Victoria

Double gold star. My fave pic so far, and we had some good ones, boy.

I like my gen Seikos and my wife's gen Gucci.

Oh I love your Seiko! I think that's a VERY underrated marque.

The Gucci...well, I have various versions of the Gucci Twirl, gen and rep, which is nice and chunky.

But growing up I recall these Gucci watches.

I had this.

I didn't have this.

And oh God, how much I hate this kind of watch now.

Yeah it's funny how growing up sometimes we are conditioned to think that ballet is "gay" or that doing ballet is not a masculine thing. Then when you get older you realize if you do ballet you get to dance with incredibly gorgeous ballerinas in amazing shape and in very sensuous movements....I feel like a real dummy for going to basketball camp with sweaty guys when I could have been learning ballet

Or that professional athletes sometimes get ballet training, because it improves their dexterity. Like Shaq had.

And I believe 6'7 Peter Crouch got dancing lessons, to which he invited his clubmates to witness. They died laughing.

I agree that Mikhail's movado has to go, but he has an endorsement deal with them I think I recall seeing ads with him wearing one.

Oh God, yes that must be it. I vaguely recall what you are referring to.

I love Misha, really, but that guy is stuck in the 70s, when he was at his height and the brands of the period were cool. Like Movado.

I'm sure he still has his super tight Sergio Valentes somewhere...

For me, a watch is the only jewelry a man can wear - next to a simple weddingring...

In some cultures, men wear their wedding ring on the right (Germany, Spain, etc.). Anglophone cultures on the left, as a link to the heart. Various historical reasons for that.

Have noticed that many men here don't wear wedding rings, e.g., in Wrist-Checks, but then I don't know if they're married or not.

[Edit]: Cufflinks are nice, too.

Cufflinks, I'm happy to say, are making a comeback amongst younger men. I notice them in the Wristchecks, at that.

Btw, the watch should fit the belt and cufflinks. And a heavy watch goes best with heavy boots...

But that's just me.

Good idea! I hadn't thought of it that way.

How about ties? Would you wear a string tie with a Rolex?

Multiple Choice question above.

As you may have noticed, I love rings primarily, but I also have bracelets, and have inherited some pieces I cannot wear yet (too dated, or in the case of earrings, I don't have pierced ears).

Most guys don't like to wear jewelry.

Some even balk at wearing Wedding Rings. My father has lost his band so many times, that for a while, he went without. My own boyfriend hates jewelry, and barely wears a watch, but I'm changing that slowly but surely.

Do you wear jewelry, or only watches?

Which: Rings, Pinky Ring, Bracelets, Cufflinks, Cigarette lighters, etc.?

EDIT: Wow, they even have a name for male jewelry, AKA, Mewelry.

You're talking about some wierd "royal" euros. I was having dinner a few years ago in Italy with a duke or something from Spain (I don't really recall as those titles are meaningless to me). He was cheap as hell and could not care less about other people's money. My businessman friend was paying the bill and this royalty guy ordered expensive wine and never offered to pay. He rents out his castle too, to get money. That is not USA style at all, totally different culture.

Yes, different culture, different mindset.

But what they do isn't weird, it's just that the true "gratin" of the USA, the ones who have had money for well over 150 years (which is a lot of time for the US), don't show up in the tabloids -- else you'd have a daily barrage of these stories.

There isn't a popular circulation mag like an Hello or "Hola!" equivalent in the US which feature your aristocracy -- the Astors, the Vanderbilts, the Lees of Virginia -- because they were long ago superceded by filmstars in your country.

Then they were superceded by rockstars.

Today, it's a mix of all these, plus whomever gets exposure for the sake of being famous (like Paris Hilton).

And I haven't quite decided if there's a benefit to one way or the other.

Each is grotesque for what it is, but I know one thing: even "just folks" can get a bum rap if they all you ever went by was their behaviour on Jerry Springer.

Anyway, I still prefer gens to reps, but I have fun with both.

so when is a winner going to be announced?

Thanks for reminding me to post an entry. My best rep shot ever.

Sono solo un dolce trasvestito

Del planeta "Bisesso"

Della galassia Transilvania

:lol:

Just to lighten the atmosphere a bit. Night!

As you can see, our rich friends move in different circles.

LOL! No airs and graces there. Or hair.

Good stuff, Pugwash. You should check out the Panerai clubs in the UK...frightening. I've seen less skinheads at Millwall matches!

P.S.: Remember, Pugs. Middle-class people get into debt to act like the rich. It's not the rich who make the world a playground for merchants, but the middle-classes.

Here's a photo of that German lady I mentioned up top.

That's her daughter wearing a Bangkok special. Not bad for an MBW.

EDIT: I believe she is too, but it's hard to tell. Daughter is an acquaintance of mine. Check out the geeky German grinning like a chimp in the back.

005 Looks gen to me.

Teach me!

Actually, yes the 005 looks gen, and the 111 looks like a DSN because of the tell-tale lever-dimple.

Something also looks a little off about the dial in the 111h, but can't put my finger on it. For a split-second, it looked like a sausage dial. BTW, strapwise Chad, flawless. A+.

vbarrett, we wanna see those 177 incl. carbon strap shots!

Thanks for reminding me! I'm on it.

Please check the Start of the Week Wristies this Monday for an update.

is that the grove?

Got it in one.

you know...if you didnt change watches so much i'd prolly be able to pick you out in sb. ill keep lookin at wrists.

Stalker!

Seriously, though. If you see me, tell me the next day. Don't come up to me, because I'm not nearly as friendly in person, as I am here. As DBR says, we British are reserved. Don't want you to walk away muttering to yourself, sheesh, what a harridan! Or some such.

EDIT: Unless you're wearing a Classic Big Pilot first!

@Lumpy below: I know, don't worry. RWG is not like another forum where I get creepy PMs for photos and "wanna meet me" etc...

@V why u zingin me?

I forget.

Here's a Wristie from yesterday, early in the day.

They buy Yachts?

Old money doesn't actually have any money. The landed gentry send their kids out in hand-me-downs because it's either that or release some of their equity.

THAT, m'darling, is what they want you to think precisely because of this attitude.

Case in point:

One of the richest persons I have ever met is a German F

To the last three gents who posted -- flawless!

@Seadweller400: LOL! Best laugh I had all day. God, Germany is so beautiful in autumn...that looks like Heidelberg, though you've already mentioned where you are.

@Raymond: I am so excited for you about your watch and strap! Those photos are perfect, and since an HKTAN strap might take a while, I will use Kurt if I buy a 3717 (looks unlikely now, ever since I saw the Norwegian German rich possibly gay Nazi's Classic Big Pilot in person).

@Slai: You are COOL personified. That is all.

Saying rich people are cheap is just myth perpetuation. If the rich are cheap, who buys luxury goods?

Middle-class people who want to ape the rich?

Pugwash, as I said, it's not about not spending money, it's about attitude and mind-set.

Coming from a background where I lived breathed and ate alongside these people, I know that their cheapness is a form of protection. It's all-pervasive the older the money, too.

Bottom line is, their cheapness stems from a gnawing feeling that they are being taken advantage of, because they are rich. And they HATE that.

Who doesn't, I hear you say. Sure. But they have a point. People try to take advantage of those they consider wealthier than they, almost as if they have a right to their money.

"They have money! Why shouldn't they give me more!"

BTW, this attitude is what has kept me away from modding so far. Someone like the modder we spoke of earlier in the week would just see $$$$ with a person like me, and that KILLS me.

When I went over to my Uncle's house the other day, I saw him wearing a 212. Needless to say, he had no clue about any PAM history, let alone know that his watch was called a 212. He told me that he had been seeing more people wearing it, and that the local dealer said that PAMs are a really hot status symbol, so he got the most complicated and most expensive (non gold) one they had. I smiled, congratulated him, and told him to wear it in good health, while I died a little inside. Few things disappoint me more than ignorance.

NOOOOOOOO. I don't want Panerai to become the new Rolex. NO NO NO. With numpties who know nothing of the marque, its history and just buying pink or ammo straps just because. :yuk:

Well, fortunately, New York is not America, as the old saying goes. Yes, hard luck for you Defacto, but I have yet to see a PAM in 5 days, let alone 5 minutes and I live in Trend Mecca USA.

When I go on holiday this December, we'll see...probably New York, so don't die a little inside when you see me, okay?

@Defacto re: Tribe: Sorry about the result for you BUT anyone who expects a bottom of the 9th rally, down 5 runs, with Papelbon at the plate, and his hard "no sh-t Sherlock" stare, is fooling himself!

P.S.: What was the deal with Beckett's Navajo-Cherokee collar and shark tooth around his neck?? I thought that was forbidden during a game, since it can distract the batter. I mean, GO SOX! and I love Josh, but come on. Even that grated on me.

Aye this watch collecting lark really makes us do the most sensible things...

I too have charged my watche's lume up before going out; mea culpa...!

Oh forget it. When I'm about to go outside, since my torch is right next to my watch cabinet, I immediately grab it and place it on my watchface for 5 minutes!

Lady with the Lamp.

Yes, vanity. But it looks SO COOL!

I love that you LOVE your Arktos! It's great to fall in love with a watch, coup de foudre or slowly.

As for DYEING your strap, wow.

I once tried to follow Sssurfer's excellent tips on dyeing PAM strap threads here:

http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showtopic=9148&hl=

And I used a pricey Dirk Nubuck. Ay! I had to stop. Turned out horribly. What a dunce.

How I wish I had your skills!

Well, that could be the difference then, eh? I don't socialize with rich folks on a daily basis, but the ones that I know and the times that I do illustrate a different mindset than 'cheap'. Perhaps it's an 'old' money versus 'new' mindset? Or maybe more accurately, old person versus young?

Good point. However, I am startled by how quickly the spendthrift scions of "Old Money" suddenly get the cheap bug. It rarely fails.

I can't speak to this as I'm not a Brit. Again, perhaps this is a cultural thing as I don't see much of this here in the US (certainly not in the circles I'm familiar with, anyway).

In the old New England families, the Saltonstalls, the Cabots, the Lodges, as well as the Southern plantation families, you see this attitude.

The matriarch of a very well-known Southern family once told me, "Dirt no. Patches yes", to describe how she allowed her son to go out dressed.

I think that attitude is laudable, and much better than the gaudy, flashy, disposable ways of many new millionaires (don't think just American, either. We have plenty of Eurotrash, believe you me...).

This is where I see a difference between 'cheap', and 'smart'. Patching up a 50 year old bed sheet set is cheap. Having your lunch partner, who is likely pretty well off as well, pay for your lunch? That's smart!

It may be "smart", clever IOW, but it is also inconsiderate and therefore, at the very least, bad manners. At the very worst, a lack of empathy and balanced perspective on life.

I'm not saying I never allowed someone to treat me and vice-versa.

But when I notice someone is taking advantage of me, by always expecting me to fork out, forget it.

They are dropped quicker than Larry Craig at the Police Booster Club.

I also make sure I tip, but I tip relative to the service I get. I've been called 'cheap' for leaving little or no tip in the past, but I don't see it that way.. C'est la vie.

Ah. Well, rare RARE is the time I don't leave a tip. We have Cuban cafecito joints here in Miami. The cafecito costs about .50 cents. I pay with a dollar, in effect leaving a cafecito's worth of tip to the ladies.

Do they thank me? No. But that's okay. They're working girls, and heck, I wouldn't do what they do. God bless 'em.

My comment wasn't meant to be an endorcement of any kind of behavior, one way or the other. But I don't see the illustration between cheap and extravagant where buying an employee a coffee is concerned? That's not an obligation, 'nor is it an example of being cheap, IMO.

As I mentioned above, there seems to be a palpable difference between old money and new (and perhaps UK versus US?).

Possibly.

I can only go with what I've seen, but I think, with my hand on heart, that making your servants pay for such commodities as coffee or tea would be considered scandalous in another age. Maybe in the age where servants are paid a little better, no.

But I mean, crikey. Anyone who cleans my toilet deserves a nice cuppa on me.

Anyway, I only replied as I see topics like this come up, from time to time, on all my various message boards. Rich folks are dumb. Rich folks are cheap. People that buy BMW's (seen as rich folks, at least here in the US) are all stuck-up and stupid. Etc, etc, etc. I may not hang out with the Queen of England, but I do know my fair share of well off people and I find these generalizations to be inaccurate, at best.

SR

Well, there we are then. I thought our convo was rather fun, actually.

So far, my answer is closest to TMG's.

Like almost everyone with a decent-sized rep watch collection, I don't have a daily beater.

I change watches as many times as I take a shower and therefore clothes, so 3 times per day in the SoFla heat. Never less than twice per day. NEVER.

But sometimes, I notice, when I just want to go out for a walk, and it's muggy or rainy outside, I reach for a watch which I call Old Faithful.

No. Not a PAM.

It's my Navigater Pumpkin PO, now settled unto its orange NATO strap (thanks to Chubbchubb's and TMG's tips on buying one).

Comfortable, good-looking, fits perfectly AND you can see me coming a mile away -- important at night.

I've never quite understood the meaning of that. I mean, a watch does not make you gay. What would concern me would be is people getting the wrong idea of me and attracting the wrong kind of attention. It's not about sexuality or sexual insecurity, it's about pragmatism.

On theory, I agree.

But I've had a girl pinch my bum at a club, and I slapped her hand away, startling her. I was wearing all black togs, with Doc Marten boots, and very little makeup, so I'm not sure if I was sending out the wrong "signals" that night. I mean, I'm still me -- a girly girl.

But I still wore my black togs and Doc Martens other times. Sex-pests of any gender shouldn't ever prevent one from doing what one likes.

P.S.: As a girl, come ons/being chatted up are a normal part of life. I expect it. Depending on how its done, I can laugh, go "ugh", be charmed or creeped out by it.

Part of the problem with the gay thing in males, is that you don't want ever to invite that kind of "come on" from another man, yes? You are supposed to be the chaser, not the chasee, the "dominant" partner, not the "passive".

To me, this is the single-most obvious reason why there are gay threads, even light-hearted ones like this thread has been, on male-centric forums.

Because you can sure bet "Does this make me look gay?" threads don't occur in women's forums.

Jfreeman, that's a great idea! Though I'm down the pike from you, I wouldn't participate in the PAW activities, I still think it's laudable and fun.

Not sure if this was posted only in the VIP section, but TWP also will be modding a PAM 111 or 112 as a PAW (since I have both, won't participate in that either), so potentially RWG could have two going around.

The more the merrier!