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Just a personal observation and reflection over how much one’s tastes change over the course of time in this hobby. I’ve built, owned and seen a lot of pieces over the last decade (wow, has it really been that long?), and where I am now in my collection is the furthest, and yet still true to where I started. As with most who enter this hobby, I used to be interested primarily in Rolex; the iconic Sub 16610 specifically. Didn’t take me long to jump into the world of vintage Sport Rolex and then the fascination with Daytonas came into play. As tastes matured, I became more and more fascinated with tourbillons, and an admiration from afar for things like perpetual calendars and repeaters. Now, as I look at most of my collection while it’s home visiting me from the bank vault, I notice a pretty overwhelming theme; simplicity. While I still love and adore the complications (and would love to eventually move into building some of the more complicated vintage Pateks), there is just something to be said for the balance and classic design of time only pieces. I've also found myself going further back in time for vintage preference; the 1940's and 1950's seem to be an interesting period for me. And since a thread is worthless without pics, I will try to convey in images what I am trying to express (and not very well I might add) in written word… (please excuse any dust, smudges, imperfections, poor placement of hands, etc; these are straight off the camera, so likely crude and unrefined ) And to be fair… I do still have one(!) chronograph… But how could I resist? I'd like to know if others find themselves on a similar path... 100 watches to 10, vintage to modern, Rolex to Cartier, big cases to small... I wouldn't be surprised, as the hobby is very evolutionary in and of itself. Still, I would love to hear from others as to their thoughts on the subject as well as their own journeys

Rolex holding the crown position in the watchmaking industry has its reason - it produces "Les Beaux Arts". The moment I unpacked this dial on my work bench, a French phrase rang in my head - "Les Beaux Arts". I couldn't help but gave the dial a good half an hour gaze, trying to figure out the materials and the work processes to produce this little piece of art. I checked all the watch forums, gen or rep together, and learned that gen Yacht-Master 16622 dial is made of a slice of solid platinum. Like the 50th Anniversary Submariner 16610LV insert, gen 16622 dial reflects different glares or sparks under different angles or colors of light. Also like the Submariner 16610 & 16610LV, gen Yacht-Master 16622 dial print has quite a few versions since its 1997 debut. Some have "slender" Yacht-Master font, while others looked "bold". Members on Rolexforums argued about which variation or series built is worth more to invest in or collect. My British friend and I do not have such a problem. To us, the red, "bold", and raised in high gloss Yacht-Master text appeals the best. Rolex dial makers are the elite few who mastered the skills in dial printing. Gen Rolex dials always bears its trade mark feature - raised printed text. On Yacht-Master 16622, the printed text is somewhere between gloss to matte. One thing worth mentioning is, to pad print on an uneven surface, like the platinum Yacht-Master 16622's dial, and still produce the raised printed text is a lost art. I'm very happy my British friend mastered this lost art. Gentlemen, may I present "Kensington High 16622 Dial". The lume shot. Another shot under work lamp. Thanks for reading. TC 07/10/2015

I have a GMT Master 1675. It was serviced by the Rolex agents and the usual service dial, hands, glass and bezel insert was fitted. A new Oyster bracelet was also fitted as the watch did not have one when I bought it. Fortunately, I managed to retain the original dial, insert, hands and glass. The GMT hand is the small one. Unfortunately I do not have any original papers or packaging for the watch other than the paperwork I got from the service agents. What I am considering is exchanging the GMT Master for a new or nearly new Submariner Ceramic Date-Less 114060. Is this viable? What could I get for my GMT Master and what is the mint 114060 likely to cost? What could I realistically expect to pay in? Before. The original dial, glass, hands and bezel insert shown are included. After. The picture is a bit underexposed. The insert is the usual pepsi red and blue.

This is just a refresh for those who may have forgot about this problem... Some of the pics have been taken one year ago from SSteel, some I've found on the web and modified later. Recently I purchased a watch from a member of the cousin forum RWG.bz, knowing it had some problem and thinking that I could have fixed it, supposing it to be an Asian Eta clone. Unfortunately, when I got it in my hands it turned out that it was not an Eta clone but something that looks similar but it's one of the most terrible movement I've happen to see. The "infamous" Z2 clone-of-clone, also called "new breed high beat asian", also called PieceOfShit (POS) movement. Real code is "SB1HRZ2": It was in this watch, sometimes misrepresented by the original TD: http://www.tswatchltd.com/15942-om15942-seamaster-pro-300m-black-ceramic-ss-a2836.html Well guys, STAY AWAY from that movement. It is really as bad as it can be. The escapement works fine (it can keep good time), but the rest is a disaster, starting from the terrible finishing of it. Just a quick refresh to see how you can spot it in the following pictures. Note that what I write about ETA is valid also for the real Asian ETA Clones like the Seagull ST21 1) the POS dial is kept in place by screws and not by hooks like in gen/asian ETA: 2) the click is very different and really as bad as it can be: on the POS is on the ratchet wheel, on the ETA is on crown wheel: 3) the autowind bridge is also different: on the POS all the reverse wheels are not kept in place by a lower bridge, while they are on ETA The first 2 points are the most recognizable out of the movement. Look carefully and you may spot some detail that will let you discover the POS signs, like in these examples: Note that you can't just swap an asian ETA there because: hour or minute (don't remember) hand will be loose on the ETA date wheel is totally different and will not fit the ETA Also note that there are NO spare parts for it (and being a POS it doesn't even deserve them...) and also simple parts like the stem are not replaceable with ETA ones.

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It's a 7750 sans oscillating weight. Most likely you can see the little arm attached to the pusher which allows it to seem offset. Notice the way the case is a little different shape for each pusher?

Slip that baby back on your wrist and nobody will get hurt. Move along Gents, nothing to see here...

A while back, I bought a Smurf Sub-C from IndyWatchGuy. It has an Eta 2836, and ran from spot on, to +3 seconds a day, a very nice piece. I started noticing lately that it was slowing down, and had started being 10-15 seconds slow. Hmmm. After a lot of head scratching, and figuring that it will need an expensive service, I started to think about other possible causes. After digging around in my watch toolbox, I found an old compass, the kind that they used to include as prizes in Cracker Jack boxes. I thought "Why not, might as well check for that" I waved the watch over it. And the compass spun like a top. Interesting. So I went on Ebay and found a brand new Chinese demagnetizer for $10. Holding the watch on it, I hit the power button for 10 seconds, lifting the watch straight up in the air away from it in the last two. I did the compass check, and the needle didn't wiggle a bit. And she has run +2 seconds over the last 24 hours, sitting dial up. It's really nice when a cheap fix works! O

Changed up. New strap arrived. Like the vintage look of this one. Sent from my droptop using telepathy

It's an omega day for me

Will you be offering the TC YM anytime soon???? :D

Comex day ...