Recently, late night at my favourite Bar. That was quite cool

 

You know, this is a take to heart post for me. I have 3 citizen watches that I pretty much rotate through based on which one matches my outfit for the day...but the nice watches sit at home except for date night for fear of getting a scratch. They are fully insured, and pretty sure the Submariner will always be replaceable - not a limited edition or anything like that . I need to start using it daily. No point it handing it down to the kids without a scratch. Better to wear the hell out of it and let it have some stories or replace it down the road if I need to. Thanks for the reminder to enjoy life

 

freaking Invicta's Giant gold Russian diver watch's everywhere I turn wish I had a stick to shake and apple watches and again no stick if it only was almost gone

 

Only just noticed this thread, I was pondering on this subject over Christmas.
There is one chap in my work place who I spotted wearing a Panerai Luminor GMT last year. In the post NY work procrastination session this week I dropped him a line to ask him about it, turned into a great chat. His dream is to head to the IT Flagship store to buy a Marina one day.
Christmas was spent in the Rosewood in London. That was an eye opener. Never have I seen so much gold and rose gold. Saw a few Milles and Piguets and more Rolexs than on New Bond street.
I also agree with the theory proposed above. I know a few people who keep their special watch at home 'for best' and go all swivel eyed when they see me loading bikes with the Speedy on.

 

one of my favorite patient's came to the clinic today and bought some nice watches. he usually brings a few to show me



he is a patek man through and through usually, but does have a very broad collection

 

The one to the right is a beauty!

 

I am fortunate to have a colleague who is a proper watch nut. He started off wearing a pre-moon (66 I think) Speedy with a pulsations bezel. I was offered the watch for a steal, but at the time it did not tickle my fancy. Had I known then what I know today...

He wears old Rolexes, Omegas, Longines and also pocket watches. It is always a great excuse to start talking and ebay together at the office.

In Copenhagen, you see a multitude of Submariners all over the place, but also plenty of smart watches and loads of Daniel Wellingtons.

 

I was at an IMF meeting here in DC to discuss an African country along with other US Government officials. The IMF Mission Chief had a Royal Oak Chronograph! I need to change employers.

 

Probably a bribe from some corrupt African politician.

 

Sorry in advance for the crappy pic......again taken at a local poker tournament. I know the owner well enough to ask for a quick photo
We were seated far from each other so.......

 

Yes and no. Late model hunky ceramics or uber-flashy-diamond-encrusted perhaps, but every now and then you spot a nicely worn vintage model that can be cool to see. I travel internationally 10-20 times per year, and it's not surprising to see nice watches on wrists in Lounges or Business Class cabins, but a taxi driver I've had a few times in Munich wears a lovely vintage Rolex GMT pepsi. I'm not able to distinguish between the slight nuances of the various models, but I mentioned it once and he confirmed "Rolex.." with a subtle nod.

 

I would offer an alternate theory; that watch ownership is concentrated in the hands of a few, similar to Bitcoin -- 1% of the Bitcoin community holds 99% of the wealth.

Several members here are serial hoarders of various models, the majority of us have more than 1... yet all of us are blessed with only 2 wrists and we aren't willing to wear more than 1 watch at a time (@Mad Dog being an exception).

 

Confucius say, "Man with watch always know exact time. Man with two watches, never quite sure."

 

Last weekend I spotted a younger guy (twenty-something) seated at a restaurant table next to my wife and I, wearing what appeared to be a Tudor Black Bay (the lighting was fairly dim so I couldn't be 100% sure). He looked like a pleasant-natured fellow so I asked him straight to his face "Wow -- that's a nice looking watch -- is it a Black Bay?" He broke into a grin and replied "Yes it is: it's the older ETA-powered version -- much thinner than the latest version with the in-house movement". He took it off his wrist straightaway and handed it to me to examine.

Holy cow! A fellow watch nerd, caught in the wild! Normally, when I attempt to strike up a watch conversation with a stranger I almost always end up embarrassing myself...horribly. This experience was quite an exception to the norm.

He went on to explain that he had actually worked as a sales person at two different Omega botiques and at one time owned several Omega watches; he said he recently sold them and now has just one watch that he really likes a lot -- his Black Bay.

 

Sounds familiar on the "embarrassing myself...horribly". Or my wife - I embarrass her too. Happened to be at Chick Fil A the other day with the kids and spotted a fellow Omega wearer - he had on a blue SMP Bond, and I was wearing my Speedy so I said hello. We had a nice chat for a little while.

 

I spotted a 5513 today at work, stopped and talked to the fellow and turns out he's also a watch enthusiast.

 

I see quite an assortment of fun on a fairly regular basis, but what I think differs is that it’s mostly guys (and one girl who regularly raids her father’s drawer) in their late 20s - early 40s and not old guys like what seems to be a common theme here. A ton of Rolex and an ever increasing array of Royal Oaks. Omegas seem to be a rarity in my circles, easily seen less than Patek and AP. I never see Lange but when I do I drool

 

I catch glimpses of what appear to be Rolexes on wrists all the time but I have no idea whether they're real or just those $10 fakes sold on street corners all over Manhattan. Last summer, I noticed a 1479 bracelet on the arm of a guy holding onto the overhead handle on a bus in Interlaken, Switzerland, but never got to see the Speedmaster itself. In 2002, an Israeli customer at the strip club my wife was dancing at in Manhattan showed (off to) me his Speedmaster (totally unprompted) and even took it off to show me the inscription on the case-back. I think he initiated the conversation by feigning interest in the Seiko 7A28-7039 that I was wearing at the time. A guy who used to be on my hockey team a couple of years ago wore what appeared to be a Rolex, but I didn't want to ask him if it was real. The creep who used to be the President of the Board of my co-op building wore what looked like a Rolex on the election night that I unseated him in 2011 and has worn it to every annual election that he's lost since then. That's pretty much it for me.

 

Where in China are you located, I have a few friends and we started a little group. I'm sure if your in the right circles you'll find some nice peices.

 

Side story, but related: I've had this happen twice where I've met a man in his 50's who purchased a Sub or GMT in their mid 30's as their one and only "I'm an adult now earning a good salary" watch – and where I then proceeded to strike up a conversation based on the assumption that they were interested in vintage.

It hasn't always worked out so well, conversationally.