Found a family heirloom yesterday

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Across the street for the Main Gate at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey is the world famous Mr. Rolex's Shop. Bought a couple when I was deployed there. The movements only lasted a year or so.

All the new rolexes come with a 5 year full warranty. And Rolex will repair your watch for life to restore it. If your house burns down and all that's left of your rolex is the charred case, they will restore it and make it look like new. Sure its gonna cost at least $1k but its worth it of it's a family heirloom or a valuable model.

Only lasting a year though seems off. I hope someone repaired them for you? All automatic and mechanical watches need servicing every few years but they will last a lifetome and go up in value if properly cared for.

 

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A family member of mine inherited a watch from another family member's estate and it turned out to be a vintage Breitling Navitimer

Sweet baby jesus. Love the navitimer. What a military classic!!

 

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Sweet baby jesus. Love the navitimer. What a military classic!!

I am a self-admitted heathen who doesn't give even a single **** about watches, but that old Breitling is pretty neat.

 

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I am a self-admitted heathen who doesn't give even a single **** about watches, but that old Breitling is pretty neat.

LOL. Yeah they are. I'm a dumb redneck but I like the mechanical aspects of a nice watch. Or in the navitimers case the historical aspects as well.

 

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LOL. Yeah they are. I'm a dumb redneck but I like the mechanical aspects of a nice watch. Or in the navitimers case the historical aspects as well.

I'm a gadget nerd in every sense of the word, but watches never did anything for me. Actually, there's no jewelry that ever really interested me at all. I never hardly ever wore my wedding band when I was married because it drove me nuts...and I worked in a factory at the time so I couldn't wear it there anyway.

 

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I'm a gadget nerd in every sense of the word, but watches never did anything for me. Actually, there's no jewelry that ever really interested me at all. I never hardly ever wore my wedding band when I was married because it drove me nuts...and I worked in a factory at the time so I couldn't wear it there anyway.

I think for me it's the connection to the past and it's easy to use
I can barely figure out my smartphone

 

[IndyDave1776]

I sure am glad neither the wife or I are into watches or jewelry, I couldn't tell fakes from real at all.

I know how to tell--if I can afford it, it's fake!

 

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I know how to tell--if I can afford it, it's fake!

LOL
Hey you would be surprised. Not kidding, I regularly see guys who find rolexes for sale for a few bucks at yard sales. The last one found a rolex datejust for .50 cents, it's worth about $3k give or take with condition and service history and boxes. Original boxes and papers & authorized service history are important for value to collectors. It really does raise the value.
Hey for that little its worth taking a shot.
Now some of the fakes are just blatantly obvious.
There is actually people who collect super fakes. Like mentioned above, the sweeping motion that people always talk about from rolex (simply an automatic movement) can be had in simple seiko movements
They will take a seiko watch guts and put it inside a fake rolex case.
Then the super fakes that can fool untrained jewelers will actually use some REAL rolex parts in their fakes.
It's a scary business. Best to only buy from an authorized rolex dealer like Reise or a reputable jeweler like Moyer in Carmel. Some of the fakes I see on Ebay are crazy

 

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..There is actually people who collect super fakes. Like mentioned above, the sweeping motion that people always talk about from rolex (simply an automatic movement) can be had in simple seiko movements
They will take a seiko watch guts and put it inside a fake rolex case. ...

Most of the "super" fakes use Chinese manufactured clones of the ETA 2824 or 2836 movement. Some even use actual Swiss ETA movements. That's because they have a higher beat rate, 28800 beats per hour or 8 per second. This produces a smoother sweep than a Citizen(Miyota) or a Seiko(Hattori) movement at 21600 BPH, six beats per second.

Another quirk of the Miyota 8*** movements that can be a dead giveaway is that the second hand can actually stop moving for a couple seconds. I have a Deep Blue diver's watch with the Miyota 8315 that I can make do this at will. Just a little shake, and the second hand pauses for a couple seconds. That's because the second hand is indirectly driven. There is a small amount of backlash between the gears that drive the second hand. There is a brake spring that takes up some of the slack, but if it were made tighter, the watch wouldn't work properly because of the extra friction.

I know, I'm a watch nerd.

 

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Most of the "super" fakes use Chinese manufactured clones of the ETA 2824 or 2836 movement. Some even use actual Swiss ETA movements. That's because they have a higher beat rate, 28800 beats per hour or 8 per second. This produces a smoother sweep than a Citizen(Miyota) or a Seiko(Hattori) movement at 21600 BPH, six beats per second.

Another quirk of the Miyota 8*** movements that can be a dead giveaway is that the second hand can actually stop moving for a couple seconds. I have a Deep Blue diver's watch with the Miyota 8315 that I can make do this at will. Just a little shake, and the second hand pauses for a couple seconds. That's because the second hand is indirectly driven. There is a small amount of backlash between the gears that drive the second hand. There is a brake spring that takes up some of the slack, but if it were made tighter, the watch wouldn't work properly because of the extra friction.

I know, I'm a watch nerd.

Yeah I dont know all the different movements, I just buy the ones I like and watch them run lol.
I have everything (and love them all) from timex to rolex. They all are just as cool to me. One cool entry level automatic movement watch is oriental.

I'm a watch nerd too. We should talk sometime. I'm more into the history and model aspect of them vs their movements. Also I love how they are made. Anyone who thinks buying a high end watch is only about paying for a name, needs to watch some YouTube videos on what goes into making a fine swiss watch. A single watch can take a full year to make from start to finish. Rolex sources and even refines their own metals for their watches. They use a proprietary steel and gold even. amazing. I never cared about buying a rolex until I saw an ingo friend of mine with one and loved it and then started down the research rabbit hole of the brand. Now I've even bought my wife a couple. My father gave me my first one (his old one) but I haven't wore it much over the years. I got it when I graduated.

The skipping thing you're talking about reminds me of a grand seiko my watch guy was showing me once. Very awesome movements in those.
For the other people reading 'grand seiko' not to be confused with regular seiko. Grand seikos cost as must as some rolexes and more in some cases and also have a cult like following.

We need to start an ingo watch thread and group. We have bourbon groups, and jeep groups, and various other groups. Watches and guns go hand in hand.

 

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...We need to start an ingo watch thread and group...

I'd hate to get anybody started down that road.

Watches are a far worse habit than guns.

 

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I'd hate to get anybody started down that road.

Watches are a far worse habit than guns.

Ha I agree. One watch can cost more than a whole gun collection lol

 

[2Lucky]

I saw a class for jelery store employees to spot fake Rolex watches. It seemed like a pretty intense class. I forgot either 1 or 2 days long........