Reply With QuoteExcellent post and collection. Glad you posted it.
I love it when my wife/daughters borrow or steal my watches and big watches do look good on women, IMO.
Hope you reach your collection goals sooner rather than later.
Having just passed the 250 posts mark I thought I would submit my first SOTC. Thanks to everyone for making the forum a fun place to hang out and I’ve learned lots here. This post is maybe too long and too image heavy for most, but in case anyone is interested here goes.
First thing to say is that until earlier this year I’ve never thought of myself as having a watch ‘collection’. But I'm getting on a bit now and quite unplanned I bought a few pieces on an ‘ad hoc’ basis throughout the last 40 years. All were bought new on a whim. Apart from the pure dress watches, my new buys tended to be worn continually for several years, in rotation with a weekend beater. (My beater for many years was my 1990 Rolex 16610 submariner, which I logged well over 250 dives with. I gave it to my son for his 21st birthday 12 years ago and he still dives with it). When I bought a new piece the incumbent would get consigned to a box and put away into storage. That’s unless my wife ‘borrowed’ a piece. More of that later.
Late last autumn I decided to get the box delivered out of storage and surprised myself with the number I had accumulated over the years. I took a few photos and sent most of them back off to storage. I’ve given some thought to what I’m going to keep and what I’m going to let go. I’ve enjoyed wearing a few of them in regular rotation in the last six months and I have added a couple of second hand watches too. My collection is going to be revised and better curated going forward. I am not sure yet what the eventual number of pieces I end up with should be, but it will be fewer than present. (That's what they all say, I'm sure!)
I was born on the same day the first man went into space (Yuri Gagarin, April 12th 1961) and brought up with the space race as a backdrop to my childhood. In the early 60’s and 70’s the world was enthralled by man’s exploits in space and that somehow influenced my watch preferences over the years. Another influence was Jacques Cousteau and his ‘Underwater World’ TV programs. I learned to dive at only 11 in the Med, using two clamped together small pony tanks. I have many hundreds of dives logged since then and was an active marine photographer, technical and wreck diver well into my early fifties. So, there’s been quite a few dive watches I’ve owned over the years and a few survive in my collection today.
Without intending to provoke debate about what is a dress watch, what is a daily wearer, what is a beater etc. I will say I see my collection as falling into three groups:
1. Daily wearers.
2. Dress watches.
3. Omega Speedmaster Professionals.
Both vintage and modern pieces can feature in any of the three groups.
Here’s a few comments and a bit of background to some of my pieces, and a few pics:
1. Daily wearers.
First of all – from my daily wearers category here’s two that somehow got ‘borrowed’ by SWMBO.
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Annoying that big watches have become fashionable for women, as I don’t see myself getting these back anytime soon! The gold Sub wasn’t always a posing piece though. It has probably done 150 dives in the Pacific and Indian oceans before Mrs got hold of it! Now it only gets wet when she spills her ProseccoThe Daytona was fairly regular wearer too, before it got kidnapped a few years ago.
Two previous Rolex that are now long gone: I had a yellow gold Daydate which was stolen from my wrist by a nurse or ambulance driver when I was unconscious following a bad accident in Hong Kong in 2004. I also had a white face/orange hand Rolex Millgauss which I gave to my middle son for his 21st birthday last year.
Here’s my three surviving Rolex.
The new Datejust (ref 126334) with black face (deep charcoal in some light) is my most frequent daily wearer at the moment. The new 3235 movement is superb and mine is running +1 second per two or three days which is phenomenal. I like the white gold fluted bezel and the size is perfect for me at 41mm. Will get round to peeling off the stickies soon!
I love my Sea Dweller 4000 ceramic (116600) and wear it quite often. IMHO it is the last of the ‘proper’ SD’s (non Cyclops). The new SD43 126600 is too big for my taste, plus the Cyclops is not to my liking either. I bought it the day after the new SD43 was announced at Baselworld. A week later the prices had jumped by £2k so there's a few other people who seem to prefer this one.
The Oyster Datejust in yellow gold with Jubilee strap is something I will keep forever. I bought it new in 1979 and wore it almost every day for about a decade. It is well beaten and has never been polished or serviced. I will send it off for a service soon, but I’m not going to have any polishing or other work done. It has a chipped crystal and all its scars were earned in action! This watch brings lots of memories flooding back.
Still in the daily wearer category, the gold IWC Chronograph Portugieser (IW371480) was bought in about 1990 and which at 41 mm fits me nicely. My friends used to call it the ‘Porky Geezer’ (it was a big watch for the time) and it got a lot of wear after I retired the Rolex gold datejust, then it was rested for about a decade and got used a bit more again between 2011 and 2015. I like it, but will probably move it on.
The 18k Ebel 1911 Chronograph was bought new in 1993 and it didn’t get worn much, mainly because I found the deployant clasp to be a PITA and I just didn’t gel with it. At 39mm it’s a little too small for my taste so it is going to be moved on.
This group of 4 other daily wearers below don’t get much love nowadays either.
The Bulova Accutron Spaceview (214 from ’66) is there as part of my ‘space watches’ theme (one of the few second hand pieces I have). I will probably move it on at some point as part of the broader cull.
The Breitling Cosmanaute is something I wore quite a bit in the early 90’s but it played second fiddle to my ’85 Speedmaster Professional moonwatch. Given I was a space program fan, I liked the Breitling Cosmanaute and found its history interesting. Astronaut Scott Carpenter had Breitling modify the gearing on their Navitimer of the day (1962) to run one hours hand cycle over 24 hours rather than 12 hours. On May 24th 1962 he wore his Breitling when he orbited earth in the Mercury Aurora. Unfortunately he was a bit clumsy and dipped his arm over the side of the recovery raft when being picked up after splashdown. The seawater ruined his watch. I will move mine on at some point.
The Cartier Roadster was a present from SWMBO when they first came out. I must confess I don’t like it, so I don’t mind when it also gets ‘borrowed’. For some reason, however, she won’t swap it for the gold Sub she’s sequestered.
The Swatch ‘jellyfish' is a mint one with no yellowing of the strap. I had several of these 'jellyfish' Swatches when they first came out but they all went cruddy (strap's not spilled beer proof) and got thrown away. (For a few years me and a friend bought a new Swatch every time we flew out of HK airport. They all got trashed on boys trips. This one stays in my collection as it brings back lots of boys behaving badly memories)!
The next few daily wearers are Omega heavy.
I have a couple of the bigger 44.25 mm Speedmasters. I don’t see these as ‘real’ Speedies (got to be manual wind and the 42mm case size IMHO) but I find these two nice. The first (top right, ref: 32132445001001) is the Michael Schumacher 7 Championships piece, which has a lot of very cool details commemorating his career. I wear it once in a while.
The second (bottom centre) is an HB-SIA all titanium piece which is feather light, has a very cool carbon fibre weave dial and GMT function.
There’s an Omega Seamaster Olympic Collection ‘London 1948’ chronograph from 2004 (top centre, ref: 2894.51.91) and this got lots of wear after I gave my son my s/s Sub. It keeps incredible time (+2 secs) and it has been a favourite watch for holidays
There’s a Seamaster Professional 300m ‘James Bond’ (bottom left, ref: 2531.8000) which I have used diving a fair bit on a black rubber OEM strap and it is now on a custom Steveo straps blue leather strap, although I have kept the original steel bracelet. This watch is the most comfortable of all the watches in my collection.
Getting away from Omega’s, I have a Pinion Axis II (top left) which I had made to order with a polished case rather than brushed and a black date wheel rather than white. At 42mm it is quite large and I like it very much. The whole build quality is lovely and it is an English micro-brand which I also like.
I have a couple of Seiko’s too: an SK007 “J” which again I’ve used diving but is now on a nice tan horween strap. Doesn’t get to go diving any more, but still gets wet – its my car wash special nowadays (worn today while I tap this out):
Plus I have a Seiko Solar Diver SSC017, which I have only worn for 5 minutes and which I will probably let go at some point
.
2. Now my dress watches:
My dress watches never get any wrist time. I used to have to sit through lots of dull black tie dinners back in the 80’s and early 90’s and these were worn on such occasions back then. Nowadays, I don’t go to these sorts of bashes and anyway the sizes look silly on my wrist.
The Patek Philippe Calatrava is a classic and I’m very fond of it, but I’m not sure it will survive my cull.
I like the Vacheron Constantin because it’s the only one I have ever seen with this case.
The Baume & Mercier is a super-thin quartz watch and again saw lots of action but it won’t be worn by me again and unless my daughter wants it for a 21st gift it will probably be on its way out sometime soon.
The Cartier Tank Americaine (‘large’, 45x27) was worn as a daily for some time, but that’s now crossed over into the dress watch category in my mind and I’m undecided about keeping it. I might move it on at the same time as the Patek and B&M and replace all three with a Jaeger-LeCoultre Grande Reverso 976 Rose gold. At 30x48 that would look better on my big wrist.
3. My Omega Speedmaster Professionals
The Speedy Pro’s are where I’ve recently added a couple of vintage pieces as well as a new piece. They are almost a separate collection in their own right.
I have a personal ‘top 10’ Speedies list that I’m chipping away at collecting. Some have ‘landed’ and some are yet to land…..
1. 145.022-68 Transitional pre-moon with 861 movement. [Searching]
2. 145.0022 1985 (first son's birth year, bought new) [In collection]
3. 3595.52 Apollo 13 25th Anniversary ’95 LE of 999. Mission patch on black dial, wide T [In collection]
4. 3689.30 White Gold ’99-’05 production Moonphase with 1866 movement. Reference books say about 500 were made: factory email states more like 250. A personal grail. [Searching].
(b). 3573.30 ’01-’06 production ‘Broad Arrow’ silver hands & dial, white gold bezel and dial markers. [In collection, until the 3689.30 grail is found].
5. 311.30.42.30.01.004 Red & White Racing aka “Tintin”. [In collection]
6. 3570.31 Japan ‘Mitsukoshi’ special. 300 pieces made ’03. [Searching]
(b). Japan Mitsukoshi special made up from all new Omega service parts. [In collection, until the 3570.31 grail piece is found]
7. 3570.40 Japan ‘Racing’ special. – ’04 production, 2004 pieces made. [Reserved]
(b). Japan ‘Racing’ special made up from all new Omega service parts. [In collection, until the 3570.40 reserved Grail piece arrives in August]
8. 311.30.42.30.99.001 Apollo-Soyuz 35th Anniversary with Meteorite dial ’10 production, 1975 pieces. [One unworn NOS under negotiation]
9. 3695.50.31 Yellow gold standard Speedmaster Professional on leather strap with 18k deployant clasp. Production ’99-’12 - small numbers made. [One unworn NOS under negotiation]
10. 311.30.42.30.13.001 2012 Chocolate 1863 ‘Sapphire Sandwich’ with the erroneous “First and Only Watch Worn on the Moon” [NOS, but at Omega, case being re-finished]
11. 311.30.42.30.01.006 2017 1863 ‘Sapphire Sandwich’ [In collection].
Yes, there’s 11 listed but the ’85 Speedy is my son’s birth year and is going to be his 40th birthday present.
The future: what will I end up with as a consolidated collection?
Presently, I am thinking of having two collections.
First - and where I spend most of my time searching for grail missing pieces, will be ‘My Top 10’ Speedmaster Professionals, probably as above.
Second - a collection of up to 10 versatile wearers, a mix of vintage and modern and with no pure ‘Dress watch’ component. I will trade out some of the existing collection and add a couple of pieces so I end up with:
1. 1961 Rolex Daydate - yellow gold on a vintage leather strap and gold buckle (birth year, incoming)
2. 1982 Rolex Oyster Datejust - yellow gold on Jubilee bracelet
3. 2017 Rolex Sea Dweller 4000 ceramic
4. 2017 Rolex Datejust 41 - s/s with white gold fluted bezel and black dial
5. 2017 Rolex Sky Dweller - s/s with black dial (on waiting list)
6. 2016 Pinion Axis II - s/s black dial
7. 2012 Seiko SK007J
8. Omega Seamaster Professional 300m
9. Omega HB-SIA Titanium
10. Jaeger-LeCoultre Grande Reverso 976 Rose gold
If you got this far, thanks for reading!
Last edited by tom waring; 17th June 2017 at 19:33.
Excellent post and collection. Glad you posted it.
I love it when my wife/daughters borrow or steal my watches and big watches do look good on women, IMO.
Hope you reach your collection goals sooner rather than later.
Thanks! Trying to convince SWMBO to trade back the gold Sub for the Roadster plus £!Originally Posted by RAJEN
Brilliant post and an outstanding collection.
Agreed. Fantastic post and collection.
It is great to read the history behind these.
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Hi Tom...thanks for sharing your lovely collection...I enjoyed the way you described the lot...my favorites are the Cosmonaute, the Broad Arrow, the PP and obviously the VC...but the winner for me is the Ebel...touch of class...Hope you gonna find what you are looking for!!
Great collection and a really interesting read :)
I love the Breitling Cosmanaute. Did you not fancy a FOIS?
Most impressive - thanks for posting.
Great collection. My favourite would be the American tank, but I am a Cartier fan.
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Thanks. No, I didn't hanker for a FOIS. The Cosmanaute is a piece I really like, but it won't get worn much/at all, so its probably got to go!
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Super post, thanks for sharing
And now I'm sat re-evaluating every decision I ever made in my life. Thanks for that ✔
Awesome SOTC post, thanks for writing.
Well that's a cracking post/collection, I know it's not a rare watch but I do think I need to try a sea dweller at some point. Thanks for sharing.
Brilliant post and a lovely collection. I love SOTCs that have thought and story behind them there is a true history to your collection and some stunning watches too!
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Lol! Thanks!And now I'm sat re-evaluating every decision I ever made in my life. Thanks for that
Awesome SOTC post, thanks for writing.
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Thanks.
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Great post! The history of your gradual and somewhat unintentional accumulation of such a nice collection over the years made for a very pleasant read. Nice pics too.
Thanks Groyn!
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Great collection!
I've just shown this to my wife to demonstrate my 'paltry in comparison' collection of 4 really isn't that many!
She replied with 'I hope he buys his wife lots of handbags to compensate'....
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Great collection. Thanks for sharing.
LOL! She buys them anyway! And shoes!
Thanks. It's nice and not too small for my wrist, but I think a gold JLC Grande Reverso might do me better. Plus, I have some ideas about how to engrave the blank side of the Reverso.
What a lovely collection.Thanks OP for sharing.
Great collection. I hope my watch box looks that good when I hit 250 comments
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Nice post and I like the focus of a separate speedmaster collection.
I'm surprised the top10 does not include a 321cal though, the transitionals are ok, but there must be room for a 105.012 or 145.012, the only references to be worn on the moon.
What do you think of the japan racing model? I was considering buying the parts to convert one myself.
- - - Updated - - -
What do you think of the japan racing model? I was considering buying the parts to convert one myself.
Thanks! I would also like a 105 or 145. If one came up that was 'right' then maybe I would drop one of the others.... maybe the 'chocolate' would lose its place on my list. Also, I have one of these on order:
so, something will definitely need to give way later this year.
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Nice collection.
Which Rallye strap do you have on the new speedmaster pro?
I like the Japan racing. It looks great on an OEM rally strap!
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Good spot - glad you like it! Its a bandrbands 'Black Classic Vintage Racing' strap - actually comes more like a dark charcoal. Link here: http://www.bandrbands.com/black-clas...tch-strap.aspx
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Wow. What an amazing collection Tom. Great read and genuinely shocked you didn't consider yourself having a 'collection' until recently!
Wow. That is some collection. Thanks for taking the time to write it and post it. 😀
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Thanks! I lived in Asia for 20 years and The Middle East too, so I've always had stuff like furniture etc. in long term storage. If you don't have something on hand or easy access to it, you tend to forget about it. Now I'm slowly getting rid of stuff I accumulated over the years and many house moves. My watches have only just been brought out and seen all together for the first time. That's brought 'the collection' into focus. I'm looking forward to moving some pieces on and hunting for a few 'personal Grail' pieces.
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Thanks. They have an eBay Uk store, which stocks that very strap. May go for one if I can't get the oem Rallye for a decent price.
What an absolutely fantastic SOTC post. Thanks for taking the time, especially enjoyed the additional information.
Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it.
Amazing collection and some dedication to Speedmasters, congrats.
And also cool skull cufflinks :)
Really enjoyed reading that! Congrats on a great collection!
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Wow... Nice colection!!!
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Tom WoW what a read, stunning array of diverse watches. A great collection thanks for sharing
Michael
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Thanks.
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Lol! Thanks. Have rediscovered love of watches! My Speedy affliction is incurable I fear!
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Can't believe no one has accused you of speed posting yet?! 😀
Great collection and a nice write up of where you are now and where you are headed. It will be interesting to see how your decisions pan out. I suspect the Speedie 10 may be a great focus for refining your collection but you seem to have no problem acquiring incomings so reducing the total might not be so easy.....
Nice 40th present idea too.
Thanks!Can't believe no one has accused you of speed posting yet?!
Great collection and a nice write up of where you are now and where you are headed. It will be interesting to see how your decisions pan out. I suspect the Speedie 10 may be a great focus for refining your collection but you seem to have no problem acquiring incomings so reducing the total might not be so easy.....
Nice 40th present idea too.
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not bad at all.
fantastic collection. spend the money wisely once you get them all sold!
perhaps another watch?
Great post and collection, thanks for posting it.
It definitely is a collection!
Thanks!
My only real question is when are you going to splash out and get yourself a nice Invicta? It strikes me that's all you need to round out the collection nicely. And some NATOs.
I have several Nato's. But my daughter thinks I look like a sad old Dad that's trying too hard to look younger/trendy if she sees me wearing a Nato!
Not got an Invicta......
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