Watch Find Stories

[hennabav]

Originally Posted by Ski Dweller

Dude comes up to me on the street in HK. He opens his jacket and hanging inside is a bandoleer of Rolex watches. He say's "copy watch"? I look. I grab a copy Submariner that looked pretty real. Turns out it was.

Wow...would love to hear more about this story!!

[Michael M.]

Any one else?

[DiamondJack]

Originally Posted by Ski Dweller

Dude comes up to me on the street in HK. He opens his jacket and hanging inside is a bandoleer of Rolex watches. He say's "copy watch"? I look. I grab a copy Submariner that looked pretty real. Turns out it was.

Excuse me if I sound a little suspicious but having spent a lifetime travelling to all the places where guys open their jackets and show me their watches I would rarely even look, never mind pay enough attention to touch one........... Then to say it may even be an original...... Come on .........even in your wildest dreams is stretching the imagination beyond what would ever be expected here but nice try

[perpetualman88]

So I was 17 years old a freshman in my college dorm and dreaming of buying a Rolex. After months of searching online I found someone selling a newer datejust SS in scottsdale. I made the 1.5-2 hour drive. I met him at an AD who authenticated the watch. He had the paperwork and box and everything was legit. He was a preacher and someone in his congregation had given it to him as a gift. Apparently he wanted a new engine for his hotrod so I offered him 500 bucks. He decline and came back at 700. I agreed and the rest is history. I just sold it a few weeks ago in order to purcahse my new sub-c.

[T5AUS]

Here we go again, this is an interesting find, not so much a cheap score as my Seamaster was......I posted photos of this one back in December after I first purchased it and it was looking a little tired with a Seiko bracelet, a missing pusher, a badly damaged bezel insert, a broken spring and cracking glass. (see first three photo's)
The story of it's life is quite interesting and is as follows.......
It was purchased new back in the late sixties by an Australian adventurer by the name of Dennis Bartell, from a shop in Adelaide. He was a bush pilot in those days and wanted something that was accurate and reliable. Several years later in 1985 he decided to do something totally different and thought a little walk in the desert from the North of Australia to the South, a distance of about 3000 K's (1900 Miles) might be fun, and so organised himself, starting off from the Gulf of Carpentaria. After a few days travel he started to get a pain in his leg so decided to use a trolley to carry all the extra food and water he would need for the long desert stretches between civilisation and replenishment. Here is a brief clip from the first leg of the journey and if you look closely towards the end of it, as he cooks up a bit of soup on the fire, you will see this very Speedmaster on his wrist. http://aso.gov.au/titles/documentari...er-gulf/clip1/
As can be seen from my photo's, the logo on the back of the watch is very worn, the result of the continuous wear from the desert sand sticking between the back cover and his sweaty wrist, it acted like sandpaper.
He couldn't remember when he broke the pusher off, just knowing that it happened some time on that long trek. Once back home he threw it in his tool box as it was no longer any good to him in that condition, he liked to time the sections of his walks so he knew roughly what mileage he had done, and he still had a few more treks planned.
Twenty five odd years later and with several other great walks under his belt (including the first white man to walk across the Simpson desert unaided and alone) he decided to have a bit of a clean out and found it again where he had thrown it in that old tool box and that was when he contacted me.
It is a great story and I have had immense pleasure bringing it back to life. I managed to find a pair of pushers and bezel insert which I replaced myself, getting my watch maker to repair the spring and replace the glass.
Also, the bracelet is another story itself, a vintage 1171 which was the one it would have come with, was given to me by a very generous forum member in the US, an amazing gesture and I thank him very much (he does not wish to be named) such incredible generosity and as can be seen, it works very well. As some will notice, the lume on the small register hands as well as between the hour hand has flaked a bit and the indices are patchy too but we are looking at it very magnified and it's hardly noticeable to the naked eye.
Dennis is in the process of publishing a book with a full video package of this and his other great solo trips across this huge continent. I am sure it will be a great read and I cant wait to see it. The last two photos are of the watch restored and the last photo is of Dennis and his then wife taken back in the 70's at the famous Birdsville pub after one of his desert treks and of course, wearing the famous Speedmaster

[cruvon]

whew, awesome story there T5AUS, she's a keeper.

[onkyo]

Great story Phil.... and an equally great watch!

Thanks for sharing.

[Michael M.]

Nice guys!

[arttay10]

Great story Phil

[montecristo4]

Wow Phil amazing story that suits perfectly this topic :)

[Jagatai]

Great stories guys! I wish I had one, but all of mine are:
I went online, I fell in love, I bought them.

:) :)

[Rikki]

Okay I just purchased a certy sub 05 story goes guy was riding his motorcycle in 07 and was forced off the road as he was hitting the quardrails his watch smacked the quardrail sending the bezel to Mars or points north then he proceeded to fly through the air into a drainage marsh. Of course the crystal was shattered but still on the watch which flooded instantly. Good news he survived the crash was layed up for a few months. He brought it to one of my wholesale accounts for repair but the damage was extensive and beyond his pocketbook so I purchased it and am almost finished with the resto. I am looking for an original 18k bezel and so far no luck but I am patient. I'll be posting befores and afters as soon as it's done. Rik

[Beaumont Miller II]

Phil that is a great watch with an incredible story. That is what makes vintage watch collecting so much fun instead of just going to the local AD and just buying a new watch. If you haven't already, that could also be in the watches with greatest historical significance thread.

[HL65]

X2!! What a story Phil!!

[Sweramic]

Excellent story Phil! Many thanks for sharing.

Why did he contact you when it needed a cleaning though? Do you run a watch repair shop? Just want to know

[T5AUS]

Thanks guys, I do tend tend to chase these watches that come directly from original owners, so much more fun and it adds a much more personal feel to the whole deal and if you are lucky, there is occasionally a great story to go with them such as this One

Carl, he just wanted to get rid of it and new they were worth a bit even in that condition so contacted me having heard what a mad watch collector I was. I have the same passion for old clocks and do a lot of my own repair work (self taught)

[Michael M.]

Very neat Phil, awesome post!!!!!!!

[T5AUS]

Thanks Michael, maybe you should start collecting all these stories and do your own book, I am sure it would be as popular as the car find ones you mentioned

[SWIMPRUF]

Very nice story Phil, worth the time reading it.

[Michael M.]

Originally Posted by T5AUS

Thanks Michael, maybe you should start collecting all these stories and do your own book, I am sure it would be as popular as the car find ones you mentioned

That's what I was thinking

[Michael M.]

Anyone else?

[edolecki]

When I was 17 years old I was vacationing with my parents in Cancun, and I was snorkeling around behind the Royal Caribbean resort. There was a spot nearly on shore where the waves would crash and roll in this trough. I'd see tiny nearly transparent fish in it.

Anyway, I'm getting thrown around by those heavily kinetic waves and I spot some gold to my left. I reach into the sand and pull up a gold Presidential with diamonds, band and all. Still running just fine. The waves must have knocked it off someone's wrist & they lost it (hard to imagine), or they lost it drunk on the beach some night, a wife in a fight threw it off their balcony into the surf, I don't know. But it was GORGEOUS.

I didn't walk the beach asking if anyone lost it, because of course someone is going to claim it whether it was their watch or not... so I took it to the resort's front desk and they put it into lost and found. I have no idea if it was ever returned to the rightful owner, and I never heard anything else about it. It was a difficult decision, but I would never have felt right about wearing that watch myself.

[YetiBiker]

Originally Posted by edolecki

When I was 17 years old I was vacationing with my parents in Cancun, and I was snorkeling around behind the Royal Caribbean resort. There was a spot nearly on shore where the waves would crash and roll in this trough. I'd see tiny nearly transparent fish in it.

Anyway, I'm getting thrown around by those heavily kinetic waves and I spot some gold to my left. I reach into the sand and pull up a gold Presidential with diamonds, band and all. Still running just fine. The waves must have knocked it off someone's wrist & they lost it (hard to imagine), or they lost it drunk on the beach some night, a wife in a fight threw it off their balcony into the surf, I don't know. But it was GORGEOUS.

I didn't walk the beach asking if anyone lost it, because of course someone is going to claim it whether it was their watch or not... so I took it to the resort's front desk and they put it into lost and found. I have no idea if it was ever returned to the rightful owner, and I never heard anything else about it. It was a difficult decision, but I would never have felt right about wearing that watch myself.

Awesome! Kudos for you! I agree, it would have had bad karma.

[wyattearp]

Originally Posted by edolecki

When I was 17 years old I was vacationing with my parents in Cancun, and I was snorkeling around behind the Royal Caribbean resort. There was a spot nearly on shore where the waves would crash and roll in this trough. I'd see tiny nearly transparent fish in it.

Anyway, I'm getting thrown around by those heavily kinetic waves and I spot some gold to my left. I reach into the sand and pull up a gold Presidential with diamonds, band and all. Still running just fine. The waves must have knocked it off someone's wrist & they lost it (hard to imagine), or they lost it drunk on the beach some night, a wife in a fight threw it off their balcony into the surf, I don't know. But it was GORGEOUS.

I didn't walk the beach asking if anyone lost it, because of course someone is going to claim it whether it was their watch or not... so I took it to the resort's front desk and they put it into lost and found. I have no idea if it was ever returned to the rightful owner, and I never heard anything else about it. It was a difficult decision, but I would never have felt right about wearing that watch myself.

If I were in that situation, I would hang onto it until I returned from my trip where I would then contact Rolex and try to locate the owner through their records. Who knows what the people behind the desk did with it.

But yeah, I fully agree with you, I couldn't wear that watch knowing it's owner was missing it.

[edolecki]

Originally Posted by wyattearp

If I were in that situation, I would hang onto it until I returned from my trip where I would then contact Rolex and try to locate the owner through their records.

That's a great idea and I should have done that, but I don't think I even knew then that a Rolex had record keeping like that. There is an AD or 50 in Cancun, I could have taken it to one of them. Taking it home probably would have made letting it go harder I'll admit :)

[T5AUS]

Originally Posted by edolecki

That's a great idea and I should have done that, but I don't think I even knew then that a Rolex had record keeping like that. There is an AD or 50 in Cancun, I could have taken it to one of them. Taking it home probably would have made letting it go harder I'll admit :)

great story edolecki, I bet there are a few more like that rolling around in the surf waiting to be found..........now, where did I leave my snorkeling gear

[wyattearp]

Originally Posted by edolecki

That's a great idea and I should have done that, but I don't think I even knew then that a Rolex had record keeping like that. There is an AD or 50 in Cancun, I could have taken it to one of them. Taking it home probably would have made letting it go harder I'll admit :)

Very true sir. I certainly didn't know about such records at 17.

You're probably right about not wanting to let it go, it would be tough haha. 'maybe I'll just keep it for a few days..'.

[Michael M.]

Nice guys!

[Michael M.]

Originally Posted by perpetualman88

So I was 17 years old a freshman in my college dorm and dreaming of buying a Rolex. After months of searching online I found someone selling a newer datejust SS in scottsdale. I made the 1.5-2 hour drive. I met him at an AD who authenticated the watch. He had the paperwork and box and everything was legit. He was a preacher and someone in his congregation had given it to him as a gift. Apparently he wanted a new engine for his hotrod so I offered him 500 bucks. He decline and came back at 700. I agreed and the rest is history. I just sold it a few weeks ago in order to purcahse my new sub-c.

Cool Story & nice watch!

[dddrees]

Originally Posted by T5AUS

Thanks guys, I do tend tend to chase these watches that come directly from original owners, so much more fun and it adds a much more personal feel to the whole deal and if you are lucky, there is occasionally a great story to go with them such as this One

Carl, he just wanted to get rid of it and new they were worth a bit even in that condition so contacted me having heard what a mad watch collector I was. I have the same passion for old clocks and do a lot of my own repair work (self taught)

Great story Phil, and the you did such a marvelous job getting it restored.