Blup blub (we've been under water for the past week if you have been keeping up with the news).

I have one Omega PO rep and two more in the pipeline; an AP and a B&R.

This is how I got into watches. I had been wearing a Timex Expedition for the past 5 years or so. I decided it was time for something a little nicer. So I bought a new Fossil watch. It looked OK, felt OK, but it didn't have much character. So I returned the Fossil and started looking for real Rolex and Tag Huer watches until I saw the prices. But while Googling real watches, I came across listings for replicas. I thought to myself, self, you can't afford a real one but the replica wasn't much more than that Fossil you just returned and it was a pretty decent watch for the price. So I ordered a Patek from one dealer that looked ligitimate. It arrived but the watch looked like it was worth about $5.00, not the $169 that I paid for it. So I returned it. Had a hassel over getting a credit on my Visa until I filed a complaint with the AGs in my state and in the dealer's state. Then I came across some watch forums including this one. That led to information about which dealers were good and which to stay away from. My wife and I went to Vegas and they have a great watch store in Caeser's Palace with just about every gen brand there is. I tried on an Omega Planet Ocean Chrono. Wow. So when I got back home, I ordered an Omega PO from Trusty Time. Andrew's service was excellent and the watch arrived in about a week. It looks and works great. So then I ordered two more from him; an AP Royal Oak Arnold edition and a Bell & Ross BR03-94. Both should be here by Monday or Tuesday.

Yes, collecting watches is an expensive hobby but not as expensive as photography. I've been hanging out at www.dpreview.com for the past 4 or 5 years and I hope to be able to combine my photo skills with my new hobby of collecting expensive-looking watches.

Anyway, hi from Seattle.