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Why not to baby your watches....

3K views 38 replies 21 participants last post by  Nigelp 
#1 ·
I am in the subset of watch owners who could not care less ( within reason ) what knocks and sinks my watches get.

Example today was putting my summer Hirsch on my Longines Conquest made me look at the watch afresh and when I noticed the scratch on the bezel at 6 o'clock I instantly remembered I got it in our Condo on Maui last July as I was preparing an exquisite fresh Tuna Poke and fried Ahi platter..... priceless memories for me and my family and certainly a worthy dink to enjoy.

I clunked the watch on the glass table and remember the impact.....

THIS is why you must not baby your watches because every now and then you get a real medal of honour one .....
 
#4 ·
Ah, those halcyon days recorded in a damaged watch. My beat up old Seiko 5 reminds me of the day I took one of many short cuts whilst working underneath a large earthmover. I caught the bracelet between the live feed into the starter motor (high amps DC) and the chassis (earth) resulting in the bracelet glowing red hot and burning my wrist. When I eventually managed to break free, it blew the watch clean off my wrist showering my scalp with Seikos best burning hot bracelet material. I fell 6ft face down to the bottom of the inspection pit, which was around 2" deep in various grades of used engine/transmission oil, sawdust and mud, followed by a selection of tools which landed on my back. Once everyone standing about calmed down and stopped laughing, I got the fire hose turned on me because the right sleeve of my boiler suit had gone on fire. Some say that other users of the same pit, if caught short, would have a p!ss in it, rather than go to the trouble of climbing out and using the facilities. Oh how I laughed. :laughing2dw:
 
#5 ·
to be honest my memory is getting worse the older i get :tongue: and i would probally not be able to remember were and when i damaged my watch so it would just bloody anoy me & my OCD that it was damaged so i would want any damage repaired / removed and prefer to keep em as pristine as i can :biggrin: :biggrin: horses for courses :thumbsup:

deano
 
#6 ·
I am actually enjoying my work Seiko getting slowly beaten up, it has evidence of welding, laying bricks, painting, the slate roof I did the other week left the khaki strap a more interesting colour too! It's a bit like a CV on my wrist :laugh:

The finer watches however I would prefer to keep clean, my memory (in the middle of my 30's) is already pretty pants and I doubt I would recall anything like you have.
 
#9 ·
I tend to baby my new watches at the start when they are new then over time my standards slip a little, I will end up being a little more blase with them. That geing said I do have designated watches that I do wear for work and those ones I don't mind getting knocked and scratched, but I do try to avoid this happening though.
 
#12 ·
Similar here, when i get new watch im forever looking at it at different angles for scratches etc, as time goes on i get bit less obssessive about it, especially after its first scratch or knock.Once had a TAG and got a deep scratch on the bezel after only a few weeks, i was gutted and remember forlornly rubbing it as if it would magic away :laugh: , i accepted and got used to the fact it would be scarred forever.
 
#11 ·
I know its not a luxury watch, but my Hami Quartz has been round the world with me, the PVD is worn off the bezel and the case is a little battered - on its 4th or 5th strap now. I have shot with it, dived and climbed, jumped out of aircraft with it, pretty much every interesting even of the last 20ish years, I have had that watch with me.

Of all my watches, that's the one my Daughter has explicitly said she wants left to her when i finally push my luck too far :)
 
#13 ·
I think it is pretty reasonable to "baby" a watch when new, similarly with a new car, however once it has had the first scratch/dent/knock one tends to be slightly relieved and not worry quite so much about the watch/car however I don't think I could possibly knock up my good watches the way I have seen some. That is why I have work watches(beater) & others that I would not dream of wearing to work. If I worked in an office this probably wouldn't be the case though.
 
#17 · (Edited by Moderator)
When you have one or two watches they are always going to look worn... when you get a few more there are some that you want to stay pristine and others you are willing to wear while you work on the car.

Some of mine are always going to be babied.
 
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#18 ·
I am in the subset of watch owners who could not care less ( within reason ) what knocks and sinks my watches get.

Example today was putting my summer Hirsch on my Longines Conquest made me look at the watch afresh and when I noticed the scratch on the bezel at 6 o'clock I instantly remembered I got it in our Condo on Maui last July as I was preparing an exquisite fresh Tuna Poke and fried Ahi platter....
Ah, first world problems. :partytime:
 
#19 ·
Yes I read that back .... it does read like a trivial episode in the grand scheme of things... but the Poke and Ahi were exquisite, and I dusted the Ahi with my own bespoke corn-flour based coating that included a crushed peppercorn medley and a dash of twice distilled rice liquor ... obviously the Poke was just raw fresh Yellow Fin Tuna with the usual salad ingredients, but still divine.
 
#25 ·
@BondandBigM ive lost a lot since March I need to be back on top. Any ideas Mate? Im thinking about becoming a fish fryer like jonny etc...no money in Law. Lets come up with a world solution involving tuna and fish fingers. Or may be...Just write a book about a bloke called mitty.

 
#34 ·
I remain firmly in the 'my watch is worth protecting above all else' category.

I was having a tooth removed earlier this week. Lying there under extreme anaesthetic and with the dentist yanking on my tooth with a set of pliers my primary consciousness was that my JeanRichard 1681 Ronde Small Seconds was safely out of harm's way.

When I take the bins out along our side passage it's my watch thst needs to clear the narrow traverse every time.

That said, I wear my most dressy pieces every day. No safe queens here [emoji846]

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk
 
#35 ·
Mine are babyed beyond recognition...my Apex 1000m diver has never been near water, nor will it. I used to take a watch on holiday...usually a diver rated to 200m, but always took it off if I was going in the pool or the sea. These days, I have become more sensible, and never even take a watch on holiday with me...who needs to know the time when you're enjoying yourself. Let's face it...you only wear a watch in the faintest hope that someone else will see it and comment on it. In all the years that I've been on here and before, I've never, ever had someone mention the watch I was wearing. I don't even look at what someone else is is wearing, because I couldn't give a flying f@*k.
 
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#36 ·
So after stating I like to keep my nice watches mint, imagine how pi55ed I was after scratching my new Seamaster 300M whilst swatting a fly that was driving me mad... turns out the cast iron and enamel of an Aga is slightly tougher than the polished stainless steel of an Omega :(

Not exactly a prize winning memory to go with that one!!
 
#39 ·
I must always be danging my watches, and i can't even remember doing it, then again I sometimes see blood and realise ive cut my finger and wonder how did that happen? Just taken my sarb off to examine it and its got quiet a few scrapes and dings up close, but for the life in me i never remember how it got the marks and scratches. They don't bother me, they just seem irrelevant to be right honest. Its like my cars, i like them, try to look after them even, but i still end up wondering where the new scratch or dint came from every time I clean one. I must not have the same level of awareness as some people. I'm always getting shouted at for dropping glasses when im washing up and breaking them etc. So i go and sit in't shed out of the way.
 
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