I told him that he needs to take a picture at the end of each day or session or whatever and document all of the layers so that can be a part of the package he sells. This one he worked on for a long time and then one day he decided he wanted to try and paint like a child would paint. So he let my young daughter paint over it. You can see the trees and objects that were there before, but it's all hidden now. Artists are crazy. No offense to any of y'all, it's an awesome crazy.
It's right above the hall toilet. I envision a lesbian gangbang. The only awkward part is rubbing one out in there when everyone is about 10' away in the living room. [emoji16]
Anyone else into art? A long time friend of mine is an incredible artist. Has never sold anything although he's given quite a few away, including several to me [emoji16]. In any event, he's not technologically savvy but I got him on IG last night as he's thinking about selling some stuff in the future. Not asking anyone to buy anything, they won't be cheap as he works on them for years, sometimes completely wiping out beautiful paintings and starting over. I bet some of his work had 20 or more paintings underneath. But, he could use some followers and he's understandably nervous about making his work public and could use some positive vibes and feedback if you like his stuff. It isn't for everyone and he's only got 2 posts currently. These were tests last night so we're going to keep refining the photos and getting some macros well. kdadams.art on IG
Because the watch brands are owned by the same luxury brands, LVMH, Richemont, Swatch. It's the same folk. They know how to drive up demand. But they are making some bad choices as far as maintaining brand identity long term. So for that reason, I'm out. Check out the controversy over the Panerai "in-house" movements. There's some interesting articles I'll have to go back and dig up. Found one, very long and watch nerdy but worth it if you're investing a lot of money into buying luxury watches. Know what you're buying. The luxury brands know how to cut costs and lie about what you're actually getting. Not only that, it seems pretty obvious some of the major watch sites are in some ways complicit. This news never really came out and I read a lot of watch stuff. https://perezcope.com/2021/08/08/panerai-in-house-movements-a-pam-of-worms/ "Other ValFleurier calibers are shared as well. For instance Cartier’s 1904-SP MC, which beats as MB 29.22 in Montblanc watches, as 1100P in timepieces from Piaget and as 1326 in certain Vacheron Constantin references. Using the term “in-house” for all of these movements is misleading to say the least." All in on independent brands.
I actually don't think Rolex cares too much because it benefits them. In fact, they just raised their retail prices. What they don't like is having it found out their ADs are dumping brand new watches to flippers and gray market sellers. Bad for their image when regular buyers can't even try a watch on in a Rolex store. But overall they pretty much just stay quiet. Rolex absolutely checks the serial numbers when they are sent in for service against their lost/stolen registry and will return it to the rightful owner. So box and papers only for anything non-vintage. Other brands absolutely are taking measures to control inventory and that is a multi-pronged effort. It includes dropping ADs, reducing AD margins, opening boutiques, and to a lesser extent limiting production or creating limited models to create the assistance of scarcity and increase demand. Gone are the days of the CEOs pushing as many watches as they can make out the door and flooding the market to meet certain sales goals for the quarter. They have changed it so that ADs can't immediately unload a lot of watches at 30-40% discounts while still breaking even or making a little because of the dealer markup built into the suggested retail price. That's why you used to see a ton of brand new Omegas and other brands watches immediately on the gray market at 20-30% discounts. I bought my Omega Speedmaster that way a little over a year ago. That hurts and cheapens the overall brand value because who is going to pay retail at an AD (or maybe a little discount) when you can get it for a couple thousand cheaper online immediately. So an 8k Omega isn't seen as an $8k watch, it's viewed as a $5.5k watch because that's how much it sells for new on the gray market. By constricting supply to the grey market and selling direct in boutiques, Omega stands to make a hell a lot more money on each watch and the value goes up because they aren't available at $5500 new anymore. I believe Breitling actually started buying back their new watches on the gray market for this very reason. I also heard they reprimanded ADs whose watches they found littering the market. Whatever "reprimand" actually means. And to be clear, I'm using gray market as it relates only to new watches being offered at a significant discount and not pre-owned. Pre-owned is a used watch. They can't control that and really don't want to although the higher the used prices the better for the brand overall because the perception is much better. But having brand new watches available at big discounts is a problem the brands are absolutely trying to fix and its starting to work. They want to be more like Rolex, and they should.
I'm not sure this is necessarily Covid, but another way that Omega and other brands are moving to change their distribution and managing inventory. If people have to send their watches in, they can check to see if its the original owner, where it was sold, etc. and all the stuff that Rolex does when you send it in for service. Maybe I'm wrong, that is speculation on my part.
I will say Covid is the perfect excuse for these shifts. I think they were planning this stuff all along, and now get to blame Covid instead of getting blamed themselves.
I honestly barely use my watches to tell the time. I use a chrono occasionally for timing pasta or other cooking, my daughter's swim meets, and other random things. Sometimes I use it as a center second and just let it run. A dive bezel is there to turn and enjoy the action and sound - a fidget spinner for the wrist. I don't use it for diving but I enjoy having some in my collection.
Often I don't bother to set the time correctly and I certainly don't mess with the date - I don't need it for telling me the time or day. There are clocks everywhere telling me the time and no shortage of places to find the date if I really need it. Accuracy/Chronometer certification matters only in the sense that I have a great appreciation for the skill it takes to create a watch that can so closely keep the time accurately, not because it matters to me as a wearer of the watch. +/- 2 seconds or 2 hours, doesn't really matter.
Watches are a beautiful combination of art, design, mechanical engineering, mechanical skill, craftsmanship, love, and creation. Watches are a time capsule on your wrist. Something to be enjoyed and admired. Something that takes you back to an event or occasion or maybe it holds a special place because of who its from or what experiences you had while wearing it or why you bought it in the first place. And its all available for reference every time you look at your wrist.
I like the green better. The traditional white and black will probably have more staying power though. I've liked that Intramatic since it was released. For just a little more than the Tudor I'd go with this.
I'd look for some sort of daily wear sport casual or field watch. This is a very personal opinion, but you need some color. Check out Farer. Great designs and they are amazing at choosing colors for their watches. Many different models to choose from but most fit in a casual everyday wear type watch. Under 2k, with quite a few under 1k. Their new release I think is 870. Great on straps. http:// https://usd.farer.com/collections/all-watches Halios would be another sport casual brand. https://halioswatches.com/products/universa There are 3 new Oris Big crown watches out that look incredible. https://www.oris.ch/en/watch/big-crown-x-cervo-volante/01-754-7779-4067-set $2k, but Oris are legit well respected Swiss watches and that's pretty reasonable value. Vero has a little different and unique look and 10 year warranty https://vero-watch.com/ William Wood Valiant. Under 1k and very nice looking. https://williamwoodwatches.com/collections/valiantcollection Supports firefighters Don't want color Unimatic might fit the bill and is unique. https://www.unimaticwatches.com/ Monta and Former are both good watches in the 1300 to 1800k range. https://montawatch.com/products/monta-noble-silver-dial https://formexwatch.com/watches/essence-automatic-chronometer-degrade/ The Essence 43 gray fume is a great looking watch, but they also have a 39mm that has different colorways. Orion makes quality watches for well under $1k. I like the Hellcat a lot and have one on the way. The Calamity is also popular for a more diver style. http:// https://orionwatch.com/ Microbrands, yes. But the quality on these is good and you're getting something a little different but solid value for the money.
Meant to quote Mike above. Always loved space/NASA stuff so I've had feelings for the Speedmaster. Don't own a Moonwatch though. I went for the Speedmaster Racing, black dial/orange accents instead.
I always contact the seller to discuss the watch and get some additional details before purchasing. So far I've had good luck but I would definitely be more concerned about brands that are more likely to be fakes or vintage pieces.
Have purchased from Chrono24 and Watchbox and all transactions have been very smooth. Same with Exquisite Timepieces, Westime in LA, and as far as I can tell, Oster Jewelry in Denver although I pre-ordered and won't get the watch until this summer. He did let me put a down payment on a yet unreleased model of a hard to get watch with no buying history. Plus the owner Jeremy is fantastic to talk to.
PM me if you're looking for something and I can put you in touch with someone at each place except Chrono24 in which the communication is directly with the seller.
Yeah, it seems a little sketchy. Their pricing is out of line with the market and they have watches nobody else has. Allegedly. I'll steer clear.
Thanks for the link, that confirms my suspicions exactly.
Still getting things organized between that and the twat and meta so possibly?? I think right now the headers are of a Florida sunset over the water (ironic right?). The profile pic is the sun reflecting of an H. Moser Pioneer that I took at the same time.
Any of you watch nerds on Instagram? Just started one @time.texas Most of what I end up posting probably should be in the other watch thread but figured the people in this thread are probably bigger watch people.
This is actually really good advice for any watch. I'm still in on the independents though for the next year. There's a lot of momentum and very limited supply so I think its worth the risk for the potential return. Plus I get to enjoy some really badass watches in the meantime.
Response to NHWC.
I would definitely start with the Omega forums or WUS Omega. But start communication with the seller in advance of doing that so you are first in line and keep someone from stealing it out from under you. No guarantee obviously. I dipped my toes into vintage, but quickly switched to independents. Vintage watches can be a great long term investment, but you really really have to get into the minutae and understand all of the details of what models/variations/etc. are popular and why. That is boring to me personally, but I know some people with pretty insane vintage collections. Also, they can be a pain in the ass compared to newer watches.
Finally, for any long term holds, definitely factor in servicing costs. Vintage or new. These aren't off the shelf ETA/Sellita movements you can take to your local watchmaker/repairer and the costs can add up quickly.