Swashplate wrote

Thank you for the insight! Very helpful!

DrEvil wrote

What watch will you wear in your new i8?

I was thinking: Zenith Defy Extreme Sea to match the BMW blue/black color option or a Vogard Chronozoner Racing.

I just don’t think a Submariner or basic Hublot or ROO will work with this car.
Any other suggestions?

tony20009 wrote

YW

I suppose too that if you are adept with and have a camera with which you can take a good macro picture, you will have a record of what the movement looked like before they serviced it.

Note too that if the used watch is sold with recent (past one to three months) servicing documentation that has details, particularly those pertaining to chronometer/accuracy measurements, you won't need to demand servicing prior to taking delivery provided the watch was in the seller's possession from the point of servicing until when you buy it. Just saying that so you know to bother to find out just what the status of the watch and its service history is before you start haggling on price and terms of the sale. It won't do you any good on price to show that you value highly something which you'd get regardless of what you pay. Doing that would just give the seller an additional lever to use against you in keeping the price higher as you are trying to get the price lower.

All the best.

Swashplate wrote

Well I am considering buy new from a non AD as the price differential from new to used is 500 and thats peanuts at this price point. If i did buy used it would have to be in mint condition.

Would you worry about not buying from an AD?

Swashplate wrote

That is interesting to hear. Well the odd scratch is hard to avoid. Stainless seems to scratch by just looking at it.

Oh our "peanut" deal sounds like a plan. The cheque will be in the mail, I am just waiting on my Nigerian finance minister uncle to wire me some funds.....

tony20009 wrote

Red:
Stainless steel (SS) varies. My Constellation Manhattan has lots and lots of tiny scratches (think scuff type scratches) that are visible to the naked eye if one looks for them, but a casual look from much more than arm's length distance won't reveal them. Ditto my Movado.

My Rolexes don't have any of those sorts of scratches. My newer fancy SS watches -- RO, Reverso, Marine, Seamaster, Milgauss and some others -- don't have any scratches that I noticed the last time I looked at them, but then they are all comparatively new. The Constellation and Rolexes -- Air King and Submariner are all 10+ years old, the Air King is some 30 years old.

I think in part the scratching thing has to do with the steel used, but it also has to do with the nature of the finish on it. The RO, for example has bits of shiny, highly polished steel that are all but begging to be scratched. The Constellation has a very smooth, non-grained surface finish. It's also been one of my "go to" daily wear watches for as long as I've had it. I just like the contemporary look of the design and that it works for dress and casual occasions. It's just a super easy watch to own and wear; it's not super expensive; and like the rest of the watches I have, it doesn't scream "look at me" or "see how fancy I am."

Of course, wear, storage and handling habits also affect scratching. I have to say that until Mother started sewing little watch pouches for me, I used to just toss a couple watches in a pocket of my laptop bag and head for the airport. They'd bounce around and whatnot in there to their heart's content. I'm sure a lot of the scratching on the Omega came from that.

As for storage, at one point, I just tossed them in a drawer until there were too many to do that, at which point they just got tossed into a shoebox. Later, I had my kids make a divided and lined storage box for them (it was their penalty for "behavior unbecoming any child of mine" that caused them to have to do that ). Now they still go in that box, but also inside little pouches Mother sews for me from time to time. (Or at least she used to. It's been a while; I probably should hit her up for some more...I'm sure she has nothing better to do. )

The pic below isn't the box -- I don't travel with it LOL -- but it is essentially what it looks like, but it has a cover and a piece of cloth is on the bottom. The biggest PITA of making a similar one is measuring for and cutting out the little sections of wood so that when the long divider strips are placed on top of the shorter ones, the things fit together and are relatively flush, or at least flush enough so they don't look too sloppy and so they don't stick up so far that the lid won't slide in.

Blue:
I'll keep an eye open for the mail. <grins>

All the best.

Swashplate wrote

Ok, so it arrived today. I bought from a ebay seller called Elite Time. Gagan Navani was very helpful and we actually worked out a deal outside of Ebay to reduce incurred fees. New watch with all papers, open card and box. Totally thrilled. It is heavier than my Bell & Ross BR01-97 or it feels like it is.

Have also closed on a deal for a Breitling for the fiancee.

I think I have opened a can of worms....

tony20009 wrote

Glad to hear you found a watch that suited you economically and visually. The EII is a lovely watch, especially with the black dial which gives a slightly modern hint to its look and yet isn't so uber-trendy that it should draw unwanted attention. I know you'll get years and years of enjoyment from it.

Did you buy a lady's B-ling for your lady, or will she be wearing a "man-size" watch. I have to admit I feel for ladies who want fine mechanical watches because most of the watch industry seems to have pretty much decided that women want quartz watches. Fortunately for women, folks don't think they look ridiculous wearing a man's sized watch. A man wearing a sub-30mm watch, however, needs a very strong sense of self to endure the silent and voiced teasing and sneers he'd get were he to do so.

All the best.

Swashplate wrote

Like the cuff links? Also I will attacha pic of her b-ling when I arrive home.

tony20009 wrote

Red: You lost me.

Blue: Yes or no was all I was expecting. I don't care what it looks like. LOL.

All the best.

Swashplate wrote

Well my cuff links are made of watch movements.

Ha fair enough. Yes. Agreed on the automatic argument, choices are rubbish. Also I had a 39mm omega speed master and I hated how small it was.....

Swashplate wrote

I can't be bothered to spend more than a couple hundred bucks on cufflinks as I inevitably loose one of them. My sis who occasionally lives in DC bought me these. They are from a stall in Eastern Market. Very reasonable ($40)