Wednesday October 6th, 2021 - RIP Charlie Watts, Post-Op Mishaps, Covid Jabs, Covid Tests + Recent Wristwatches

Wednesday 25th, August, 2021

                                                   I had just parked my car in an all-day parking space, which meant that I wouldn't have to step out of the office to move my car every two hours. As I approached the entrance to my office, my phone rang. 

                                           It was my wife; T, I just read the news that Charlie Watts died. 

The news didn't hit me at first, but as the morning progressed, I found myself getting more upset. A hackneyed phrase, but it's the end of an era. Watts was 80 and had recently undergone a procedure for an undisclosed ailment. On doctor's orders, he was to miss the North American leg of The Rolling Stones' current tour in order to recuperate. 

He died on Tuesday and tributes soon began appearing on Twitter and Instagram. 

 

For me, The Stones are now permanently chipped. Watts was always low-key and unassuming. Reading a few articles on music sites, I soon realised the degree of his input in every song. I don't know much about music with regard to terminology, how its written, the difference between E-flat and D-sharp, major or minor chords. So, it's been interesting reading of how he managed to keep Mick Jagger and Keith Richards under control for almost 60 years. Whenever Richards would start speeding through a song onstage, Watts would reign him back in. 

There's the oft-told story of how Jagger was drunk in a hotel room and referred to Watts as ''my little drummer''. 

 

Watts left the room, went to his own room, changed into a sharp suit and then returned to Jagger's suite and punched him in the face, then added; "I'm not your little drummer. You're my fucking little singer!"

 

Watts provided the necessary calm amidst the storm that was Jagger and Richards. The neatly pressed collar as a counterpoint to his little singer's puffy shirt sleeves. If you logged on to The Stones website in the weeks following his death, this picture (left) is what you would see.

It has since been updated with information regarding the band's upcoming North American tour, but it was nice to see this image.

I have to hand it to Watts. It is well-known that he didn't enjoy touring, as it took him away from home for long spells. You could cynically argue that he made good money as a result, but he could have called it quits twenty or thirty years ago and gone on to other pursuits. I just think that he felt an obligation to the band and that's why he toured. 

He leaves behind his wife Shirley, whom he married in 1964, and a daughter named Seraphina, along with a legion of fans around the world.

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Following directly from my previous post, here's my cat-inflicted wound, healing nicely, three days after the previous photo. Also in the frame is the Rado Golden Horse. This watch was first produced in 1957 and it appeared again over the years. I doubt it was in constant production, but a modern version was released a year or two ago.

I do like vintage Rados. They have cool names like Green Horse, Purple Horse, Golden Gazelle and they were decent sellers back in the day. Very popular throughout the Asian countries, as these watches were inexpensive and dependable. 

So, I got the titanium implant procedure done in late July. Two titanium screws fitted to my gum-line. Puffier in the cheeks for the first week and all I ate was soup, to play it safe. About ten days after the procedure, I was using a mouthwash and felt one of the screws swishing around in my mouth. It had come off! Luckily, I didn't swallow it and it didn't end up down the bathroom basin's sink. 

A quick email to the dental surgeon (it was around ten pm) and a couple of frantic phone calls the next morning. Another dentist could re-attach the screw. Took him less than a minute. I later thought about it a surmised that it may have been the two sticks of Big Red that I chewed on the day before that might have undone the screw. Needless to say, I haven't chewed gum since and no screws have loosened. My next appointment is in late November, to check how the implant screws have settled in. Then it's an appointment with my regular dentist to get porcelain crowns fitted to the screws. 

The day after this incident, I had my first Pfizer jab. Got my second one a couple of weeks ago. Two staff at work have stated that they have no intention of getting vaccinated, which ticks me off, but what can you do? 

Okay, some watches that I've worn since my last post.

The Citizen Eco-Drive Nighthawk. This is the watch that I'll probably take with me when I travel, whenever that'll be again. Battery-powered, 200m water-resistant, and it has a second timezone scale on the main dial. And the hands and hour markers glow like mad in the dark!

Obviously, I can't travel at the moment and, even if I could, my wife and I haven't exactly made plans for our next trip. If anything, there are some house-related refurbishments that require attention before another trip. And something tells me that airfares will be quite pricey once this whole Covid mess calms down a little. 

The Seiko SARB033 has gotten some wear. This watch works nicely on its steel bracelet or a leather strap. It would look good on a brown strap, just as a point of difference.

The Omega Seamaster 300 WatchCo. I had it serviced a couple of years ago and it's running nicely. It would be impossible to replace this watch for the price that I paid for it back in 2009, so that's just another reason why it's a keeper. Back in 2006 or so, I spent a long time trawling through eBay for one of these in original condition. I saw a lot of fakes, as this watch was heavily counterfeited during the Vietnam War and sold to unsuspecting GIs, and I saw a lot of badly water-damaged originals. The models that I did see in good condition were quite pricey and out of my price range.

In the end, I contacted a former colleague who worked for a company that built these watches up, using genuine Omega replacement parts and old movements from vintage Omega watches. A lot of collectors don't rate these, calling them 'Frankenwatches', as they did not originate from Omega in Switzerland, but I don't care. All parts are genuine, and this watch would be no different to a water damaged watch that required a new dial, hands, full movement overhaul, etc. Sure, the serial number on the movement would correspond to a vintage dress model Omega from the 1960s, but big deal.

The Rolex Submariner 5513 got some time on the wrist as well, but it was usurped by the Tudor Black Bay 58 most days. 

I think this one may be due for a service soon. 

 

And, at the time of writing this portion (Oct 6th), No Time To Die has premiered in the UK to a majority of positive reviews. Our state-wide lock-down is meant to end on October 23rd, and this film is due for release in Australia on November 11th. Hopefully, I'll get to see this film around that time. 

Covid case numbers were 1,746 as of two days ago. A week prior to that (27/9), they were 1,008. Now, however, the tactic here in Victoria has changed. Whereas our State Government was hoping for case numbers to drop, they have now suggested that the state will re-open gradually as more people get vaccinated. We have reached an 80% of the population having had the first vaccine, but the idea is to get to both vaccinations for 70 to 80% of the population Australia-wide. 

Couple of staff at my office have no intention of getting vaccinated. We'll see if that changes sometime soon. 

Bit of a mess, ain't it?

And, as I stated, the Tudor Black Bay 58 has spent much time on my wrist. I'm fairly certain that it will take top spot as my most-worn wristwatch of 2021.

My Rolex Sub has considerable clout, history and street cred, and it's beautiful to look at, but this Tudor does things that the Sub no longer can. You may recall that I knocked the crystal off the Sub a couple of years ago when I bumped the watch against a door frame. I was a little surprised to see the crystal and bezel come off the watch so easily. Maybe it was one of those wrong-angle freak accidents, but I began to wonder if I could afford to maintain this watch in the long run. Knock on wood, there have been no other knocks since then, but I have been a little more careful with this watch since. 

I have often stated that owning one of these older Rolex dive watches is akin to owning a vintage sports car. A little more care and feeding is required in order to maintain them.

My wife hasn't worn her Sinn 556A for the last couple of years. She got some good wear out of it, but always found the date a little hard to read. So did I. 

I did my research before buying her this watch back in 2014. She wanted something large, not a dainty watch. Check, this watch measures 38.5mm in diameter. 

She wanted something with large numbers on the dial. Check. The numerals and hour markers are coated in SuperLuminova and glow nicely in the dark. 

She wanted something automatic, and it had to be water-resistant, as she tends to wear her watch all the time. Check. This watch is an auto and it has a more-than-she-needs 200m water-resistance. 

And it had to have a date window. Check. This watch has a discreet date window at the 4:30 position on the dial. A little too discreet it seems, because the date window is quite small. I suppose this was done so as to not to interrupt the symmetry of the dial layout. The date is there when you need to refer to it. It's just a tad small for our eyesight these days. 

The Sinn 556A served her well over the years. It took a beating and kept on going, and it has a few scars to show for it. 

Although, in the interests of her having a watch with a date that she could see, I began looking at alternatives. The Tudor North Flag was my first stop;

A bold 40mm case, black dial with at-a-glance readability, 100m water-resistance, a power reserve indicator - which lets you know how fully wound the watch is at any time - AND a date window that is easy to see. 

As an added bonus, it also had a 70 hour power reserve in its in-house movement. Take this watch off on a Friday night after wearing it all week and it'll still be running on Monday morning. This is no mean feat, as most watches (in lower price brackets, it has to be said) have a power reserve of around 40 hours. Still, 70 hours is a big deal. One thing about this Tudor, though; it was twice the price of what I was looking to spend, which is okay considering it is a Tudor with an in-house movement, but I don't think my wife would want me to spend that kind of money on a watch for her. 

 

So, I kept looking and landed on the ORIS Pro Pilot Date model. Yes, this would work. It's known as the Big Date model and its date window is of a slightly larger dimension than most watches of this size. This watch is 40mm in diameter, with a dark blue dial with sunburst pattern. The hands and dial numerals are filled in with SuperLuminova, so it'll glow nicely in the dark, and the case is rated to 100m water resistant. Perfect. It would do nicely. So I got it for her, and in the two years that she's had it, she's put it through its paces and it has performed admirably.

September 30th

                          Somebody at my wife's workplace tested positive for Covid-19, so her office has closed for the time being and she's working from home. She and I went to get Covid tests done, as she was initially classified as a Primary contact. She works with one other staff member in an office that's just over four metres long. They both wear masks in the office and they don't have direct contact as such. Well, this co-worker of hers tested positive and is awaiting news as to whether or not she'll have to go into 14-day hotel quarantine. To play it safe, we went to get tested and got a Negative result the next day. My wife stayed in isolation at home since then, as a further precaution and has gone and had another test today (October 6th). The nurse who administered the test said that it's more than likely that it'll return a negative result, based on the info regarding her work area, as the distance between my wife and her colleague, plus the mask wearing and regular sanitising of their shared work spaces, have greatly minimised any risk. Also, as it's now been five days since my wife had her first Covid test, the incubation period for the Delta strain of Covid has passed. Basically, if my wife had Covid, we'd all know it by now. 

The Delta strain has a slightly longer incubation period than previous Covid-19 strains. Three to five days. Isolation and quarantine periods are listed as 14 days, in an effort to be completely certain as, on rare occasions, some people have not shown symptoms until ten days or more after exposure to the virus. 

However, an extra test doesn't hurt. I took my son to get tested last Sunday (negative) and my daughter on Monday, and since I was there, the nurse suggested I may as well get tested, despite having had one a few days earlier on the Friday. Our tests both returned negative results. Amidst all of this, I was keeping my boss informed via phone calls, since I didn't go back in to work this week, as a precautionary measure. I had last week off as annual leave and was due to go in on Monday (4th). 

 

Needless to say, it's been a slightly nerve-wracking week here at chez Teeritz. We spent over four hours on hold trying to get through to the Contact Tracing Department of the Covid-19 hotline. My wife emailed them outlining her situation and three days later, we have yet to hear back, but from all advice from the Covid hotline and the Covid testing nurses, it all seems fine. Once my wife gets the results of this morning's Covid test, we'll know 100% for sure. Personally, I think she's fine. 

Oh, and today (October 6th) is our 25th Wedding Anniversary! Happy Anniversary, baby! Here's to another 25 years! We'll be spending it at home, under lock-down. I told my wife I'd bring the dining table out into the middle of the room, with a few candles, and we'll order fish & chips and have a pleasant meal with the kids.

And they say romance is dead.

Maybe we'll have a drink or two. My wife doesn't drink, but I might convince her to have a Pavan liqueur with a dash of mineral water on ice.That would be mild enough, I'm sure.

 

Okay, time for a watch-related typecast, hammered out on the circa 1966 Olympia SM9;

 

Hmm, a couple of typos here and there.

This here is the Seiko 5 DX model. A nice watch. The Seiko 5 series was first produced in the mid-1960s and has always offered an inexpensive range of watches across a wide array of designs, from dress pieces to dive watches. 

The movements inside these watches are true workhorses. They just run and run and run. 

Dammit, the more I look at this watch, the more I want to keep it. We'll see how it goes. If I find that it doesn't get much wear, it'll have to go. 

It's a nice day-to-day dress watch, and its overall design, with its sharp angles to the wide tonneau-shaped case, is very of its era. The dial, though, is a sunburst silver and I have found that the hands 'blend in' from certain angles and can become hard to read, as the dial throws back some reflection when glanced at quickly. Something that I always used to tell my customers back in my watch selling days; A watch has to tell the time above all else first. If it's not easy to read, it fails its primary purpose. 

And this here is the SKX009K that just arrived a week ago. This is one of Seiko's classic dive watch designs, one that can't be mistaken for iconic Swiss dive watches from the like of Rolex or Omega, to name a few. There are two different variants of this model. The SKX009J is assembled in Japan and it has a slightly different shade of dark blue to the dial. This model, with the 'K' designation in the model number, is assembled under licence in Malaysia. The main at-a-glance difference between the two models is that the Japanese-built version will have ''21 Jewels'' printed on the dial underneath the ''DIVER'S 200m" wording. And, of course, it will state ''Made in Japan'' in small lettering at the six o'clock edge of the dial, as well as "JAPAN'' engraved on the case-back. 

If you're a purist, go for the Japanese-made model, which is about a hundred bucks pricier. Both watches house the rock-solid in-house Calibre 7S26, which is virtually bullet-proof. You can't wind this watch by hand, it needs to be given a few gentle shakes to get it started, and you can't hack the seconds hand. With the great majority of mechanical watches, when you pull the winding crown out to its furthest setting to set the time, the seconds hand stops ticking. This is so that you can line up the seconds hand to twelve, position the minute hand exactly on a minute marker on the dial and set the time on the watch right down to the second. You know, synchronise your watches, gentlemen and all that. 

Well, you can't hack the seconds hand on this watch. No big deal. What you get with the Calibre 7S26 is a dependable movement that will run for a decade or two before it needs any major servicing, if anecdotal evidence amongst watch collectors is to be believed. 

I've spoken to a few people over the years who swear by this watch.

 

The SKX007 (black dial and bezel) and the SKX009 (blue dial with blue and red bezel, like mine) were discontinued just over a year ago, but they can still be found with a little searching online. 

I opted for the blue and red as a way to break up my dive watch collection a little and introduce some other colours. It arrived on the standard Seiko rubber dive strap which I promptly removed and fitted a bracelet that I kept from another Seiko watch that I sold last year. It looks better on a bracelet, but it works very well on a nylon NATO strap, which I may use on it in Summer.

The case diameter is 42mm, but it wears very well on my 6.5 inch wrist. 

The winding crown is positioned at the 4 o'clock edge of the case, as a further detail which separates it a little more from my other divers. Further difference is the red 3rd of the bezel, from zero to 20. The unidirectional bezel turns nice and smooth, with 120 clicks around the dial. Definitely better than the bezels of past Seiko dive models that I've owned. 

Anyway, that's another post down. Been a while between drinks. Busy times for all, no doubt. I hope you've all been keeping safe and that you continue to do so. 

 

Thanks for reading!