As some of you might know, I only got into watches last June 2015. Since then, I've bought a Heuer Bund, Zenith EP TV, IWC 1872, Omega Seamaster 300 and a Cyma Dirty Dozen, among others. But of all my purchases, I really got hooked into UG. My first was a Compax 1950. And although I now know it's not from the glory days of UG, I still love the watch. Things got serious fast when I bought
@jordn's Polerouter Date. My love for the brand deepened.
Even before I got seriously interested in UG, I've always liked the look of the 2nd Generation Polerouter Sub, the one with the art deco numbers. I first saw and tried one in Tokyo last August 2015. I loved it, but something felt wrong and intuitively decided not to buy it. I later found out that the hands were wrong. Soon after I got the two aforementioned UGs, I had my eyes back on that Polerouter Sub and was dead set on getting one.
I went on a rampage looking for it. And that journey proved to be fruitful, not just because I got the watch, but because I learned so much about watches, and equally important, about collectors & sellers.
The process was long and tedious (but definitely enjoyable). I posted WTBs on various fora, asked people on IG who posted their watches if they were interested to sell, scoured old websites on Google, checked out tons of watch fora (thanks Google translate).
Throughout the process, I considered all generations and examples, from the 1st to the 3rd. I read and re-read the threads here about Polerouter Subs. I soon realized that as much as I also wanted the 1st and 3rd generations, I really wanted my first Polerouter Sub to be the 2nd generation, with a slight preference for the symmetric version. I bugged
@LouS,
@ChicagoFrog,
@Diabolik and
@Modest_Proposal for advice and leads. And they were very helpful.
The two who helped me the most though were
@woodwkr2 and
@jordn. They were very generous in sharing their time and expertise. I learned a lot from their strictness and rigor in critiquing the watches I would ask their advice on. It was a masterclass on watches every time they would give their take on the watches I was considering.
I must have gone through at least 15 different sellers and watches. There would be a problem with each of them - polished lugs, "lathed" casebacks, wrong hands, wrong crystal, etc. I discovered some shady sellers - people who would lie about these flawed watches. They will try to convince you that the wrong part was correct, or that it was a rarer version.
The most amusing
experience happened a couple of months ago. I rejected an example because it had a bad cosmetic problem. The watch was being offered to me then at USD 2700. Soon after I said no to the seller, I noticed it up for sale in an online store (not the seller's; which meant he sold it to that store). In a few days, I started seeing the watch on IG, posted by the end buyer. A few weeks later, the new owner was offering it to me for USD 4,000! This happened in less than 4 weeks!
Throughout all of these experiences - the shady sellers, the flawed examples, the skyrocketing prices,
@jordn would keep telling me two words - PATIENCE and VIGILANCE.
True enough, a couple of weeks later, I would stumble upon an Italian website, selling a very nice example of the watch. And for a very great price. I instantly emailed the seller. Alas, no reply. I tried calling his office and mobile numbers. He didn't pick up. This went on for a few days - I resent my email and called his numbers a few more times. Still, no reply!
I was already considering to stop pursuing the seller and compromise with another example (albeit with a scratched up bezel) from a different seller, but
@jordn said that the Italian seller's watch was one of the best from the ones I've showed him. He also told me there really are watch dealers and sellers that are bad at communication. I checked the Italian watch forum orologi.forumfree.it and was reassured about the seller reviews there stating that this seller and store are very reputable.
The seller finally replied a few days later, but it was still not smooth sailing. His terms were more rigid than others. For example, I had to arrange pickup and delivery of the watch myself. I tried contacting the local post office there in Italy, but that was a dead end. The only option was Fedex (or UPS). I had to apply for my own Fedex account to avail of their remote pick up request service. But since it was heading towards Christmas, Fedex couldn't assure me when it will get delivered to me. Fedex wasn't sure since our country's customs office might have an erratic sched during those dates. Besides, if I used Fedex, I would surely be taxed an arm and a leg by customs. I wouldn't want that to happen to me....again.
I finally found out a friend had a friend in Italy who was scheduled for a trip here to Manila sometime early January. I asked if he would pick up the watch and just bring the watch with him back to Manila for the price of whatever I would have paid Fedex.
Finally, earlier today, 27 days after I paid for it (and 141 days since I first saw that example with the fake hands in Tokyo), I finally got my own Polrouter Sub!
Here it is:
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The dial lumes are still beige / cream, while the hand lumes are still green. The lugs are sharp, the bezel is in great condition. I'm very happy for sure!
And as a bonus, as I was waiting for the watch, knowing that I had a "messenger" from Europe flying home in January, I ended up buying another UG
:
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Thanks for indulging me with my story. And thanks again for all the forum members who helped me
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