HOW DID YOUR FASCINATION FOR MECHANICAL WATCHES START?

Awesome piece and congrats. I nearly pulled the trigger on this one recently but have something else in mind on the near horizon...

Welcome to the forum. Great selection indeed ! Your choice deserves to be applauded !

Vishal.

This watch was my intro to IWC too and it has changed my life!

Enjoy and wear in good health

Peter

Mine started around 5 years old, that’s as early as I recall it anyway. For years before I was born my father had a beautiful Breitling Navitimer purchased new for him by his then girlfriend (after she slammed his wrist in the car door destroying his RAF service watch.....but that’s a different story for a different day). My father wore the watch day in day out from 1960, when I was around 5 I used to sit on his knee and click on and reset the chronograph function. In my mind I was amazing when the chrono hands all started to move.

I loved the watch as much as my father did and aspired from a young age to own my own (never allowed to wear his). In 2006 when I was 25 I finally had the means to buy one with money id earned and saved. It was late 2006, I received my Breitling Montbrillant Datora, with a day date complication, with a black face resembling the Navitimer I had loved my entire life.

My father and I shared many similar interests, from cars to planes to shooting and watches. He was as elated as I was when my first Breitling arrived and I will never forget the day it first came home.

The following year my father died suddenly crumbling my entire world, I feel we missed out on so much but are grateful we shared so much.

Since then my love for horology has deepened and my collection grow substantially, almost entirely within the Breitling brand. It has recently morphed and the love I thought could only have existed for one brand has spread, with a peculiar specificity to other brands. IWC has become a targeted addiction. I was lucky enough to be heading to Schaffhausen for business, I didn’t think I had time to visit the museum but clearly the interest in the brand had migrated outside of my own bubble to our business partners in the town. On arrival our entire group made an unscheduled (well as far as I knew) stop and a tour commenced.

Now I must have a Big Pilot and a 5001, given time a perpetual Big Pilot is needed.

Sorry for the poorly punctuated, overly verbose post, once I began typing I couldn’t stop.

Alex

Marian42, Michael, Vishal and Peter,

Thanks for the compliment. I'm wearing this everyday. Accuracy is abt +5 sec per day. There's nothing quite like it (for me at least).

Since I learn how to read time on a non-digital watch and learn the importance of TIME with precision

After receiving my first quart chronograph as a high school graduation present.

Just received my first IWC watch, MARK XVII, as a christmas present from my wife. coolest gift ever!!!

My cousin, was a watch lover and I always looked forward to seeing him so I could see what he had bought since the last time. The last watch he bought was a rose gold portugese chronograph with a black dial. Well that was it I fell in love with it and started researching and getting interested in watches. It is now also my grail as sadly he passed away in September.

I started out as a 9 year old kid who got fascinated by kinetic energy replacing electric energy. And how i would never have to change batteries. The first automatic i procured was a 21 jewel seiko with an open caseback.

Love the engineering that goes into them. They move and function by the move of your wrist. can "watch" mine all day.

I think it started 15 years ago when I saw my friend's Tudor watch. It looked amazing and knew I wanted a watch like that. My obsession began with the Cartier Roadster, and then moved soon to Jaeger Le Coultre' Reverso line.

I became increasingly obsessed with them until I realised I just loved fine watches in general. I then stumbled upon an article on fake Rolex Submariners which ironically turned my attention to Rolexes in general (the real kind!). I came close to purchasing a Submariner (when the price was a lovely £2500-approx for a two tone model), but cancelled at the last minute and opted for a Breitling instead. The latter brand was because I loved adventure and this brand's history really interested me. I later bought my first JLC Reverso.

My passion with watches eventually moved onto Patek Philippe, and became increasingly fanatical about their history. Bought my first Calatrava, and I eventually bought an Annual Calendar. Rolex nonetheless remained constantly in my mind, but never found the time to really commit to buying. My Patek dealer had explained a lot about Rolex's history, which was just as unique as Patek's!

Four days after my 34th birthday I became a (at long last!) Rolex owner! Never looked back since. The same can be said with IWC. I just love its style, history and passion. Like Rolex and Patek Philippe, I had also become quite obsessed with IWC, in particular their pilot's watches. I have to admit that seeing their watches in movies (Vanilla Sky, Fracture) and in television series (House of Cards) had particularly enhanced my obsession with the brand. The Portuguese became my eventual obsession.

Just this afternoon I did it and bought myself a beautiful black dialled IWC Portuguese 7-day automatic. Absolutely amazing!

It all started with a Mighty Mouse watch i received for my 5th birthday in 1980. Every since then I've been fascinated with watches in general. The older I got, the more fascinated I became with the mechanics and mechanisms; the more complex and complicated; the more I'm intrigued.

My fascination for mech watches started ... I don´t remember. Since I was six o seven, maybe before. I used to see my parents and grandmother winding their wrist watches, night by night, and I wanted to have one as soon as possible. I remember when I was so close to my father and heard his watch (tic-tac, tic-tac...) it was amazing!

Sometimes I think it is an obsession too. But I don't care. It's a sweet obsession anyway.

Mine started with listening to Dad's watch doing the ticking too...

Just Love the way the second hand seems to float around the watch and not jump like a quartz watch would, and how the watch seems to have a heart beat.

The actual "owning one" that I could call my own came when I was 21.
Broke out of the norm and requested for an IWC instead of a Rolex like my dad's collection (phew).

And now I feel so naked without it around my wrist...

My fascination for watches began in the 1940s. At that time all wristwatches were mechanical. I just to study magazine ads with watches I dreamt to one when I was older. I saved money for quite some time and eventually father added what was missing and I bought a City Bravur. Unfortunately I lost it after a short while, probably stolen on the beach where I went swimming.
1958 when on a study trip in Europe (I live in Sweden), a visit to IWC Schaffhausen was on the itinerary. I was fascination by way the watches were made, and I decided that sooner or later I would have an IWC.
Rather later than sooner, in the spring of 1972, I had the opportunity to by one, an automatic. The watch looks like an 1810.2600 Automatic Calendar. With few interruptions that watch has been sitting on my wrist ever since. It has been serviced when required. Last year, after 40 years of use, it looked a little worse for wear. I contemplated buying a new one but decided to have the old watch renovated by the manufacturer. It is now in mint condition, running as well as ever.
People at IWC have done a fantastic job.

About 30 years ago I inherited my Grandfather's gold 1966 Seamaster. That was the start of my Omega collection. In fact it was Omega Constellations that really got me fascinated. I now have 3 Connies and many Seamasters. Apolologies, I am a bit Omegacentric! My IWC fascination began when I saw my uncle's very flat Potuguese. A few years ago I bought a beat up Cal.89 which I intended to restore. The work needed to bring it back to pristine was in the region of $2000.00 so I sold it on. I now have an IWC 3717 and love it!

I adore chronos and currently have Speedmaster, Bovet and Nivada Grenchen, Chronoking Aviator Sea Diver and TDBK. I am keeping 28 watches in rotation, worn 3 weeks at a time. I have the addiction pretty bad! Ages range from 1948 (Rolex Speedking) to 2012 (Omega Speedmaster Pro)

Mark,

I feel your addiction pain brother. Many of us Forumers suffer day to day with the same aliment as you. It stems from a virus for which there is no cure.

Our only salvation is this Forum support group who truly understands the situation.

Can't wait to hear what Watch #28 will be !

Best,

Andy