PAM 111 on Serge Custom Strap

I put my PAM 111 on a dark brown Serge strap I received from the generosity of my friend Chris M. (aka Speedmaster).  Thanks Chris!  What a difference a strap makes.  It has breathed new life into the 111 as I was getting bored.  Nice and thick, but not ridiculously so.  The buckle is the curved type "Pre-V" style bottle-cap.  It's a brand new strap, but it feels broken-in.  It's very comfortable and has a vintage aura to it.

Serge straps are some of the best value per buck aftermarket Panerai straps out there.  Check them out!

Rolex GMT-Master II Ref. 16760: The 1st GMT-Master II Model

The glossy dial on my 16760 is turning matte!  Gotta love those 80s Rolex gloss dials with their funky defects: You have the infamous "spider-web" dials and now these "gloss-to-matte" dials.  This is a 9-million serial number case that appears to be totally unpolished.  The case and lugs are nice and thick.

Some call this model the "Fat Lady", but I really hate that name.  I think it's really stupid.  I'd rather nick-name it the "GMT-Dweller" since its middle case is about the same thickness as its contemporary, the Sea-Dweller ref. 16660.

Different Shirt, Same Watch...Warning: GMT-Master Content!

Just because I love the Pepsi bezel insert...

 

Rolex GMT-Master Ref. 16700

I recently went to the Authorized Rolex Service Center in San Francisco and had a brand new BLRO (Pepsi) insert installed on my GMT-Master.  Unfortunately, a nasty aftermarket bezel insert was put on the watch by the seller--a well-known website.  They did send a genuine replacement insert, but it was scratched and chipped in places.

I met Giovanni, the owner and Rolex watchmaker at the SF RSC.  He's very friendly and he shared some really rare Rolex pieces with me.  We talked watches for half and hour or so and I had a great time.  He brought out the factory fresh insert and installed it while I waited.  The results speak for themselves and his prices are reasonable.  I plan on taking some of my other vintage Rolex watches that need a service to Giovanni.  If you're in the Bay Area and need to service your Rolex, I highly recommend the SF RSC.

The Old Republic

Wow.  If only the prequels were as good as this video game trailer.  George, maybe let these guys do the next one.

MkII Vantage

Close-ups of Bill Yao's homage to the ref. 1016 Explorer.  I chose the non-date "scientific" dial and the yellow sweep seconds hand to differentiate it even more from the original Rolex icon.  At 39 mm in diameter, the Vantage is the same size as the new ref. 214270 Explorer released at this year's Basel Watch Fair.

The 4 gradations between the seconds markers on the dial correspond to the beat rate (28,800 bph) of the ETA 2824-2 movement.  That means I can hack this watch on any of those lines.

Dauphine hands would also look sweet on this watch.  I wonder if Bill would make that an option in the future?

1973 Seiko 6105-8110 Diver

I love these vintage Seiko divers.  They're better than the divers' watches that they currently make IMHO.  Clean, sharp, classic styling and extremely comfortable to wear.  I sold my first one a couple of years ago.  I won't make the same mistake twice.

1978 Omega Speedmaster Professional

I love these vintage Speedmasters.  This one is my latest and being from circa 1978 is also the youngest vintage example in my collection.  It came on a wonderful Mark I ref. 1171 bracelet with 633 end links.

Steinhart Nav B-Uhr II

A BIG Thank You goes out to Mr Gunter Steinhart for this piece.  In the last two pictures are two pilot watches, one uses a pattern from the British, while the other gets its design cues from Germany.  Both have remarkably similar elements (arabic dial, large readable hands, triangle marker in place of the number 12), yet they are also very different in style.

Another Speedmaster? Yep.

I seem to be in a Speedmaster mood.  There's probably a good reason, too :-)  These are awesome pictures from the interwebs of a 1978 Speedmaster Professional with an original 1171 bracelet.  The modern example of the bracelet uses push-pins as do most (if not all?) of Omega's current bracelets.  The original uses screws.

1969 Pre-Moon Speedmaster

Pie-pan dials are awesome.  This is a transitional dial with a painted an applied Omega logo, but it still retains the pie-pan minutes track.  These transitional dials were only on ca. 1968-1969 Speedmasters; perhaps as late as 1970/1.

New Shoes

I got a new black Hirsch Liberty strap with white cord stitching.  After mounting it on my DLC'd PAM 000, I decided to put it on my PAM 111.

Angkor Wat

One of my favorite films is Wong Kar Wai's In the Mood for Love.  This final scene was inspired by the ending to William Wyler's Roman Holiday.

I'll be visiting Angkor Wat later this year if everything comes together.

Escape to Asia

Copyright © 2010 Steve Forney

I feel like hopping on a plane to South East Asia every time I look at this print in my living room.

The Omega Speedmaster Professional: NASA's Choice

In the mid-1960s, the Omega Speedmaster was secretly tested by NASA along with chronographs from Rolex, Bulova, Zenith, and others for qualification for manned space flight and extra-vehicular activity (EVA).  EVAs encompassed space walks and the eventual goal of a Moon walk.  After a battery of grueling tests involving heat, humidity, freezing, and centrifugal and centripetal forces, only the Speedmaster was still functioning as intended.  Only after passing these tests was it certified as "Flight Qualified" for all manned space missions and EVAs.  When Omega got wind of this around 1966, they added the text "Professional" to the Speedmaster's dial.

The Speedmaster Professional remains one of my favorite watches.

MkII Quad10, MkII Vantage, a DLC'd PAM 000G, and Japanese Rolex books

Bacon Saturday

Hong Kong & Rolex

Hong Kong and Rolex go together like peanut butter and jelly.  These are some old photos I took back in 2006.

Ref. 5513 Submariner

This is how I usually wear my ref. 5513 Submariner...on a one-piece U.S. milstrap.  This particular variety of strap comes in two basic colors: olive drab and black.  I prefer the olive drab which gives the Sub a more military look.

The 5513 is from circa 1967.  It's been fitted with a 1970s-era service dial that is pretty uncommon.  It's a so-called Type I Maxi dial.

An advantage that one-piece straps have is that they hold the watch securely to your wrist in the event one of the spring bars breaks or comes off.

It's very comfortable to wear especially in hot or humid weather.

One secret to wearing your watch on a fabric strap is to affix a plastic caseback sticker before you put the strap on the watch.  The sticker prevents the strap from damaging the caseback from the constant rubbing of the two surfaces.  You can buy these stickers in bulk at watch parts houses.

The Photogenic Base

The PAM 112 or Base looks good in photos as well as it does on the wrist.  A large stark black dial with clear, over-sized hour markers, no minutes or seconds indicators, and plain luminous baton hands makes for easy at-a-glance reading.  It's great for those with myopia :-)

Mmmmmm...Bacon!

The weekend is almost here and you know what that means for breakfast...

It's going to be a good Saturday morning :-)