I Took My Time Machine to the Mechanic, Part One

     In 2008, I got my first "big boy" job out of college.  I was making the most money I'd ever made in my life, so I decided it was time to buy the watch I'd been lusting after for the past eight years: the Omega Seamaster Professional chronometer, model 2531.80, aka "The James Bond Watch."  I did my research to make sure I got an authentic specimen on eBay, and I've been enjoying it ever since.

Omega Seamaster Professional, model 2531.80.  Cue the James Bond theme music.

     Flash forward to 2009.  I'm still at my big boy job, trapped in a mind-numbing tax code training class. My fellow inmate, Paul, notices the Bond watch on my wrist.  He says that he, too, owns an Omega and that he'll wear it the following Monday.  Monday comes and we both try on each other's watch.  His is an older model Seamaster, a cross between a De Ville and a Seamaster.  The white face and two-tone gold-and-stainless-steel construction make it dressy, but the metal Seamaster bracelet and the wave pattern on the dial keep it somewhat sporty.  I instantly start wondering if Paul would consider selling his timepiece of the last 10 years.  However, given my lack of cash at the time, I do not give voice to my curiosity.

     To my pleasant surprise, Paul approaches me a few weeks later, giving me first dibs on purchasing his watch.  I make a cash offer he rejects as too low.  He proceeds to list the Seamaster on eBay and I resign myself to buying that model Seamaster a few years later.  Flying out to visit my buddy Jacob in California takes my mind off the near-miss.

     The day after I returned from California, I received a voicemail from Paul.  In a fit of sentimentality, he decided to return the money to the winning eBay bidder and hold on to the watch that he loved.  However, he ended up contacting me because he was hard-up for money and absolutely needed to sell the watch.

     I met Paul and his young daughter over lunch the next day.  Paul honored my original offer (which was less than what he would've received from his eBay buyer) and I went home with a time-telling trophy.

Omega Seamaster, model 2301.21.

I still thought it was beautiful, scratches and all.

     

     I enjoyed my second Seamaster for several months and one night...it all ended.  I heard something pop when I was winding the watch and from that point forward, the watch wouldn't wind or keep time at all.

     Thinking it would cost more to fix the watch then the amount I spent on it, I never looked into getting it fixed.  I would pretend it worked when I wore it...to sleep.  

     Earlier this year, my mom convinced me to take it into the Russell Korman jewelry store for a free repair quote, just to see if it would cost as much as I thought it would.  And that is where Part Two of this tale picks up.  Look for it soon...

Trying On the Cartier Calibre aka Never Meet Your Heroes

     Ever since I discovered the Cartier Calibre (check it out here) earlier this year, I had been drawn to it, especially the pink gold/steel model with two-tone metal bracelet and white dial.  I even wrote an earlier blog post about my attraction to it (read that post here).  I had resigned myself to the idea that I would have to go to Houston or Dallas just to try it on.  That all changed with a casual visit to the Sak's Fifth Avenue store up in north Austin.  They sell Cartiers!  It was a shock to be in a store that sells high-end watches as well as handbags and shoes.  However, this pleasant discovery soon became tempered by disappointment after I tried the Calibre on. 

I'll make it simple: it looks way too damn big!  It's a good looking watch, but its white dial and the way its bezel flows into the crystal add up to make a 42 mm diameter watch look absolutely massive.  It's like Eva Mendes' face atop the body of an NFL player.

However, it was not all bad news at Sak's.  I got to try on a beautiful Cartier that I had forgotten all about.  Keep scrolling down to find out which one it was (hint: both President Clinton and Usher have one).

                      This watch looks like a wrist wrecking monster on my 7-1/4" wrist.  Way too butch.  Makes me think I should have no neck, a fake tan and a tendency to call everyone "bro" just to wear it.

                      Even the sapphire set into the crown is too big.  Makes me think of how American cars are designed - every element is oversized.

                      This is a nice color combo.

 

                      The black dial helps disguise some of the enormity of the dial and looks good with the stainless steel case.

     Despite the disappointingly hulking appearance of the Calibre, I was pleasantly surprised by the Ballon Bleu in stainless steel and yellow gold (Ref.: W69009Z3).  This, too, is a 42 mm watch, but its proportions are much more visually subdued and tasteful than those of the Calibre.  It is a very round watch (ballon meaning ball or balloon in French), but its attractive two-tone bracelet, large Roman numerals, contained and fluted crown and opaline dial with guilloche finish are more than enough to distract me from that.  This watch has a charming, old-fashioned appearance that makes it look like an heirloom piece already. 

Notice the subtle "C" shape formed by the indentation of the date window.  It makes for a pleasant-looking assymetry.

 

                      I could get used to seeing that.

                      The Ballon Bleu even appears round when viewed from the side, thanks to its curved synthetic sapphire crystal and rounded caseback.  I don't think I've ever seen a watch that looks like this one.  I like it, even if it does look a little thick (13 mm).

     If you are as smitten with the Cartier Ballon Bleu as I am, you can click here to learn more about it.