Who Watches the Watchmen (Our Chit Chat Thread)

david

micks_address wrote: »

And they say it's not listening to what you do..we tested it at dinner last year..few of us started talking about rolex and half an hour later friends feed was flooded with watches..

Whatever you do, don't bring up Sinn at the dinner table. I'm getting nothing but Irish Republican bollox in my eBay alerts/recommended items.


No mate I won't buy your commemorative postcard with date stamped envelope.

redlead

dakar wrote: »

Or something quartz...

Or a solar watch. They would both power each other for all eternity :-P

blue5000

banie01 wrote: »

Totally "coincidentally"
After Cyrus posts the absolutely beautiful JLC perpetual calender.
Instagram started flooding my feed with suggested follows, one of whom posted a VC perpetual calender that is really attractive.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CGQ7o_IHbEB/?igshid=1ttr8hyaoospt

TBH tho, if I could afford one and had the grá for one!
It would be the JLC in Cyrus' post.

That's click bait isn't it? Is there a smiley for paranoid? All that shows up on my instagram ads is Fendt tractors and stihl chainsaws (both German BTW). Orwell's 1984 and all that has finally arrived.

Thirdfox

Look up "pixel tracking" - it's enough to make anyone paranoid. And this is from the perspective of someone who has reluctantly started looking into how marketing works and can be more effective.

Youtube searches "predict" with alarming accuracy what I'm about to search for, even when I've only spoken about it and haven't been previously searching for the term.

TVs now have voice recorders, Alexa/iOS/Ok Google are constantly recording the environment - otherwise how can they hear you say "ok siri/ok google" etc.? Do they use that to monitor what you're talking about?... well if all these services are "free" then payment has to be extracted from somewhere, and Google/Alphabet (Google's new topco) is primarily an advertising business.

You can read an Ars Technica article about how people listening through voice recordings (for QA purposes) over hear people discussing medical details, intimate moments etc. when the voice commands inadvertently gets activated.

unkel

Amazon employees listen in to people having sex

From the Sun, so make of that what you will...

Linky

Fitz II

unkel wrote: »

Amazon employees listen in to people having sex

From the Sun, so make of that what you will...

Linky

Well in my case that would be an uncomfortable 30 seconds for them.

Cyrus

Fitz II wrote: »

Well in my case that would be an uncomfortable 30 seconds for them.

Fair play fitz i gave up on the second round a few years back

Lorddrakul

Yesterday, I got a second hand timegrapher from a mate who had upgraded his equipment.

Due to work commitments, I've not even taken it out of the box yet.

Gah, impatience!

Cyclingtourist

Lorddrakul wrote: »

Yesterday, I got a second hand timegrapher from a mate who had upgraded his equipment.

Due to work commitments, I've not even taken it out of the box yet.

Gah, impatience!

When's your YT watch channel starting?

Fitz II

Lorddrakul wrote: »

Yesterday, I got a second hand timegrapher from a mate who had upgraded his equipment.

Due to work commitments, I've not even taken it out of the box yet.

Gah, impatience!

Gosh...telegraphers are dangerous, you can get obsessed with regulating your watches Still a bit of fun, post some pics

Eoin

My PAM sold pretty quickly. I didn't take anything in trade, but now of course - as this is a sickness - I'm wondering which trade option I'll just end up buying all the same.

Thirdfox

Fitz II wrote: »

Gosh...telegraphers are dangerous, you can get obsessed with regulating your watches Still a bit of fun, post some pics

About as dangerous as a loupe when it comes to watches - just remember that even 20-30 s/d actually in the greater scheme of things is "fine" too.

ETA2824 elabore's standard is +-20s/d in any one position with +-7s/d averaged over 4(?) positions. Something I think the HZ5000A can match.

Also remember the more times you open the watch to regulate the more dust gets into the watch too

My Speedy runs at +20s/d dial up (serviced by Omega 2 years ago) and that's fine - I'm not going to bother opening it up to get it down a little and risk damaging gaskets/letting in dust.

Agreed that it can be fun - just don't be too obsessed about that 0s/d figure :P

Lorddrakul

Let the timegrapher madness commence!



From the left, Speedmaster Mark II vintage, Alpha M1957, Zeish 7750 flieger, Poljot 3133 "Blue Angels" Navitimer.

1 and 4 look spot on, 2 and 3 look ropey on the timegrapher.

VW 1

How do you find the Alpha? I had considered picking one up as a precursor to (eventually) getting my hands on a Speedy.

Lorddrakul

VW 1 wrote: »

How do you find the Alpha? I had considered picking one up as a precursor to (eventually) getting my hands on a Speedy.

I did the same.

Quality wise, it is about the same as my Seiko SXK009.

The bracelet is solid link, with machined end links and and split pins, and fully machined, not folded, clasp.

The watch itself is very nicely finished, but took about a month to settle down in running.

I've regulated it down to run about +6 to +10s per day in wearing. I leave it crown down over night and it sort of balances out fairly nicely.

It isn't as good as the Poljot, but for €180 delivered, you can't go wrong.

It is the same type of movement as the 321 in the original Speedmasters, as opposed to the later 861 movements.

In terms of living with a 50s style sports chrono, it is definitely worthwhile.

Daemonic

Lorddrakul wrote: »

Let the timegrapher madness commence!

....

From the left, Speedmaster Mark II vintage, Alpha M1957, Zeish 7750 flieger, Poljot 3133 "Blue Angels" Navitimer.

1 and 4 look spot on, 2 and 3 look ropey on the timegrapher.

The Poljot 3133 movement is so robust.
I have a dozen or so watches with this movement, none of which have been serviced while I've owned them and I'm sure some have seen no maintenance in their 15-30 year lives yet every one is accurate to within 20 seconds a day. A few are that accurate over the course of a week.
That and the 48-60hr power reserve on a single wind :cool:

redlead

If anyone is looking for a laugh this morning, I came across this old Archie review and I have been in tears looking at it. The guys "mid tier" collection is full of so many sh1tters that Archie can't actually keep a straight face. Everytime I give up on Archie I always go crawling back in the end!

https://youtu.be/oycSMLzu_Sk

unkel

Maybe I'm on my own here but I find that guy the least funny and most annoying, loud, irritating, disgusting looking prick I've ever seen on youtube. Haven't even started on the abysmal quality of his videos.

Cyclingtourist

unkel wrote: »

Maybe I'm on my own here but I find that guy the least funny and most annoying, loud, irritating, disgusting looking prick I've ever seen on youtube. Haven't even started on the abysmal quality of his videos.

He's not everyone's 'cup of tea' but at his best he reminds me a bit of Sir Les Patterson the Barry Humphries comedic creation.

Fitz II

redlead wrote: »

If anyone is looking for a laugh this morning, I came across this old Archie review and I have been in tears looking at it. The guys "mid tier" collection is full of so many sh1tters that Archie can't actually keep a straight face. Everytime I give up on Archie I always go crawling back in the end!

https://youtu.be/oycSMLzu_Sk

I watch that vid once a month its comedy gold, but yes Archie is a dirty begger.

OldBean

I'd gotten Archie off my Youtube Recommended lists at last! But had to go back for more. Tough going!

Thirdfox

Fitz II wrote: »

I watch that vid once a month its comedy gold, but yes Archie is a dirty begger.

I guess it would the equivalent of a 3am street vendor kebab? You know you shouldn't, feels fun for a while but might make you queasy later :pac:

Eoin

Anyone here owned a Sinn 104? I am very tempted, but I've read it wears on the smaller side which wouldn't suit me too well.

NIMAN

Wondering what your opinions would be of a late noughties Tag Aquaracer WAF1113 ?

In very good used condition, blue dial
Images of it here

https://www.flickr.com/photos/153886612@N06/shares/493E24

Decent watch? Or would there be better ways to spend £425?

Thirdfox

NIMAN wrote: »

Wondering what your opinions would be of a late noughties Tag Aquaracer WAF1113 ?

In very good used condition, blue dial
Images of it here

https://www.flickr.com/photos/153886612@N06/shares/493E24

Decent watch? Or would there be better ways to spend £425?

:pac:

the serious answer would be - if you like the design then go for it. I found the aquaracer line a bit dull for my personal tastes (had their aquaracer chrono, it got stolen and never used the insurance money to replace it unlike my speedmaster) - for £425 you could be looking at cool ceramic Steinharts/Christopher Wards etc.

Would a Longines Hydroconquest be of interest? That design would actually interest me more in the same price range for a Swiss brand.

unkel

NIMAN wrote: »

Wondering what your opinions would be of a late noughties Tag Aquaracer WAF1113 ?

In very good used condition, blue dial
Images of it here

https://www.flickr.com/photos/153886612@N06/shares/493E24

Decent watch? Or would there be better ways to spend £425?

I prefer the later one with the blue bezel, but yeah that's pretty good value at GBP425

You're looking at entering phase 2 of watch collecting? :pac:

NIMAN

Thirdfox wrote: »

:pac:

the serious answer would be - if you like the design then go for it. I found the aquaracer line a bit dull for my personal tastes (had their aquaracer chrono, it got stolen and never used the insurance money to replace it unlike my speedmaster) - for £425 you could be looking at cool ceramic Steinharts/Christopher Wards etc.

Would a Longines Hydroconquest be of interest? That design would actually interest me more in the same price range for a Swiss brand.

Yeah I kinda get where you are coming from, it does look a little dated now I suppose. Any links to the Steinharts / Christopher Wards you talk about?

I see there is also one on eBay at a buy it now price of 330 but some of the luminous paint has peeled off the markers. Would that cost much to sort?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/133544663356

Eoin

NIMAN wrote: »

Or would there be better ways to spend £425?

Almost certainly, but you could say the same about most household name watch brands. It's probably one of the cheapest options to buy a watch with a lot of brand recognition.

Thirdfox

NIMAN wrote: »

Yeah I kinda get where you are coming from, it does look a little dated now I suppose. Any links to the Steinharts / Christopher Wards you talk about?

I see there is also one on eBay at a buy it now price of 330 but some of the luminous paint has peeled off the markers. Would that cost much to sort?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/133544663356

https://www.steinhartwatches.de/en/diver-watch.html - these would be new, come with things like ceramic bezels (some people like them) and have a striking resemblance to another famous diver watch brand (can't put my finger on it - which one... ) - which could be a pro or a con.

https://www.chrono24.com/longines/hydroconquest--mod221.htm?man=longines&modelId=221&showpage=&sortorder=1

Here are a few Longines Hydroconquests - the main thing is I found I didn't like the Tag's bezel - maybe other people do like it though so it's personal preference. The Longines has a much more "standard" bezel - which again can be a pro or a con if you want something that stands out a little more.

NIMAN

Some nice Steinharts on that link.
And in a 39mm midsize too.