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Rhino-Ranch Guest
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Perhaps this question has already been posted -- But I am curious to know why do you collect watches, and when did you first become aware that you liked watches? |
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Skipdawg 3T WIS 
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I first came to have a interest in watches when admiring a pocket watch my grandfather had. And about 3 decades ago I started the trek to becoming a WIS. First watch was a hand craker Timex. I collect now well as I tell family and friends " Just for the sake of because..." LOL I love the hobby. Keeps me busy to boot. :D :) :cool: |
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bigrustypig 3T WIS 
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One big reason I collect watches is to be able to pass myself on to the next generation. The next reason is simply to mark milestones and achievements in my life. I noticed I liked collecting watches shortly before I got married when I inventoried my pieces and saw how many I had. At that time, 90% were quartzies though. Now, I don't have a single quartz; stopped quartzies about 19 years ago when I knew better. |
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JKang 3T WIS 
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To me, the wrist watch is just about the only piece of jewellery a male can *credibly* wear. It is not the most obvious of articles and can be very discreet to the point where only someone else in the know, knows. The beauty of watches is how they speak volumes about their owners, be it the brash, understated, geeky...you get the idea. Plus they're so much fun to talk about! |
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bigrustypig 3T WIS
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JKang wrote: To me, the wrist watch is just about the only piece of jewellery a male can *credibly* wear. It is not the most obvious of articles and can be very discreet to the point where only someone else in the know, knows. Totally agree with Jonathan!hand6.gif This is the only "bling" acceptable, IMHO. |
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Graham 3T WIS 
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I've always liked watches. Like Skip, my first watch was a Timex - a gift from my parents for my 6th birthday. I've always loved watches since then. WHY do I collect? Because I can...................  Last edited on Mon Jun 15th, 2009 08:02 am by Graham |
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cfoster 3T WIS
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I collect many things. Vintage professional audio tape recorders, fine art, cameras, coins and watches. I love anything that is useful, unusual, beautiful and a masterpiece of engineering. Watches fulfill all of that criteria. Do I need to say more... |
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oagaspar Site Founder 
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Rhino-Ranch wrote: Perhaps this question has already been posted -- But I am curious to know why do you collect watches, and when did you first become aware that you liked watches? you forgot to mention why you started??? :D |
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KenC Admin 
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oagaspar wrote: Rhino-Ranch wrote:Perhaps this question has already been posted -- But I am curious to know why do you collect watches, and when did you first become aware that you liked watches? Well, I don't know about Rhino, but I started because a little voice in my head told me to!!! |
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Paxman 3T WIS 
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KenC wrote: oagaspar wrote:Rhino-Ranch wrote:Perhaps this question has already been posted -- But I am curious to know why do you collect watches, and when did you first become aware that you liked watches? Must've been when you forgot to take your meds...  |
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KenC Admin
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Paxman wrote: KenC wrote:oagaspar wrote:Rhino-Ranch wrote:Perhaps this question has already been posted -- But I am curious to know why do you collect watches, and when did you first become aware that you liked watches? And THAT'S no laughing matter......I just wish that voice would tell me where to get the cash!!!..... |
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Rhino-Ranch Guest
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Well, I see all the heavy hitters have weighed in -- but I am hoping to get more replies from some of the 7,000 + members. I might have been about 10 years old, when my grandparents in Miami, bought me a Mickey Mouse watch. Not the collectible Mickey Mouse with the hands that move, this was some cheap novelty watch with Mickey on a clear plastic disk. Hand wound, and it lasted about 2-days. When I got older, junior hi or hi school, I picked out a dive watch at the mall. It was about $50...SS sub. Probably had hollow links. Not sure what happened to it, but it served me well for a while. I remember in the late 70's digital LCD watches became available w/ built in calculators. Cost over $100. Of course that was way too much money for me, so when CASIO finally introduced an affordable LCD everyone got one w/ back light, built in alarm, stop watch function-- very cool. Used it for surfing w/ velcro straps. The rings on the velcro straps rusted, the velcro would last 1/2 a season surfing in Montauk, and the spring bars would rust, bend and break. I remember the watch flopping around on one spring bar, or just coming off and grabbing it before it sank to the bottom. Probably wore that watch all through college and law school, but the LCD eventually died. So much for CASIO -- I wanted something better. 1987 got my job working in NYC with an admiralty law firm, and needed a new watch. Rolex Submariner $1450 or a Tudor $1000? The watch store Torneau is about the biggest you will ever see. When it was rebuilt (last time I was there) the store was about 5-levels. The Tudor was too light and didn't feel right, the Rolex was about 1-month salary, so as much as I wanted the Sub -- I opted for a Seiko instead. Not sure where the Seiko is but it was kind of cool w/ Tachymeter scale, raised bezel, grey SS, might have had a dual display analog and digital. The bracelet was horrible, metal folded links that grabbed the hair on my wrist, and I never got used to wearing the rubber strap, so I put the watch aside. SECTOR made a big blitz w/ advertising and "adventure". I bought a full lume dial chrono. Very nice case, angular lugs, solid bracelet. My search was complete -- then just before my brother's wedding 1994 the battery in the SECTOR died, so I went into an upscale "authorized" watch dealer on the corner of 57th St. The store was filled with TAG, Breitling, Omega, Movado, etc. I asked if they can replace the battery. I asked if they would pressure test it. I asked if they would purge the watch so as to remove moisture. I asked all the right questions. 5-minutes later they handed me my watch and 3-days later the lume was damaged because they let moisture into the case. I didn't have my cash receipt so I was out of luck. Sent the watch to SECTOR and they replaced the dial, but it wasn't the same and the watch never worked. Well I still need a watch so I went to local surf shop and bought an ANIMAL watch "surfers against sewerage"... probably the funkiest little watch I've ever seen. Kept great time, and was my constant companion, until the green rubber strap broke, and I didn't know enough where to find a replacement. Oh, did I mention Swatch ? They had a store at Pier 17 South Street Seaport. Hundreds of plastic watches on the wall. Collectible, limited edition, new watches every week. Like collecting beanie babies I guess. I imagine there must be someone in the world who cornered the market on beanie babies and Swatches. Decided that I need a Swiss Watch no batteries, automatic movement, but still can't keep up with the rising price of Rolex, so I found the next best thing BERNE DIVER -- solid links, solid case 39mm, automatic "Swiss Mvt." I think Jeff Bernard might have been one of the first guys to explore the Chinese connection for cases and install Swiss Mvts. Want another watch story? I was chopping firewood for a home built hot tub. The crown must have loosened from all the chopping. Next day moisture in the watch -- so what did I do ? Put it in the oven on bake. Hey that seems to be working. Turn up the heat ---POP goes the crystal. Jeff Bernard was good enough to send me a replacement at his cost. BERNE DIVER no. 2 needs cleaning and maintenance so last fall, instead of paying $100 for maintenance, I put the money toward a new watch. Searching for a new watch -- OCEAN7 LM-3 --- holy molly where have I been? DOXA ! Kobold ! Kremke ! Zinex ! Well Dr. Peter's review of the Seiko Monster sold me... that and all the other reviews Sieiko Monster lume, bracelet and all for under $200. (I bought a Zodiac chrono diver but returned it because it does not have a screw down crown). Sorry, if this is the longest post, but it might make good reading. The search for the SEIKO MONSTER took me to WUS, and from there Benarus directed me to 3T. Took a while before I had the courage to post my first message, and now like the rest of you outstanding gentlemen -- I feel like I've found some long lost friends who have a common interest. Thanks, Jim |
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Skipdawg 3T WIS
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WOW Jim very cool. I also like clocks BTW but don't collect them. My other grandfather had a very cool Grandfathers clock. As a boy I loved spending the night for many reasons but that chime was just so cool. ;) |
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Rhino-Ranch Guest
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Always wanted a grandfather clock w/ the chimes, moon phases. Probably a whole other discussion re kits, cabinet builders and movements. For me, tough to carry 'em around surfing ... ! |
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zippofan 3T WIS 
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Going to the Indy races in the Poconos starting when I was 8, I caught the bug from stopwatches. I loved watching the crews use them to time cars, and some fans in the stands had chronographs. Also, my uncle had a 72 Corvette and used to take me and my cousin on club rallyes, he had the Heuer dash timers that we took turns working for him. I have been a chrono nut since, though I have branched out into divers and other watches. Cheers, Griff |
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stormin13 3T WIS 
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Jim, you asked a very good question and I have really enjoyed reading the other 3T members replies . I first became interested in watches after I received my first one for my 11th birthday from my Dad who was in Vietnam flying B-52's. It was a Seiko automatic that lasted for several years of being worn constantly. I don't think I ever took it off which is probably why it stopped working after two years. I attempted to fix it using a hammer, chisel and screwdriver and as you can imagine I had watch parts everywhere and the watch would remain in pieces forever. I then wore a Timex until I graduated from USAF pilot training at which time I purchased my first Seiko pilot watch. I had admired and longed for a Tag Heuer for many, many years but I couldn't afford one until I was a Major in the Air Force. After receiving my Tag I got hooked on Swiss timepieces. I now have 4 Swiss watches, 2 Seikos and 1 Marathon and they all represent important times in my life and they all are special to me. I enjoy collecting watches for many of the same reasons as Bigrustypig, JKang, Graham, Skip, cfoster, Rhino-Ranch and etc. Although, I tend to take the watch I'm wearing off my wrist throughout the day to admire the craftsmanship and the "feel" of the watch. My watch collecting hobby has lead me to 3T which has allowed me to make new friends with the same mindset that a watch is more than something to tell the time with, thanks. Norm (Stormin) Last edited on Mon Jun 15th, 2009 05:26 pm by stormin13 |
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Rhino-Ranch Guest
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Great stories everyone...!!! Interesting how Griff was turned on to time-keeping and chronos. Stormin I enjoyed your story as well, but won't be sending my watches to you for repair ! Jim |
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bigrustypig 3T WIS
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KenC wrote: Paxman wrote:KenC.....tell that little voice to send me your watches...KenC wrote:oagaspar wrote:Rhino-Ranch wrote:Perhaps this question has already been posted -- But I am curious to know why do you collect watches, and when did you first become aware that you liked watches?  I'll be waiting!!! |
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JCrad 3T WIS
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Well, since you asked... I bought a quartz Tissot on a trip to Switzerland in 2001 and had that for 6 years after I began with Citizens and a Timex(my first Timex was 7th grade and some jerk smashed it all over the P.E. locker room one day when I had unwittingly left my locker open). When my daughter was a newborn in 2007, I spent a lot of late nights watching Tim Temple on shop-at-home tv. There was no music or loud noises, just soothing dialogue, so it was well suited for infants. I began noticing all the cool watches and developing a taste for some, and eventually bought a Sturmanskie hand-wind. I have since added a few Orient Makos, a Steinhart Nav-B and a Seiko Black Monster, among others. My wife got me a nice watch box for Christmas, so she's as on-board with this as one could expect. There are a few guys at work who are into watches as well, but we need to take it easy on the geek-outs.... |
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romano 3T WIS 
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Along with the comment that its the only piece of jewlery a man can wear or change often as a means of expression for me its the fascination with precise engineering and construction. they are truely remarkable little machines and in many ways timepieces are one of the fundamental building blocks of the industrial revolution, exploration and discovery, and experimental physics. |
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Paxman 3T WIS
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I started fairly young when I received a hand cranker Mickey Mouse watch on my 7th birthday. I always loved my Dad's watch, a Relide auto he picked up while in the service in Germany circa 1954. He wore it on a true 70's he-man cuff but had a nice Gruen Curvex he wore for work. Fast forward a couple years and Santa gave my brother and I some LED watches about 1974or 1975. They were the BOMB then!! When I was about 10 or 11 I got real fascinated with pilots, astronauts and such and wanted to work toward attending Air Force Academy. It was then I saw a picture of someone with the Rolex GMT Pepsi and my fate was sealed. That watch never left my mind. Unfortunately my lack of eyesight dashed Air Force dreams at 14. Had a nice Bullova during high school but then kind of went underground and non-conformist for about 10 years. When I wore a watch it was something cheap and disposable. Grew up a bit and started wearing ESQ and the Bullova along with Citizen Ecos. I remember my buddy showing me his Tag and thinking that's cool if you have money to blow. I though an automatic was too much trouble. Had Swiss Army Marlboro watch I wore for years, a sweet ESQ Pepsi Diver I wore the hell out of and a Bullova Millenia I beat. About 2002 (kids!) I kind of put away some of my more selfish hobbies like riding a Harley and golfing with the boys and began staying home to spend more time with the family. Soon thereafter I got the bug and it has been downhill ever since. It is funny how one's tastes change over the years but how somethings remain consistent. When I was just starting out in the work world I had Fossils and the like. always a Sub or Seamaster homage. Never got into chronos and have always kept it basic with A GMT being about as much complication as I want on a watch. I am old enough to remember winding watches so I have always liked handcrankers. Love a watch I don't need to worry about and that I can get wet with so divers are perfect. I don't care if they are big or small with my biggest being 55mm and having some vintage pieces I feel are a little too small at 36mm. I'll still strap on a 39.5mm and find it sufficient and not too petite. So where it will lead I can only guess. Great to hear and share our WIS roots.:D |
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Graham 3T WIS
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This thread made for some really interesting reading - great stuff, 3T!hand6.gif |
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Rhino-Ranch Guest
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Some good stories throughout, and lots of realizations. Mechanical marvels that track our existence, symbolize engineering accomplishments, time travel, appointments, occasions, anniversaries, births, deaths, military assaults landings & actions, countdown launch sequence, celestial navigation, exploration, decompression, vacation and relaxation. This morning I jumped in the shower, and left my Black Monster on my desk -- it was a startling experience to be momentarily naked of weighing time on my wrist. Keep the stories coming ... Graham wrote: This thread made for some really interesting reading - great stuff, 3T!hand6.gif |
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joecb 3T WIS 
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Very interesting topic.... I always was facinated by watch movements. Growing up in the fifties all watches were mechanicals... My brothers and I would get ahold of broken watches and take them apart and try to fix them..Always got my fathers broken overwound watches... Some times I could get them to work for a while, most times not.. I always stayed with mechanicals or autos, first Seiko purchased was in 1970. As stated before, only male jewelery that I felt comfortable wearing... Now it is just alot of fun to display my different watches at home, ( which really bugs my wife). I tend to give alot of watches as gifts. And my middle son Colin, has really developed a good collection of his own, and he enjoys it as much as I do. I like the larger, bolder looking watches.. By the way Jim, I think we know each other from the past.. I remember you as a tuff pain in the butt attorney ,who represented alot of the commercial fishermen out of Montauk.... I knew you moved away a while ago, I missed our confrontations in court. You were a pain in my a.., but I had respect for you ,you always held to your principles... Best regards, Joe |
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Rhino-Ranch Guest
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I tried to be fair and reasonable. Of course, I can see if I was standing up for my clients Constitutional rights -- that some over-zealous law enforcement agent(s) might think that I was being tough. If you know what I mean.... interesting that our paths cross again. So, by the way, did you post your story about collecting watches? |
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joecb 3T WIS
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It was the first part of my post. I did not mean to offend you Jim. It was ment to be a compliment, that you did indeed fight for your clients. best regards, Joe |
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JKang 3T WIS
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I thought I'd pose this good qn to someone older and wiser; my dad. He used to dabble in watches when he was a young exec. Now he's more into high-end cameras. He has only one everyday watch now, a 2 tone GMTII which he bought in 1997, celebrating his first regional directorship (when we still had a manufacturing industry to boast of). His watch is his daily companion and reminds him of what it took and what he stood for when he made the job, values he still lives by today. He was only 43 then, not bad for a poor village boy from Malaysia who had to work right after O-Levels to help support my uncles. He had always wanted that particular GMTII with bronze dial and the gold bezel, and had waited till he'd got family priorities right before making the plunge. The next watch he'll buy will only be when he retires, and he's already decided on a Nautilus. I think the man deserves it, a great friend and father! That, he says, will just sum up his work as a businessman and father, and mark the beginning of his golden years. Last edited on Tue Jun 16th, 2009 11:28 pm by JKang |
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bigrustypig 3T WIS
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Jonathan, the Nautilus is a superior addition to a collection especially if it is to define a collection. I was eyeing that copper/gold/steel GMTII many years ago in the past but somehow I saw it as a faded, inferior design. Now that I'm older, I regret not snagging that one when it was much cheaper.  |
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JKang 3T WIS
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Flogged off Photobucket, but this is the same model. Gets nicer with time 'cos the dial gets a bit more copperish and the dial print "sits into" the dial more, than when new. I've tried it on, but alas, my skin tone is too fair to set it off nicely. I do better with black dials. |
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bigrustypig 3T WIS
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JKang wrote: Flogged off Photobucket, but this is the same model. Gets nicer with time 'cos the dial gets a bit more copperish and the dial print "sits into" the dial more, than when new. I've tried it on, but alas, my skin tone is too fair to set it off nicely. I do better with black dials. I agree. Gets better with age and with extended use. The great thing about the Jubilee bracelet is that dings, swirls and scratches are not easy to spot/notice. Story would be different on the Osyter bracelet where swirls, dings and scratches are for the whole world to see. Can you "swipe" a Nautilus photo, Jonathan and post it here?yourock.gif |
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Rhino-Ranch Guest
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Joe -- I was not offended, and appreciate your compliment. Strange indeed to cross paths at this distance, at this time. And all is good, as stated in PM, when you are ready to retire, come on out this way. Jim joecb wrote: It was the first part of my post. |
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