Cheap Chinese Automatic Watches
My Alpha Navigator II GMT look-a-like gave up the ghost recently when the 12 o’clock marker came loose and jammed between the sweep second hand and the 9 o’clock marker. I read a lot about what cheap junk these watches are. Mine only lasted 6-7 years. What a waste.
Oh, wait, it cost $65 shipped from Hong Kong, not $5000 from the local jewelry store. I do admit that Rolex is very over priced, probably actually worth only $500, 10% of the selling price. So, what kind of fool expects a $65 shipped watch to be the same quality as those $500 watches with the $5000 selling price?
On the other hand, my Benrus Ultrasteel,a Submariner look-a-like is almost 20 years old.
The bezel and the band had to be replaced over the years, but it still keeps better than one minute a month time, of course it has a quartz movement rather than a mechanical one. Which is another thing that I do not understand. Mechanical watches are so much better than quartz watches because you do not have to replace the battery every three years for $3. Instead you have to have them cleaned, lubed, and adjusted every three to five years for $200 or so. Sure, you can probably find someone who will dip and dunk the movement for $50. Me I would just as soon toss it in the trash as have it dipped and dunked. Dip and dunk, for those who do not know, consists of removing the movement tossing it into a ultrasonic cleaner full of solvent and running a cleaning cycle, then running a rinse cycle with some oil mixed in the rinse fluid. Not the recommended way of servicing a fine watch.
OK, so I have had those two Rolex look-a-likes. Does that mean I am a snob that wants people to think I am wearing an expensive watch that I can not afford? No, actually, the Submariner look alike was simply the cheapest solid stainless steel watch I could find at the time, strangely if I wanted to replace it today, it looks like I would have to buy a new old stock version for that same $100 I paid new for this one back in 1992 or so. The Explorer II was bought because I have always liked the look, and I use to travel quite a bit so being able to change the time zone easily was a nice feature. It also was a solid stainless steel watch.
Right now I am trying to decide if I want to replace the Alpha with another.
(That is not the oridginal bracelet, the one on the Submariner above is the original that came with the Alpha)
Still $65 but the movement is now 35 jewels, and the watch is supposed to be tested to 5 atmospheres (5o meters, 165 feet) instead of 3atm. That is a Chinese movement with a hacking second hand, and quickset date and 24 hour hand complications (Don’t you just love it when someone uses technical terminology?). On the other hand, I do not travel much anymore and probably would be better off with a watch with a day/date feature instead. Back to the Explorer II, in my mind it really needs a couple of upgrades. The first is a much harder grade of stainless steel for the bezel which scratches when you look at it. The second, which is easily done, is a heavier bracelet.
Actually, I am currently using the bracelet from the Alpha on the Submariner until I get around to ordering a new bracelet for the Sub. I do like having two watches so that I still have a working one if the other breaks like the situation is a the moment. Of course wristwatches are really jewelry now when we all have a clock in our cellular telephone. Which I guess explains why people are willing to pay ten times what it is worth for a Rolex, or other high priced watch, it is not that the watch is worth that, it is to show people you can afford such a ridiculous price. Which also explains why people who buy them are so down on look-a-likes, it makes bums like me appear to be as wealthy as they are.
Spam
It is interesting how many people try to post a comment with just a link in it. Those are easy, they get nuked automatically.
Actually, I wish my email spam filters worked as well as the ones on this blog. Here I seldom get a bogus block, and I seldom get one that goes through that I have to delete. I delete a couple hundred junk mails that snuck through the filters in thunderbird every month, and have to scan the ones t-bird marked as junk because about 10% of them are not.
One of the things that I hate is that PayPal, and my ISP send me a lot of junk. I hate it because if I mark them as spammers then I will miss anything that is important, like someone breaking into my account. Charter.net is the worst because they send the junk to all my email accounts.
Lazy Days
No, not of summer. Just plain laziness on my part. My energy levels seem to be way down. Some of that may have been caused by my illness mentioned in the previous post. Some of it by the higher than normal temperatures we have been having. More like Charlotte for this time of year than Boone. Maybe worse, I kind of just realized I use reading like some people use drugs.
Mostly the hot weather seems to be an excuse for not getting more exercise. I do not really understand why I am not, most of my life I spent a couple hours a day just walking. Now in my old (and not all that old) age I just do not have the get up and go. That might be partly because I am not angry and upset like I was most of my life. Interesting how a positive seems to be causing a negative. Anyway, I am somewhat worried about my weight which is now about ten pounds more than it was a year back. Maybe what I need to do is start using lists again: 8am go for walk, 10am check on mail at the post office, 10:15am Stop at library….