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

[no frills]

If we're going to make Kate the mascot then we need to include this here.

In that run-off between the PP, VC and ALS proposed by mimo - hard for me to decide. I'm usually a die-hard PP fanatic but there's something about the 5070's aesthetics (the cut off numerals, I think, that actually appeal to a LOT of others) that throw me off.

(Pic from a TRF user):



The movements look equally lovely to me, although the ALS does "feel" more unique because of ALS's relatively low production numbers. I mean, as Dino944 has pointed out, the CH 27-70 used in the 5070 is a workhorse used in the 3970 and the 5970 too...

Still, I wouldn't throw this lovely thing out of bed if it sidled up to me.



Oh wait - I do have two of those lovelies keeping me company. Sweet!

Speaking of lovelies - Hayward, thanks for the contribution. You're absolutely right: that Cat Daddy animated GIF deserves a thorough review. As does this video, "The Many Talents of Kate Upton," also from the same Terry Richardson shoot.

 

[Hayward]

Speaking of avatars, I have an idea for one of you.




To get things back on track, Here is one of my 6309s after an experiment:





I figure this makes the bidirectional bezel more useful.

 

[bhall41]

My usual work watch these days:

 

[in stitches]

bhall41 - great watch. my brother wears the same one and its fantastic. a true classic.

 

[no frills]

bhall41 - great watch. my brother wears the same one and its fantastic. a true classic.

Stitchy - I was beginning to worry about you today. Why aren't you even in the top three for "most posts"? Everything ok...?

 

[Dino944]

Thank you Scott, Dino and Newcomer.

Indulge me briefly while I address one of the most universally (if you'll pardon the pun) MIS-used terms in horology: Tri-Compax.


99.9% of the planet misperceive the "Tri" as a reference to the Triple registers in classic 3-6-9 orientation. That's not what it means at all.

"Compax" all by itself denotes that layout in UG terminology. See - it's right there on the dial of my 3-register watch above the 6 o'clock register. Compax, not Tri-Compax:



So where does Tri-Compax come from? Well, from the Triple-Date Moonphase version of the Compax chronograph. See, it's right there on the dial above the 6 o'clock register:




So - UG Compax Chronograph = 3 registers laid out at 3-6-9.

UG Tri-Compax Chronograph = the above, plus a triple date and moonphase complications.

Roger thanks for the info on the Compax vs. Tri-Compax. I've only seen a UG Compax once in person several years ago. Even many years ago we never had any dealers for UG, so there was little to no information about them, and no brochures to give interested people information. Great watch, hope you enjoy it.

Mimo: I meant I am glad I was not gifted a Patek at 18, like some of those ads seem to suggest. If I was given a $20,000-$30,000 watch my first year of college, I doubt that it would have made it through those years... Now I am much more mature

I don't think that is the message I ever got from their ads. I never looked at is as some 18 year old would be gifted one in college. I always presumed it was more like, your father will buy this watch, wear it for many decades, you will see him wear it for a long time and many years from now, maybe when you are middle aged or older he will give it to you or you will inherit it when he passes, and you will have good thoughts about it as you remember him wearing it. I never thought, some college kid will be playing drinking games a frat parties with a Calatrava or Perpetual Calendar on his wrist. I think then, the advertising image instead of a father and son being on a boat or doing something together, might be a kid playing quarters at a frat house.

In that run-off between the PP, VC and ALS proposed by mimo - hard for me to decide. I'm usually a die-hard PP fanatic but there's something about the 5070's aesthetics (the cut off numerals, I think, that actually appeal to a LOT of others) that throw me off.

(Pic from a TRF user):



The movements look equally lovely to me, although the ALS does "feel" more unique because of ALS's relatively low production numbers. I mean, as Dino944 has pointed out, the CH 27-70 used in the 5070 is a workhorse used in the 3970 and the 5970 too...

Still, I wouldn't throw this lovely thing out of bed if it sidled up to me.



Oh wait - I do have two of those lovelies keeping me company. Sweet!

Hopefully, your description of CH-27-70 as a workhorse is a bit of a joke. Sometimes it can be tough to tell in a post. While the movement in the Datograph is exclusive to ALS, I'm not sure I'd describe the Lemania movement used by Patek, VC, and others as a "workhorse", as that seems to have the connotation that its some how kind of plain, but gets the job done. I often hear people call a Valjoux 7750 or various ETA movements good solid workhorses, and I see CH-27-70 as a very high quality movement that is beautifully finished, although a completely different look from those used in ALS's.

 

[Newcomer]



I don't think that is the message I ever got from their ads. I never looked at is as some 18 year old would be gifted one in college.  I always presumed it was more like, your father will buy this watch, wear it for many decades, you will see him wear it for a long time and many years from now, maybe when you are middle aged or older he will give it to you or you will inherit it when he passes, and you will have good thoughts about it as you remember him wearing it.  I never thought, some college kid will be playing drinking games a frat parties with a  Calatrava or Perpetual Calendar on his wrist.  I think then, the advertising image instead of a father and son being on a boat or doing something together, might be a kid playing quarters at a frat house.

Haha yes, I agree, that is definitely not normally the message. I was referring to (very particularly) a little short film they had on their website, where you saw the father with his newborn son wearing a nautilus (or may have been aquanaut), then you see the kid growing up, then he goes off to college I presume and the son has the nautilus on his wrist. That is how I remember it looking at least, but I could be completely wrong!

Maybe then should liven their advertisements up with some of your suggestions though! May be a little less stuff

 

[bhall41]



bhall41 - great watch. my brother wears the same one and its fantastic. a true classic.

Thanks mate. It's a really comfortable and practical watch, and a great size for my wrist. Not flashy but understated.

 

[no frills]

Hopefully, your description of CH-27-70 as a workhorse is a bit of a joke. Sometimes it can be tough to tell in a post. While the movement in the Datograph is exclusive to ALS, I'm not sure I'd describe the Lemania movement used by Patek, VC, and others as a "workhorse", as that seems to have the connotation that its some how kind of plain, but gets the job done. I often hear people call a Valjoux 7750 or various ETA movements good solid workhorses, and I see CH-27-70 as a very high quality movement that is beautifully finished, although a completely different look from those used in ALS's.

Yes, it was a bit tongue in cheek. The CH 27-70 is a high quality movement that takes a horribly long amount of time to (hand) finish, and the results are spectacular. I was using the term "workhorse" to refer to the fact that Patek uses it in other references and not just the 5070 or the 3970. Heck, even the 5004 uses the CH 27-70 - which in my mind is a plus for its overall reliability (although there have been some issues related to the day adjuster at 0:58, long off-topic discussion), but for some is a minus because it may be perceived as "relatively less exclusive."

And heck, it's as far from plain as it can get. Another shot here, this time from the 3970 in yellow gold:




Nice discussion here from PuristS for another "Patek workhorse" - the cal 240. Found in Calatrava, Nautilus, perpetual calendar and even celestial pieces in various forms, the 240 has been around since 1977 and still powers some of Patek's mainstays. Does that mean it is less beautiful or somehow less desirable? In some people's minds, yes. To me, not so much. I love its finish, the beautiful 22K microrotor that allows you to see more of the movement versus, say, the 315 or the 324, and I love the pieces I have which it powers.

http://patek.watchprosite.com/show-forumpost/fi-11/pi-5750368/ti-847583/s-0/

Haha yes, I agree, that is definitely not normally the message. I was referring to (very particularly) a little short film they had on their website, where you saw the father with his newborn son wearing a nautilus (or may have been aquanaut), then you see the kid growing up, then he goes off to college I presume and the son has the nautilus on his wrist. That is how I remember it looking at least, but I could be completely wrong!

Maybe then should liven their advertisements up with some of your suggestions though! May be a little less stuff

Newcomer, I saw that video too. And that son did look rather young when he walked out the door with a Nautilus (dressed like no teenager I know would want to be dressed too, unless he were European royalty).

This was posted back in late 2011 but it's a worthwhile read. A cynical take on Patek's ads, from the point of view of someone who seems clearly averse to modern advertising's ways (after "Mad Men," who wouldn't be - hyuk hyuk hyuk).

http://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2011/11/luxury_branding_the_future_lea.html

The author actually gets a ton of factoids wrong ($10,000 would be a really cheap Patek hah hah) but it's worth a read for anyone who's willing to spend anywhere from hundreds to thousands to tens and hundreds of thousands on mechanical watches. Which basically means readers of TWAT.

 

[in stitches]

^^ DAT MOVEMENT!!! GAAHHH ^^

 

[Keith T]

Morning guys...I'm starting off my work week this this one:

 

[dcg]

Playing around with the camera - a couple of Speedy pics. Somewhat frustrating that apparently no one at Omega QC bothered to make sure the chrono seconds hand was put on straight.

 

[DerekS]

^^gaht dayum D. fantastic pics of a classic watch. one of my absolute favorite chronos.

 

[mimo]

Frillster, I agree with you about the lovely development and finishing of the movement - PP seem to have taken that rather further than VC have, comparing the pictures I put up last page (maybe that's why it costs five or six times more!). But I think the specialness of the AL movement in the Datograph is beyond production numbers and even beauty, in that it was a completely new and original movement rather than an iteration of something that had gone before (so I'm told). They're all wonderful though, of course. One day I'm going to buy something very silly.

I love the article you linked to - I agree with it entirely (apart from the author's charming innocence of the truly hideous pricing, as you mentioned!). Many of the comments suggest that Patek cannot be aspirational as all Patek owners have at least ten and they cost at least $50k a pop on average. But I suspect many of those posts are sour grapes, and missing the point: that if someone can find the $25k for a Nauti, or better, then having just the one will make them look and feel like the kind of person who has ten. In your case, of course, the addiction struck. And I bet you've subscribed to the Economist for some time, too. Job done, eh Patek Philippe?


(DCG those pictures are brilliant, but I see what you mean about the second hand)

 

[in stitches]



^^gaht dayum D. fantastic pics of a classic watch. one of my absolute favorite chronos.