Reply With QuoteFabulous post and collection! Thank you for sharing
Been a couple of years since I've done one of these(almost exact I think) and with a new arrival(well a couple if you count an inheritance that went straight off for repair) I thought it was time to do another. Some of the favourites are still with me, but quite a few additions also.
Let's start with the new new arrival. The Alexander Shorokhoff Regulator, not a popular brand on here and I'm 99.9% sure I'm still the only one here that owns one in the shape of a SixtyThree, so there are 2 on here now. This has been in my plans for a little while but wasn't planning to buy until later this year at earliest. However with an impending price increase and discovering nearly all of the 98 pieces of this limited edition were gone I thought better get it bought. So here it is....
Love the way the rose gold guilloche dial plays with the light, looks much better in the metal than pics. The movement is fully reworked hand engraved, hands/screws heat blued in the traditional manner. It's a large but slim case at 43.5mm by 12mm height but wears very thanks to the short lugs and extremely soft strap(honestly his straps are something else).
Anyway on to the rest of the gang, there are a couple missing here which I haven't got to hand(my two little gold Smiths Astrals and another Avia) but most are present and correct.
First my other Alexander Shorokhoff, the SixtyThree which is actually midnight blue but very difficult to photograph with my skills and old mobile phone cam so it looks more black here.
The Speedy Mk2, if ever there was an underappreciated watch it has to be this one(racing dial aside which are always popular). I absolutely adore this thing and it keeps incredible time at +2.5spd.
The Certina Certronic, my largest watch at 44mm and the largest of the Tuning Fork watches, wears great though thanks to the lack of lugs and always brilliant NSA bracelet(those expanding clasps were genius, you can keep your glidelocks etc.)
The near impossible to photograph mirror dial Omega Megaquartz. Spent a fortune having this repaired and refurbished a couple of years ago, never regretted it. Think this is a birth year(1974) watch for me, never tire of this watch, so different.
Another Tuning Fork, this time a Sovil et Titus. These were made mostly with Omega parts after they bought the remaining Omega F300 parts stock when Omega moved on from Tuning Fork watches. Love the dial on this one.
And another Hummer, bought this with the money left to me in my Nans will as something to remember her by, wanted something I felt she would love and this fit the bill perfectly. It's my special occasions watch.
The 2538.20 aka the Great White(although people now use that label for the modern SM300 white dial). Criminally underappreciated watch, probably the only one of the 2254 etc. family to remain so. I think they're an incredible design with some really interesting differences to the other Seamasters such as lack of helium release valve and fully brushed case/bracelet. This is white dial perfection to my eyes.
Yet another that is the only one on the forums. The Eberhard & Co Scafomaster. This one is from the early 90's and I really enjoy the small and slender case design(37.5mm by only 10mm thick, yet 250m water resistant) and tritium patina.
One of the longest standing in my collection and perhaps my all time favourite watch. Love the G10's and the 1980 non-circle Fatboy was the pinnacle IMO.
Another G10 but this time a pretty special one as it put together by CWC to my request. PVD GS Sapphire case, early 90's Desert Storm dial and special black handset. I had a regular G10 with this dial years ago but moved it on as found it just looked a bit washed out on my wrist, with the contrasting case and handset though it looks killer and a super versatile watch with it's 200m water resistance. I do wish the sapphire wasn't so reflective though.
After selling my RN Diver as part of a clearout earlier this year I was always going to buy another. Ended up replacing it with an SBS instead, this is a 2004(I don't think many were made in that year) with tritium dial. It's a great example and super nice to wear.
This is my oldest watch and what I always considered my first proper watch(my first analogue after growing up with digital Casio's). I still wear it now and again and always brings a ton of happy memories, I wore this thing 24/7 through what I consider my best years.
The watch that finally replaced the Animal in the early 00's, I need to fit a new battery. Loved this thing when I bought it, still think it's pretty cool now. It's been on plenty of adventures too.
And last but definitely not least, this little gem....
It's currently with William Rice being repaired, it was very rusty inside so could be gone a while. This was my dads Rolex and I was convinced it had been lost during the house clear when my parents got divorced in the mid 90's. My dad always insisted he'd seen it since but couldn't remember where, but after all these years I was sure he was wrong(he can be pretty tough headed). He finally found it a few weeks ago in a box of bits(he thinks it must have been in that box of crap over 30 years) in the corner of his loft and I was thrilled to first learn of this and even more so to be given it. The repairs are costing probably the entire value of the watch, and the dial will be not be the best as I think there is some fade to the grey paint after all these years but it will be worth it to me and I never expected to have it. I'll update when it comes back.
Anyway that'll do I think, forgot to take a couple of pics(the Luxor and the F71 but we all know what they look like) but this already took way longer than I expected and I've probably bored everybody to tears. Hopefully will have been some stuff of interest to some of you at least, thanks for stopping by and taking a peek.
EDIT: Received the Air-King back from William Rice last week so thought I should add a couple pics to this thread. One expensive repair at £1,800, but most of the movement parts had to be replaced due to heavy rust. I kept the dial and hands original(hands cleaned up better than I could have hoped) and case/bracelet lightly refinished which looks beautiful. The dial has a lovely sunburst finish which is difficult for me to capture. I'm thrilled with it and itching to show my dad when we're able to meet up again, after 30+ years rusting away in a box it's back to getting the wrist time it deserves.
Last edited by Tetlee; 28th February 2021 at 18:15.
Fabulous post and collection! Thank you for sharing
You certainly didn’t bore me. Great write up and nice to see a wide variety of watches. That Rolex Air-King will be worth the effort required to get it fixed-up. Lovely watch. Thanks for taking the time to write up this post and for sharing your collection.
Great write up, and lovely collection OP. I'm a big fan of the Great White, but I'm biased as I have one myself.
A
Lovely collection and definitely a bit different. Thanks for posting :)
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Nice collection and great story on the Rolex
Great write up. Another Air-King-Date owner here. Lovely little watch. Very interesting read with some new ones on me. I like the movement finish of your first one there. Superb.
Martyn
Nice collection. Great write up, I like these style of SOTC.
Great collection - love seeing some diversity. Especially love the Shorokoffs - criminally underappreciated watches, and a real bargain considering the workmanship.
I'm deeply smitten by the new "Levels" GMT:
A lovely and diverse collection, thank you for sharing. There are some special watches but I do like the hummers.
Last edited by Wimm; 18th February 2021 at 23:17.
The SixtyThree is so cool.
That's a fantastic collection.
Love the mirror dial omega.
Nice collection. The Omegas were stand out pieces for me. Wasn't sure about the pink watch until I saw the back of it. That is very nice.
A very enjoyable read. I love your Animal watch and the Eberhard in particular.
Hey thanks for for the nice comments guys, really interesting to see what different bits and bobs people like, very mixed.
What a really nice and well put together collection, for me the stand out is the Omega with the mirror dial fantastic looking watch.
Congrats on the arrival...super collection and definitely not boring
I really like the Animal😃
That’s a really nice collection
The Eberhard and custom CWC G10 are crackers.
It’s always nice to see something different.
A very interesting collection and the CWC fatboy and SBS diver are standouts for me. Thanks for posting this.
That’s a great collection. A watch enthusiasts collection. Thanks for sharing.
I bought my son ( now 31) an Animal watch, similar to yours on a Perlon type strap. It was at Manchester airport and cost £35. At the age of 10 that one purchase started his keen interest in watches!Originally Posted by markbannister
Great collection.
Not boring at all! In fact it's nice to see something a little different. Although I would say that as I count six watches in your collection that I own or have owned (a variation of)!
I keep looking at Alexander Shorokhoff and tried on a number of his watches. The trouble for me is that the ones I really want are slightly too large for me, so I keep lingering. They look great on you though.
Thanks for posting!
Lovely collection you have there.
Thanks for sharing and for the impressive write up.
Enjoyed reading your post and learning about the Alexander Shorokhoff Regulator.
You have some lovely pieces especially like the one that you got with the money from your Nan.
An interesting collection, lots of variety but a clear style running through it :)
The custom CWC gets me every time.
....although I have to confess the Animal watch brings back the pang of envy of the schoolboy owner of the Argos knockoff (pimped up with a *genuine* Animal strap!).
R
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Really nice replies, wasn't sure if anyone would be keen on this bunch of watches. Thanks all.
The above reply really cracked me up by the way! :D it's nice that my little old Animal is popular. It's a little sad the brand is no more.
Last edited by Tetlee; 19th February 2021 at 11:55.
I'll echo what has been said already! Interesting collection and I particularly like the stories you have included behind some of the pieces. Because of that the Air King will obviously always be special. I think the customised G10 is cool - didn't know that CWC were so accommodating!?
Great post!
I suppose one of the nice things about watches is their ability to take us back in time (as well as keeping it!). I guess that makes it my first grail!?
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Just added some pics of the Air-King to the original post after receiving it back the tail end of last week. I'm thrilled with it.
That’s a massive difference to the condition before, well worth the effort and expense I would say.
Enjoy.
That mirror dial is one of my favourites and always enjoy seeing it on a thread. The Airking has come up lovely, I would say worth every penny given the story behind it. Both too small for me but still lovely.
Cool post and a great bunch of watches. Love the Scafomaster.
The Air King cleaned up nicely.
Really interesting post and great collection, a few I have never seen before in there.
The Jigsaw backgrounds are cool too. :-)
That turned out well. Good effort
In the Sotadic Zone, apparently.
Thanks guys.
Re the jigsaw, my wife loves 'em, wanted to add the same background for the airking but she's only just started a new one.... Dammit
@Craizeehair the mirror dial Megaquartz is actually quite a large watch, think it's 40mm wide but with the shape wears much larger probably more like 42mm+
Last edited by Tetlee; 1st March 2021 at 00:57.
That’s interesting, I presumed it was the usual smaller size for the time, please excuse me whilst I disappear down another rabbit hole.
A fantastic job on the Air King. I had the no date version - the dial is really lovely.
Interesting post and collection- thanks.
Excellent post and collection.
For me the highlights are the Mark II Speedmaster and that restored AirKing. How I wish I had kept mine!
That £1800 was extremely well spent for bringing the watch back into A1 condition.
I hope that you and your wife are both keeping well.
I haven't been down your way for such a long time but hope to as soon as conditions are right.
scooter
Hey up Scooter,
Haven't seen you in ages, not even on forum. We're both great thanks, will be good to catch up sometime.
Haha, most definitely not small. Mind you finding one would be a challenge, they're a bit of a rare beast especially the mirror dial version. I searched two years before I found mine and even then I had to buy a completely knackered one to get restored. Good luck if you go for one.
Cheers all
That air-king-date looks the dogs ... now! A very good investment - sounds like a complete rebuild internally so well worth it. Congratulations!
Amazing collection!
Great watch, and great value to you as it should have. Something to treasure I think............................................
And last but definitely not least, this little gem....
It's currently with William Rice being repaired, it was very rusty inside so could be gone a while. This was my dads Rolex and I was convinced it had been lost during the house clear when my parents got divorced in the mid 90's. My dad always insisted he'd seen it since but couldn't remember where, but after all these years I was sure he was wrong(he can be pretty tough headed). He finally found it a few weeks ago in a box of bits(he thinks it must have been in that box of crap over 30 years) in the corner of his loft and I was thrilled to first learn of this and even more so to be given it. The repairs are costing probably the entire value of the watch, and the dial will be not be the best as I think there is some fade to the grey paint after all these years but it will be worth it to me and I never expected to have it. I'll update when it comes back.
Anyway that'll do I think, forgot to take a couple of pics(the Luxor and the F71 but we all know what they look like) but this already took way longer than I expected and I've probably bored everybody to tears. Hopefully will have been some stuff of interest to some of you at least, thanks for stopping by and taking a peek.
EDIT: Received the Air-King back from William Rice last week so thought I should add a couple pics to this thread. One expensive repair at £1,800, but most of the movement parts had to be replaced due to heavy rust. I kept the dial and hands original(hands cleaned up better than I could have hoped) and case/bracelet lightly refinished which looks beautiful. The dial has a lovely sunburst finish which is difficult for me to capture. I'm thrilled with it and itching to show my dad when we're able to meet up again, after 30+ years rusting away in a box it's back to getting the wrist time it deserves.
Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.
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