Cartier Ballon Bleu - Chronograph

Information about this watch
We found another watch that my Grandpa had tucked away in his things. It's a Gruen and I'd really like to know how old it is and any other information about it. At the bottom of the dial it says "Ra swiss Ra" what does this mean?The watch is working and since i started it around 6 last night it is keeping time just about to the second. One thing that bothers me is that the crown is very hard to wind. I think i may have got it to make 3 or 4 complete revolutions and then its just to hard to turn. To my surprise it was still running this morning. I'm thinking it needs to be serviced but I'm not sure when I'll be able to get that done. How much do you think a watch like this would cost to get serviced? I spent some time cleaning it up, it was really dirty. I also cleaned up the crystal with some Novus 2 and got a lot of the scratches out, still needs more polishing though. Also, I removed the bracelet, it was not in good shape and i had to forcibly remove one of the spring bars because

Watch Valets / Storage Units. What does yours look like?
Hey Guys, This will be my first post. I have been "stalking" WTF site for some time. I am just getting back into the swing of purchasing watches. I currently have 20+ watches. Some are in their boxes that they came with, others are on a plastic stand that are used in the brick and mortar stores. I have always wanted a watch valet / storage that can hold my watches. I am eventually going to pull the trigger on a glass display case from the swedish furniture store. But I would still want to have my watches all in one location. So Long story short, can I get a look at how / where you store your watches? ThanksRyan

Nautilu, Nautilus, Nautilus
Really? I may be a newbie on this website, but I've been admiring Patek's for a long, long time. And I still don't get it. A few years ago, the AD's couldn't give these things (Nautilus) away. And now, customers are climbing the walls for them. They haven't changed in style much, over the decades, so what stimulated this craze all of a sudden? For whatever reason, within the last two years, they became sought after. And that stimulates the human nature of COVETING. The more that these became unavailable and dried up, the more the customers wanted them. Greed. This is no longer a case of supply-and-demand; it's a case of supply-and-coveting. And what really entertains me is that one of these recent posts claimed that the Nautilus is the flagship of Patek. Really? When perusing the history of this incredible company, where did it ever mention that this port-hole watch has been the flagship of its hundred-year-plus existence? Sure, it's a cute watch, even though (as you look

Bronzo - so who's getting one?
Deposit paidIt's been years since I bought a panerai and I am looking forward to delivery.My only concern is maintenance given the bronze case.I am interested to hear everyone's thoughts and real life experiences

I hope we all learned our lesson
Last night the forum was absolutely sure that there would be a coke gmt on jubilee.There were threads about people confirming the news because their AD told them.We had also heard countless times that there would never be a steel pepsi after the WG.Yet here we are.All the rumors, all the confidence behind some of those predictions.We just never know what Rolex is going to do.I'll give them credit though. For such a massive and well known company, they sure know how to keep things secret.