# Clarkson On Watches



## Charlie_Croker (Sep 30, 2007)

I don't know if anyone else has already posted this, but just in case here we go:http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/driving/jeremy_clarkson/article5944203.ece

I suppose that in the days when your fishmonger knew your name and what sort of cod you liked on a Friday, â€œbrand loyaltyâ€ made sense. Now we live in a world of supermarkets and corporations, it is the most ridiculous thing on all of Godâ€™s green earth. No matter how many loyalty cards you have in your wallet.

That said, I am the worst offender. Even though I know Virgin is the best airline, I always try to fly BA. Even though I know HSBC is in fairly good shape, I bank at Barclays. Even though I know the new style of Leviâ€™s reveals my butt crack when I bend over, I would still never buy a pair of Wranglers.

And this brings me neatly onto the question of watches. For some time now Iâ€™ve been on the hunt for a new one but the choice is tricky. I couldnâ€™t have a Breitling because I donâ€™t own an Audi. I couldnâ€™t have a Calvin Klein because they are pants, I couldnâ€™t have a Gucci because Iâ€™m not a footballistâ€™s wife, I couldnâ€™t have a TW Steel because my wrist isnâ€™t big enough to sport something that can be seen from space, I couldnâ€™t have a Tissot because Iâ€™m not eight and the only thing in the world worse than a fake Rolex is a real one.

Have you noticed something odd about Rolexes? Especially the modern ones that wind automatically when you move your wrist about? A great many owners wear them on their right hand. I jump to no conclusions here but you can feel free.

Mostly, though, I cannot wear any of these watches because I am an Omega man. I have worn a Seamaster for years, not because James Bond has one and not because Neil Armstrong wore something by the same maker on the moon but because on the day I went away to school my parents gave me a GenÃ¨ve Dynamic.

The trouble is that for the past few years Omega has been the Pillsbury dough of Swiss watches. The Terry and June. Omegas were dreary. They were boring to behold. They were Vectras in a world of Ferraris and Lamborghinis. The De Ville Prestige, for example, was plainly designed by someone who had a black-and-white telly.

This filled me with despair. I wanted a watch. For the same reasons that I bank at Barclays and wear Leviâ€™s, it had to be an Omega, and it just wasnâ€™t coming up with the goods. It was like Leeds United. Once the home of Peter Lorimer and Gary Sprake but now an also-ran bunch of unimaginative clod-hopping no-hopers.

And then one day, in Hong Kong, I saw it. A new Omega. Itâ€™s called the Railmaster and it is a thing of unparalleled beauty. There is no button that owners think will call for help if they find themselves in a crashing helicopter on Kilimanjaro, it is not waterproof to 8,000 metres, there is no stopwatch, there is no swivelling bezel to tell you how much air you have left in your tanks and you even have to wind it up every morning or it will stop. Plainly this is a watch for the sedentary soul. The man with no hang glider or mini sub in his garage. I bought it in an instant.


----------



## squareleg (Mar 6, 2008)

Damn. I hate Clarkson but can't fault much in any of that. 

Btw, a GenÃ¨ve Dynamic?!!  On the day I went away to school, all I got was a lousy sandwich.

.


----------



## Daddelvirks (Nov 2, 2009)

The Railmaster XXL?

It's still on my wish-list.

Cheers,

Daddel.


----------



## squareleg (Mar 6, 2008)

Daddelvirks said:


> The Railmaster XXL?
> 
> It's still on my wish-list.
> 
> ...


:lol: *Any* Railmaster would do me!


----------



## Xantiagib (Apr 22, 2005)

If he was an Omega man he would have realised the railmaster was a reissue/self hommage and nothing new (just the size of it...)


----------



## johnbrigade (Oct 15, 2007)

squareleg said:


> Btw, a GenÃ¨ve Dynamic?!!  On the day I went away to school, all I got was a lousy sandwich.


Yeah but your mam didn't invent Paddington Bear :lol:


----------



## mach 0.0013137 (Jan 10, 2005)

Oh Bugger!! I actually own something Clarkson likes :swoon:










Hang on he said...



> you even have to wind it up every morning or it will stop.


Daddel`s right it must be the XXL, now much as I like the Unitas 6498 movement it`s based on to me this particular Railmaster is just tooo big :no:


----------



## Daddelvirks (Nov 2, 2009)

Yes, I didn't realize it is a 49mm watch, that's huge!

Cheers,

Daddel.


----------



## azania (Sep 28, 2009)

Yes, he is a bit of a watch lover, old Clarkson, and I see that James May of Top Gear is one, too. In his Meccano episode of TOY Stories, I saw both a orange bezel Planet Ocean and what appeared to be a normal sized Railmaster on him during the show.


----------



## Matt B (Nov 10, 2009)

just showed my work colleague this as he has a Brietling and an Audi lol!


----------



## Fatbloke (Oct 15, 2007)

azania said:


> Yes, he is a bit of a watch lover, old Clarkson, and I see that James May of Top Gear is one, too. In his Meccano episode of TOY Stories, I saw both a orange bezel Planet Ocean and what appeared to be a normal sized Railmaster on him during the show.


Yeah i saw that, also seen May sporting an IWC on more than one occasion.


----------



## Andy the Squirrel (Aug 16, 2009)

I've not actually seen a Railmaster in a shop window, are they in the current Omega catalog?


----------



## jaslfc5 (Jan 2, 2007)

they all wear uboat watches too.when they did the diesel trial from basel clarkson had a uboat on then.


----------



## seikology (Dec 4, 2006)

'especially the modern ones that wind automatically when you move your wrist about'


----------



## Openended (Nov 4, 2009)

Haha he's such a pratt, can't believe anybody reads that dribble crap.


----------



## Andy the Squirrel (Aug 16, 2009)




----------



## Rotundus (May 7, 2012)

watch matches his head, too big...


----------



## ETCHY (Aug 3, 2004)

The man is a ****.


----------



## seikology (Dec 4, 2006)

the only reason he wanted a railmaster is cos the floppy haired one with the airfix kit fixation got one first.


----------



## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

ETCHY said:


> The man is a ****.


But apart from that he is quite funny


----------



## tixntox (Jul 17, 2009)

Who is this "Clarkson" fellow? I stopped acknowledging his existance years ago! Oh Dear! Have I just acknowledged that there was such a .................. Oh Dear, oh dear oh ****! I only watch Suzy Perry these days. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! :man_in_love:


----------



## Andy the Squirrel (Aug 16, 2009)

desmondus rotundus said:


> watch matches his head, too big...


He pokes fun at TW Steel for being big and then straps a 49mm omega on his wrist! Why doesn't he wear his GenÃ¨ve Dynamic?


----------



## Steve264 (May 29, 2006)

Andy the Squirrel said:


> Why doesn't he wear his GenÃ¨ve Dynamic?


He wore it on his right wrist and overwound it in the dorm.... :wink2:

Cheers,

Steve


----------



## jaslfc5 (Jan 2, 2007)

end of the day he gets paid alot of money to drive exotica all round the world and hes on the most watched programme world wide.cock or not hes doing something right isnt he.i like him usually the ones who dont like him are tree hugging yoghurt making x factor watchers anyway.


----------



## ETCHY (Aug 3, 2004)

BondandBigM said:


> ETCHY said:
> 
> 
> > The man is a ****.
> ...


Ok he's a funny **** :wink2: :yes:


----------



## Rotundus (May 7, 2012)

ETCHY said:


> BondandBigM said:
> 
> 
> > ETCHY said:
> ...


yup, he is funny. top gear is entertaining, not very informative though... bit like his motoring journalism.


----------



## tixntox (Jul 17, 2009)

Oh No I'm not!!!


----------



## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

desmondus rotundus said:


> not very informative though... bit like his motoring journalism.


Probably stating the obvious but it's not meant to be. If you want the actual in's and out's of a car buy Which Car :lol: If you want to see a few hundred grands worth of motor thrashed with in an inch of it mechanical life with a few sarky non pc comments thrown in as well JC is the man


----------



## azania (Sep 28, 2009)

I'm a fan of Clarkson, and his demeanour is far more tongue in cheek than some people realize, too. Not only does he have the most glorious of jobs and get paid loads of money doing it (well, I might add), but he also marks a rare one up for the looks aren't everything argument. He recently was voted by UK women as "the crush they are most embarrassed to own up to". That and the episode in the States alone should get him knighted.


----------



## gaz64 (May 5, 2009)

Openended said:


> Haha he's such a pratt, can't believe anybody reads that dribble crap.


When he reads the forum he always gets concerned about how we feel about him


----------



## Openended (Nov 4, 2009)

Doesn't matter whether he read it or not, or cares or not he's still a prize pratt .

The fact he's using those stereotypes in itself just shows he's clueless. Maybe I'm being satirical, on the other hand I can't ever remember a time when he's said anything actually useful apart from useless shallow-mindless dribble packed in a comical outer shell.

But I guess at some level you're right, it's a waste of life commenting about him, haha!

I mean just take this. After a long list of negative design faults which he doesn't like about the Alfa he says:

"But the thing I love most of all about this car [Alfa Romero] is that, at parties, when people ask what youâ€™re driving, you can say: â€œAn Alfa.â€"

then after basically admitting that the Mini is the better car in almost all of the main aspects he says:

"But Iâ€™m afraid there are no better small cars if, like me, you are brand loyal and what you want is an Alfa."

Great, he's a marketing person's dream not a neutral and rational journalist. It's evident in his writing style, the brands he uses and the stereotypes he tries to relate them to. He even admits he likes poorly designed cars (read the full article), lol. Then recommends them to the general public. I bet you could sell him toads piss if you marketed it saying it would improve your reflexes or something, lol. I honestly don't know why people consider him a car journalist, car comedian maybe .

Anyway...



gaz64 said:


> Openended said:
> 
> 
> > Haha he's such a pratt, can't believe anybody reads that dribble crap.
> ...


----------



## Mr Bee (Feb 13, 2009)

Did anyone see the James May program about plasticine? Where he made a garden for the Chelsea flower show...... I noticed he was wearing a nice Railmaster too!!

When I pointed this out to my missus she thought I was a bit odd for noticing such a thing! :tongue_ss:


----------



## Andy the Squirrel (Aug 16, 2009)

Mr Bee said:


> Did anyone see the James May program about plasticine? Where he made a garden for the Chelsea flower show...... I noticed he was wearing a nice Railmaster too!!
> 
> When I pointed this out to my missus she thought I was a bit odd for noticing such a thing! :tongue_ss:


Do you reckon he borrowed it off Clarkson?


----------



## Filterlab (Nov 13, 2008)

Charlie_Croker said:


> There is no button that owners think will call for help if they find themselves in a crashing helicopter on Kilimanjaro,...


Classic stuff.


----------



## diddy (Jun 18, 2007)

desmondus rotundus said:


> watch matches his head, too big...


+1


----------



## azania (Sep 28, 2009)

"Great, he's a marketing person's dream not a neutral and rational journalist"

This is a programme that converted a Reliant Robin into their version of the space shuttle (man, it nearly ,anded) and then burnt off 100000 litres of rocket fuel ploughing it into the Yorkshire dales. If you want neutral and rational journalism, Top Gear ain't for you. If however you want a good laugh and to perve at some motorised arm candy, Clarkson's your man.


----------



## William_Wilson (May 21, 2007)

I think the word that was being sought was "drivel".









Later,

William


----------



## mach 0.0013137 (Jan 10, 2005)

jaslfc5 said:


> end of the day he gets paid alot of money to drive exotica all round the world and hes on the most watched programme world wide.cock or not hes doing something right isnt he.i like him usually the ones who dont like him are tree hugging yoghurt making x factor watchers anyway.


I`ll admit I am rather fond of trees (not hugged any though) but I don`t make yoghurt and much as I think Clarkson is a complete tw*t (although I`ll admit an ocassionally amusing one)I loath & detest X-Factor plus all similar so called `entertainment`


----------



## jaslfc5 (Jan 2, 2007)

mach 0.0013137 said:


> jaslfc5 said:
> 
> 
> > end of the day he gets paid alot of money to drive exotica all round the world and hes on the most watched programme world wide.cock or not hes doing something right isnt he.i like him usually the ones who dont like him are tree hugging yoghurt making x factor watchers anyway.
> ...


its only a matter of time mac until youre making youre own yoghurt and clothes out of hemp now you have all this time on youre hands.

i dont know why he gets so much bad press i really dont .most of his comments i agree with truck drivers,ecomentalists,traffic wardens,audi drivers all good stuff.he has good taste in watches.

funny how all the people saying hes a cock i havent read any of youre columns in the papers or watched youre programmes on dave tell me when they are on so i can compare styles.

clarkson for pm.


----------



## Openended (Nov 4, 2009)

Anyway I don't know what he's talking about brand loyalty, he's had (or still has them) loads of different watch brands - Breitling, U-Boot just off the top of my head... just check the Internet. Ok, totally enough time wasting haha!


----------



## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)




----------



## pg tips (May 16, 2003)

All I know is my 10 year old girl loves top gear which is fine by me


----------



## Andy the Squirrel (Aug 16, 2009)

I'd love to see a top gear episode about watches, watches have gears in them after all!


----------



## mattbeef (Jul 17, 2008)

pg tips said:


> All I know is my 10 year old girl loves top gear which is fine by me


Nice to see some people are still raising their kids right :thumbsup:

Top Gear is back on Sunday as well so im looking forward to seeing this man on the TV again


----------



## Andy the Squirrel (Aug 16, 2009)

Both James May and Clarkson are wearing them on todays episode!


----------



## matts (Apr 17, 2009)

not sure about the railmaster, but think i'm turning into an omega man too..


----------



## Rotundus (May 7, 2012)

such a nice looking mountain road.

i know he was in an aston but couldn't they have nudged him over the edge somewhere??????


----------



## Paulus (Nov 12, 2009)

Father-in-law gave me a Clarkson book last Christmas, read about 2 pages before I wanted to burn it and scrub my hands, the man's politics are appalling :thumbsdown:


----------



## Slatsy (Jul 13, 2009)

Did anyone notice what was on the rats (I mean Hamsters) wrist?

I thought it looked like a Sea Dweller Deepsea but the size might have been accentuated by his littleness

And before anyone asks, yes I like Rolexes, as I read many on here don't!!!!


----------



## HereBeMonsters (Jul 27, 2009)

Paulus said:


> Father-in-law gave me a Clarkson book last Christmas, read about 2 pages before I wanted to burn it and scrub my hands, the man's politics are appalling :thumbsdown:


In what way?


----------



## azania (Sep 28, 2009)

Im intrigued as to which book you refer, as most of Clarksons books rave on about the little annoyances that cheese him off. He simply gives a personal diatribe rant about some of the absurdities he encounters. Listen to some of his titles:

Men are a lost cause and we're proud of it.

Is it a plane? No its a flying vegetable.

Cutting lawns is the last word in Civilisation.

Even his mildly politically motivated diatribes are, while erring on the right, simply the verbal meanderings of a Meldrewesque character Clarkson adopts as his public face. Read him with that in mind, and he is a lot brighter than he makes out, and often makes some very valid and logical points about the subject at hand. I cant help but like him, and his success suggests I am not alone in this.

Now if he's reading this, can I have yer Railmaster ?


----------



## gaz64 (May 5, 2009)

Paulus said:


> Father-in-law gave me a Clarkson book last Christmas, read about 2 pages before I wanted to burn it and scrub my hands, the man's politics are appalling :thumbsdown:


I have been given several of his books bits make me chuckle other bits make me cringe. I think the books are designed to sell simple as that not bad tho getting paid twice for the same work once by the newspaper then again from the book.

I don't mind top gear or the presenters.


----------



## Griff (Feb 23, 2003)

mach 0.0013137 said:


> jaslfc5 said:
> 
> 
> > end of the day he gets paid alot of money to drive exotica all round the world and hes on the most watched programme world wide.cock or not hes doing something right isnt he.i like him usually the ones who dont like him are tree hugging yoghurt making x factor watchers anyway.
> ...


ditto


----------



## socrates (Aug 17, 2009)

He's an entertainer for goodness sake. What comfortable, up our own back-sides, lives we must all lead when we can afford to get aeriated about the opinions of a comedian or whether or not we like the x-factor. One man's fish is another man's poisson, as the french probably never said. Some people actually pay good money in order that multi-millionaire footballers can maintain their lifestyles, whilst others, like me, pay good money so that muli-millionaire golfers ... It's all a matter of choice and making your own mind up. And, er, maybe keeping some perspective. BTW James May's programme seems to be good source of watch spotting. But that hairstyle? Really! If I had my way...rant, bellow, national service, when I were a lad....


----------



## Griff (Feb 23, 2003)

socrates said:


> He's an entertainer for goodness sake. What comfortable, up our own back-sides, lives we must all lead when we can afford to get aeriated about the opinions of a comedian or whether or not we like the x-factor. One man's fish is another man's poisson, as the french probably never said. Some people actually pay good money in order that multi-millionaire footballers can maintain their lifestyles, whilst others, like me, pay good money so that muli-millionaire golfers ... It's all a matter of choice and making your own mind up. And, er, maybe keeping some perspective. BTW James May's programme seems to be good source of watch spotting. But that hairstyle? Really! If I had my way...rant, bellow, national service, when I were a lad....


Who's getting aeriated.......not me :no2:

If I don't like something I'm free to say so and this is a thread with different opinions so what's the problem :bored:

Clarkson.............does he keep any perspective!!! :rofl:


----------



## Javaman365 (Jul 27, 2009)

Griff said:


> Clarkson.............does he keep any perspective!!! :rofl:


Yep. he's view is that the left-wing,beardy-weirdy,sandal-wearing,tree-hugging, politically-correct,eco-mentalist lobby have taken over.

He was arguing recently in a column that there are more important things to get worked up over than <insert your choice of mindless hand-wringing,bleeding-heart liberalist paper shuffling>.

Or are there really some people that think that police-on-push-bikes need a 92 page document, complete with several risk assessment sheets on how to ride said push-bike?


----------



## catch21 (Feb 9, 2009)

He's a bit like beer, temporarily entertaining, potentially addictive but overall not really very good for you.

I've been following that Paddington Bear connection but not very successfully. This from the "official" web site:

"Michael Bond was born in Newbury, Berkshire, England on 13th January 1926. He was educated at Presentation College, Reading. During World War II Michael Bond served in both the Royal Air Force and the Middlesex Regiment of the British Army.

He began writing in 1945 and sold his first short story to a magazine called London Opinion. This experience helped him decide that he wanted to be a writer.

Michael Bond never thought of writing for children but, after producing a number of short stories and radio plays, his agent suggested that he adapt a television play for children.

His first book, A Bear Called Paddington, was published in 1958 by William Collins & Sons (now HarperCollins Publishers). At the time, Michael Bond was working as a television cameraman for the BBC.

After the first Paddington book was accepted, Michael Bond went on to write a whole series and by 1965 his books were so successful that that he was able to give up his job with the BBC in order to become a full-time writer."


----------



## HereBeMonsters (Jul 27, 2009)

catch21 said:


> I've been following that Paddington Bear connection but not very successfully.


His parents bought the rights to, and manufactured, the original Paddington Bear figures. If you have one pre-1990s, then it's very likely it was made in Jeremy Clarkson's Mum's back garden.


----------



## Griff (Feb 23, 2003)

Javaman365 said:


> Griff said:
> 
> 
> > Clarkson.............does he keep any perspective!!! :rofl:
> ...


*Lefty............yep*

beardy...........nope

weirdy...........nope

sandals..........nope

tree hugging.....nope

PC correct.......nope

eco mentalist....nope

bleeding heart...nope

liberalist.......nope

paper shuffling..nope

hand wringing....nope

Police on push bikes???.............yep, we need a lot more of those and get them out of their motors :yes:









Clarkson lives, I am told, in a freaking lighthouse :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Now, there's a man with perspective :rofl:


----------



## jaslfc5 (Jan 2, 2007)

Griff said:


> Javaman365 said:
> 
> 
> > Griff said:
> ...


yep he lives on the isle of man in a light house ,one of his many houses . but that is another thing the haters can add to their list he is a tax dodger.


----------



## socrates (Aug 17, 2009)

Griff said:


> socrates said:
> 
> 
> > He's an entertainer for goodness sake. What comfortable, up our own back-sides, lives we must all lead when we can afford to get aeriated about the opinions of a comedian or whether or not we like the x-factor. One man's fish is another man's poisson, as the french probably never said. Some people actually pay good money in order that multi-millionaire footballers can maintain their lifestyles, whilst others, like me, pay good money so that muli-millionaire golfers ... It's all a matter of choice and making your own mind up. And, er, maybe keeping some perspective. BTW James May's programme seems to be good source of watch spotting. But that hairstyle? Really! If I had my way...rant, bellow, national service, when I were a lad....
> ...


Erm...QED?


----------



## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

Shown in a 100 countries to 350 million viewers !!!!

I'll bet there are plenty of people out there that wished their business model was even half as successful as the Top Gear formula. Even Big M's daughter is watching the repeat and under normal circumstances all she is interested in is her next free lunch and where she's going to get the money for her next pair of stripper shoes.

And did I say I think he's quite funny, he wears a U Boat now and then so he must be OK :lol:


----------



## itsguy (Nov 16, 2009)

It's worth noting that when people look back in history and ask when the 'big watch' trend of the 2000s boom years ended, they will point to precise moment Clarkson started wearing a big watch on Top Gear so you could see it more clearly when he's driving. That was the first and last nail in the coffin. 45mm watches are the bright orange 70s NOS of the future.


----------



## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

itsguy said:


> *It's worth noting that when people look back in history and ask when the 'big watch' trend of the 2000s boom years ended, they will point to precise moment Clarkson started wearing a big watch on Top Gear* so you could see it more clearly when he's driving. That was the first and last nail in the coffin. 45mm watches are the bright orange 70s NOS of the future.


Please excuse the fact that it's Wednesday night/ Thursday morning and I've had a few Smirnoff's but you'r talking bollox and that's the English version :lol: :lol:


----------



## mach 0.0013137 (Jan 10, 2005)

itsguy said:


> 45mm watches are the bright orange 70s NOS of the future.


Love it :lol:


----------



## Paulus (Nov 12, 2009)

HereBeMonsters said:


> Paulus said:
> 
> 
> > Father-in-law gave me a Clarkson book last Christmas, read about 2 pages before I wanted to burn it and scrub my hands, the man's politics are appalling :thumbsdown:
> ...


In the way that they don't agree with mine of course, what other way is there? 

seriously, if we want to get into specific analysis and critiques I'll have to dig the book out and apply for the intriguingly closed off politics forum password but my days of engaging in endless political rants on t'internet are probably long gone, I'd rather look at watch pron then cook a good meal

:wine:


----------

