Oh hells yes!!!

There are only 1000 of these and #699 is mine.

A teaser pic for now. Hmmm is that a helium escape valve? Well that’s different and only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this unique Seastar. And no it is most certainly NOT a quartz movement.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: stickman428,

quote:

Originally posted by h2oys:
A few pages back I posted I had sent my combo gold/stainless Submariner back to mother Rolex to be serviced in early March. At that point the watch was 17 years old.

I picked it up this past Friday and it runs and looks great. They did polish the case, replaced the bezel, etc.

Since I rejected their recommendation of replacing the bracelet, to the tune of ~$4700, they did not polish/service the bracelet. Apparently the gold is "thin" in spots. Our local Rolex dealer used their 10x microscope to show me the "bad spots" and quite frankly, the gold does not look thin at all.

Is there really such a thing as wearing out a bracelet or was this just "upselling"?

Note when I bought the watch brand-new in 2003, the entire watch cost $6300. I can't believe just the bracelet would now cost almost $5k.

The older Rolex bracelets will stretch and get very saggy. (The current bracelets are less subject to this.)_I don't know that they thin out, but they do stretch. And yes, Rolex asks for a very high price for its bracelets, and an even higher price for any gold. Apparently Rolex's gold is extra special, because they price it at least three times as high as anyone else.

There is a jeweler in Hong Kong who renovates Rolex bracelets for a reasonable fee. He has an excellent reputation, and he is well thought of in the watch world. Basically, he takes the bracelets apart and reshapes the links and returned them to original specs. Here is the website. That is an option to a replacement.

http://www.classicwatchrepair.com/

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
There is a jeweler in Hong Kong who renovates Rolex bracelets for a reasonable fee. He has an excellent reputation, and he is well thought of in the watch world. Basically, he takes the bracelets apart and reshapes the links and returned them to original specs. Here is the website. That is an option to a replacement.

http://www.classicwatchrepair.com/

Classic Watch Repair did a fantastic job eliminating the stretch in my Sea-Dweller bracelet a couple of years ago for a fraction of the cost of a new one.

Michael

Thanks jhe888. I just went to their website and completed an online form to get a quote. I will post what he says once he replies.

I've been going through Youtube video reviews lately on Ball and Tag Heuer. A couple of times the reviewer will say something like I know I'm going to catch some heat over this but, when talking about the Tag Aquaracer. Does this model have problems of any kind? Over rated? Why do these people feel to need to qualify their remarks before they say something positive about this watch?

Couldn’t say why, but I’ve also noticed Tag seems to catch some hate in YouTube videos, and it’s never more specific than what you posted.

It might have something to do with the price tag of a Tag Aquaracer along with the movement and perceived value as well as general interest in the watch.

Regarding Ball, their style can be bold and a bit different. Especially in the crown guard department. Once you own a Ball watch their amazing fit & finish as well as those tritium tubes that glow bright all night long have a way of winning you over quickly.

A Marathon GSAR has been considered, but I think the a Ball is going to win that race when the time comes. Right now I think I leaning toward a Hamilton Khaki for my next purchase. In the future I've been considering going through a place called Crown and Caliber for a used Omega. That alone is 2 to 4 grand. If its around 2 perhaps, but for that amount of money I'd rather go new.

I have a GSAR, and I like it a lot, but Ball would win every time if it was a competition for "nice" watch. The GSAR is an absolute tank, and has a certain industrial charm, but it isn't something I'd consider "classy." On the other hand, I'll wear that GSAR places I wouldn't dream of risking my Seamaster.

An Omega is a fine beater/tool watch. The older Seamaster Professional Chronometer combines a thin case with a very robust and accurate movement. Omega is also more than happy to restore any of their watches back to original if your willing to pay them handsomely.

quote:

Originally posted by h2oys:
Thanks jhe888. I just went to their website and completed an online form to get a quote. I will post what he says once he replies.

I heard back from Classic Watch Repair:

"Yes we can restore your Rolex band.

The price for the basic band restoration , excluding parts and additional repair, is

USD265 for 2 tone oyster band,
Together with the laser repair of the worn links due to wear, the price is additional :
USD250 for 2 tone (gold and Steel) bands

Total is USD 515 per band ( normally laser repair is recommended)

plus return EMS/Fedex postage USD45^ plus (optional insurance for 2% of desired insured value)."

quote:

Originally posted by h2oys:

quote:

Originally posted by h2oys:
Thanks jhe888. I just went to their website and completed an online form to get a quote. I will post what he says once he replies.

I heard back from Classic Watch Repair:

"Yes we can restore your Rolex band.

The price for the basic band restoration , excluding parts and additional repair, is

USD265 for 2 tone oyster band,
Together with the laser repair of the worn links due to wear, the price is additional :
USD250 for 2 tone (gold and Steel) bands

Total is USD 515 per band ( normally laser repair is recommended)

plus return EMS/Fedex postage USD45^ plus (optional insurance for 2% of desired insured value)."

If you send it, I'd love to see some before and after photos. Hope it works out for you.

Just received a little BDay present:





Todd

One of my local watch boutiques (AD for Tudor, Sinn, Seiko) has a beautiful preowned blue Seiko Willard for only $100 less than its brand new price tag. I like that Seiko is at least offering a more affordable version but at its current price there are Ball Watch divers with tritium lume, Swiss auto movements and display case backs that can be had for about the same money. I consider myself a Seiko enthusiast and to me it’s a hard sell at that current new (and used) price.

Phoibos sale, so damned tempting


https://longislandwatch.com/phoibos-watches/

Man, that abalone dial Wavemaster is the one I want, but I never see it in stock. Last fall, I remember seeing something about them doing another run of them this spring. I wonder if they did it and the abalone dial sold out again right away.

This is by far the most expensive thread on Sig Forum for me.

I simply NEED one of those Blackbeard watches.

quote:

Originally posted by BigSwede:
Phoibos sale, so damned tempting


https://longislandwatch.com/phoibos-watches/

Most of the ones I'd spring for are out of stock.

But there's always a solution! Just snagged a lightly used PX002C, older version with he cyclops on a nato with bracelet looking unused for a pretty decent reduced price. Figure I'll throw it back on the bracelet and it'll be a good 'grab-'n-go work beater' on the rare occasion I need to look not so scruffy. Plus, I get an Octopussy logo outta the deal. Good bang for your buck...




Link to original vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFsktzVzBxw


Not a bad start to the weekend.
Boss

I starting to be put off by some of the reviews I've been reading on the Hamilton I've been eyeing. Its the quartz Khaki field pvd. Anyone have one of these? Main bitch seems to be the crystal doesn't have the anti reflective coating and the black out nature of the hands makes it difficult to see. I'm wearing a Citizen ProMaster Diver right now and I can't imagine it has a fancy anti reflective coating on it.

Tissot’s new Seastar Professional 1000 chronograph is frickin SWEET! This is the first Seastar to have a locking bezel. The helium release valve doubles as a lock for the bi-directional rotating bezel. Yes, Tissot has adopted the Omega Seamaster’s 10 o’clock location for the helium release valve but they made it 5 times bigger and added a pretty cool feature (when screwed down it also locks the bezel).

It’s a big damn watch but I like the design elements quite a bit. The recessed ceramic bezel is a very nice touch and a HUGE improvement over the chrome/ ghost bezel of the current Seastar’s ceramic bezel.

If Tissot had made this watch in the 43-46mm range it would have been perfect. They would easily have sold more than just 1,000 of them. But I think maybe Tissot is aware of this and just doesn’t care. This is a limited release by Tissot and going by their past tendencies Tissot tends to only make 1,000 of their top level Professional automatic chronographs until it’s time for a design refresh then they make a new Seastar and 1000 more of their top tier Seastars.

I don’t mind it’s size but I know people are going to gripe about it. Honestly I hated the size at first and it’s grown on me quite a bit.

I’m going to post a YouTube video showing you guys how the ingenious quick release system works on this watch. I can swap this watch from the two tone stainless bracelet to a Tissot supplied high quality rubber strap in about 4-5 seconds flat. The design is damn cool. It’s probably going to find it’s way into Tissot regular Seastar range in the future. (I hope)



I think this watch looks best on a nato strap.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: stickman428,