Tuesday, June 06, 2017

Patek and Rolex lovers - which watch sign are you?

Jaegermars – A fickle fusspot magpie determined to stand apart. You know and understand much about watches. A man of the world with a sophisticated taste. Competitive and great in bed.

Patestantin - You’re an old man, or a watch dealer. You’re beyond fashion knowing exactly what you want. You take a long time to decide and then stick with it. Safe, reliable, rich and once upon a time a good lover.

Swatchio – Unsure about everything in life, you're desperate for a woman.

Roltier – Insecure and conservative, you seek validation through material posessions by making an impression on people you don’t know. Clingy, you’re rubbish in bed.

Breitmega – Nervous, obsessive, wannabe divernaut with too many watches who can’t commit in a relationship. You’re poor, but one day you’ll be able to afford a proper piece.

Seikizen – You’re poor, but you’ll never be able to afford a proper watch. An accuracy freak you’re annoying. Can’t hold conversations with girls, who remain a mystery.

Vintique – Living your life in rose tinted hindsight with a house full of watches. A lot like Patestantin, but still good in the sack for the moment.

Panimo – Gullible, you like clocks and have a small one.

Sinfortima – Nobody pulls the wool over your eyes. A bit dull, you manage to live life pretty hard. Decisive, you have a big one.

Reflections on the Royal Oak Jumbo 15202st ultra thin

Unpopular and somewhat superceded in the minds of a new generation of buyers, I understand that something had to be done to this icon.  In the mid-naughties, customers wanted a bulked up look and feel, and more stage presence duly preferring the new 15300 which had overtaken sales with the mass produced divided labour line 3120.  Feeling twice the weight, with a bulky twin butterfly clasp, this design was pumped even further and carried to the  'lost in case' conclusion of the 15400.  These AP 'Submariners', stole the show with a new generation of buyers uninterested and overlooking the meaning and heritage of the 2121, let alone the the mythical mix of masculinity and daintiness present in the skin hugging thin, jewellery inspired, cut gem borne of Genta's one night of sweaty insanity in 1971.
So it took Octavio Garcia's oh so subtle and successful attention to detail to recover the manufactured case form and dial detail and date disk of the jumbo to become the Ultra Thin yet passed off the oddly misplaced thick and bulky twin butterfly clasp.  It went all collectors-only-super-success, 'the piece no one can get, but everyone has', doubling in price and becoming another victim of the distasteful symbiosis of brands and resellers consigning the last of the old freely available15202s, with three colours of dial and truly thin bracelet and clasp (oh, and a four figure price tag) to history in the backend of 2011. So if you want to keep the original aesthetic of thinness with some dial colour options in a late model, then the15202st.OO.0944.xx is your girl.  Or you have to find a NOS APPA clasp to fit and like the dial colour of your new Ultra Thin.

Straight Lug Speedmaster Bracelet Breakthrough



Problem with straight lug Speedys has always been finding a modern bracelet to fit - with no help forthcoming from Omega either..... And, not everyone wants to use the very nasty, cheap, but admittedly original, flat, stretch bracelets (7912, 1039, etc).

Dedicated research cross referencing from within the infamous Omega 'redbook' has unearthed that the 1125 bracelet with 617 end pieces not only fits the straight lug Speedmasters it is THE end piece for the case. At last we know now.

The 1125 is an old school style bracelet with the bent steel end pieces, the simple clasp with the big Omega logo stamped in and the cheesy authentic vintage rattle. It's more comfortable than my modern Speedmaster bracelet found on the modern Moonwatch (3570.50) due to more flexibility (a bit like a Seiko or Rolex Jubilee) and not least because it does not have the slab effect created by the solid end links. It's da schnizzle 19mm solution we've been waiting for. It's still available new, but maybe not for long.