The Wrist Watch

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iamn8

Lifer
Sep 8, 2014
4,248
14
Moody, AL
A year ago I bought a Rolex DeepSea Sea-Dweller. It's my first expensive watch. It's a big 44mm, but for some reason I wanted a bigger one. After MUCH thought and consideration I opted for an Hublot Big Bang King Ceramic. A HUGE one at 48mm. I just really like unconventional objects, weird ones you rarely see. I sent off my Rolex this morning and will receive the new one Thursday. It's nerve wrecking making such an expensive move for a watch I've never seen in person.

Anybody else have an affinity for such things?



 

freakiefrog

Part of the Furniture Now
Dec 26, 2012
745
2
Mississippi
My brother bought me a Raymond Weil Limited w/white gold face and band. Not quite as expensive as that watch but still more that my first car I owned. When I worked for the Bank I was given a Mont Blanc Diamond addition pen that sadly was stolen from my office by a member of the cleaning crew. I never got the pen back just sad to see a 2000.00 pen walk off. My every day watch is a 400.00 Citizen that I've beat to hell and back.
My wife says when I die shes selling my fountain pens and watches and buying another house. LOL

 

jackswilling

Lifer
Feb 15, 2015
1,777
24
Wow, that is some time-piece you done got there. My affinity for such an expensive uber-watch is blocked by a lack of $$$ for something so cool. Good for you. Hope it scratches that itch you have that the Rolex came up short on.

 

iamn8

Lifer
Sep 8, 2014
4,248
14
Moody, AL
FF... I love these luxury items such Montblanc. I had a $2000 Oakley watch stolen MANY years back. It's sickening to have so much cash go poof.
Jack, it's WAY WAY too long a story to tell, but the Rolex was the end result of a series of trades lasting two years. Once I get the Hublot I will have spent only a few hundred out of pocket. I'm broke on disability. Just got very lucky.

 

conlejm

Lifer
Mar 22, 2014
1,433
8
That is a beautiful watch, Nate. I prefer simpler and inexpensive watches because I bang them up so badly. It would kill me to get a scratch on a timepiece so nice as yours. I am wearing a cheap Casio Wave-Ceptor that does everything I need, is solar powered, and somehow connects with an atomic clock every morning and re-sets the time correctly. I think it was $50. I like it because it has both a digital readout and traditional minute/hour hands. I do have a nice Bulova Milennia wristwatch but I haven't worn it in many years and probably never will.

 

warren

Lifer
Sep 13, 2013
11,699
16,207
Foothills of the Chugach Range, AK
When I dove regularly I owned a Rolex. Sold it a couple of years ago. Still use Mont Blancs, roller balls and fountain pens. Not a luxury item to me, just grand writing instruments. The Rolex was an outstanding, dependable tool and fairly reliable as a time keeper, not as good a my iPhone though. And I travel enough that the Rolex was simply a target for muggers. The iPhone not so much. And I do like the auto sensing of time zone changes.

 
Mar 1, 2014
3,646
4,916
After my first Timex from the 90's died (RIP Timex, they just don't make them like they used to) I went without for a while, and then one of my friends introduced me to Reactor Watches.
Those things are something else.

The problem I have with 99% of watches is the band breaks off (my Timex spent its last decade in my pocket). Not these, they're bolted in place, a feature you don't see on a lot of watches.

Not only that but they are liberal with the Lume, have lots of O-rings on the crown, and theoretically they pressure test after replacing the battery. Not that everything on the web is always accurate, but after reading the many hundreds of comments on Amazon about watches of just about any grade fogging up in the shower, and customer service of many big companies giving them cold shoulder, at least the idea here gives me some comfort.

My watch held up fantastic with everything from washing the dishes to wrestling horses.

They also have a few models with 10 year batteries, another big deal for me.

You can find them refurbished or discontinued at various dealers if you don't want the sticker price.
Another side track was I tried some Alpha brand mechanical Hong Kong watches. They either leaked or stopped winding after three months at best.

 

maxpeters

Can't Leave
Jan 4, 2010
439
20
I've had two Rolex watches. Both were Explorers. I traded the last one in on a Tag Heuer Monaco. Then last year I bought a Tudor Heritage Ranger. Takes the place of the Rolex Explorer for me. I have a number of watches. Guess I'm a watch nerd too. If a watch nerd is considered a WIS (watch idiot savant), what would a pipe nerd be called? Anyway.....

 

wolfe64

Starting to Get Obsessed
May 24, 2015
183
3
Ontario Canada
Very nice watch.

No expensive watches for me, only the $20 cheapies.

As careful as I try to be, I smash every watch I wear.
Mark

 

voorhees

Lifer
May 30, 2012
3,834
937
Gonadistan
I like watches. I've had a Citizen Eco-Drive Chronograph in titanium for 8+ years and plan to wear it out.

I'm looking at this for my next purchase.
http://www.shinola.com/shop/watches/mens-watches/therunwell48-sport-chrono-s0190.html

 

okiescout

Lifer
Jan 27, 2013
1,530
6
Glad you are arriving where you wanted to be in the time department. It is a great looking piece of hardware. I used Seiko for years until the quality started going out the window. With the advent of digital I have opted for a cheaper watch due to the beating my watches tend to take. While I still wear one, like Warren, I really tend to use my IPHONE for most of my life and com needs. It saves an old man from needing a keeper :lol:

 

iamn8

Lifer
Sep 8, 2014
4,248
14
Moody, AL
I'm actually like most of you. For me, having worn them for years, I was used to the weight on my wrist and then it just became a piece a jewelry. I don't "use" a watch so much as just wear it. It's my one allowance for pure vanity. I just like the way a massive highly engineered and technical device feels and looks. I doubt most people still wearing watches actually use them for time telling... If they were honest.

 

phil67

Lifer
Dec 14, 2013
2,052
7
Strangest thing, as I've always worn a wristwatch for about the last 54 years or so and always felt naked without one. But, for some odd reason I took my wristwatch off one evening before going to bed as I always did about four years ago and never again placed it on wrist. Bottom line... I no longer wear one and don't miss it in the least. Then again, being retired for ten years might be a contributing factor and I've never had much of an affinity for expensive watches. As long as they did their primary and functional job of showing me the time I was content.

 

maxpeters

Can't Leave
Jan 4, 2010
439
20
iamn8, that's a pretty substantial watch. Your Hublot is also a very pricey watch. Not my style, but definitely quality. The largest watch that I have is 44mm, a Lum-Tec M-20, and it is a little larger than I really like. I have a 7 1/2 in. wrist, and I pretty much stick to 40mm to 42mm. Just my taste in watch sizes.

I like having a watch on even though I don't really need to wear one anymore. There's just something about having a small, piece of machinery on your wrist, made to operate by intricately fitted cogs, wheels, springs and polished jewels, that let you know the time of day at a glance. It makes me feel comfortable. It's almost like wearing a piece of art. I guess they could be considered male jewelry. That's OK though. I don't wear any other type of jewelry, nor do I carry a cell phone, thus it still serves a purpose for me. So yeah, I still wear watches, and enjoy them very much.

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
Most impressive Hublot. I really like the Shinola watches because some feature Arabic numbers. I like all the numbers so when I wake up at 3:45 a.m. and want to read my watch upside down, I can still figure out what time it is. But Shinola goes a little pricey. One thing about a Bertucci, or a Timex for that matter -- when you wouldn't mind if it wore out, it keeps going, for years on end.

 

iamn8

Lifer
Sep 8, 2014
4,248
14
Moody, AL
Thanks guys!

Max, I am with you 110%. There's something a bit magical about a mechanical timepiece. The entire construct of time and a device which attempts to measure it. I've recently become a physics buff and I am fascinated by time and nothing is more artful than a well built, highly engineered watch. It's as much art as anything else. Over romanticized? Sure, but we are here in a room with people who love pipes. I draw no distinction ;) the irony is that in the current state of my life, all I have is time. No job, no appointments, one minute is indistinguishable from the next. Sad? Pretty much, but I have a great appreciation for simple, artfully done, beautifully built objects... my pipes, a watch, a fountain pen, my astrophotographry rig. I'm certain some would say that finding any happiness in "things" is materialism, but appreciating nice things doesn't mean they're the primary source of happiness. Any contractor will tell you that when on a jobsite, working with seriously nice tools makes work far more enjoyable 8)

 

mranglophile

Can't Leave
May 11, 2015
390
4
United States
I have my Dad's old Tag pilot's watch from the 60's for fancy occasions and wear Seiko Divers watches almost exclusively for the last 25 years. 48mm is way to big for my wrists, gorgeous watch though, enjoy!!

 

iamn8

Lifer
Sep 8, 2014
4,248
14
Moody, AL
Mr.Anglo, my original desire was to have a beautiful watch to one day pass on to my children. However things didn't work out. I wish my own father would leave me with such a gift. There's just something about that type of heirloom that I find beautiful. Passing a timepiece on down the line is soulful.

 
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