True, I have never paid asking price for a watch at a Jewelry store.

Friend of mine has two Patek's that his Grandfather gave him when he passed. Very nice watches. They will be passed to his sons.

I have one Patek and one Vacheron Constantin. Neither is on par with the above watches but they are works of art. I bought them used but they still are very nice.

Which ones do you have?

JR

A rose gold Chrono for the Patek and mens dress Chrono for the Vacheron.

White face and only about 5 mm thick on the dress watch, almost so light that you do not know its on.

Am really a Rolex kind of guy and wear those most. Still wearing the steel and gold GMT master that I got in the PX back in the 1970's for $300 or so.

Am like a girl with shoes/purses when it comes to watches.

Noticed that you are out of Tulsa. Ever race at Hallett? Used to race there all the time when it first opened, both karts and SCCA then got into airplanes and it ended.

Joe A

Joe,

When you say chrono, do you mean chronograph, or chronometer? I find it interesting that you have both of those watches, as I have a similar pair. The Vacheron sounds very much like one that I have. It's a rose gold Patrimony Extra Flat, about 31mm in diameter with a very thin manually wound mechanical movement. I have a similar Patek, a yellow gold Calatrava, that is comparable in size and details to the Vacheron.


I've been to Hallett about a million times, starting just after they opened. The guy that built the track is a friend of mine. I haven't driven there for about 20 years. The last car I ran there was a 930 and I decided I'd retire that car before I wadded it and build a dedicated track car. So far, I haven't gotten around to doing it. Life got in the way.

JR

From memory, the top ten wristwatches sold at auction have all been Pateks.

Nope. Last I checked there was an 8 year waiting list for these in the US, and you have to be approved by the Stern family for the privilege-ie, you have to have bought some serious Pateks already-you know, the bread and butter repeaters, tourbillions, and other complications.

I was just joking, should have used one of these::p

(and just curious, isn't it a Tourbillon? No extra "i"?)

Both spellings are used. I used to be in the business, and a sales professional I coached had a client who wanted one.

Damian, I can close this sale.

Sorry, there is a 8 year waiting list.

Damian, how does he get on the list?

He has to buy several significant Pateks, like a Tourbillion or Minute Repeater.

Damian, fine. He'll take one of each.

Sorry, there is a 3 year waiting list for those, and he needs to have bought some regular Pateks.

Damian, let me get this straight. He has to buy a couple regular Pateks to be able to get on the list to buy some very expensive watches, so he can get on the 8 year list to buy a Sky Moon?

Yup, you got that straight.

hey, why are all watches in advertisements set on 10:07-10:10ish?

Vash-
This is because that orientation of the hands (sort of) approximates a face. Ideally, second hand also is pointing to 6:00.

I'm sure this is some sort of a marketing subliminal ploy.

Watch ads have been like this "forever".

The bigger question is why are all of us (Pelican surfers) absolutely fascinated with:
- "Spoons"
- Watches (Preferably self-winding)
- Knives
- Bicycles
- Motorcycles
- Guitars (Preferably electric)
- The latest phone, ipod and other tech gadget

???

Seems to be one of those unnecessary to explain tendencies. Feel free to add on to list.

The only thing you left out is women, most Pelicans like them.

BeyGon-

Thought I'd leave that subject alone.
My ideal has to do with something that will invariably please when called upon, and sit patiently while I'm playing with one of the others...
The whole "shiny metal object" fascination turns grisly when you reflect said fascination upon an animated being.

Hope I'm not scaring anybody off. The above sounds somewhat much like the silence of the lambs.

JR,

The Patek is the rose gold one and the VC is silver.

Do not have them with me right now so not positive on the exact model. Do not keep them at the house most of the time due to the value.

Miss Hallett and know what you mean. I was at the first race there and made most of them for years afterwards. Are you talking about AA?

Joe

You must mean white gold, not silver?

Yep. Am in the middle of doing flying paperwork and not thinking watches.

I am so happy I got over my fancy, ie: expensive (to me) watch faze.... Owning 4 Rolexes benefitted me no more than a Swatch I used to work out in. Or the half dozen antique tank watches I have now.
I still love 'em; just think I'd rather spend the coin on racy little German cars - or racy little German women - than time pieces. Guess it depends on what floats your boat.

Bite your tongue! Taylor 12-string FTW. :D :D

Question. Why is today's watch "style" to big, thick, and clunky watches? When I was a young guy the style was "thin is in"...

I mean, I've seen guys strutting around wearing what looks like an alarm clock to me...

I think the thin vs. gaudy style tides are turning. I agree pwd72s - thin is coming back.

The economic meltdown made many of the money guys reconsider their perpencity to flaunt gaudy "bling" watches.

To me, the panerai fad looks ridiculous. One of our customers wears one - but he's a really big guy, and can get away with it.

I'd love to be able to wear a VC, a Cellini or Patek - but if I could afford the blasted thing, I'd probably destroy it.

Sounds like a lot of Rolexes around these parts...

So you could see most of the markings on the dial and it is balanced.