Anyone heard of Patek's "Politicians Watch"? My uncle has several Patek pieces. Recently at a wedding, I asked him if he was wearing his minute repeater. He said that he wasn't, but that he was wearing his favorite Patek, the Politicians Watch. I asked him why he liked it and he said it was much more rare than a minute repeater and that very few were made. It was vintage. Anyone know about this watch? ----B&V
My uncle has just given me this watch as a gift; it belonged to my great-grandfather, who wore it for about 8 years before he died, and then was stored away by my grandfather (my uncle's father) for 20 years before he died (and then for at least 25 years by my uncle, till now). AFAIK it hasn't been serviced for at least 50 years. After my grandfather died, my grandmother gave this watch to my uncle, and my grandfather's late-50s ref. 2484 Patek Philippe to me. Since that time I had always thought these had been purchased at the same time and were identical, except for the engraving, but I was shocked to discover my error (I obviously wasn't a vintage watch collector the only time I saw these together, in the mid-80s).
An interesting thing about this one is that, despite the appearance of the spring bars, they appear to be fixed, so it needs an open-end strap. Unfortunately, I am away from home till later today, without access to any tools, so I have no way to remove the case back (to discover the reference number) or try to fiddle with the lugs to determine if these are indeed fixed wire lugs or spring bars which have jammed.
Here are some rough-'n-ready photos, until I get to lightly polish the case and crystal and view the movement, etc.
For comparison, here is my grandfather's watch, now mine: Cheers, Adam
It’s common knowledge that camellia was the favourite flower of the legendary Coco Chanel - the image of the flower inspired many collections of jewellery and accessories by the famous French designer.
Now the house of Chanel presents a distinctive tribute to Coco’s favourite flower – a new Chanel Fil de Camelia watch. The uniqueness of the Camelia collection is that it does not have one shape designed and established once and for ever: designers from Chanel are free to choose any artistic way of making the watch case look similar to the beautiful flower.
For example the previous model had the dial framed by little golden petals set with diamonds and sapphires. The new model is also decorated with petals but this time they are bigger and openworked. And though the case measures 38 mm in diameter the watch looks airy and imponderable as a real flower.
The delicate arches of petals are made of 18K yellow gold and are decorated with the 197 finest diamonds. More 55 sparkling precious stones decorated the clasp of the bracelet and 86 more adorn the dial.
The Chanel Fil de Camelia watch is powered by a high quality Quartz movement.
If you’re ready for something playful that comes with a touch of elegance then you will welcome this watch. We are talking about the beautiful Chanel Petals And Sapphires watch which is a perfect combination of beauty and function. This is in fact more of a jewelry and accessory than a watch.
The Chanel Petals And Sapphires watch comes in a white gold case shaped like a flower. The petals are studded with sapphire, keeping the watch looking grand and in perfect shape. Women will gladly have this watch as a gift this Christmas, so if you do not have something yet then this is the perfect item for you.
The watch is powered by a Quartz movement. But more than its characteristics as a watch, what will keep you riveted to the Chanel Petals And Sapphires is really its form. There are three jewels on the dial to indicate 3, 6, 9 and 12 o’clock. This is in fact the perfect time to get yourself something that will get everyone’s attention.
So, reading thru some of the posts we seam to have many more IWC watches & owners than I thought, which is of course fantastic!!!!
So a question to all, are you an IWC owner, soon-to-be-owner or admirer? Answer the poll & share your thoughts. How many do you have, do you plan any new IWC's in '08, are you looking to get your first, or just a big admirer of the brand....
let's hear it!
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I'm in the race again to buy a new Rolex in Jan this year. Since I just bought the SS GMTII Cermic bezel and a SS/Rose gold Datejust with steel face and Roman numerals in Dic. My New choices are: New Air King SS/18kt white gold fluted bezel/silver circular Dial with orange arabic numerals and a oyster brazelet OR a SS/18kt white gold fluted bezel Datejust with a steel/black dial with the alternate black(even) and red-orange(odd) dates and also inner bezel rolexrolexrol...engraving?????? Which of the two would be a better(in hstoric sense) Date does not matter that much to me.
Just wanted to introduce myself - as a new owner of an Omega GMT in blue 2535.88.00 which I just purchased and am now awaiting delivery.
And here is my story.
Ever since I was able to understand the necessity and reasons behind having a good watch - one that would serve you years and years - there was probably one particular watch that I always adored - and you guess right - the "Bond" Seamaster model in Blue.
The watch was so clear, clean and just - how can I say it - the most useful all-purpose watch I have come across.
However, by the time I was "hooked", being a student I was not able - or willing - to achieve that dream.
I still remember - as a student - being in Japan, and one of my fellow classmates who was with me in Japan had a SMP in Black. I loved the watch, the weight, the built and all the other stuff about it. Surely, I hated him for having this watch since I didn’t.
So, during the year in Japan, I started my "watchseek" mission…
It all started with a Citizen - in Titanium - a watch I could afford and still have (but never wear since the battery died years ago). Why this you wonder.
Well - in order to convince myself that I don’t really want the Bond watch, I must have started an unconscious "blocking" of this watch -and finding ways to prove to myself that there are reasons for it.
One of the reasons I apparently came up with was - value for money. At the time, I though (or made myself think) - boy spending 3000 USD on a watch that doesn’t do anything else that tell me what time it is – what a waste...I can get a multifunction-does-it-all-for-me watch for about 300-500USD. How smart am I
So - as a result - I ended up with a titanium promaster. Divers watch, with all these things that you can do with it, so many buttons etc.
I was very happy with this watch for a while (hey it was around 1999) and I was 23.... I still remember being in the store with my GF (New Yorker) at the time and her words are still with me to this day…. "This watch is nice, but is not an Omega or a Tag...." (and this from a - ok spoiled I give you that - but a GIRL. Girls are not supposed to know anything about watches….
So - the years went by, and I started a Job in Germany with a Company that sends me travelling every once in a while... I realised that maybe I was fooling myself - and that this titanium watch is not really the watch I want. It has little style and is too light, doesn’t feel right, but yes, the functionality was nice....
One of the days (in 2001 or 2002 I think), I was in the US for work, and on the way back, I was stuck at the airport for a while - and those frequent travellers amongst us will know what I mean... You end up going into the stores and checking what’s available, looking for the "right stuff".
I ended up -being convinced by a sales guys - witch a new Invicta - which (nowadays I know it was such an imitation of the Rolex with a bit of SMP mixed in) I liked a lot. To the untrained eye and with today’s knowledge - i know that I was very similar to the Bond watch
Had this watch for while - and every time I travelled - which was almost every 2 weeks - I had the chance to look at all these nice watches that I couldn’t - or didn’t want - to afford. Obviously, the SMP was always present in those stores...
In 2003-2004 - I was hooked again - the T-Touch. Nice looking, functional, and less that 600USD with a touch screen thing.. How cool.
So, the next watch was chosen. I really like the functionality (although, honestly, it is more a marketing gag that anything else...
- The temperature will only work when not worn as it picks up you body temp. And how often do you have time to put the watch on a surface for 10 minutes before knowing the temperature. If you want to know it, you want to know it NOW, not in 10 mins - The altimeter was shot after I took a shower with this watch. It was 3bar WR, and it must have gotten moist inside. I was ignorant at the time, thinking 3bar or 30m WR means that it is waterproof - which I now know it is not! - It was just a tiny bit too small and too light for me
The year was 2005 - or 2006 - and by that time, and staring at the windows of the jeweller stores for years - I knew the object of my obsession was the SMP. I was not sure whether I like the chrono or the "original bond" better. I liked the size of the SMP Chrono but preferred the "simplicity" of the dial of the SMP... But I also knew the price tag. And I still couldn’t convince myself to put that much money into a watch.
So - a new era started - which I call the "wannabe" era. Wannabe because I wanted a similar watch for not quite as much money.
I went through a couple of watches - almost every 6 months. Among the watches were a Swiss Army "wannabe", a "Insignum" wannabe (German brand, similar to Invicta) and others... Needless to say, I started to understand that it is not only the "look" of the watch, but also some of the features. So my "minimum demands" started to rise as well.
Ever since my Invicta and the Citizen, I realised what the difference is between mineral and sapphire glass.
When my T.Touch lost battery life - I started to understand the difference between Quartz and Automatic...
When I compared the weight of my new watches (Swiss Army and Insignum) to the titanium ones, I knew I liked the weight, so I realised I needed stainless steel.
In 2008 - It finally struck me. I knew what I wanted - the SMP! It has all I needed and wanted, and when taking all that money into consideration I spent on watches from 1999 to 2008 - I could have probably bought 1 if not 2 SMPs already. Plus I am wasting money on all this other stuff (hifi-high end, clothes, Plasma TV etc), I was able to finally afford one without having to plead to the bank.
After a small episode with an Oris TT1 diver – which wasn’t for me – I finally decided to go for the real deal. No more messing around.
Since 2008, I have to travel nearly every week. So I get plenty of window-shopping time, and I realised that I had three choices:
1.The Bond SMP – simple and exactly what I wanted. However, it felt a tiny bit too light. Just a tiny bit. 2.The Bond Chrono – perfect size, perfect weight, but a little more expensive and not yet on the CoAxial movement. Plus the dial was a little to busy for my liking, and being a chrono, the second hand on the main dial was used for chrono functions, no no “sweeping” that I really like about automatic watches.
I spend a couple of weeks and months – and obviously was on the Omega website once or twice a week. I was still no closer on my decision. I knew there was also a GMT model (2234.50.00), but it lacked the blue bezel and dial, and didn’t have the helium valve which is sort of a unique feature of the SMPs.
One day – I was rushing to my plane – when my gaze landed on something I couldn’t quite “capture”. It was a “bond” watch, but looked a little different. I didn’t have the time to check it out as I was late for boarding, but when I played around with the Omega Website the next day, I realised that there is an option window for the GMT, and if I chose Steel and then BLUE – there it was. The 2535.80.00.
What I liked about it:
1.Similar enough to the Bond 2220.80.00, where I prefer the not-so-busy dial to the chrono. 2.A tad bit larger and a tad bit heavier that the 2220.80.00, not quite Chrono size, but in between these two. 3.See-through back with Sapphire Glass. Not even the Oris I briefly owned has Sapphire Glas for the See-through window, it uses Mineral-Glass.
So – my quest continued. I went to every store I know, in every city I was at – and tried to find the GMT in Blue to try on. Needless to say – no luck. I tried on all the other models out of “what else can I do”… When talking to the sales reps, they agreed they could order one, but as it was a custom order, I would need to buy the watch. I prefer the AD approach to the internet purchase, as I don’t buy a 2000+ USD watch every day, and I wanted to take the entire “purchasing experience” in. But again – since I didn’t want to commit without seeing and feeling – I couldn’t. Furthermore, I realised that the GMT is more expensive than the Bond SMP,…
I started my search on Ebay – and I was lucky! I found a GMT, pre-owned from end 2007, from Jewellery in Germany. German law regulates internet purchases from dealers, so:
1.I can minimise the risk. If I don’t like the watch, I can send it back and get my money back, no questions asked. 2.I can get it for a fair deal, with 2 years remaining on the Manufactures Warranty. 3.I finally get what I want – a real SMP – and a rare model as well, which may not appeal to the broad mass (I see a guy with a SMP in Blue or black) pretty much on every plane ride, but never or rarely the GMT. 4.I get everything I need…
So – I hope – that finally I have found my holy grail.
And boy, those days until it gets here – I want to die!! Not really, but I want to finally have it in my own hands.
Hello everyone, I just joined this forum and wanted to introduce myself as well as tell my watch story (what got me interested in watches). I'm also including pictures of my Omega's. So, here goes...
When I was 19 years old, I got a stainless steel Rolex DateJust from my Uncle as a Christmas present. It had a white dial with very fine roman numerals (I almost never see this dial, as most have fat/thick roman numerals). He had a Presidential, and explained to me what a Rolex was and why he got me one for Christmas - - - his father, when my uncle was 18, got him a stainless steel watch with a white dial (a Hamilton I believe), and so he did the same to me. He didn't have kids, so I was his nephew and "sorta son"...
He also gave me another present...a fake Rolex he got in Mexico, so I could tell the difference (gold tone). Anyway, I didn't at the time know anything about watches, but I grew to cherish that Rolex watch for sentimental reasons. I literally never, ever took that watch off.
Fast forward several years, then in my late twenties, I had to sell that watch to survive. It was the hardest thing I ever did, and to this day, I miss that watch for numerous reasons.
So, for years, I never wore a watch, because nothing else was the same. I think on two occasions, I bought a Fossil or a Seiko, but wound up returning it within days, as it just didn't feel or look right.
Fast forward to last November (almost 20 years from the beginning of the story)...I walk into a Sam's Club and something catches my eye. A stainless steel Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra with a white face with blue markers and hands. I said "That's my watch"...meaning, a watch similar to my old Rolex in appearance and quality. Don't worry, I didn't buy it, but it set the wheels in motion.
I started doing research on Omega and Rolex, and I couldn't believe how much Rolex's prices had increased, and I really wasn't sure I wanted to carry around all the "baggage" associated with wearing a Rolex again. So, I decided to get that Omega...research, research, and more research brought me to getting two Omegas as you'll see in this post:
Seamaster Planet Ocean & Speedmaster Broad Arrow
I'd like to thank this forum for assisting greatly in that research!
Now, after all of those years without a watch, at times feeling naked, I am now very very happy with my two high quality watches. To me, it's nice wearing a high quality watch sort of in a stealth way. People don't say "Oh a Rolex", etc...(which is fine by the way for some people, but not me).
Anyway, I'm very happy with my watches, and again, wish to thank this forum for the wealth of knowledge it contains. Hopefully, I can contribute in some small way (I am not an expert by any means).
I hope everyone enjoys the pictures!
I just learned something else new...wipe your watches down before taking closeups...hope everyone enjoys the pictures!
Anyone know about the Politicians Watch?
Last edited by Sweetpea; 12-11-2007 at 
2008 Rolex Price List
