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Jul 30, 2017, 06:54 PM
#51
I can't remember what these were called. The SARB033 had been 90% perfect, but I still hankered after something more perfect than that. This wasn't it. Too blocky and chiselled. Fine, in its way, but I wouldn't have remembered that it was mechanical if it didn't say so on the dial.
Grand Seiko SBGX061
But a month later, all the way from Bucharest... a perfect SARB, so perfect that they called it a Grand Seiko. It was second-hand but immaculate, as though it was impervious to wear.
Actually, it was third-hand. There was one picture on the internet that I had kept coming back to, and this was it, the same watch. I hadn't known, but the original owner had sold it to the man in Bucharest. He missed it so much that he went and bought another.
A perfect watch, and accurate to a few seconds a year. The refined essence of Seiko. After a few months, the man in Bucharest sent me an email, saying he'd have it back if I ever sold it.
Can a watch be over-refined? I had it for a few years, but in the end I hardly noticed it. I sent it back to Bucharest when I was raising money for something else. Six months down the line, I noticed that he had sold it again.
Maybe a watch can be over-refined. You come to take the excellence for granted and the watch fades into everyday utility. White bread rather than wholemeal. If I had a Calatrava, I might get bored. Respectfully bored.
And that's all for 2013. Eight watches for the second year running.
A grand total of 98 with a yearly sequence of 14, 14, 14, 11, 15, 14, 8, 8.
One year to go.
Last edited by tribe125; Apr 16, 2019 at 10:30 PM.
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Jul 31, 2017, 12:03 AM
#52
The final Photobucket year - 2014
Aqua Terra
Could have been 'the one', thought it was 'the one', but it wasn't. Too much going on, not relaxed enough. I liked it more than a Datejust when I bought it, but soon turned through 180 degrees.
Lip General de Gaulle
A remake of a 1952 watch. Lip produced the world's second electric movement in 1958, and was a giant in France. It was bold, stylish and innovatory (see the Mach 2000) - and very French. In decline, it became the focus of social and political unrest, and there were some parallels with the story of the British car industry in the seventies. It was one of those companies that I investigated from top to bottom, and then moved on. It had been resuscitated, to a degree, so my interest led to a watch. It was a bit insubstantial.
Seiko SNDA57P1
Purchased for the second time - and why not? It's never wrong to buy one of these.
Last edited by tribe125; Apr 16, 2019 at 10:38 PM.
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Jul 31, 2017, 10:21 PM
#53
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Jul 31, 2017, 10:23 PM
#54
To fill in the gap to the present:
I made a few changes and arrived at Rolex, like a train pulling into the terminus.
The Aqua Terra was replaced with a Datejust. The Speedmaster was swapped for a Submariner, which I didn't really like. I downsized to a Tudor North Flag, and then back up again to an Explorer II.
My military interest expanded and then settled back. A Nomos came, but went to raise money for the Datejust. I bought a couple of Certinas in Kraków, like you do. A Nienaber had to be snapped up. There was the Stowa Flieger. A G-Shock was bought and given away. A Swatch was bought at an airport and worn for two flights.
There may have been one or two others, but mainly it was pulling into Rolex Central and shutting down the power.
G-Shock to Rolex in ten years, with a side interest in military watches that was there at the start. Rolex isn't a hallowed peak, but it gives me what I want in my young old age.
I could have taken a more direct route but I wouldn't have seen as much of the country. 
After a short break I'll finish with a rundown of my current watches.
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Aug 1, 2017, 02:21 AM
#55
Today
Six watches.
In my mind, I think of them as two 'destination' watches, two military and two other. I've roamed a bit, over the last twelve years, but I've got a satisfying handful, which was my underlying ideal. That's not to say that things couldn't change, but profligacy is almost certainly over.
Rolex Datejust
The universal Rolex, discreetly fabulous since 1945. Doesn't bother with reductive and arbitrary categories - it's a 'watch, gents'. I could wear either version, but the 36mm feels better connected to the legions of Datejusts that have gone before. It's an aristocrat, the Datejust. Buy one new and keep it for life.
Rolex Explorer II
In a sense, an 'active' partner to the passive Datejust. Some would have a Submariner in this role, but I tried one and we didn't get along.
The 16570 suits me better than the current model. It's from 2011, the last year of production, so has the benefit of old-school decorum and modern mechanicals. I doubt if I could ever find a better one and it's my one watch with a sense of 'captured!' about it.
Some watches just seem made to measure - both in size and character. The Submariner felt a bit clumsy, as if it was made for someone else. The Explorer fits.
MkII Hawkinge
The culmination of my love affair with the IWC Mk11, and the closest you can get to the most iconic of military watches without buying a decomposing and very expensive original.
I'd been waiting ten years for a convincing tribute to the Mk11, and when it came it was named after a WWII airfield not far from where I live. History aside, it's a handsome thing from the golden age of the wristwatch. I must remind myself of these things, should I ever be tempted to sell it...
If a watch can have a personality, this is closer to mine than anything. Does that make me a homage to a more authentic person? 
Could the Hawkinge stand alone as a representative of military watches? Could I have no military watches at all? Probably not. They're a counterweight to my glittering baubles.
Stowa Flieger
In some ways, a companion piece to the Hawkinge. Jörg Schauer was the person most responsible for turning the unwieldy B-Uhr into a modern retro classic, and he has continued to refine it over the years. This is my second. Ideally, I'd prefer a 40mm hand-wind version, but it doesn't really matter. Quality touches lift it above military utility.
Glycine Airman No. 1
Cranky and outmoded but historic and loveable. Hands and pointers flying off in all directions. You suspect it was even a bit cranky in 1953 when it became the first GMT watch, beating the Rolex GMT by a year. Lacks glamour but has buckets of charm. Purchased at a considerable discount. Might have to be sacrificed if I want to bring something in.
IWL 1963
Well, you've got to have one - and as a bonus, I like it. The winding action has become a bit unpredictable, so I wouldn't be surprised if it ground to a halt at some point, relegating itself to a depository of things that can't quite be thrown away. I'm also aware of click spring issues with the ST19, but refuse to play safe by not fully winding it.
Despite being one-third Rolex, I'd say my watches were unremarkable - which is how I like them. I have a liking for the 'perfectly ordinary'.
My (almost separate) liking for more adventurous things isn't represented at the moment.
For the future, it feels like I've got unfinished business with Nomos. The Club and Metro won't leave me alone, and haven't done for years - especially the original Metro, the Datum Gangsreserve. For now, I'm content to live with what I have. If I learnt that the Metro was going to be discontinued, I'd buy one tomorrow.
Last edited by tribe125; Apr 16, 2019 at 11:08 PM.
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Aug 1, 2017, 06:03 PM
#56
What have I learned, from the last twelve years, and from doing this thread?
- Know who you are and buy watches for that person. We all have day-dreams, but the person in the day-dream isn't always us.
- Regard the money spent on watches as 'gone'. If you can't do that, think again about the level of spending.
- Don't be over-deliberate. There's just as much chance of making a mistake from following a plan as from following your nose.
- Don't pay too much attention to rank and category. Neither are that well-founded and both can lead you up the wrong path.
- Be wary of sentimental attraction. It can be imposed and artificial and it gets in the way. The watches don't care what we think about them.
- Watches are for you and nobody else. Most of the people you know couldn't give a hoot about your watch. The right watch doesn't have to be conventional.
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