A brief history of watches and me..

[roberto 24]

Wasn't sure whether to post this in the introductions section, but I've done one of those already, so the General forum it is. Hope that suits.

 

I thought I'd share a little of my watch obsession story.

 

I’ve always liked watches. Ever since I can remember I’ve found them fascinating. When I was a young lad my Grandad had his own business and always dressed well, sporting an Omega Seamaster which I thought was fantastic and so did he, rightly so.

 

So, me then. In my youth I acquired quite a nice little Seiko, and a lovely little piece of kit that was. Hmmm, now whatever happened to it?

 

Moving forward in time I met a lovely American girl who worked for American Airlines and we were together for a while. She introduced me to Canal Street in New York, which I guess a lot of folks here will know or know of. I remember visiting for the first time and seeing all of the shiny watches, and her telling me that my eyes looked like they were going to pop out of my head. If I recall correctly the first treasure I collected from there was a rather scabby Tag Heuer rep which worked for about thirty seconds and then the bracelet broke. Absolute crap.

 

Exhibit A: Aforementioned Tag 90's cheapie, Soon to be returned to the depths of the bottom drawer. Swish, isn’t it? I must have looked so sophistomocated (copyright Homer Simpson).

 

Fast forward a few years and I returned. The quality of the reps had improved for sure; I brought a very nice Breitling (now deceased- an odd little number with a crazy weight in the back of it) and an automatic Patek Phillipe (Looks very classy, but never really worked properly for any length of time, and with a dopey typo on the reverse. ‘Patek Phillippe’. Nice)

Still, they cut some admiring glances during that brief period in the sun. After I parted with my Flight Attendant darling another veritable lovely once chatted me up on the strength of clocking the pricey kettle. (Forgive the local slang here by the way folks) – clocking = seeing; kettle = kettle and Hob, Fob (Watch) – a bit of old Cockney Rhyming Slang..

 

Anyway, I digress.

 

Here’s the Patek ‘Typograph’ by the way..

 

After that, in a new job in London, I bought a plastic Tag Heuer Formula 1 in nifty blue from a jewellers shop in Fenchurch second hand. It cost me £90. They were all the rage and it was very common to see a plastic Tag F1 worn by someone in a suit. Ooh.

 

Fast Forward again to 1997 when I briefly visited the Ukraine. I’m still enchanted by these watch things. I bought a Russian submarine watch. It was great. And then ruined it the same day by jumping in the pool back on the ship I was on. I would have really loved that watch. Idiot. I wonder if they can still be picked up? Hmm I should look into that.

 

I’m rambling again. Anyway, back to London now and fast forward once again. To celebrate ten years of being in a different job that I never really liked I decided to treat myself to a nice, proper genuine article. Cue the delivery of one Breitling Colt Transocean from the Watches of Switzerland store in Bishopsgate, London. I spent many a lunch break dribbling and peering though the windows at the displays. You don’t get so many jewellers displays in London these days, modern crooks have learned how to ride motorcycles and carry heavy hammers. Shame.

Anyway, I liked the blue dials and I was sold on it. It was over £1000 at the time, but actually looking at the prices now it doesn’t seem a lot. It’s a pretty thing, these days featuring a new blue strap (over £100, I nearly bloody fainted), rather than the supplied stainless affair.

I am assured some of the Chronograph markings and set-up relate to yachting. Now yachting I don’t do so much. There are not many yacht owners where I live. Anyway, I’m not really the seafaring type, probably the closest I’ve came to it is the cross channel ferry. But I always have that up my sleeve if needed. I shall be ready to time my turn at the buoy, or whatever the hell it is I’d have to do.

 

So anyway, I still really do like that watch and have a real respect for it- the quality of it is superb. I had a fairly big motorcycle accident and it took a decent whack in the process. It’s got a few marks on it as it is well used, but I love it and would never part with it.

 

Here's the kiddy (Apologies for a tatty photo, I'm not getting the hang of this yet).

 

Things then went relatively quiet on the watch front, me happy with my blue number, and me buying in a couple of watches suitable for ‘knocking about in’ as my dad puts it. At the moment the knocking about population is a Swatch, very nice indeed and incredibly light, and a Tissot T-Race brought from an e-bay special. Actually the Tissot is a great watch, although not everyone’s cup of tea with it being Orange. A recent girlfriend said ‘You can’t be wearing that watch with me, it’ll have to go’. Needless to say, I still wear it, and she’s what had to go.

 

The knocking about crew..

 

It’s funny how people are. My first purchase here was a Panerai rep from timeshops. I wore it on a trip to Scotland, and in a little town called Applecross we ran into another group of bikers. After a fair evening of conversation one guy who was clearly fairly wealthy, clocked and said ‘Is that a Panerai?’ and then promptly proceeded to treat me differently, clearly thinking I was loaded and probably could do some business with him or other.

 

Here's that very watch. Another underwhelming photo, too. Sorry about that.

 

OK I’m off track again.

 

So as mentioned, I found this site when looking around the web, and hey presto, what a revelation. I’ve dealt with a few dealers here and found them to be excellent.

 

Timeshops- Said Panerai (striking, a little problem with the strap but sorted fast), a Chopard Singapore GP (superb detail, strap a little fiddly)..

 

..and a BR-02 (a nice little cheapie)..

 

Prestige Watch - A Graham Silverstone (a little piece of art.. well in my eyes anyway)..

 

.. and a recent Rolex Milguass Bamford (I’ve got a bit of a problem with the bracelet there but I might be being thick. It’s certainly possible).

 

And lastly, but not least, Narikaa, for a Planet Ocean (quite superb).

 

Speaking of observations, my boss also has a keen eye for a watch. He loves to see what turns up next on my wrist.. I’ve explained they’re not Genuine, else I think he may have thought I’d made off with the Christmas Club money or worse still, they were paying me too much. He is stunned with the detail and definition of these things, as am I.

 

Oh, and back to the Planet Ocean from Narikaa was received a couple of days back. Again, It seems I’m drawn to the sea for no particular reason aside from the pretty watch. I showed it to my Grandad, and he was having none of it that is wasn’t the genuine article, giving me that knowing ‘I’m old, but I’m not stupid’ look. Things sure have changed.

 

 

So that’s that. Thanks for reading this if you’re still awake. And forgive the quality of the photos, I’ll work on that so I can do proper justice when sharing stuff.

 

Go in peace, make tea, not war.

 

Roberto

[scope 3]

Welcome, You found the right spot!

[Ska 11]

Great collection, and a fascinating Saga of wristery!!

 

glad to see someone shoehorning a bit of the east-london lingo in there.

 

Cheers for taking the time!!

[NFleischer 4,355]

Welcome aboard. Thanks for sharing your tales of obsession; we can all relate.

[Member X 91]

Great story

[graman 2]

Nice collection mate!

Welcome to the nuthouse!.........I think you found the addiction before you found us!

[dave47 6,578]

Actually, Roberto, I found your story very fascinating, one that parallels mine to a degree. I too have always loved watches but, coming from a poor family, could never afford one. I've been blessed (?) by a generous wife who purchased a gen. Rolex DateJust for me (for surviving a serious brain surgery) -- and that's when I realized I loved "luxury" watches but could never afford them. (The DJ was a one-shot deal.) After being scammed by a dishonest piece of human crud, I found this and another rep watch forum -- and a safe haven, with plenty of friendly soul-mates who share your passion. Like others, I say, WELCOME and enjoy your pursuit of happiness.... .

 

dave47

 

 

 

 

Wasn't sure whether to post this in the introductions section, but I've done one of those already, so the General forum it is. Hope that suits.

 

I thought I'd share a little of my watch obsession story.

 

I’ve always liked watches. Ever since I can remember I’ve found them fascinating. When I was a young lad my Grandad had his own business and always dressed well, sporting an Omega Seamaster which I thought was fantastic and so did he, rightly so.

 

So, me then. In my youth I acquired quite a nice little Seiko, and a lovely little piece of kit that was. Hmmm, now whatever happened to it?

 

Moving forward in time I met a lovely American girl who worked for American Airlines and we were together for a while. She introduced me to Canal Street in New York, which I guess a lot of folks here will know or know of. I remember visiting for the first time and seeing all of the shiny watches, and her telling me that my eyes looked like they were going to pop out of my head. If I recall correctly the first treasure I collected from there was a rather scabby Tag Heuer rep which worked for about thirty seconds and then the bracelet broke. Absolute crap.

 

Exhibit A: Aforementioned Tag 90's cheapie, Soon to be returned to the depths of the bottom drawer. Swish, isn’t it? I must have looked so sophistomocated (copyright Homer Simpson).

 

Fast forward a few years and I returned. The quality of the reps had improved for sure; I brought a very nice Breitling (now deceased- an odd little number with a crazy weight in the back of it) and an automatic Patek Phillipe (Looks very classy, but never really worked properly for any length of time, and with a dopey typo on the reverse. ‘Patek Phillippe’. Nice)

Still, they cut some admiring glances during that brief period in the sun. After I parted with my Flight Attendant darling another veritable lovely once chatted me up on the strength of clocking the pricey kettle. (Forgive the local slang here by the way folks) – clocking = seeing; kettle = kettle and Hob, Fob (Watch) – a bit of old Cockney Rhyming Slang..

 

Anyway, I digress.

 

Here’s the Patek ‘Typograph’ by the way..

 

After that, in a new job in London, I bought a plastic Tag Heuer Formula 1 in nifty blue from a jewellers shop in Fenchurch second hand. It cost me £90. They were all the rage and it was very common to see a plastic Tag F1 worn by someone in a suit. Ooh.

 

Fast Forward again to 1997 when I briefly visited the Ukraine. I’m still enchanted by these watch things. I bought a Russian submarine watch. It was great. And then ruined it the same day by jumping in the pool back on the ship I was on. I would have really loved that watch. Idiot. I wonder if they can still be picked up? Hmm I should look into that.

 

I’m rambling again. Anyway, back to London now and fast forward once again. To celebrate ten years of being in a different job that I never really liked I decided to treat myself to a nice, proper genuine article. Cue the delivery of one Breitling Colt Transocean from the Watches of Switzerland store in Bishopsgate, London. I spent many a lunch break dribbling and peering though the windows at the displays. You don’t get so many jewellers displays in London these days, modern crooks have learned how to ride motorcycles and carry heavy hammers. Shame.

Anyway, I liked the blue dials and I was sold on it. It was over £1000 at the time, but actually looking at the prices now it doesn’t seem a lot. It’s a pretty thing, these days featuring a new blue strap (over £100, I nearly bloody fainted), rather than the supplied stainless affair.

I am assured some of the Chronograph markings and set-up relate to yachting. Now yachting I don’t do so much. There are not many yacht owners where I live. Anyway, I’m not really the seafaring type, probably the closest I’ve came to it is the cross channel ferry. But I always have that up my sleeve if needed. I shall be ready to time my turn at the buoy, or whatever the hell it is I’d have to do.

 

So anyway, I still really do like that watch and have a real respect for it- the quality of it is superb. I had a fairly big motorcycle accident and it took a decent whack in the process. It’s got a few marks on it as it is well used, but I love it and would never part with it.

 

Here's the kiddy (Apologies for a tatty photo, I'm not getting the hang of this yet).

 

Things then went relatively quiet on the watch front, me happy with my blue number, and me buying in a couple of watches suitable for ‘knocking about in’ as my dad puts it. At the moment the knocking about population is a Swatch, very nice indeed and incredibly light, and a Tissot T-Race brought from an e-bay special. Actually the Tissot is a great watch, although not everyone’s cup of tea with it being Orange. A recent girlfriend said ‘You can’t be wearing that watch with me, it’ll have to go’. Needless to say, I still wear it, and she’s what had to go.

 

The knocking about crew..

 

It’s funny how people are. My first purchase here was a Panerai rep from timeshops. I wore it on a trip to Scotland, and in a little town called Applecross we ran into another group of bikers. After a fair evening of conversation one guy who was clearly fairly wealthy, clocked and said ‘Is that a Panerai?’ and then promptly proceeded to treat me differently, clearly thinking I was loaded and probably could do some business with him or other.

 

Here's that very watch. Another underwhelming photo, too. Sorry about that.

 

OK I’m off track again.

 

So as mentioned, I found this site when looking around the web, and hey presto, what a revelation. I’ve dealt with a few dealers here and found them to be excellent.

 

Timeshops- Said Panerai (striking, a little problem with the strap but sorted fast), a Chopard Singapore GP (superb detail, strap a little fiddly)..

 

..and a BR-02 (a nice little cheapie)..

 

Prestige Watch - A Graham Silverstone (a little piece of art.. well in my eyes anyway)..

 

.. and a recent Rolex Milguass Bamford (I’ve got a bit of a problem with the bracelet there but I might be being thick. It’s certainly possible).

 

And lastly, but not least, Narikaa, for a Planet Ocean (quite superb).

 

Speaking of observations, my boss also has a keen eye for a watch. He loves to see what turns up next on my wrist.. I’ve explained they’re not Genuine, else I think he may have thought I’d made off with the Christmas Club money or worse still, they were paying me too much. He is stunned with the detail and definition of these things, as am I.

 

Oh, and back to the Planet Ocean from Narikaa was received a couple of days back. Again, It seems I’m drawn to the sea for no particular reason aside from the pretty watch. I showed it to my Grandad, and he was having none of it that is wasn’t the genuine article, giving me that knowing ‘I’m old, but I’m not stupid’ look. Things sure have changed.

 

 

So that’s that. Thanks for reading this if you’re still awake. And forgive the quality of the photos, I’ll work on that so I can do proper justice when sharing stuff.

 

Go in peace, make tea, not war.

 

Roberto

[Mystery Shopper 5,887]

Hi Roberto, your reps from the 90s took me back. I found this rolex that I bought in Thailand or Bali in the 90s (can't remember which trip it was). Anyway, I never wore this one. Quality is absolute crap compared to the choices we have now. Funny thing is, I gave my dad a similar one back then also- apart from battery changes, it works fine to this day!

[sconehead 5]

Hi Roberto...you know, I think I had the exact same pot metal Tag you show in the pics...it turned my wrist green...

[Vector 0]

Hi Roberto...you know, I think I had the exact same pot metal Tag you show in the pics...it turned my wrist green...

 

You must be allergic to pig iron !!

[roberto 24]

Well first off, thanks for the replies and kind words everyone.

 

Actually, Roberto, I found your story very fascinating, one that parallels mine to a degree. I too have always loved watches but, coming from a poor family, could never afford one. I've been blessed (?) by a generous wife who purchased a gen. Rolex DateJust for me (for surviving a serious brain surgery) -- and that's when I realized I loved "luxury" watches but could never afford them. (The DJ was a one-shot deal.) After being scammed by a dishonest piece of human crud, I found this and another rep watch forum -- and a safe haven, with plenty of friendly soul-mates who share your passion. Like others, I say, WELCOME and enjoy your pursuit of happiness.... .

Cheers Dave- and congratulations on getting through that. Sounds like you've got two valuable items there, your good lady wife and the DJ

 

Hi Roberto, your reps from the 90s took me back. I found this rolex that I bought in Thailand or Bali in the 90s (can't remember which trip it was). Anyway, I never wore this one. Quality is absolute crap compared to the choices we have now. Funny thing is, I gave my dad a similar one back then also- apart from battery changes, it works fine to this day!

Yeah, crazy 90's reps huh Scott? Can't say I blame you for not wearing.. but just goes to show they weren't all rubbish back then!

 

Hi Roberto...you know, I think I had the exact same pot metal Tag you show in the pics...it turned my wrist green...

Greetings Sconehead. You know it came rushing back that I had the same thing too..

Where does that name originate from by the way. On the outside chance it is for a love of scones then I'm in that place too..