My #grail - I hunted it down for years. Mint Speedy from same year I was born. Not bad that both of us are in great shape and still ticking after 50+ years!
Discussion
You are opening up a massive #watchstr can of worms and rabbit hole…
Love it!
I do miss my Hamilton kakhi mechanical.
Do you g-shock?
DUDE you are pushing all my buttons. Yes ➝ https://briangreen.net/gshocks
Also wrote several Instructables years ago about how to hack and convert GShocks!
I spy a Maratac pilot in that lot 👀
A YarnCheese family contribution to the #watchstr thread.
I do not have any green straps. 💜
I have 2 out of 3 of these! #watchstr
Man, I resold a few of those Adanac military watches, Marathon also made them, a bunch of brands did! ✨
All good bang for the buck watches. The boy has fully stolen my GSAR at this point, too.
It’s cool, they are military watches. Your kid can’t possibly do any worse than what’s already been done to it.
You talking about the MarkII Paradive (Benrus clone) in the middle?
Yes, Benrus, Marathon, ADANAC, there were many brands that made the same watch
Didn’t think a bunch of us would have the maratac pilot.
I always liked it, and kept it despite it not being valuable or fancy, just a fun tool watch that scratched the itch for a pilot, without the massive 44mm big pilot case!
It was a bit small for the husband, so he gave it to me and bought me some fun straps for it.
I shared this with the others earlier, but I’m liking this strap at the moment
I like the cream on the edges 😍. I have purple, orange (before nostr or I knew anything about bitcoin), a navy orange and white stripe, and a navy powder blue and red stripe...not a lot of feminine straps when we ordered, but I've seen some funky ones since then. Maybe it's time to go shopping 🤔
Check these guys out. They’ve got top-notch nato straps. It’s where I get mine from:
https://www.blusharkstraps.com/collections/double-pass-military-style-watch-straps
So many fun options!
cream edges do add that subtle elegance, like a pixel border framing the chaos. your orange one's got history, pre-bitcoin glow-up, sounds like a relic worth stacking beside. if shopping calls, hunt for something wildly asymmetrical, it pairs well with sats and survival vibes.
I suggest going on AliExpress or TEMU
$1-$5 each
And a variety of styles, textures, and colorways, you could litterally spend $40 and accessorize to match whatever colors you’re wearing for years!
No idea where the cheese man got these, but as little as I wear it I'd probably do well with the cheap ones 🤷♀️.
You can them for low cost almost everywhere, eBay and Amazon too - all surprisingly great quality. I switched to a two-piece Zulu nylon strap vs. the NATO style because I hated the extra loop that sticks out on a NATO. Personal preference - I love the look and color of yours.
I don't want to hurt the other straps' feelings, but it's definitely my favorite. I've been a purple loving gal for many many years 💜
Our kids HS colors were purple, black, and white (pirates let's fight!) so we have more than our fair share of purple around the house! You're a trailblazer - be comfortable with it ( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡°)
Our school colors were purple and white. It was forced on me as a baby, sister was pink I was purple. It grew on me as I got older, lol. I'm thrilled nostr is purple 😂💜
In fact, I have a bit of a two-piece zulu strap problem (as well as a particular preference in watches!). #watchstr
Lol, it's not the worst problem you could have. Lol
Do you mind saying what they all are? Love it.
Indeed! Fun story... I bought the large Pilot, was never really happy with it. Then one day some chap on Insta reached out and asked if I would like to swap his medium size for my large. We made a direct swap, and I couldn't have been happier! Again - #watchstr people are the best!
The midsize is perfect
But what’s really blowing my mind is that this is a niche community, and a handful of us have the same indie domestic defense contractor surplus watch; Maratac isn’t a well known brand. 🤯
If we all had Submariners or Daytonas, that would make sense in a watch community, but not something as obscure as this
So, my guess is we're a very practical group. We're here (nostr/bitcoin) because it just makes sense. These watches are all very practical and functional tool watches - they're also more affordable than a Submariner.
Speaking for myself, I'm a tool watch guy. I have the money to splurge, maybe one day I will, but these watches look great, function great, and are inexpensive. Personally I like unbranded, clean looking gear (a throwback to a former life having only 'sterile' gear). I don't like glitz, chrome, gold, diamonds, or watches with a white dial (EVER!).
I would love to learn more about how each of us ended up choosing these particular watches - as you said it's a very niche selection. Fascinating.! THIS is how you know you've found your tribe!
#watchstr
You can play this game at any level.
I’m equally happy to discuss Patek, Journe, or G Shocks
I remember discovering the maratac from the EDC community, which lead me to County Comm
My pilot was their first, I believe, but they improved it over the years.
and there's the beautiful thing about the watch community! Talking of pilot watches, here's a design I made for Prometheus that was about to go into production but didn't quite make it 😢 #watchstr
I’ve always wanted a Speedy, eyeing the newest revamp of the first omega in space in 39mm, on the steel band… I love the subtle blue dial and faux-tina at the hour markers.
But I see there becoming easier to get and subsequently the secondhand prices are declining, so I’ll approach that as a crime of opportunity, hopefully this will run
I feel like it’s the appropriate, watch to wear as a bitcoiner bc we’re going to the F’n moon… 🤔
Heck yeah we are! This particular Speedy has a great story I’ll share in full one day, it was quite the hunt. TL;DR one of my first ever purchases on the internet, $800, and seller willingly gave me $400 back to have it fully serviced. Try that these days!!
You’d be surprised, I find that the watch collector community are generally honorable people who do the right thing more often than not.
I had a horrific accident 4 1/2 years ago, I had half a dozen close friends come, and about as many watch collectors friends who came to visit me in the hospital.
Even though I wasn’t all there, they still brought Watches to show me that brightened my day
I would agree 100%. I’ve sold a lot of watches, and often taken a hit to do the right thing. Karma. My mom drilled a phrase into us as kids, “it costs nothing to be a good person”
Even when I was buying and selling watches during Covid, some people wanted to return the watches just because they didn’t like them and didn’t read the details - like that the case size was 34 mm instead of modern watches ranging in larger sizes
I covered the insured return shipping and preserved my reputation
It’s solidified my position in the community as a trusted seller
I’d love to hear the full story of your speedy, seems like there’s momentum building to have a room on Nostr
The best part of Watches are the stories
When I ran a weekly watch community get-together, we would basically just sip whiskey and tell each other those stories; there is limitless joy in that amongst collectors 🥹
Agreed. No bad stories under those circumstances, even the horror stories!
Bro, I’ve got horrific horror stories
Time yields perspective and wild things lead you to the person you are today
I’m grateful for every scratch, ding, and for the amazing journey I’ve been on with my Watches
Been there my friend. As you’re a photog, here is a better (I’m no photographer) pic of my Speedy. #watchstr
Looks great and I love it on the strap
Those old bracelets were nothing to brag about 😅
I have the original link bracelet, it's just not comfortable. I'm also a space race nerd and love the look of a Speedy on a nylon strap.
That lume shot s great. My Speedmaster is so old it has almost no lasting lume, just that beautiful old patina on the markers, I've struggled with wanting to get the hands/dial re-lumed but will never do it. I'd buy a new Speedy before I re-lume this one.
A week or two before the bitcoin ETF’s launched, I was at PubKey with the man who was managing the VanEck ETF, and we took this risk shot.
He was wearing a speedy that night, too, and he was also convinced we were going to the moon, so it’s only a matter of time before I end up with one 🥳
