Ulysse Nardin Maxi Marine Chronometer 43mm

Still Deals To Be Had on Ebay!
The other day (on another forum), Joel and Rob (IIRC) were bemoaning the rise in prices of Elgins on Ebay, and hinting broadly that it was my fault for popularizing the brand. Pish and tosh, boys! There are still bargains out there! For example, this baby, which I got just today.Billed as a 'Ladies' watch', it's actually a man's watch, with a 1940s JB Champion bracelet in reasonable working condition!The movement is a 15j 557, one of the 15/0 series from about 1942. It was listed as not running, because the seller couldn't wind it. I checked, and the bevel pinion and crown wheel were skipping. I've seen this before, when the crown wheel screw is loose. A few turns counterclockwise, and it's fixed!Running with pretty good amplitude, too! Now, I don't think I'll be able to wear it as it is. Too girly, even though the previous owner's wrist was at least as large as mine.And what did this set me back?$10. Ten Dollars for a working watch, with an excellent dial, a decent case, a v

I hate this forum . . .
because I should have been doing other things, but I discovered WTF and spent about 5 hours reading it yesterday since I am snowed in. I learned more about watches in that 5 hours than I did the previous 36 years of my life. It all started because I was researching buying a new daily watch. I have a Seiko Titanium (mod# 7N43) I bought in March 2001 and it has been a great watch (just had to replace the battery 3 times), but I am tired of looking at it now. I was looking at lower end stainless steel TAGs and some Accutron's (I currenly own and have for about 12 years a gold plated Accutron that I never wear), but now I am considering others as well after spending too much time on here (I will probably also end up buying a Casio G-Force or something similar to wear to the lake and stuff like that). I am opening up myself for suggestions and here is what I am looking for. 1. stainless steel or titanium 2. will to spend up to $1k (might be willing to go a bit more if I really like it

Ugly watches, per alton
This in response to alton's comment on ugly watches,not one of my favorites but I still do like it for some strange reason!! Whats your ugliest watch?

Royal Oak Clasp Issue
Hey, first post in this section. I was listing my RO Chrono for sale a few weeks ago (I've since decided to keep it, due to selling some other stuff). And while taking photos, I noticed that the clasp was a bit looser than it should be. The same exact same thing happened to me with a Hublot Big bang a few weeks prior to that, and Hublot fixed it even though the warranty period had expired. The Hublot issue was functionally nearly identical to this issue. If I had to guess, I'd say the spring on one side came loose. So I took the ROC to the AP boutique in NYC to check it out- I was told it is safe to wear, and not to fix it until the watch needs a service. While I understand that this may be true, I do like my stuff to be perfect. Can anybody recommend something that will fix this, short of sending it back for an 18 week (what the boutique quoted me) service?Photos are below- I made it look a little worse in the photos by pushing down the clasp locking piece for illustrative purposes. Y

New Strap by . . . and question
Just received my new ammo strap from Daniel at Daluca (got the strap before I even ordered the watch. I will be calling DavidSW on Monday to order). I could not be more pleased with the strap. Daniel at Daluca was a complete pleasure to talk to on the phone, answering all of my newbie questions with great patience.I asked him to pick an early year leather with a great look. He chose a 64 Swiss Ammo pouch and made a beautiful strap. I ordered the Venetian cream with it, and now I have no idea what to do with it. I am confused by what I've read. In some places it says only use the cream if you want to make the strap look new for a long time. They also say don't use the cream if you want it to age naturally and develop a nice patina.Is this true?Please educate me on the proper way to care for this strap.Thanks!