How often do you see ANY nice watch in the wild?

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I normally see almost none, but have just been on a work trip to Germany, France and Italy ... and have seen a staggering amount of Rolexes, also Panerai and Ap, Speedies and others besides ...

So, your compatriots are tasting left handed?

😁
 
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Last week I attended a company event in Boca Raton and we spent the week at Boca Resort and Clubs and I would conservatively estimate that 85% of people there were wearing expensive luxury watches! Way to many Rolex Sub, but I also set eyes on a Pepsi GMT, a solid gold Daytona, solid Gold Date Just Presidents, and a solid Gold AP! Omega seemed to be a rare beast, but I did one 8500PO and I was sporting my Orange 2500C PO 😉
 
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I was at the Geneva motor show at the start of March, met a journalist I know who told me all about his Speedmaster 125 (I've wanted one for a long time) and walking back to the airport I noticed the man I was walking alongside was wearing a 125! I had a chat with him, his father had won it in a hockey competition in 1974 and worn it for years. One day he asked his father what happened to it and could he have it, his father said it was in a drawer and he could have it if he wasn't planning to sell it. He assured him he wanted to wear it, sent it off for service and now wears it every day. Mine should be ready in June (my watch repairer can't service it until then), can't wait.
 
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I work in medicine and am frequently disappointed by the watch choices of my colleagues. However, I was just in Napa (for a conference) and the lovely lady pouring us wine tastings at the winery had a very nice Seamaster PO. She seemed flattered that I noticed.
 
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I live in Hong Kong so I see a lot of nice watches here due to all the bankers, etc.

But there's always a little alarm bell in my head saying they're fakes.

For example, there was a young guy (20s) on the subway wearing a blue dial AP Royal Oak.

But his clothes were cheap.

Or I often see old guys wearing rolexes, but they don't care about their appearance (messy hair, etc.)

It's hard to know.

Yeah and also people with lower end jobs - like a guy behind the counter at my gym in Central, who wears a “Sea Dweller” - probably a Shenzhen special
 
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I think the reason I associate fake watches with people who dress shabbily is because in Asia that's usually how you spot fake bags - a rich woman who has an expensive bag won't be wearing cheap, ratty shoes. But maybe I'm wrong to apply that logic to men. We don't usually take care of our appearance to the same extent as women.
I wear cheap clothes (and keep them for decades), but my watches are all real. As far as my appearance goes, I just take care of my body so it looks good in my cheap clothes.
 
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I saw Alan Sugar (Sir) in the lift at the Leadenhall building in London filming the Apprentice wearing his Rolex Daytona. Made me go and order one. Bet he didn't have to wait for years though haha
 
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I saw Alan Sugar (Sir) in the lift at the Leadenhall building in London filming the Apprentice wearing his Rolex Daytona. Made me go and order one. Bet he didn't have to wait for years though haha

That reminds me, I once met Guy Smith and tried on the Daytona he'd been given for winning Le Mans in the Bentley. This must have been back in 2003 or the start of 2004 (I also met Lewis Hamilton although he was a bit shy!). It didn't encourage me to buy a Daytona, I could barely afford the repayments on my 2531!
 
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At a hobby show this past week end, spotted on the wrists of attendees (not including what was found out the wrists of our immediate groupj, I saw an Omega Planet Ocean, perhaps the nicest Omega Constellation (1965 vintage) i’ve Seen in a while, a super crisp Speedmaster DON, an 1892 model Waltham Vanguard, 23 jewel CPR (Canadian Pacific Rlwy.), a rare Hampden pocket watch, an Elgin B W Raymond pocket (vintage 1930s), many Hamilton 992Bs, and the usual array of more mundane stuff. Oh, and by the way, the hobby show celebrated model trains from four Canadian provinces, and at least six U S states. So really not much of a surprise at some of what we saw.
 
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I live in a small Texas town, affectionately known as the “cowboy capital of the world.” We have many working ranches as well as dude ranches here. Not many cowboys wear luxury watches while tending cattle or riding fence. Most people I know sport Apple watches or something cheap that they don’t mind of it gets smashed by their horse. My lawyer does wear a Rolex, not sure which one, and my veterinarian owns a vintage Omega Constellation but never wears it. I’ve seen several Seikos and LumiNox on people though.
 
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I was at my sisters wedding this weekend.
Aside from the "adults" it was all of her friends in their early 30's. (Full disclosure She is 31 and I am 30 and my wife is 28)
My wife was commenting on how stupidly dressed one of my sisters male friends was.
He was wearing a very slim, and very modern cut powder blue suit finished off with a pair of Vans shoes and no socks.
We both agreed he was a total douche,
HOWEVER, he was next to me at the bar at one point and of course what do I see...a Speedy Pro.
::facepalm1::
 
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Was at McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park in Scottsdale over the weekend, and spotted a guy wearing a Hamilton Khaki Mechanical - turned out to be the brand new one just released this year. I was wearing my Speedy so we had a short conversation - it's a really nice looking watch and I'd like to pick it up. I vastly prefer the dial to the one on my Khaki Mechanical Limited Edition from around when Pearl Harbor came out. What's interesting to me is that the Limited Edition was a complete fantasy piece when they produced it - loosely based on the dial from he 4992B GCT pocket watch - rather than a faithful recreation of the WWII era Hamilton wrist watches like it should have been, and like this new one is now.

The new one:

h69429931_1.png

The 2004 Limited Edition:

PICT4871.jpg

The GCT pocket watch:

IMG_0404_1024x1024.jpg
 
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spotted a white daytona on saturday.. not impressed 😀
 
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I bought a new bed in a shop in the UK last month. As the bloke was writing up my delivery details I noticed a rather nice 1970's Omega Seamaster peeping out from his shirt cuff. We had a nice little chat about our Omegas, I directed him to Simon Freese Watchmakers, and went on my way with a warm feeling of shared interest.😀
 
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When I went to visit Charleston it was Rolex everywhere!! Saw them way more frequently than I do around Maryland/Virginia/DC...
 
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Here in the Bay Area, not much. But coming home today on BART, in the sea of plastic smartwatches, an older gent was holding onto the railing wearing a root beer GMT. Definitely old, 16753 I guess... I don’t care much for the root beer. But this one, man... perfect chocolate dial that played wonderfully with the gold markers, and a bezel faded almost to silver. It’s a good thing I was wearing my Wayfarers cause I must’ve stared at it for the entire trip under the bay I was so transfixed. Still not my cup of tea, the root beers - but outside of GTGs it was far and away the most beautiful watch I’ve ever seen in the wild.
 
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I was at my sisters wedding this weekend.
Aside from the "adults" it was all of her friends in their early 30's. (Full disclosure She is 31 and I am 30 and my wife is 28)
My wife was commenting on how stupidly dressed one of my sisters male friends was.
He was wearing a very slim, and very modern cut powder blue suit finished off with a pair of Vans shoes and no socks.
We both agreed he was a total douche,
HOWEVER, he was next to me at the bar at one point and of course what do I see...a Speedy Pro.
He probably keeps the Speedmaster Pro wrapped up in his socks. That's where we usually find them 45 years later.😀
 
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The British Gas heating advisor that came round on Tuesday to give me a quote for a new boiler was wearing a Breitling Navitimer on a black leather strap. Nice work watch.
 
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I had a closing yesterday...my lawyer wore an Explorer I, the title guy sported a Pan Luminor, seller's lawyer with a lady's Rolex with diamonds. (I wore two-tone Rolex Date). But where I work, in mid-town Manhattan, I can see nice watches on wrists on any given walk down the street.
 
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Just returned from a week-long vacation that included 4 flights from airports coast-to-coast (United States), and a 5-night stay on a cruise ship. A few notable sightings I've been looking forward to sharing:
1. Rolex GMT Batman. Looked brand new.
2. Two Black Rolex Submariners. They looked brand new as well.
3. An Invicta monstrosity that must have been 55mm in diameter and had all kinds of chains and buckles and knobs.
4. Daniel Wellington Dapper that had me convinced it was something much more expensive until I took a covert photograph of it on it's owner's wrist with my phone (my obsession knows no bounds, I'm learning).
5. Glashutte Original Senator Observer, I believe. Stainless with a black dial.
6. Omega Constellation. Two-tone gold and stainless.
7. Breitling Avenger. Stainless with a blue dial.
It was a great trip for many reasons, and this was one!
Cheers