Ferrari Mailing List: Re: Staying firmly OT: Watches and cars and storage, oh my!

[francis newman (francis]

Hi Rick at al

Unlike some I have no great interest in watches. I can't stand the massive 
great wrist jewellery that some people go for. I prefer something very slim 
with a plain face. 

The most expenisve watch I have ever bought is a Tissot, which cost me 40 
dollars 20 years ago, and I still wear. I have owned probably only 4 or 5 
watches during my life. I did particularly like a very slim stainless steel, 
with stainless steel strap, Seiko with a blue face that I bought in Jeddah in 
1978 and wore for about 15 years till it gave up the ghost. I still have it. I 
also always fancied a much more expensive gold Piaget that my first boss had. 
It was slim and beautiful and very understated. if I won the lottery that is 
the sort of thing I would go for.

So here is a link to the type of watch I might buy if my current one packs up. 
I would prefer a black leather strap but some sort of plastic one would be OK.

http://www.watchshop.com/mens-skagen-classic-watch-858xlslb-p99938937.html

As for cameras. Well I was on tehn photo trade for 25 years so never needed to 
buy wnything - just boprrowed it from work.

So I have a big gap between my two Nikon Fs (one Ftn and one plain pentaprism) 
which I bought when I was at college and my recent digital stuff (plus a few 
bits of late 19th early 20th century stuff I picked up along the way). But I 
have used pretty much everything around in the interim, so none of it holds 
much awe for me. Much the same as if you work in a Ferrari shop I guess.

Best

Francis

On 17 Oct 2014, at 14:57, Rick Lindsay wrote:

> George, Matt, et al.,
> 
> Isn't it a treat to have such wonderful hobbies?! I too enjoy fine watches - 
> and cameras and cars. Its part of that 'machines' appreciation. 
> 
> In the timepiece world I have two old coin silver railroad pocket watches. 
> Both are key wind. One has an ivory face. The other one's face appears to be 
> porcelain on a brass substrate. And both came from my grandad. He was a 
> Pullman Conductor on the Union Pacific railroad's Chicago through Denver to 
> the west coast run. Perhaps that's where I got my love for trains. Or perhaps 
> it comes from living just a couple of miles away from where Dr. Sheldon 
> Cooper grew up!
> 
> In 1943 my dad graduated from highschool. To commemorate the event, his 
> father, the Pullman Conductor with a great respect for the words, "on time", 
> gave him an Elgin tank watch. When dad died, I got the watch and own it 
> still. Somewhere along the way, probably in the '60s, it was repaired and a 
> replacement stem was installed. The 'crown' of the stem is too large, this 
> being a generic part that fit rather than a correct Elgin replacement part. I 
> am torn between finding a correct stem and leaving the watch as dad last wore 
> it. At present, the latter case is winning. I occasionally wear the watch and 
> it 'keeps time' just fine.
> 
> Having come of age in the '60s and being fascinated by NASA and the 
> Mercury/Gemini/Apollo program, I just had to have a Bulova Accutron - the 
> first watch of the Magnificent Seven. I bought mine in 1970.  It is a second 
> generation Accutron in about the cheapest gold plated brass case available, 
> at the time. First generation Accutrons had a setting mechanism on the back 
> of the watch and no 'stem', per se. This was to emphasize that it was an 
> electric watch, using a tuning fork motor. Quartz watches were yet to be 
> invented! Second generation Accutrons had a conventional stem, making them 
> easier to set, but the stem was offset 45 degrees from the typical location - 
> again to emphasize that this was no 'ordinary' hand wound watch.
> 
> I also have a stainless and gold TAG Heuer with mother of pearl dial, that I 
> bought 25 years ago. The case is wear-worn but the 'motor', to use the 
> watchmaker's term, is still flawless. It has gone through the TAG repair 
> facility for cleaning and a full restoration, EXCEPT for the case and 
> bracelet. I have kept the 25 years of external patina unchanged.
> 
> That's it for the older watches. In the newer category are a Ferrari 
> Rattrapante Tachymeter and a Breitling Navitimer 01 - and a couple of Timex 
> beater watches for the garage.
> 
> I also like cameras and own quite a few. Some are simple and old, others are 
> newer and quality machines but not in the Hasselblad or Leica class. Sadly my 
> original Nikon F with the Photomic light meter head, was stolen. That was a 
> long time ago. Today in addition to the antiques, I have two FMs, one silver 
> and one black. Also have an FG and a plethora of Nikkor lenses - some 
> automatic, some completely manual. None are autofocus. And of course there a 
> several digitals laying around, mostly Nikons.
> 
> Disclaimer: Recall that I have never claimed to be a photographer. Better 
> said; I am a camera owner. 
> 
> The current scuderia in age order is;
> 
> '53 MG TD
> '62 Triumph TR3b
> '69 R-R Silver Shadow
> '73 Jaguar E-Type
> '73 Volvo 1800ES
> '78 Lotus Esprit S2
> '79 Ferrari 308GTB
> '85 Ferrari Testarossa
> '08 Porsche Cayman
> '09 Toyota Highlander
> 
> There is a logic to these seemingly random cars. First of all, the later 
> model 21st century cars, are the daily drivers. I don't even change the oil 
> in these cars. They are major appliances, if expertly functioning appliances. 
> The older cars are all cars that can mostly be maintained and serviced at 
> home in the garage. The 308GTB uses electronic ignition but that's 
> plug-n-play should anything go wrong. The Testarossa is the youngest of the 
> lot and the least home garage friendly. Where clutch and cam belts on the 
> 308GTB are Saturday afternoon sitting on the garage floor jobs, the 
> Testarossa cam belt is engine-out, and God only knows what it takes to change 
> a clutch! I don't care for that. My friend Neil's Mondial T, with the 348 
> drivetrain is a strong performer but I wouldn't want to own it. Too many NLA 
> parts and almost beyond simple garage maintenance. Yea, I'm opinionated that 
> way and I don't ask anyone else to agree. And just like my Timex garage 
> watches are more precise than the older mechanical ones, and the digital 
> cameras take higher resolution pictures than the old 35mm SLRs, the later 
> model Ferraris (or whatever marque one wishes to insert there) are more 
> reliable, quicker, safer, or whatever - and I just don't care for them, 
> except perhaps as major appliances.
> 
> Happy Saturday,
> 
> -rick
> _________________________________________________________________
> To unsubscribe or modify your subscription options, please visit:
> http://lists.ferrarilist.com/mailman/options/ferrari/francis.newman%40fntn.co.uk
> 
> Sponsored by BooyahMedia.com
> and F1 Headlines
> http://www.F1Headlines.com/