Hello Folks! Please excuse my near novel length first post, as you will learn later on in the post, it is @Jwit's fault. Here is a little bit about who I am: My name is Cameron, and I am a mechanically oriented WIS living in the San Francisco Bay Area. I work in retail management for a small outdoor technical apparel company. I haven't been a fan of forums in the past, whether it be for old hobbies (read: obsessions), such as pocket knives, Every Day Carry, flashlights, mechanical keyboards, whathaveyou. The antiquated format on almost every forum bothered me and made the user experience unfriendly. What attracted me to Omega Forums, you say? Well, I'm active on Instagram (under the same name) and recently became friends with your very own @Jwit, @ahartfie, @Jking, @Kmart, @Kreindog24, and Jake pressured me into joining. So everything is his fault What started me on my humble WIS journey? Nothing really magical sadly. My dad always wore a watch (we know how this story goes), and for most of my conscious life, he had on either a cheap quartz diver or later on, a titanium Invicta diver housing a Miyota movement iirc. I eventually learned he had an old Seiko 6105-8110 that he bought in Cincinnati in 1976. Anyways, he gave me my first watch that I wore regularly, an extremely illegible silver dialed Invicta quartz chronograph because he couldn't read it haha! I loved that watch but wanted a mechanical watch desperately. My girlfriend came to the rescue and bought me a Seiko 5 Field watch SNZG09 green dial for my birthday. An absolutely lovely watch that got a few years of constant wear until I bought myself a Seiko SRP775 "Turtle" as soon as they were available in the US at the beginning of 2016. After seeing my dad's 6105, I couldn't resist getting the descent of the famous "Captian Williard". I have since bought one of my favorite watches, my Orion 1 : Red by Orion watches (upcoming Calamity project looks so sick!), a Hamilton Khaki mechanical 38, and a smattering of inexpensive vintage pieces what have been lucky (read: impulsive) eBay finds, including a hand wound Waltham 34mm with a gorgeous red arrow seconds hand (possibly 60's era?), a hand wound Timex which seized up recently, a funky 35mm Caravelle, and my only in-person watch purchase, a Lord Elgin 14k gold filled pocket watch with the 21j cal. 543. That's about it. I currently have a Doxa Sub1200T Caribbean on loan from a friend and am absolutely smitten with it. The case dimensions themselves are incredible. 42.5mm wide x 45.5mm L2L x 14.5mm tall. I've recently started disassembling and reassembling a few movements. Going to learn cleaning and oiling. The ultimate goal is to apprentice under a watchmaker or go to watchmaking school. So far I haven't destroyed a movement, so I'll call that a success! The first was an SW210-1 (ETA 2801 equivalent), then the non-functioning Lord Elgin to troubleshoot the issue (missing roller jewel), and my Seiko 5 is currently mid-breakdown. I absolutely love analyzing movements. It takes the mechanical aspect of disassembly and reassembly, with extremely close attention to detail, and meticulous craftsmanship, and orders of operation. It's simply amazing. So far the most frustrating thing I have encountered was re-inserting an Incabloc spring into it's setting. I've recently come to appreciate smaller cased watches. I did a 30-day WatchFast with my Orion when I first got it this past spring. For those not familiar, it's a 38mm x 49mm L2L, so it wears large for a 38 but gave me a deeper appreciation for 38mm watches. This past October I got my Hammy as a birthday present to myself, and think it's perfectly proportioned, and now want every 38mm Hamilton Khaki. Those and the 34mm vintage pieces I've been playing around with. Anything larger than 42 makes me very wary now. One exception would be Seiko Divers; somehow the wizards there make a 44-45mm diver wear like a 42. Being that this is Omega Forums, I've always loved Omega watches, and am always impressed when handling them. I think I've rambled on long enough. I look forward to contributing to this community as best I can and interacting with some great people. And if my friends mentioned above are any indication of the rest of you, you must all be pretty cool people Cheers!
Welcome to the forum! Now that the pleasantries are over with, we need pictures of your watches and EDC!
Welcome...This IS Omega Forums but there are other brands represented in robust and active sub forums here. Its a great group.
Jeez I didn’t force you to join. I just strongly encouraged it! Glad you’re on board here Cam! Can’t believe I forgot to tell you pics are necessary.
Welcome, Cam. Enjoy watching your tastes change as you see more of what’s out there. And Jake’s right; pictures are required.
Welcome! It might say Omega but other brands are more then welcome here!! As well as booze... and well a few times a year cheese! Let’s see your Watches!!!
Greetings from the other side of the Pond Cameron! Welcome to the OF All the best Nathan aka Omegaaaaad
Welcome, and if you have any watchmaking questions, feel free to ask. There are a few watchmakers on the forum... Cheers, Al