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Old 14 January 2023, 02:12 PM   #1
jgrae
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Hi Guys, longtime lurker new poster

Hey guys,

I’ve been interested in watches since late high school, I’m 40 now. I cut out a picture of a Movado Eliro and put it on the wall of my bedroom. Makes me cringe now, but anyway. In college I found someone on a watch forum and took him out to lunch at Buddakan in Philly in exchange for him brining his watch (IWC Aquatimer 3536 SS) for me to check out. Worth every penny. Nice guy, don’t remember much of the lunch other than the watch. Was probably 12ish years later when I finally got one for myself (second “real watch” purchase). I still love it, wear it regularly, and rate it as the most slept on high-end beater in watches.

As time progressed and I started making more money around the height of the market in 2006-7 I bought my first “real” watch with a friend. It was between a Rolex Sub, Panerai Luminor, and Glashutte Navigator (no date). At one point I, along with my best friend, flipped a coin at a dealer. If it landed heads I would have bought the Panerai. It was tails and I moved on. Eventually decided on the GO. I went to Philly to buy it from Tourneau in NYC and I needed my friend to charge it on his credit card, cause my limit was less than the $3,500 or so. Obviously would have been better financially to go with the Sub. All three were around $3,500 at the time.
Next watch was a Panerai 422 (47mm) as a push gift to myself when my second daughter was born. As a big guy I was always drawn to bigger watches as I felt they were more appropriate for my size.

I was always drawn towards the more “horology” leaning pieces. Several years later I got the IWC 3536 just for bucket list reasons. I’ve spent an embarrassing amount of time watching Tim Mosso’s reviews, Roman Sharf from Luxury Bizarre, etc. Approx two years ago I got the bug and took the plunge buying a JLC Duometre Chronograph WG from an online watch trader. Love that thing. Unfortunately, I wound up wearing it less often than I expected because it’s a little formal, not particularly water friendly (mostly because of the strap) and a little bit delicate. I mean, maybe it’s not, but I know If I damaged it, a lot could go wrong. Did I mention it was kind of expensive. I was doing very well at the time so it’s not like I couldn’t afford it, but it was like the first time I dropped kind crazy (in the real world) money on something like this. My wife made me promise not to buy another watch for two years.

Went on vacation to Stockholm after this, in the midst of Covid. Not many tourists for a long time, the Rolex dealer we went to there actually had watches. I wasn’t really ready to pull the trigger on anything but they had a few used/vintage pieces my wife really liked a Rolex Oysterquartz1700 (white dial, romans) and I thought it was very cool with the integrated bracelet. After confirming that this purchase would not push back my 2 year hiatus, I bought it. Never had a piece sub 42mm but after a while I got used to it. I don’t really have a large wrist (prob a tad over 7”) so on the wrist it looks fine, but I am a larger guy.

Fast forward another year or so, the 2 year ban has ended. Having two daughters (7 and 2) my priorities have shifted somewhat in my preference for fine, delicate things towards wanting something more robust. I hadn’t ever really strongly considered a Rolex before because I thought it reeked of gauche vibes and I could find better high horology value elsewhere. But after a while I started to really understand better their value proposition (read: wife is more comfortable with me dropping money a Rolex than something she’s never heard of). With Rolex prices coming back down to earth somewhat, I was starting to strongly consider them. I was officially on the hunt.

I decided my next watch would be a PM Rolex: Smurf, WG/YG/Pt Daytona, or DD. Any of these would be amazing. Can’t easily try any of these on. Even though I was rocking the “36mm” (actually 37mm) Oysterquartz most days I was still concerned about size. I wrote off the YG Daytona for this reason (apparently true size is closer to 38.6mm or something) and the Pt Daytona wasn’t really realistic for me since the price hasn’t come down a ton and while I like it I’m not hugely a Daytona guy. I already have a Chrono.
So it was really Smurf, WG Daytona, DD.

Yada Yada Yada, then I went to the Diamond District to help narrow things down.
I will post the story of this trip, in excruciating detail (including yada yada yada) to the “WatchOut!!!” section of the forum shortly.

Nice to meet you all.
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Old 14 January 2023, 08:40 PM   #2
Trailboss516
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Welcome, formally.

I like the story, I've actually been looking at the Duometre chronograph myself for a while, but haven't really seen anyone else wear it or see pictures anywhere except for a few reviews here and there. I never tried it on, but maybe one day.
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Old 15 January 2023, 11:19 AM   #3
Allanmodel
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Old 15 January 2023, 12:57 PM   #4
jgrae
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Trailboss516 View Post
Welcome, formally.

I like the story, I've actually been looking at the Duometre chronograph myself for a while, but haven't really seen anyone else wear it or see pictures anywhere except for a few reviews here and there. I never tried it on, but maybe one day.
Thanks.

Re the JLC -- there are several really great videos on it by Tim Mosso of Watchbox

Review:
Newer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSxfRZrgsEQ
Older (fawning): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HECTJFNeKb4

Compared: Duometre vs Datograph "Clash of Titans"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LShvAo9DbGo

I really like it on a gray matte alligator strap, dressing it down a bit (I found the black alligator glossy sttap a bit formal for my lifestyle) .

Some inspiration below (pics/watches not mine):
Attached Images
File Type: jpg JLDduo1_compressed.jpg (81.4 KB, 53 views)
File Type: jpg JLDduo2_compressed.jpg (57.0 KB, 51 views)
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Old 16 January 2023, 12:23 AM   #5
Urosfan
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Old 16 January 2023, 03:38 AM   #6
brandrea
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Old 14 March 2023, 12:11 PM   #7
dakkonmc
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I had a chance to look at the RG 40mm duometre lunaire in person. It's a nice time piece with very good finishing. I would probably prefer the 42mm

Know what you know today. Would you still buy this watch?

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Old 14 March 2023, 12:33 PM   #8
jgrae
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dakkonmc View Post
I had a chance to look at the RG 40mm duometre lunaire in person. It's a nice time piece with very good finishing. I would probably prefer the 42mm

Know what you know today. Would you still buy this watch?

Sent from my SM-N986U using Tapatalk
The Duometre? Absolutely I'd buy it again. It's a great mix of both high horology and something that wouldn't be crazy to wear every day. I really do prefer watches with bracelets and I'll probably wind up wearing my Plat DD2 more often but I'd definitely sell that before the Duometre.
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Old 14 March 2023, 09:37 PM   #9
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Old 16 March 2023, 11:13 AM   #10
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