[HobHoner]

I first started getting interested in watches back in the early 90s when I was transferred from one R&D group to another which included a new location and working with a new team. I was previously working on mainframe applications but my new direction was porting mainframe applications to run on distributed platforms such as different flavors of Unix, Linux, and AS/400. During breaks, some of the team members would talk shop and watches around the water cooler,
I knew nothing about watches at the time but I did wear a cheap Citizen I purchased at Fedco. So after our first project was completed it came with a bonus I decided to purchase my first big watch, I chose the Omega Seamaster Professional 300, the first Omega Bond watch made famous by Pierce Brosnan but I got the automatic and a chronograph complication.
The watch is now over 26 years old and still runs great, it has its share of wear and tear, especially on the clasp and on the chrome bezel. I do not wear this watch that often because of its heft as it is built like a tank it would be the watch I would wear during an apocalypse but is not comfortable to wear every day.

 

[Wrascal]

Back about 1970/71 I purchased my first Swiss Auto, a Bulova; I paid about a full months (soldiers) salary for it. The dang thing kept terrible time (maybe a min a day)? I soldiered on with it for about 7 years when I met my first quartz. That was the key, cheap and accurate. Quartz biggest failure (for me) were broken plastic straps - but quartz watches became so cheap I'd just trash the entire thing and buy another.

Eventually cell phones provided the Precise time and I stopped wearing watches, but I'd leave the phone somewhere safe if I was performing physical work and then I'd not know the time. Then 2-3 years ago I discovered field watches and purchased a cheap / rugged Lorus field watch. I liked having this thing on me, so light and unobtrusive; that was my starting moment.

That first field watch set me towards a small army of (CHEAP) others, as well as a ton of straps. Now I could mix/match things and my appreciation grew even more. Ooops, somewhere in there I found a beauty (an auto dressy Seiko); she mesmerized me with her sparkle. I still think she's a beauty - but too fragile for my daily wear.

But I heard from y'all, the big pleasing names (but still rugged) so I decided to chance it some; then picking up a few from those name drops (Hammy field, Sinn Pilot, Tudor BB, Omega SMP), now I am slowly rotating thru them. Each has their charms so I'll be keeping them.

I stilll have my long dead Bulova. Service estimates started at $400 - nope/ cheaper to purchase something new (my Hammy).

 

[HobHoner]

Back about 1970/71 I purchased my first Swiss Auto, a Bulova; I paid about a full months (soldiers) salary for it. The dang thing kept terrible time (maybe a min a day)? I soldiered on with it for about 7 years when I met my first quartz. That was the key, cheap and accurate. Quartz biggest failure (for me) were broken plastic straps - but quartz watches became so cheap I'd just trash the entire thing and buy another.

Eventually cell phones provided the time and I stopped wearing watches, but I'd leave the phone somewhere safe if I was performing physical work and then I'd not know the time. Then 2-3 years ago I discovered field watches and found a cheap / rugged Lorus field watch. I liked having this thing on me, so light and unobtrusive.

That first field watch set me towards a small army of others, as well as a ton of straps. Now I could mix/match things and my appreciation grew even more. Ooops, somewhere in there I found a beauty (auto dressy Seiko); she mesmerized me with her sparkle. I still think she's a beauty - but too fragile for my daily wear.

But I heard from y'all, the big pleasing names (but still rugged) so I chanced some; picking up a few from those name drops (Hammy field, Sinn Pilot, Tudor BB, Omega 300) and am slowly rotating thru them. Each has their charms so I'll be keeping them.

I stilll have my long dead Bulova. Service estimates started at $400 - nope/ cheaper to purchase something new.

View attachment 146494

Bulova has been around for a very long time and is no slouch in the watch industry. That watch you have there is a real looker and in my opinion worth servicing. You can walk down a mall here in Santa Monica promenade a well-to-do area and every other person is wearing a nice watch and is wearing those brands you mentioned but how many will be wearing that Bulova?

 

[Wrascal]

If I was to invest in it, get her running (accurately) and all spiffed up / new crystal etc - I seriously doubt I'd wear her. I have no love left for her - considering I'm full of lust (with several others) that I own.

My family lives close to you, all centered around Disney; my last visit was just before the virus.

My lustful Seiko:

 

[AtomicTom]

I guess that I was kind of late bloomer when it comes to actually
really getting into watches Bob and Wrascal. 😊

Honestly I liked watches my whole life, but it was my younger
brother who always got these cool Casios, Citizens, and Seikos
when we were kids in the 80's and everything. 😉He would
always ask for a watch for his birthday or Christmas, while I asked
for Star Wars toys, or Transformers. 😊

But I do remmber getting a couple cool Swatches in the 1984-85
area from mygrandmother which was amazing. 😀

Here’s a picture of one from the interwebs, although my original one
has got to be in out attic or something I bet.

And after that, I remmber getting some Fossils in the 90's, but I still
was not technically into watches really. Yet my brother continued to
get neat watches for all of his birthdays and also Christmases. And
even my dad as well as grandfather liked watches and had old
pocket watches to go along with their wrist watches. 😀

Although non of them were really very big purchases or very
expensive watches.

Then in the 2000's ShopNBC started doing these cool watch shows
as everyone here knows. 😎With Invicta and Renato taking center
stage. 😀 😀Again my brother started the ball rolling by getting a
Titanium Russian Diver along with a bunch of Renatos. 😉 And that
really caused me to catch the bug and never look back. Although I
ended up delving and diving into Zodiac. 😉

With my first purchase being the ZMX-01. And although not a big
purchase, it's what had to be one of the first watches that really
launched me into thehobby, and my passion has only gotten
stronger with each passing second since guys. 🔥

A couple pics:

By the way, awesome topic Bob !!!

 

[HobHoner]

I guess that I was kind of late bloomer when it comes to actually
really getting into watches Bob and Wrascal. 😊

Honestly I liked watches my whole life, but it was my younger
brother who always got these cool Casios, Citizens, and Seikos
when we were kids in the 80's and everything. 😉He would
always ask for a watch for his birthday or Christmas, while I asked
for Star Wars toys, or Transformers. 😊

But I do remmber getting a couple cool Swatches in the 1984-85
area from mygrandmother which was amazing. 😀

Here’s a picture of one from the interwebs, although my original one
has got to be in out attic or something I bet.


View attachment 146496


And after that, I remmber getting some Fossils in the 90's, but I still
was not technically into watches really. Yet my brother continued to
get neat watches for all of his birthdays and also Christmases. And
even my dad as well as grandfather liked watches and had old
pocket watches to go along with their wrist watches. 😀

Although non of them were really very big purchases or very
expensive watches.

Then in the 2000's ShopNBC started doing these cool watch shows
as everyone here knows. 😎With Invicta and Renato taking center
stage. 😀 😀Again my brother started the ball rolling by getting a
Titanium Russian Diver along with a bunch of Renatos. 😉 And that
really caused me to catch the bug and never look back. Although I
ended up delving and diving into Zodiac. 😉

With my first purchase being the ZMX-01. And although not a big
purchase, it's what had to be one of the first watches that really
launched me into thehobby, and my passion has only gotten
stronger with each passing second since guys. 🔥

A couple pics:

By the way, awesome topic Bob !!!

I remember ShopNBC with Tim Temple and Skelton Invicta, Renato, Oceanaut, Rotary, Gevril, and Croton, and even a Bedet.

 

[Wrascal]

I will confess: in the early / mid 70s booze and loose women were competing (winning) my discretionary funds. Without those vices I may have sold the Bulova and purchased a Rolex; and my watch history may have been different.

No regrets! If I was again in my 20s I'd most likely repeat these same events.

 

[GoodWatch]

Fine topic! Born in 1960 I was taught to read a clock in pre-school but didn't receive my first watch at around the age of eight. A hand wound Ancre chrome plated boys watch with a grey leather strap. Somehow I lost track of it or it stopped working and was thrown away. I was however fascinated by the Skin Diver watch a younger aunt of mine wore. It was not water resistant. I didn't wear a watch again until I was about 14 or 16. This time I bought (with saved up pocket- and birthday money) a Sicura Chronograph at a local tobacconists' (for 79 Guilders) as this was common in the mid-70s. After that several cheap LED watches (one from Tandy/Radio Shack) followed by a Sicura Stunt Watch (made 'famous' in a commercial that showed the watch strapped to the front wheel of a dirt bike and doing some rounds). And then, in 1979, with my first pay I bought a Seiko Quartz 150m Diver. Which I later gave away only to buy a Cartier Santos Dumont Carré in stainless steel in 1980. This was after I had left the ARMY in July 1980 (a tour of duty in Lebanon) and during that period I had bought and given away several Japanese quartz watches. The Cartier was sold to my brother only to buy a Cartier Tank (oh no, quartz), the biggest watch mistake in my life.

Fast forward to 2010 (at least, that is what my poor memory tells me) where my real watch collecting started with the purchase of a Deep Blue Juggernaut followed by a H2O Orca. The rest is, as they say, history. I have bought an average of two watches per year but have slowed down last year because of my early-retirement and exploded energy and food costs. There are one or two I would like to own but for now I have to be patient.

Sicura Chronograph:

Sicura Stunt Watch:

Seiko Quartz Diver:

 

[AtomicTom]

I remember ShopNBC with Tim Temple and Skelton Invicta, Renato, Oceanaut, Rotary, Gevril, and Croton, and even a Bedet.

Those were actually very cool days right Bob?! 😎

What I liked too was that those shows were more like watch shows
to me. Where the information, along with entertainment was
almost as much fun as seeing the watches. And you didn’t have to
buy watches to have that fun. 😊..It was just a neat time.

 

[HobHoner]

Fine topic! Born in 1960 I was taught to read a clock in pre-school but didn't receive my first watch at around the age of eight. A hand wound Ancre chrome plated boys watch with a grey leather strap. Somehow I lost track of it or it stopped working and was thrown away. I was however fascinated by the Skin Diver watch a younger aunt of mine wore. It was not water resistant. I didn't wear a watch again until I was about 14 or 16. This time I bought (with saved up pocket- and birthday money) a Sicura Chronograph at a local tobacconists' (for 79 Guilders) as this was common in the mid-70s. After that several cheap LED watches (one from Tandy/Radio Shack) followed by a Sicura Stunt Watch (made 'famous' in a commercial that showed the watch strapped to the front wheel of a dirt bike and doing some rounds). And then, in 1979, with my first pay I bought a Seiko Quartz 150m Diver. Which I later gave away only to buy a Cartier Santos Dumont Carré in stainless steel in 1980. This was after I had left the ARMY in July 1980 (a tour of duty in Lebanon) and during that period I had bought and given away several Japanese quartz watches. The Cartier was sold to my brother only to buy a Cartier Tank (oh no, quartz), the biggest watch mistake in my life.

Fast forward to 2010 (at least, that is what my poor memory tells me) where my real watch collecting started with the purchase of a Deep Blue Juggernaut followed by a H2O Orca. The rest is, as they say, history. I have bought an average of two watches per year but have slowed down last year because of my early-retirement and exploded energy and food costs. There are one or two I would like to own but for now I have to be patient.

Sicura Chronograph:

Sicura Stunt Watch:

Seiko Quartz Diver:

That Secura is a really nice-looking watch that reminds me of a Seiko.

 

[HobHoner]

Those were actually very cool days right Bob?! 😎

What I liked too was that those shows were more like watch shows
to me. Where the information, along with entertainment was
almost as much fun as seeing the watches. And you didn’t have to
buy watches to have that fun. 😊..It was just a neat time.

I remember on one of the local channels in LA were two guys that sold pre-owned luxury watches from estate sales and on consignment. They used to go through the history of the watch and its relevance to the brand, majority of the watches on the show were Rolex Day Dates and Date Just, Subs, and Yacht Masters but they also had a lot of Patek Calatrava, Vacheron, and Jaeger LeCoultre. I loved that show and iI learned a lot from these two guys I was sad that one day I turned the channel; on and they were a man and woman selling jewelry, I was so bummed out.

 

[AranaWhite]

...During breaks, some of the team members would talk shop and watches around the water cooler,...

Those breaks left quite an impression, that's a substantial piece to jump into. It would be nice to see people showing the wears and talking watches. Water and watches were all I understood. You must've excelled in your field.

 

[AranaWhite]

With my first purchase being the ZMX-01...

Tom, do you still have this cool Zodiac? The pic of your 1st brings back memories, funky.

 

[AtomicTom]

I remember on one of the local channels in LA were two guys that sold pre-owned luxury watches from estate sales and on consignment. They used to go through the history of the watch and its relevance to the brand, majority of the watches on the show were Rolex Day Dates and Date Just, Subs, and Yacht Masters but they also had a lot of Patek Calatrava, Vacheron, and Jaeger LeCoultre. I loved that show and iI learned a lot from these two guys I was sad that one day I turned the channel; on and they were a man and woman selling jewelry, I was so bummed out.

That sounds like it was a really great show Bob, and you know, it makes
me think...how come there has never been a Watch Channel?!
I mean it would be awesome to see I think. With all kinds of different
shows, as well as coverage of all of the different watch shows in ehich
are held spall year.

I want my Watch TV !

 

[Wrascal]

What is the life of lume? Just for grins today I dug out my 50+ year old Bulova and hit it with a flashlight. Yup, the hands still had some (very very little) life; however I'd guess not useable within a few min.

 

[sixtysix]

I had a quartz Citizen, IIRC, a birthday gift from the wife. It's the first adult watch I can remember. It failed (battery gassed and ruined the inside in high temps on a motorcycle trip), and my wife suggested I get a better made watch. So my first real watch was a Tag Heuer 2000 Series Diver. I bought this because I was an F1 fan and at that time they were the official timer. Even back in 1999 this was an $800 watch! I was still not a collector at this time. I wore that Tag for 5 years straight, until it needed service. Then I just tossed it in a drawer for a couple years and went watchless. Then we took a cruise to Alaska, found out about duty free shopping, and half price watches...I ended up buying a Citizen Minute Repeater and a Victorinox Chronograph, now I was hooked. When I got home I sent the Tag out to be serviced. Since then I have been on a 16 year collecting streak!

 

[Wrascal]

Late night musing and rereading this ... it makes me think y'all may be from the LA area. And that reminded me of the numerous early 1970s advertisements to

Go See Cal, go see Cal, go see Cal (Worthington). I believe he was a LA area Ford dealer back then.

 

[Timeonmyhands]

First big purchase a Rolex Submariner non date for my 18th birthday saved for over a year to get it at a bargain £710 new, if only they were that price now ps I’m 51 now

 

[AranaWhite]

This site. I've always liked watches, but the WIS difference wasn't in effect. A fake G-shock drew me into looking for something better. I found WatchFreeks. After some months of incognito, I joined. A year later I bought my DB Juggernaut. Our finance guy told my wife that he was selling his collection, and my dear wife said "take a look".

At our price point (little) he had an Invicta Pam clone and the DB. Panerai is and was my favorite designer, but it wasn’t, so it was camp DB for me. I regret the few watches I had before that I didn’t keep, a lack of understanding and appreciation it was.

These felt big at the time, and the Airman still does. But the Eterna was. I still remember walking the mall with my bride on a Friday night and loving the case of the Airman.

[/url]

 

[greatpotfarm]

Wow, awesome histories guys! Posts like this one make my day.

I am not really new to watches, but the horological bug only invaded my senses about 3 years ago. I've been wearing a time gage on my wrist since I was an early teen ( mainly digital Casios and timexes). Had a Databank, an Ironman, a Pathfinder...
Three years ago I was gifted a new Seiko 5 with a display back, and boy was I blown away... A mechanism consisting of gears and springs and levers that could keep track of time indefinitely as long as I wore it!! How can that be, how does it do that?
I always take things apart to see how they work, and I was ready to do so with my new Seiko. But my wife talked me out of it (the watch was a present from her mother), and suggested I buy a cheaper watch for that purpose. So I did. Since I was enamored with the display back, I bought a cheap automatic skeleton, and dove right into it.
It has been a long 3 years since then, and now I find myself fixing other people's time gages and building some of my own.
Although I have a lot of clocks and watches in my personal collection, I still have not made a 'major purchase' (the Seiko 5 remains my most expensive personal watch). I have spent more, much more, on tools and supplies to create what my imagination comes up with.