So I decided to check the power reserve on my Submariner

Last week, I decided to wear the Sub to work and since I hadn't worn it for a few day, gave it a little shake to get it ticking. After setting the time, I immediately put it on my wrist - I did not wind it a few times as I normally do. After work I came back and took the watch off as I wanted to play a little badminton. Nothing interesting so far, until I got up the next morning to see that my watch had stopped.

Honestly it was quite a bit scary at first. I tried recalling what I did the previous day and whether I had moved my wrist enough or not. I then realised that I probably hadn't (didn't drive either and took a nap on the way home). Regardless, I was still very concerned and immediately started searching about the power reserve on Rolex watches. I found that the Sub 14060m (Cal. 3130) should ideally have a power reserve of 44-48 hours and if it was significantly lower, it could mean it's due for a service.

Now I'm one of those people who believe in servicing my watches only when required, you know, if it ain't broke, don't fix it, right? I am not very up to date with the servicing cost for a Sub, but started getting myself mentally prepared to shell out about Rs. 40000+ (~USD 600) - not a very pretty thought. However, before I take it to the service centre, I wanted to be sure about it and decided to test out the power reserve properly.

From what I've read, the right way to do this is to fully wind the watch using the crown and then leaving it untouched till whenever it stops ticking. So I did just that and left it on my beside table at 11:10 am. A day passed and I nervously glanced at the watch, still ticking....30 hours, all good, 36 hours, still going strong.

The next morning when I woke up, the watch had stopped at exactly 9am, which according to my calculation is a solid 45 hours and 50 mins! I was so relived and kind of impressed with the Submariner. It's still going strong as ever and ticking beautifully!

Watches Enthusiasts of India Get Together, New Delhi

So it finally happened! My first GTG with watch enthusiasts. I honestly never expected one in India and always thought it would only be possible somewhere abroad. So I'm really glad when this was planned and actually took place. The GTG was scheduled for the 30th of March in New Delhi at a place called Cafe Delhi Heights. Here is my trip report:

1) Mumbai to Delhi: I was pretty excited about this meet up so made sure I reached the airport on time and not miss my flight (it's happened before). Since I was a little early, I had sometime to spare and decided to grab a light bite.

blurry time check at the airport

waiting for my plane while enjoying a snack

After a little delay in the boarding, we were finally off to New Delhi!

deciding what to order on the flight

arial shot of Mumbai from my window seat

first course

There was an Indian sportsman/celebrity on the flight and the guy next to me literally jumped from his seat to go and greet him. He then went back to his seat and fell asleep within two minutes.

2) New Delhi: On reaching the capital, I quickly got out of the airport and tried calling for an Uber. Unfortunately the location on my app was wrong and after 15 mins of trying to find me, the driver gave up, so I had to cancel the ride and go with another cab service.

3) The GTG: I met my parents for a couple of hours before heading to the meet up place. We agreed to meet up at 7pm, so I left at around 6:15pm, thinking I'll get there on time, but I was wrong. I got caught in the rush hour traffic and finally reached at 7:20pm.

At first there was only one person waiting there Nishant (WUS username: nishant_ucms_doc), but soon we were joined by the guy who got us together and planned the GTG - Karan (WUS username: phoenix844884). Next came another WUS member Vandit (WUS username: vkalia) and soon enough everyone was there. A super quick introduction later (after chatting so much on the group chat, we realised everyone already knnew a lot about each other), the watch boxes were opened, and boy-oh-boy, what an absolute delight it was! Other WUS members present were Rohan (beeman101), Eesh (eeshdewan) and Aman (amankathuria).

the early birds, from left to right: Rohan, Gaurav and Karan

from left to right: Gaurav, Vandit, Eesh, Rohan, Karan and Nishant

Now, I have to admit that I was the only one who came without a watch box. I came with just two watches - the Submariner and the Laco Pilot, whereas everyone else came with their entire collection (or almost the entire collection).

You know how it is when you go to a watch showroom and want to try everything on display there, but hesitate to? Well, this was like a dream come true - it was like an all access pass to the whole watch store. I don't have an exact count, but there were easily over 50 watches, maybe over 60! Each one better than the next and of all various styles.

We had Rolex, IWC, Seiko, Panera, Omega, Sinn, Tudor, Breitling, Ball, Casio, Citizen, Orient, HMT...you name it, it was there - all in front of us to try on!

It was so amazing to finally talk to people about watches in detail. We spoke about brands, styles, straps, Basel World, movements and everything one could think of.

4) Wrist shots and pictures: Apologies for the mediocre picture quality as my phone camera isn't too good and my other camera has been borrowed by a friend. The wristwatches are in the order I tried them.

Karan's American + Swiss collection

my favourite Hamilton - the Khaki X-Wind (Karan's collection)

Rohan's Speedy Chrono

Nishant's Victorinox - surprised me with the build quality

some Monster love

Nishant's Seiko (almost bought this model once)

Nishant's Orient Star - the picture really isn't doing justice to the beauty 

Karan's Seiko - never seen it before. Loved it!

another amazing Seiko by Karan

this one can make for an elegant dress watch

the first Sinn I've tried - drool worthy! (Vandit's colelction)

Vandit's gorgeous Panerai Submersible 

this Glycine (Rohan's collection) was another first for me and totally blew me away!

I now have a new fav G-Shock (Karan's collection)

Gaurav's rare Casio

That pizza in the background was lying uneaten  because everyone was so engrossed in the watches that they forgot it was there. It had to be reheated and even after that was left alone for a while.

Mohanish's GMT II next to my Sub

Mohanish trying to take a pic of the family (GMT II, Tudor Black Bay and the Sub)

the ever glowing tritium in the Ball (Eesh's collection)

finally managed to get some wrist time with the Tudor Black Bay - absolutely stunning! (Vandit's collection)

Beauty and The Beast - The Hulk! (Aman's collection)

class apart - the PAM 512 (Mohanish's collection)

HMT Chirag on a bund strap

my favourite Breitling - the Super Ocean Heritage

Seven Friday M2/01

loved the smooth sweep of the Omega

another sweet vintage Omega

the rarest of the bunch - the Anglo Swiss Watch Co. (Eesh's Collection)

with the outer case/cover open

another Super Ocean (Rohan's collection)

no words to describe this picture

As you can see, this would be any watch enthusiast's dream come true. It was a great night with great company and lots of amazing time pieces. Once again, Kudos to Karan and everyone who was a part of this get-together, looking forward to the next one!

mandatory group wrist shot!

group shot, from left to right: Aman, Vandit (light tee), Gaurav (dark tee), Rohan, Eesh, Nishant, Karan, Me and Mohanish 

Hello again...it's been a while

It's literally been years (3 to be precise) since the last post and I have nothing but myself to blame for it.  I'll try my best to give a quick updates about what's been going on...

So what's been happing with Bio and I?
Well, to start with, we've both quit our VFX jobs years ago and started a new business. It's something we had in mind for a while and thought the timing was right. And that's what has kept us really busy for the past couple of years. Another thing that got us out of out regular watch buying and flipping was the fact that we had to start saving for our business and personal expenses. We had to control our spending and our impulses.

Have we bought anything in these past years?
Well, nothing major, just a couple of HMT Pilots (inspired by a fellow WUS member who asked me to source one for him). I had the pictures on my old phone but unfortunately can't find them. The watches too are kept somewhere that I can't recall. When I do find them, I'll post some pics.

What got me back?
Well, the credit goes to one really cool guy called Karan who asked me if I would like to get in touch with other watch lovers from India. I was like, why not, it would be nice to hear about what's been happening in the world of watches (I've been inactive on various forums as well). So I started conversing with a number of wonderful fellow watch addicts and my interest started rising again. I was pleasantly happy to know that some of them had even read this blog :)
I still haven't bought anything since joining this group, but I've set my mind on attaining the next watch on my wish list - the PAM 111.

What to expect ?
Well, this is something I'm really excited about. After months of discussion, we are now having a mini get-together in New Delhi in a couple of days. Around 10 people are expected as of now and I just can't wait to see and try on the watches there! My tickets are booked and I'm just waiting to board the flight.

I will try to write a detailed trip report for this blog. I'll try and take a lot of pics, although my phone camera is average at best. I wish Bio could have also come, plus he has a much better camera phone, but he needs to look after the business while I'm gone. Hopefully we can both be there for the next get-together.

Before I sign off, I would like to thanks all the visitors on this blog. It's been inactive for years, but we've still been getting a steady streams of visitors every single day. I'll start being more active on this blog and reply to comments as soon as I can.

See you guys soon :)

This one got me excited...almost!

I am subscribed to a news letter from Ethos, which is one of the bigger (if not biggest) watch boutique chains here, and every now and then, they send me these 'one time offers'. Most of the time, I simply dismiss them, as firstly, I am a bit short on dough, and secondly I have my aim set a bit high for my next watch - whenever that might be. Also most of the time, the offer is on this brand called Edox, that seems one of those brands that's priced as a higher-end brand, but isn't - this is strictly my personal opinion, and I maybe wrong.

So recently, I got another offer mail, but this time I thought I'll check it out just for the fun of it. The watch this time was an Edox Xtreme Pilot III, and I must say, its quite an eye catching piece. I quite like the green accents, although some may disagree.

Anyway, so the mail says that this watch retails for  Rs. 1,13,700 ($2088 USD), but its being offered at a flat 40% off, which brings it down to Rs.68220 ($1252 USD). Now, that's not a bad price for a watch like this. Lets have a look at he description:

Powered by a shock-resistant and durable chronograph movement, the Xtreme Pilot III features numerous inspiring complications. The black carbon dial houses chronograph functions, a date window at 6 o’clock and a tachymeter scale on the outer rim. The large 45mm case along with the over-sized electric green push button in anodized aluminium give the watch a distinctly bold appearance. Crafted in ultra-light titanium, the timekeeper runs on the Edox Calibre 103 movement. 

Ok, so it seems to be built pretty well, however my only gripe is the movement - Edox Calibre 103. For some reason, I was really hoping it was a mechanical one, and if it was, its a very good buy in my opinion. Sadly, after a bit of searching, I learnt that its based on a Ronda 5021.D, which is quartz.

Not too much of a quartz fan, I'll have to pass, but for those who don't mind the quartz movement - and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, I think this still is a decent buy. Want another reason to get it? They have also mentioned in the mail that its a limited edition watch with only three pieces available at Ethos. So, if you want it, contact your nearest Ethos :)

Just Another Obsession?

All my life, I have had a number of obsessions. Obsessions that I completely devoted myself to. Obsessions that eventually die after a short period.

Some of them were:

Stamps - I had stamps from all over the world, had a few stamp books. Could recognize stamps from a lot of countries.

Fish (keeping them) - My brother and I had two aquariums in our room. We bought books on the different kinds of fishes, what they eat, like/dislike and even how to breed them. We could recognize most of the fish that were available at pet stores in my city at that time in a hearbeat.

Art/Painting - I was always pretty decent at drawing and painting (or at least thats what people said), and there was this phase where I had books on all the famous great artists in the world. My favourite was Vincent van Gogh and I tried recreating a lot of his works. If you come visit me, you will see some of them still on the walls.

And then there were watches - but this time it felt different, it felt special...

My brother (Bio) actually got into it a bit before me. He wanted a new watch and did a bit of reading online before buying it, a blue Vostok Europe Gaz-14 Limousine.

 He had never heard of it, but was intrigued and went ahead and ordered it. He read all about it and told me about its history, which honestly, didn't sound too interesting at that time. Then a few days later, I thought about buying a watch for myself as well. I was looking to spend some 'serious cash' as I thought I would keep that watch forever. By serious cash, I meant $400 USD. I did a bit of online searching and ended up ordering a Movado Museum. I loved its simplicity - yet elegant look. I still feel its one of the better looking watches out there and regret selling it in absolutely mint condition, but that watch changed the way I looked at watches forever.

No more did I believe the 'one watch is good enough for me' ideology. I was truly intrigued. I wanted to dive head first into this new world where a watch wasn't just a tool to tell the time. I learned the difference between quartz and mechanical. Why an 'automatic' was so named and why its a thing of some engineering marvel. I wanted to know everything about everything. I joined forums, not one, but three. I had some wonderful conversations with some wonderful people from all around the world. I was proud to be a WIS (Watch Idiot Savant). If that wasn't enough, my twin brother was proud WIS too, and we had endless discussions everyday. ETA and Miyota were terms used quite often in our conversations. At work people called us 'The Watchmen'. Anyone and everyone who wanted to even think about buying a watch, came to us for our opinions first.

Our collection grew steadily, at first, with a lot of quartz and affordables. We had a watch-box that people wanted to see when they came over, and always had one question - 'what do you do with so many watches?'

We started noticing and looking at people's wrist, hoping that if we spot a good watch, we might bump into another WIS, and actually did bump into a couple or so.

We had updates for each model for all of our favourite brands. We even started a blog, which received way more visitors than we ever expected. There was something interesting to share every month. We even completed a intermediate watch making course - all was good.

Now, there comes a time in every watch aficionado's life, when he has some cash to spare and thinks about 'refining' his collection. Affordables are great, but for me personally, I always wanted a high end watch. A company with a history and something thats 'Swiss Made', something that in itself was classic. My brother and I both decided to go for our 'grails' while we still could afford to spend some cash, and we did. He bough an Omega 'Great White' and I a Rolex Sub 14060M or No date, non COSC version. We were on top of the world and couldn't believe what we had managed to achieve.

Our collection grew even more!

 Although I try my best to hide my Sub, especially at work, I won't lie, I admit that its nice when someone does appreciate the watch, as long as they don't ask me how much I paid for it (which does come up more often than not). I started flipping watched in order to refine my collection. My affordables were sold and I started buying the ones on my wish-list. I still have a couple of affordables, but the ones that I wear more now are:

Rolex Sub

Laco Pilot Type A 'Bremen' (ETA)

Orient Mako (Pepsi) - my beater

My wish-list was 'refined' too. It contained some really nice watches, all with a nice price tag of course, and thats when it all started to change...

As with any other human being, my wants were endless, but my bank balance wasn't. In fact, in India, you'd have to be at a pretty decent position to earn nearly enough to satisfy this hobby. As a VFX artist, its not easy at all to. My hopes started dropping. My brother and I decided to try out something with a couple of friends to earn some extra dough. Unfortunately that wasn't nearly as profitable as we had hoped and ended up taking a lot of our free time too. My hopes dropped even further and so did my interest eventually. Forum visit became less frequent, the gap between posts on my blog increased and soon it seemed that those things were a thing of past. Maybe this obsession wasn't different from any other. It was just a phase and I seemed to have moved on. I felt guilty about ignoring the blog I had cherished so much at one time, but ignored now. One thing neither my brother, nor I stopped doing was looking at people's wrists, but thats about it. I lost track of whats new in the world of watches and what was announced at Basel World.

We had moved on from the business with friends and started working on something a bit more serious and which seems much more feasible Its kept us pretty busy all last year and is still in the works. Last weekend,I had a meeting I was supposed to dress formally for. At my current job I am not required to dress formally, in fact its totally the opposite. So when I do get to wear a suit, I look forward to wearing a dress watch. Now my options were, as stated earlier, a Sub, a Pilot (Laco), or a beater (Mako). I would have normally gone for the Sub or the Laco, but this time I had a presentation to give, so I though maybe I should wear something a bit more 'dressy' (if thats a proper word). I remembered that last year, my dad had come to visit and left his vintage gold Omega with me. It has a brown strap, and I was already wearing a brown belt and shoes, so I thought, it would be perfect. I took it out of the box and put it on my wrist, when something happened. I just started at it for a while. It amazed me by its beauty, everything seemed to be rushing back, it made me smile.

That same night, I was out for a couple of drinks with my girlfriend, and I was talking about the Omega with her. I am not sure if I was boring her, but she always assures me she finds watches interesting (after being with me for a couple of years) and actually enjoys a conversation, even though she may not have a lot of knowledge about them. She then told me about a friend who we both know, and that he had recently purchased a Rolex Submariner with a 'blue dial and gold center links'. I instantly said, "Oh! You mean the...umm...that model...". I couldn't believe it! I just couldn't remember the model number, and of a company I read so much about. I had to look it up that instant online - it was the 16613. I felt a bit ashamed of myself for forgetting something that a year or two ago was like second nature to me. Today, I opened my blog and looked at it, what it was and whats it's become. I then logged into a forum to see whats up. I saw a lot of familiar sounding posts, saw introductions from new watch aficionados and remembered how I used to love going through all this every single day.

(image taken from online)

 Its going to be a while before I get back to what I was, to what's the latest models and movements. I still can't promise frequent blog updates, but sure hope I can from time to time. I looked at my wish-list and do aim to get the next one on it - maybe not anytime soon, but some day. The thing I am glad about the most - this obsessions wasn't like the others, I knew it was special and it certainly is.