gaf1958 - January 2021

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gaf1958
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Re: gaf1958 - January 2021

Post by gaf1958 »

jtc wrote:Congrats on the Speedy Apollo 15 40th anniversary, nice to see another owned on the forum. They've become quite rare - when I got mine I had pick of the bunch, now the price seems to have rocketed and the limited number have finally been picked up by collectors. Enjoy :)
I knew there was another on the forum, but I couldn't for the life of me, remember who it was. Question answered. :)
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Re: gaf1958 - January 2021

Post by exHowfener »

Just to say thanks for responding to my query regarding practicalities of owning a large collection. :thumbup:
I started out with nothing and I still have most of it left
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Re: gaf1958 - January 2021

Post by rkovars »

gaf1958 wrote: Wed Jan 20, 2021 9:45 am
jkbarnes wrote:
exHowfener wrote: Tue Jan 19, 2021 3:38 pm ...What I'd love to hear about is some of the practicalities of owning a substantial collection - servicing, wearing in rotation etc.
Thanks for sharing.
Servicing. Now there’s an issue. I’ve recently had quite a few of the Omegas serviced; generally it’s something that I do when timekeeping starts to be one obviously off or power reserve starts to diminish... With the numbers I have, they don’t get worn enough to need servicing from full time usage; but the once every now and then that even the least worn watches get is sufficient to prevent oils drying up due to sitting around. It means that I tend to totally ignore most servicing recommendations and go by the indicators above...
It is my understanding that modern synthetic oils typically don't dry up or gum (older oils would dry into a varnish or paste if contaminated). They evaporate. This will happen if you wear it or not. It is still unlikely that you would cause any serious damage in the movement (unless it was a daily wear). You might see erratic time keeping though. It is tough for a movement to maintain a consistent amplitude without lubrication (at least until nano-coatings become a thing).
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Re: gaf1958 - January 2021

Post by MiniMpi »

:shock:






Outstanding collection Gary !! :clap:
The Omega collection alone is eyewatering mate 8) 8) 8)
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Re: gaf1958 - January 2021

Post by gaf1958 »

Thanks Ferg :)
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Re: gaf1958 - January 2021

Post by Richard D »

A delicious collection, thank you for sharing it.
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gaf1958
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Re: gaf1958 - January 2021

Post by gaf1958 »

Richard D wrote:A delicious collection, thank you for sharing it.
Thanks Richard, I’ve never quite looked at it that way before... :)
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Re: gaf1958 - January 2021

Post by Kansas City Milkman »

Just out of interest @gaf.... I saw the sub collection that have you have passed on and I wondered what drives your selection of models to sell? This may be a really daft question with a straight forward answer or could be particular reasons ie lack of wrist time, colour, make, style etc etc
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gaf1958 - January 2021

Post by gaf1958 »

Kansas City Milkman wrote:Just out of interest @gaf.... I saw the sub collection that have you have passed on and I wondered what drives your selection of models to sell? This may be a really daft question with a straight forward answer or could be particular reasons ie lack of wrist time, colour, make, style etc etc
That’s a very good question and actually quite difficult to answer. Mind you, the next to last big cull was motivated by getting the funds to pay for a deposit for our new apartment, rather than pulling money out of superannuation... so it involved decisions about which watches I could sell that would give me a decent amount of money, quickly, yet were ultimately replaceable over time as they were not rare or hard to find in certain condition. That meant that most of the LEs and some vintage items remained, but I sold a number of Omega, Rolex, Panerai and similar watches, plus a number of less expensive ones to try to make the required amount.

The latest cull was simply due to doing an audit of my watches. An audit? I mean, how silly does that sound? ImageNonetheless, it told me that I had 153 watches and that figure did not include “spare watches” and a few unlisted sow’s ears that I had yet to try to turn into silk purse (read that as a few almost unknown Swiss brands from the 60s/70s and a few Seikos from the nineties). Regardless, the number of watches was just way too high. I made the decision to do a consolidation, and buy back some of those watches I’d sold a couple of years earlier to accumulate the deposit.

This time though, it was a volume sale, rather than a returns based decision. Still getting rid of 70 odd watches required a fair bit of determination, as well as no small amount of time to photograph, create and monitor listings, package, post etc. in fact it must have been more than 70 watches, as the proceeds from the sales bought me an additional dozen or so better watches... so 80 odd at least.

Which ones? Those less worn were obvious targets, but I also tried to flog off the ones I thought would fetch the most, first. Surprisingly one that went was a blue Pelagos - I sold it as IMO the C60 Elite Titanium I’d recently received did everything the Pelagos did, but had less money tied up in it, so I made the cold, hard decision that the Tudor had to go. I also sold possibly my classiest chronograph, a Zenith hand wound El Primero, as it simply wasn’t being worn enough. I even sold a couple of Omegas, but bought more of them in consolidation than I sold... Add in a large number of mid-priced models that were largely being ignored (an easy thing to do with 153 watches!) and that drove the vast bulk of the decision making around which watches went.

Some of the ones that went had a good deal in common with other watches from either the same or different brands. It was not always the better known watches that remained; I have a definite liking for a few brands that I’ve initially liked from Kickstarter and kept purchasing as they’ve established themselves (Visitor and DiRenzo are two such examples). Style probably has an impact. On average, I like divers and chronos more than aviators and dress watches, so I guess if it comes to a choice, all else being equal, a diver or chrono is more likely to stay. Conversely, that meant that I had many more chronos and divers from which to choose a watch to sell... those numbers also meant more similarities, less individuality.

Each round became more difficult, but I had a target number of 80 in mind, something that in theory I managed to reach, but have since blown with a few incoming watches in recent months....

The next round has about 20 targeted, but beyond that I’m struggling to see where to reduce it and to be honest, (as most of the others I’d target are sub $100 watches with minimal return for effort) I don’t really want to or need to, so I’ll let it start up again from sixty and see what happens. Addicted? Not me...
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Re: gaf1958 - January 2021

Post by missF »

I’m a bit late to this thread but didn’t want to pass by without saying thanks for the huge effort of putting this together. It was a fantastic read. I was as gobsmacked to see the ones you’ve sold as the ones you’ve kept in your collection.
My favourite (surprisingly for me ) is the deVille ‘dress speedy’. It shines out. I also love the white dial radomir, the direnzo models, all your colour, and all the old school CWs. I could go on and on! :thumbup: :thumbup:
watching you fail in your quest for a “one watch” has been great entertainment
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Re: gaf1958 - January 2021

Post by Kansas City Milkman »

Thanks for that @gaf, it really does seem like a full scale operation when you’re in a selling cycle. I get the logic in the choices and the need to be objective, but I’d still feel the pull to keep a few of those you’ve moved on. I would definitely find selecting the next batch of sales difficult.

You have a magnificent collection there and I do like the fact that you mix up the high-end with niche and start up. Congrats :clap:
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Re: gaf1958 - January 2021

Post by Noush »

Now, Gary.... :)

Thought this would be an interesting collection to have a "quick look at". Hmmm, is a good half hour quick? Nah, it was more than that....

Fantastic, really enjoyed this and the time you took to share.
So many great pieces but I DO have a favourite and it's your (imagined) birth year watch, the Continental. Such STYLE!!!!
Still waiting for my BB58 - hmm, quite the year!
Chris
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Re: gaf1958 - January 2021

Post by gaf1958 »

missF wrote:I’m a bit late to this thread but didn’t want to pass by without saying thanks for the huge effort of putting this together. It was a fantastic read. I was as gobsmacked to see the ones you’ve sold as the ones you’ve kept in your collection.
My favourite (surprisingly for me ) is the deVille ‘dress speedy’. It shines out. I also love the white dial radomir, the direnzo models, all your colour, and all the old school CWs. I could go on and on! :thumbup: :thumbup:
Thanks Lindsey; the De Ville is rather different from the others, not just because of the armadillo bracelet; the case, dial and hands make their own statement. The white Panerai has definitely become a favourite, displacing even the black...
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gaf1958
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Re: gaf1958 - January 2021

Post by gaf1958 »

Noush wrote:Now, Gary.... :)

Thought this would be an interesting collection to have a "quick look at". Hmmm, is a good half hour quick? Nah, it was more than that....

Fantastic, really enjoyed this and the time you took to share.
So many great pieces but I DO have a favourite and it's your (imagined) birth year watch, the Continental. Such STYLE!!!!
Still waiting for my BB58 - hmm, quite the year!
Thanks Chris - it’s a bit of a read I will admit...
The Continental; on the smaller side of what I usually wear, but definitely on the upper side of vintage cool.
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Cartier+2xPanerai+2xFarer+2xOris+Sinn+11xSeiko+ManyVintage
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Re: gaf1958 - January 2021

Post by undetterred »

Wow,some collection
Steinhart Ocean 39 vintage red/blue ceramic,Olko edition
C65 Super comp
C60 Trident Pro
C60 Blue LE
Omega Seamaster 300m
Longines Admiral Chronograph
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