YouCantHaveTooManyWatches

Lots more DIY today, enhancing my working at home environment. Braun Classic. My Go-to DIY watch.

I was up to 67 watches in total at one point - Two months ago. Utterly bonkers really. I’ve sold a bundle so now down to 53. I would really like to offload or bin or sell all the older ones that literally never get worn. Thinking about applying a very strict “if it’s not been worn for 3 months it can go” rule. That might get me down to about 25-30 I guess. I reckon that would be reasonable and if I then employed a “one in one out” policy, all would be well with the world. At least until I get bored, or there’s another fair, or another manufacturer clearance sale!

Blue Monday...

The story behind the Santos Model name is well known. Brazilian pioneering aviator Santos Dumont was frustrated having to use a pocket watch to time his initial flying attempts when vying with the Wright brothers to be recognised as the first man to fly. He complained about it to his pal Louis Cartier who promptly created the first pilot watch and named the model after his buddy. Wristwatchesformen weren’t really a thing. Some ladies had bracelets with fancy miniature clocks on them, but this was the first true gents wristwatch, invented for a pilot when pilots weren’t even a thing yet. Very clear dial with a seconds hand and mounted on the wrist so you could read it while holding on for dear life to a contraption of wire and canvas with an engine strapped onto it. Then the story of this particular one is that I bought it pre-loved from a chap in Brisbane who had it from new and needed funds to buy the very latest version. Everybody came out laughing.

No DIY for me today and we are entertaining friends, so I can wear something a bit “nice”. Recent new arrival. A Cartier Santos 100 with a fantastic backdrop story. One that I’ve coveted for some years and finally found the exact right one...

Working on various Saturday DIY bits today - fitting secondary glazing, changing in-line water purifier filter, wall mounting a new TV, wrapping a massive watch box, as you do! I have therefore gone for cheap and robust but ever so slightly stylish......

Well spotted, Scott! I should organise a raffle to mark the occasion.. . . Yeah, this one has the strap with the retro tyre tread design too - and it is vanilla scented!!! Hey Dean. Hope you’re keeping better these days, mate. Strap is just about the most comfy rubber ever, if you’ll excuse the expression.

Lots of odd jobs to do today like clearing gutters, erecting a new TV wall mount and creating a fancy plinth for a decorative lamp for the missus, so today’s watch is a very workmanlike and robust Alpina...

You have no idea how delighted I am by this watch. To some it might look a bit innocuous or retro or old school or too simple, but I don’t mind saying I absolutely love it. The Lume is fantastic and it sits beautifully on the wrist, being a perfect 40.5mm in diameter and and not too chunky at just 11mm thick. The movement is COSC certified and after a recent service it is operating just within the prescribed tolerances. The second hand has a beautiful smooth sweep and I am loving the big date display. The vast majority of the Mille Miglia commemorative watches have a cyclops magnifier window at the 3 o’clock position and I absolutely detest that feature on any make of watch, so this is one of the very few Mille Miglia variants that would fit the bill. My previous Chopard I bought on a whim and at 38mm and with a cyclops, it didn’t stick around for long, but this one is a keeper. Yes, you heard me say it. As you can see, it also comes boxed alongside a proper actual working “analogue” tyre gauge - also emblazoned with the 1000 Miglia logo. Mille Miglia was a road race of just over 1600km in total distance, round trip from Brescia to Rome, which was started in the 1920’s and ran almost every year until it was cancelled in the 50’s after some tragic fatalities, Famously Stirling Moss won it just a couple of years before it came to an end. Since the 1970’s it has been resurrected as a celebratory event, part road race, part vintage car rally, more like a procession at times for safety reasons, where enthusiasts with cars mostly from 1957 and older, can drive along parts of the original route. A neighbour of mine intends to do at least some of it in his old Triumph TR3 some time. I’m sure there are a few car nuts out there who know a great deal more than I do about it. Anyway, here it is and boy am I enjoying it,,,

Quite sad really, but life goes on. It will be interesting to see how the brand moves forward....

I bought a zenith el primero that looks awfully like a Rolex, but to answer the question - NO

2018 Land Rover Discovery Sport MY19 HSE Luxury. Generally very pleased with it as it’s a much more comfortable drive than my old Jaguar XF was Test drove a Jaguar I-Pace on Saturday. Want one!