Any Horologists on board
- Thread starter Happy Man
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CatmanV2
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Love the Jaeger. Always wanted one as it would match the dials on both the Alfa and the Maser 
Currently, ignoring the 'cheap' ones:
Tag Chronotimer. Bought with my first IT bonus, because I wanted to, and managed to save £800 by shipping it from a colleague in Canada. Great for holidays and ramming down water slides
Breitling Chronometre Aerospace Titanium: Amazingly this was a present from my ex-boss (and now friend) It was a tad more complex than it sounds, and there was a *stupid* bet involved (I put up nothing) but still my fave everyday watch.
Dreyfuss and Co skeleton watch. Glass front and back, automatic, comes in its own winding box. Got it on a stupid deal from a business contact. I recall it cost me about £80 in cash terms.
Rolex something: This you may be able to help me out with, RwC. This is technically my mother's as she was left it in an old friends will. I'll post a picture later, but it's gold, square, Hallmarked 1913, but I'll be damned if I can find anything like it on line. Any suggestions would be looked at with interest. We know it's real, at least the movement and dial are, but like I say, know nothing else.
C
Currently, ignoring the 'cheap' ones:
Tag Chronotimer. Bought with my first IT bonus, because I wanted to, and managed to save £800 by shipping it from a colleague in Canada. Great for holidays and ramming down water slides
Breitling Chronometre Aerospace Titanium: Amazingly this was a present from my ex-boss (and now friend) It was a tad more complex than it sounds, and there was a *stupid* bet involved (I put up nothing) but still my fave everyday watch.
Dreyfuss and Co skeleton watch. Glass front and back, automatic, comes in its own winding box. Got it on a stupid deal from a business contact. I recall it cost me about £80 in cash terms.
Rolex something: This you may be able to help me out with, RwC. This is technically my mother's as she was left it in an old friends will. I'll post a picture later, but it's gold, square, Hallmarked 1913, but I'll be damned if I can find anything like it on line. Any suggestions would be looked at with interest. We know it's real, at least the movement and dial are, but like I say, know nothing else.
C
CatmanV2
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Well here you go
If these are uploaded in the right order....The Dreyfuss
The rest. I forgot I have a Rotary reversing one, which is nice. Also on the end is my 5th Wedding anniversary. Eco-drive. Does lots of stuff and tough as old boots. We bought watches as wedding presents and then at our 5th. Rachel got a Tissot. We were going to keep going, but I kept getting stuff. I'm aiming to get her a Cartier in the next year or so.
The one with the brown strap is a Mondaine. It was left to me by my paternal grandfather. Lovely thing.
And not a good photo of the Rolex.
Cheers
C
VMSRTI
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Love the lume on your BP. Lights up like a Christmas tree. Jaegers are seriously nice. A reverso is definitely on my watch wish list.
Simonfryan
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I'm seriously addicted to watches...
Last Xmas the wife bought me a TAG Heuer Monaco Steve McQueen. She's still paying for it! Somehow don't think I'll be quite so lucky tomorrow!!!
Last Xmas the wife bought me a TAG Heuer Monaco Steve McQueen. She's still paying for it! Somehow don't think I'll be quite so lucky tomorrow!!!
zagatoes30
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I need to add a classic Rolex to my collection, once again I will be going for the one from the year of my birth. The old Rolexes are much more stylish than the brash things from today.
I have a Brietling Chronomat (Alfa Romeo), Omega Seamaster and a Rado Ceramic but always on the look out for more.
I have a Brietling Chronomat (Alfa Romeo), Omega Seamaster and a Rado Ceramic but always on the look out for more.
Rwc13
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George, I really rate the BP FF, it is so comfortable for a 45mm watch, and I have wrists like matchsticks. I think it probably has the best lume I've ever seen, although takes a bit to fire it up. A reverso is on my list too, possibly the only non-round watch I could see myself in.
Zagatoes, if you are thinking of a birth year watch for a special Birthday, eg 40, start looking a year or so before as good ones start to become scarce as the big milestones approach and prices go up significantly. Mine wouldn't be a collectors dream as it has a newer service dial and hands, but is a 1964 case, movement and plexiglass. But I like the combination of the vintage watch with a dial and hands that lights up like a new one.
Zagatoes, if you are thinking of a birth year watch for a special Birthday, eg 40, start looking a year or so before as good ones start to become scarce as the big milestones approach and prices go up significantly. Mine wouldn't be a collectors dream as it has a newer service dial and hands, but is a 1964 case, movement and plexiglass. But I like the combination of the vintage watch with a dial and hands that lights up like a new one.
Rwc13
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My favourite entirely true watch story.
A very good friend of mine was given a rather nice Breitling for his 21st Birthday by his Dad. He treasured and looked after it very carefully for many years. However, in his 30s, whilst away on a stag night, in the early hours of the morning, said friend needed to pay a visit to the loo. Having got himself comfortable, he promptly fell asleep. He awoke an hour later, still sitting on the loo, door closed, trousers round his ankles, but with his watch gone.
He knew he had been wearing it, but couldn't fathom how somebody had removed it from his wrist while he was asleep on the toilet. Anyway, he reported it to the Police but never saw the watch again.
Fortunately, it was covered on his house insurance, so he duly made a claim, providing some photos he had of the watch, and ended up getting several thousand pounds back from the insurance company which he put towards replacing the stolen watch with a new Breitling.
He had been very nervous about telling his Dad about his watch being stolen, particularly the circumstances in which it had happened. However, having purchased his new watch, he decided the time had come to fess up. So he picked his moment and told his Dad the whole story. His Dad let him finish the whole story before making his own guilty admission.....................that the Breitilng was a fake that he had paid £50 quid for when drunk in a pub the night before his 21st Birthday
A very good friend of mine was given a rather nice Breitling for his 21st Birthday by his Dad. He treasured and looked after it very carefully for many years. However, in his 30s, whilst away on a stag night, in the early hours of the morning, said friend needed to pay a visit to the loo. Having got himself comfortable, he promptly fell asleep. He awoke an hour later, still sitting on the loo, door closed, trousers round his ankles, but with his watch gone.
He knew he had been wearing it, but couldn't fathom how somebody had removed it from his wrist while he was asleep on the toilet. Anyway, he reported it to the Police but never saw the watch again.
Fortunately, it was covered on his house insurance, so he duly made a claim, providing some photos he had of the watch, and ended up getting several thousand pounds back from the insurance company which he put towards replacing the stolen watch with a new Breitling.
He had been very nervous about telling his Dad about his watch being stolen, particularly the circumstances in which it had happened. However, having purchased his new watch, he decided the time had come to fess up. So he picked his moment and told his Dad the whole story. His Dad let him finish the whole story before making his own guilty admission.....................that the Breitilng was a fake that he had paid £50 quid for when drunk in a pub the night before his 21st Birthday
Rwc13
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Cman
That precise watch isn't shown in Kesaharu Imai's Rolex book. That said, and having read the preface, it doesn't profess to list all the 1910s and 1920s non-oyster watches, it is the later oyster watches that it professes to provide a pretty complete catalogue of.
What I can confirm is that Rolex made similar shaped watches throughout the 1920s and 1930s. None are shown for the 1910s but that doesn't mean there weren't any based on the above. The indices and Rolex font are also reminiscent of other watches shown.
If this is a genuine 1913 Rolex, then it could be a very rare and valuable thing being only 8 years into the company's history. It also would date from a time when Rolex was a UK based low volume manufacturer - it didn't fully move to Switzerland until 1919. Also, in the early days, I believe Rolex used another manufacture's movements in their watches.
There are some serious experts that frequent the Rolex Forums (link above), so if you are really interested in establishing the watches provenance, I would post something there ideally with a really good quality photo.
Alternatively, or following this, I would pay a visit to the Rolex UKservice centre and let them have a look at the watch and see what they can determine about its history from there etc. I am sure they would be enormously interested in it.
Sorry I can't be more help, but if it were mine, I would certainly be very keen to establish its provenance and value, even if only for insurance purposes.
Robert
That precise watch isn't shown in Kesaharu Imai's Rolex book. That said, and having read the preface, it doesn't profess to list all the 1910s and 1920s non-oyster watches, it is the later oyster watches that it professes to provide a pretty complete catalogue of.
What I can confirm is that Rolex made similar shaped watches throughout the 1920s and 1930s. None are shown for the 1910s but that doesn't mean there weren't any based on the above. The indices and Rolex font are also reminiscent of other watches shown.
If this is a genuine 1913 Rolex, then it could be a very rare and valuable thing being only 8 years into the company's history. It also would date from a time when Rolex was a UK based low volume manufacturer - it didn't fully move to Switzerland until 1919. Also, in the early days, I believe Rolex used another manufacture's movements in their watches.
There are some serious experts that frequent the Rolex Forums (link above), so if you are really interested in establishing the watches provenance, I would post something there ideally with a really good quality photo.
Alternatively, or following this, I would pay a visit to the Rolex UKservice centre and let them have a look at the watch and see what they can determine about its history from there etc. I am sure they would be enormously interested in it.
Sorry I can't be more help, but if it were mine, I would certainly be very keen to establish its provenance and value, even if only for insurance purposes.
Robert
CatmanV2
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Cheers. I need to double check the hallmark. Its been serviced by a fully qualified Rolex expert who made no comment as to it being not a real one, and given that the jeweller who gave him the work is a true pro, and *he* certainly didn't mention anything I am tending towards the thing being genuine.
As to the value, I think you may be right. I did find something similar once, and that was tens of thousands of dollars, so I should get it checked out.
I'll take a better photo and double check the case's hallmark and make a posting in a couple of days. Id hate it to vanish and not be replaced.
Many thanks
C
As to the value, I think you may be right. I did find something similar once, and that was tens of thousands of dollars, so I should get it checked out.
I'll take a better photo and double check the case's hallmark and make a posting in a couple of days. Id hate it to vanish and not be replaced.
Many thanks
C
