AndrewD
[HoMe Moderator]
12829
Some thoughts ...
Hi xsw
I am one to look after my watches too, and the scratches ‘hurt’, I know. I can tell you, however, that the first scratch, particularly on a brand new watch, hurts the most. Be annoyed for a moment, grieve a little, and then move on. There is no easy answer, but it is either something you come to accept, or you don’t wear the watches.
A couple of other comments for you to consider:
Try purchasing used watches, particularly the vintage classics. While ‘good’ condition is desirable, they usually come with a few scratches. I find I can accept scratches on vintage pieces that other people have made more easily than I can accept scratches I have made on new pieces because of inattention.
The first scratches on a shiny new watch are the most obvious, but as the swirls build up (I am not talking about deep gouges) the whole piece takes on an even ‘patina’ (not the best use of that word, I know). My wife has worn the same Reverso for the last 5 years. While careful, she is certainly not as meticulous as me. She ‘lives’ with that watch and it is involved in all her day-to-day activities. The watch is not its beautifully shiny new self anymore, but it has its own scuffed charm that reflects her life. I actually love it like that.
I hope you can come to an acceptance of a few scratches, because any other path leads to frustration and madness …
Andrew
how do you feel when you scratch your watch?
Noticed theres another new hairline scratch on my stainless steel bezel. Its either the crowd or the it got scratched on a surface. Thing is i treat my watches very well. Major Heartache 4 me!! Why is the stainless steel so damn fragile!
Rolex Prince buckle
A quick cellphone pic of the buckle of my Rolex Prince. It is a pretty big and massive thing, but fits the watch wonderfully. Since my job primarily consists of working at a desk, it got scratched quite a bit, but I do not really mind.......
ditto
definite heartache as well, but it is what it is.....we don't buy a watch just so it can sit in a display case all its life....wear it in good health=D
I take a philosophical approach
I have a UTS 1000m v2 GMT with a couple of microscopically small dings on the bezel. I've come to view them as "battle scars" for a watch I love and wear all the time. If I didn't like a watch I wouldn't wear it. And if I didn't wear it I wouldn't scratch...
What a hypocrite I am...
After reading these posts, this thing just stuck in my head. So I took my UTS diver down to my local jeweler in Greenwich, who is smoothing out one particularly bothersome (though microscopically small) nick at 11:00 on the edge of the bezel. Go figure......
We are but human
We can intellectualize all we want - and these psychological constructs do help us to cope - but the reality with all the emotional overlays is often very different and more difficult to comes to terms with. I hate scratches too, and remember the specific...
Really bad!
I share most of the thoughts uttered here before, but nevertheless I feel bad and try to be more careful or gently polish the scratch. My rational part tells me, it´s stupid; the rest is annoyed. Can´t help it, must be a constitutional defect Ki...
As anaesdoc said: simply polish it! I polish my Golden Ellipse myself ...quite tense...:-) [nt]
No message body This message has been edited by COUNT DE MONET on 2011-03-02 11:33:36
i'm all for just living with it, it gives the watch character and adds to its history
i have a problem with forever scratching plexi glass on my vintage Omegas, but i just leave it on there until i have 5 minutes to polywatch it. just think that in 20 years time you'll be able to say to your family 'i remember getting that scratch when i w...
two useful Asian concepts
The second noble truth - the origin of suffering is attachment -and- Sabi. Those two help a bit, I think, although it still hurts! Best Andreas
We sometimes go too far as to protect our watches far better...
...than we protect our own skin! Think about it! Material things are for wearability and to have them scratched accidentally is ok, look at our cars, which are more expensive in where i live and the car suffers greater than our watches and we can live wit...
The 6 habbits of highly effective watch collectors...
1. Wear long sleeves. Pull your sleeves down and hide your watch behind when walking into a crowd, or resting your wrist on a table to type on a keyboard, etc... 2. Keep your watch wrapped in a clear plastic film between wearing. 3. Try to hold and operat...
7th Habit, there is..........
7) Dont wear our watches and keep them in the drawer. If you select 7), please ignore 1) to 6) above. Just kiidding, guys...
hope u feel better after reading our replies. Dont worry too much.....
...u should be happy you own the watches you own, wear, minor scratches, etc, i once had one of my watches accidentally fall 5 feet to the ground and i still love that watch, its not a ding and luckily it fell at an angle perpendicular to the floor, the s...
Surprisingly, I rarely scratch my watch.
Here's why: I wear sensibly-sized watches with raised acrylic crystals. I am not particularly careful of my watches, and I scratch my crystals quite a lot. So what? They're disposable. Seriously, choice of watch matters. Watches that stick way out from th...
Some thoughts ...
Hi xsw I am one to look after my watches too, and the scratches ‘hurt’, I know. I can tell you, however, that the first scratch, particularly on a brand new watch, hurts the most. Be annoyed for a moment, grieve a little, and then move on. There is no eas...
Very well put
I am glad to see I am not the only one who is bothered by scratches. They sometimes seem to materialize without explanation. Having said that, the first thought that came to mind was acceptance as Andrew stated. After the first few scratches it becomes le...
what do you think in the the cartier boutique here?!!
Hey guys! Yes, the ((cartier boutique)) here can sell you an Obviously scratched brand new watches and they don't care !! even with no advise to polish it for you , so you should ask them to polish it for you then you will recieve it after 2-4 days !! Can...
Shop-soiled watches ...
Hi Walfalah89, Buying stock that has been on display in a dealer/boutique comes with this risk. Of course you should be inspecting anything you buy quite thoroughly. If there are scratches apparent I would be negotiating either for a price decrease or, as...
thanks...but look at that!!
Thanks AndrewD for your very nice reply, I wish to have time to write a full description about how the service is bad at the cartier boutiqe in Kuwait in a new thread ,So I bought two ((new)) watches the first is santos 100 :the bezel is full of scratches...
No, I haven't experienced what you are describing ...
... but I wouldn't have accepted two 'new' watches in that condition from a Boutique. A discontinued, shop-soiled, watch is possibly a different matter and one that I may take if I am happy with the price given the condition and the work required to bring...
Thank you again...
Thanks again AndrewD and really appreciated your advise ,and Yes I understand and fully respect your opinion and the rules of the forum. Actually I Don't believe they represent the Cartier quality of selling and service; I know Cartier since I was 13 year...
Here my philo on this: A scratch is better than a ding, a ding is better then a chip,
a chip is better than a mechanical failure! It's part of character building for the watch. cheers PAt
i read all the posts and i understand this better now
thanks for sharing the different perspectives. I learnt something from you!
First scratch is always the deepest.
Hate when it happens but scratches are better than dents. Thank God for Cape Cod.
I feel that certain watches can handle scratches,
My JLC MCDC has quite a few scratches on it but I don't mind. It is my daily wearer, and while I don't abuse it I also don't baby it. It is a watch that is meant to be worn, and the fact that is worn most of the time means it is going to pick up scratches...