quote:

Originally posted by kz1000:
WWII Elgin Ord Dept 24 hour watch. the spotting is on the crystal, not the dial.]

I like that!

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
That Breitling would have stayed in my stash, had it been mine.

Oh, I still have this one! It is by far the longest a watch has stayed in my collection continuously since my first ExpII.

^^^ So there's still chance for the rest of us???

quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:
Wow. Not many Breitling watches catch my fancy. That one is just stunning!!!! Wow.

Can't say it better than that.

quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:
Wow. Not many Breitling watches catch my fancy. That one is just stunning!!!! Wow.

While vintage Breitlings are some of the sweetest classics ever made, modern Breitlings do little for me. Though to be fair, the new tribute Navitimer is so close to the original that it has some merit. And original vintage Navis in nice shape are crazy money now, so...

quote:

Originally posted by r0gue:

quote:

Originally posted by kz1000:
WWII Elgin Ord Dept 24 hour watch. the spotting is on the crystal, not the dial.]

I like that!

Thanks. Most for sale today are "put togethers" The movements were also used in airplane gun cameras and fit in an A-11 case. My dad bought this one a long time ago, I'm pretty sure it's genuine.

WWII "Record" British Army ATP (Army Trade Pattern) watch on 1980's British local purchase NATO.

Maratac mid-size quartz pilot watch. This is a 39mm quartz driven by an ISA 9500-1010. It was a cheap fun watch. I gifted it to my son. He wore it enough that eventually a hand fell off. I sent it off and got it repaired, but I probably should have just bought him a new watch. The movement is interesting in that when the battery it low, it indicates by switching to a 4 second tick.

quote:

Originally posted by BrianO:
I only have one question about the Royal Oak: how the heck do you remove those screws on the bezel?

They are actually bolts, the hex head sets into a recess in the bezel, and a special nut threads on to it from the back.

This is my retirement present to myself and my first automatic.

Congratulations!

My assistant bought the same one.

quote:

Originally posted by scot818:
This is my retirement present to myself and my first automatic.

Congrats! That's a damn fine watch. Enjoy your retirement!

Looks good Scot818.

Congratulations on not only a great looking watch but also on your retirement.

Omega Speedmaster "First Ω in Space". At 39.7mm, this could have been a superb Speedmaster. While there were a few things that weren't quite what I was looking for in a Speedy, the lack of a Hesalite crystal was what drove me away in the end.

Very nice watch sir and the "next one" or a very close variation on this mans' short list.

 
I see a lot of mentions of hesalite crystals. Is there some reason they are more desirable than a sapphire crystal?

quote:

Originally posted by henryaz:
I see a lot of mentions of hesalite crystals. Is there some reason they are more desirable than a sapphire crystal?

I wouldn't say they are necessarily more desirable, as many would prefer sapphire I'm sure. But I am definitely not in that camp. The sapphire changes the look of the dial. It imparts a milk-jug white halo around the dial. Also, the Hesalite lenses in the outer chapter ring pulling in visually the dial. Which of course, is what the original Omega Speedmaster Professional had, and so that is the original appearance.

Here's a pic borrowed from the web. Sapphire on the left, Hesalite on the right.

Ok....I finally get it. Seeing them side by side yeah I finally understand why lots of Omega Speedy enthusiasts prefer the Hesalite. The speedy on the right and that lack of a clear white/translucent reflection looks waaaaay better.

I got something neat from Deutschland. A Steinhart 135mm mesh bracelet with 12mm of adjustment in 5 steps built in! It works with my Steinhart Ocean Two Premium better than I expected. It sort of makes it a bit formal looking but the mesh and ability to adjust the bracelet size on the fly is nice. The end links are a little larger than I was expecting but I am enjoying the new bracelet.