Hello from Kentucky - New DSSD Owner!

[StImierKY]

Hello TRF! You have been a wonderful (but expensive - arrgh!) collective resource for me in the last few months - thank you! I live in Kentucky, am married with children, and enjoy sculling.

My Rolex Story:
Flashback to 2008 or so: a very good friend at work had an older non-ceramic Sub and as I began to tentatively explore getting my first "good" watch told me to get a Sub. I was resistant to that because I thought they were sort of overexposed and a little predictable for a younger male professional's first "good" watch and well, expensive. And maybe more about flash and making a statement than substance/quality.

I began to think a lot about Omega Seamasters - the "Bond" variety.

In late 2010 to mark a challenging fall at work and a successful job transition, I got the first "good" watch, a Longines Master Collection Moonphase Chronograph. The watch was a solid value for what it was, and had a nice mix of dress/dressy casual going on. I also really liked the moonphase complication. In Summer 2011 I realized I "needed" a dive watch, and being happy with Longines, got a Hydroconquest, black face, 41mm. That was okay for what it was (great case back engraving) but pretty poor timekeeping performance - fast by about 14 seconds a day. And not a very inspired dial layout.

The Longines Moonphase dial was too busy to really easily tell the time, and I decided consolidating the collection into a Bond Seamaster 2220.80 would be a good idea. I really liked the Bond and life was good. Except the bezel was difficult to turn when underwater.

By late 2011, being somewhat more in funds, I went on a little bit of a watch binge. I had become intrigued by the bezel slide rule complication, which led me to a pre-owned Breitling Navitimer. That was a great time-keeper and a cool design but the dial was still a little too busy for me and I couldn't get comfortable with the shiny bracelet. Also, the lack of water resistance bothered me. I was exploring other areas too, and tried out a Helson Skindiver homage to the Fifty Fathoms. It looked cool and I was okay with it, but after about eight weeks moved both it and the Navitimer to a new home, in return for a Hamilton Pan Europ and some jewelry for my wife - a good trade.

Around this time I also got a Longines Legend Diver non-date. This was a beautiful watch that kept time quite well, but the lume was poor and the compressor-style internal bezel ultimately didn't seem very functional.

The Pan Europ was a great design and started to get me comfortable with larger watches. But the rally-style strap was too "out there" for me and the design was cool in general terms (particularly the bold blue dial), but I didn't ultimately like the smaller-scale details of how it was executed. I must say, though, a great product at its price point.

Near Christmas time, I was convinced by the writings of Teeritz, the watch blogger and Bond enthusiast known to many of you perhaps via WUS to pick up a Speedy 3570.50. I loved this from the start, and still do. But in my mind it can't be the ultimate "Only Watch" because of its lower 50m-only water resistance. This was ultimately a hang-up for me to an extent.

So, the SOTC at EOY 2011 was: Bond Seamaster, Speedy Moon, Hamilton Pan-Europ and Longines Legend Diver. A good collection. But I didn't stop there. I resolved that I was going to be "good" in 2012 and let this be a year of enjoyment and consolidation. Like many New Years' Resolutions, this one got broken, sort of in a big way, as the year went along.

In later January I picked up a Longines Expeditions Polaires Francaises reissue, and thought it was great, except that it does much better on a brown strap than it does on the OEM black strap, in my opinion. This watch fills a nice "pure-dress" niche in the collection. And I also was snuck up upon by a Longines column-wheel Master Collection chronograph, which is classy and wonderful, and a great value for what it is.

I was at a point where I had too many watches, and decided to consolidate the collection. I sold the Pan-Europ at a profit (WOW, that doesn't happen very often, so I remember that transaction and try to forget the others).

Now I was ready for the main work of 2012: finding the ultimate dive watch. Still thinking that Rolex was over-hyped, I didn't go there. I traded the Seamaster Bond and the Longines Legend Diver towards a 42mm black bezel, white numeral Planet Ocean, and this was good. But it soon started to feel a little bit small. And although it did have a classic design, I wasn't sure how I liked the lack of crown guards and the external helium release valve.

Thinking I might be able to have "one watch" to do it all, I then got a Planet Ocean Chronograph, black bezel, white numerals. I moved the 42mm PO to a new home, but thought better of letting the Speedmaster go and held on to it. The POC is HUGE and that got me used to wearing larger watches (not a bad thing). And it was okay as far as it went. But then as Chuck Maddox could have warned me, I got tagged by the dreaded Omega calibre 3313 "movement issues"
This made me pretty mad. The watch was under warranty but I had paid Omega a stack of cash for it and I didn't want to deal with it! So I read more about coaxial movements (even the 2500, not just the 3313) and decided to move those watches (fully disclosed with any "issues", along with the generous remaining warranty period) to new homes.
What I had learned from this is that movements matter! And that I personally like dull-normal robust non-innovative "boring" movements. Boring, in my world, is good - at least for movements.
I was still on the hunt for the ultimate dive watch. I decided to investigate what Breitling had to offer. And the offerings were good. The Caliber 17 movements, ETA 2824's considerably upgraded, were very old-school and reliable. And I thought the price to value ratio was more favorable than Omega, particularly the direction of boutique-only, manufacture-movement that Omega is going.
I decided to investigate Breitling dive watches hard-core, planning not to keep them all, after figuring out what I liked most. Maybe this is not the most prudent strategy but when it comes to watches I am not always the most patient person.
I picked up a Superocean II 42mm and a Superocean II 44mm. Each was very nicely done in its own way, nicely styled and kept time great. And I got a really great Avenger Seawolf. I thought the 10000 foot depth rating was really cool. It sort of bugged me that somewhere out there on wrists worldwide were Deepseas with another 900m of depth rating.

I decided to stop by a nearby Rolex AD, to bluff and challenge the Deepsea to a showdown:
1) What is the fuss all about with you, Deepsea?
2) Could you possibly be worth 3x the cost of an Avenger Seawolf?
3) Prove to me that you are not overhyped, and that OGEV/RLS written all over you doesn't look dumb
4) Prove to me that even though James Cameron's recent dive to the Mariana Trench wearing a Deepsea and with the Deepsea Challenge is just about the coolest thing ever, that in real life, Deepsea, you're just not all that.

Yesterday I went to the AD, wearing the Avenger Seawolf. And I took it off. And put on the DSSD. I'm not kidding, it was like a thunderclap. I saw the words "SEA-DWELLER" in precise, elegant script on the dial, so crisp, quiet, and perfect. OGEV/RLS was (just as so many of you have written) so much less vivid in real life than in the publicity photos (how many DSSD sales have not happened as a result of those photos that make the writing so much more prominent?). And the bezel! THE BEZEL! The amazing clicking as it turned, so definitive, graceful, and elegant - unlike any other bezel I'd ever turned!
Then I wound it up, and watched the second hand confidently trace around the dial, felt the smooth wind on the 3135. And finally, screwed the Triplock crown back down. Some of you have written that it feels oil-dampened on the screw-down. And wow is that true - it dominates every other crown I've ever used.
The bottom line, as I turned back to the Seawolf, is a realization that Breitling and many of the others had produced fine products at fair prices, but ultimately in the dive watch realm they were all - to a degree - toys for children compared to the Deepsea.
I thought I had to have it. I told the AD it was a grail for sure and I'd have to do a lot of thinking.
I went home and edged my yard, wearing the Superocean 44. And thought about what it would be like to live the rest of my life with a smaller watch collection, a life centered on and in partnership with the Deepsea. It felt good. It felt complete. Predictably excellent, but not boring. Reliable, yet alluring. Rather like the girls you scam on, and maybe even date, and maybe who are even perfectly okay girlfriends, even ones you introduce to your parents, compared to the girl you fall totally for and know was marked out for you, and marry and live decades happily ever after.
I decided to put the Breitlings out to new homes, along with the Longines Chronograph.
And I went back to the AD and got the Deepsea! The AD is a family-owned jeweler that's been in business since 1832, and I negotiated a reasonable and fair but not very large discount, and the whole process was terrific!

After the first day, the watch feels comfortable, and I love the Glidelock clasp. I just cannot believe that I have bought a Rolex, and how there -is- a difference and the quality -is- ridiculously great and how it is this historic, world-leading incredibly capable instrument that looks great with everything, and is so quiet and traditional in its design that it can get away with being on the larger side.

And as I see the crown and "ROLEX" and "SEA-DWELLER" I feel really, really happy and a lot of memories I didn't know I had come back. Like the ads for the Sea-Dweller in National Geographic in the 80s that I read word for word and even cut out and put on my bulletin board in my bedroom, thinking how cool it was and how I'd have one, one day. I remembered all of a sudden looking at my Grandfather's Datejust as a child, being pretty impressed with the sweep of the second hand and "Superlative Chronometer Officially Certified" (whatever that was).

So even though I have only had the watch for a day, it feels much more familiar than that, as if I've been waiting all along to have it.

So far, it's been a wild 20 month WIS ride, and not necessarily a totally prudent one, but it's been a lot of fun! I've learned a lot about movements, styles, and my own preferences. I've enjoyed a lot of great conversations with friends, obsessive, wonderful conversations. And similarly read a lot of great commentary on this forum! Thanks again!

I think my next Rolex will be a YM for the Mrs. But first she says I have to fund a bit of home renovation she wants. So it'll be a while. In the meantime, I'll be loving my new "watch-wife", the DSSD.
What an unbelievably great watch. It -is- worth the hype. It -is- somehow worth 3x the price of its (alleged) competitors. And owning a Rolex isn't a necessity, but it -is- really, really fun, a real treat and pleasure.

Thanks for reading, and I'm very glad to be part of TRF not just as a reader and lurker, but a happy member of the DSSD Club!

Cheers, StImierKY

[Rockrolex]

Nice story. Welcome to TRF.

[chicagofan]

Welcome to TRF.

[sea-dweller]

Welcome!

[eric23]

Welcome to TRF!

[TSW]

Welcome

[dddrees]

Great story thanks for sharing.

Welcome to TRF.

Congrats on your new watch.

[joejitsu]

Welcome!

[wrxsti]

welcome to club dssd, just oozes quality when i strap mine on, how about a few pics of yours?

[StImierKY]

Originally Posted by wrxsti

welcome to club dssd, just oozes quality when i strap mine on, how about a few pics of yours?

These are totally inadequate pictures but should serve as a Russell Crowe-style "Proof of Life" on the DSSD! I am getting very used to the weight and feel of it - and I'm dialing in my favorite setting on the Glidelock. It's slow by about 2.5 seconds since I got it vis-a-vis the atomic clock. A really strong performer! I did the equivalent of throwing away the little black book today as I readied by Breitlings and a Longines chrono for sale. They are very nice, but they just can't even come close in the wrist time derby....
I did get a glimpse of it under a shirt cuff today with a suit in the mirror and was happily struck by just how well it works as a dress watch - to a high degree! Others have noted just how darn versatile the underlying design is, and that's certainly correct.
Cheers,

StImierKY

[HL65]

Welcome to TRF and congrats on your DSSD!

[77T]

Welcome to the forum!