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·JE: s watch chronicle 2016.
This has been a very slow year when it comes to expanding the collection but quite active in the social side of the hobby. I do have a theory about this change of direction. There are some practical reasons but the main reason, I believe, is on a deep and more fundamental level.
My life has changed quite a bit over the last years. I have lived in the city almost all my life. When buying a big, rural, mid 19th century school I thought of it as a country house for weekends and vacation. It did not take long though to realize I wanted to live there. I just felt it. Once that was settled I took a job in a small town within reasonable distance from the house (35 minutes drive).
Going from an inner big city living and working life to living on the countryside and working in a small town has changed me. Instead of fighting endless hours of traffic jams every day my main concerns when going to work now are not to hit deer or wild boar with the car. If someone would have said, just three years ago, I was going to trade the urban pulse for countryside fields, woods and tranquility - I would have told them they were crazy! But here I am now – living another kind of life. And - I love it!
At work I have found a sound level of commitment, a nice balance between work and private life, which works wonders on my stress level. My free time is spent in the woods game hunting, tinkering around the house or with something in the garage/hobby shop. I also spend more quality time with my wife and relatives, entertaining guests (friends want to visit if having a large house in the countryside), eating better, sleeping more, exercising more, losing weight, etc. It is a very positive upwards spiral. All which has a seemingly negative effect on my watch collecting hobby.
In the past three years, of this yearly OF watch chronicle, I have written that watches, searching for them, buying and collecting, has helped me in dealing with the pressure of everyday life. A way of letting the brain rest in something else. I seem not to have the same need for it now as life has developed. From what I already thought was splendid – to freaking fantastic. That, my friends, I believe is the main reason for this being a year of not that many new watches.
I wrote “seemingly negative effect” above. I wonder if that negative effect (i.e. not hoarding any longer) has some positive side effects…? Well, for starters - yes, when opening up the watch boxes I feel content. That is a strange and new feeling. I chose a watch for work, then when I get home I change for something else and then in the evening a third. And I always find something I would like to wear. When browsing the net I no longer feverish hunt for something to get that “fix”. That time is now spent on other things. Like life.
To not sound too new born religious – I do still spend a lot of time here and I love it. The social side of the hobby. I still look at auctions and follow up on results. Still get that tingle when finding some watch for sale that I need to investigate. Still “nerding” on minute differences in dials and cases, etc. But – it is not done to fill a void or disengage the brain from stress and the seriousness of life anymore. It is just for fun.
To get the perspective – here are links to earlier chronicles:
2015
https://omegaforums.net/threads/je-s-watch-chronicle-2015.33280/
2014
https://omegaforums.net/threads/je-s-watch-chronicle-2014-update.19903/
2013
https://omegaforums.net/threads/je-s-watch-chronicle-2013.8907/
Get the picture?
Enough of ranting – here is the 2016 action:
This 168.005 was bought in 2015 as a project watch for a NOS black dial I had bought earlier. The project was finished in January when I had the movement serviced at my favorite watchmaker and he put that nice black dial in it. The project thread can be found here:
https://omegaforums.net/threads/black-to-be-168-005.24943/
The case has seen better days and I hope to find a better donor in the future. A sharper case would complement the NOS dial better but I am happy with the result as for now.
And the “look mom – there is a white Samsung cellphone on that dial!”-shot
Also in January – this Zenith Defy A3642 came my way - from a local auction house. Nice untouched case and nice even degrading of lume on dial and hands. Original bracelet without any noticeable stretch. My guess is that this is a one owner watch. Really happy with it. It has a warm glow to it that comes from being proudly used - but not abused.
In the beginning of April my Swedish watch friend, living in Japan, AKA “The Pusher” got me hooked up with this one. He works as any other pushers – luring you in with sweet talk and freebies and then hit you hard once you are hooked. I believe this to be one of the most underrated vintage divers watches there is and they are cheap. I really do not know why he dangled such a cheap fix in front of me as I have been ready for that VFA Seiko fix for a long time now… Well – anyway I took the bait and got this late 60ies Orient King Diver.
I got seriously confused in the end of April and did something I would never have thought. I bought a Breitling Chronomat. Duh! What! Yeah - I have always found them butt ugly. Still do. I do not know if watching too much Game of Thrones has influenced me aesthetically, or if it is just 80ies nostalgia and being a middle-aged man, that is to blame. These were all the rage when hitting the discotheques in that epitome of taste called the 80ies. It might be that. I want to be one of the cool guys at the disco. I saw it at a local auction, thought it would be fun, and bought it. Within the vast world of butt ugly 1984-1990 Chronomats this one has some upsides – making it tolerable. It is all steel. TT Chronomats… do not get me started… It also has a nice colour combo dial. It came with full set and in a nice normal used condition. And cheap. Guess it is a one owner watch - this one too – as the Zenith Defy. Enough of futile self preservation and explanation – here it is – my late 80ies Game of Thrones/Disco Breitling Chronomat with that ever so important penis enlargement devise called an UTC. I feel strangely satisfied owning this. Scary.
Sometime during spring a Swedish watch friend needed a watch I had previously bought from him back. Sellers remorse had struck him. It was not a difficult decision. I always try to help people… The French Connection – the J Bianchi Armee de Terre found its way back to its former owner. Au revoir!
Then it was time to finish a long time project. I bought this 16753 GMT Master already in 2013 from a guy in my boat club. He had bought it new and the papers came along with it in the sale. He had really loved this watch. He had loved it almost to death. For a long time I contemplated what to do with it. Get an original 18k bezel, brown inlay and a new dial and hands, get a 16750 dial and a steel crown, bezel and a pepsi inlay, and an array of other theories were tested. In the end I chose to do a “Brando Lux”. A Colonel Kurtz with a luxury twist. I have enough Rolexes that are in nice condition. Why not have one that is “shot” and live happily ever after… Movement was fully serviced at a Rolex AD, new crown, tube, seals and plexi but no polishing were done to the case. Dial was gently cleaned and the hands reused. It still has all its strong character and integrity. I use it a lot.
The thread can be found here:
https://omegaforums.net/threads/brando-beater.38259/
As found
Finished project
Brando/Kurtz wearing his standard, GMT Master. Poor guy – stuck in the jungle, with a price on his head and not even a Lux.
Other noticeable watch related events –
during the year that has had me as a part. Some silly and some serious – as always:
Me, myself and I – originally infamous on Swedish watch sites for my exceptionally bad photography, won a photo contest here in OF!
https://omegaforums.net/threads/2016-summer-photo-contest-winners-announced.40890/
Back in the day my pictures were called “kvinnofängelsefoto” – in translation women’s prison photo. There was an Australian TV show, many years ago, about a women’s prison and it was famous for having really bad photo. My pics were that bad.
My skills have improved over the years… No – stop! I re-start – over the years my mobile phone cameras have been getting better and better. Hence I sometimes get a lucky shot that captures a watch and even in focus from time to time. The present phone I have has a macro mode and that has made things easier. I have even been asked about “what equipment and lighting” I use and some actually seem to believe I know what I am doing. I then always have to confess my modus operandi. I get in the car, go to work, park, then get the phone out of my pocket, pull out the crown on the watch and put the hands to happy hour (ten to two or ten past ten for all you noobs)… and fire away. That is my “equipment and lighting” - a three year old Samsung and the morning light thru the windows of a 2015 Volvo XC70.
Somehow I got to win a photo contest. It was staged here on OF by @Darlinboy and his family was the jury. I have a theory about how I came to win… It has something to do with the, induced by me, impression of me taking the photo in the nude on a deserted island. I believe that certain members of the jury found that intriguing. They have not seen me in the nude. That is a lucky thing. I have seen myself in the nude and that middle-aged body does not win any contest… What has been seen cannot be unseen…
I am happy and grateful for winning and the prizes were wonderful. Thank you for letting me win Mrs Darlinboy and thank you for the chance and the prizes Mr Darlinboy!
Here is the winning photo (taken in 2011)
And here are the prizes together with some appropriate props (even if none of these watches should or could be opened with a knife – in regard to a 2016 thread I am somewhat proud over https://omegaforums.net/threads/a-warning-you-morons-and-do-it-yourselfers.37759/ )
Another nice thing this year was that I was able to help a lot of divers watch owners with the whole problem of escaping helium. The very serious and informative thread can be found here:
https://omegaforums.net/threads/big-problem-with-helium-escape.39163/
I felt it was time to put things right - as many are the owners of HEV-watches that do not know of the whole picture. The HEV-conspiracy. Where watch manufacturers build in a potential health risk, as well as a future service and cost risk, into their product. In the thread I urged OF members to weigh and document their watches to build a reference library to help each other deal with this problem. I have also had some watchmakers contacting me since then and they are grateful that I have explained to a broader audience about the escaping gases and the connection to the often high pitched voices of long time watchmakers.
My own Sea-Dweller does have its right weight now since filled with helium to factory standards and I am happy with it. The next time I will however go for a lighter option gas – making the watch even lighter. As I wrote in the beginning of this chronicle I have been losing weight myself and know just how good it feels. I have lost 17 kilos this year. No mumbo jumbo methods or drugs. Just by eating normal food and living a moderately more active outdoor life style. I do recommend this. I had to carry a lead car battery a couple of kilometers out in the woods (for power to a wildlife feeding station). It was heavy. Very heavy. I suddenly realized I had lost more weight than the battery weighs… It stunned me.
The faulty valve – where the helium escaped – making the watch heavy as lead. This valve also gave me my first “sticky thread” at an international watch site.
Last year I wrote about how I got my UG Polarouter SAS thru a trade with its owner – him getting a 16013 Datejust. Here is the link to the whole story:
https://omegaforums.net/threads/very-close-now-update-closure.21646/
This year the former owner sent me a letter with this – with a message that “now you can enjoy your beer in style”. What a wonderful thought and gesture!
My wife went to Switzerland now in December together with her brother. The reason was an event for relatives to International Red Cross staff that has lost their lives doing their (much needed and admirable) job in the last 20 years. In remembrance of their loved ones and IRC heroes - a big event with people coming from all corners of the world. These gatherings are important as there is a big need to meet others that has been thru the same grief and sorrow. It can be difficult to talk about it in ones normal life setting - with people that have no idea. At events like this – everyone does.
Her reason for the trip to Switzerland was serious – accompanying her brother to the event. That however did not stop her from being who she is. She asked me before she went if there was something I wanted or needed from Switzerland - and added “the land of watches!” I know her, she often does things in grand style, and therefore I told her - “please do not buy me a watch! I have all the watches I need. Get me some chocolate or something”.
Then comes Christmas eve (when we give the gifts here in Sweden) and this is what was in the first box:
“This was closed”
“So was this one”
“And this one”
“And this”
What was in the actual box:
This concludes my watch year of 2016. A cuckoo clock. She had some difficulties getting a mechanical one as almost all she could find were quartz and battery driven. I am thankful she went the extra mile in getting one in wood (not plastic) and with a mechanical movement and cuckoo bird-mechanics. Now it sits on the wall in our (her) 1910-20: s style salon chiming and cuckooing every full and half hour. It is grand. So is she. I love her.
Looking forward to 2017. Happy New Year to all OF members!
Number of watches in the collection = 68 + Cuckoo clock.
Cuckooooooo!
Every year I have written a chronicle here I have forgotten something or somebody. That is probably the case this time too.
Some random Samsung/Volvo pics to round it off:
This has been a very slow year when it comes to expanding the collection but quite active in the social side of the hobby. I do have a theory about this change of direction. There are some practical reasons but the main reason, I believe, is on a deep and more fundamental level.
My life has changed quite a bit over the last years. I have lived in the city almost all my life. When buying a big, rural, mid 19th century school I thought of it as a country house for weekends and vacation. It did not take long though to realize I wanted to live there. I just felt it. Once that was settled I took a job in a small town within reasonable distance from the house (35 minutes drive).
Going from an inner big city living and working life to living on the countryside and working in a small town has changed me. Instead of fighting endless hours of traffic jams every day my main concerns when going to work now are not to hit deer or wild boar with the car. If someone would have said, just three years ago, I was going to trade the urban pulse for countryside fields, woods and tranquility - I would have told them they were crazy! But here I am now – living another kind of life. And - I love it!
At work I have found a sound level of commitment, a nice balance between work and private life, which works wonders on my stress level. My free time is spent in the woods game hunting, tinkering around the house or with something in the garage/hobby shop. I also spend more quality time with my wife and relatives, entertaining guests (friends want to visit if having a large house in the countryside), eating better, sleeping more, exercising more, losing weight, etc. It is a very positive upwards spiral. All which has a seemingly negative effect on my watch collecting hobby.
In the past three years, of this yearly OF watch chronicle, I have written that watches, searching for them, buying and collecting, has helped me in dealing with the pressure of everyday life. A way of letting the brain rest in something else. I seem not to have the same need for it now as life has developed. From what I already thought was splendid – to freaking fantastic. That, my friends, I believe is the main reason for this being a year of not that many new watches.
I wrote “seemingly negative effect” above. I wonder if that negative effect (i.e. not hoarding any longer) has some positive side effects…? Well, for starters - yes, when opening up the watch boxes I feel content. That is a strange and new feeling. I chose a watch for work, then when I get home I change for something else and then in the evening a third. And I always find something I would like to wear. When browsing the net I no longer feverish hunt for something to get that “fix”. That time is now spent on other things. Like life.
To not sound too new born religious – I do still spend a lot of time here and I love it. The social side of the hobby. I still look at auctions and follow up on results. Still get that tingle when finding some watch for sale that I need to investigate. Still “nerding” on minute differences in dials and cases, etc. But – it is not done to fill a void or disengage the brain from stress and the seriousness of life anymore. It is just for fun.
To get the perspective – here are links to earlier chronicles:
2015
https://omegaforums.net/threads/je-s-watch-chronicle-2015.33280/
2014
https://omegaforums.net/threads/je-s-watch-chronicle-2014-update.19903/
2013
https://omegaforums.net/threads/je-s-watch-chronicle-2013.8907/
Get the picture?
Enough of ranting – here is the 2016 action:
This 168.005 was bought in 2015 as a project watch for a NOS black dial I had bought earlier. The project was finished in January when I had the movement serviced at my favorite watchmaker and he put that nice black dial in it. The project thread can be found here:
https://omegaforums.net/threads/black-to-be-168-005.24943/
The case has seen better days and I hope to find a better donor in the future. A sharper case would complement the NOS dial better but I am happy with the result as for now.
And the “look mom – there is a white Samsung cellphone on that dial!”-shot
Also in January – this Zenith Defy A3642 came my way - from a local auction house. Nice untouched case and nice even degrading of lume on dial and hands. Original bracelet without any noticeable stretch. My guess is that this is a one owner watch. Really happy with it. It has a warm glow to it that comes from being proudly used - but not abused.
In the beginning of April my Swedish watch friend, living in Japan, AKA “The Pusher” got me hooked up with this one. He works as any other pushers – luring you in with sweet talk and freebies and then hit you hard once you are hooked. I believe this to be one of the most underrated vintage divers watches there is and they are cheap. I really do not know why he dangled such a cheap fix in front of me as I have been ready for that VFA Seiko fix for a long time now… Well – anyway I took the bait and got this late 60ies Orient King Diver.
I got seriously confused in the end of April and did something I would never have thought. I bought a Breitling Chronomat. Duh! What! Yeah - I have always found them butt ugly. Still do. I do not know if watching too much Game of Thrones has influenced me aesthetically, or if it is just 80ies nostalgia and being a middle-aged man, that is to blame. These were all the rage when hitting the discotheques in that epitome of taste called the 80ies. It might be that. I want to be one of the cool guys at the disco. I saw it at a local auction, thought it would be fun, and bought it. Within the vast world of butt ugly 1984-1990 Chronomats this one has some upsides – making it tolerable. It is all steel. TT Chronomats… do not get me started… It also has a nice colour combo dial. It came with full set and in a nice normal used condition. And cheap. Guess it is a one owner watch - this one too – as the Zenith Defy. Enough of futile self preservation and explanation – here it is – my late 80ies Game of Thrones/Disco Breitling Chronomat with that ever so important penis enlargement devise called an UTC. I feel strangely satisfied owning this. Scary.
Sometime during spring a Swedish watch friend needed a watch I had previously bought from him back. Sellers remorse had struck him. It was not a difficult decision. I always try to help people… The French Connection – the J Bianchi Armee de Terre found its way back to its former owner. Au revoir!
Then it was time to finish a long time project. I bought this 16753 GMT Master already in 2013 from a guy in my boat club. He had bought it new and the papers came along with it in the sale. He had really loved this watch. He had loved it almost to death. For a long time I contemplated what to do with it. Get an original 18k bezel, brown inlay and a new dial and hands, get a 16750 dial and a steel crown, bezel and a pepsi inlay, and an array of other theories were tested. In the end I chose to do a “Brando Lux”. A Colonel Kurtz with a luxury twist. I have enough Rolexes that are in nice condition. Why not have one that is “shot” and live happily ever after… Movement was fully serviced at a Rolex AD, new crown, tube, seals and plexi but no polishing were done to the case. Dial was gently cleaned and the hands reused. It still has all its strong character and integrity. I use it a lot.
The thread can be found here:
https://omegaforums.net/threads/brando-beater.38259/
As found
Finished project
Brando/Kurtz wearing his standard, GMT Master. Poor guy – stuck in the jungle, with a price on his head and not even a Lux.
Other noticeable watch related events –
during the year that has had me as a part. Some silly and some serious – as always:
Me, myself and I – originally infamous on Swedish watch sites for my exceptionally bad photography, won a photo contest here in OF!
https://omegaforums.net/threads/2016-summer-photo-contest-winners-announced.40890/
Back in the day my pictures were called “kvinnofängelsefoto” – in translation women’s prison photo. There was an Australian TV show, many years ago, about a women’s prison and it was famous for having really bad photo. My pics were that bad.
My skills have improved over the years… No – stop! I re-start – over the years my mobile phone cameras have been getting better and better. Hence I sometimes get a lucky shot that captures a watch and even in focus from time to time. The present phone I have has a macro mode and that has made things easier. I have even been asked about “what equipment and lighting” I use and some actually seem to believe I know what I am doing. I then always have to confess my modus operandi. I get in the car, go to work, park, then get the phone out of my pocket, pull out the crown on the watch and put the hands to happy hour (ten to two or ten past ten for all you noobs)… and fire away. That is my “equipment and lighting” - a three year old Samsung and the morning light thru the windows of a 2015 Volvo XC70.
Somehow I got to win a photo contest. It was staged here on OF by @Darlinboy and his family was the jury. I have a theory about how I came to win… It has something to do with the, induced by me, impression of me taking the photo in the nude on a deserted island. I believe that certain members of the jury found that intriguing. They have not seen me in the nude. That is a lucky thing. I have seen myself in the nude and that middle-aged body does not win any contest… What has been seen cannot be unseen…
I am happy and grateful for winning and the prizes were wonderful. Thank you for letting me win Mrs Darlinboy and thank you for the chance and the prizes Mr Darlinboy!
Here is the winning photo (taken in 2011)
And here are the prizes together with some appropriate props (even if none of these watches should or could be opened with a knife – in regard to a 2016 thread I am somewhat proud over https://omegaforums.net/threads/a-warning-you-morons-and-do-it-yourselfers.37759/ )
Another nice thing this year was that I was able to help a lot of divers watch owners with the whole problem of escaping helium. The very serious and informative thread can be found here:
https://omegaforums.net/threads/big-problem-with-helium-escape.39163/
I felt it was time to put things right - as many are the owners of HEV-watches that do not know of the whole picture. The HEV-conspiracy. Where watch manufacturers build in a potential health risk, as well as a future service and cost risk, into their product. In the thread I urged OF members to weigh and document their watches to build a reference library to help each other deal with this problem. I have also had some watchmakers contacting me since then and they are grateful that I have explained to a broader audience about the escaping gases and the connection to the often high pitched voices of long time watchmakers.
My own Sea-Dweller does have its right weight now since filled with helium to factory standards and I am happy with it. The next time I will however go for a lighter option gas – making the watch even lighter. As I wrote in the beginning of this chronicle I have been losing weight myself and know just how good it feels. I have lost 17 kilos this year. No mumbo jumbo methods or drugs. Just by eating normal food and living a moderately more active outdoor life style. I do recommend this. I had to carry a lead car battery a couple of kilometers out in the woods (for power to a wildlife feeding station). It was heavy. Very heavy. I suddenly realized I had lost more weight than the battery weighs… It stunned me.
The faulty valve – where the helium escaped – making the watch heavy as lead. This valve also gave me my first “sticky thread” at an international watch site.
Last year I wrote about how I got my UG Polarouter SAS thru a trade with its owner – him getting a 16013 Datejust. Here is the link to the whole story:
https://omegaforums.net/threads/very-close-now-update-closure.21646/
This year the former owner sent me a letter with this – with a message that “now you can enjoy your beer in style”. What a wonderful thought and gesture!
My wife went to Switzerland now in December together with her brother. The reason was an event for relatives to International Red Cross staff that has lost their lives doing their (much needed and admirable) job in the last 20 years. In remembrance of their loved ones and IRC heroes - a big event with people coming from all corners of the world. These gatherings are important as there is a big need to meet others that has been thru the same grief and sorrow. It can be difficult to talk about it in ones normal life setting - with people that have no idea. At events like this – everyone does.
Her reason for the trip to Switzerland was serious – accompanying her brother to the event. That however did not stop her from being who she is. She asked me before she went if there was something I wanted or needed from Switzerland - and added “the land of watches!” I know her, she often does things in grand style, and therefore I told her - “please do not buy me a watch! I have all the watches I need. Get me some chocolate or something”.
Then comes Christmas eve (when we give the gifts here in Sweden) and this is what was in the first box:
“This was closed”
“So was this one”
“And this one”
“And this”
What was in the actual box:
This concludes my watch year of 2016. A cuckoo clock. She had some difficulties getting a mechanical one as almost all she could find were quartz and battery driven. I am thankful she went the extra mile in getting one in wood (not plastic) and with a mechanical movement and cuckoo bird-mechanics. Now it sits on the wall in our (her) 1910-20: s style salon chiming and cuckooing every full and half hour. It is grand. So is she. I love her.
Looking forward to 2017. Happy New Year to all OF members!
Number of watches in the collection = 68 + Cuckoo clock.
Cuckooooooo!
Every year I have written a chronicle here I have forgotten something or somebody. That is probably the case this time too.
Some random Samsung/Volvo pics to round it off:
Edited:
