Broken Time - Confessions of a lost watch lover

[Donerix 2.0]

I still remember when the release of a new watch of a certain brand would send my heart rate into unhealthy territory and inject serious amounts of endorphins in my blood stream. At first trying to satisfy my need for a fix by perusing countless pictures of said object online and then finally rushing to a store or watch show to see it in the flesh or - yes it could really happen - actually hold it in my own hands and feel the perfection of the steel between my fingertips.

And the love for the more mature pieces and the never ending pursuit of the best possible build of the rarest of rare timepieces.

Will I ever forget the moment when my eyes caught sight of a certain case shape between a mountain of worthless junk during the visit to a flea market in Germany which turned out to be an original Rolex GMT 6542 case with case back and original ghost dial completely devoid of any lume markers ..... I found the grail.

And then the ensuing hunt for the right GMT movement from the original manufaktur to fill the missing link and the countless sleepless nights considering the sacrilege of actually re-luming this piece of history despite the fact that it was barley legible even in the brightest of lights.

What happened to this passion that seemed to fill every free hour of the day? Or to the excitement of making a hand-stitched strap for the latest vintage Panerai from that perfect piece of old cow hide ripped from a dilapidated suitcase or well worn boxing speed bag? Why do I know seem to miss the logic in buying literally dozens of different endlinks to finally get the perfect fit for this vintage rivet bracelet for that Tudor build. Boxes of parts stare at me repeating the question: What happened?

Was it the pandemic's fault, that gripped so many of us with it's subconscious depression and tried to pull us down? Why did I not make better use of these months where all economic activity had stopped and do something with this most valuable asset? Learn a new language, go out and surf, unlock that last thing that makes my golf swing still suck. Build some watches out of all these parts piling up in my work studio. Anything would have been better than wasting hours - which added up to days, if not weeks - watching depressing youtube videos or calculating the newest Worldometer numbers of new cases and COVID deaths for the next 24, 48 or 120 months... yes I really did that!

But no. I think it had started before the news of the first cases started coming out of China. Somehow that light of passion for watches that had been glowing so strong and for so long had started to flicker already some time ago. But why?

Was it because I had seen it and done it all? Barely. Why is it that the Tudor Black Bay 58 which should be right in my wheelhouse just gets a nod of deference with a snidely comment about it's chubby side profile compared to it's ancestors or that basically nothing in the current Rolex lineup even gets a second look. Panerai has already lost me a while ago with it's endless sequence of ever more identical looking models hidden in their model number salad. Have I become that jaded?

I know my other passion, the one for four wheeled pieces of art is still going strong like always. Maybe it's because living in the Third World most of it needs to be satisfied online and only the occasional trip to Puerto Banus will get me a car fix strong enough to hold me over for a while. But shouldn't this also be the same for watches...?

After all watch spotting there is a real treat in comparison to the fields of Nicaragua.

But somehow the new Porsche GT3 Touring or the new Ferrari 296 GTB or the recreated Lambo Countach can do to me what neither a new Daytona nor  Nautilus seem to be able to...

Maybe I am just in a phase of reorientation .... having worn my Seiko Turtle every day for the last several months seems to point that way. Something that seemed unthinkable a couple of years ago especially considering the other pieces collecting dust in the watch box.

And I am wearing it on the same strap all the time! And I didn't even make it! It's a ridiculously expensive Eulit perlon strap (worth very penny though if I am honest).

I still enjoy making watch bands for other people though, but even there I have to admit that the creative challenges are getting harder to find between those orders for AP hornback or Hublot croc belly straps.

Maybe I am just getting old? Maybe I need a change of scenery? Maybe I need a project? Maybe I need to see a shrink, because technically I have nothing to complain about.

So why did I just type all this? I really don't know but I suddenly had to do it. Maybe to just get it off my chest.

Thank you for allowing me to do so.

Maybe, just maybe ( a lot of "maybe-s" for someone who usually doesn't have a problem making even tough decisions) you have an idea?

Donerix

 

[Nanuq]

Hey brother I'm right there with you.  To my feeble way of thinking I blame most of this not on Covid, but in what was done to us using Covid as an excuse.  We've been lied to, we've been intentionally misled, we've been hyped up, we've been ridiculed, we've been called troglodytes for failing to "follow the science", when no two scientific bodies can agree on what the "science" even is, and we've ridiculed our brothers for wanting to have opinions different than ours.

 

This last year and a half has torn families apart, it's torn deep friendships apart, it's torn apart the national pride and sense of trust that many of us hold dear.  It has shaken us to our core and we are now divided.  Left refuses to talk to right, red hates blue, country hates city, up hates down, in hates out ... we have been masterfully divided into smaller and smaller groups, and pitted against each other.

 

Social media has become a cancer on society as we stand back and hurl anonymous rocks at our neighbors.  We can now justify animosity toward "the other guys" because dammit, they hurt me or said bad things about me and I'm just not going to take it anymore.  So we justify our behavior.  What did Bill Maher call it the other day?  The "dorm room bitch session" the internet has become?  He's right.  We are so focused on the meaningless minutia that we've lost sight of what matters.

 

It's hard to feel admiration for the long, sensual beauty of the lugs on a Big Crown.  It just feels... wrong.  Superficial.  Our minds are spinning with the latest statistics or the latest "facts" or the latest talking points or the latest news... looking for anything to justify our anger.  Raw beauty is covered up with the dust of a crumbling society.  Our attention is in all the wrong places and it's eating us up from the inside.  Sure, a Lamborghini is enough of a sensual hit that it breaks through the fog for awhile.  But a guilloche dial?  Too easy to skip over.

 

So what do we do?

 

#1 - Turn off the damn TV.  Quit visiting the political websites.  STOP IT.  Their goal is to make you angry enough that you'll click on headlines and satisfy your hunger for more adrenaline.  It's all clickbait and they are spinning you up.  They have you hooked.  STOP.

 

#2 - Go outside and play.  Leave your phone home.  That's right.  Put it away.  You'll live.  See if you can turn it off and leave it off for 24 hours.  Find a place and sit down and just look.  Be still.  Listen.  Smell.  FEEL.  Do it for an hour.  It's a lot harder than you think.  Try writing down what you experienced at the end of the hour.  See how much you can recall.

 

#3 - Find another living being and share an afternoon with them/it.  Take your dog for a walk, some place HE wants to go.  Try to be as pure and simple and enthusiastic and "in the moment" as he is.  Take your best friend or wife or someone special and go do something new with them.  See them in your surroundings with new eyes.  Smell.  Listen.  FEEL.  Take it all in.

 

#4 - Do something kind for someone else.  Do it so they'll never find out it was you.  As you're doing this kind thing, plaster a big dumb smile on your face and keep it there whether you feel like it or not.  You'll discover the smile will make you happy, not the other way around.  It always works, get in the habit.  

 

#5 - Pray.  Meditate.  Close off your distractions and spend half an hour with your "higher power", whomever you like to think that is.  Express gratitude for how good your life is.  Think of your friends and think something positive about each of them, and give thanks for each one.  Feel gratitude.  Speak thanks.

 

There are lots more good steps I could list, but these are the biggies for me.  They help keep the important things important, and push the nagging irritations to the back.  They shut down the noise in your head and let you just .......... be.  Pretty soon you'll start to treasure that sense of peace and it will slowly become important to you again.  And when it does, simplicity and appreciation for simple beauty will follow.  You'll realize your focus has shifted completely away from the craziness in the world, you'll appreciate leaving your phone at home when you go out, and you will have broken the hold this frantic world had on you.

 

Be an oasis.  Welcome people into your small, calm world.  Refuse to react.  Smile.  Feel gratitude.

 

[cornerstone]

1 hour ago, Nanuq said:

#4 - Do something kind for someone else.  Do it so they'll never find out it was you. 

 

To be clear, when Nanuq says this he's suggesting someone gifts me a watch

 

More seriously, definitely understand this feeling and don't have the answer.  Maybe partly ennui, maybe the diminishing returns on adding another watch.  Price rises and speculation have changed part of the hobby.  Social media too has changed it.

 

That being said, I'm very eager to be inspired by a new watch challenge, and love most the watches with a story or a bit of a mission behind them regardless of whether the watch was rep, gen, franken or microbrand.

 

Maybe we can all trade inspiration? 

 

[Dan71]

I’m more deep into watches (rep or gen search and lecture ) when I’m depressed, when ghost from the past (girls and job failure ) full my brain.

Watches can shoo away bad thoughts.

So when I’m not into watches mean that I’m more calm and relaxed.

But if I will inherited a lot or expensive watches for sure I will be happy.
easier if I inherited a lot of debts :-(

I lot of inconsistency here I know ..

If can be consolatory I’m annoyed about all in general (persons , girls, car , restorant etc etc ) I can’t found new incentive i don’t found anymore person to admire or at least to emulate .

Maybe I’m only middle aged (50)

[automatico]

Donerix, Nanuq, Dan 71...

 

We have all changed.  Everyone does over time. 

Some by choice.  Some by chance.  Some by circumstance.  (not to be confused with circumcision)

 

I 'seriously' started trading watches in the early 1970s and stayed revved up for years.  Not now though.

'Seriously' = buying/trading for something of value rather than mostly junk.

 

Q...What changed?

A...Mechanical watches were all there was when I was a kid other than Accutrons and 'run for a day' Hamilton Electrics.  I tried to wear a rolex (1603 DJ) but it felt like I was married to it trying to keep it running so I went back to my 214 Accutron.  I accumulated/bought/sold a lot of mech watches because they were what traders/buyers wanted but I never cared too much for them.  Too many hassles...cleaning/oiling, break when dropped/slammed, many were not too hot at keeping time, being married to them etc.

Since they were always giving trouble, I had to pay someone to fix them or learn how to work on them.  So I learned how to work on them...more or less.

I have a few hundred mechanical watches left from my trading days but many will no longer run because of being stored for so long (25 years or more).  Some are worth a few bucks, most of then not worth much.  I sold all the good ones too soon looking back but who has a crystal ball?

 

Fast Forward to today:

I see today's new mechanical watches for what they are...basically a money con.  Watches that cost $1000 or less to make selling for $10k+ and no parts available except to get high $$ 'factory service' and it is sometimes a botch job.

Q...Why do I see it that way?

A1...Because that's the way it is.  Imho.

A2...Because a quality $200 quartz watch will keep good time, last many years, and give very little trouble.  I can not stand the whack, whack, whack jumping second hand on quartz watches so I mostly wear an Accutron II.

 

Q...What about vintage watch prices getting so high?

A...Probably a nostalgic bubble.  Only time will tell.

 

Q...What will I do with the Bulova, Benrus, Omega, Longines, Marathon, Fortis, Zodiac, Rolex etc watches?

A1...Sell them if I can.

A2...Let someone else worry with them if I can't.

 

Q...What about the Disney and cheapo fashion watches?

A1...Yard Sale!  Flea Market!  Give them away!

A2...Dumpster.  We threw thousands away in the 9+ years we had a store and I already have six 18 inch x 16 inch x 14 inch plastic boxes full of watches in the garage for Mr. Dumpster sooner or later. 

Q...What are they?

A...Some are new/nos with pricey non running or obsolete movements.  Others have Hattori (Seiko) PC 21 or Miyota (Citizen) 2025/2035 movements in GRO and I use them for repairs.

 

Q...What about the replicas?

A1...Sell them?  A chancy endeavor.

A2...Remove the swisseta movements from the better ones.  Whack all the cases/bracelets with a hammer, feed them to Mr. D.

Q...Why?

A...It's the easy way out.

 

Q...Any keepers?

A...ETA F520117 noobmariners.  For the Classic Replica Museum in Hong Kong.  Ha!

 

 

Cornerstone:

"To be clear, when Nanuq says this he's suggesting someone gifts me a watch."

 

I have little doubt there is one on the way.   

You might wait by the mailbox but take plenty to eat.  Chicken sandwiches maybe.   

 

[Donerix 2.0]

I see I am not the only one in this predicament. Maybe (another one) I should have a look at the sales section and see if something tickles my fancy...

[Nanuq]

How about a Heimdallr SUB 300T? For $179 shipped you can’t go wrong!

[cornerstone]

11 hours ago, Nanuq said:

How about a Heimdallr SUB 300T? For $179 shipped you can’t go wrong!
 

 

Outstanding suggestion!  I have a brand new order from Heimdallr on the way!

[Nanuq]

I may have *cough* gone a bit overboard ordering those beauties.

[automatico]

"I may have *cough* gone a bit overboard ordering those beauties."

 

You are not going OB.

Buying two 25,000 piece lots of reading glasses is going OB.   

[Nanuq]

Hey it may seem like a bad idea now, but you just wait until North America runs out of reading glasses in +2.0

Who’ll be sitting pretty then!

my precious......

[cornerstone]

10 hours ago, Nanuq said:

I may have *cough* gone a bit overboard ordering those beauties.

 

I really struggled between picking between two colours, and I might as well surrender to the fact I will end up buying both.  I'll check out how the first one goes, but like any normal person my first priority in life is solving "imagine it's Koningsdag in the Netherlands, what watch should I wear for scuba?"

 

9 hours ago, automatico said:

Buying two 25,000 piece lots of reading glasses is going OB.   

 

There's a story that needs shared here

 

On 9/1/2021 at 4:49 AM, automatico said:

I have little doubt there is one on the way.   You might wait by the mailbox but take plenty to eat.  Chicken sandwiches maybe.   

 

Nothing yet.  I'm getting worried for the health of my postman.

[Donerix 2.0]

23 hours ago, Nanuq said:

How about a Heimdallr SUB 300T? For $179 shipped you can’t go wrong!

This does look pretty awesome I have to say.

...

[Nanuq]

Yes indeed, and the yellow is even better, and the orange even better than that! Don’t get me started on the turquoise... I already sent mine plus some Yobokies “Doxa” hands for a little mix-n-match.

It’s like a candy shop!
Although, close inspection of the BOR band makes me think those are links that look like a BoR. Easily solved with a visit to Squinkys on eBay.

[automatico]

The reading glasses story...

As I have said in previous posts, I was a silent partner in a wholesale/retail watch store for a few years and we also bought/sold things other than watches.  Remote control helicopters for example (another story).

 

We had contacts with wholesalers/liquidators all over the country and one guy had a huge lot of sunglasses and reading glasses (Foster Grant and InSight brands) so we bought 25,000 readers and they sold out in a few weeks.  Since the first order went pretty fast we bought another batch.  They did not go so fast and we had some left after 6 months or more so I picked out 200 pairs to peddle around here to 'friends and relatives' along with 500 'Realtree' style elastic watch retainer straps (another story).

Just now looked in the garage and I still have about 100 reading glasses but did not count the retainer straps because they were not handy, my guess is about 300, maybe more.

We bought a few thousand sunglasses too but they sold out in a hurry.  All I have left in sunglasses is two pair camo style (one broken) and one Panama Jack on a ceramic pig decorated like a cop.

 

Then there is the story about buying about 500 pounds of 'chocolate coated caramel candy' at a bargain price...in February or March iirc (I have posted this before).  The guy we got it from left out that it was all Santa Claus bars.

Although it was still good until the end of the year we could not sell Santa Claus bars in March and April.  Besides that, we could not sell them to flea market dealers or set up in a F Mkt ourselves to sell it because it would melt as soon as the sun hit it.  I ate a LOT of chocolate covered Santas that year.

 

My 'partner in crime' is now in the wholesale/retail food business.  More stories of course...I bought about 200 Ghirardelli chocolate coated caramel (!!) candy bars a while back for $10.  Pretty good deal but I discovered my craving for chocolate covered caramel candy had completely gone away.

 

[cornerstone]

On 9/4/2021 at 1:53 AM, automatico said:

so we bought 25,000 readers

 

If you put them all together I think you'd have a half-decent Hubble space telescope

[automatico]

 

"If you put them all together I think you'd have a half-decent Hubble space telescope."

 

Chocolate coated space telescope maybe.  Ha!

[Buddhabar]

I fully agree with what my friend Nanuq says ...
It is necessary to consider that the human nature itself is fragile, but when one is aware of what is happening to us, one must be stubborn and implement the suggestions that Nanuq has indicated.

 

Great Thanks.