My Seiko 5

A couple of years ago, I bought a Seiko 5 while on a trip to Thailand. It was more of an impulse buy and started giving me problems on the very first day. The glass had fogged up and I had to take it back and get it fixed the very next day. As time progressed, I realized it doesn't get too much wrist time and so I decided to sell it.
I put an ad for it online and soon was contacted by a watch dealer. A deal was struck for Rs.3750 ($82). A week later that guy contacts me and says he doesn't want the watch and says he wants his money back. I refund him his money but when I get the watch back, its in a bad condition. There are a lot more scratches than before and some if the paint from the markers on the Bezel was missing. The box too was missing and took quite a lot of phone calls before I got it back. I decided its not worth my time to talk to that guy any more and I thought of just making it my beater watch.
Another few months on and a close friend of mine got interested in it. I however couldn't allow myself to sell him the watch in the condition it was in, so I decided to get it serviced. I was slightly worried that the servicing cost would push the price a lil too high for my friend, but I went ahead with it anyway.
I took it to this place called Singapore Watch Company. Some of you may recognize that name as we had got my dad's Omega serviced from there. I wanted a full service and clean up (including original Seiko gaskets). I asked for the total damage and at the same time trying to think what would be a fair price to sell it to my friend and before I knew it he told me - Rs. 600 ($13)!! Not only was it so cheap, he also gave a year's warranty. The watchmaker did a great job at it. The watch now looks beautiful and will hopefully get the wrist time it deserves.

A WIS up in the air? Maybe you should pay a visit to the lavatory.

Form the Times Of India:

Costly Swiss watches found in AI plane toilet

Mumbai: Officials found 20 diamond-studded, branded Swiss watches in an Air India aircraft toilet on Monday. Each of the Franck Muller Geneve watches costs between Rs 10 lakh (~$22100) and Rs 15 lakh (~$33200). Six other less expensive watches of the same brand were also found.
The officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), who had received information about goods being hidden in the toilet, searched the AI Airbus which came from Abu Dhabi and landed at the international airport on Monday night. They found a cavity in the wall containing a bag full of watches and chemical packets.
The officials are investigating how the watches were taken inside the aircraft. “The passengers had left the aircraft when we reached,” they said. “We are investigating the involvement of the maintenance staff because the watches could only be removed after the aircraft, which is not locked, was shifted to the hangar.”
The officials said the sender would not smuggle watches into a country if he was not absolutely certain about his accomplice being able to take them out of the airport.

Posers beware! A WIS might be around...

First off, I'd like to wish everyone here a Very Happy New Year! Thank you for you comments and feedback. Both CF and I look really look forward them and please continue to send them in :) Now, lets get back to the post:
So, after a lot of years of failed planning, a bunch of us finally ended up in Goa for New Years and although it's not the best time to be there with all the traffic, crowds and hiked up prices; it was still a lot more fun then doing nothing in Mumbai. I had heard about the Casinos in Goa, but had never been to one, so a few of us decided to try a couple of them out.
(Note:Since, the Government of India prohibits live gambling on Indian Land, the Casinos are built on ships which are docked just a few feet from the banks of the river Mandovi, which flows through the capital city Panjim.)
So, there I was playing Black Jack with about 7 other players when I catch a nice looking watch, in the corner of my eye. It was a what seemed to be a Tag Heuer Grand Carrera. I asked the guy wearing it from across the table, whether it indeed was one. He confirmed it and then after a few seconds, proudly takes it off his wrist and hands it over to me.
Guy: "Here, have a closer look at it. It cost me Rs 2.8 Lakhs! ($6,085)"
Me: "Umm...where did you pick this up from?"
Guy: "The Tag showroom"
Me: "You should return it and get your money back, cause it's a fake."
The guy, who was slightly drunk, suddenly sobered up. He asks me how can I be so sure. I explain to him that apart from the poor construction of the watch, the dial had the words "chronometer" on it and since the seconds hand was 'ticking' rather than 'sweeping', it was a quartz watch, where as the real one would've been an automatic.
The guy had turned a dark shade of scarlet by that time and his friends around him started snickering at his embarrassment.
Not wanting to cause a further scene, i just handed the watch back over to him and continued with the game :p