Watches

[JR8]

I'm not big into watches.

But they still interest me. I currently wear a Cartier I bought about 20 years ago. It's done me just fine, every one of these days...

Been thinking of the 'Tank Francaise' and so on.... but it's a piss-take.... and anyway I hate the freakin French.

http://www.jomashop.com/cartier-mens-wa ... 00018.html

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Am I gonna look well hard, gonna collecting the rent, decked in tha?

[taxico]

no.

no no no no no no.

the tank is a cartier classic. the original tank. not the later ones that look like a santos.

how much are you looking to spend? are you looking for a chunk of gold or...? daily wear or...?

for the price of the cartier in your link, you could get a very nice entry-level patek, (which will hold its value very well).

if you're open to it (some people aren't); rolex does gold quite nicely. vintage rolex yellow gold subs in good nick are well under 18k EUR.

my daily wearer is a steel submariner and i can't complain.

[Mi Amigo]

Nice. I love watches but my budget doesn't stretch to those high-end models. Personally I think Rolexes look great, but when it comes to wearing a watch I prefer something less 'chunky' and simpler, slimmer and lighter.

For example, my Omega De Ville, which looks similar to this one:



Obviously it's nowhere near the same league as the Rolexes you're talking about, but it's so comfortable and (IMO) elegant. I know, leather straps are not sensible here, but I still prefer them.

The great thing about watches is that there are so many of them - a bit like varieties of wine I guess. All you need is cash$$$

[taxico]

there are reputable strap makers and strap manufacturers that have the insides of the strap lined with water proof material. these straps last much longer in the tropics.

or you can get an awesome "lifetime" strap made from shell cordovan. short of cutting them, they just go on forever.

they're both ~$175. more if you choose the custom made route.

[Mi Amigo]

Hey taxico, thanks for that; I'll seek them out. I've not been able to find decent straps here so I usually get them when I go to Europe.

One thing that I find sad is how many people don't wear watches these days. In an unscientific survey on the way home today, I reckon around half the people I saw were watchless. I'm sure they'd say there's no need to wear a watch when you can just look at your HP to get the time. But I don't feel dressed if I leave the house without a watch on.

Anyway, I'll leave you chaps to your Rolex discussion; sorry for the diversion.

[Brah]

I want to like Rolexes, but I could never get over the way the band get attached to the case, it always looked like an afterthought to me. I think there is at least one Rolex model that doesn't do this, but the classic ones do.

Anyway, I'm not a watch geek.

the tank is a cartier classic. the original tank. not the later ones that look like a santos.

my daily wearer is a steel submariner and i can't complain.

[taxico]

...Anyway, I'll leave you chaps to your Rolex discussion; sorry for the diversion.

everybody is welcome. in fact, omega made some of the more expensive and higher end watches in the 60s and probably 70s. they were pricier than or similarly priced as rolex.

i particularly like the 5xx movements found only in vintage omegas!

[durain]

during the good times, my brother asked me to check out the IWC top gun. i not into watches, so dont know what are their prices. so i went to the watch shop (i think it was in suntec city) in my cheapo clothes and got a shock when told how much it was! cant even buy it as they dont have stock and need to order one in!

[jezzadazzler]

I would check on swx.com.sg I bought a few stuff from people there. U will be surprised what u actually get.

[JR8]

no.

no no no no no no.

the tank is a cartier classic. the original tank. not the later ones that look like a santos.

how much are you looking to spend? are you looking for a chunk of gold or...? daily wear or...?

for the price of the cartier in your link, you could get a very nice entry-level patek, (which will hold its value very well).

if you're open to it (some people aren't); rolex does gold quite nicely. vintage rolex yellow gold subs in good nick are well under 18k EUR.

my daily wearer is a steel submariner and i can't complain.

Apologies, I somehow completely missed this follow-on.

Price - not worried. As said to wife (to some glaring), 'I ain't taking it with me, and I'm buggered if I'm handing it to anyone else'. Not interested in 'a chunk of gold' for the sake of it. have no wish or desire to project status. But, sometimes you put a timepiece like that on, and you do just feel 'wow!'. To me that is the point, it is utilitarian, plus a thing of beauty.

Pateks? Interesting suggestion (sorry I know very little about watches, my daily is either my 30 year old Cartier, or my Suunto dive computer!).


p.s. And no I'm not recommending Jomashop (US); in fact they are real bastards to deal with IME- but their site shows what is available, and at competitive prices, so it can be useful as a benchmark.

[JR8]

http://www.jomashop.com/cartier-mens-wa ... 00018.html

Cartier Calibre de Cartier Silver Dial 18K Rose Gold Automatic Mens Watch

OTT and pimp-tastic, but why not.


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Quite like it...... not into all those 'old mans watches' (the Swiss uber-chrongraphs etc (like it matters if your timing is out 0.001 second this week)). Plus they all seem to look like what your old man after 40 years in government service got as a retirement gift from his colleagues... anodyne crap.


p.s. Like I said before, sales staff at 'Watches of Switzerland' etc. and major airport outlets will offer some really juicy off-piste deals if you... take the conversation that way.....

[QRM]

Not that I am homophobic but Cartier watch, along with reading The Wallpaper magazine and a red handkerchief in the jeans pocket are the covert sign of pink oboe playing prowess.

Go for a nice vintage Rolex, make it fun trying to find one that was made on your birth year. You will always get your money back after a few years.

I just found a white gold day date from 1965, still looking for a 1963 one.

Buy in HK much better selection and price. if you are born in 1966 here's a winner

http://www.1stdibs.com/jewelry/watches/ ... d-j_94612/

[taxico]

may i suggest instead a pp 5127, a "go anywhere do anything" watch:



instead of a bracelet, here it is on a rubber tropical strap:



or this dressy pp 5167 calatrava (i prefer the ones with the 324 movement):



but i would strongly recommend this 36mm day date on oyster bracelet (need not be babied):



(easier to tell the time with a black dial despite what the pictures depict)



this (40mm) is my favorite; could be a deal breaker for some as it has no date. IMO nearly indestructible and does/goes with anything:



if you're looking for something more expendable... look no further than omega!

aqua terra (36mm or 39mm) sporty dress watch:



seamaster ceramic (41mm) dressy sport watch:



if you're looking for a piece to park money in... patek 5125G wempe edition or (i strongly recommend this) a patek 5396G tiffany & co edition.

[JR8]

Not that I am homophobic but Cartier watch, along with reading The Wallpaper magazine and a red handkerchief in the jeans pocket are the covert sign of pink oboe playing prowess.

'Ooh you are awful, but I like you!'

I like my Cartier, very simple, elegant, non-showy*.

]Go for a nice vintage Rolex, make it fun trying to find one that was made on your birth year. You will always get your money back after a few years.

I just found a white gold day date from 1965, still looking for a 1963 one.

Buy in HK much better selection and price. if you are born in 1966 here's a winner

Yes I can imagine that's a fun pursuit I have a copy of the FT from my d.o.b...

The thing is though that as fine as Rolex watches are, I don't like what they say about many of their wearers (the need to project/suggest status).

Any make/model of anything, that you can buy a counterfeit of in Bangkok, is worth steering clear of, to me.



*
http://i.ebayimg.com/t/CARTIER-COUGAR-F ... ~60_35.JPG


edit to add: Lol re 'Wallpaper*'. It used to be useful for contemporary interior design ideas, but it rapidly morphed into a kinda huge weird wannabe-fashionista style-guide. I stopped buying it after about issue 6, I kept hold of issue#1 ... in a drawer somewhere... who knows one day...

re: handkerchiefs in pockets. I was amazed the day I discovered there is a veritable semiphore-type signalling language with gay men and the former ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handkerchief_code

[QRM]

LOL you have a Cartier and a cherished copy of the wall wallpaper, bet you thought all the boys liked you down the pub because you were funny!

Re the Rolex true about the knobs who buy them, which is why the first thing I do is change the straps to Natos, leather ( stinks in the tropics) or rubber to disguise the fact they are a Rolex.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7031/6503 ... 7ebe_z.jpg