Changing Tastes - what brand or watch went from zero to hero with you?

[b16a2]

I imagine we've all had it...I remember when I first set my eyes on Panerai; they had such a loyal following, and I just didn't get it. I resisted, I wasn't interested, then I thought I'd try one...and then I "got it".

 

I wouldn't go as far to say I'm a hard-core fan, but of all the watches I have, this is probably the one I will always keep. I really went from being uninterested, to really loving the design. I recently did this with the new design of the Trek Emonda..."they've done what to it!?" to..."ah wow, that's setting a different look to everything else".

 

Is it flip-flopping, or just a change in taste, I don't know

 

What brand or watch did you not like/get at first, but now can't get enough?

 

PS - I can't even remember what this model is...a 111h maybe?!

 

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[Nanuq]

I'm like you, but I've completed the journey.   😈   I started out detesting Panerai as being uninteresting, and eventually thought "what the heck, let's stick a toe in the pool".  So I went to the Dark Side and bought a really nicely done 6154, then a 604 with engraving, then a 3646 Rolerai, then a "welded lug" whatchamacallit with rivet dial.  I wore them awhile and then slowly lost interest, and now they sit at the detested end of the box again.

 

I tried, honest I did.  But I just can't go Full Retard over something as bland and uninspiring as a Panerai.  Time to sell them all!   Or maybe I'll hold onto them just a smidge longer.......

 

 

 

 

 

 

[kernow]

AP.

 

What can I say about them. I craved an AP or 8. So eventually bought 4 divers: black, white, carbon and a titanium, closely followed by a Safari and a Tour Auto. Then I needed (!) a 15400 and a 15202 (or is it a 15300?)......

I still love the look of them all but they don’t get worn. Most have been sold on. I still have 3 left but that’ll change to 1 or 2 soon. 
 

Oddly, I was never bitten by the Rolex bug, instead it’s Omega for me. The fever is still strong with me after around 10 years and I must have 20 or so Omega in a mixture of rep and gen. 

[b16a2]

Nanuq...maybe use it as a desk clock, these Panerais are certainly large enough

Kernow; I'm with you there, huge Omega fan myself. The Seamaster series has always been my favourite line. I respect the Speedmaster but just can't get myself to love it.

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[kernow]

I do love a nice Speedy but only have 1 compared to many Seamasters. I think that the incorrect subdial spacing on the Speedy reps puts me off. 

[alt.watch.obsessive]

Panerai here too. When I was buying my first "real watch" I made a point to check out all the major brands. My visit to the Panerai site lasted about two seconds accompanied by a brief expletive 🤢. Now my 009, 036, 040, and 212 reps are among my favorites.

[automatico]

My first Zero to Hero Watch was the Bulova Accutron 214/218 back in its day.  The Hamilton Electric's reputation scared many away from batt watches so my expectations started out at zero.

Present day Zero to Hero is the Accutron II.  Did not care for them until I bought a couple at deep discounts on eBay when they were discontinued.  I am Ok with them being owned by Citizen, they are a good outfit.

My Hero to Zero brand is rolex (NPFY), therefore I have no swiss watch heroes. 

 

Btw...our rlx, pam, omeg, etc forum watches are mostly china made, not swiss made so I can like them if I want to.  Ha!  

I post mostly about rlx because I have traded/worked on them and there is a lot of interest in rlx on RWG.

[Nanuq]

I do love a nice Speedy but only have 1 compared to many Seamasters.

One Speedy I almost fell for was a Schumacher model 20 years ago in a pawn shop. $500 and beat up, with the fluorescent red hands and checkerboard timing ring around the bezel.

[automatico]

Had a few nos Schumachers in the 1990s, they had an ETA 2892 base with DD chronograph module on top of the movement under the dial.  They were trouble prone but sure looked good and came in a nifty Indy car tire box.

They  were discounted down to around $500 for steel and $750 for steel with 18k trim.

 

[Nanuq]

Well crap, the Seattle pawn shop wanted $900 for it! Good thing i passed.

[automatico]

$900!!

 

That's Speedyway Robbery! 

[jimcon11]

Zero to hero for me is UG, specifically the Polerouter. I originally thought it was such a brutal and overdesigned hunk of metal, totally opposed to the simple elegance and legibility of the military and sports watches I tend to gravitate toward. It was the last watch I would pay attention to for a long time. Then the right picture in an ad (attached below) totally changed my mind. The way the different finishes of the case, dial, hands, inner bezel, work together is unlike anything else; its otherworldliness echos midcentury abstract art. Looking further into them I found out about their legit history as pilot's watches and the exceptional quality of their microrotor movements. I used to think I hated artsy "dress" watches, but as I age I'm realizing that it's the dress watch aspects in sports watches that I really love, the Mercedes hands and chamfers on a big crown Submariner for instance. The Polerouter is like the extreme end of that spectrum, a sports watch fully disguised as some artful dress watch.

 

Hero to zero.. well, I've tricked myself into disliking a lot of brands whose watches I can't really justify the cost of.

[automatico]

Nanuq...

 

Here are some interesting comments on the 2892 base movement with the DD chrono add-on like used in the Schumacher speedo:

 

https://www.watchuseek.com/threads/when-watchmaking-meets-prejudice.5225236/

 

Breitling put a 'transmission' on the stem to disguise this $&%@$#* movement.  The giveaway to ID these things is the out of line pushers/crown and the date 'down in a hole' so they disguised it order to sneak it in on unsuspecting buyers.

It's pretty bad when they have to sneak these no fixit headaches into a watch. 

 

 

[Ronin]

For me, I would have to say Patek, specifically Nautilus/Aquanaut.  I never had any desire to have a Patek. Especially a genuine version.  When I was in Geneva I visited the Patek museum and came to appreciate the brand a little more.  Fast forward to 2020, although I have not pulled the trigger on a rep, I keep coming back to our Trusted Dealers on these.  The slim design/size of the Nautilus is what really attracts me. 

 

In the inverse, I went down the Omega road (Genuine), and I quickly lost interest in my genuine Speedmaster, Seamaster, DeVille.  I can't put my finger on it other than I feel like Omega (design) is at an intersection of Sekio+Rolex=Omega.  Two brands I like actually, so strange.