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ErichKeane
·As I mentioned in my 'new member' discussion, I ordered a used 311.30.42.30.01.005 on ebay. This is an 1861 movement, so a few years old listed as 'used'. You can see the listing photos on my other thread.
As far as being a watch 'person', I've not really worn them very much. I wore a Citizen Skyhawk Blue Angels for a while, though it got beat up wearing it every day. It ended up being a bit big to wear all the time, so I eventually removed it and put it in a drawer (where the 'capacitor' seems to have died at 1/2 charge max!). Other than a brief stint with a pebble smart watch a few years ago, I've not been wearing a watch daily at all.
About a year ago, I picked up a Casio W800H for the purposes of using as a stop-watch while doing baseball umpiring (no-new-inning rules are a source of MANY arguments!). It was light and easy to wear, to the point that I barely noticed it! I also found it very useful to have the time on my wrist and I tend to be a pretty mechanical person, so a mechanical watch sounded fun.
I got a Hamilton Khaki Mechanical Green with date window about a month ago and have been wearing it non-stop since, other than working in my metal-shop/playing sports. It loses a bit of time, else is really a fantastic watch. More importantly, it got me used to wearing a mechanical.
So here are all 3, as I had this morning:
I searched a while for a speedmaster, debating between going to the local AD and spending on a new one, debating between a reduced and a pro (or one of the variety of 'date' models), and newer vs vintage.
I decided that a manual wind over automatic was my preference which stuck me into the Pro model. 6k for a brand new one at an AD (assuming they'd be able to sell it to me, and assuming my messy dressing didn't make them not want to sell it to me!) seemed steep, and I poked around a bit.
I found a few nice ones around, and came close to jumping on one at WatchUSeek (but a minimum post count to PM a seller made that impossible), and a few almost-buys from /r/watchexchange. However, not having a good idea of what an authentic one looked like, I wanted a little more assurance.
I found this one on ebay, listed as used with some honest pictures on it. I used the "make an offer" after a few beers and suggested a perhaps insulting price, the seller countered at 4k, and I agreed. Seller shipped next day, and it was at the authenticator this past Thursday. They shipped same day, and it ended up at my house about a half hour ago!
I photographed each step as I opened it for the purposes of keeping track of stuff, but I figured no one has a similar set of pictures of what to expect from ebay, so I figured I'd share!
First, it comes in a sealed box (from Fedex in this case) with a security seal.
Upon opening the box, I see this:
3 cards on top (1 the NFC card, 2 just 'stuff'), and bubble wrap! For the curious, the cards are:
Two booklets came stacked on top, 1 on the bracelet (metal or leather, depending on which side you read it from), and 1 about the 'history' of the speedmaster. I didn't pause long to look at them.
The top of the box even still has some sort of protective plastic over the main medallion. Also, my personal authenticator showed up for a few pictures.
Opened up, there is an instruction book, a leather card holder (though neither of the Omega cards were included, though they weren't promised. The Loupe and other medallion (side note, what is this for?) were included, as was 1 extra link of the bracelet, some band pins, and a band removal tool.
Interestingly, the bracelet managed to fit half decent right away! It is perhaps a TOUCH large, but it fits comfortably, and doesn't move around my arm too much. So I lucked out on there only being 1 extra link! I DO have a canvas/leather deployant one coming (some UK seller on ebay) that I might switch it to eventually.
Note that the ebay authenticator attached this to the back. After a wind and a function test, I ended up taking that off.
Thoughts: All of the marks as pictured by the ebay seller are there (https://www.ebay.com/itm/266315160221), though WAY less noticeable than I thought. I figured I was buying something with a little age to it, perhaps a little bit of wear, but what I got is something that looks brand spankin new. Marks on the crystal are not visible in person, and the nicks on the case and scuffs on the bracelet are minor/will get worse on my wrist!
As far as the watch: It is MUCH more attractive in person than in photos. The crystal is bright and clear, and the dial is very nice. The bezel is really sharp and clean as well. The watch itself is WAY smaller/more delicately featured than I expected. One of my concerns is that on my small wrist (~6.5"), it would look huge. That absolutely doesn't seem to be the case. It is 'smaller' on the wrist than my skyhawk BY a large amount, and while bigger than my 38mm Hamilton, not absurdly so.
My one 'complaint' is the crown. It is a bit tough to turn to wind (in that it is small, and the bezel gets in the way, effort is minor), and pulling it out to set the time is a little difficult for the same reason. I mildly wish it was hackable, but with the mini seconds hand, I don't think it'll bother me much. Perhaps it'll prevent me from going insane about the accuracy (my Hamilton went from -5 sec/day to -7 or 8 sec/day in normal use), which is perhaps a benefit.
Anyway, thats my thoughts/feelings on it! I hope others get to enjoy the photos/explanation of my experience.
As far as being a watch 'person', I've not really worn them very much. I wore a Citizen Skyhawk Blue Angels for a while, though it got beat up wearing it every day. It ended up being a bit big to wear all the time, so I eventually removed it and put it in a drawer (where the 'capacitor' seems to have died at 1/2 charge max!). Other than a brief stint with a pebble smart watch a few years ago, I've not been wearing a watch daily at all.
About a year ago, I picked up a Casio W800H for the purposes of using as a stop-watch while doing baseball umpiring (no-new-inning rules are a source of MANY arguments!). It was light and easy to wear, to the point that I barely noticed it! I also found it very useful to have the time on my wrist and I tend to be a pretty mechanical person, so a mechanical watch sounded fun.
I got a Hamilton Khaki Mechanical Green with date window about a month ago and have been wearing it non-stop since, other than working in my metal-shop/playing sports. It loses a bit of time, else is really a fantastic watch. More importantly, it got me used to wearing a mechanical.
So here are all 3, as I had this morning:
I searched a while for a speedmaster, debating between going to the local AD and spending on a new one, debating between a reduced and a pro (or one of the variety of 'date' models), and newer vs vintage.
I decided that a manual wind over automatic was my preference which stuck me into the Pro model. 6k for a brand new one at an AD (assuming they'd be able to sell it to me, and assuming my messy dressing didn't make them not want to sell it to me!) seemed steep, and I poked around a bit.
I found a few nice ones around, and came close to jumping on one at WatchUSeek (but a minimum post count to PM a seller made that impossible), and a few almost-buys from /r/watchexchange. However, not having a good idea of what an authentic one looked like, I wanted a little more assurance.
I found this one on ebay, listed as used with some honest pictures on it. I used the "make an offer" after a few beers and suggested a perhaps insulting price, the seller countered at 4k, and I agreed. Seller shipped next day, and it was at the authenticator this past Thursday. They shipped same day, and it ended up at my house about a half hour ago!
I photographed each step as I opened it for the purposes of keeping track of stuff, but I figured no one has a similar set of pictures of what to expect from ebay, so I figured I'd share!
First, it comes in a sealed box (from Fedex in this case) with a security seal.
Upon opening the box, I see this:
3 cards on top (1 the NFC card, 2 just 'stuff'), and bubble wrap! For the curious, the cards are:
Two booklets came stacked on top, 1 on the bracelet (metal or leather, depending on which side you read it from), and 1 about the 'history' of the speedmaster. I didn't pause long to look at them.
The top of the box even still has some sort of protective plastic over the main medallion. Also, my personal authenticator showed up for a few pictures.
Opened up, there is an instruction book, a leather card holder (though neither of the Omega cards were included, though they weren't promised. The Loupe and other medallion (side note, what is this for?) were included, as was 1 extra link of the bracelet, some band pins, and a band removal tool.
Interestingly, the bracelet managed to fit half decent right away! It is perhaps a TOUCH large, but it fits comfortably, and doesn't move around my arm too much. So I lucked out on there only being 1 extra link! I DO have a canvas/leather deployant one coming (some UK seller on ebay) that I might switch it to eventually.
Note that the ebay authenticator attached this to the back. After a wind and a function test, I ended up taking that off.
Thoughts: All of the marks as pictured by the ebay seller are there (https://www.ebay.com/itm/266315160221), though WAY less noticeable than I thought. I figured I was buying something with a little age to it, perhaps a little bit of wear, but what I got is something that looks brand spankin new. Marks on the crystal are not visible in person, and the nicks on the case and scuffs on the bracelet are minor/will get worse on my wrist!
As far as the watch: It is MUCH more attractive in person than in photos. The crystal is bright and clear, and the dial is very nice. The bezel is really sharp and clean as well. The watch itself is WAY smaller/more delicately featured than I expected. One of my concerns is that on my small wrist (~6.5"), it would look huge. That absolutely doesn't seem to be the case. It is 'smaller' on the wrist than my skyhawk BY a large amount, and while bigger than my 38mm Hamilton, not absurdly so.
My one 'complaint' is the crown. It is a bit tough to turn to wind (in that it is small, and the bezel gets in the way, effort is minor), and pulling it out to set the time is a little difficult for the same reason. I mildly wish it was hackable, but with the mini seconds hand, I don't think it'll bother me much. Perhaps it'll prevent me from going insane about the accuracy (my Hamilton went from -5 sec/day to -7 or 8 sec/day in normal use), which is perhaps a benefit.
Anyway, thats my thoughts/feelings on it! I hope others get to enjoy the photos/explanation of my experience.
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