Where's Your Head At?: I'm Calling You Out

[Posh]

Building frankens has often (for me at least) more to do with the pursue of perfection while learning a new skill. You can open up and destroy a $300 rep but you're not going to do it when you've payed $6000 for a watch (perhaps because its perfect, but that's one of the reasons I don't buy gens anymore).

I've only built a couple of franken watches, I've built a Omega Planet Ocean for a friend and my Super Avenger, on my SA I'm into it almost the same amount of money as a used gen, however there are 2 crucial differences, one is I spent it in parcels and didn't have to tell the better half I was spending $2k on a watch when I have over 30 of them, and secondly I had the pleasure of putting it together for the most part and learning new things in the process. Win Win situation for me and although I don't have the papers (I do have the gen box), I can say that I've built the watch I'm wearing and that gives me much more pleasure then anything else.

To be called out, well 99.9% of the people don't even know what a Breitling is and the other .1% lives here so doesn't cross my mind. If I do, it doesn't bother me the slightest.

Wouldn't it be easier (and less expensive) to make a sterile or homage watch? I imagine you could've honed your skills just as well on something like that. But you chose the Breitling brand or Omega to build a watch. Why is that?

I only mod a rep watch to prevent being called out.

I have a coworker and 1 client who are educated watch collectors. I never tell them what I'm wearing is a gen, but I do not offer up the fact that is a rep. I would never try to sell a rep as a gen.

I could afford gens, but have spent most of our "extra" finances over the last few years adopting 2 children. I still want to wear nice watches, but no longer want to invest that amount of money.

Make sense?

This is the what I was expecting to hear but believe me when I say I'm surprised that you're the only one to say it. Camaraderie was one I would never have guessed. But I guess that is an element of it.

And spending the funds on having children is very heart-warming and noble. I'm glad you had the money and you still got to look good during the whole process.

[badhat]

Wouldn't it be easier (and less expensive) to make a sterile or homage watch? I imagine you could've honed your skills just as well on something like that. But you chose the Breitling brand or Omega to build a watch. Why is that?

To me, it is about learning and making something better. However, I realized that I don't want to ever be called out, so I never wear my PAM 111 anymore. Instead I just bought a Getat Homage. The way I see it, if I can't afford to wear the real thing, then I shouldn't have a replica of the watch. That is why I got the homage. I just like the style of the watch. I do have a rep omega PO and a rep breitling skyland avenger, but those I could probably afford. But I do enjoy trying to fix watches, and because reps break more than homage watches, I spend more time fixing reps than homages. But I would wear either, doesn't really matter to me. But I do think that the high end reps are better than a homage. Even Seiko's had cheap wrapped linked bands and mineral crystals. At least high end reps give you sapphire crystal with AR, solid linked bands and solid end links, with a decent movement. In fact, my Omega PO has a 2824-2 movement in it that is +2 sec a day off. My gen Oris TT1 is +3 off!
T.