How (and why) to Ramble on your goat sideways
03-21-2012, 01:06 AM
Boost Pope
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I'll be perfectly honest here: I don't "get" expensive watches.
I mean, it's a watch. It doesn't wash your car, it doesn't give ********, and it doesn't offer you sound investment advice or help you to select the appropriate wine for a given entrée. It just sits there letting you know what time it is.
My Casio does exactly the same thing. In addition, it also has a built-in alarm clock, a calculator, and a very simplistic database which is convenient for storing small and infrequently accessed bits of information such as my FedEx account number, the room number of whatever hotel I happen to be staying in on any given day, and which row my car is parked in at the airport. (In fairness, the utility of this feature has been largely made redundant by smartphones in recent years, however I still tend to use the watch for this, mostly because it's always there and never crashes requiring a hard-reset.)
Admittedly, my Casio DBC310-1 is not waterproof to 300 meters, though as I am not a deep-sea diver, this feature (or the lack thereof) is approximately as relevant to me as whether or not the wristwatch is radiation-hardened, lava-resistant, and capable of operating in an ammonia / hydrogen-sulfide atmosphere at a sustained acceleration of 500g while on fire.
I mean, it's a watch. It doesn't wash your car, it doesn't give ********, and it doesn't offer you sound investment advice or help you to select the appropriate wine for a given entrée. It just sits there letting you know what time it is.
My Casio does exactly the same thing. In addition, it also has a built-in alarm clock, a calculator, and a very simplistic database which is convenient for storing small and infrequently accessed bits of information such as my FedEx account number, the room number of whatever hotel I happen to be staying in on any given day, and which row my car is parked in at the airport. (In fairness, the utility of this feature has been largely made redundant by smartphones in recent years, however I still tend to use the watch for this, mostly because it's always there and never crashes requiring a hard-reset.)
Admittedly, my Casio DBC310-1 is not waterproof to 300 meters, though as I am not a deep-sea diver, this feature (or the lack thereof) is approximately as relevant to me as whether or not the wristwatch is radiation-hardened, lava-resistant, and capable of operating in an ammonia / hydrogen-sulfide atmosphere at a sustained acceleration of 500g while on fire.
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03-21-2012, 01:24 AM
VVT heads were clearly never meant to have a CAS attached to them. It is literally impossible to install or remove the CAS from the area behind the motor without loosening the PPF bolts and jacking up the tail of the tranny.
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03-21-2012, 01:57 AM
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Tomorrow I pick up my older Datejust from my guy who cleans all of my wristwatches. Rolex ADs will only ship your watch away and it'll run somewhere in the $500 range. I get the same service from my guy for $200. I would recommend finding someone similar in your area who will do the service for a fair price. Also, if you wear it into a Mayor's and act like you bought it there, they'll usually run it through their ultrasonic cleaner for you. That's usually what I'll do if I'm at the mall and my watch is looking haggard.
Given the price range you listed, I'm guessing it's an Air King? The market for the lower-end of the Rolex spectrum is FLOODED at the moment. I've seen mint Air Kings bring less than $1k.
Vash, please post pics of the watch in question. If you have the box and the usual literature that accompanies a new Rolex, you'll likely fetch a little bit more.
Given the price range you listed, I'm guessing it's an Air King? The market for the lower-end of the Rolex spectrum is FLOODED at the moment. I've seen mint Air Kings bring less than $1k.
Vash, please post pics of the watch in question. If you have the box and the usual literature that accompanies a new Rolex, you'll likely fetch a little bit more.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/BNIB-Rolex-A...item19ceb3c066
Serious.
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03-21-2012, 03:14 AM
If I were to buy a watch, it would be something like this: http://www.tokyoflash.com/en/watches/kisai/seven
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03-21-2012, 08:21 AM
So I had a fun moment yesterday. I bought a new fuel lid because mine is off a MSM, which is a different shade of titanium metallic (29Y). I bought it when I first got the car to replace the ugly chrome thing someone put on the car. This is how I found out the MSM titanium metallic and 2002 SE titanium metallic is different (25G). So for 4 years its been a deal that has irked me. So yesterday I picked up a fuel lid from MazMart from a 2003 Shinsin, which is 25G titanium metallic. I get the one off my car and install the new one. Well, as I am tightening down the second screw, the head snaps off right as I start to apply torque and leaving the threaded part of the screw in the hole. I don't have an e-z out bit or anything. So I ended up taking apart the inside of my trunk, crawling in and reaching my hand around the filler neck and backing out the broken screw out my hand. This really sucked in two ways- 1) It took me an hour to fix the ---- up 2) it still didn't match my car. I am now convinced my car has been repainted at some point a completely different shade of titanium metallic....or the fuel lid had faded to a slightly more bronzy shade. Either way, all effort was in vein.
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03-21-2012, 08:56 AM
I'm staying home today to attend a small business webinar at 1, so at some point I'll setup the photo booth and get some pics of the watch.
After a bit of research it turns out its not exactly a "Rolex", but it has Rolex components and is made by the Oyster watch company. The watch itself is an "Oyster Tudor Prince".
Most of them seem to fall into the $500 range, but some break $1000. Either way, I'll have less than an hour's time invested into it when all is said and done so whatever it goes for is all profit in my pocket.
After a bit of research it turns out its not exactly a "Rolex", but it has Rolex components and is made by the Oyster watch company. The watch itself is an "Oyster Tudor Prince".
Most of them seem to fall into the $500 range, but some break $1000. Either way, I'll have less than an hour's time invested into it when all is said and done so whatever it goes for is all profit in my pocket.
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03-21-2012, 09:39 AM
I'd say it's for the same reason that people buy Morgans or arcade video games. It's not an issue of pure function, it's an appreciation of a particular point in the history of the piece, a sample of a type of technology. I love mechanical watches. I know they aren't as tough or accurate as quartz movements, but the thought that a watch can keep time within a couple seconds per day with a completely mechanical, spring-driven mechanism in a space roughly the size of a couple of stacked quarters absolutely blows me away.
Granted, I'm sure there are plenty of other reasons that people buy expensive watches (status and bragging rights being high among them), but this is why I like nice watches, and the reason I felt I had best chance at communicating to you.
EDIT:
After posting this, I couldn't help but imagine Joe telling a Morgan owner how efficient the Corolla's heating system is and how many cupholders it comes with.
Granted, I'm sure there are plenty of other reasons that people buy expensive watches (status and bragging rights being high among them), but this is why I like nice watches, and the reason I felt I had best chance at communicating to you.
EDIT:
After posting this, I couldn't help but imagine Joe telling a Morgan owner how efficient the Corolla's heating system is and how many cupholders it comes with.
Last edited by mgeoffriau; 03-21-2012 at 09:58 AM.
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03-21-2012, 10:38 AM
Looks like any old Tudor. The plastic face looks cracked or perhaps just badly scratched. Are all the tritium bits intact? Go to a local jeweler and get an estimate on a full overhaul.
rule of thumb: hold face to your forehead, if warm, it's plastic, if cool, it's crystal.
rule of thumb: hold face to your forehead, if warm, it's plastic, if cool, it's crystal.
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03-21-2012, 10:38 AM
That's what I was thinking. The strap looks as if it probably came with the watch, where most I've seen listed have been replaced.
Everything I've read said keep it as is. Don't clean it and let the new owner decide. Standard practice for all the vintage/antique stuff I've been pulling out of this house.
But yeah, its been sitting idle in a box for at LEAST 10-15 years.
Everything I've read said keep it as is. Don't clean it and let the new owner decide. Standard practice for all the vintage/antique stuff I've been pulling out of this house.
But yeah, its been sitting idle in a box for at LEAST 10-15 years.
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03-21-2012, 10:42 AM
I wound it up and its been keeping time spot on so far, although, it seems as if it'll need to be rewound often. How often do you wind a watch?
Cant say if its crystal or not. I assumed it was up until you said its possibly plastic. It feels cool at first, but then it seems to match my skin temperature after a few seconds.
Cant say if its crystal or not. I assumed it was up until you said its possibly plastic. It feels cool at first, but then it seems to match my skin temperature after a few seconds.
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03-21-2012, 10:45 AM
Vash,
I'd register and post your pics and description here:
http://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=54493
And get the experts to help you identify it. If you post those pics they should be able to nail it down pretty well.
Also, if/when you get it cleaned, have the watchmaker check the inside of the case back for a date code.
EDIT: Let's stop saying "plastic" and starting properly calling the crystal "acrylic" (if that is in fact what it is).
I'd register and post your pics and description here:
http://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=54493
And get the experts to help you identify it. If you post those pics they should be able to nail it down pretty well.
Also, if/when you get it cleaned, have the watchmaker check the inside of the case back for a date code.
EDIT: Let's stop saying "plastic" and starting properly calling the crystal "acrylic" (if that is in fact what it is).
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