mr mg Posted December 20, 2009 Report Share Posted December 20, 2009 Hey guys, wondering what it was that first caugth your imagination and began the obsession into watches, and then perhaps what it is about reps (as I suspect it is for many of us more than just wanting the original)? For me it was getting an old watch that my grandfather wore in the 2nd World War as a Royal Aust. Air Force serviceman. I got it for a birthday at around 6-7 years old, but had to ask to even hold it for a number of years. I remember the first day I was allowed to wear it to school -thought I was so tuff... Still have the watch and still keeps time. Winding every day gets tired quickly though, so I don't wear it. But any watch that works without having a service for over 80 years is doing alright! As far as reps go, there is some level of loving original watches (have a few Gens), as I just love how well resolved well designed watches are. But then there is something special about reps in their own right (and yes I have a few that are very "special" from bad dealers -before coming accross RWG, and from the bad old days of reps, from the street markets of asia ). I suspect the intrigue comes from seeing just how perfect we can get a rep in comparison to the original. It's the adrenalin of it I think?? I even think there is that in dealers. I have gone with one of the recommended dealers for my most recent buy, but I just can't help but try to find other good dealers also, because the "find" is half the fun!!! Love to know your experiences and if anyone agrees or has a different way they caught the bug. mg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted December 20, 2009 Report Share Posted December 20, 2009 My nan gave me my first watch when I was about 8ish, and I was hooked ever since Reading On Her Majesty's Secret Service first clued me in to Rolex, and I guess it was a downhill spiral from there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteM Posted December 20, 2009 Report Share Posted December 20, 2009 I was left an old Omega pocket watch and from there I bought gen Omegas then Breitlings then PAMs from there I wanted more so Reps seemed a economical option If only I had known the truth before I became immersed!! I think what makes it better is the sharing of an interest with others and always learning something new. With reps the canvas is blanker and so you can create your own version so to speak. Through this I have learnt the history of that Omega pocket watch which makes it all the more special to me as do the other watches I own, they are not just from an AD, reps I mean now, they have a lineage an evolution which again makes them all the more interesting and nice to wear. The end product whether its the research or the building or both makes it more satisfying to wear and own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davey Posted December 20, 2009 Report Share Posted December 20, 2009 I bought a second hand TW Sub from a work collegue and then I was obsessed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fer Posted December 20, 2009 Report Share Posted December 20, 2009 (edited) In the early 60´s my Dad gave me a water damaged, but working Eterna-matic wristwatch, I was only eight or nine years old but I felt Like A MAN wearing the thing. My Dad was a watch lover himself and had a Gold Omega and a beautiful Speedmaster. So I guess this sort of addiction has a genetic component. I´ve loved watches all my life and I´ve had many. Presently I have about 10 gens and 5 reps. My interest in Reps has developed over the last year and I enjoy seeing the new models and improvements. I´ve learned A LOT through sites such as RWG , and others. I look forward to new and better reps in 2010... I want to thank the generous members of this forum for their advice and for sharing their knowledge, So Thanks Guys and HAPPY NEW YEAR! Edited December 20, 2009 by Fer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MasterOfPuppets Posted December 20, 2009 Report Share Posted December 20, 2009 My friend bought a Bvlgari watch from china for $50! i was amazed by the quality of the details and how it had a fully functional chrono Then me and him were walking through the mall and passed an AD, the exact same model was displayed at the window, so we wanted to compare, and didn't find any flaws with the one he was wearing! then i thought to myself, what kind of an idiot would buy this for around 4ks?! That day i started doing some research over the net, and here i am! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fakemaster Posted December 21, 2009 Report Share Posted December 21, 2009 I needed a portable way to tell time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr mg Posted December 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2009 I needed a portable way to tell time. nice one fakemaster. well it seems there is a bit of a pattern there, that for many of us, it starts in our youth, and perhaps with a feeling of grown-up-ness. I went through a few years of giving up the watch wearing, after coming to the realisation that they were superfluous, since most of us carry a mobile timepiece in our phones now. But then after no watch wearing for a few years, I remembered (when I was bought a longines gen) that watches aren't aout telling time! well not 'only' about that anyways.... thanks for all your posts guys! It's really interesting to know a few other stories. mg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mingus2112 Posted December 22, 2009 Report Share Posted December 22, 2009 It was my father's Bulova that I was left last year when he died that started my watch obsession. After that I got heavy into reps (I wanted an Omega SMP) and now i'm back where it all started. Vintages! They're tiny by today's standards, but I like the style. They're also affordable. I got a 1970s Omega Geneve, recently serviced, for $175 and a 1960s Seamaster Deville for $100. Even after servicing the Deville i'm only $200 into a beautiful 50 year old watch! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fijikid Posted December 22, 2009 Report Share Posted December 22, 2009 When I was 14, I used to take the train into NYC from the burbs with my skater buds and we'd skateboard all over Manhattan (facking awesome). While on Canal Street one day I bought a fake Rollie sub for like $25. Wore the [censored] outta that watch and it actually lasted a good long while. That was 24 years ago (!!!!!). Over the years I would pick up a watch here and there, but it wasn't until I went to the Chatuchuk flea market in Bangkok while travelling with my wife, that I bought my first Seiko chrono (6139-8012 IIRC). That was it. Game over. Came back to NYC and discovered the Seiko Forum, got into divers, went swiss vintage and that's where I'm at now. In my internet trolling I came across this place and was dumbstruck by the quality of reps (since the 80s!!!). You all know how it goes. I've learned more here about movements than on any gen forum I've been - not to mention encountered one super supportive community. I'm glad I fell victim so many years ago.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raijor Posted December 22, 2009 Report Share Posted December 22, 2009 When I was 2 years old I used to watch my dad wind his pocket watch. After he was done he used to put it up to my ear so I could hear the sound. I marveled at the sound of that miniature machine. When I grew older I learned that amazing sound was the watch operating and from that I could know what time it was. I was hooked on watches from way back then. I still have my Dad's pocket watch and use it as a desk clock. I still put it up to my ear after I wind it and just listen and marvel at that wonderful sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImScaredSarge Posted December 22, 2009 Report Share Posted December 22, 2009 When I was a young child, Captain Koons brought me my father's watch. I can still remember his words... "I got something for ya. This watch I got here was first purchased by your great-grandfather during the first world war. It was bought in a little general store in Knoxville, Tennessee, made by the first company to ever make wrist watches. Up until then, people just carried pocket watches. It was bought by Private Doughboy Ryan Coolidge the day he set sail for Paris. This was your great-grandfather's war watch, and he wore it every day he was in the war. Then when he had done his duty, he went home to your great-grandmother, took the watch and put it in an old coffee can. And in that can it stayed 'til your granddad Dane Coolidge was called upon by his country to go overseas and fight the Germans once again. This time they called it World War Two. Your great-granddad gave this watch to your granddad for good luck. Unfortunately, Dane's luck wasn't as good as his old man's. Dane was a Marine and he was killed along with all the other Marines at the battle of Wake Island. Your granddad was facing death, and he knew it. None of those boys had any illusions about ever leaving that island alive. So three days before the Japanese took the island, your granddad asked a gunner on an Air Force transport named Winocki, a man he had never met before in his life, to deliver to his infant son, who he had never seen in the flesh, his gold watch. Three days later, your grandfather was dead. But Winocki kept his word. After the war was over, he paid a visit to your grandmother, delivering to your infant father, his Dad's gold watch. This watch. This watch was on your Daddy's wrist when he was shot down over Hanoi. He was captured and put in a Vietnamese prison camp. He knew if the gooks ever saw the watch that it'd be confiscated; taken away. The way your Dad looked at it, this watch was your birthright. He'd be damned if any slopes were gonna put their greasy yellow hands on his boy's birthright. So he hid it in the one place he knew he could hide something. His ass. Five long years, he wore this watch up his ass. Then when he died of dysentery, he gave me the watch. I hid this uncomfortable hunk of metal up my ass for two years. Then, after seven years, I was sent home to my family. And now, little man, I give the watch to you." Lets just say it meant a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxman Posted December 23, 2009 Report Share Posted December 23, 2009 When I was a young child, Captain Koons brought me my father's watch. I can still remember his words... "I got something for ya. This watch I got here was first purchased by your great-grandfather during the first world war. It was bought in a little general store in Knoxville, Tennessee, made by the first company to ever make wrist watches. Up until then, people just carried pocket watches. It was bought by Private Doughboy Ryan Coolidge the day he set sail for Paris. This was your great-grandfather's war watch, and he wore it every day he was in the war. Then when he had done his duty, he went home to your great-grandmother, took the watch and put it in an old coffee can. And in that can it stayed 'til your granddad Dane Coolidge was called upon by his country to go overseas and fight the Germans once again. This time they called it World War Two. Your great-granddad gave this watch to your granddad for good luck. Unfortunately, Dane's luck wasn't as good as his old man's. Dane was a Marine and he was killed along with all the other Marines at the battle of Wake Island. Your granddad was facing death, and he knew it. None of those boys had any illusions about ever leaving that island alive. So three days before the Japanese took the island, your granddad asked a gunner on an Air Force transport named Winocki, a man he had never met before in his life, to deliver to his infant son, who he had never seen in the flesh, his gold watch. Three days later, your grandfather was dead. But Winocki kept his word. After the war was over, he paid a visit to your grandmother, delivering to your infant father, his Dad's gold watch. This watch. This watch was on your Daddy's wrist when he was shot down over Hanoi. He was captured and put in a Vietnamese prison camp. He knew if the gooks ever saw the watch that it'd be confiscated; taken away. The way your Dad looked at it, this watch was your birthright. He'd be damned if any slopes were gonna put their greasy yellow hands on his boy's birthright. So he hid it in the one place he knew he could hide something. His ass. Five long years, he wore this watch up his ass. Then when he died of dysentery, he gave me the watch. I hid this uncomfortable hunk of metal up my ass for two years. Then, after seven years, I was sent home to my family. And now, little man, I give the watch to you." Lets just say it meant a lot. Sounds like "fiction" to me Vern knowhatImean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klink Posted December 23, 2009 Report Share Posted December 23, 2009 Scam sites led to forums led to idea of becoming a dealer.. a few months went by searching, and I was a dealer.. figured that if U.S. based guys could find suppliers, a diligent search would work.. and yes, it did.. the effort was a bit more complex than one would think.. LOL Life is indeed Good! Klink Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanikai Posted December 23, 2009 Report Share Posted December 23, 2009 What obsession ??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImScaredSarge Posted December 23, 2009 Report Share Posted December 23, 2009 Sounds like "fiction" to me Vern knowhatImean Leave it to max to catch it. Now to find a post into which to incorporate Ezekiel 25:17... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotty Posted December 23, 2009 Report Share Posted December 23, 2009 Saw Transporter II - Panerai Daylight crono. Loved it but had no idea of the brand etc. Googled it; bought one (rep). Had issues. Found RWG forum. Read, read, read..... Started buying other reps. Now have small but satisfactory collection (all modded pieces and frankens), and a lot more knowledge than I started with..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murda Posted December 23, 2009 Report Share Posted December 23, 2009 My old man has always loved watches and I guess passed the addiction down to me. I just recently found this site but believe it is the most interesting and genuine (how ironic) forum for watches. Its not just a who spent more [censored] measuring contest like I find other forums can be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeJay Posted December 23, 2009 Report Share Posted December 23, 2009 Not to be a total , but I've always heard it with this pronunciation Five long years, he wore this watch... Up his ass... Love that film Absolutely love it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmb Posted December 23, 2009 Report Share Posted December 23, 2009 I wuz just researching a "cheap" interesting watch and you guys are a bad influence... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwatch Posted December 23, 2009 Report Share Posted December 23, 2009 When I was little, my Grandfather had a 70's seiko kinetic watch that I was always really fascinated with. He was an engineer so he went into great, enthusiastic detail about how the automatic movement worked. I was blown away. To this day I still try to find that watch but I just have no idea what model it was. Fast forward to about a year ago, I was in downtown Los Angeles and I came across a store selling replica watches. Most of them were terrible, but I found one that was quite nice. It was an Omega DeVille Hour Vision. I fell in love with the simple, elegant look of the watch. I bought it for $50, took it home and immediately started researching the watch. Of course, to my dismay, I discovered it was a pretty bad replica. That led me to start looking for a better one. The days and days of googling led me here. That was the beginning of the end for me. Now I'm hooked! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercury Posted December 23, 2009 Report Share Posted December 23, 2009 i have no idea. Got a lot of watches when I was young and I always liked good watches. So..BAM..REPS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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