How my Explorer became the coolest Explorer ever.

[Paulr1980]

So this evening I went to An Audience with Sir Ranulph Fiennes.

It was a wonderful tour of his life and even in his older years can still completely captivate an audience. I’m not going to waffle on about how important a human he is.

I wrote to Ran about ten years ago and explained how fascinated I am by his life and career, with both of us being in the military (my career nowhere near as interesting). He kindly sent a signed photo back.

That photo has come everywhere with me and served as a reminder of however tough life gets, some good old fashioned grit will keep you going long enough for the tough times to pass. It’s very faded and the autograph long gone.

So I made the decision to see if I can ask him to re-sign the photo after the event.

My timing was great. As I approached the stage door Ran and two older gentlemen came out. One with his back to me. The one nice chap smiled and got in to Ran’s old Ford Focus. Ran instructed the other white haired gentleman to put his briefcase in the boot.

As he did so he turned around. It was Sir David Attenborough. I don’t get star struck easily and mentally thought through what I would say to Ran. Seeing both of my idols in one place threw me.

David within an instant said “he’s the boy you want to speak to”. I managed “oh wow……. I don’t know what to say… wow”. He smiled again at me and got in the car.

Now is my chance… I approached Ran and asked if he’d resign my photo. He was incredibly humble and grateful that I’d appreciated it so much and re-signed it again.

At that point I removed my Explorer 214270 and asked him if he’d initial the case back. He didn’t really understand why but again, with complete humility did so, shook my hand and climbed in (quite awkwardly) in to the drivers seat.

So my prized possession having been my wedding watch, engraved with our names and our wedding date, now has Sir Ranulph Fiennes, the worlds greatest living explorers initials sharpied on the back.

I’m completely overwhelmed by this, failed miserably at acting cool in any way. What I do know though, wedding aside, this was the single coolest moment of my life so far.

[Slimpee]

Cheers to you for the wonderful story!

I love watches for the stories they tell...and yours is a great one!

[*M5]

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[rolexpatek363]

Great story, but won't the sharpie ink come off when you wear it?

[Keepchasing]

Cool story. Thanks for sharing.

[TheVTCGuy]

I can understand you saying WOW, that is a wow moment! Congrats!

[Paulr1980]

This is the dilemma. What the hell do I do with it now? How do I preserve it. My good friend works at an AD and is going to try and help me with what can be done.

[MrGoat]

Originally Posted by Paulr1980

This is the dilemma. What the hell do I do with it now? How do I preserve it. My good friend works at an AD and is going to try and help me with what can be done.

Well. If it was mine, I’d source a new case back. Have someone capable switch it out and pressure test. Then put the case back in some sort of a clear protective case and display it in my office somewhere.


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[Paulr1980]

That is the option we’re looking at. We also talked about engraving the initials in by someone very talented. Otherwise it’s options to preserve the ink.

[dannyp]

Maybe some kind of clear lacquer applied over it? Or just a clear sticker?

[winst]

Like the engraving idea - great story!

[alllexandru]

Interesting story, moment in life you will never forget, thanks for sharing with us.

[Timetracker]

I’ll play devils advocate…….. very nice story, thanks for posting it, I enjoyed it.

But back up and take a deep breath. IMO, no ones signature belongs anywhere near a watch that you had customized to commemorate your wedding day!

[Paulr1980]

You say that and I respect your opinion, but with anything material that I own, I want to collect as many memories as I can in to them, so looking back over the years when my memory starts to fade, it reminds me of all these wonderful experiences.

[Sandpit]

Thats a great story. I would look at putting a protection film on that asap!!

You should be able to find it easy enough. There's a special type of film for watch protection (which i generally really really don't like) that would be perfect for the rear.

[LA_LEC]

How cool is that.

[faz]

Cool story. One option to preserve the ink may be to buy an aftermarket sapphire display case back and swapping it in , and then perhaps framing this original case back and display it on your office wall or some such. I remember reading here there is an aftermarket display case back for submariner, perhaps there is one for Explorer as well.


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[joli160]

Cool story. Nice idea.
If you have the signature engraved it becomes the engravers signature and not his. I’d go with the best clear coat film money can buy and source another case back for daily use.

[1William]

Great story. Thanks for sharing.

[strafer_kid]

Nice story. I attended one of these audiences with him a few years back - brilliant to listen to his exploits and very humourous!

[Number3]

Fantastic story. I really would explore (pardon the pun!) the possibility of a new case back and preserve that one for posterity.

[Timetracker]

Originally Posted by Paulr1980

You say that and I respect your opinion, but with anything material that I own, I want to collect as many memories as I can in to them, so looking back over the years when my memory starts to fade, it reminds me of all these wonderful experiences.

Well, as you know…….your opinion is the only one that counts! Again, great story, best of luck.

[JTL31]

Originally Posted by winst

Like the engraving idea - great story!

+1


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[Tikandtokalot]

Originally Posted by MrGoat

Well. If it was mine, I’d source a new case back. Have someone capable switch it out and pressure test. Then put the case back in some sort of a clear protective case and display it in my office somewhere.


Sent from my Apple privacy invasion product

Exactly this and then the watch and the signature and engraving is something to treasure.

[Paulr1980]

The thing that’s putting me off replacing the case back is it undermines my previous thought about baking in all these memories. I remove the caseback and it’s a vanilla Explorer again.

If it’s a choice between losing the initials and that I’ll replace the caseback probably. I’d prefer to keep it all totally original though.

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by winst

Like the engraving idea - great story!

Agree … I’d be inclined to find myself a high quality engraver to scribe that into the caseback

[MrGoat]

Originally Posted by Paulr1980

The thing that’s putting me off replacing the case back is it undermines my previous thought about baking in all these memories. I remove the caseback and it’s a vanilla Explorer again.

If it’s a choice between losing the initials and that I’ll replace the caseback probably. I’d prefer to keep it all totally original though.

The watch is the same, you’re just preserving the memories on the caseback.


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[ROlesorusLEX]

Here's what I would do:

Source a new caseback
Engrave both the same wedding dates as the old one in the same fashion
Transfer the Ran initials in engraved form in the same spot on the new caseback
Frame the old caseback with the sharpie markings

You get to bake in the memories with the newly engraved caseback, which has both engravings, while truly preserving the original back in a frame in your office

But either way, what a truly special story

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[shaunylw]

Originally Posted by Paulr1980

This is the dilemma. What the hell do I do with it now? How do I preserve it. My good friend works at an AD and is going to try and help me with what can be done.

Have the signature engraved


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[OrangeSport]

Brilliant. He’s a true hero.

You’ve got to get it engraved!