- Posts
- 1,691
- Likes
- 7,347
bazamu
·The watch universe has a strange way of coming full circle sometimes. In mid-April, a 2998-3 popped up on Craigslist in Houston, but the poster neglected to include any contact information / didn't set up the email relay in the ad, so there was no way to get in touch with him. The ad sat for multiple weeks, until the email relay was finally added and I'm sure he got a deluge of emails from interested parties. I was one of those initial emails and quickly got a response saying that he would only deal locally, out of fear for scammers. I assured him that I wasn't a scammer and could have a third-party act as a proxy for me, but I never got another response from him and was likely thrown into the "potential scammer" bucket. At this point, I contacted three college buddies who live in Houston and had them all reach out to the guy in hopes that their proximity would make them more attractive suitors. Of the three friends, only one got a response that said "please call me," and that friend "got busy at work and forgot to respond." By the time the next day rolled around and my friend emailed him back, he was informed that the watch was sold. I was gutted.
Just hours after getting that news from my friend, however, an Ed White fell to me on eBay (https://omegaforums.net/threads/6k-ed-white-who-got-it.57004/). I figured that was the watch world's sense of karma and even though the 2998-3 hadn't come my way despite all the days/hours of staying on top of the CL posting, I had ended up with a very nice consolation prize. Hard to be too mad.
So now fast forward a little over a month. To my surprise, the 2998-3 ad was re-posted (again, with no email relay or contact information) and didn't even have a picture this time, but the text was the same and it was likely the same person who posted it. I set one of my WIS friends on him this time, and amazingly, he got a response pretty quickly and was able to engage in some good ol' Texas dialogue. A price was agreed to, and my friend set off to meet him on Tuesday to get the watch. I never found out what happened with the previous sale, but the backstory on the seller is too good not to share - he's a home renovation "expert," who was in his mid-40's (with long bleach blonde hair parted down the middle) and had bought the watch at an estate sale for "nothing" about 6-7 years ago. He wanted to buy a new motor for his fishing boat, however, so the watch was an easy thing to sell to raise the money. Before parting ways with my friend, he ordered a beer, shotgunned it in the restaurant, and walked back to his truck to head back to work. Just unreal.
Now on to the watch - I see a lot of promise in it. The 3 o'clock sub-dial needs a leaf hand and the entire main handset needs to be replaced (currently looking for a set, btw!), but the shade of lume is quite nice and a new crystal, bezel adjustment, and proper handset can turn this into a stunning daily wearer. Look forward to sharing the progress once it's been revived!
I just got the watch, but here are some pictures:
Original Photo From Listing (yes, that's an Invicta fake gold bracelet):
From my Friend, Who is Owed a Terrific Bottle of Liquor!:
Just hours after getting that news from my friend, however, an Ed White fell to me on eBay (https://omegaforums.net/threads/6k-ed-white-who-got-it.57004/). I figured that was the watch world's sense of karma and even though the 2998-3 hadn't come my way despite all the days/hours of staying on top of the CL posting, I had ended up with a very nice consolation prize. Hard to be too mad.
So now fast forward a little over a month. To my surprise, the 2998-3 ad was re-posted (again, with no email relay or contact information) and didn't even have a picture this time, but the text was the same and it was likely the same person who posted it. I set one of my WIS friends on him this time, and amazingly, he got a response pretty quickly and was able to engage in some good ol' Texas dialogue. A price was agreed to, and my friend set off to meet him on Tuesday to get the watch. I never found out what happened with the previous sale, but the backstory on the seller is too good not to share - he's a home renovation "expert," who was in his mid-40's (with long bleach blonde hair parted down the middle) and had bought the watch at an estate sale for "nothing" about 6-7 years ago. He wanted to buy a new motor for his fishing boat, however, so the watch was an easy thing to sell to raise the money. Before parting ways with my friend, he ordered a beer, shotgunned it in the restaurant, and walked back to his truck to head back to work. Just unreal.
Now on to the watch - I see a lot of promise in it. The 3 o'clock sub-dial needs a leaf hand and the entire main handset needs to be replaced (currently looking for a set, btw!), but the shade of lume is quite nice and a new crystal, bezel adjustment, and proper handset can turn this into a stunning daily wearer. Look forward to sharing the progress once it's been revived!
I just got the watch, but here are some pictures:
Original Photo From Listing (yes, that's an Invicta fake gold bracelet):
From my Friend, Who is Owed a Terrific Bottle of Liquor!:
