Luxury Watches
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03hemi
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Wow, talk about a premonition from my last post? look what I lucked across on Friday, a brand new, gently pre-owned with box and papers TagHeuer AQUARACER 300M Grand Date! Couldn't believe it and had to jump, check one off the bucket list.
Now, if I could just run across that Breitling I'd be done, not. lol
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Jeff423
US Veteran
I've still got two Rolex's, one Omega and an Accutron Spaceview, but I haven't worn any of them since I got my Apple Watch.
I recently sold my Aerospace and I think the others will go soon.
I recently sold my Aerospace and I think the others will go soon.
Jeff423
US Veteran
It's a gold Constellation. I don't remember if it's 14 or 18K.
Ed Fowler
Member
1940 Rolex Black dial, Zuni watch band from 1950 from one of my favorite makers. One year younger than I am!! Love it.
Targets Guy
US Veteran
My most expensive watch ever was the Breitling Chronogram Aerospace. Still looks like new. My most precious watch is my great-grandfathers 1867 Bulova pocket watch. 18k gold with the wind up key.
I have found that since I retired I no longer need a watch but I love getting them out every now and then. I use my Timex to time my bbqing however.
I have found that since I retired I no longer need a watch but I love getting them out every now and then. I use my Timex to time my bbqing however.
Jeff423
US Veteran
Not presently, but I'll take some.
I will type this on my laptop and add the pics from my phone after I get this up.
I am not overly involved in fancy watches. Were my resources a little different I would be. Most of my fun money has gone to acquiring and shooting guns. What I have is modest compared to what I see here but they work for me.
My everyday watch is an elgin with two small diamonds. Wife gave it to me for an anniversary over 20 years ago. Still runs great and looks nice and still has the original band.
Then there are the two Fossil watches. Wife won a pile of money on a cruise playing bingo a few year back and bought us these matching fossils.
That's all I got for this'n...
I am not overly involved in fancy watches. Were my resources a little different I would be. Most of my fun money has gone to acquiring and shooting guns. What I have is modest compared to what I see here but they work for me.
My everyday watch is an elgin with two small diamonds. Wife gave it to me for an anniversary over 20 years ago. Still runs great and looks nice and still has the original band.
Then there are the two Fossil watches. Wife won a pile of money on a cruise playing bingo a few year back and bought us these matching fossils.
That's all I got for this'n...
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Jon651
Member
Of the attached pictures, the wrist watch is a "Fleet Admiral" from a NY company called Deep Blue. It's not cheap but I don't really collect wrist watches. I don't wear it much because it is hard to read with older eyes and I really need to have it serviced.
The picture of the watches in the case is my collection of antique American pocket watches. All except one is from the Elgin National Watch Company. My oldest is from 1875 and the newest is from the mid-1930s. Technically these aren't "luxury" watches but they certainly are works of art (at least to me). My grandfather's watch is in there - that's how I got started.
The picture of the inside of a pocket watch is an Elgin "Father Time" from 1902. It's not the oldest or most valuable but it really catches the eye! The geometric swirls on the movement are called "Damaskeening" because it makes the metal look like Damask steel. It's large (18 size), full-plate and has gold-inlaid engraving.
(Sorry that the pics are rotated to the side. They were vertical when I uploaded them!)
The picture of the watches in the case is my collection of antique American pocket watches. All except one is from the Elgin National Watch Company. My oldest is from 1875 and the newest is from the mid-1930s. Technically these aren't "luxury" watches but they certainly are works of art (at least to me). My grandfather's watch is in there - that's how I got started.
The picture of the inside of a pocket watch is an Elgin "Father Time" from 1902. It's not the oldest or most valuable but it really catches the eye! The geometric swirls on the movement are called "Damaskeening" because it makes the metal look like Damask steel. It's large (18 size), full-plate and has gold-inlaid engraving.
(Sorry that the pics are rotated to the side. They were vertical when I uploaded them!)
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Jeff423
US Veteran
I appreciate a fine watch as much as the next guy, but I cannot stand to wear a watch. I wore one my entire 27-year law enforcement career but the day I retired was the last day I have ever worn a watch (2005) and I will never wear one again.
boatme99
Member
Collectables I enjoy -
I have enjoyed wearing both these fine watches:
Yellow Gold Rolex Daytona - circa: 1990
White Gold Rolex President - circa 1996
I have enjoyed wearing both these fine watches:
Yellow Gold Rolex Daytona - circa: 1990
White Gold Rolex President - circa 1996
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03hemi
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Extremely nice, you're very fortunate to have two great watches.
The Daytona is my all time favorite Rolex, but then, I'm partial to chronographs too.
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Some of mine...
Jon651
Member
Here's a bit of interesting info I learned from an older gentleman who used to work on my watches in my town. He passed a few years back in his late 90s and had been a jeweler and watch smith for most of his life as a career then kept it up as a hobby after he retired, which is how I met him. This is his perspective so take it for what it's worth...
Back in the last part of the 1800s and into the first part of the 1900s, Swiss watches weren't considered to be very good. The US had the leading watch industry in the world at the time which lasted into the 1950s and Swiss watches were actually looked down on until just prior to World War II.
Why? It had a lot to do with industrialization and how they were made. In the US, a typical watch factory made nearly every piece of the watch literally "under one roof". The Swiss, at that time however, had lots of individual parts made by individual craftsmen over the long winter, usually at home in small shops. In the spring everything was shipped back to a factory to be assembled into watches.
The problem was consistency, or what we know of today as Quality Control. With so many different craftsmen and so many different shops spread out all over Switzerland where communications was slow at best, when all of the parts were finally gathered it took an expert watchmaker to literally hand-fit the parts together, adjusting each as needed to make a watch. Meanwhile back in the US factories, consistency was closely monitored and communications were quick and easy so variances were much smaller and more quickly found.
This was an issue mostly noted by professional jewelers and watchsmiths of the day (like the gentleman I mentioned earlier). If your watch broke and it was Made in the USA, your jeweler would have no problem ordering a part that would fit and installing it without a lot of work. If you had a Swiss watch, however, the parts were not only much harder to get but because of the variances found in them from so many different workshops each one had to be hand-fitted and custom adjusted - which took a lot more work and time.
But since the Swiss embraced the "American Way" of making watches in the early 20th century and the US (as well as the British, French and German) watch industry literally collapsed in the 1960/70s due to cheap labor overseas, the Swiss were literally the only ones left standing now making high-quality, high-precision watches.
Back in the last part of the 1800s and into the first part of the 1900s, Swiss watches weren't considered to be very good. The US had the leading watch industry in the world at the time which lasted into the 1950s and Swiss watches were actually looked down on until just prior to World War II.
Why? It had a lot to do with industrialization and how they were made. In the US, a typical watch factory made nearly every piece of the watch literally "under one roof". The Swiss, at that time however, had lots of individual parts made by individual craftsmen over the long winter, usually at home in small shops. In the spring everything was shipped back to a factory to be assembled into watches.
The problem was consistency, or what we know of today as Quality Control. With so many different craftsmen and so many different shops spread out all over Switzerland where communications was slow at best, when all of the parts were finally gathered it took an expert watchmaker to literally hand-fit the parts together, adjusting each as needed to make a watch. Meanwhile back in the US factories, consistency was closely monitored and communications were quick and easy so variances were much smaller and more quickly found.
This was an issue mostly noted by professional jewelers and watchsmiths of the day (like the gentleman I mentioned earlier). If your watch broke and it was Made in the USA, your jeweler would have no problem ordering a part that would fit and installing it without a lot of work. If you had a Swiss watch, however, the parts were not only much harder to get but because of the variances found in them from so many different workshops each one had to be hand-fitted and custom adjusted - which took a lot more work and time.
But since the Swiss embraced the "American Way" of making watches in the early 20th century and the US (as well as the British, French and German) watch industry literally collapsed in the 1960/70s due to cheap labor overseas, the Swiss were literally the only ones left standing now making high-quality, high-precision watches.
