So I just thought I’d detail my slow but steady fall down the Rabbit Hole!
You may think that you can control this sickness but as I have discovered it is indeed a very slippery slope. I’ve been a member here for over 3 years and in that three years I have enjoyed my time here immensely, I have learnt so much from many of the fine members here.
I have experienced the thrill of waiting for QC pics, the endless days waiting for that special parcel to arrive. The wait to see if customs open my parcel and seize my watch. Watches that have gone missing that I sent and haven’t (apparently) arrived and lost to the dreaded Pay Pal decision makers (that was a Gen Tudor Prince!!!)
So from humble beginnings of risking my hard earned on some Canal St rubbish before I found this forum to actually stripping down and re-building movements. I have finally hit the bottom of the Rabbit Hole.
Just yesterday I took hold of my Grail watch, a Rolex of course (you will see later on in this post details from my later purchases that I have been trying to scratch the Submariner itch with Genuine Homage pieces for quite some time but nothing seemed to do the trick). I knew in my heart that I had to have a genuine Submariner, I had to have that 3135 or 3130 under the hood.
Of course as many of you may well have experienced, sometimes our ladies do not understand this passion of ours, indeed I can’t count how many times my wife has said…”it looks exactly the same as all the others!” or “why do you need more than one watch? You can only wear one at a time”! My reply - “sorry love, but you just don’t get it”!
It’s taken me at least a year to get her used to the idea that I intend to spend the price of a decent used car…. on a Watch!
So I have been trawling the internet relentlessly for the perfect watch for me and I can tell you this, if it’s the watch that you intend to wear for the rest of your life that is an extremely hard decision to make - I spent less time choosing my wife!
Of course it had to be a Submariner but which one. I decided on a ‘no-date’ as some people refer to them, I wanted a classic submariner, I didn’t want a date or cyclops, I love the 5513 but it has its drawbacks… it’s old, vintage even, for me it’s not practical with is plastic plexi and wow they are expensive these days! So it appears that the next best thing is a 14060, and for ages I convinced myself that I wanted the two liner, clean and uncluttered, a proper nod to the 5513. But then my practical brain kicked in…. why buy and old watch? That’s like buying an old car, it’ll have miles and miles of use, wear and tear. So I thought I’d go for the M version with an updated movement, the last of the two liners, a Z serial. But then I started to read about blue hairsprings and such and so I thought maybe I should go as close in years to the 116610 without going for the more modern sub.
Patience they say is a virtue… I do not posses that virtue! I wanted the correct watch, with all the trimmings (B&P), it had to be local so I could hold it in my hand and make sure I don’t get ripped off… I wanted it fully serviced and to put it on my time-grapher to make sure it was beating correctly, I wanted perfection but not for a perfection price!!! And I soon discovered that here’s no such thing! Well not if you don’t posses the above virtue… Christ I have waited over a year for the day I can buy my grail and now I have finally worn down my missus to accept the fact that I am going to buy a second hand car in the shape of a watch!
It took about two weeks! One morning one of my numerous alerts came up, a lovely 2010 14060m, Box, original sales papers, warranty card, booklets, hang tag, un-polished…everything. Was it local? No. Could I try it on? Feel it, time it? Take the back off and make sure no POS was running this thing? NO… it was on eBay in Brazil!!!! (I’m in Australia!)
But it was the one… Not a Blue Parachrom but I had fallen hard, I showed amazing restraint and waited a whole day, did my research on the American company that was selling it… I had a sleepless night and in the end, tired and exhausted in the morning, trying out to figure why I would spend the price of a small automobile on a watch, I pushed the button and bought it!
What an awesome company FedEx is, Brazil to Australia in 6 days! I was at work when it arrived, I came home and had my wife video the unboxing, would it all be there? Complete and intact? and yes it was all there, paperwork and all, the rehaut engraving matching the warranty card. I couldn’t get the back off fast enough to make sure it had the proper engine inside… all good, phew, put it on the time-grapher - running around +6/+10 and amp a little down, probably due for it’s first service in due course.
So here it is….
and yes, I do intend to keep this, this is the end of my journey, I am at the bottom of the Rabbit Hole… so to anyone reading this who is wondering just where and how far this crazy hobby can go, here is a list of my purchases over the last three years and I may have missed a few… be warned, you too may end up spending a small fortune on a watch…. personally though, I wouldn’t have it any other way!
Omega Moonwatch (Seagull)- dodgy dealer Pre RWI but surprisingly OK
Omega CrPO - (A2824) TD Great Watch my Step Father still wares it.
Omega CrPO - (Myota) Fellow member, birthday gift for my Step Dad, died after one week!!! (the watch, not the man!) Hence he got my A2824.
Omega LMPO V2 Rep Geek Awesome watch had a real bracelet on that one!
Rolex Sea Dweller (SA 3135) Fellow member, got scared of the ticking time bomb so sold it privately! Great watch tho - converted me to Rolex!!
Rolex 116610LN TD Great Watch and loved it until i had a 16610 in my hand (A2836 - runs like a top, bought privately), so timeless and classy. Still wear it to work.
In the mean time searching for my grail - bought and flipped…
BB58
Rolex Sub 116610LN & 16610LN (horrible ones!)
Aramar Submariner
Ginault Ocean Rover (lovely watch with dubious movement!)
MKll Nassau (Stunning watch!)
Davosa Submariner (currently selling).
Do you see a theme here?
And Finally...
Rolex Submariner 14060M (Gen) ebay!
THE END
You may think that you can control this sickness but as I have discovered it is indeed a very slippery slope. I’ve been a member here for over 3 years and in that three years I have enjoyed my time here immensely, I have learnt so much from many of the fine members here.
I have experienced the thrill of waiting for QC pics, the endless days waiting for that special parcel to arrive. The wait to see if customs open my parcel and seize my watch. Watches that have gone missing that I sent and haven’t (apparently) arrived and lost to the dreaded Pay Pal decision makers (that was a Gen Tudor Prince!!!)
So from humble beginnings of risking my hard earned on some Canal St rubbish before I found this forum to actually stripping down and re-building movements. I have finally hit the bottom of the Rabbit Hole.
Just yesterday I took hold of my Grail watch, a Rolex of course (you will see later on in this post details from my later purchases that I have been trying to scratch the Submariner itch with Genuine Homage pieces for quite some time but nothing seemed to do the trick). I knew in my heart that I had to have a genuine Submariner, I had to have that 3135 or 3130 under the hood.
Of course as many of you may well have experienced, sometimes our ladies do not understand this passion of ours, indeed I can’t count how many times my wife has said…”it looks exactly the same as all the others!” or “why do you need more than one watch? You can only wear one at a time”! My reply - “sorry love, but you just don’t get it”!
It’s taken me at least a year to get her used to the idea that I intend to spend the price of a decent used car…. on a Watch!
So I have been trawling the internet relentlessly for the perfect watch for me and I can tell you this, if it’s the watch that you intend to wear for the rest of your life that is an extremely hard decision to make - I spent less time choosing my wife!
Of course it had to be a Submariner but which one. I decided on a ‘no-date’ as some people refer to them, I wanted a classic submariner, I didn’t want a date or cyclops, I love the 5513 but it has its drawbacks… it’s old, vintage even, for me it’s not practical with is plastic plexi and wow they are expensive these days! So it appears that the next best thing is a 14060, and for ages I convinced myself that I wanted the two liner, clean and uncluttered, a proper nod to the 5513. But then my practical brain kicked in…. why buy and old watch? That’s like buying an old car, it’ll have miles and miles of use, wear and tear. So I thought I’d go for the M version with an updated movement, the last of the two liners, a Z serial. But then I started to read about blue hairsprings and such and so I thought maybe I should go as close in years to the 116610 without going for the more modern sub.
Patience they say is a virtue… I do not posses that virtue! I wanted the correct watch, with all the trimmings (B&P), it had to be local so I could hold it in my hand and make sure I don’t get ripped off… I wanted it fully serviced and to put it on my time-grapher to make sure it was beating correctly, I wanted perfection but not for a perfection price!!! And I soon discovered that here’s no such thing! Well not if you don’t posses the above virtue… Christ I have waited over a year for the day I can buy my grail and now I have finally worn down my missus to accept the fact that I am going to buy a second hand car in the shape of a watch!
It took about two weeks! One morning one of my numerous alerts came up, a lovely 2010 14060m, Box, original sales papers, warranty card, booklets, hang tag, un-polished…everything. Was it local? No. Could I try it on? Feel it, time it? Take the back off and make sure no POS was running this thing? NO… it was on eBay in Brazil!!!! (I’m in Australia!)
But it was the one… Not a Blue Parachrom but I had fallen hard, I showed amazing restraint and waited a whole day, did my research on the American company that was selling it… I had a sleepless night and in the end, tired and exhausted in the morning, trying out to figure why I would spend the price of a small automobile on a watch, I pushed the button and bought it!
What an awesome company FedEx is, Brazil to Australia in 6 days! I was at work when it arrived, I came home and had my wife video the unboxing, would it all be there? Complete and intact? and yes it was all there, paperwork and all, the rehaut engraving matching the warranty card. I couldn’t get the back off fast enough to make sure it had the proper engine inside… all good, phew, put it on the time-grapher - running around +6/+10 and amp a little down, probably due for it’s first service in due course.
So here it is….
and yes, I do intend to keep this, this is the end of my journey, I am at the bottom of the Rabbit Hole… so to anyone reading this who is wondering just where and how far this crazy hobby can go, here is a list of my purchases over the last three years and I may have missed a few… be warned, you too may end up spending a small fortune on a watch…. personally though, I wouldn’t have it any other way!
Omega Moonwatch (Seagull)- dodgy dealer Pre RWI but surprisingly OK
Omega CrPO - (A2824) TD Great Watch my Step Father still wares it.
Omega CrPO - (Myota) Fellow member, birthday gift for my Step Dad, died after one week!!! (the watch, not the man!) Hence he got my A2824.
Omega LMPO V2 Rep Geek Awesome watch had a real bracelet on that one!
Rolex Sea Dweller (SA 3135) Fellow member, got scared of the ticking time bomb so sold it privately! Great watch tho - converted me to Rolex!!
Rolex 116610LN TD Great Watch and loved it until i had a 16610 in my hand (A2836 - runs like a top, bought privately), so timeless and classy. Still wear it to work.
In the mean time searching for my grail - bought and flipped…
BB58
Rolex Sub 116610LN & 16610LN (horrible ones!)
Aramar Submariner
Ginault Ocean Rover (lovely watch with dubious movement!)
MKll Nassau (Stunning watch!)
Davosa Submariner (currently selling).
Do you see a theme here?
And Finally...
Rolex Submariner 14060M (Gen) ebay!
THE END
