The Lurker Speaks

Hi RG,

Let me first start off by saying it's a pleasure to be joining such a fantastic community. My name is Mark - located in the CONUS / East Coast region. I've been lurking on /r/RepTime and /r/RepWatch for several months now and thought that it was time that I merge onto the major highway of rep watch knowledge. I joined RWI and am a proud supporter of that forum, and thought I should branch out to RG as well. I see some familiar friends from there over here which is nice! As of today, I am 30 years old. Also as of today, I do not have a rep in my possession but an Oyster Perpetual with Rhodium Dial from a M2M sale here on RWI is on its way to me.

I have always loved watches, I've worn them all my life. My Dad always wore them, so it only seemed natural growing up that I would too. I remember in my youth having mostly digital watches and even a talking watch that would speak the time when you pressed a button. It was sort of amusing to me as a kid, but understandably loathed by my parents as "another one of those noise makers..." In my 20s I bought a quartz Swatch, some Stuhrling quartz watches, and a remarkably crappy Sheffield skeleton automatic with fake diamond markers. I can truthfully say I have no idea how I ended up with it but it's still with me. Even with the conditioning that my wrists have received wearing watches throughout the years, I have been woefully illiterate when it came to knowing watches from bottom to top until the last couple of months.


A couple of my Stuhrling watches.
https://i.imgur.com/jey3uUl.jpg

This watch is gross but it's still my first "automatic"
https://i.imgur.com/eC8vwZg.jpg

My short story starts in a large conference room where I was helping a director at my company with an initiative; we were white boarding and discussing the technical aspects of a certain need. In gesturing to the white board he revealed under his cuff the first Rolex I had ever seen in person: a Milgauss. The watch immediately tugged my eyes away from the whiteboard and pulled my brain away from our discussion. The tourmaline green reflections off of the AR'd sapphire crystal sent surges of dopamine through my synapses. The watch twinkled like a star. I remained distracted throughout the rest of meet and ended without me having the nerve to ask about it. I certainly didn't want to appear naive to such a veteran. When we concluded our meeting and I quickly went back to my desk to research what I had just seen.

It may seem weird to some folks that it took me 30 years to see (more likely to recognize) a Rolex/high end watch. But, growing up in in a rural New England state where there just isn't a lot of money it doesn't really surprise myself that it took that long either. Moving on...

"Holy ffff..." My teammate turned his head as I mumbled in disbelief. "That guy's watch cost more than my last car... and it's a stainless steel watch!" I explained to my coworker of what I had just seen. He explained that there is sort of a corporate legend that my company rewards exceptional and prolonged performance with luxury item as a reward. And it wasn't just a legend - and it was true. The director I was working with was one of those folks who actually earned their Rolex through this performance recognition program they have at my place of work. This fella probably owns many watches, but I couldn't help but imagine that the Milgauss was that watch that he was rewarded for his efforts.

I had never really attached the image of success to a watch in such an way as I have on that day. To me, wearing a Rolex (or an AP, PF, Tudor, Omega, other great companies) is wearing a symbol of achievement. More selflessly, it's also a celebration of heritage, and engineering, and art/design all in one package. It is Beauty and Function sitting in a smokey old corner bar, clinking cups of Islay in toast of their synergy in horology.

So how do I reconcile wanting/wearing a replica watch vs the real thing? Isn't being able to afford the watch part of the sense of accomplish it? Let's face it, unless your watch is primarily constructed from precious metals, the extrinsic value of a SS Rolex is actually very low. Rolex is all about intrinsic value, Rolex loves that their watch is a symbol. They keep demand high by under producing and retaining long waiting lists. They're not unlike a diamond company withholding diamonds from the market to keep the value up. <rhetorical> So when buying a SS Rolex, what does your money get you? And if I did have a $7000 watch, would I really wear it? Do I want to worry about leaving my watch in the gym locker? What about smashing the $400 crystal? Or worse, cracking a $800 bezel insert? Or maybe your insert falls into a fire pit? </rhetorical> I think my end goal is to build up a replica watch to a point where one would ask them self: "Is this a replica with gen parts, or a gen with replica parts?"

I am at a point where I can help some n00bs with some supern00b questions, like "w2c?" or "whats a JF", but not having even owned a Rep there's still a long way for me to go. If I'm not posting, I'm probably still working on it. My goals here are to learn, contribute, and have fun wheeling and dealing in M2M. I will report in on my OP when I get it. My next goal watch is a frankenSub. Maybe thru a M2M or starting with a fresh build. We will see!

Thanks for reading my long-winded introduction!
HeTellsTime