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·JE: s watch chronicle 2017
I have often thought about keeping a diary but I have never got around to doing it. When I look back - reading up on the yearly chronicles I have done here on OF since 2013 I realize why people keep diaries. When in midst of everyday life it is sometimes difficult to get the big picture, to see what is actually happening on a bigger scale. It is not until summing up one sees a pattern or a trend. Chronicles are summing up and when now reading my own chronicles - summing up the summing ups - I understand the big picture more and more.
Last year I wrote that 2016 had been a slow year collection wise. Not many new acquisitions but instead more activities on the social side of the hobby. I connected this to me changing my way of life - going from city frenzy to countryside tranquility. The watch hobby was becoming less of a derailing of the mind from the surrounding stress and instead more of a means of putting a gold lining on life.
2017 takes this a couple of steps further. I have not bought a single watch. I have not even got a watch serviced this year. Instead I have actually sold a few watches and because of reasons later explained I have even lost some. And it does not bother me.
What has happened to me? The big picture? Well, I am still around on OF - visiting almost daily. Still going thru auction sites (only local ones) searching and researching - but only a couple of times a week at most. Still using two or three watches a day and enjoying them immensely. But continuing the trend from last year - the itch for “the kill” is now gone. Totally gone.
What has happened to me is - real life. And real life is good. When the stress overkill of work and life in the city was substituted for work and life on the countryside it freed up a lot of brain capacity. This capacity has been used on pondering on the real values of life.
Actually taking time with the people that matter in my life. My family and friends. Taking that extra time to talk to my 85 year old mother - who is a genuinely fascinating person - before it is too late. My wife, my brothers, my friends. Really interact with them - not only go thru the motions. I take time to think about what I want out of life and what life wants out of me.
I do not write as much here on OF as before. I am still here but not as active as earlier. OF is no longer a stress relief - it too has become “just” a gold lining to life.
The above of course makes this chronicle a bit boring watch wise. No new watches, stories about finding them, servicing or projects. Here, anyway, is what has happened this year - with some sort of connection to watches. But maybe more connected to what I have written above…
Viggen vs Mercedes
I have a large garage. My everyday user is a Volvo XC and I never put it in the garage - I see no reason to. Now I have a Lemania Viggen in the garage.
I have been into vintage cars for a large part of my adult life. From the age of 16 I restored cars for myself and as a hobby. It stopped around the age of 35-40 as life turned more serious and I needed more serious cars (ones that could be used for everything and all year round). I was also deep into vintage boats and that continued until I left the city just some years ago - selling the boat at the same time (Stockholm is a part of an archipelago - boating being big there).
I have been looking for the right hobby/vintage car since I got this house and the 100 sqm garage that came with it.
I wanted something that I could use for long distance European touring as well as out and about nearby during summers. A car that had a good supply of parts readily available and a service organization everywhere (I can do almost anything on a car but I do no longer want or need to). Something that was somewhat safe and comfortable (I am getting old after all). Enter the Viggen Lemania.
Or rather what I bought for the money I got when selling the Lemania.
A 1971 Mercedes 350SL. Made during April - the first month of production of this model - and sold new in Sweden. 92 000 kilometers on the odo. Manual shift and in splendid condition. As I am no longer in the mood for practical tinkering with cars I left it at a vintage Mercedes specialist over this winter for some work. Mainly going thru all the parts that deteriorate with time - rubber hoses, electrical connections, etc., but also getting some suspension upgrades (Bilstein/Koni). Looking forward to some long grand touring next summer together with my wife. Probably central or south of Europe. Germany/France/Italy.
I do miss the Lemania Viggen from time to time but it went to a good home and whenever I miss it I think to myself - “It is in the garage”.
Hunting watches
It has as a new meaning nowadays. Hunting has changed from hunting watches to hunting with watches. Today I do not buy meat. I get meat. Healthy, environmentally sound, non stressed and good tasting meat. I get it just some meters from my home. I take care of the whole process until on the dinner table. I do not shoot animals for fun, sport or as a hobby. I do not shoot more than I need as food. I take care of every part of the animal. And - there is a lot of time contemplating life whilst hunting - there is an irony in this - whilst waiting to take a life. The many hours spent hunting is quality time. To the point of it not being important to actually fire every time an opportunity to do so arises
Burglary
We still have our apartment in the city. I am there for a day or two every second month maybe. Even if having good security measures someone broke in and went thru all our things. Some of my wife’s jewelry were stolen. Some champagne, red wine and whiskey were lost. And I got three watches stolen (+ a stop watch). None that I miss though. They were there for a reason - I did not care much for them. No monetary value when it comes to these, I considered them as parts watches. The watches they stole were in the open - no boxes. They must have thought they hit the jackpot when they found all the “real” watch boxes but they soon realized they were all empty
The burglars were not very knowledgeable when it comes to watches as they left all the stuff that would have been very easy to sell - without any risk. Leaving original Omega and Rolex bracelets (unused), a couple of Rolex Daytona dials, GMT bezels, etc., means they had no clue of their value. It was not because they did not see them - they were all laying there along with the boxes on the floor. They just did not understand that these parts were the best things to steal. Small, valuable, untraceable - and easy to sell the same day without any risk at all.
This was not a targeted burglary but a random one. They were professional thieves (despite not knowing about watches). We are not talking a dirty junkie with a crowbar here but clean guys with hydraulic tools (of the kind that the fire brigade uses). They were seen by neighbors - but not since…
In my work a lot revolves about handling risks. I do that when it comes to personal life too. Spreading risk is a good thing. That made this episode sort of successful for me even if we lost some things.
Stolen watches:
During the year I put out the word in a close local circle that I wanted to move a couple of watches and a friend took them both. I said good bye to a Lemania Regatta and a Certina DS-3 PH200M.
In the end of the year I thought it was time to tell the story of the Swiss cheese world domination scheme. The full story of the LE Omega Cheesemaster and its most grail like incarnation - the misspelled, one off, Cheesmaster. You can read all about it here:
https://omegaforums.net/threads/my-number-3000-post.68379/
Well, this concludes my watch year of 2017. Less watches - in the collection and online. More life - with watches as some of all the gold lining.
Life is good.
Number of watches in the collection = 61 (and still + Cuckoo clock).
Looking forward to 2018. Happy New Year to all OF members!
Back log:
https://omegaforums.net/threads/je-s-watch-chronicle-2016.50624/
https://omegaforums.net/threads/je-s-watch-chronicle-2015.33280/
https://omegaforums.net/threads/je-s-watch-chronicle-2014-update.19903/
https://omegaforums.net/threads/je-s-watch-chronicle-2013.8907/
I have often thought about keeping a diary but I have never got around to doing it. When I look back - reading up on the yearly chronicles I have done here on OF since 2013 I realize why people keep diaries. When in midst of everyday life it is sometimes difficult to get the big picture, to see what is actually happening on a bigger scale. It is not until summing up one sees a pattern or a trend. Chronicles are summing up and when now reading my own chronicles - summing up the summing ups - I understand the big picture more and more.
Last year I wrote that 2016 had been a slow year collection wise. Not many new acquisitions but instead more activities on the social side of the hobby. I connected this to me changing my way of life - going from city frenzy to countryside tranquility. The watch hobby was becoming less of a derailing of the mind from the surrounding stress and instead more of a means of putting a gold lining on life.
2017 takes this a couple of steps further. I have not bought a single watch. I have not even got a watch serviced this year. Instead I have actually sold a few watches and because of reasons later explained I have even lost some. And it does not bother me.
What has happened to me? The big picture? Well, I am still around on OF - visiting almost daily. Still going thru auction sites (only local ones) searching and researching - but only a couple of times a week at most. Still using two or three watches a day and enjoying them immensely. But continuing the trend from last year - the itch for “the kill” is now gone. Totally gone.
What has happened to me is - real life. And real life is good. When the stress overkill of work and life in the city was substituted for work and life on the countryside it freed up a lot of brain capacity. This capacity has been used on pondering on the real values of life.
Actually taking time with the people that matter in my life. My family and friends. Taking that extra time to talk to my 85 year old mother - who is a genuinely fascinating person - before it is too late. My wife, my brothers, my friends. Really interact with them - not only go thru the motions. I take time to think about what I want out of life and what life wants out of me.
I do not write as much here on OF as before. I am still here but not as active as earlier. OF is no longer a stress relief - it too has become “just” a gold lining to life.
The above of course makes this chronicle a bit boring watch wise. No new watches, stories about finding them, servicing or projects. Here, anyway, is what has happened this year - with some sort of connection to watches. But maybe more connected to what I have written above…
Viggen vs Mercedes
I have a large garage. My everyday user is a Volvo XC and I never put it in the garage - I see no reason to. Now I have a Lemania Viggen in the garage.
I have been into vintage cars for a large part of my adult life. From the age of 16 I restored cars for myself and as a hobby. It stopped around the age of 35-40 as life turned more serious and I needed more serious cars (ones that could be used for everything and all year round). I was also deep into vintage boats and that continued until I left the city just some years ago - selling the boat at the same time (Stockholm is a part of an archipelago - boating being big there).
I have been looking for the right hobby/vintage car since I got this house and the 100 sqm garage that came with it.
I wanted something that I could use for long distance European touring as well as out and about nearby during summers. A car that had a good supply of parts readily available and a service organization everywhere (I can do almost anything on a car but I do no longer want or need to). Something that was somewhat safe and comfortable (I am getting old after all). Enter the Viggen Lemania.
Or rather what I bought for the money I got when selling the Lemania.
A 1971 Mercedes 350SL. Made during April - the first month of production of this model - and sold new in Sweden. 92 000 kilometers on the odo. Manual shift and in splendid condition. As I am no longer in the mood for practical tinkering with cars I left it at a vintage Mercedes specialist over this winter for some work. Mainly going thru all the parts that deteriorate with time - rubber hoses, electrical connections, etc., but also getting some suspension upgrades (Bilstein/Koni). Looking forward to some long grand touring next summer together with my wife. Probably central or south of Europe. Germany/France/Italy.
I do miss the Lemania Viggen from time to time but it went to a good home and whenever I miss it I think to myself - “It is in the garage”.
Hunting watches
It has as a new meaning nowadays. Hunting has changed from hunting watches to hunting with watches. Today I do not buy meat. I get meat. Healthy, environmentally sound, non stressed and good tasting meat. I get it just some meters from my home. I take care of the whole process until on the dinner table. I do not shoot animals for fun, sport or as a hobby. I do not shoot more than I need as food. I take care of every part of the animal. And - there is a lot of time contemplating life whilst hunting - there is an irony in this - whilst waiting to take a life. The many hours spent hunting is quality time. To the point of it not being important to actually fire every time an opportunity to do so arises
Burglary
We still have our apartment in the city. I am there for a day or two every second month maybe. Even if having good security measures someone broke in and went thru all our things. Some of my wife’s jewelry were stolen. Some champagne, red wine and whiskey were lost. And I got three watches stolen (+ a stop watch). None that I miss though. They were there for a reason - I did not care much for them. No monetary value when it comes to these, I considered them as parts watches. The watches they stole were in the open - no boxes. They must have thought they hit the jackpot when they found all the “real” watch boxes but they soon realized they were all empty
The burglars were not very knowledgeable when it comes to watches as they left all the stuff that would have been very easy to sell - without any risk. Leaving original Omega and Rolex bracelets (unused), a couple of Rolex Daytona dials, GMT bezels, etc., means they had no clue of their value. It was not because they did not see them - they were all laying there along with the boxes on the floor. They just did not understand that these parts were the best things to steal. Small, valuable, untraceable - and easy to sell the same day without any risk at all.
This was not a targeted burglary but a random one. They were professional thieves (despite not knowing about watches). We are not talking a dirty junkie with a crowbar here but clean guys with hydraulic tools (of the kind that the fire brigade uses). They were seen by neighbors - but not since…
In my work a lot revolves about handling risks. I do that when it comes to personal life too. Spreading risk is a good thing. That made this episode sort of successful for me even if we lost some things.
Stolen watches:
During the year I put out the word in a close local circle that I wanted to move a couple of watches and a friend took them both. I said good bye to a Lemania Regatta and a Certina DS-3 PH200M.
In the end of the year I thought it was time to tell the story of the Swiss cheese world domination scheme. The full story of the LE Omega Cheesemaster and its most grail like incarnation - the misspelled, one off, Cheesmaster. You can read all about it here:
https://omegaforums.net/threads/my-number-3000-post.68379/
Well, this concludes my watch year of 2017. Less watches - in the collection and online. More life - with watches as some of all the gold lining.
Life is good.
Number of watches in the collection = 61 (and still + Cuckoo clock).
Looking forward to 2018. Happy New Year to all OF members!
Back log:
https://omegaforums.net/threads/je-s-watch-chronicle-2016.50624/
https://omegaforums.net/threads/je-s-watch-chronicle-2015.33280/
https://omegaforums.net/threads/je-s-watch-chronicle-2014-update.19903/
https://omegaforums.net/threads/je-s-watch-chronicle-2013.8907/
