I was doing mental inventory of my watches the other day (considering pieces to possibly sell, but not the point of this thread) and I realized I have acquired four chronographs from the 60's that generally represent the "classics" of the era. Wasn't planning to built a "type" collection (term borrowed from my former numismatist days), but I like what unconsciously developed. My interest in collecting watches started few years ago and generally move slow when buying and selling. Speedmasters caught my eye 2 years ago (and the rest of the world) and that was my first vintage purchase (that watch is already gone and was replaced with the one pictured). The Speedmaster shown came from a German estate sale this year. I don't speak German and relied heavily on google translate to process the lot details info. After receiving the first Speedmaster, my dad and I got to talking and his Navitimer "came up". Long story short, the Navitimer was my second chronograph and I had it serviced by Craig at Chronodeco. My dad wore the Navi since he bought it in the 70's and nearly wore off the gold plating on the lugs. Most people would say the case is "done" becaus base metal is showing, but I like the "dad patina" and plan to leave it as-is. The 3rd chrono is the Seiko Speedtimer JDM from March 1969 and is a fun little watch. AK-70-esque movement and feels great on the wrist. To me, this Seiko wears how the Heuer Autavia Viceroy's should have. Viceroys are just too big and chunky...and I like big watches. Pretty awesome that someone can still snag a 1969 automatic chronograph with column wheel movement that was worn in space for between $500-$1000. The last piece is the Nivada Chronomaster Aviator Sea Diver. The article on worn&wound piqued my interest and kept following the ASD's auctions on eBay. I dig watches with patina so when this one came up, I knew "the red mist" was going to fly!! The aesthetics are beautiful and the watch really shows well. It's 38mm case is in the bottom end of watch sizes for me, but I forgive its size due to the watch's pleasing appearance. My interests have wandered into different areas since acquiring these chronographs: Retro IWC, dive watches, and military issued watches. I'm fortunate that my IWC Ocean Bund intersects all those categories, but I'm fascinated when I find interesting examples that fall into one of my single categories. Generally, my interests exceed my financial grasp, so I enjoy reading up on pieces that I may or may not ever actually own. Anyway, just wanted to share how the collecting started for me and where it has gone. Matt
Thanks for sharing your chrono journey. The plate loss on the Navitimer looks barely noticeable to me. Maybe it's worse underneath.
Your Seiko has it's boobies showing. Cover them up! What do you think this is, the Riviera or Brazil?