Adventures in Princeton

Today was a beautiful Spring day for a watch trip into Princeton. When I first joined this forum @allwoundup welcomed me and we talked about meeting up since we live so close. We finally made it happen today. Of course, this epic journey had to be documented for posterity. Pictures incoming. Sorry this got way too long.

Double doggin’ and right on time (didn’t set the Elgin)…


Subie gang flocks together.


@allwoundup treated me to a cup of Princeton’s finest coffee (Small World) and showed me some really cool stuff from his large collection. I tried on all but one I think. Love talking watches with a fellow watch aficionado and getting to experience such a range of new things in person. Pictures never do watches justice but here goes.

This thing is just cool as hell.


This one stole my heart. Very awesome in person but I’m a sucker for calendars.


Mmmmm triple calendar. I was trying to impress Dubya with how smooth my Minerva pushers were. He already knew all about that life lol.


Paper thin.


Some others…


This tropical dial is amazing. I’m usually a bit ambivalent to the brown tropicals but maybe I need to see them all in person.


On the wrist. Killer dial.


All together now!


Gotta do a wrist check.


Ok coffee breaks over! Time to go window shop. Headed over to H1912 to see what used stuff they had. SA was super friendly and happy to show us everything. Noticed my Speedy and looked at my watch box and called out the Minerva. She wasn’t into reference and caliber numbers like us but knew her stuff.

Anyone got $25k? 1972 with original bracelet but the bracelet is basically dead and not suggested to wear.


Killing me with the DateJust. The 1601 is my favorite but the bracelet was clapped out. One of the 1603s (right side) had I believe she said a rare ivory dial.


I thought this was a vintage piece. Love it but the slab case persists.


BMF stands for badass MFer right?


Then she took a tray of watches out from under the counter that she said nobody looks at and we were all over it. The real treasures.


Some Omega and Jaegers. I missed the left one but she said it’s a 321.


Ok, next stop, Hamilton Jewelers. Time to get bougie.


They have watches ladies and gentlemen!


And here is where things get interesting. It’s definitely more hoity-toity than last time I was there about 5 years ago. I understand their clientele and appreciate their professionalism but I finally experienced that Rolex stuff people talk about. No pictures allowed inside lest we be casing the joint. Not a big deal. Glad I asked first. After Dubya bounced I asked to try on a DateJust. I didn’t present myself as anything other than a tire kicker and the SA was polite but clearly didn’t want to be talking to me. Commented on my double watches but didn’t care about what I had. I tried being as friendly, laid back, and gracious as possible. Na, apparently we were at a funeral. In the past I’ve gone there and they happily opened the cases like at H1912 even though I told them I’m just looking. Showed interest, etc. I’m assuming she had other clients and was rushed. Oh well. So I tried on the DateJust 36 blue dial on jubilee and yea, I love it. Fits great. Not as big as the pictures online. I could go new. 😀 @SC1 you done F’d up. 😉 Jk.

They also had a one of a kind clock with tons of enamel work made for them by Patek Philippe to celebrate their 100 year anniversary. I wish I could have taken pictures to share.

In the middle of this part of the adventure my alarm goes off. 5 minutes till these Elgin movements go off on eBay. Game time. Put on my ghillie suit and get ready to snipe. Bid like $20 over with about 3 seconds to go and lost by a dollar. Sniping software I assume. No big deal. They went for $76.


Ok, now to the service department for business. Need some quotes. I knew they wouldn’t provide a baseline overhaul number and would want to keep the watches to look at. Was prepared to leave a few. Nope. They only in-house service stuff they sell. Everything else gets shipped out at your expense ($30). Uh no thanks I can do that myself. Didn’t believe me when I told her the Minerva was serviced there in the past. Had no clue about parts accounts. Omega all gets shipped out. I was trying to see if they could get parts for El Primeros via their Rolex parts account. Anything older than 15 years old gets sent directly to Rolex. Blew her mind telling her Daytonas used to have Zenith movements. To be honest, the lady’s mustache was very distracting. I just bowed outta there once again as graciously as possible. At least it wasn’t all a loss. I did get a really nice Rolex magazine out of it.


Time to go home. Somebody out front was living the Kia life. Saw an insane lime green Lambo on the way out too but I was driving so no pic. And a really nice Focus RS but he didn’t wanna race. 😁 Jk again.


See ya Princeton. Until next time. Wait a second… Every. Damn. Time.


Alright, sorry that got longer than I thought it would but it was fun for me to put together. I swear I won’t keep doing long posts like this. Thanks OF for entertaining me. And thanks @allwoundup for a fun afternoon! -Alex

Love you too. 😉 Put that Speedy on and be happy!

Thank you sir. It is definitely fun to meet new people and be able to talk about our shared hobby. Subaru offers a lot of fun for “small money” and in the US there are precious few vehicles available with a manual transmission which is a requirement for me.

That’s it. I’m never sharing another UG again without clearing it with you first lol! The 3.6 is the way to go on the Outback. STI stereotype is definitely 20 year old vaping boy racer. Most of the Subaru jokes have to do with vaping haha. I appreciate your concern and I considered blanking the plates but I consciously decided I don’t care. If somebody wants to try to cause havoc with my plate number have at it. I feel the same way about movement serial numbers. I almost forgot you were in NJ for a long time. I believe you said in Sparta up north where I grew up.

Come back and hang out with us! Although most people want to leave these taxes behind.

For sure. Stay for the schools. Leave when you retire.

Yes, the piston rings are notorious. The guys modding WRX/STIs blow them all the time. Those old generation engines are all gone now. Very nice picture and sharp car. Mazda knows how to make a fun car. The thing with Hamilton is I've gone there 3-4 times in the past. Walk in during the Summer in shorts and a t-shirt and have always received a friendly warm welcome and been shown watches. When I had the Minerva serviced the head watchmaker came out and talked to me for about 20 minutes. Even did some research on the watch for me and went back and forth via email. Very different vibe now. It's just one experience though so I can't throw out all of my previous positive experiences.

Very cool about your father. That's no small accomplishment.

With all the power vested in me as a New Jersey resident, born and raised within the state, I hereby declare you an honorary New Jersey citizen. You're welcome! 😁