Omega

Many thanks to Art, Graham and Respo for reminding me that my 1000th post was coming up. I wouldn't have noticed otherwise!

 

I'm sure questions like "how did you become addicted" or “what drew you to watches” are asked every once in a while in online and real-life watch collecting communities.

 

My beginning is quite hard to explain. But it has a lot to do with my father and the poor relationship we have always shared. It’s not as if we are not on speaking terms. Let’s just say that we hardly agree with each other and he has this tendency not to speak nicely to most family members and also to openly voice his disapprovals. I felt neglected and mistreated, especially compared to my younger sister who could do no wrong and whose wishes were always satisfied. There were times when I was moved to tears when I saw other fathers and sons enjoying a Sunday in the mall and stuffs like that. I wanted to be those kids. I didn’t want to be treated the way I was. Deep down I knew my father loved me. He just didn’t know how to show his love. And I didn’t know what to do about that. Then the situation worsened in 1997 when the economic bubble bursted and my father had to find another job to fund the operation of his business. I gave up trying to connect with him.

 

But as I finished high school in 1998, I worked up the courage to ask my father for “that gray watch with many orange hands” he used to wear when I was much younger. I remember him taking it off and put it on his desk before he went to bed every night. In more recent years the watch disappeared from sight, only to be replaced by a black Casio analog/digital watch. To my surprise, my father agreed to let me have the watch without hesitance. He even taught me how to wind it by the crown. And so the eighteen-year-old came to be in possession of his first real watch –Omega Speedmaster Professional Mark II.

The Hirsch Carbon strap was put on later. The watch was on a stretched vintage bracelet in a worn out condition. He said he got tired of having to wind the watch every day, and, that the Casio was more practical and water resistant. The Mark II was bought new in the early ‘70s back in when he was in the airlines industry. I can’t remember if he said he bought it in Switzerland or Japan. But it wasn’t bought in my home country that’s for sure.

 

Anyway, back to the eighteen-year-old Ruckdee, who quickly logged onto the Internet to learn all he could about the watch and the Omega brand. The searches led me to a prominent watch discussion forum at that time where I got to know many fine and helpful people including Chuck Maddox and Derek Ziglar (may God rest their souls) and Bill Sohne (thankfully he will be with us for many decades to come). It was there that I learned the differences between quartz and mechanical watches, their pros and cons, and, believe it or not, that “a self-winding watch” is “a watch that winds itself” and not “a watch that I have to wind by myself”. You have to give me some slack here. I started learning English seriously only ten years or so before that time. And even with my broken English I somehow managed to become acquainted with these online friends. My limited understanding of the English language and the western cultures were amicably noted by Chuck Maddox in his Speedmaster Mark Series article < www.chronomaddox.com .html>.

 

One day in maybe 2000 someone started a thread about how we became addicted. And I told this same story about my father and many members came out to express their concerns. The general consensus was that I should at least try to reconcile (which I did for a few years afterwards). Some said their father had already passed away and they missed out on the chance to start anew. I felt sorry for them and I felt sorry for myself. But any attempt on my part proved futile. My father was not open-minded enough to believe that everyone has the right to have a differing opinion. He was angry at everything from where the family dog slept, where my mother hung clothes to where I had my car repaired. When I told him I paid USD 40 for the service of the Mark II, he was furious and said he paid twice the amount for the whole watch in the ‘70s. He wouldn’t listen to the fact that the watch was already worth some USD 1,300 at the time of the argument. Imagine the pain…

 

I value this Mark II very dearly because it is probably the only gift I had from my father. The journey to learn about the watch did not stop there but led me to the acquisition of many watches subsequently. Among them are a few Speedmasters like…

Speedmaster Replica 1957

g

Speedmaster Professional Moonphase

g

And Speedmaster Professional “sapphire sandwich” which I still have

pg

My parents are now separated for the obvious reason. I can speak to my father a bit more comfortably now that I know what subjects to avoid, what comments not to make and what information I should not share with him. Best of all I learned that saying “uh ha” in a friendly, approving tone can get me through any unnecessary headache. That’s probably as good as it gets. I wish he came across this post by chance one day and understand how sorry I am about how things turned out to be and how much I care for him.

 

So, to those who are in the same situation with their family members, I wish you better luck. Just let go of whatever grudge you may have and try to do the right thing before it is too late. All the best to all fathers and sons out there. Thanks for reading!

 

Ruckdee

This message has been edited by Dr No on 2009-10-09 09:45:22

Many thanks to Art, Graham and Respo for reminding me that my 1000th post was coming up. I wouldn't have noticed otherwise!

I'm sure questions like "how did you become addicted" or “what drew you to watches” are asked every once in a while in online and real-life watch collecting communities.

My beginning is quite hard to explain. But it has a lot to do with my father and the poor relationship we have always shared. It’s not as if we are not on speaking terms. Let’s just say that we hardly agree with each other and he has this tendency not to speak nicely to most family members and also to openly voice his disapprovals. I felt neglected and mistreated, especially compared to my younger sister who could do no wrong and whose wishes were always satisfied. There were times when I was moved to tears when I saw other fathers and sons enjoying a Sunday in the mall and stuffs like that. I wanted to be those kids. I didn’t want to be treated the way I was. Deep down I knew my father loved me. He just didn’t know how to show his love. And I didn’t know what to do about that. Then the situation worsened in 1997 when the economic bubble bursted and my father had to find another job to fund the operation of his business. I gave up trying to connect with him.

But as I finished high school in 1998, I worked up the courage to ask my father for “that gray watch with many orange hands” he used to wear when I was much younger. I remember him taking it off and put it on his desk before he went to bed every night. In more recent years the watch disappeared from sight, only to be replaced by a black Casio analog/digital watch. To my surprise, my father agreed to let me have the watch without hesitance. He even taught me how to wind it by the crown. And so the eighteen-year-old came to be in possession of his first real watch –Omega Speedmaster Professional Mark II.



The Hirsch Carbon strap was put on later. The watch was on a stretched vintage bracelet in a worn out condition. He said he got tired of having to wind the watch every day, and, that the Casio was more practical and water resistant. The Mark II was bought new in the early ‘70s back in when he was in the airlines industry. I can’t remember if he said he bought it in Switzerland or Japan. But it wasn’t bought in my home country that’s for sure.

Anyway, back to the eighteen-year-old Ruckdee, who quickly logged onto the Internet to learn all he could about the watch and the Omega brand. The searches led me to a prominent watch discussion forum at that time where I got to know many fine and helpful people including Chuck Maddox and Derek Ziglar (may God rest their souls) and Bill Sohne (thankfully he will be with us for many decades to come). It was there that I learned the differences between quartz and mechanical watches, their pros and cons, and, believe it or not, that “a self-winding watch” is “a watch that winds itself” and not “a watch that I have to wind by myself”. You have to give me some slack here. I started learning English seriously only ten years or so before that time. And even with my broken English I somehow managed to become acquainted with these online friends. My limited understanding of the English language and the western cultures were amicably noted by Chuck Maddox in his Speedmaster Mark Series article < www.chronomaddox.com .html>.

One day in maybe 2000 someone started a thread about how we became addicted. And I told this same story about my father and many members came out to express their concerns. The general consensus was that I should at least try to reconcile (which I did for a few years afterwards). Some said their father had already passed away and they missed out on the chance to start anew. I felt sorry for them and I felt sorry for myself. But any attempt on my part proved futile. My father was not open-minded enough to believe that everyone has the right to have a differing opinion. He was angry at everything from where the family dog slept, where my mother hung clothes to where I had my car repaired. When I told him I paid USD 40 for the service of the Mark II, he was furious and said he paid twice the amount for the whole watch in the ‘70s. He wouldn’t listen to the fact that the watch was already worth some USD 1,300 at the time of the argument. Imagine the pain…

I value this Mark II very dearly because it is probably the only gift I had from my father. The journey to learn about the watch did not stop there but led me to the acquisition of many watches subsequently. Among them are a few Speedmasters like…

Speedmaster Replica 1957


Speedmaster Professional Moonphase


And Speedmaster Professional “sapphire sandwich” which I still have


My parents are now separated for the obvious reason. I can speak to my father a bit more comfortably now that I know what subjects to avoid, what comments not to make and what information I should not share with him. Best of all I learned that saying “uh ha” in a friendly, approving tone can get me through any unnecessary headache. That’s probably as good as it gets. I wish he came across this post by chance one day and understand how sorry I am about how things turned out to be and how much I care for him.

So, to those who are in the same situation with their family members, I wish you better luck. Just let go of whatever grudge you may have and try to do the right thing before it is too late. All the best to all fathers and sons out there. Thanks for reading!

Ruckdee

I must ask someone with the authority to edit the original post for me. It would mean a lot to me for these or at least the first picture to appear where they are intended in that post. Thank you!

Ruckdee

Thanks for sharing the story of you, your father and your first Omega.  It is very moving and a worthy topic for your 1000th post.  Wonderfully written, and the photos of your Omegas are great.  I really like that lume shot, in particular.  I look forward to reading your next 1,000 posts,

Best my friend,

respo

But thank you very much for your kind words. I'll hang around that's for sure.

Ruckdee

..that everyone has differing opinons, views and experiences with their father, mother, siblings and other family members as well as with 'true' friends.  I was always closer to my Mom than my Dad, but he was also a good provider and had good things to say about me and could be encouraging, but he had his critical side to him, too.  I guess it's a guy thing to a certain extent.  Both of my parents have passed on and I miss them at times, but now I am a grandfather and have 2 sons with which I have a very good and speaking relationship, so time heals but as with everything, it's a process.

The Speedies look great!  I like the moon phase/date one and have considered whether purchasing that model or the newest SMAT with the 8500 caliber in it.  Automatic or manual wind?  Busy dial or simply h/m/s/d (hours/minutes/seconds/date)?  Thanks...

R.   =:^D

I'm very happy to hear that this grandfather is in good company . The point about "guy thing" is worth thinking. I think that it is part of the issue.

Regarding the watches, I am more in favour of the busy, manual winding Speedmaster Moonphase than the Aqua Terra in any incarnation. Unless you have other Speedmasters in possession at this time already, of course.

Ruckdee

. . . thanks, Art

. . . remove the now-redundant post because it has generated replies which would also disappear if deleted. On a purely personal note, I would like to extend my admiration for your ability to express your thoughts so well in a language that isn't your native tongue. Believe it or not, I had the same exchange with my Dad recently when he asked me how much it cost to serve the Seiko 5, but fortunately we have a very good relationship and his reply was more in astonishment than admonishment ;-) . . . cordially, Art

I had no idea what I did wrong but most likely I think it is the quotation marks, the brackets or one of the special characters as I was copying the text from MS Word and pasting it onto the web browser. Whatever the cause was, I thank you for making the post complete for me.

And please don't expect me to converse this effectively verbally one day when we meet. It's very different for me to write and to speak. I have all the time in the world when I write. But the interactiveness of a verbal conversation can be very demanding you see. See you on the forum!

Ruckdee

I had a lot of pleasure and emotion to read your story, my friend.

And to view your collection, too!

Thanks for sharing this moment of intimacy, and huge congrats for your 1000 Th post!

Nicolas

After I posted it, I read it again and felt it is quite long and winding. But the perspective it gives may be useful to someone in a similar situation so in the end I thought it was worth it. Thank you very much for the encouragement.

On a lighter note, I'll post a pic on the JLC forum soon. I call it my "JLC Shrine". Can't be too hard to guess.

Ruckdee

it is good that you have a better relationship with your father now although perhaps not reconciled. your fathers own upbringing will have a huge impact on the way he behaved and so on back through the generations. there are people who are just angry with no real reason other than the stresses and strains of providing for a family. i'm 45 and have been married twice, i've had very very hard times and very lucrative times and life can be very stressful especially when times are hard. enough said on that point, but it could explain a lot about your fathers attitude over the years.

lovely selection of speedies. i've owned a MKII and have the replica, possibly the best modern speedmaster other than the 'uncommon' chronometer handwind speedy.

congratulations on your 1000th post and fair play for being brave enough to open your soul to everyone. not an easy thing to do.

here's to the next 1000

best

Graham

...I can't help but remember that his father shared a very similar trait, too, but not as intensive. Thank you for pointing this obvious fact out to me. How could it have managed to escape me all these years? What you said offers me considerable comfort. Thank you.

And, yes, I know you had a Mark II. I read it in one of your posts I believe. But I don't know you have the Replica and that you think highly of it. I liked the watch very much when I had it. Now I have only regrets selling it years ago.

By the way, did you get my reply e-mail on October 6th? I haven't heard from you since so I'm not sure if you got it. I don't want to appear rude in case you did not receive that e-mail by accident.

Ruckdee

No message body

Hope your father sees this post and realize how much he means to you.

-MW

No message body

It is not easy to share such things in open public
forum but this is the one that it's worth of it
All the best from another Omega fan
Sincerely
Damian

It's very different from some other faceless, soulless places in this cyber world. Thank you to you too for your interest in my story. I'm actually on my way to an Omega Constellation event in a couple of hours. Will post pics in a few days.

Ruckdee

I read your post, and was very moved by your story.  I think many people, including myself, can relate in some way, as relationships with parents are some of the most formative, and often the most loving and/or most challenging ones in our lives.  You have a beautiful collection of Omegas, and I hope over time, you and your father will increase your understanding of each other, and build a camaraderie.  Perhaps, he will read your post one day and understand how meaningful his watch is to you.

Congrats on your 1,000th post, and I look forward to the next 1,000 and beyond.

Cheers,
Daos

No message body

Hi Ruckdee,

 

Congratulations on this milestone and thanks for sharing such a touching personal story. The Mark II looks great in your photo and holds a unique position in the collection. I have enjoyed reading your contributions for years and look forward to more in the future.

 

Kind regards,

 

Andrew

No message body

Hi Ruckdee

Thankyou for sharing a true private story about you turning into a Omega lover.

My  relationship to my father was always good, though he (and actually the rest of the family) never really understood my passion for watches.

Omega came into the picture due to my father and my grandfather having a few (Mainly Seamasters and a Dynamic). But first when they died (my father last year) did I inherit the watches.  My brother only got my fathers constelleation steel and Quartz. All the watches went directly to the local Omega Aut dealer for service. A detail was on my grandfathers Seamaster that did not go at all. Obviously my grandfather was a strong and very big man that was used to used muscles. At the end that killed the watch and almost 50% of the parts in the movement was changed. it took almost 1½ year until the local Omega dealer had all the parts together from Omega SA and other dealers and could do the service. Now this watch holds normally + 3 sec/day and sits in my safe

BR Hans

And thanks for sharing about your grandfather's watches. It's always nice to hear about a watch well used, well repaired and well loved. I'm sure you will treasure the watch indefinitely.

Ruckdee

When the going gets tough, the tough get going.

No message body