@cybercat, I do love those SMITHS 36mm. Severely tempted, but as I've bought two watches in the last month or so, I think I should play it cool until I get rid of a few others that aren't being worn so much.
@thx67, yes, it seems that the rules are changing on a daily basis. It was the same here in Melbourne prior to our last lockdown in early August, which ran until the first week of October. I still wear a mask when going into shops or built-up areas, as do most people, but I'm seeing more folks out there without masks on. Cases here in Victoria have occurred again, after almost forty case-free days (we thought we had it beaten) and there were some large gatherings around town where we now have a few nearby suburbs that have been designated as new hot-spots.
Personally, I think we may just have to lock down again, wear our masks, wash our hands, etc.
But there are too many flakes out here complaining of how they can't go to Bali for a holiday or out to a cafe for smashed avocado and a soy latte.
Tell it to Anne Frank or Nelson Mandela.
Some folks need to grow a set and buckle down.
Rant over.
@NMGE17, Nigel, I'm sorry to hear. I hope you're taking care. Here's hoping for a Speedy recovery (a watch nerd get-well card);
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Other watches that I wore since Xmas;
The WatchCo Seamaster 300.
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The Oris 40mm Divers SixtyFive with blue and black dial.
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And, after this week's HUGE announcement from Omega, I thought I'd wear my 2007 model Speedmaster Pro.
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The new Speedmaster is a beauty. Gonna make a lot of people happy. Especially Omega.
And after I got home from work yesterday, I switched over to the Planet Ocean 42mm, which I'm wearing now as I write.
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And the big news; a colleague at work has a brother who manages a Tudor stockist.
Dec 23rd, 9:30am (approx.)
Colleague
: Hey, he got in a Black Bay, but it's on a leather strap. If you want it, he can hold it for a day.
Me:
Shut up and take my money!
I've had my name on a waiting list at another store since August 2019. Ideally, I wanted the watch on a bracelet, but after doing some quick arithmetic, I figured that since I was sick of waiting, I'd go for this model on leather and get the bracelet for it in a month or two. Meanwhile, I'd see if I could sell the leather strap and clasp, in order to help finance the cost of the bracelet.
It's the long and not financially savvy way to do it and when all is said and done, I'd end up spending about $400 (depending on what the strap sells for) more than what the watch would have cost me if I'd gotten it on a bracelet.
I bought it, got it home, removed the leather strap, and fitted a plain black seat-belt weave NATO on it;
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Wore it around the house for about two hours, with all the protective plastic still on the watch. Later that day, I switched it over to a plain black leather strap;
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What a friggin' watch! I fully understand that it doesn't appeal to everybody and that it has its detractors out there. However, for me, this watch creates the same effect as my vintage Sub 5513, but it has all the modern conveniences.
I don't plan on wearing it until I get the bracelet. I want the wear and tear on case and bracelet to match.
The 39mm case sits nicely on my wrist, as it has a fairly low and sleek profile. The lume is an off-white cream colour, which is juuust enough
faux lume for my liking.
The bezel is 60 clicks, which hard-core dive watch fans would argue does not make it a true dive watch because it should have 120 clicks. That's cool, I don't dive.
And the bezel triangle is red, giving it a further vintage vibe.
When my wife saw photos of the watch, she said it looked underwhelming. When she saw the watch in the flesh, she was impressed by the overall 'warm' look that it gave off.
For me, there's always a risk when between the time that I decide to buy a watch to the time when I actually get it. For a watch of this price, it can take me quite a while to get the bucks together and what happens on a subconscious level is that I begin to build the watch up to some mythical status while I'm saving my dough.
I call it 'The Batman Effect'. Back in 1989, there was a tremendous amount of hype surrounding the new Tim Burton
Batman movie in the six months prior to its release. I had read the phenomenal Frank Miller graphic novel (comic),
The Dark Knight Returns a few years earlier. It was a dark vision of an older Bruce Wayne/Batman. The Joker was indeed crazy, Superman was doing work for the US government, and a thirteen year-old girl with gymnastic prowess was trying to become Robin. For a comic, it was a very serious read.
I had high hopes for the Burton movie.
Then I saw it when it was released.
I decided after that to never again fall for the hype. About anything.
So, when it comes to watches, I try not to get suckered in by how fantastic it might be, but the longer I take to save for it, the greater the risk of 'falling for the hype' becomes.
I'm glad to say that this watch, for me, lives up to all the praise that it had received since it was released at Basel in 2018. I can't really fault this watch at all. If anything, I wish it had larger engraving on the case-back, but that's such a minor quibble that it hardly merits a mention.
Anyway, the strap and clasp are safely nestled in the Tudor box, to prevent it curving too much. The watch arrived in-store on a Wednesday, I placed the deposit next day, and picked it up three days later.
I'll be looking forward to getting the bracelet so that I can wear it. In the meantime, I think this year will see the collection getting a slight reshuffle. I'm reaching a point where I want o have watches that get regular wear, with just a handful of favourites for special occasion or particular moods.
This watch collecting bug never ends, does it?
Thanks for reading, and I hope 2021 has started off nicely for you all. If anything, we can aim for a better year than the last one.
Get well soon, Nigel!
). Here is the combo:). Here is the combo:
