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Thread: Memory dump

  1. #11
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    It strikes me that my watch hobby started when I had just turned fifty. There are reasons for that. My interest was running in parallel with the commercial upswing generated by streetwise quartz and the mechanical watch renaissance, all fuelled by the internet - even if I was lagging a few years behind.

    Financially, I had been promoted a few times, while my mortgage payments were dwindling into relative insignificance. I'd never had it so good.

  2. #12
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    Bugles, sackbuts, cornets... an acolyte swinging an incense burner...


    It's now 2007, roughly two years into my watch hobby, and the shop assistants are wearing white gloves. I'm a bit nervous, truth be told.


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    I've had to look it up, but this was a 2264.50.00. 'Bond' versions with skeleton hands were also available, but no self-respecting watch enthusiast would touch them with a bargepole. None that I knew about, anyway. Some enthusiasts wouldn't go near the quartz version either but I didn't have a problem with that.

    I loved it. There was quality I hadn't experienced before. I couldn't see how they did the printing on the waves. The silky touch of the bracelet was so seductive that I tried to photograph it. At other times I stroked it.


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    I couldn't cope with it. I can remember saying that it was like walking about with a BMW badge on my wrist. Whether it was watches or cars, I wasn't ready for prestige.

    The helium escape valve didn't help. "What's the knob for?" "It's to do with saturation diving." "Oh right - do a lot of that, do you?"

    I sold it.


    G-Shocks were like a huge bag of coloured sweets, laid in a trail. At the end of the trail were precious metal things - but I still liked sweets.
    Last edited by tribe125; Oct 7, 2017 at 04:10 PM.

  3. #13
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    The pace was slowing down a bit. I was sometimes going a whole month without buying a watch. The Omega had sapped my energy - or my money. Or, just possibly, I was finding an appropriate level.

    A new brand in the watch box! Ignoring the one-night stand with Omega, the progression had gone: Casio > Seiko > Timefactors > Stowa. There's a kind of sense to that.

    With Stowa, it was partly the watches and partly Jörg Schauer. I knew the Stowa and Jörg Schauer story and thought - that's the bloke for me. It may have helped that the Stowa forum was a wood-panelled retreat compared to some Watchuseek forums. I met Jörg Schauer, many years later, and wasn't disappointed.

    I think it was almost inadvertent that going for a spin with Stowa meant a second (and third) chance for mechanical.


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    Stowa Antea

    I don't know where the Antea came from. I'm not sure that's a Stowa strap, so it may have been second-hand. If so, it was my first used watch. A very nice watch, and it stayed for a while - until one day I decided that the angled lugs weren't for me.


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    Stowa Airman

    I know where the Airman came from - BruceS, an American living in Cornwall. I came to know something of Bruce's situation, and... I hope he's alright. There was something grown-up about the Airman. I think it was the lack of artifice, which is partly why I'm drawn to military watches. All the same, I don't think I fully appreciated it, and it was later sold. I made amends for that and have one now - although now we call them Fliegers.


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    GW-9100 Gulfman

    Surprisingly (because it's nothing special), this photo was responsible for quite a few Gulfman sales. I think I may have coined the term 'five-shooter' for the Gulfman. G-Shocks had matured in terms of construction, and this one had a fair bit of titanium in it. I thought it was exceptional and kept it for quite a long time. This was a considered purchase and it had a lengthy reign as my 'champion' G-Shock.


    There's a sense of maturity with these three. But I have no idea what comes next, so it might have been a blip.
    Last edited by tribe125; Oct 9, 2017 at 12:30 AM.

  4. #14
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    My watch box had got bigger.


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    We lived in a fairly small flat and I kept it under the bed. Looks like I had blown the fluff off for this picture. Somebody must have started a watch box thread.



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    Nine watches. So, I had bought twenty-eight watches over two years, and at this point, in August 2007, I had nine. Or ten, if there was one on my wrist. That's fairly regular trips to the Post Office.

    I do remember that the lady at the Post Office started saying, "Is it a watch?" rather than "What is in the parcel?"
    Last edited by tribe125; Oct 12, 2017 at 12:57 AM.

  5. #15
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    It's 2008. Happy New Year.


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    Sinn 656

    Talk about a forum favourite - you were no-one unless you had a 656. It was tall for its width, and fastening it to your wrist was like strapping down a top-heavy load on a trailer. If you didn't strap it down it migrated to the north of your wrist, sitting at an odd angle. It got a bit of a clonk when a spring-loaded door closed faster than I was expecting. Not the watch's fault - and no damage, but it somehow confirmed that the 656 was an awkward thing. Good watch, excellent watch, but not a good fit for my wrist.



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    Protrek

    With the Protrek you could go upstairs and see that you were higher than you were before. I don't know which model this was, but it might have been one of the first to be civilised enough for daily wear. I think it was lightly modded in some way with different end-links. The other functions were barometer and compass. It worked well, but I would have bought it just to see what it was like.


    The next watch needs a post of its own.
    Last edited by tribe125; Oct 12, 2017 at 10:24 PM.

  6. #16
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    Name:  Buzzbait.jpg
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    This was special because it was a Buzzbait. You couldn't buy a Buzzbait, you had to make it. There was a vogue for stealthing G-Shocks and this one was the brainwave of forum member Buzzbait. There was an improved DW-6900 module with a sharper, clearer display. It came in a camouflage pattern model that had no coloured printing on the bezel or display. All you had to do was turn the camouflage pattern black.

    I waited until my wife was out because I didn't want her to see what I was about to do with her saucepans. Actually, it wasn't just the saucepans - I didn't want her to see her husband dyeing a watch with fabric dye. Just to be sure, I used the whole packet. It stank. I opened the windows and door and went back to stirring the pot.

    You had to rinse it before fixing the dye with vinegar. I lifted it out with a wooden spoon that turned black. I dripped black dye over the worktop and floor on my way to the sink. I wasn't used to saucepan work. The sink turned black. I did the vinegar fixing thing, bleached the spoon and cleared the mess.

    The flat was still a bit smelly, now with a hint of vinegar. It was chilly with the windows and door open, but the smell might be gone before my wife got back. I put the Buzzbait on my wrist, and my wrist turned black. Back to the saucepan and more vinegar fixing. Second time lucky. My wife found me sitting quietly, perfectly relaxed. Success!

    Flip the calendar forward a bit, and I'm talking to a neighbour who wore fake G-Shocks when he went clubbing. When he fancied a different colour, he bought a new one and wore the old one at work, on building sites. They were just the same, the G-Shocks and fakes, according to my neighbour. I showed him a few G-Shocks, and it became evident that he'd never seen a real one. The 'real' ones he'd seen before were also fakes.

    He liked them. He liked them a lot. The one he liked the most was the Buzzbait. I sold it to him for £20.
    Last edited by tribe125; Oct 18, 2017 at 10:07 PM.

  7. #17
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    Name:  Pulsar PJN 299X1.jpg
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    Pulsar PJN 299X1

    A phenomenon of the period. For a while on TZ-UK, the standard four-word response to any 'What should I buy?' post was 'Pulsar chronograph from Argos', followed by a smiley.

    Let me explain. This was the RAF issued chronograph of the time, except that it didn't have military markings on the back, and a circled Luminova 'L' on the dial. Argos is a 'catalogue shop', present in every British town of any size. They're warehouses, basically, with a shop at the front that contains nothing but laminated catalogues, order slips and mini pencils. You take your order slip to a cashier who gives you a numbered ticket, then you wait at a counter for your purchase. They might have gone electronic by now, but this is the way it was. Argos is where you bought cheap kettles. They also had cheap watches, but Casio or Sekonda would be top of the range.

    Incongruously, Argos sold these RAF watches for £35. Watch enthusiasts scooped them up in thousands. British enthusiasts were asked to buy them on behalf of non-British enthusiasts. Argos must have wondered what the hell was going on. I resisted for some time, but there was an Argos between my office and the sandwich shop.

    They were nifty little watches, but for no obvious reason the running seconds hand was the big one usually reserved for chronograph seconds.



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    GW-M5600

    I think this was the first 5600 to sync with the European transmitters, and for that reason there was a bit of a buzz about it. I wasn't keen (cramped display, bright colours), but bought one anyway. Research.

    Casio has never produced a convincing 'atomic' 5600 that syncs in Europe.



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    Seiko Titanium

    Impulse buy in Kraków. It was probably in a shop window with 'Promocja! 70%' on a big yellow star. I persuaded myself that I should have some little cheap thing for passing through airport security. A week or so later, and unaccustomed to its lightness, I unbuckled it at airport security and it went skidding off across a stone floor. It almost seemed to pick up pace, before coming to rest against a pillar. Being titanium, it picked up a few marks.

    It shouldn't have mattered, given it's intended function, but when someone said they wanted a watch for gardening, I said something like: 'How about this for a tenner?'
    Last edited by tribe125; Oct 31, 2017 at 07:18 PM.

  8. #18
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    Name:  Seiko GMT.jpg
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    Seiko SBQJ015

    These were fabulous watches - much praised, then and now. High accuracy 8F56 movement, perpetual calendar, GMT function, independent hour hand, ten year battery, titanium case and bracelet. Really, you could get this far in climbing the watch ladder and stop.

    It was impressive, and it had an extended stay. I think I came to take it for granted, and part of me liked simple things more than clever things. I had reservations about a couple of styling elements. I didn't use the bracelet.



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    Seiko SNA029

    And then I bought this, which looks a bit lame. I don't remember much about it. The Pulsar had got me interested in analogue chronographs, by the look of it, but I was getting it wrong. These alarm chronos weren't the real deal. Was no-one telling me these things?



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    Seiko Premier Perpetual Calendar

    Well, I don't know...

    This attracted one or two sceptical remarks, and the sceptics were right.


    Is this the first trio without a G-Shock? I haven't looked ahead, but apart from the Seiko GMT, I'd say I was flapping about in the shallow end of the middle market. Too much time in the Seiko forum.
    Last edited by tribe125; Nov 1, 2017 at 12:01 AM.

  9. #19
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    This is more like it. Faith in my old self restored.


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    A Sportura of some kind.

    The fiddle-factor was high with this one. I wouldn't mind having it here right now, just for fun. It was a bit massive on the wrist, with a wide, creaky and unyielding strap. There might also have been some ergonomic flaw with its operation, but I can't remember what.



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    Promaster Tough x2.

    They were discontinued and hard to find. The second one was the one to have - the 'Ray Mears'. I thought I'd never find a Ray Mears, so accepted the blue one as a substitute. Within weeks, I found the Ray Mears. I was cock-a-hoop, and had probably never had so many 'Lucky bastard' comments.

    Titanium monocoque cases, and I had a bracelet for the Ray Mears. I think I moved the blue one on quite quickly - no need for that when you had such a prize with the black one. Citizen have done a partial reissue of the Ray Mears, but the case is a little different and it has 'Royal Marines Commando' on the dial. Give me a plain Ray Mears any day.

    I've got retrospectively excited about the Ray Mears and have forgotten to say who Ray Mears was (and is). Ray Mears was a woodsman/survival expert who made some popular TV programmes. Watch nuts have always been keen to identify his watches. He moved to Rolex, like you do.
    Last edited by tribe125; Dec 22, 2017 at 01:38 PM.

  10. #20
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    Name:  Oris BC3.jpg
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    Oris BC3

    This was a significant watch, a more serious step towards middle-market mechanical than anything that had come before. It was the first watch that I wore on a bracelet. I travelled into London to buy it, at 'The Wonder Room' in Selfridges.

    The bracelet was part of the appeal. It was a tribute to steel, the BC3, and it had me groping for allusions to architecture and engineering. I wasn't really conscious of it having some pilot genes, I just liked that kind of simplicity. As far as can ever be possible for a forum dweller, I think I found this watch for myself, without peer prompting.


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    At the time, it was pretty much perfect for me, except that it had a stiffish 2836 movement, and the bracelet clasp didn't have enough adjustment holes. I fixed the hole problem.


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    Traser P6500

    The dial was a little closed-in, but this was a fine (and authentic) military watch. Remarkably tactile, for something made out of a composite of polyester and fibreglass. I can only take tritium tubes on utilitarian watches like this. I don't know why Traser no longer makes the P6500 in this original and undiluted form.
    Last edited by tribe125; Jan 5, 2018 at 11:07 AM.

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