It took me a while, but I have finally found “my” watch. It is a Rolex.

[Rori]

What a fantastic and amusing write-up. Enjoyed the story and allow me to agree with your pick as I myself picked what to me, my eyes and my wrist looked to be the most perfect watch Rolex makes.
Enjoy.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[BLNR Nairobi]

Congratulations. The SD43 is one of the best references around. If you have a flat wrist it is super comfortable and amazing in many many ways. I got mine this past December and it has literally not left my wrist. Amazing piece.

[Nav01L]

Thank you all very much for the kind words, I truly appreciate it!

Now that I have figured out how to post images here, here are some of the other protagonists of this journey:

This is the Navitimer that started it all:

It has had an exciting run and a close relationship with its maker, it has even made a cameo on Breitling’s official Instagram page:



Gesendet von iPhone mit Tapatalk

[Nav01L]

This is the 116710LN:

It too has had an exciting life. Not only on my own wrist (my wife also likes it quite a bit):



Gesendet von iPhone mit Tapatalk

[Nav01L]

This is the Panerai:

This has certainly been used as intended:



Gesendet von iPhone mit Tapatalk

[Nav01L]

This is the Explorer II:

And this is the IWC:



Gesendet von iPhone mit Tapatalk

[Nav01L]

This is the Pepsi, which has admittedly been a true safe queen:

And this is the Vacheron:
This one has seen its share of action, but it never really felt right to knock something like it around.



Gesendet von iPhone mit Tapatalk

[Nav01L]

And these are the Langes:

This is my wedding watch, a very special piece to me:

And this one is the fulfillment of a watch collecting dream I’ve held for a long time:



Gesendet von iPhone mit Tapatalk

[travisb]

Congratulations! Thanks for sharing your back story. It's a great watch.

[Nav01L]

Originally Posted by travisb

Congratulations! Thanks for sharing your back story. It's a great watch.

Thanks a lot my friend, truly appreciated, it is indeed! My wrist has already recalibrated to its weight.

[DJ2020]

Originally Posted by Nav01L

So here we go, finally figured out how to properly post a picture.

That's a beautiful and handsome watch, congratulations!

[yesnaya]

Happy you have found the one! Great story and a pleasure to read.

[alphadweller]

Best looking diver ever. Congratulations, it is an fantastic piece.

[mikkey]

Congrats

[PureCoconut]

...this is long

Someone give me the TL;DR?

[mking0714]

What a great story! The passion is truly authentic, sincere and contagious! As collectors, we all celebrate with you on this journey! May you enjoy it and with good health!!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Nav01L]

Originally Posted by PureCoconut

...this is long

Someone give me the TL;DR?

Just look at the pictures :)

[ThatOtherGuy7]

Very cool story and congratulations!! I enjoy reading stories like these and I am sure Rolex and their ADs like helping people celebrate their life achievements with such fine watches.

[winst]

Nice - congratulations!

[PureCoconut]

Originally Posted by Nav01L

Just look at the pictures :)

Well welcome to the SD43 club. I picked up the two tone about a month ago.

[le_baron]

Originally Posted by Aquinas

Beautiful story - however, one thing I don’t get: if your issue with Breitling was the people the brand attracts, then how in the name of all that is unholy can you wear a Rolex?

Agreed. Anecdotally, I've had the Navi 01 LE (same as OP) for 7 years in NYC and it hasn't brought any unsavory interactions. For 3 of those years, I had a Rolex (two tone Datejust) that did bring a handful of unsavory interactions.

[Nav01L]

Originally Posted by le_baron

Agreed. Anecdotally, I've had the Navi 01 LE (same as OP) for 7 years in NYC and it hasn't brought any unsavory interactions. For 3 of those years, I had a Rolex (two tone Datejust) that did bring a handful of unsavory interactions.

Haha, yeah, that clichee is of course not fully accurate, but I do have a few folks in my personal and professional surroundings that veer into that direction and those really do match up fairly consistently with the few Navitimers I ever came across in the wild. It is after all a fairly uncommon watch these days.

In NYC things are probably different. After all, some really cool folks do seem to wear Navitimers there. Jerry Seinfeld for one, or yourself it seems. So please don’t attribute too much gravitas to a remark that was first and foremost intended to be amusing to the reader and conjure up an image everyone has no doubt seen before, even if it very clearly isn’t representative of everyone wearing Navitimers out there.

[Nav01L]

Originally Posted by PureCoconut

Well welcome to the SD43 club. I picked up the two tone about a month ago.

Thanks a lot my friend, truly appreciate it. The TT is an awesome beast too.

[Nav01L]

Originally Posted by BLNR Nairobi

Congratulations. The SD43 is one of the best references around. If you have a flat wrist it is super comfortable and amazing in many many ways. I got mine this past December and it has literally not left my wrist. Amazing piece.

Thank you very much, it really has that way of fitting almost magically well in such an unlikely way for the big and heavy watch that it is. It does not flop around whatsoever, unlike what I got from my GMTs (jubilee a bit less than oyster). I have, in years of experimenting with it found the best possible fit with the LN GMT as well, but it’s still not as good as the SD was out of the box. This glide lock thing really works well and at least for me, that diver extension thing just happens to lengthen the clasp enough to make it perfectly stable on the wrist. Gosh I love this thing.

[Nav01L]

Originally Posted by ThatOtherGuy7

Very cool story and congratulations!! I enjoy reading stories like these and I am sure Rolex and their ADs like helping people celebrate their life achievements with such fine watches.

Many thanks, appreciate it. I am really fortunate with my AD. They are really amazing.

[Nav01L]

Originally Posted by ndrs63

Let me guess: ex-girlfriend’s name was Marina?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You’re right, it was not really Luminor :)

[Nav01L]

Originally Posted by mking0714

What a great story! The passion is truly authentic, sincere and contagious! As collectors, we all celebrate with you on this journey! May you enjoy it and with good health!!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thank you very much for your kind words my friend, they mean a lot!

[omar10213245]

Originally Posted by Nav01L

This is the Pepsi, which has admittedly been a true safe queen:

And this is the Vacheron:
This one has seen its share of action, but it never really felt right to knock something like it around.



Gesendet von iPhone mit Tapatalk

That VC is just....God....I bet it feels like butter on the wrist, doesn't it?

[Nav01L]

Originally Posted by omar10213245

That VC is just....God....I bet it feels like butter on the wrist, doesn't it?

It’s an awesome watch to be sure, with a truly beautiful movement and case, but with a bezel that’s not easy to get truly used to. Wears very close to a Datejust in terms of feel, but obviously with a much finer degree of subtlety. Did like it a lot, but it’s still one of the few watches that didn’t stay in the collection, as I could not justify that amount of money for what, in the end, wants to do a job any steel Rolex is better suited for.

It’s like having a Rolls Royce Cullinan. It’s big and blunt, less refined than its siblings, because it can go off-road. But given the fact that it’s still put together with as much painstaking dedication as it’s siblings, should you really take it off-road? The guy who hand paints that pinstripe down the side spent his whole adult life learning how to do that. Are you really going to scratch it up in the brush? If only out of respect for the work it represents, I sure wouldn’t. And for the same reason, I always felt a bit stupid taking the Overseas out on the mountain (even if it looks great in pictures). So the concept it is built around really doesn’t quite exist in reality, the way in which you CAN use it, is not a way in which - I feel - you SHOULD use it. Ultimately, that did impede a lot on my wearing enjoyment and I started looking for something more coherent.

Changed it up into a Lange 1, which is fully in tune with its delicate nature, not an attempt to infuse high watchmaking into the realm of robust steel beaters, like the Overseas. The Lange is a festival of fine craftsmanship from the beginning to the end, and much more to my liking in that regard.

[ndrs63]

Originally Posted by Nav01L

You’re right, it was not really Luminor :)

Neither the Russian girlfriend, Radiomir


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk