State of... Boredom

[danomar]

As much of the world now seems to know, it snowed several inches here in the Atlanta area overnight:



Anywhere else, a few inches would be insignificant. Indeed, I remember what it was like to routinely have a few meters of snow fall over a given weekend when I lived in Switzerland. Alas, a few inches of snow in this area cripples it. I am thus stuck at home. Not a bad thing, but I was fully prepared for a week of dragging adolescent minds through the seemingly endless labyrinths of literature.

So what to do? Take photos. That's what.

My current Lemania collection minus an Omega Seamaster 176.007 that is still being refurbished:



In closer detail:







I normally avoid these state-of-the-collection photos, but Lemanias are special.

After a bit of shuffling, my collection is down to these. I think I am proudest of the fact that I very much like all of them. Only a few are what I might consider 'clunkers' and all but two are more-or-less recently serviced—that alone is a feat! Not that Lemanias need service, of course!

I do own other timepieces, but few provide as much satisfaction as a nice Lemania. Maybe it has to do with the company's inscrutable history that invites further exploration, perhaps because they are simply excellent timepieces.

I do not remember if I related this before: I was talking to a veteran Heuer employee (who was very important to its history in the U.S.) a few months ago who told me about when he visited the Lemania factory to look at the then-new 5100 movement that Heuer was considering for inclusion in its products. He told me how he critiqued the movement, how he thought it would be faulty in so many ways and how it would fail in others. He now holds the 5100 and its variants in incredibly high regard. As he puts it (I will try to re-create his emphasis), "The Lemania 5100 is designed unlike ANY other movement EVER made!"

He also gave the 1340 series a nod of approval!

ATG in general and this new-ish forum in specific have been most useful in my Lemaniacal pursuits. I thank you all and wish you a safe, weather-irrelevant 2011!
-Daniel

[DaveS]

Hi again Daniel
Thanks for your New Years wishes, the same to you for 2011. Our first New Year in our specific corner of the UniWis has given me a chance to try and think of new things we can do here, so watch this space.

Well, much as you may hate it, we certainly like you having snow and foul weather, if it means we get to look at your collection.

And what a great collection it is, which I can say in total confidence as I have never owned a single one of the watches you post, so you remain unafflicted by my poor taste

Seriously, some lovely stuff there. The Heuer Carrera is really growing on me as a really attractive case shape, it has those nice cushion lines, but retains actual lugs rather than shrouding them. And it wears its domed plexi in style, out front and open, not nested into a tachy or bezel. And great to have it on its bracelet too (although that looks very similar to the ones on the Heuer Audi Sport...).

Love the funky cases and hand sets of the 1340s on the left too.

So I guess this covers you from the 70s (or are the Tissots earlier) all the way up to the 90s, with Perhaps the Sinn 157 in the noughties.

A great collection, thanks for showing it to us

Dave

[andy_s]

I'll write more later as I'm a bit rushed but saw this and thought of you:


(Landeron/FaM)


Pontiac - looks slightly familiar?

[ATG]

All great watches there apart from the Revue Thommen... never could love that one...

[danomar]

I spent all morning upstairs clearing out old boxes. I originally went up there looking for a part of an old turntable (a Harmon Kardon/Rabco from the 1970's of course!) and never found it. At least I did something useful. Came back down, logged into the school system email website and... No school Wednesday. My expletive translated to your vernacular might sound like, "Bl**dy h@#&!" Not that I miss the dear children, no, but schools run on schedules. Miss a day or two, no worries; miss three or four and everything gets messed up. That and the knowledge that we now have used up all our extra inclement weather days. The inconvenience factor paid later in the year will not be fun.

Dave you are right about the Carrera. I think if I had only one watch to choose, that would be it. It is nearly perfect in many ways, truly an oft-overlooked classic.

The bracelet came from a BWC of all things. The bracelet is nearly identical to the original Heuer item notwithstanding the buckle and end links. The original Heuer bracelet is, of course, unobtanium. I could have gotten a Carrera 510.523 with original bracelet nearly two years ago for approximately $1800 but had money tied up in a deal with an unscrupulous Indian seller for a Sinn 157Ti that never arrived. Luckily I only lost $500. Yes, only. It was a good lesson. I have invested more than $1800 and much time into this Carrera, but now it is 100% sorted. That former Heuer employee I mentioned previously is the one who serviced the movement.

Andy: That version of the Pontiac shows up every once in a while. My Felca does use the same case, but the use of a 1340 inside makes it a bit more rare. Pontiacs usually contain a Valjoux 7750—this example appears to. Nice enough, but I already have three 7750's. I might even be selling my Rado to reduce that number. The mostly blue color dial is nicer than most, though. Thanks for sharing. I'd love to see more photos of it.

I understand Al's aversion to the Revue Thommen. It is not a pretty watch, but it is small and light, two things that I like. It was also very inexpensive. It is my only red-dialled watch, and I do like the tint. Swapping out the central chrono minutes hand made a big improvement. I am thinking of having the case and bracelet painted black and maybe trying to invert the dial so that the crown and pushers are on the left similar to the Sinn EZM1. It would not be as easy as it sounds, but maybe this summer I will consider it more seriously.

Regardless, thanks again to all for this great little corner of the web for Lemaniacal types!

[andy_s]

Finally had chance to sit down and see this on the laptop, I'm very pleased you're snowed in and we've chance to see the collection in its entirety!

I guess my interest/focus in the Lemanias started with the EZM1 and sort of went from there and thanks (Al') to this wee corner of the UniWis (ha) I've learned heaps although I've obviously a long way to go - so while I'm here a big thanks to Dave, Menno, yourself and others for putting salt on the slippery paths for me. As they say on that other forum you are familiar with -

It's difficult to say what a favourite one may be, and that's not really the point here but the Heuer is very interesting indeed and I'd love to handle one.

Through another forum I thought I was on the trail of a Speedmaster 0882 / 1045 which was priced at normal Speedmaster levels but alas it was a red herring - shame they only made them for a short while and shame that they were tagged as 'Grails' - I wish they'd made them in bigger numbers and they were a bit more under the radar, I think that's one of my 'unobtanium' watches at the moment, not due to rarity or label but just because I think it's a great case and a good use of the movement. Perhaps one day, but as your collection shows, there is such a good variety out there that it isn't necessary to concentrate just on one thing.

I wasn't familiar with the Pontiac and assumed it to be a 7750 but thought you'd be interested to see the case / design used in another make. As an aside, the Silvana pictured with it looks quite nice too (although again, not a Lemania).

The maligned RT is hard to like but I can see why it's not a complete duffer - I like the splash of red dial and as you say, it's not an expensive purchase so why not indeed.

Anyway - random morning ramble over, my modest 1343, 5012 and 5100 doff their hats - let's hope 2011 brings us opportunities to expand and diversify our collective collections and hopefully many more interesting ones to follow. Personally I'd like to dip a toe further into issued Lemanias this year but may well be distracted if something like the Heuer or your latest Lemania crops up. Who knows? That's what makes it quite fun!

All the best all,
Andy