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 :highly_amused:
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 :applouse:)
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!
http://i59.tinypic.com/20folme.jpg
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!
http://i57.tinypic.com/11v4e1e.jpg
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.
http://i62.tinypic.com/e6ddu8.jpg
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 :excitement:
http://i62.tinypic.com/ajpfuv.jpg
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 :winkskull:
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 batterķes 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.
http://i61.tinypic.com/2nsuzb8.jpg
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.
http://i62.tinypic.com/3cxhw.jpg
http://i60.tinypic.com/2m2ga37.jpg
http://i61.tinypic.com/10qb3v6.jpg
http://i62.tinypic.com/23s6kqb.jpg
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)
http://i62.tinypic.com/mlmw75.jpg
http://i60.tinypic.com/nlbfqt.jpg
It even had BLUE lume!
http://i57.tinypic.com/2q3x313.jpg
http://i58.tinypic.com/kd7v4h.jpg
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):stupid:
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)
http://i59.tinypic.com/mc57k5.jpg
The strap I did myself from some old army bag close to 100 years old.
I also bought a real replica of a Hublot :crushed:
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.
http://i57.tinypic.com/1rf4sz.jpg
http://i61.tinypic.com/2ag6xsp.jpg
http://i62.tinypic.com/2d18s9t.jpg
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 :playful:
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!
http://i60.tinypic.com/et74np.jpg
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)
http://i60.tinypic.com/2njwlug.jpg
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.
http://i60.tinypic.com/2md03t0.jpg
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
http://i60.tinypic.com/v3fx8g.jpg
http://i59.tinypic.com/ix8rhk.jpg
http://i58.tinypic.com/23vgnfc.jpg
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.
http://i59.tinypic.com/316t6k6.jpg
http://i59.tinypic.com/2zrq4gz.jpg
http://i61.tinypic.com/33lys82.jpg
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.
http://i61.tinypic.com/296owmw.jpg
http://i58.tinypic.com/4q4ccg.jpg
http://i61.tinypic.com/2hz5l4z.jpg
http://i62.tinypic.com/szblae.jpg
http://i58.tinypic.com/ibguma.jpg
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:
http://i59.tinypic.com/rcoepk.jpg
http://i61.tinypic.com/29fouf8.jpg
http://i57.tinypic.com/kbuhzk.jpg
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:
http://i61.tinypic.com/rckp47.jpg
http://i61.tinypic.com/hwh1z5.jpg
http://i61.tinypic.com/nevqmg.jpg
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:
http://i62.tinypic.com/2co63qc.jpg
http://i58.tinypic.com/10ehe7n.jpg
http://i59.tinypic.com/30m358o.jpg
I now have a trio I'm quite pleased with. (Current SOTC)
http://i57.tinypic.com/2r7lr8y.jpg
http://i60.tinypic.com/vnnouh.jpg
http://i57.tinypic.com/fp1547.jpg