Day-Date dilemma

[alexfromfinland]

I really love the oyster on the Day-Date. I don't have one yet, owning a 118206 got me a bit pissed at the endlink that befits the oyster better as only the new president bracelets have the last groove on the endlink to make the president hug the watch. The new ones don't come with a domed bezel which is a must for me, so I am stuck with the older generation.

Eric Clapton has this really cool 118208 Oyster+Domed with a black lacquer dial, the exact same watch (but in gold) as my first ever Rolex, a 116200 on an oyster, domed and with the black lacquer dial. I fell in love with watches through the versatility of that piece and it still gives me the same feeling it did all those years back, unlike my later pieces like my rhodium YM and my DD36, the sunburst dials of which get old if you wear them every day and you end up feeling like you need a break for the watch to surprise you with its beauty again. Not the DJ, the 116200 just always without fault looks sexier than you remember it being and I damn often forget to look at the time (ADHD) when I roll my wrist to look at the time :D

But anyway I wanted to celebrate that piece by getting the 118208, oyster domed black lacquer. The problem is, that the newer oyster bracelet with the beak-and-hook clasp has an extra half link that cannot be removed that looks a bit wack. The second link after the link with the crown is the hinge point for the clasp and is connected directly to it and it is obviously a special part not replacable by a full-size link. I don't mind the older friction clasp that much and it does not have that problem, but that watch does not have the bezel rehaut which I love, especially on the domed bezel. Also I do some sport, and I ride a lot of e-scooters on cobblestone roads in helsinki and my 118206 friction clasp has come loose a few times. The new clasp would be really nice to have.

I am quite young and have been raised with little to no restrictions, I am a semi-autistic seemingly extrovert mathematician with severe ADHD, and a severe obsession for optimality. I also have an obsession for time, many of my ponderings revolve heavily around the fundamentals of it. Why I love watches is that they tell the time and defy its relentless march. The biggest marker of time passing is you outliving other things. Grandparents, pets, parents and siblings for some. Even things like a 20year old Toyota land cruiser that used to feel brand new just a while back now showing its age and calling for replacement. I hate replacing things, and of course losing things that cannot be replaced. Such is the nature of time. It is my biggest fear, and its perceived acceleration stresses me greatly.

The watch protects me against time, when I look at a watch I love it makes me think there is still time, and that I will make the most of it, moreover it inspires me to do so. Nothing says carpe diem to me like my 116200, it just urges to seize the moment. It has been with me since I was 15, and I grew up with it throughout my most important years that made me who I am now, and the watch was a big part of it. It is not excessive, it is just elegant, the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. (I have GF but I've never been that keen on women or people generally, too unpredictable. They are also things you have to work actively towards to keep which stresses me alot) But yeah the 116200 was lowkey, only I knew it and it was such a blast through high school and in the mandatory conscription army in Finland, it gave me confidence to break out of my self-conscious shell (I used to be absolutely hopeless in social situations :D). The watch helped me become a person that doesn't care about what others think. Not the mean ungenuine people in school, not my same-age superiors in the army that just happened to get there half a year before me and bossed everyone around.

My constant optimism and smiling made the mean people in school and the incompetent and unneccessarily mean "leaders" in the army jealous. They would often try to piss me off or make my day worse by calling me unpleasant things to my face or give me an unpleasent task, but they got pissed off themselves in the process seeing me smile even more. Happiness makes people jealous, not watches. This is especially true in Finland where nobody even recognizes watches, and at the same time are some of the most jealous people in the world (we are mostly quite poor here while other nordics flourish. The watch just makes me happy and soothes me in the trials of life, assuring me that I am always going to be fine no matter what.

So yeah watches are a huge deal to me, and the 118208 was the one to end it all, and today's learnings have put a big hole in my dream. It was supposed to be my time capsule, kind of like the gold plate humans sent to space with voyager 1 that had earth's coordinates in universally decodable terms (with a depiction of the hydrogen atom and a number system defined on the plate) and some personal information about the people involved. I'd like to deep-engrave something similar on the back of the golden oyster case, a who and when type of deal for someone to discover thousands of years from now. I need it to be perfect.

TLDR!!
Am a bit autistic, am perfectionist. Enjoy, value and fear the concept of time. Watch protects against time and makes me feel safe, it relieves stress and provides great satisfaction. Needs to be perfect. 118208 is perfect version of my 116200, but it has flaw. Newer bracelet has fixed half link after link with coronet, while older 118208 still has friction clasp without that problem, but suboptimal in other ways. Am ready to pay someone to mill full-size clasp hinge piece out of Rolex gold but don't know who to ask, where to start, or if am insane.

PS.
Everybody who reeds this will probably think that it is not that big a deal, but you don't understand what it is like to think about and subsequently fear time as much as I do, and how some minute detail on something otherwise perfect can ruin it completely. I have dreamt of this watch for a really long time and I finally found one with the exact specification I wanted but discovered the suboptimal design today. I know the half-link is there so you could use half-links on that side to finetune the size, but I'm not planning to, I just need it to be perfect visually and I will get used to it being possibly a bit loose. And I also don't need to hear that "it's better on the presi anyway". It's just not the same.

Cheers to memories that stand the greatest test of all; that of time

[espanol]

Hi Alex, consider bringing your requests to local watchmakers in Finland to see what they say. It doesn't sound like your request would be impossible.

Separately, just an internet friend suggesting you see a qualified psychologist near you. No judgement, as we all have our quirks around overall mental health. They exist to help.

[jgottsman11]

Too long didn’t read

[geoach]

Originally Posted by jgottsman11

Too long didn’t read

nice............couldn't you just not reply

[brandrea]

Welcome to the forum Alex

[padi56]

Originally Posted by jgottsman11

Too long didn’t read

So you do not like reading a long post with so many joined up words, wonder if you read documents and the small print before you sign them. If so show some respect to original poster in not replying to posts with long joined up words have a nice day.

[jgottsman11]

[sinbad]

Alex, welcome to the forum. Looking forward to your posts.

[miamiclay]

Welcome!

If they don’t make the exact one you want, it seems your choices are to either modify an existing piece (Rolliworks could probably accomplish your bracelet mod) or to do without one of the factors.

If it were me, the least critical of these requirements would be the engraved rehaut, in which case a 18208 from the 90s like this one might fit the bill. Of course most of these will be on a President bracelet, but I expect you could easily swap it for an Oyster (and some money) if you wish.

Good luck, and enjoy the hunt!
.

[Phrank]

Welcome to the Forum Alex.

Great story, and I share many of your feelings around mechanical watches. I also tend to get caught up in interests and deep dive into as many aspects as I can.

My "grail" was the 116520 Daytona, as after my Father suddenly passed at 50, when I was only 20, all I had to remember him by was an old dinner jacket - I wanted something substantial and timeless to leave my son - Rolex fit that bill.

As TRF Member Miamiclay suggested, take a look at the 5 digit 18208 offerings, there's a lot available and also the ability to swap dozens and dozens of dials via Rolex Service Center.

Anyhow, welcome to the forum and great first post.

[WatchGuy1966]

Alex, wow. Great expression of yourself.

Welcome to the community. Please ignore the people here with no manners and courtesy.

This might be one of my favorite posts of all time here in TRF.

Please, always be you...

[WatchGuy1966]

Originally Posted by jgottsman11

Too long didn’t read

If you take 4 minutes, it's a great read. One of the best posts on TRF, IMO.

Personally, I think your message was rude to Alex. But unfortunately, he is accustomed to it and will keep smiling anyway. As hard as you tried, you did not ruin his day.

[alexfromfinland]

Hey everybody, thank you for your replies, even the sarcastic ones

I will contact a local student watchmaker that my friend knows and get his take on the matter! And I looked at the work of the lads at Rolliworks and will look inti that too if I can't find anything closer. And the 18208 Onyx would be really cool, but it has the rattly bracelet so would probably go for early versions of 6-digit, unfortunate that Onyx costs a gazillion dollars though :D

And espanol thank you for your concern but I am more than fine, I feel I am the luckiest and happiest person on the planet and I could not be more overwhelmed by the sheer amount of opportunity, I am a student with many doors open and my biggest stress is probably that choices will have to be made at some point, priorities established and paths abandoned. I am not a stoic nihilist by any means even though my discourse on matters chronological might look the contrary.

The dude who picked the lowest-hanging apple: there are myriad things of interest beyond the crayon scribble, but I don't think enlightenment was in the cards anyway, your time was better spent elsewhere.

I seldom pay attention to comments of little import but it did make me crack a smile as I just did not see that coming on this established forum :D great stuff guys I feel at ease in such a casual environment.

Thanks for your answers, will definitely enjoy the hunt. Only a challenge can provide satisfaction in its closing.