What is your "beginnings" story in this hobby of ours?

[Mediocre]

My dad and grandfather both wore Seiko quartz on bracelet when I was young. My dad used money from his first post-collegiate paycheck to buy my grandfather his. My grandfather was verbally upset, I heard him complain about that money.....but he wore it every day and carried a Sears pocket watch as well

The pocket watch had me enamored, and it was left to me. Sadly it disappeared after he passed, but I still enjoyed watches.

The oldest watch I actually remember wearing is a Timex Datalink, connected to an IBM Aptiva. No actual memories of the functions remain, but connecting it to the computer was awe inspiring lol

After that I wore a Fossil or Timex Ironman for years, always had on a watch


After college, myself, I used funds from my first signing bonus (first corporate gig too) to buy an ecodrive. 18 years later I still have it, wore it last week. It was my only-wear for a few years. Man is it scratched up lol, but it still works. It is incredibly comfortable too

A few years later I got promoted and received my first annual bonus. After using some of it to buy my first automatic Swiss watch, an Oris Williams F1 which I still have, it was all down hill from there.

[wschofield3]

That brings memories for me. My go to places where Alpha Omega Jewelers (Natick store) and Tourneau back in the day.

And thank you for being a big part of my journey. Our meetings, conversations and friendship is very treasured.

[hayday]

I just always remember wearing a watch. Putting on a watch was just something I did, like putting socks; didn't always wear and still don't. For some reason, I just liked watches. My left wrist has an indentation from the nearly 50 years of watch wearing. I wasn't obsessed, but I knew a few brands like Rolex, Seiko, TAG, Movado, and Omega. The first watch I remember having was a green, plastic Timex camping watch. I got it when I was in Boy Scouts. It was a handwind with a plastic crystal, and I loved it. They've been making reissues of these and I had the original! Sadly, I have no idea what happened to it.

My dad was sort into watches in that he had a couple of nicer ones: Rolex, Le Coulture, Grand Seiko. This was one of the few things we connected on and watches were frequent Christmas and birthday gifts. A series of cheap digital watches came and went after that, but I vividly remember the day he gave me his Seiko ani-digi, the one from the mid-80s that was similar to the Arnie. I somehow managed to kill it.

In high school, I was given a quartz Swiss Army watch that I wore through college and beyond; still have it. At this point, I liked watches, but I wasn't really "into" them. Not like now, at least. I added a few cheapies, but the bug really bite after I received a subscription to Esquire as a gift; either the wife or my sister. One issue was the watch issue, and I renewed the subscription for years just for this issue alone. Yeah, I know, I could have just bought the one issue, but what's the fun in that? Eleven issues a year were read and recycled, while one was saved...for years. In one issue, they showed the TAG Heuer Aquaracer Regatta Timer and I was hooked! I WANTED that watch badly, but the $2800 price tag was well beyond my means at that time. I eventually found one on eBay for half the cost and jumped on it. I didn't even consult the wife, which is unusual for a purchase of that amount. The watch bug managed to bite even harder.

I stumbled across the shopNBC tv station, and would spend hours looking at these big, blingy watches. I went down that rabbit hole, nearly buying a lot of watches I would have regretted. I do not regret the Potger Pietri I bought, though. The fact that they never billed me helped. I did some Googling and somehow ended up at WUS, reading thread after thread after thread, looking at all the pretty pictures. Several purchases were nearly made, but I just kept on looking at the pretty pictures. I started posting regularly on WUS and that was when I started taking my purchases more seriously. Someone (Ernie?) made a post about the Melbourne Flinders and I fell in love with it. Save for the TAG, that was my priciest watch. I gifted it to myself after I got my first teaching job. Then came the Tissot V8. That was one of those years when the wife and I bought our own Valentine's presents. Then, the floodgates opened and many an impulse purchase was made. Then I started getting into vintage watches and bought a bunch of them. The other place went downhill very fast after Ernie sold it; flame wars are just dumb. I miss WUS but I don't.

Does anyone remember Imitation of Life? We clicked fairly quickly on WUS and we emailed each other from time to time. Don't know where he is now. He told me about this place, citing his own criticisms of the other place, and the rest is history. I don't know the date IWL started, but I do know I was here within the first handful of months. I was very happy to see some of the people I had listened to and respected from WUS, and I quickly knew I had found the right place. I went to a pre-COVID get-together in Boston a couple years ago, only knowing @Cybotron and @Pacifico, and walked away bound and determined to get the Explorer for my 50th birthday. Several of you helped me in this quest, especially @mlcor. One day, sort of out of the blue, Craig messaged me that an AD he worked with had just gotten one. I called, put down a deposit, and told the wife I was driving to Boston to get a watch. That was four years ago this coming Saturday (1/20/2020).

Because of you all, my watch knowledge has grown exponentially, even though I still don't know much about the different movements. I mostly like looking at the pretty pictures. You've introduced me to some watch brands I never would have heard of, and I am very thankful for that. You've unknowingly stopped me from making bad decisions. You' ve helped me narrow my searches by getting me to think about things I wouldn't have otherwise thought of, ultimately making my purchases much more meaningful. Posting to the WRUW threads is a daily habit for me and I am truly thankful for you all. I truly do enjoy this community. Now that we're moving past COVID, I hope to get together with people in real life. Walter @wschofield3 and I already have loose plans to grab a beer or Red Sox game this spring. I've jokingly-but-not-jokingly made plans to meet up with @Fantasio when we're both in Paris this summer. Because of @Henry Krinkle, there's even a cat I like. I do want to meet Dickens some day. And any of you are welcomed to come sit by the fire pit.

[wschofield3]

I just always remember wearing a watch. Putting on a watch was just something I did, like putting socks; didn't always wear and still don't. For some reason, I just liked watches. My left wrist has an indentation from the nearly 50 years of watch wearing. I wasn't obsessed, but I knew a few brands like Rolex, Seiko, TAG, Movado, and Omega. The first watch I remember having was a green, plastic Timex camping watch. I got it when I was in Boy Scouts. It was a handwind with a plastic crystal, and I loved it. They've been making reissues of these and I had the original! Sadly, I have no idea what happened to it.

My dad was sort into watches in that he had a couple of nicer ones: Rolex, Le Coulture, Grand Seiko. This was one of the few things we connected on and watches were frequent Christmas and birthday gifts. A series of cheap digital watches came and went after that, but I vividly remember the day he gave me his Seiko ani-digi, the one from the mid-80s that was similar to the Arnie. I somehow managed to kill it.

In high school, I was given a quartz Swiss Army watch that I wore through college and beyond; still have it. At this point, I liked watches, but I wasn't really "into" them. Not like now, at least. I added a few cheapies, but the bug really bite after I received a subscription to Esquire as a gift; either the wife or my sister. One issue was the watch issue, and I renewed the subscription for years just for this issue alone. Yeah, I know, I could have just bought the one issue, but what's the fun in that? Eleven issues a year were read and recycled, while one was saved...for years. In one issue, they showed the TAG Heuer Aquaracer Regatta Timer and I was hooked! I WANTED that watch badly, but the $2800 price tag was well beyond my means at that time. I eventually found one on eBay for half the cost and jumped on it. I didn't even consult the wife, which is unusual for a purchase of that amount. The watch bug managed to bite even harder.

I stumbled across the shopNBC tv station, and would spend hours looking at these big, blingy watches. I went down that rabbit hole, nearly buying a lot of watches I would have regretted. I do not regret the Potger Pietri I bought, though. The fact that they never billed me helped. I did some Googling and somehow ended up at WUS, reading thread after thread after thread, looking at all the pretty pictures. Several purchases were nearly made, but I just kept on looking at the pretty pictures. I started posting regularly on WUS and that was when I started taking my purchases more seriously. Someone (Ernie?) made a post about the Melbourne Flinders and I fell in love with it. Save for the TAG, that was my priciest watch. I gifted it to myself after I got my first teaching job. Then came the Tissot V8. That was one of those years when the wife and I bought our own Valentine's presents. Then, the floodgates opened and many an impulse purchase was made. Then I started getting into vintage watches and bought a bunch of them. The other place went downhill very fast after Ernie sold it; flame wars are just dumb. I miss WUS but I don't.

Does anyone remember Imitation of Life? We clicked fairly quickly on WUS and we emailed each other from time to time. Don't know where he is now. He told me about this place, citing his own criticisms of the other place, and the rest is history. I don't know the date IWL started, but I do know I was here within the first handful of months. I was very happy to see some of the people I had listened to and respected from WUS, and I quickly knew I had found the right place. I went to a pre-COVID get-together in Boston a couple years ago, only knowing @Cybotron and @pacifico, and walked away bound and determined to get the Explorer for my 50th birthday. Several of you helped me in this quest, especially @mlcor. One day, sort of out of the blue, Craig messaged me that an AD he worked with had just gotten one. I called, put down a deposit, and told the wife I was driving to Boston to get a watch. That was four years ago this coming Saturday (1/20/2020).

Because of you all, my watch knowledge has grown exponentially, even though I still don't know much about the different movements. I mostly like looking at the pretty pictures. You've introduced me to some watch brands I never would have heard of, and I am very thankful for that. You've unknowingly stopped me from making bad decisions. You' ve helped me narrow my searches by getting me to think about things I wouldn't have otherwise thought of, ultimately making my purchases much more meaningful. Posting to the WRUW threads is a daily habit for me and I am truly thankful for you all. I truly do enjoy this community. Now that we're moving past COVID, I hope to get together with people in real life. Walter @wschofield and I already have loose plans to grab a beer or Red Sox game this spring. I've jokingly-but-not-jokingly made plans to meet up with @Fantasio when we're both in Paris this summer. Because of @Henry Krinkle, there's even a cat I like. I do want to meet Dickens some day. And any of you are welcomed to come sit by the fire pit.

I remember IOL, I exchanged some PM's with him at the other place - and I think he was fairly active here at the beginning for a couple of years. Wonder what happened to many that came here and left.

[Mediocre]

I remember IOL, I exchanged some PM's with him at the other place - and I think he was fairly active here at the beginning for a couple of years. Wonder what happened to many that came here and left.

We may need to do a giveaway and email blast to remind some to visit

[Raza]

I wanted a wristwatch for the same reason I wanted a passport, a pocket knife, and a multi-pocketed khaki vest—the MacGyver opening sequence.*

https://youtu.be/yOEe1uzurKo?si=sUG23il3yQ8vPC4x









*serious answer to come after this headache finally subsides, but honestly, this isn’t far off.

[GaryF]

Assembly.
I remember sitting in assembly at school and staring at the luminous markers of a little black hand-wound Timex I had been given for Christmas. I had chosen it from a late seventies edition of Kays Catalogue and I was fascinated by it. I think from memory that it was the lume I liked best. The time-telling aspect was probably less important.

Many years, and several Swatches later, I was ready to buy a grown-up watch. My dad took me to a wholesale place in Bristol where I was knocked over by what would eventually be known to everyone as the "Bond Seamaster". At that point, however, the idea of spending over a £1000 on a watch was an idea from the same category as spending £100,000 on a car. But there was another, more modest Seamaster for a little under £300. I bought it. I loved it for a day. I took it back and asked if they had one which could tell the time for more than a few hours without stopping. Alas, it was a discontinued model so I left with a refund and a last, longing look at the "Bond" and headed back into the cheap quartz wilderness for a few more years.

Next chapter was, of course, the one in which I was finally able to buy a Bond Seamaster; and a long, happy chapter it was. I wore that watch everywhere and did everything with it for about ten years. I still have it. Always will, hopefully. I think I might still be a one-watch man if I hadn't gone and got married.

Marriage.
So, I was was getting married and thought that a different watch might be nice to go with the suit and the shoes which did't have stripes down the sides. There was no research or anything involved in the decision. Just a shop window and a lightly-used Monaco. I wore it and enjoyed it on and around the big day but it was never going to become My Watch. It was handsome but bulky and obtrusive. I loved so much about it but I couldn't imagine wearing it every.... Oooh! what's that? An advert for a Tag Heuer Carrera....? A bit like the Monaco but smaller, prettier...

Done.
And that was me done. I had broken the seal. I managed to buy the Carrera on my Honeymoon in Australia and I was no longer a one-watch man. Given how much of my life, savings and time have been spent on watches, I wonder how different things might be if I hadn't bought that Carrera. Maybe it's possible to go back to being a one-watch man but, in my case, I think it would require either a complete loss of interest in watches our a catastrophic implosion of my finances.

Anyway, watches have brought me a lot of pleasure down the years. I did the WUS thing as well, moderated for a bit, got jaded by the turnover of new members starting the same old arguments, and then left with the exodus. Got to "know" some fine people like Geoffbot, Tribe, Jeannie and the rest of the OG crew here. I'm not so forum-active now but I read and listen to watch podcasts/YouTube while I work and have a collection dotted around various safe deposit boxes that I wouldn't have imagined owning in the early days.

So, all in all, I think that little Timex was the beginning of a pretty fundamental part of my life.

[wschofield3]

We may need to do a giveaway and email blast to remind some to visit

I wonder if the mods have had this notion as well?

I have thought about asking many other watch groups I belong to to join IWL, but I get the feeling the reason this place is so special is that it is not too big and a tight knit group. I truly feel a kinship to all here.

I don't know the financial aspects of running this site, but assume it's at least a break even, so, do we want to grow? If so, I'm largely a marketing guy and it would not be too difficult to do so via social media. Heck, just the micro brand group that I believe you belong to as well would garner a ton of interest.

Any thoughts on this from anyone?

[wschofield3]

Thank you for all of your responses, every single one of them a great read!

@Raza - hope your head feels better and looking forward to your "long version", although, your McGuyver one was quite succinct and descriptive.

[mlcor]

I wonder if the mods have had this notion as well?

I have thought about asking many other watch groups I belong to to join IWL, but I get the feeling the reason this place is so special is that it is not too big and a tight knit group. I truly feel a kinship to all here.

I don't know the financial aspects of running this site, but assume it's at least a break even, so, do we want to grow? If so, I'm largely a marketing guy and it would not be too difficult to do so via social media. Heck, just the micro brand group that I believe you belong to as well would garner a ton of interest.

Any thoughts on this from anyone?

I wondered this, too. I’d hate to see the vibe here affected, and a giveaway would have the potential to do that, I think. I’d much rather see us grow through current members inviting folks they know. And if we don’t grow much because of that, so be it.

Just my .02.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk