

Edited September 3, 2015 by HeadphoneAddict

[grawk]

think back about who it is that defends you here before you decide to fly off the handle over some minor picking...

[Torpedo]

Enjoy your vacation, Jacob. I'm taking just the Sub, though seriously pondering taking the 410 too. I think this place, like your mom's, is safer than anywhere we're going.

[CarlSeibert]

That Cosmo looks pretty nice. I have Pilot in PVD that's one of my favorites.

[n_maher]

I must be missing something.  That Cosmo looks beat to me, particularly the bezel.

[HeadphoneAddict]

think back about who it is that defends you here before you decide to fly off the handle over some minor picking...

I'm over the birth year watch thing, so I just wish you'd let it go too.  It's not funny anymore.

[jvlgato]

Part of being a friend and insider in any club is taking and giving shit to each other. Mexican Dragon and cetoole are two of the most loved people here. They get more shit thrown their way than anyone. Absorbine_Sr and Aura make Asian jokes at me, and it's funny because there's an inside joke that only we get. I'd be pissed at anyone else, but from them it's funny.

Grawk has defended you in other areas here, and teased you for funny aspects of your personality. It's funny, because he's your friend, and you take shit from your friends, and laugh with them, even if it's at your own expense. If you can't laugh at yourself with friends, then when can you laugh? And laughing with friends is good for you. It's what life is all about. Take it easy, don't take yourself so seriously. It was more of a love slap in the face. Take it that way. Life will be easier, trust me.