The one watch in your collection which you rate having the most historic significance

[cruvon]

Hi, thought this would be an interesting topic, would be a pleasure to see the one watch in your collection which you believe is hugely historic.(read not rare, more like say a watch with huge provenance that was associated with key events in world/human history, it doesn't have to be that ground breaking, could be one that had huge significance through your personal/family history too)

[DiamondJack]

Probably for me my Bulova Accutron Spaceview even though its one of my least expensive watches. It was the world's first electronic watch introduced in October 1960 and was the first watch to keep time through electronics and the revolutionary concept of not using springs or escapement. The tuning fork technology was used on 46 NASA space flights timing equipment.

Bulova as a company also have a huge number of firsts like the first company to introduce a full range of mens jewelled wrist watches in 1919. The worlds first clock radio in 1928, the first television commercial in 1941. The accutron began development in 1952 and was the first breakthrough in timekeeping in over 300 years. It has to be up there in terms of historic provenance and should be in every enthusiast's watch collection IMO.

[jamesbondOO7]

My first Rolex, bought 25 years ago when I became 30: an SS DJ.

[Chris B]

Only historical significant as it's from my birth-year (1956)

[ob1]

Cool looking watches Jack and Chris!

[greekbum]

Although I have several watches with historical significance the 1 that matters to me is my 16750 GMT that I bought as a teenager and wear daily.

[HL65]

3 actually:
1. Comex 5514 used on deepest dive in Comex history.
2. 5513 Milsub- full spec with HH letter- one of last few he did along with Morgan Kings from Jed.
3. 1655 Striaght hand- purchased at Military PX in HK by a Lt. and documented thru it's military life and travels.

[Racer X]

The first red sub:

[YetiBiker]

The "transitional" 5510.

[TempoKing]

Originally Posted by cruvon

Hi, thought this would be an interesting topic, would be a pleasure to see the one watch in your collection which you believe is hugely historic.(read not rare, more like say a watch with huge provenance that was associated with key events in world/human history, it doesn't have to be that ground breaking, could be one that had huge significance through your personal/family history too)

My watch was part of a key event....On display at the grand opening
of the first Rolex Store in London's Hatton garden Nov. 1915

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatton_Garden

Wire lugs, Enamel dial, Silver case, both top and bottom Screw back and front, Subsidiary seconds
with very rare glass protective cage - observe the hour openings in the shape of tears and hearts.
I am thinking of selling for $300.000

[eparisini]

6263 fap

[Beaumont Miller II]

Great looking watches everyone. Anastasios, I have been curious to know what that watch looked like ever since I saw your first thread. Finding a watch with a rich and unique story is what makes collecting so much fun. Earlier this year I purchased a 5513 with a meters first dial from 1967. The original owner purchased the watch in Atsugi Japan, wore the watch for a couple of tours in Vietnam where he parchuted behind enemy lines and wore it for training exercises during submarine insertion on hostile soil. When he retired from the Marines he wore the watch on his around the world sail on his sailboat. He was a crew of one. The trip took 3.5 years to complete. While at sea his boat was run over by a tanker, and while in Mobassa Kenya, thugs tried to take his watch. There are pics of him on the internet wearing the watch as he completed his journey sailing into the harbor in Hawaii. The original owner has even been so gracious as to answer any questions I have about the watch via email. It is the one that almost got away from me and remains of the favorites in my collection. Thanks for asking.

[T-Rip]

for me it has to be my DSSD, its what my father bought me after I passed the bar exam here in CA...

[Racer X]

Originally Posted by Beaumont Miller II

While at sea his boat was run over by a tanker, and while in Mobassa Kenya, thugs tried to take his watch.

How'd he hold on to the watch despite the thugs' efforts. (gets popcorn)

[Beaumont Miller II]

Originally Posted by Racer X

How'd he hold on to the watch despite the thugs' efforts. (gets popcorn)

His boat was not damaged to the point that it was not sailable. He reported the incident to the maritime authorities but nothing was done. To some extent they placed him partly to blame for not having a crew to keep watch. Regarding the mugging attempt, fortunately for him he was Special Forces/Recon in the military. To view a copy of the letter typed by the owner that I now have, search "combat 5513" in the for sale section.

[conrail]

Vijay & Dave: I love those pics, great watches y'all!

[Racer X]

Originally Posted by Beaumont Miller II

Regarding the mugging attempt, fortunately for him he was Special Forces/Recon in the military. To view a copy of the letter typed by the owner that I now have, search "combat 5513" in the for sale section.

This guy was a bad a$$.

Originally Posted by conrail

Vijay & Dave: I love those pics, great watches y'all!

Thanks conrail!

[YetiBiker]

Originally Posted by conrail

Vijay & Dave: I love those pics, great watches y'all!

Thanks Conrail

[1675-David]

Got to be my speedie

[GJS]

This one watched Aytron Senna win the F1 Monaco Grand Prix twice on my father's arm.

[HL65]

Originally Posted by YetiBiker

The "transitional" 5510.


Attachment 211072

Oh yeah!! It's a bird...it's a plane....it's Superman Bob!! Killer BC my friend and amazing provenance !!

[Alcan]

Originally Posted by cruvon

The one watch in your collection which you rate having the most historic significance

This one, a 1908 Wilsdorf & Davis, from the same year that Hans Wilsdorf trademarked the brand name Rolex. Who knows, ol' Hans himself may have handled it.

[gimpex]

My particular 5513 was acquired in Hong Kong at China Fleet Club by a Vietnam War soldier ( US I assume ) on his R+R leave in 1969....

I got it last year ( from TRF ) and only found this out by chance , by googling the serial number. Still trying to find out more , but not getting far

[YetiBiker]

Originally Posted by SteelerFan65

Oh yeah!! It's a bird...it's a plane....it's Superman Bob!! Killer BC my friend and amazing provenance !!

Thanks my friend

[CaveDiver]

What is Historical Significance? In the context of your inquire it could mean how something was important or significant in terms of history were a Rolex was used as integral part not Rolex historical significance. A few stories of how this simple well used not abused 5512 was used is demonstrated below.

The first story of Florida diving history: The Tusk Recovery Trip early 70’s. Although this artifact ended up in a privite collection, most of these recoveries are in museum events like Tusks (http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/ponyexpress...12.html#Tusks!) This Rolex along with a 1680 Red were critical in dive trips to recover these artifacts.


The second story is the recovery of Recovering Old Portuguese Galleon Ship Anchor. The watches significance was the use of the chronometer. This watch was used for navigating to the anchor that was found on a previous fishing trip. In the early days, these watches were used as designed. No Garmin GPS in those days.

The Tusk Recovery Trip early 70’s
As normal, the weekend dive trip started out very early in the famous TV repair van. With my father driving, they headed to the Kissimmee River to recover a prehistoric elephant tusk.


When they got there, they unloaded the fancy john boat and powerful motor to take them to the site:




This shot was taken on the way up to the site. Nice scenery.




The tusk was located just about the middle of the river in the picture:



Underwater recovery of the prehistoric elephant tusk artifact:
Here they are removing the river bottom dirt and debris from around the tusk. About two inches of the tip of the tusk was sticking out of the river bottom. The rest was buried in the mud and sand. Most divers would have swum right by the tusk thinking it was just an old log.




While removing the mud and sand away from the tusk, it became difficult to take photographs due to the debris clouding up the water.

Off to the left of the tusk, they found a mammoth hip bone. Don’s Rolex (1680) watch is sitting on it to give some contrast and reference to the size of the hip bone.




Back to the tusk - the tusk is starting to come out. Notice the color and erosion on the tip that was sticking up out of the river bottom.





Using his body and his Rolex (5512) watch as a reference, my father shows the size of the tusk. The tip of the tusk is off to the left. The tusk is over nine feet from tip to the nerve end.





They were unable to get the whole tusk in a photo because if they backed-up too far, the silt in the water would block out the tusk. This is the best they could do:




They took off all their life vests and wrapped them around the tusk.
They then filled-up their life vests with air and lifted the tusk off the bottom to the surface of the river.





Here are a couple of photographs of my father with the tusk on the bank:







Here is the tusk sitting wrapped behind an old truck and sitting on the base of the frame they made for it:




Once they got it back to the shop, they made a case and plaster of Paris mold for it to sit. Here is a picture of my father with the tusk at the shop:




Don with the tusk:




Hopefully it is on display for all to see.
One of the few artifacts I actually saw in person. I believe The Shop was a no kid zone.

Early 70’s Story of Recovering Old Portuguese Galleon Ship Anchor that weighs 1500 pounds.

The open water dive excavation trip consisted of a dive team that dove the Florida Rivers, caves and coast lines in the 60’s and 70’s. According to my father, the recovery of this anchor occurred in the early 70’s and was one of my father’s most exciting open water dives.

They used the Snoopy boat and old trailer fuel tanks to recover an Old Portuguese Galleon Ship Anchor. The old trailer oil fuel tanks for buoyancy shown here:





They connected the Snoopy Boat to the old TV/Dive van. Notice the four extra five gallon gas cans to make sure they had enough fuel to make it back into port. (Note this as it goes to show good planning will keep you safe.)




They used the old carryall for all the dive gear including the dive tanks.




They launched the Snoopy boat and docked it to get it ready for the trip. By the time this photograph was taken, the Snoopy boat was finally logoed on the flying bridge with mask, fins, snorkel and its name Snoopy in gold on the side. They loaded all those old trailer fuel tanks on the boat and headed toward the dive site.




Once they got close to the dive site they unloaded the fuel tanks behind the boat. Once they located the Old Portuguese Galleon Ship Anchor, they filled the tanks full of sea water.




They ran the tanks down a line into the deep blue all the way to the sea floor. Once the divers were on the bottom, they were about fifty feet from the anchor.




Once the tanks were on the bottom, the divers rolled the tanks by hand over to the anchor and then connected the tanks to the anchor with chains and started to fill the tanks with air as shown here:




Once they started working around the anchor, the water got so murky that the camera could not capture the work being done.




So the camera person got distracted and took pictures of the tropical marine life. Here is spool of fish that came by as they were working on attaching the fuel tanks to the anchor.




The bubble like things is dirt in the water that was getting stirred up from working on the anchor project. That is a squirrel fish on the bottom.




Here are more fish that were in the area:




Here is a picture of a big moray eel that was under a ledge by the anchor.




An angle fish when the experts say there is no tropical fish off the coast of Daytona Beach. However, this is actually off of Flagler beach which is north of Daytona Beach. They were about twelve miles off shore.




Here is a grey angle fish:




Here is a lobster and again these are all off of Flagler Beach:




Here is a little brown groper and a parrot fish on the right:




It was just too murky to get any more photos of the anchor on the sea floor so back on the surface and on to business of lifting the anchor from the sea floor.

Notice the bubbles. That is were the anchor broke lose. My father told Don not to break the anchor loose until they moved the boat because the boat was anchored over top the old Spanish Galion anchor. My father did not trust him so he let the boat back. Good thing he did because the anchor broke loose and the old fuel tanks came all the way to the surface and became air borne and then slammed back into the water. When this occurred, the force of the tanks hitting the water dented the ends of the tanks. The tanks came up like a rocket. The plexiglass in the front of the photograph is the flying bridge of the Snoopy boat.




The divers in the water to the left of the drums are Don and dentist Dr. Jim who were told not to do what they did but they did it anyway.




Here you can see the dent in the lead drum caused by the impact. You can only imagine what would have happened if those drums had impacted the boat. I can imagine they got an ear full when they approached the boat.
Dr Jim on the left and the rest are still in the water trying to get another tank.




Here they are trying to get the anchor tied up so it will float correctly. They have to haul it about seven miles.







This photograph is after the divers got the anchor up and three drums chained to it, aligned and a rope tied so they could haul it in with the snoopy boat. This is what the anchor looked like when they first got it up to the surface.



This is another view that shows my father going down with a tank to put more air into the big tanks. You can get a little prospective on the size of the drums and anchor.



A view from below the anchor up into the sun above:



Water surface view:



This photograph shows the anchor and how it was chained to the tanks. It was a tough job getting the 1500 pound anchor chained to the tanks.




Of course, Don has to be a ham. Someone got something smeared on the lens. Probably my father:




Here they are on their way back (Notice the Rolex 5512):




A storm comes up while they are out there. Imagine what a ride they would have had if those drums came up under the boat.




A rainbow after the storm passes. The ocean was really rough for awhile and bounces them around. Notice the white caps in the distance. The anchor stayed attached.



Here is another photograph of the rainbow:





They had to stay out overnight. They drifted north almost up to St. Augustine and had to drag the anchor back. The extra fuel they took with them saved the day. This photograph shows them coming into Matanzas Inlet (14 miles (23 km) south of St. Augustine) that is not supposed to be navigable. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matanzas_Inlet). The tide was going out and it took all the boat had to drag the anchor and the tanks against the current.






Sure enough, the boat did not have enough power to make any appreciable headway and they drifted over into a sand bar. Don and my father went over to the anchor to try and get it to float again. When they went over there they climbed onto the tanks. Don fell off the green tank and my father caught him as the current carried him past him. To make room for him, my father moved to the front tank (green tank) and found out why Don fell off. There was oil all over it. The tank was like a greased pig, and my father fell off the tank. Don was not able to catch him and he drifted out toward the ocean. Don got an inner tube and went and got my father.




They came in where the waves were breaking, and there were a bunch of surfers there. Back in the day, there was commercial where a guy comes out of the ocean drinking wine and sitting down and Don and my father decided to mimic the commercial. They wore their sunglasses and caps and walked out of the ocean rolling up the rope and the surfers thought they were nuts.
They finally got the anchor off the sand bar and got through the bridge as shown in the distance.




This photograph shows them going under that bridge into the Halifax River. Notice the nice fins.




Here is another photograph showing them heading up the Halifax River. Notice Don is not on the front green tank.




They wrap the anchor around one of the channel markers and got the three drums over toward shore:




There is a wrecker that is going to show up.




Then they dragged anchor toward the wrecker.




They are unchaining the drums from the anchor. Also shown is a closer view of the dents in the drums.




Here is a picture of them dragging the anchor up from the water:







It was not an easy task to load the 1500 pound anchor onto the wrecker. Unfortunately the guy the owned the wrecker died of cancer about a year and half after this trip. That is Fred Rose standing on the left.







For many years the anchor was located in front of Diving Don’s TV and Dive Shop off of US1 in Ormond Beach. It was common conversation piece for the community. For those that drove by it every day wondering where it came from and how it got there, this dive recovery trip effort answers the question. Diving Don’s TV and Dive Shop has been closed for a number of years now. The shop location is now a funeral/crematorium. The anchor was moved to local historical marker until the marker underwent restoration. At that time it was moved to the Ponce Inlet Light House where it still resides.
http://www.ponceinlet.org/index.html

I am not sure of the details listed on this plaque are factual, but the era seems to be correct from the information I remember my father telling me. Maybe a little creativity in wording as there was no ship wreck at the location of the anchor. Apparently it was common for these ships to lose anchors.



Here is a photograph of the anchor located at Ponce Inlet Light House:




Here is a close-up photo taken by Photo by Nicholas:




This write-up is in memory of my father.

[YetiBiker]

WOAH Cavediver! What an awesome post!!! Thank you for sharing! Simply amazing!

[psv]

The Sub my wife gave me as a wedding gift.

[dddrees]

I guess I would have to say my 1680.

[KarlFr]

Very nice post Cavediver!

For me as historic piece, the first officially chronometer rated Rolex Submariner 6536-1

[Beaumont Miller II]

Originally Posted by YetiBiker

WOAH Cavediver! What an awesome post!!! Thank you for sharing! Simply amazing!

x2 I am really enjoying this thread.