My journey to (WIS)dom

[Khoma]

Hello TZ-UK.
Basically my first post here, so let me introduce myself.
I'm 26 years old and live in Sweden.

My journey or rather my first "contact" with watches came in 2011.
I was looking for a necklace or something at the time if I remember right, and went down to our local store which happens to be a franchise called Klockmaster, which sells low-end watches, jewelry sun glasses etc.
The store owner (which since has become a very close friend) asked me if I needed help when I entered the store.
At the time I think I looked like a typical white trash with tattoos and a tanktop lol
But this man showed great support and service nontheless.
I think I had a quick look at his wrist at the time, but did not really ask him anything about the watch at that time.
I left the store and was quite jealous of his position as a store owner, and also his personality seemed like he had it all if you know what I mean. He was the kind of person I admired and envied because of he always wore great outfits (Best dressed man I've met )

Anyway I came home, and felt like an average Joe compared to his (what I thought) perfect life with great outfits surrounded by jewelry and watches.

At this time in my life I did not even have a real job. All due to the financial crisis/depression (I hope that's the right word) that occured in Sweden during the late 00's.
Neither did I have a any proper education nor job experience. So my job being a clerk in a DIY store did not earn great money (Only got the chance to work when someone called in sick).

Back to the man in the store. Something about him and his lifestyle made me start to think about watches . So I spent time during my free time to read about watches .
Back then I thought a watch for 200 euros was REALLY expensive. (Average income per month was around 400 euros)
I wore lots of ugly jewelry back then, like bracelets and necklaces from the Italian fashion brand Police. So when I found my "dream" watch I was convinced to buy it!



Yes this was the watch haha!
The coolest watch I had ever seen back then, and it was within my price range. Think it was around 200 euros or a bit higher.
I went down to the local store again, and asked the store owner if he sold this watch. He was an AD for Police, but he was about to end his contract with them and stop selling Police items in his store, so he could not order this watch.
I was a bit depressed by the answer he gave me, but I quickly started to glare at his showcase displaying Police watches when I saw a watch as sexy as the first one!



This had to be the watch I thought for myself! (impeccable taste back then!)
I asked him if it was a good watch, and he told me it was a decent watch for the amount of money, so I bought the watch.
I think I owned the watch for about 2 months before I gave it away to my mother , which was more suiting for her than for me.
I had started to read alot about watches and watch brands and I realized that Police wasn't a watch brand to strive towards.

When I entered the store next time, I started to ask questions about what made a 100 euro watch different from a more expensive one.
He was wearing a watch called Pansar this day, which he also sells in his store .
He told me about the craftmanship, the finish, the quality control etc.



Since he was the kind of guy you look up to I had to earn more funds to be able to buy that Pansar watch! It was like if I bought the same watch, I could have the same lifestyle, a bit silly I know.

I never had any money when I moved out of my parents house, no account with saved money no stock shares or anything. Just a job where I only got called in when someone was sick.
So to get money for this Pansar watch which cost around 350£ with the leather strap option (cheaper and my only option) was tough.
I realized I had no money at all to actually buy the watch, but I really wanted it, so I sold my brand new cell phone





This watch is unfortunately long gone, totally demolished when my brother borrowed it over a weekend. Watch came back with 1 missing chrono pusher, and the bezel was looking like a wreck.
I told him to keep the watch and just pay me around 100£ and call it even. (Haven't recieved the money to this day).
I'm the kind of guy with OCD and can barely live with a watch with some marks on it, so to be able to repair this watch again and have the same passion and love for it was not an option.

I can look back to that watch at times and really miss it. It was the watch that kind of got me started. Bought tons of straps to it, started to read WUS, Timetotalk.se TZ-UK, klocksnack.se.

It was the perfect beater actually (which I treated like a queen) It had WR to 100m,reliable Miyota quartz movement, good build quality, thick sapphire crystal, interesting design but I still removed it when I was about to do the dishes or even wash my hands




I can't remember how, but during the autumn /winter I had saved up quite a bit of money (Think I worked alot during that summer) and I knew exactly what I wanted . A new watch.
I read on a Swedish forum that a guy over there stated that a watch with batteríes shouldn't even be called a watch.
I know there are no logics behind this statement whatsoever but during this point I started to develop interest in automatic watches.

I went down to the store several times a week (At this time I would consider the owner to be more than an acquaintance) and we were always talking watches for hours in between his customers.
He asked me if I was interested in a watch from his own collection.
Of course I was. If it was from HIS collection it had to be a great watch !

It was a Victorinox Airboss Mach 8 Special Edition.


I fell in love with the watch as soon as I saw it. Automatic movement, great design, sapphire crystal case-back and the joy to reset the chronograph was an amazing feeling.
I think I paid around 1000£ in todays exchange rate for the watch and the watch itself had to be a keeper! It was a watch for my future children for sure.






It didn't take long before I started to search for more established brands with a bit of history.
So before I knew it, I bought my first "Real" watch (according to me)



It even had BLUE lume!


Had to buy a suiting rubber strap for the summer. A white Oris strap made for the regular Aquis line.

During the next few months, I did not think much about new watches at all.
I had the most expensive watch one could buy for money (That's what I thought)
Or at least the most expensive watch a "normal" person could own.
During this time I had gotten myself a job as a cashier at a company like Tesco (Guess that's similar) and was working 20ish hours a week.
I need to admit that I did buy a Panerai hommage just to try it out (Not that I would be able to afford it during my life time)

The strap I did myself from some old army bag close to 100 years old.
I also bought a real replica of a Hublot
I did not buy it to fool anyone. I just bought it to find out how it would feel to have an "almost" real expensive watch. My friend from the store laughed at me for buying a replica and told me that you would never truly get that amazing feeling when you are wearing a fake watch. You would just be a fake person trying to be something you are not.
I realized I did not need to wear a fake watch since I already had two great watches, the Oris and the Victorinox.
But something made me feel that I needed to replace those two watches and aim towards higher end watches.

I sold both my watches, gave away the replica and the hommage to a guy who had no interest in watches whatsoever.

I worked for a few months until I had funds to buy the watch I had been reading every review online about. Watched all photos there were on the internet, reviews about the movement . You know, the "Hunt" before you buy it.




Those are all photos I have left of the watch.

I bought the Omega straight from the boutique and was the first owner.
The opening of the package etc was a bit of an anti climax, although I loved the watch.
There weren't anything special about being the first owner at all....Except that I got an Omega cap when I bought the watch haha
The problem with this watch was my OCD . I literally had it in cloths when I went to sleep, and I barely dared to even work with it.
I was so afraid to scratch it.

This made me get a "beater"
Since I already owned an Omega, I wanted to make my collection bigger with adding an additional Omega.
I read about their most classic watches and after a couple hundred of hours spent online I decided to buy myself the watch that had been on the moon!



Once again only photo that I have left.

I wore those watches for a few months. The Speedie during work, and the Planet Ocean when I came home.
I realized it was a bit unnecessary to have such an expensive watch just lying around because I was too afraid to even use it.
I made my mind up and decided to buy the watch that I previously mocked.
The rich mans brand. The watch for millionaires and snobbish people. The Rolex. (This was 2013)



I went to Gothenburg and bought the watch from a member of our Swedish forum.
I was super excited but at the same time nervous about the condition the watch itself would be in.
We met up at a restaurant to make the deal.
As soon as I opened the box and saw the watch i was mesmerized.
This was the first time I saw the watch "live" and the first time I ever saw a Rolex.
It was surely living up to my expectations.
There was something really special about wearing and owning a Rolex. I always thought those were just words from fanboys on the forums, but it was something really special. I guess you don't just get a watch when you buy a Rolex- You also get something else, which is hard to explain.
I guess it has something to do with the way Rolex promotes it's brand.

By now I had started to read VRF and rolexforums alot and realized to be a real WIS, one had to own a vintage Rolex. So had to sell my Speedie and get myself another Rolex. This time vintage. This time a 5513.



The watch was delivered on a shi**y Nato strap, replacement bezel insert and a boring service crystal. So to get the vintage look I was after I tried my luck on Ebay, and a few weeks later my 5513 looked like this





I was quite pleased with the result.
The only thing that was bothering me was a stain on the dial below the center of the dial where the hands are fitted.
The stain was glossy compared to the matte dial, so I assume it was oil or something.
This really bothered my OCD problems, so I ended up staring at this stain everytime I had the watch on me. Also I realized the watch was not from the year the seller had told me, so the watch was not a 5513 MKIV but a MKII.

I sent the watch for service to Stockholm, but all in vain when they told me they couldn't fix the dial.
I realized that maybe vintage wasn't for me after all...I had to let the watch go.





I had started to show interest in other brands by this time, Panerai in particular.
Read alot on Paneristi and Jakes Panerai blog. The watch I knew I had to get was if I could only get one Panerai, had to be a Panerai 372. Hommage to the classic 6152-1.
Big simple base model with faux patina, golden hands, in-house movement and a domed plexi crystal.







As soon as I recieved this watch and put it on my wrist, I got the same feeling as when I got my Rolex. It's hard to explain it, but you know it's the right watch.

A few months and straps later I decided I wanted a new watch. This time without selling off anything from my "collection".
Ended up getting this:




This watch was pretty much a catch and release. Decent looks, decent build quality, but with a noisy rotor and pretty boring overall.
So traded it together with some cash for this:




This watch had great looks, amazing dial and the bracelet and the finish was really top notch. But call me silly, the fact that it only had an ETA movement and quite a noisy rotor and the crown wasn't a joy to wind per say did not make me love this watch at all....So had to let her go.

I convinced myself that what I really needed was a dressy watch now...Why would I need it when I work in a supermarket one could ask.
The result was:




I now have a trio I'm quite pleased with. (Current SOTC)

[Khoma]

I'm not sure why I'm posting this. What I want to show is that anyone can get a Rolex for example (contrary to popular belief amongst non-WIS) You don't need to be rich or have old money. It's all about priorities in life.
I started out from scratch with zero funds four years ago. Still working at the same supermarket...Living the average life with an appartment , girlfriend and a dog.
The only thing that has changed is that four years ago I thought a watch for 200£ was insanely expensive :D
To quote John Mayer, you don't need to live that rich bitch lifestyle in order to own a Rolex for example (I also pick up dog poop with mine on my wrist )

If you took the time to read it all, thank you very much, hope you enjoyed it.
Sorry for all spelling and grammar mistakes.

[saintsinner]

Excellent introduction, you'll fit in well here

[Markw]

Hello and welcome. I enjoyed reading through that. I can relate to thinking 200 was a lot to spend.

Great trio you have there.

[gcleminson]

Hell of a first post. Welcome

[72bpm]

Hats off to you mate! I bet each watch feels special to yo; remembering all the hard work, sweat & tears that went into saving for them.

[IanBear]

Welcome, great story and watches, thanks for sharing.

[Chinnock]

At last, a new WIS to enter the fold. Great intro, great watches. Welcome to a great forum.

[BRGS]

Blooming heck, I wasn't expecting that when I clicked this thread, great stuff well done.

[Manxdiver]

Great read, thanks for posting.

[jimmyt]

Great intro, and top marks for making your own strap, quite fancy trying that myself one day

[sugarytea]

Thank you for such an interesting read, great post!

[Matt8500]

Really interesting read and a properly eclectic mix of watches, both previously and in the current collection. It's great to have really different options.

[barryw]

Fantastic post, welcome.

[gray]

Welcome and thanks for the read

[learningtofly]

Best first post ever (only spoilt by having to scroll through it again when the entire OP was quoted for a one-sentence response)!

[GrandS]

Thanks so much for sharing, Khoma. You are maturing nicely as a lover of fine watches. If you have not understood it already, then I am sure the day will come when you understand how wrong this is: "I read on a Swedish forum that a guy over there stated that a watch with batteríes shouldn't even be called a watch". Any true WIS understands the merits of watches such as The Citizen and Grand Seiko quartz.

[GrandS]

Hats off to you mate! I bet each watch feels special to yo; remembering all the hard work, sweat & tears that went into saving for them.

Please edit your post, "mate". We already saw those pictures.

[Olives]

Hello
And firstly thank you for a totally honest post which truly reflects my watch likes and aspirations. Yes I know too well the realities of understanding and learning the beauty of a great watch and The" out of the box " wow factor.

I have owned several watches which have that "ahhhhh feeling " when the box is opened and I have paid a small fortune and have had a total anti climax feeling when I opened a fancy box.


Despite my resistance I have leared that :

Be confident in your own instincts

You have to wear the watch and if it suits your wrist it projects outwards and others notice it.

I loved reading your post and really love the way you progress to the next watch

Great collection and I m sure it will grow

Thanks again :)

[Mitch Buchannon]

Fantastic first post. Welcome to the forum. You will really enjoy it here.

[I a n]

Best first post ever (only spoilt by having to scroll through it again when the entire OP was quoted for a one-sentence response)!

Couldn't agree more on both points!!!

[RAJEN]

Wow, what a first post.

Down with the 'quoters'!

[Nansbread1]

Hey nice collection and nice story.

But thumbs down to whoever quoted the entire post so we had to see all the photos twice.

[adesmith]

Enjoyed that story, nice current collection too.

[Wexford]

Now THAT is how you join a watch forum!
Terrific first post, I could identify with much of your journey.

Welcome from the Netherlands.
What's on your watch horizon now?

[72bpm]

Best first post ever (only spoilt by having to scroll through it again when the entire OP was quoted for a one-sentence response)!

Apologies, LTF corrected now.

[Mouse]

Fascinating first post and an epic 'watch' journey......which I'm sure isn't over with yet :-)

[Bodo]

Nice post, khoma. What's next on the list, though!? :-)

[Ontological]

Tack så mycket for the great post.

It looks like you are driving a nice car and are wearing a suit these days. So you really look the part.

I bet the watches help you feel the part

Keep it up with the ambition, work hard. You no doubt give a great first impression.

I must say this double watch is really quite amazing. If you think about it, this is a logical next step in watch innovation.

At this time in my life I did not even have a real job. All due to the financial crisis/depression (I hope that's the right word) that occured in Sweden during the late 00's.
Neither did I have a any proper education nor job experience. So my job being a clerk in a DIY store did not earn great money (Only got the chance to work when someone called in sick).

Back to the man in the store. Something about him and his lifestyle made me start to think about watches . So I spent time during my free time to read about watches .
Back then I thought a watch for 200 euros was REALLY expensive. (Average income per month was around 400 euros)
I wore lots of ugly jewelry back then, like bracelets and necklaces from the Italian fashion brand Police. So when I found my "dream" watch I was convinced to buy it!



Yes this was the watch haha!
The coolest watch I had ever seen back then, and it was within my price range. Think it was around 200 euros or a bit higher.
I went down to the local store again, and asked the store owner if he sold this watch. He was an AD for Police, but he was about to end his contract with them and stop selling Police items in his store, so he could not order this watch.
I was a bit depressed by the answer he gave me, but I quickly started to glare at his showcase displaying Police watches when I saw a watch as sexy as the first one!

[alphajet]

Great first post, you have got it really bad and will fit in well here.

[nasar.39]

Welcome to the forum and thanks for a great and very honest post.


Nice collection and Im Sure after hanging around here for a few weeks we will most probably see an incoming thread by you

[MartC]

When I opened up the thread, I was expecting to read about a couple of watches, not an entire journey as the title suggested.

That was really well written and very interesting. Thanks for sharing.

I'm intrigued to know where you've been selling all your watches? Were you a member of another forum or maybe using eBay?

[jmarchitect]

Welcome to the forum and thank you for an interesting introduction post.

[cf31bloobird]

That is the best intro I've ever seen on any forum! :) .... a warm welcome to you!!

[marcus fenix]

It's a great trio and an interesting thread.

[EJL25]

Welcome to the forum. Lovely watches and pretty much a perfect first post!

[MMC]

Cracking good post, Khoma. Looks like you've been on quite a journey. It's one that doesn't stop, either - plenty more to discover. And that's half the fun of it!

[Naesuk]

Great history and a good read. Welcome. Cheers

[Khoma]

Best first post ever (only spoilt by having to scroll through it again when the entire OP was quoted for a one-sentence response)!

Wow I can't believe the positive feedback I've gotten from all of you
Tony, those word are really heart-warming :)
And to the rest of you big thanks for enjoying it and even bothering to reply!
Those kind replies were beyond my wildest imagination :)

So happy you liked it after spending quite some time on the post.
I had been working on the post for over 2 hours, when I tried to preview the post (got auto logged off) and everything I had written was gone, so had to re-write everything once again haha
So the first post was a bit different than the final outcome. The first was even longer haha :)

My next goal is to get an IWC Big Pilot. But some troubles occured in my life, so highly doubt that will happen in 2015

Once again I thank you all for the warm welcome to this amazing forum!

[Hammond]

Now *that* is a journey, and very well documented! I am relatively new to this and am a little earlier on in my own journey but I could do worse than follow in your footsteps.

[Bradt Pitt]

Fantastic post! I really enjoyed reading about your journey, thanks a mill for sharing. And best of luck with the IWC - if not this year, maybe 2016?

[Omegamanic]

Welcome.

Great first post, and great to see you have tried many different watches already. I like a lot of them - I decided vintage wasn't for me either - although I am sure some of my watches will be classed as vintage one day, but then they will be of my vintage :)

I like the sub and the JLC - I'm not 100% sold on Panerai - but then I haven't owned one for more than a couple of weeks at a time.

I'm interested in seeing if you keep the same watches, or if you have your eye on something else ;)

[Khoma]

Fantastic post! I really enjoyed reading about your journey, thanks a mill for sharing. And best of luck with the IWC - if not this year, maybe 2016?

2016 seems more plausible :)
They are also releasing their new Big Pilot model in 2016 I've heard.

This is how it will look :



Might be a prototype only for the new Connect thingy they are going to release (Which you can see on the strap) , but would LOVE it to be a brand new dial, since the current one doesn't have the "9" on the dial.
I know i'm not alone hoping for this to be true , since it would be more true to the original with a dial like that compared to the current one (lowered the triangle at 12, and adding the 9)

[Khoma]

Welcome.

Great first post, and great to see you have tried many different watches already. I like a lot of them - I decided vintage wasn't for me either - although I am sure some of my watches will be classed as vintage one day, but then they will be of my vintage :)

I like the sub and the JLC - I'm not 100% sold on Panerai - but then I haven't owned one for more than a couple of weeks at a time.

I'm interested in seeing if you keep the same watches, or if you have your eye on something else ;)

Thanks alot Omegamaniac
I think we have the same opinion on that matter (with vintage watches) And I hope I will be able to keep my Panerai and Rolex until they are classed as vintage watches.
They are only material things though, so should something suddenly occur in life I might need to sell them off, but it would really break my heart...
I've had the Rolex for exactly 2 years soon (June) And the Panerai for 16 months or so :)
I can't see they are going anywhere soon.
I like the way with the current setup to have a trio. Two watches that are keepers for sure, and a third that I also enjoy, but might be able to change owner if something interesting shows up, or if I need the money to pay the bills

Regarding your issue with Panerai, I can see where you are coming from. Those are not your typical watches, and clearly not for everyone. When I grow older I might dislike them and look back at my younger days laughing about wearing a 47mm watch hehe.

[MartynJC (UK)]

Thank you for a great first post - and welcome!

[Khoma]

Thank you for a great first post - and welcome!

Thanks alot Martyn :) Thanks for taking your time and reading it! Really looking forward to join in on G&D, watch talk, and might even dare to go into the Bear Pit when I reach the post count needed

I wish I knew how to quote and thank everyone in the thread in one single post , without doing it several times....Oh well I guess they read my gratitude towards their warm welcome anyway

[bitfield]

Police watches

Your sins are forgiven my son, you're obviously a reformed character!

Thank you for that surprisingly frank confession (does your tattoo say 'Veritas'? Fair play then.)

[tsunami]

Fantastic intro post and a great writeup of your watch history. Nightmare that you lost your original post and had to retype it. It's happened to us all I'm sure, with some online system or another. I now write any long posts in a text editor and copy/paste them in when I'm happy. Has saved me a lot of time over the years.

[RichUK]

Welcome, what a fantastic post.

[patnmand]

Fantastic first post and lovely watches. Welcome! I have to confess that if I'm doing a long post like a SOTC I tend to write it all out in notepad first and then copy and paste it :-)