My Most-Worn Wristwatches of 2021

Wednesday, January 5th, 2022 - 1:57pm AEDT

                                                                         Okay, so 2021 is over, and it's time for my annual write-up on the wristwatches that spent the most time on my wrist throughout the year. Turns out that I wore a watch 368 times last year. Which means every day of the year plus a few swaps throughout the day on a few occasions. 

Rather than just another collection of photos of the Top Eight Watches of the year, I've also included some other items in each photo. Turns out I have a few other collections. 

My way of thinking is that if I have three or four of a particular thing, it's a collection. Socks  and underwear don't count.

Anyway, let's get started. In the Number One spot was a watch that I knew would gain the top spot, but I was staggered by how often I wore it last year.

No. 1 - Tudor Black Bay 58

I wore this watch on 115 days in 2021. A landslide. It's not a perfect fit on my wrist. The clasp bridge section is quite long and its curvature doesn't follow the curve of my 6.5 inch wrist, but this is a minor quibble. What this watch does right, it does very right. I'm tempted to put it on a leather strap over Summer, to give it a little more wear and tear, but for now, I'll leave it on its bracelet.                                  For me, this watch represents what the Rolex Submariner dive watch used to be, up until around 2010 when they made some major changes to the case design.

One of my Instagram followers, @libations_and_explorations, summed it up nicely;

In my opinion, the Tudor Black Bay is the real Rolex Submariner of today. It is high quality, expensive, useable, but not insultingly overpriced either.

I agree. Don't let the word 'expensive' throw you off. In this instance, it's expensive because it's extremely well made, and you get what you pay for. 

Also in the frame;  

Camera - early '80s Olympus OM2n - I had one of these back in the early '80s and I stupidly sold it to fund the cost of repairing a Polaroid SX-70 Land camera. About five or six years ago, I got on eBay and bought this model. Then about a year later, I bought a spare because the price was dirt cheap.

Sunglasses - We were in Paris back in September 2016 and I wanted to buy something to commemorate the trip. These are Persol 649S (for small) Havana brown frames. 

Pen - a Parker Sonnet ballpoint. Got one off eBay and it began to fall apart about three months later. Took it to a pen store and they sent it off to Parker for repair under warranty. Turns out it was a fake! I was given the option to purchase a new one at a heavily discounted price, as a Goodwill gesture on their part. Suited me fine. Of course, they kept the fake. That was cool too.

Typewriter - my Olivetti Lettera 32 that I bought back in 1981. Hammered out a lot of book reports and assignments on this thing.

 No. 2 - ORIS Divers Sixty-Five

Worn 58 times last year, this one is a favourite. Slim case, perfect 40mm diameter, easy to read. And it's what watch collectors call a 'strap monster', which means that it tends to look good on just about any strap you put on it. This model, with the four sci-fi styled numerals on the dial, was discontinued a couple of years ago, which I think was a mistake. Sure, it's not everybody's cup of tea, but it's such a distinctive look. 

Link to my review from about three years ago;

The Teeritz Agenda | Oris Divers SixtyFive 40mm Automatic with Blue & Black Dial - REVIEW

Also in the frame; 

Camera - 1970s Yashica GSN Electro 35. I loved the retro look of this large rangefinder camera. I think I've only run one or two rolls of film through this thing and the results were nice. 

Sunglasses - The classic RayBan Clubmaster frames. These frames have quite a few screws holding them together, so it's wise to keep them in their case when they're not being worn. 

Pen - A Caran d'Ache 849 ballpoint. A gift from ORIS. A nice sturdy ballpoint pen with a one-piece barrel. You have to unscrew the push-button at the top in order to replace the refills. 

Typewriter - My son sent me a photo of this Blue Bird typewriter one afternoon after spotting it at a Thrift Store; "Forty-five dollars. Do you want it?'' 

''Sure!", I replied. 

It types nicely, although some of the keys are beginning to lift. Has a similar look to my Olympias.

 No. 3 - Seiko SKX009K

I got this one in late September and it clocked up 27 days on my wrist. This is one of Seiko's most well-known designs, having been in production from around 1996 until a couple of years ago. The black-dialed version is the SKX007, but I opted for the deep blue dialed model instead, with the blue and red bezel. I figured my collection had enough black dive watches in it. 

This is the 009K, which means that it was assembled at Seiko's plant in Malaysia rather than Japan. If you want the Japanese version, look for a 009J. These are still reasonably easy to get. The surest tell-tale difference is that the Japanese-assembled models will have ''21 Jewels'' printed on the dial. 

Mine came with a rubber strap, which I promptly removed and replaced with the metal bracelet that I got about ten years ago for another Seiko watch which I have since sold. 

This is one of those watches that I used to see back in the '90s on the wrists of middle-aged surfer dude types that would frequent a cafe/bistro that I used to work at.

Seiko models in this price range ($100 to $600AUD) are known for their 'leisurely' timekeeping, but I have to say that this one seems to be keeping pretty good time throughout the day. Another reason why I opted for one of these was because it features a day and date window. I dunno about you, but I get those days after a public holiday or long weekend  where I go in to work on a Tuesday and it feels like a Monday. Throws my whole week out of whack. By Friday, I don't know what day it is. 

Also in the frame;

Camera - Another Olympus OM2n, but this is the all-black bodied version, which is what I had back in the early '80s. 

 

Sunglasses - a pair of Persol 2679-S frames that I got about fifteen years ago. Beautifully made. Their design is not currently in fashion, but no big deal. Everything comes around again, and these are a classic narrow frame that look like they could have been made in 1962, 1992 or 2012. 

 

Pen - a Shaeffer ballpoint that I think I got as a swap with my boss at work. Can't remember what I gave him. 

 

Typewriter - Olympia SM9 from late 1966. This thing seems to have been barely used by its previous owner, or they really looked after it. Writes like a dream.

 No. 4 - Omega Planet Ocean 1st Generation

This one is a favourite, and it was worn over 21 separate days of 2021. As I have so many leather straps scattered around, I figured I may as well get some wear out of them. Ideally, though, I should probably wear leather straps through the Winter months when A) there's less chance of them getting wet, and B) less risk of them wearing out through exposure to perspiration. 

The Planet Ocean series has seen a few iterations since it was first released in 2005, but I think Omega got it right the first time. This 42mm version was sported by Daniel Craig in his second Bond outing Quantum of Solace in 2008. I got mine in 2006, as a gift from Omega for selling the highest number of their watches during a three-month sales period. Nice to know that, for once, Bond copied me!

Also in the frame;

Camera - a Nikon FE, produced during the brand's Golden Age, when they released one fantastic camera after another, throughout the 1970s. This one needs to be serviced, as the film advance lever doesn't lock when you wind on to the next frame. Aside from that, it works like a charm.

Sunglasses - Tom Ford 'Snowdon' frames. My wife got these for me about eight years ago off eBay for $20 bucks! Then, Daniel Craig wore the same frames in SPECTRE in 2015. Once again, OO7 took a leaf out of my book. These frames have a very '1960s' look to them. 

Pen - a Lamy Studio ballpoint. This has a twist action to expose the point of the refill, which is not my favourite type of pen. I prefer a push-button, as it can be used one-handed. Back in my two decades of working in restaurants, I got used to having a pen in one hand and a notebook in the other, which made for a smoother and quicker method for taking orders at table. 

Having said that, this is a nice pen to use, with a lovely weight to it. 

Typewriter - a circa 1956 Smith-Corona Silent Super. This brand made some great typewriters in the '40s and '50s, and this is one of their classics. Nice snappy action to the keys and type-slugs as they hit the page.

 No. 5 - Omega Seamaster 300 WatchCo Edition

Right behind the Planet Ocean was this watch, which I wore over 20 different days last year. Omega put its own spin on the dive watch back in the late 1950s and this iteration, which dates back to 1964 represents, for me anyway, the pinnacle of their dive watch design aesthetic. I've often said on watch forums that Omega should have kept this watch in uninterrupted production, with just some minor changes over the years, to allow for improvements in technologies and materials, etc. 

There's a reason why the Rolex Submariner dive watch has attained such a classic status over the years. Rolex are known to be slow in making changes and this resulted in a dive watch that stayed on the market virtually unchanged for decades, thus becoming an iconic wristwatch that is found in almost any Top Ten List of the best watches ever made. 

In my view, Omega could have achieved a similar result if they kept this watch going through the decades. 

Also in the frame;

Camera - the Nikon FM2, another classic of theirs. This one may need servicing also, but it seems to work okay, although I think the internal light metering seems a tad sensitive. 

Sunglasses - Randolph Engineering Aviator frames that I bought about fifteen years ago. These are a spare pair that I keep in my work bag.

Pen - Mont Blanc MeisterStuck 146 ballpoint. This is a reconditioned pen that I got a couple of years ago. As with any ballpoint pen, they are only as good as the refill inside them, in my humble opinion, and this pen does write very nicely. 

Typewriter - the late 1950s Tower Chieftain III, which is a Smith-Corona Skyriter rebranded for Sears Department Stores back in the day. A nice machine to use, and very compact too.

No. 6 - Tudor Ranger

This one was worn 19 times last year. It came out of nowhere late in 2020. It was offered to me at a good price and I found it difficult to say no. The previous owner told me that he had it serviced once during the time that he owned it. I had it checked out after I got it and the original rotor was replaced with a generic ETA rotor. No biggie. 

This watch was based on the Rolex Explorer model. Tudor watches were made by Rolex and they used ETA movements in them instead of in-house Rolex movements. As such, they were lower-priced and aimed at a wider customer demographic. The cases, winding crowns and bracelets were made by Rolex, but the movements were outsourced. This watch measures 34mm in diameter, which is as small as I tend to go with watches. This one has certainly led a life, as can be seen by the condition of the dial and hands. It's had some water-entry at some stage and I'm sure that it's due for another service. Something that I'll get around to at some point. 

Also in the frame;

Camera - Nikon EM from late '70s/early '80s. I had one a few years ago, then sold it. This one was about $40 bucks on eBay. Body only. The lens was another $70. 

Pen - Fisher AG-7 Space Pen. I love the look and feel of this pen. It's very solidly built. I just wish the refills provided a smoother writing experience. Although, maybe that's the compromise for having a pen that writes at any angle. 

Sunglasses - Five bucks from a Thrift Store. There's something very "1970s helicopter pilot" about these frames. 

Typewriter - Circa 1958 Groma Kolibri. The smallest one I have. Just slightly taller than a box of matches. Writes nicely, if a little loud.

No. 7 (equal place) - Rolex Submariner 5513

A Bond watch. I wore it through 17 days last year. The Tudor Black Bay took some of the limelight away from this watch and I did give some serious consideration to selling this one. I spoke to the watchmaker I work with. He said hold on to it. I spoke to a watch dealer that I know. He said hold on to it. Even my wife said hold on to it. She added that I had wanted this watch for so long that it would be a shame to get rid of it. Then I put it on one morning and decided that I was foolish to even think of getting rid of it. I'll look at getting it serviced sometime in 2022, as I think it may be due for some attention. 

Also in the frame; 

Camera - a circa 1968 Nikon F Photomic. This thing weighs a tonne. I really should load it up with some film and give it a bash. 

Sunglasses - Moscot Lemtosh, in tortoiseshell. I got these in Bangkok in 2014. Great lenses, and they have a nice ''Sean Connery in From Russia With Love" vibe. 

Pen - a Parker 75 ballpoint in gold-plate. Nice pen to write with, but the clip is so flimsy. If you have it clipped inside a shirt pocket and you bend down to pick something up off the floor, the pen will slip out of your pocket. 

Typewriter - a circa 1947 Royal Quiet De Luxe. Sometimes, if you type too fast, it will join two words together, which can be annoying. It's an idiosyncrasy of this model. Well, it is a 70+ year-old machine. This is the model made prior to the Henry Dreyfuss revamped design of 1948.

Bond author Ian Fleming purchased a gold-plated version of the Dreyfus model to write his first book, Casino Royale.

No. 7 (equal place) - Seiko SARB033

In equal 7th place, with 17 days on the wrist is this clean and clear dress piece. This one works nicely on its bracelet and it looks equally smart on a plain black leather strap. This would make a good all-purpose wristwatch. 100m water-resistance, a nice and neutral 38mm diameter, which would suit a wide variety of wrist sizes, this is a watch that punches well above its weight. This watch was discontinued a few years ago and has become quite sought-after since. 

 

Also in the frame; 

 

Camera - Olympus Pen F digital. This is a micro 4/3rds camera . I did a bit of research prior to buying it. In the end, the range of functions and its retro design won me over. It's been a great camera. 

 

Pen - a Lamy Logo ballpoint. Nice design, if a little flimsy. The clip came off once and an internal spring fell out. Took me a few minutes to put it all back together. A good pen, though. 

 

Typewriter -  a circa 1951 Olympia SM2. Writes like a dream. I think Olympia are my favourites. They are such rock-solid typewriters. 

No. 8 (equal place) - Omega Railmaster 36.2mm

 

I wore this one 15 days last year. It's a favourite. My one issue with it is the clasp. It's a design that dates back to the early 1990s and I'm not a fan of it. I've been thinking about maybe swapping it out with an Omega clasp from another model, but this will require some fine measuring and some possible filing down of components to ensure that they fit. Might be a bigger job than I can handle. At the moment, the watch is on a Forstner flat-link bracelet, which suits it nicely, but it's a lightweight bracelet compared to the Omega original. 

 

 

And, if you want to read the review I wrote of this watch eight years ago;

 

https://teeritz.blogspot.com | Omega Railmaster Co-Axial Automatic (36.2mm) - REVIEW  

Also in the frame;

Sunglasses - RayBan Wayfarers in tortoiseshell. I bought them in 1986, at the height of the Wayfarer craze, thanks to Tom Cruise popularising them in Risky Business in 1983. He wore the black frames, and everyone I knew was buying them. I opted for tortoiseshell. I have another pair of them somewhere, as well as a pair with prescription lenses in my car. 

Pen - Aurora 98 ballpoint pen. This was sent to me by relatives in Italy back in the mid-Seventies and it stayed in its box for almost forty years before I started using it. 

Typewriter - a circa 1953 Olivetti Studio. I love the entire look of this machine, but man, is it loud! This one will probably go at some point.

No. 8 (equal place) - Omega Speedmaster Professional 

 

As with the Railmaster, this watch was also worn on fifteen days in 2021. A classic 1960s chronograph design, which has been virtually unchanged for over 60 years, this watch deserves its place in wristwatch history, irrespective of the fact that it was also the Moonwatch, wore by the astronauts of the Apollo 11 mission in 1969. 

These days, it has its detractors, who lament the lack of sapphire crystal, the 50m water-resistance, and the fact that it houses a hand-wound movement, but for me, this is all part of its charm. 

Also in the frame; 

Camera - a plain and simple Olympus Trip 35 rangefinder. In production from 1967 till 1984, probably a few of these were used by spectators during the Apollo 11 astronaut's ticker-tape parade upon their return from their historic moon landing. Simple to use, just point and shoot, and it produces a very atmospheric photo. 

Sunglasses - the other pilot's-style frame, similar to the Randolph Engineering model, these ones are made by American Optical. Slightly larger than the Randolph's, and the main difference is that these have plastic lenses rather than glass. 

Typewriter - a 1960s Olivetti Lettera 22, which I bought recently. Not sure why, to be honest, as I'm in the mind-set of trying to thin out my typewriters rather than adding to them.

And that's it. The ten watches that got the most wear throughout the year. This is a good exercise, no matter what collection you might have, because it provides a broad view of what gets used the most, which may in turn help one to determine one's preferences. 

I've come to realise that I like the all-round dependability and practicality of a dive watch. Aside from dive watches, I tend to like the simplicity of a Field or Expedition watch. Basically, a black dial with a few numerals on it, with bold hands to contrast against it. 

I have to say that my vintage pieces barely got a look-in this year. Some of them require servicing, so that might explain it to an extent. I think, though, I was still in a long honeymoon phase with the Tudor Black Bay. 

Anyway, that's how it all stands. I've been wearing the Seiko SKX009 since New Year's Eve. As it has a day and date function, it's been handy. You know how the days blur a little in the first week or two of January? Or maybe that's just me. 

Thanks for reading, and stay safe!

Boxing Day 2019 - Work's Been Busy, Two(!) New Cameras, Another Bond Girl Gone & Recent Wristwatches.

Here's the Lanco that's currently under repair. I took a few 'before' pictures of the watch. Eleven years ago, I brought my Omega Planet Ocean to the Swatch Group for repairs under warranty. The watch was running 30 seconds fast per day, which was way out of specs for that model. Five weeks later, I got the watch back and was disgusted with the condition of the watch upon its return. Numerous scuffs on the end-links of the bracelet, and the case-back showed deep gouges where the case-back removal tool had slipped at some point. I'd been in the watch game long enough to recognise shoddy work. After that, I decided that I'd always take photos of my watches before taking them in for repairs. 

Hopefully, this watch comes back to me in the same cosmetic condition that I sent it in.

Speaking of  cosmetic condition, I came across this article on the Hodinkee watch website;

HODINKEE | Around Alone, 50 Years On: Sir Francis Chichester's Rolex Oyster Perpetual

It describes Chichester's 1966 attempt to sail 'The Clipper Route", which was once considered the fastest way to sail around the world prior to the creation of the Panama Canal. The article is interesting, but I was mesmerised by the picture of Chichester's Rolex watch;

This was the watch that he purchased prior to commencing his journey and I'm fairly certain that it's since been restored to within an inch of its life. No wristwatch travels around the world by sea and returns looking like that. 

And check out the engraving on the clasp. He didn't get that done at his local shopping mall. 

A very nice piece, and it's a testament to Rolex's reputation back then -as now- for making reliable and robust wristwatches that can handle a day at the office, a night at the opera, or a trip on the ocean. 

Speaking of watches, I wore these ones since my last post;

                                                                                                

      

The Oris Big Crown Small Seconds Pointer Date from circa 1996. I got a bracelet for it, but it's designed for a different Oris model. The end-links (the piece that joins the bracelet to the case) were a slightly different shape, so they required some filing down in order to get them to fit. Swiss Army Knife time. I used the small file and reshaped the corners of the end-links, softening their pointy edges to a gentler curve. 

It wasn't a 100% perfect job, but it would do. The end-links slotted into place nicely and the watch was good to go. 

As we head into Summer here in Australia, I'll be wearing this watch a little less because it has a lower water-resistance to some other watches of mine. I may wear it it on cooler Summer days and then revert back to wearing it once we get into Autumn. 

The Seiko SARB033 got a little bit of wear, but, like the Oris watch above, I think I may just put this one to bed until the cooler months next year. Actually, scratch that. It's water-resistant to 100 metres, so I might actually have it on standby for any potentially dressy occasions that may come up over summer. Yes, that makes more sense.

I have to say that it's getting busy at work in these final couple of weeks leading up to Christmas. I've had to deal with a few very unreasonable customers over the phone.
Some folks trash their watch like nobody's business and then they're surprised when the watch stops working. "It's a dive watch, it's meant to take some knocks", they argue.
I explain to them that yes, modern shock protection systems are very robust in today's watches, but if a watch gets a knock at juuust the wrong angle, something will give inside the movement, causing issues with the running of the watch.
Usually, if you've knocked the watch hard enough to put a dent in the steel, chances are the movement has sustained some damage also.

Other customers will send in a watch which shows no visible cosmetic damage to the case. No dents, no nicks in the steel, nothing. The watch may be gaining or losing time, or it may have stopped ticking entirely.
I tend to give these customers the 'box of dinner plates' analogy;

"Okay, so let's say you're standing in your bedroom, you reach for your watch on the bedside table and, as you go to put it on your wrist, it slips out of your hands and falls onto the carpeted bedroom floor. 
You pick up the watch and there are no marks on it, because it landed on carpet. You look at the watch and it's still ticking, so you think nothing of it, put it on your wrist and marvel at how robust the watch is.
Over the next few days, you notice the watch is gaining/losing time (this will depend on the type of damage to the movement) or begins to stop and start. This may be because something inside the movement has shifted out of position due to the knock that the watch sustained, and this is now causing issues with the timekeeping.
It's like having a wooden box filled with dinner plates. The box might receive a knock which does no damage to it, but the contents inside may be broken due to the knock." 

And this can happen with a wristwatch. Also, a hard-enough jolt to the case can cause the dial to shift. If this happens with enough force, it can affect the centre pipe.
The centre pipe is a small thin tube that's attached to the movement and this pipe is what the hands are attached to. The centre pipe, as the name suggests, pokes out through the hole in the middle of the dial of a watch. Inside this pipe is a smaller one and inside that pipe is a thin stem. Each of these three pipes are designed to hold the hour, minute and seconds hands, respectively. Naturally, these pipes rotate when the watch is running, thus giving us the hours, minutes and seconds. The pipe for the hours does a full 360 degree turn every twelve hours, the minute pipe does so every 60 minutes, and the seconds stem rotates full-circle every minute.
And that, thrill-seekers, is THE TIME!

As you can see in this photo (left, courtesy of www.luciusatelier.com), the hour hand has a large hole on the end. The minute hand has a smaller hole, and the seconds hand's hole is smaller again.
Now, where was I? Right, if the watch gets a knock that's hard enough to shift the dial slightly, it can cause the centre pipe to rub against the edge of the hole in the dial. This causes a little friction and the hands move slower as the pipe struggles to turn correctly, resulting in time loss.

Does all this make sense? 'Cos it can be the hardest thing to explain to some customers.





Anyway, what else did I wear since my last post? The Omega Railmaster got some time on the wrist;

I plan to wear this one a little more over Summer, but I think I may have to add another half-link to the bracelet, as it feels a little snug on warm days.

I've had this watch for about seven years. I sold it to the original customer in 2009 when I worked at the watch store. A few years later, he'd decided to sell it and he gave me first dibs on it.
I didn't take too long to decide.

It gets semi-regular wear whenever I go through moods where I just want something basic, easy to read, that just tells the time. This one is the 36.2mm diameter model, a size that's not in fashion at the moment, but was the standard for watch sizes from the 1960s through to the turn of the (21st) century.
The pendulum is swinging back towards more sedate watch sizing, but I doubt it'll ever get back to thirty-six mil.
That's okay. Plenty of pre-owned watches still in existence to choose from.

I've written about this before. I bought a black-bodied Olympus OM2n 35mm SLR camera back in 1982. Used it regularly through the years. At some point in the late '80s, I purchased a Polaroid SX-70 Land camera. A few months later, the SX-70 broke down and needed repairing.
Stupidly, I sold the Olympus to a camera store to pay for the repair of the Polaroid that this same store was repairing for me.
Dumb move.
A friend of mine was working for a photographer back in the early 1990s and he sold me a late 1960s Nikon F for $500.oo. A few months later, he asked if he could borrow it for a photo assignment. Sure, no worries.
Took me just over six months to get the camera back off him. Needless to say, I didn't consider him much of a friend after that.
Since the advent of eBay, I've bought a few more film cameras over the years, to keep the Nikon F company;

- a Nikon EM - sold it a few years ago, bought another one this year.
- three Olympus Trip 35 rangefinders - gave one away to a young photographer who wanted to shoot film.
- a Nikon FM2
- a Yashica Electro 35 GSN rangefinder
- a Voigtlander Vitomatic II rangefinder - ran one roll of film through it, didn't like it.
- and finally, another Olympus OM2n, to (at last!) replace the one that I had in the '80s.

Except, this model was in silver and black, rather than the all-black bodied model that I had in the past. Great camera, small in size, but heavy. 
I liked it so much that I bought another one, as a spare.

Again, this second one had a silver & black body. And then, what should happen? I started getting the urge to get one that was exactly like the camera I had back in '82.
So, the hunt began for an all-black OM2n.
I've noticed on eBay that black-bodied SLR cameras tend to be priced higher than their silver counterparts. Everybody wants a cool black camera.
Rangefinders, however, tend to be silver-bodied. This might explain part of the popularity of the FujiFilm X-100 digital cameras of the last ten years. These evoke the look of a 1950s Leica rangefinder.
Anyway, since I already had two of these OM2s, I was willing to be a little patient with hunting around for a black one. And, I'd decided to look at Japanese dealer sales as a first priority, since their stock tends to be in very good to excellent condition, if their eBay listings are to be believed.

And it wasn't long before one turned up. Body only, which was exactly what I was looking for, since I have a couple of OM-series lenses.

Besides, the idea is to get the two silver models checked out by a camera repairer and, whichever one is the better camera will stay with me and I'll sell the other one. Having run film through both of them over the last couple of years, they both work nicely.
This black one arrived about a month ago and it's in very good condition. I'll load some film into it soon and put it through its paces. If it works as it should, then I'll thin out the camera collection a little. One of the Trip 35s should go. Might even get rid of both of them, since I have the Yashica.
Maybe the Nikon FM2 might go as well, but I think I'll really have to use it a little more to really make up my mind. 

A couple of weeks ago, my wife and I popped into a nearby Thrift store and they had a Nikon FE in a glass cabinet. I asked to have a look at it. It was being sold with a no-name flash and a no-name 85mm-210mm 1:3.8 zoom lens with macro capabilities. All for $120 bucks.
I got my phone out of my pocket and quickly Googled reviews of the FE. It's a well-respected camera, from Nikon's golden age. The FE was produced between 1977 and 1983.
Then I checked eBay listings and saw that these things were starting at around $250.oo.
My wife then fished a 20% Off voucher out of her bag.
That brought the price down to $96 bucks.
No brainer.

The camera came with a fourteen-day return policy. I put some film into it and went through the first sixteen frames. That would be enough to give me an indication of how good or bad this camera was.
I used some Kodak 400 colour film and the results were okay. If anything, they showed the short-comings of my photographic skills more than anything else.
There's a photo studio across town that runs film photography workshops a few times a year. I'm tempted, but I don't relish going across town. Still, might be worth it. First though, I think I'll run through some of my photography books and the instruction manuals that I've downloaded off the web. May try using some ASA200 speed film instead of 400. See what results I get.
Those of you who are better shutterbugs than I, feel free to throw some advice my way.

I moved the Camy Club-Star along. I mentioned in a recent post that I knew a guy at a jewellery store who likes vintage watches. I wasn't wearing this watch much in recent years, so I figured I'd send it along to him.
It was given to me by a watch repairer who knew I liked vintage. He said "It's yours, no charge, but if you ever decide to get rid of it, I'd prefer that you just give it away rather than sell it."
Fair enough, I thought.

The Longines Heritage Expeditions Polaires Fraincaises Missions Paul-Emile Victor also got some wear. Every so often, I think about selling this watch. Then, I put it on for a day and I always decide to keep it after that.
It's such a clean and simple look, and the lighter-coloured dial offers a pleasant point of difference against the majority of my modern watches.
So yeah, I think this is worth holding on to.
Spent a little too long one morning arranging this photo, but I had gotten on top of my work that morning, so I figured I could spend ten or fifteen minutes putting this pic together.
I was my coffee break, after all.


Here are a few shots taken with the newly-purchased Nikon FE;

They turned out nicely enough, but I think I'm gonna have to get to know these cameras a little more. Can't help thinking that the lighting or exposure could have been better.

Yes, I know that actors from the 1960s are all getting older, but it still bugs me when they go. 

And 78 seems a little on the young side of elderly, if you ask me.

The Sixties Bond Girls had something about them.

Whoa! I started this post in the second week of October. It's now Boxing Day. My regular readers may have noticed far fewer posts this year compared to previous years. I think that staring at a computer all day at work has definitely dissuaded me from getting on a computer once I get home. 

However, I'll see if I can make an effort to post a little more often next year. Even if they're short ones. 

Assuming, of course, that anything remotely interesting happens.

My next post will more than likely be the annual "Most-Worn Wristwatches" one, similar to those that I've done for the past few years. Since I haven't posted much on this blog throughout 2019, I'll be relying on pictures that I uploaded in Instagram throughout the year, which may actually give a more true indication of what watches I wore the most.

Anyway, I hope you all had a nice Festive Season. Ours was a nice cruisy Christmas Day.
Wishing you all a safe and Happy New Year!
See you in 2020. 

Oh, I've been wearing the Oris Movember Edition Diver SixtyFive for the past few days (older pic);

Thanks for reading!

Saturday 17/6/2017 - Cars, Cameras, Cats & This Week's Wristwatches.

It's been a busy couple of weeks. Work is flat-out busy at the moment. Aside from that, I've been looking at a few cars, a new camera, and we got another cat too.

CAR

              My 1993 Toyota Corolla Hatchback is reaching its end-of-life. Sure, I could spend some money on sprucing it up, but I think it's time to go for something else. I've had this car for the last ten years...okay, I just found my original paperwork. Make that twelve years. 

It has served me well. Obviously, it was never a glam automobile, but I have to say that, in terms of reliability, this car has been bullet-proof. No major dramas, this thing has purred along nicely, requiring nothing more than routine servicing. 

I had owned a couple of late 1970s Volkwagen Golfs (did y'all in The States call them 'Rabbits'?) and they were great cars. My second one was fraught with issues, though, and I stupidly kept taking it back to a Volkswagen mechanic when I would have been better served going to a local guy instead. 

Anyway, the ownership of this second Golf left a sour taste in my mouth and I resolved to go for something Made In Japan because I wanted a car that would be relatively trouble-free.

The Toyota Corolla wound up being just that.  

However, like I said, this car has reached the end of the road. Time to look at something else. Some other brand. Still Japanese, because Made In Japan has always had a certain cachet to it, as far as I'm concerned.
And so, I landed on the Mazda 3 Series. Went to a local used car-yard and took one for a spin. It was a 2006 model, manual, with about 160,000 km's on the clock. It was a nice driver, smooth and with a little bit of zip. My Toyota had gotten a little sluggish in recent years, so it was refreshing to get behind the wheel of something that had some pep. I wasn't crazy about the black paint-job, but I could live with that.
I spoke to the dealer afterwards, telling him that I would arrange to take the car to my mechanic later in the week and, if it got the thumbs-up, I'd take it.
We shook hands.
Somebody else bought the car a few hours later.

Anyway, I'll just keep an eye out for any others that come up for sale. This dealer will let me know if he gets any more of them while I scour a couple of car sales websites.
Something will turn up sooner or later.

CAMERA
                          I've gotten a lot of use out of the Olympus EPL-5 Micro 4/3rds camera that I bought a few years ago. However, my biggest gripe with this camera was the lack of built-in viewfinder. I did end up buying an external viewfinder for it, but this meant that I couldn't slip the leather cover over the camera while the viewfinder was attached.
I began thinking about replacing the EPL-5, and gave some serious consideration to the Fujifilm X100T;

Gotta love the Leica-esque design of these instant classics. Fuji knocked one out of the park with the first iteration of the X 100 was released back in early 2011. 
One thing though- this camera has a fixed lens. I considered that, while I'm no master photographer, I would prefer to have a camera with interchangeable lens capability. So I began to look elsewhere.
(pic courtesy of www.amateurphotographer.co.uk)




The Olympus Pen F takes its name from a 35mm rangefinder camera of the mid 1960s. It was a half-frame camera, which basically used half of each frame in a roll of film for each photo. This meant that a 24 exposure roll of Kodak would yield 48 photos by the time you were done.
Olympus seems to have done well with its EPL series of Micro Four-Thirds digital cameras in recent years. I have high praise for the EPL-5 model that I've had these past few years.
The Pen F model would require me to bone up a little more on digital photography, which is not a bad thing. Now that I've settled into my job, I find myself wanting to learn new things and/or get better at the things I already know. With photography, be it film or digital, I'm still quite an amateur. At least with digital, I can delete a bad photo.
So, I did my research and landed on the Pen F. I wanted it in two-tone;


Photo taken from -->   www.popphoto.com | Hands-on with the Olympus Pen F Camera

However, the store I visited only had it in black. Since their pricing was around $180 less than their closest competitor, I figured I'd go for the black. Now, I already have the 14-42mm lens from the EPL-5, so I just opted for the body only of this camera. My plan is to sell the EPL-5 on eBay, along with the external viewfinder and other accessories. Might re-coup some of what I spent on this new camera.
I've had it for about two weeks now and I haven't messed with it too much as yet. This camera requires a little more fiddling around with settings and other functions, so I think I'll want to load the full instruction manual onto my computer so that I can have a closer read of it.
Next month, I'll get a cheap leather case for it off eBay. I've got a thing about looking after my stuff.

Here's a link to a review of this camera, if you'd like to know more;

ephotozine.com | Olympus Pen F - Full Review

CAT

The kids had been saying for quite a few years now that our cat could do with a companion.
We had been putting this off for a while now - When we get a new house, when we come back from the trip, when we get new jobs, etc, etc.

Well, things had calmed down enough that we though now might be the time. We'd actually been looking for about a year or so, to be honest. I must say some cat breeders are just downright fruity. My wife did 90% of the calling around and she dealt with breeders who placed their phone numbers in sales listings and then would get snappy when she called them. About six weeks ago, she and I visited one breeder who lived about 45 minutes from our house. We had a look at the cat, another Burmese. Some breeders run a tight ship, with the cats sectioned off in a separate part of their home, some run things differently, with cats roaming around the house, with baskets in every corner and a few scratching posts throughout the room. This breeder was the latter type. We chatted about the kitten that she had for sale. It had a slight scratch near its right eye. One of the other cats had gotten a little defensive towards it a few days earlier. I was a little concerned that this might be conjunctivitis, and I didn't like the nutcasey vibe that this breeder was giving off. She told us a little too much about her impending surgical procedure. My wife and I learned later one that a few other people that we knew had dealt with this breeder before. None of them gave her glowing reviews.
Anyway, short answer is that we didn't end up purchasing from her. We wound up getting a new cat from a breeder who was impressed to hear that we'd done our homework regarding how to bring a new kitten into a home that already has an adult cat.
Like Madame Wispola Dusenberg (Wispy or Dussy for short, although she does have about 63 different names, thanks to my kids), this kitten is a Burmese. They are a very personable breed. Very friendly and companionable, not as loud, angular-featured or as slim as a Siamese, but quite exotic nonetheless.
Now, I know that there are cat shelters out there in the world that are filled with strays that need a good home, and we thought about getting a cat from one, but I had always wanted to get a Lilac Burmese. Careful what you wish for, Teeritz. 
My first cat, when I was a kid, was a rescue animal. Madame was a dumped stray, believe it or not, that virtually turned up on our doorstep eight years ago, proving to me once and for all that karma does indeed exist, and works in mysterious ways.
But this time around, I wanted to choose exactly what I wanted, right down to the colour.
We got a male. I'm told it's better to mix the sexes, as this removes some of the territorial battles that might ensue if both cats are of the same sex. It can also bring out the maternal/paternal instinct in the older cat. Not sure if this will happen.
The kitten is four months old, which is fine by us. I'm not sure if any reputable breeders will sell you a kitten that's eight weeks old, like back in the old days.
And he has the energy of a friggin' Duracell bunny. We've had him for eight days and he's a full-time job. It's gotten a little tricky making sure certain doors are closed, so as not to have the two of them run into each other just yet.
Getting them accustomed to each other will be a slow process. It involves getting them used to each other's scent first. This is done by the following method;
I had a few packets of baby socks that I bought last year in order to store my watches in temporarily, to prevent them from scratching each other up.
I took one of these socks and rubbed it along the sides of the kitten's mouth and along his forehead. I did the same with another sock on the older cat. Then, I placed each cat's sock next to the other cat, to get them used to the other's scent. This is meant to be done over the course of a week or so. Then, you place these socks next to their feeding bowls, to get them to associate the scent with something pleasurable, i.e- eating.
After a week, you then begin feeding each cat at the same time on either side of a door, to get them used to each other's scent and any sounds they might make while eating.
A week later, you continue doing this, but you open the door a fraction so that they can glimpse each other. If there's any hostility between them, you revert back to the closed door technique and begin again.
This, I suspect, could take a while. Madame Wispy has had free run of the whole house for years now, and is probably quite territorial.

Mister Bowie- which might end up being his name. Or Fidel-, being a very young kitten, has been overwhelmed by the size of the house when we've let him out of my daughter's room (his temporary digs) and has usually opted to run under the couch.
That's him ----->
He has a powdery look to him, and I think his face and ears will darken as he gets older.
I'm hoping for as smooth a transition as possible and I'll be relieved if they accept each other in due course. Otherwise, the house will be some kind of feline war-zone for years to come.

At any rate, there's no shortage of information on the web about how to introduce two cats to each other. I just hope these two cats have read these articles too. 

So, you can see that I haven't devoted too much time or energy to this blog in recent weeks. Work has been busy as I take on a few more tasks, but I thought I'd do a quick post (yeah, good luck wit dat!) as some kind of update.

Wristwatch-wise, I wore these over the last few weeks;

Started the month of June with the Omega Speedmaster Professional on a ten dollar leather strap. It's a nice look, but I wound up putting the bracelet back on the watch a few days later. 

The Rolex Submariner 5513. I didn't wear this watch, but I did take it in to Rolex for a service quote. They wanted to replace the hands on the watch as part of the work required. I had specifically asked them not to quote for new hands. The existing hands and dial markers have darkened slightly, from bright white when the watch was new in 1982, to a creamy patina. If the hands are replaced, they'll be bright white, killing the entire look of the watch, in my opinion, to say nothing of the drop in value of the watch once the original hands are changed. They told me that they quoted for new hands because the luminous compound on the existing hands is brittle and could flake off and get into the movement of the watch. I told them I'd take my chances. I told them not to change the hands as a professional courtesy, since I'm in the wristwatch after-sales industry too. 
No dice. They wouldn't budge.
No deal, I thought to myself. I understand Rolex's reasons. They are all about making your watch look brand new again, but since it's my watch, I'm more concerned with trying to keep it as original as possible. 
I went back to the service centre and got my watch back while I began formulating Plan B. 
More about that in a later post.

I also wore the Oris Diver SixtyFive, seen here on a blue & cream striped NATO strap which I snagged off eBay for twelve bucks. The cream stripe picks up nicely off the luminous numerals on the dial. 

Ended the working week with the circa 1969 Omega Seamaster Chronometer. I'm seriously considering a major restoration of the dial on this watch. Might need to source some new hands for it too. Should look pretty nice once it's done. 

Got home from work and switched over to the Omega Railmaster. Just between you and me, I think my wrists have gotten smaller. I didn't think that was possible, but I've noticed in recent months that many of my watches feel a tad looser on my wrist than they used to. Sure, winter would be one reason for this, since your wrists don't swell up as much from the heat the way they do in summer, but I think that, since my gym membership lapsed early last year, I'm sure I've thinned down a little. Might have to get into some regular exercise routine over the next few months and then re-join the gym come springtime. Sounds like a plan. Of course, I have a few other things to deal with between now and spring. Ah well, better to be busy than not. 

And that's it, gang. Not sure if I'll maintain weekly posts. Life has a way of getting busy. My wife and I are in a de-cluttering stage at the moment. September will make two years since we moved into this house and there are still a few unpacked boxes scattered here and there. Time to clear some stuff. 

Okay, I'm running out of steam, and it's only 4:00pm Saturday. 

Thanks for reading and have a great rest-of-the-weekend!

Friday 9/5/14 - Typewriter Arrivals, Trip 35 Re-Skinning & This Week's Wristwatch.

Friday 7:16pm  AEST

Busy week. Also, I'm a little tired, so I'll try to keep this one short. 

Last weekend

               The new skins arrived for my Olympus Trip 35s. I had an hour to kill on Sunday afternoon, so I figured I'd take a crack at re-covering the cameras. This is how they look with their old covering removed;

And this is how the covering looks. It's a faux calf-skin pattern embossed onto vinyl. I already removed one piece;

And here's the piece applied to the camera. The left-hand side still has the factory covering on it;

A little time and a reasonably steady hand is all that's required. I made some minor trimming to one edge of the covering. 

And then, onto the next one, this time in red lizard-skin pattern;

That way, there's no mistaking one camera for the other. I also got some replacement light seals for the back of the camera;

 All up, it cost me approx $25 for the two skins and light seal kit. Not bad at all, considering the kind of prices that repairers were quoting me.

I've loaded a roll of 36 exposure 200ASA colour film into the red one and started taking pics. It'll be interesting to see how they turn out after all the messing around with the focus that I did a few weeks ago. 

Speaking of lens re-focusing, that post wound up on something called scoop.it where there are a bunch of other Trip 35 related posts by bloggers from around the world. It was here that I took a stroll around and landed on a great photography blog called;

www.filmcamera999.wordpress.com

Jak, the guy who runs this site still uses film, so he's a righteous dude in my book, and he has a soft-spot for the Trip 35 camera. Some great photography on his blog. Well worth a look. 

Tuesday

          This finally arrived;

I've wanted a Corona Four for quite some time, but this one is a little rough, to be honest. I love the look of it, but I think it has sat dormant for decades. I fed a sheet of paper into it and then had to wrestle the platen knob to feed it through. And here's why;

See the thin rubber roller in the centre of the frame above? See how it has a flat edge? The paper gets caught against it when you turn the platen. I think this typewriter has sat still so long that the rubber flattened out after being pressed against the platen. Both rollers are like this.

I figure I've got two options- A light and slightly time-consuming rub with some fine-grain sandpaper to remove that 'corner' from the roller...

...or a dismantling of this section and some mad attempt at whittling down some rubber tubing until I've made replacements for them. 

I think the sandpaper option might be the more feasible one. From memory, Nat (from natslaptaps.wordpress.com) had some good results from replacing these rollers with new rubber, but I'm not sure I'd like to go to that extent just yet. 

Of course, I could send it to JJ Short one day...if I can figure out complete removal of the platen first. 

Also, the back-space keytop and symbol were missing. No problem, I just used one of the spare Royal QDL keytops and made a quick 'practice' key. I think I'll be printing out a jazzier-looking arrow on Word (wingdings) sometime soon. But I doubt I'll be able to match aged ivory patina of the other keys. No biggie. I've got some nice, cream-coloured card stock that I can use.

In the meantime, I'll give the platen a wipe-down with methylated spirits to remove 90 years of ribbon residue.

Based on the serial number (H406122) , I think it dates back to 1925. It definitely types loud and rough, but I'll see if I can get it running a little smoother. 

I have to say it's a beautiful looking typewriter and it would be a shame if I can't get it running as it should. 

In saying that, though, I'm sure a slight cull is in order. I've come to realise in recent months that I enjoy using some typewriters more than others. 

My absolute favourites are (in order of smooth and easy typing);

-the '47 Royal QDL, even with its erratic word-joining idiosyncrasy.

-the '66 Olympia SM9, which runs like it was built only yesterday.

-the '56 Smith-Corona Silent Super, with its nice, snappy typing action.

-the '45 Smith-Corona Sterling, 'cos it's rock-solid and types nicely.

-the '54 Olympia SM3, which slightly nudges out the '51 SM2 (if these were basket-shift, they'd be a lot higher up the list).

-the '55 Remington Quiet-Riter, which has a pleasant, middle-aged-spread typing action.

...My God, I think I only need seven typewriters! So why do I have seventeen? At least five of them are great to look at, such as the 1928 Royal Portable, the 1936 Smith-Corona Standard, the 1938 Remington Remette, and the 1952 Olivetti Studio. I suspect that if I replace the platens on them, they'll type and sound even better than they already do. 

Of the rest, the Olivetti Lettera 32 is not going anywhere, since it was my school typewriter that hammered out numerous assignments, essays and projects back in the early 1980s. And the 1957 Groma Kolibri cost me a pretty penny and I have no plans to get rid of it. 

Which pretty much leaves the Olympia Splendid 99, the Smith-Corona Galaxie II and the early '70s Litton Imperial. These three will probably go. And I may consider moving the SM2 as well, since it doubles-up against the slightly better typing SM3. Not sure about that, however. I think I have too many machines that don't get used.

And if I manage to snag myself a 1950s Smith-Corona Skyriter at some point, then I thin the collection will be complete. Although an early 1950s Royal Quiet De Luxe (Dreyfus design) would do nicely, especially if it types like my 1947 model.

Well, that was therapeutic. Although, I'm still slightly confused about it all.

Wednesday

              I got a text message stating that my Working with Children Check had been approved. Cool. 

Today

       Caught up with a couple of friends today. hadn't seen one of them for about four years. Time rockets along, don't it? It was good to see him and we pencilled in a breakfast for some time in the next month or so. 

Oh yeah, the purpose of this post, I was wearing the Omega Railmaster on a ZRC padded black leather strap.

All week. 

I must have been in a no-nonsense mood this week, since I stuck to one watch. I get like that sometimes. 

I love that photo of French actress Marion Cotillard, taken by the legendary Mario Testino for the July 2010 issue of US Vogue magazine. 

picture taken from http://lilmisskiwi.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/sitting-on-top-of-world.html

Her look in this photo shoot  (skin tone, hair colour & style, jawline, eye colour) always reminds me of my wife.

Thanks for reading and have a good weekend, all!