A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

I joined OF almost 2 years ago after taking a gamble on a 1 owner PloProf...at the time my nicest watches were Rolex.

Fast forward almost 2 years, and my Rolex, even the nicer ones I have added, play second fiddle to my Omega.

The more collectors I meet, many of whom were focused on Rolex, and now seeing the Omega light.

Thanks to this forum and collectors I have met around the world, my focus as a collector has radically changed, and for the better.

Anyone else go through a similar transition? I know some on here went from Invicta to 2998 😝

My first wrist watch I bought was a Seamaster from the 60ies and it was my only Omega for a long time. Some other brands came, all vintage. Now, being only 1 year a member (after lurking around for a quite long time), the number of Omegas increased to 7. Before, I had only one piece of a brand and of type. Now they are doubling although not the same reference. It is insane...

I literally found a great uncles Omega Geneve in his cupboard whilst helping my dear Grandmum sort out his stuff after he passed. Papers, the works. A plain gold dresswatch. 'I know you will look after it' she said. Fast forward more than half my life. That watch was on my wrist for just about every major experience that made me who I am today. Chicks, parties, uni, exams, graduation, hangovers, heartache, good decisions, bad decisions, travel, work, expatriation etc etc etc it's done it all. I no longer have the papers (expatriation cockup), but after its first ever service in 50 years (and almost 20 on my wrist) it's still pretty mint. But my grandads Omega is why I love Omegas...

I also joined OF 2 years ago. My watch career started with new watches only. Lange, Patek, JLC, Journe, etc. Then, about 4 years ago I became captivated by vintage after seeing some of Watchfred's amazing vintage Breitlings on timezone. SInce then I have sold off almost all of my new pieces and have cultivated a love for all things Omega and Breitling. Tons of mistakes along the way but the education here on OF
has been incredible and enabling 😀. My remaining modern watches sit unworn and unloved (and will likely get sold off).

Some in my collection. And with the exception of the Ed White, these will be passed down.

5+ years as a member, and I have learned a lot from members and made some great friends.

I will admit to starting with the Invicta and in less than 6 months moved to wearing a 3572.50. After 2 years of collecting I picked up the Gemini 4. After year 3 years of collecting I picked up the Ed White. Almost a year ago the CK2998.

Many other watches bought, and will share those another time.

My Omega journey started with a ploprof too! Which omega service centre promptly destroyed. 😡

I've always enjoyed a detailed dial, and back in university I owned a couple ESQ quartz choronographs, similar in style to the Tag SEL that I couldn't afford. Fast forward 17 years, and Zuke bought a SM300, one of the nicest I've seen, and I started my hunt! Joined OF in January 2015, and purchased a Tag Heritage Carrera CV2111 off the Bay. Nervous, spent all that money, is it authentic etc. Once received, I took it to 3 watchmakers to authenticate it. . . And that was it! But by the bug, thrill of the hunt, I then purchased an 2500C PO, then my first vintage was my Cal 320 2278-3, and in December the same year I scored my SM300BT. Since then, I've added my Chronostop, and finally my 145.012 😁

Great to see the influence that OF has had on all of us!

Cool how many of collections mirror one another.

My first (proper) modern & vintage watches were Omegas, i wandered into an AD after an especially acrimonious break-up with an abusive ex that left me shattered, almost broke & with PTSD.

I don't know why i walked into the AD, I guess i suddenly had a lot of free time & had no idea what to do with it. The Speedmaster date didn't leave my wrist for a week, & in that time i googled "Omega" and discovered they had vintage watches. I had a huge void to fill, and spent at least 4 hours a day searching the internet for info, reading up on the history & buying watches.

I googled everything & read all the blogs, web sites, reference sites, dealers sites, and even joined a few forums. Even back then, as a noob, i stayed away from WUS, just didn't like the vibe there...😗 I remember emailing Chuck Maddox as well as Desmond (mondodec) when i needed help & they very kindly helped a total stranger who didn't know much about anything. I think i was quite lucky, paid noob tax on a few watches but most of them turned out to be honest, if not collector grade watches.

I even searched obscure locations locally to look for & check out every watch shop i could.. then, i discovered other brands & there were all the sub-categories; railroad, military, triple dates, alarms, bumpers... It became an all consuming hobby, i was buying at least 1 or 2 watches a month for a few years, From my spreadsheet where i record all my watch details, in the 3 months of July to Sep 2007, i bought 21... i realised it was turning into a problem & started cutting down on indiscriminate buying & tried to focus a little more, with limited success. Even on holidays, i researched the locations i would visit. i would ask the hotel staff if they knew any shops dealing with vintage watches & asked the locals i met at those shops if they knew of other shops.

Here are some of them from the crazy years.. a couple of Railroad watches


A nice little K-504

A Hamilton GG-W-113 issued in Oct 1972 flanked by 2 Benrus


A few alarm watches

Basic triple dates


Typical visit to the watchmakers would look like this...


i was pretty much buying anything, and everything i liked. Most of them were not expensive, but I was not entirely happy as i couldn't complete the "sets". I kept missing out on the more sought after models like the Railmasters, Tudor Advisors, dirty dozen watches and God knows how many early speedies i bid & missed out on.

A few years ago, i had a change of career, I realised I needed to be working in a non-toxic environment; that i couldn't take those situations anymore & that some of my reactions stemmed from the PTSD, even after so many years of keeping it in check & suppressing the feelings. (Summary - I can't deal with A*holes anymore, i have no tolerance & an overwhelming urge to beat the crap out of them) My current fiance made me realise that i needed to deal with it... Good woman, i don't know what i'd do without her today...

So, with a change of jobs, a big drop in income & different lifestyle, i stopped buying watches for a few years. I stopped chasing the sets that i thought i needed. i started wearing the first few i had acquired and decided i really liked them & stuck to the brand that started me on this hobby, so when i did buy any, i only bought Omega, and they didn't have to be rare, sought after, or collector grade. So finally last year, after years of reading the posts here, I signed up with OF and with support from my better half, i decided to sort out the watches & house them properly in this thread. (By then, the price of watches had taken a big jump & many were priced out of my range )
https://omegaforums.net/threads/my-new-watch-box.45942/

I will be the first to say that with close to 200 watches, a third of them Omegas, it may sound like a huge collection, but its far from being the biggest or most impressive of collections. There are some on OF with massive, focused collections of Speedies, Connies, Sparkle dial Seamasters.... wait, that's just 3 members 👎 ( I'm guessing there are many more who have kept very low key with theirs. ) Seeing them share pics of their watches makes me realise i am far from being the craziest 😝

Thanks for your time spent reading this,
Gordon