HOW DID YOUR FASCINATION FOR MECHANICAL WATCHES START?

just got a portofino

I am 40. I studied archeology at university, being very paassionated for this matter. In the various italian archaeological maganizes I used to read, there was always an ad of the Cartier Pasha Chrono (we are talking about 1996) in jellow gold. It stroke me for the precision of engineering and the complicated beauty of its movement from the pics of this magazine. I started buy watch magazines and slowly in all those years I grew up in my knowledge and I bought several watches of different brands. Never an Iwc until this August, even if I always loved them. Now watches and manufacturing aspects of tecnique are indeed my greatest passion.

it is quite simple really, i have always been interested in what is beautiful and also in what is functional. my father is a tishler (furiture carpenter) and i have always seen how he can make the simplest things into art or art into the simplest things just by the way it is applied.. the same goes for watches.. me being 26 years old and on a strict budget it hasn't been easy but i have collected some nice contemporary quarts watches and now once i start to have enough money to get into the real thing that is what i have been doing.. there is something magical about the self winding mechanical watch and the pure craftsmanship behind it..

To be honest, I had a rather bitter relationship with my watches when I was a kid (as the strap pins would constantly fall out). After awhile, I just stopped wearing and caring about timepieces for years. Around the time I graduated college, something changed. It's hard to explain as it seemed to happen fairly quickly, but I started to notice various items that I never really cared about such as certain styles, luxury items, and detailed objects. I think this is where I began to rediscover the world of watches. However, the mechanical side has always been a given as my father is an engineer and growing up around his shop, mechanical objects were always fascinating. The first time I saw the movement on a mechanical timepiece at work, I was hooked. It's quite mesmerizing and the engineering aspect just pulls in so many good memories.

My doctor. Pssionate of watches. First one a Bell & Ross by Sinn in 1996. Last one a Portuguese 7 days white & blue in 2011. Next one? Soon I hope.

I was fascinated by the intricacies around the workings of the mechanical movements. Such perfect, tiny pieces of art! I suppose this is why I will NEVER even look at a quartz watch (I'm sure there are some great ones out there, but I just can't bring myself to buy any). When I bought a book on the subject and starting learning more and more about these horological masterpieces, I was hooked!

i purchased 3 gorcery sacks full of what looked to me as junk watches that no one would concievabily want , this was 20 years ago and in that sack was a trench watch which sold for way more then the gagyle of watches , ihave been hooked ever since,watches are the most fascinating thing i have ever seen in my life, and i have recently aquired a older iwc pocket watch movement , it has the pronounced i in the football logo,huray huray ,needs a few winding parts and balance wheel but will be a superb watch when it is restored if anyone knows of any winding parts for this 43 mm would greatly appreciate the information

Hello, all!

Just shy of two years ago, after the perpetual dissatisfaction of owning one boring battery watch after another (and never knowing if and when the battery might give out), I felt prompted to look into mechanical watches. One thing was and is certain: I have to have a watch; I have to know what time it is.

One drizzly September evening in central Munich, waiting for the No. 19 tram, I noticed a watch display in the window of a rather posh-looking jewelry shop near the Staatsoper. One brand stood out for the no-nonsense, attractive look of its watches: IWC Schaffhausen. The Mark XVI pilot's watch REALLY caught my eye, and when I was back home--to use a favorite term on this Forum--I pulled the trigger, via UPS, at an AD in California. (Alas, no IWC dealers here in St. Louis).

The rest, as the man says, is history.

Of course, mechanical watches aren't so accurate as quartz ones, but the Mark XVI does blissfully well with a stingy 1.5 seconds per day rate gain.

I wonder what the new pilot's watches in 2012 will look like . . . .

Cheers!

donald

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My father had a Rolex Submariner that he wore since I was in High School so I wanted to have a Rolex before I was 40. Got a GMT Master II at age 38 and started to become more and more fascinated with mechanical watches in the digital age of the 21st Century. After getting this first watch I called my dad and found out he was a bit of a collector of mechanical watches which got me even more fasinated.
I went on to get an IWC UTC Special Edition St. Exupery (stainless steel) and a Rolex Submariner. Was just in Hong Kong at the IWC Boutique and am looking to get an Aquatimer next (Galapagos edition)

I just moved back to the US from Munich and must tell you that the next time you are in the area you should rent a car and make the trip over to the IWC factory. Only about 3.5 hours from Munich.

[QUOTE="donald wilson"] Hello, all!

One drizzly September evening in central Munich, waiting for the No. 19 tram, I noticed a watch display in the window of a rather posh-looking jewelry shop near the Staatsoper. One brand stood out for the no-nonsense, attractive look of its watches: IWC Schaffhausen. The Mark XVI pilot's watch REALLY caught my eye, and when I was back home--to use a favorite term on this Forum--I pulled the trigger, via UPS, at an AD in California. (Alas, no IWC dealers here in St. Louis).

I've always been fascinated by all things mechanical (especialy cars, air(/space)crafts and watches), so it actually started in a very natural way!!

My father gave me a couple mechanical watches when I was a child. They had sports scenes on their faces which moved when you moved your wrist. I loved winding the watches and ended up breaking them by taking them apart. My father recently passed away and I now have a white gold Elgin pocketwatch he got as a gift in 1930 (still in original box). I guess watches remind me of him. I have since given the sports watches to my 7 year old son who is rapidly becoming a WIS.

Best,

Paul

I actually can't remember how long iv'e had a love for mechanical watches. I can however remember the different tones of the movements ticking, the heartbeat or moreso, the soul.
My Father had lots of old watches that for some unknown reason he kept in a drawer. As a boy i would wind them & look at them from every angle.
The watches themselves were of no real value, but they mean't the world to me.
I could be blindfolded, then a watch held to my ear & i would identify it by its tick. Each one had its own tick. Its Soul!
My passion had to be subdued when i first started my working life,due to family, now though i have a little more time to indulge my passion.
Mechanical watches, IWC especially don't just produce watches, its an art form, its a piece of history. Someone's talent or gift has put their own passion into the manufacture of it.
I'm so pleased that mech watches is now the status quo.
The world would'nt be the same otherwise.

The spark: a Rolex OP college graduation present, stolen less then two years later out of my Manhattan apartment.

The final straw: displeasure with how often I was changing the battery on my favorite TAG diver. Eventually, a non-TAG dealer in France ruined it and soon after I gave up on quartz for 'real' watches. That was 1999.

When I was in my teens, I had a friend who was 2 years older than me. He expressed an interest in buying a nice watch, so I wandered round the dealers with him, and became absolutely fascinated.

He ended up buying (to my disgust) an absolute piece of rubbish. I will not mention the name, so as not to end up in court. It was not, as you can imagine, an IWC. I doubt he could spell IWC.

Anyway years passed (I have always wanted to write that), and I bought a nice watch by a rival Swiss brand. Some years later still I purchased another model by the same maker. And now I have set my sights on an IWC.

Hello everyone, my name is Konstantinos, i'm from Greece ( i know that you're not really excited, haha ) and i'm new in this forum!

My passion for watches started when my grandfather bought me a Breitling Chronomat 2 years ago. When i saw it i was really excited. I remember when i asked him: Grandpa, how much does it cost? And when he told me the price, i couldn't believe it. By this day and after, i started to explore the world of watchmaking. I registered in a greek forum and i learned a lot of things. Lots of companies. I realized why these watches are so expensive.

My favourite companies are: Breitling, IWC, Ulysse Nardin and Audemars Piguet! :)