Watch accident thread: Survivor Watches/Rough Reps

[Nightwatch]

When destiny strikes…….. sooner or later our watches take a hit!  But is it a Rough Rep? Did it survive?

 

Beaten, banged, dropped, miss-treated, ran over by the Hummer, fell into the pool, slipped into the mud, slid off the table, got hit by a lightning …..

You name it: How did it happen? How did it survive? How does it tick now? And as a cherry on the cake: Pics of the survivor!

 

Thought this could be fun and instructive for all of us: Which watch takes a beating?

Just name it, give Your vote or post the worst that happened to your Survivor Watch.... 

 

Intention is to get something like a “Rough-Rep”-ranglist for the most rough, robust, surviving, still good time keeping watches.

 

[SSTEEL]

I don't have any photos of them anymore, but I had an old Eddie Lee sub that I dropped from about 3ft onto a tiled floor, then it slid along another 12ft, and dropped into the swimming pool filtration cover.  Recovered it, and was still working, and did for a year or so on from that incident.  Unsure where that rep is now though.

 

I can't remember where I got the next rep from, but I dropped it on a marble kitchen top from about a 1ft high, and 4 of the 10 indices came away from the dial

[panerai153]

Just wait til nanug sees this thread!!!!! He has some special torture devices. Every watch he owns is a survivor.

[lhooq]

I was wearing my first DW 7032 while on vacation in Bologna.  The bracelet snagged on the strap of my backpack and a poorly-fitted springbar popped loose, sending the watch flying.  It landed crown first on the concrete sidewalk.

 

A few dings, a few scratches, and a subdial hand popped off.  Otherwise, OK. 

 

[Nanuq]

Here's my take on the subject, great idea!

http://www.rwgforum.net/topic/2412-how-tough-is-a-rep-submariner/

[panerai153]

That's how you heat treat steel in Alaska, drop it on a lava flow for a few seconds, then throw it in the snow?   Only the fit survive!!

[Legend]

That's how you heat treat steel in Alaska, drop it on a lava flow for a few seconds, then throw it in the snow?   Only the fit survive!!

Looking at how Nanuq treats his watches, I often wonder about  the REAL reason he buys reps. 

 

It is economically inefficient to smash a $5000 sub every other week. 

[04harley]

I wish I had kept the link for a real Rolex that was worn by a ship's mechanic.  He evidently lost his Rolex while servicing the engines in the ships engine bays, and without his knowledge, it fell into the oily bottom of the ship's drive system.  If I remember correctly, it was found years later and returned.  Beat to heck with scratches and looking like it had been ran through the mill...but still running.  The story was complete with pictures.  Quite the ordeal if in fact the story was true.  

[Nanuq]

Here ya go:

http://forums.timezone.com/index.php?t=tree&th=513911&mid=1439928&rid=41756

[JoeyB]

I don't have any pics, but the 'Noob' Submariner from Andrew that I got for my Son when he went away to the University of Hawaii went through a rough 4 years. My Son isn't into watches, knew it was a rep but figured a Sub is a Sub. I greased all the gaskets and tested it, and regulated the movement. After his 1st year I had to re-install the hands, all 3 had fallen off while surfing. The 2nd year I had to replace the crystal that hit a rock while cliff diving. He refused to tell me how he broke the bracelet link twice. But it still runs and the 21j still keeps very good time. And it looks more like a gen 16610 that is naturally aged. 

[04harley]

That was the link Nanuq!  That made such an impression on me at the time, that I thought seriously about getting a gen Rollie.  But after getting my 1665 MBW, I saw no need to get the real deal.  I have had it for 5-6 years and it has been through some crazy stuff for a rep.  I scuba with it, worked as a machinist, and now work for the dept of corrections...and it is still my daily beater.  Maybe because I bust the tropics out of all my PAMs.  :-)  3 of my 4 PAMs are in the "shop" right now getting crystals replaced....again.

[Nightwatch]

Hey Nanuq, You really got everything on the topic, panerai 153 said You would drop in on the subject, was just thinking of dropping from shelfs and banging into walls like I did with my rough survivor Piccard DSSD - not throwing from bridges and running over with the car:)!

Have You ever tested an Olight M20-X Warrior special ops flashlight Your way? That would really interest me, its a fantastic light which takes a beating, highly reliable and off-topic but nevertheless. Pic attached think You would love it.  Ahh - You can also freeze it:)

And seeing that Submariners also take quite a heavy beating, fine to know.

Below my DSSD which unadvertedly got roughly used falling off a shelf onto the marble floor (had to open it and re-glue the lumedots the first time), since than has been banging into walls, runs fine, almost no visible scratches, recent pic, good for a careless use as its already "pre-tested"

[therobm]

My sosf had out up with my party rocking relatively well. My pvd milgauss prohunter, got a small scratch on the case after one night, one dirty dirty night.. Never going pvd again

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Nanuq]

Hey Nightwatch, that piece is looking nice! You'll like this, my 1680 has lived a (cough) hard life too.

[04harley]

Hell yeah...that looks like my 1665 MBW.  I would wear that!

[Nanuq]

Check the 2nd pic, and people complain about their endlink fit??

[alt.watch.obsessive]

Arrgg...I was second bidder on Ebay for the most spectacularly beat up 1680 about a year ago that I'm still [censored] about. Even more beat with a crystal you could barely see through that had been chipped away until it was almost round, but a perfect creamy dial underneath.

 

Have we ever had a thread on why Rolex is the only watch that really looks good beat up?

 

 

Hey Nightwatch, that piece is looking nice! You'll like this, my 1680 has lived a (cough) hard life too.

[Nanuq]

Like this?