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

[IGotId]

Quote:
Thanks for the lengthy & thoughtful response. I agree re: the 38mm's dial. I think it looks more 'clean', the 42's large font XII throws the dial off IMO. I was actually surprised that the 38mm 'wears' larger, more like a 40mm. That being said, I think I'm leaning towards the Tank MC. Do you know about ordering straps from Cartier? I'd want to wear mine on a dark brown gator strap.

 

[stant62]

My favorite:

 

[Dino944]

That being said, I think I'm leaning towards the Tank MC. Do you know about ordering straps from Cartier? I'd want to wear mine on a dark brown gator strap.

I have never ordered a strap from them. However, I have looked through the Cartier catalog showing choices of colors/materials for straps and there are many options. Dark brown gator is a relatively common choice for most brands so hopefully they would be able to get it for you relatively quickly.

 

[Tried and True]

I had an uncle who surrounded himself with Rococo so this watch would have been right up his alley. It does absolutely nothing for me, aesthetically speaking.

 

[Drez]

Here's another pic of the Muller...

As you can see, it's definitely different. At first glance I was like, "this isn't for me" but then after seeing how it works (for reference, we're showing 11:58 as the time in the pic), it was too interesting to not keep. Definitely not something I would EVER pick for myself, but that's part of the appeal, too. So guy comes into my jewelery store (unfortunately we sell NO watches, only high end diamond jewelery) and wants to sell this... the watch is not working. Being that it's not just a standard complication, I have no idea what this is going to cost. I opened the watch to confirm authenticity, did a quick search online to see the value (approx $17k brand new), and asked him what he was looking for - he asked for 2k... I told him because it doesn't work, I could only offer him $1500... he took it.

Had to go through a few different watchmakers, all of whom who regularly service watches for us... no one wanted to touch it. Finally got referred to a specialty watchmaker who has an excellent reputation here in LA. Even they thought this watch was nuts... at this point I was a little nervous about how much I was going to sink into it... but after replacing a few minor parts and doing a full service and $500 later, I have a working watch. It's a little gimmicky, I guess, but it's a fun alternative to my everyday DateJust.

Reminds me of this children's book:



Seriously though, fascinating watch. Appreciating it for the mechanical marvel is the mark of a true watch aficionado. Kudos.

I had a hard time letting my Ulysse Nardin Michelangelo go not becasue I liked its appearance so much but on a similar note because I thought it was cleverly designed (push button advances time zones by one hour, works both forward and in reverse, even going back in time with the crown would reverse the date wheel). I find little details like that are wonderful even if 99.9% of people won't appreciate the level of craftsmanship, difficulty and detail required to make that happen.

 

[pmeis]

After wearing the '69 Datora on a couple different NATO straps for over a month, I decided to pick up something a bit more proper for it. Ordered a Hirsch Tiger strap from their Performance series. I really dig these performance straps. Not as many cool options for 18mm lugs, but I think this fits the feel of the watch pretty well. In general the watch is still pushing my buttons, the only thing I don't like about it is the size of the crown. Not a big deal if you are wearing it everyday, but after not wearing it for a week and having to do a lot of crown turning to get the date correct, the small diameter of the crown gets pretty annoying.


Bad pic of the head, but a better pic of the strap.

 

[Dachshund]

I think if you're producing something like the GMC you sort of have to put it in a really fancy case. If you had that level of complication and packaged it in something really plain people would think 'is that it?'.

 

[mimo]

But it's ugly. There. I said it.

Lange's wasn't ugly. No sir.



(Pic: Dink)

 

[PartagasIV]

I alluded to a purchase a few weeks back and got called out on it...well, finally here's a pic of the new, second syringed-hand JLC to join the family, in its natural habitat:

...looking to grab the nylon Cermet strap at some point TBD, but love this watch quite a bit.

 

[Dachshund]

^ one of my absolute favourites right there. Congratulations!

 

[Cant kill da Rooster]



After wearing the '69 Datora on a couple different NATO straps for over a month, I decided to pick up something a bit more proper for it. Ordered a Hirsch Tiger strap from their Performance series. I really dig these performance straps. Not as many cool options for 18mm lugs, but I think this fits the feel of the watch pretty well. In general the watch is still pushing my buttons, the only thing I don't like about it is the size of the crown. Not a big deal if you are wearing it everyday, but after not wearing it for a week and having to do a lot of crown turning to get the date correct, the small diameter of the crown gets pretty annoying.

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Bad pic of the head, but a better pic of the strap.

Really like this watch. I've seen them around, it's good to get a personal point of view on it. A mesh bracelet might also be interesting on it, but I like your strap choice.

 

[Keith T]

pmeis: strap looks great. Bonus points for your canine background.


Partagas: congrats!


And mimo, I agree, the Lange looks far more lovely and wearable to my eyes ... not that I'm ever playing in that league, as it were.

 

[atila]

partagas, what model/reference is that JLC? I love it.

 

[Journeyman]

partagas, what model/reference is that JLC? I love it.

I'm not partagas, but I suspect that it's a Deep Sea Chrono, ref. 2068570:

http://www.jaeger-lecoultre.com/AU/en/watches/jaeger-lecoultre-deep-sea-chronograph/2068570#/t1

The red/white "on-off" indicator for the chrono function is an interesting touch.

 

[mimo]

The red/white "on-off" indicator for the chrono function is an interesting touch.

Sometimes it's the smallest things that make the difference. That one small touch, differentiating it from, say, a 50 Fathoms chrono or a hundred others, puts it right up my wish list. I find it quite captivating. A little red dot. And I don't even feel weird about it.