My Chronomat 01
Figured I'd share with you guys here at TRF as well!

A Proud New Member of the Omega Family
Having lurked around the forums for a awhile, I am happy to say that I finally took the plunge and purchased my first real watch: the Omega Planet Ocean 8500 in 42mm. Like many others, I debated on which brand to go with Omega vs. Rolex. Beyond the technical comparisons, I went with Omega for one simple reason: 1. Rolex is just too obvious. Too cliche. I like the idea of owning an Omega because it implies that I actually know a little bit about watches beyond simply the price tag and name recognition. But any-who -- here are some pics!

A shout out to Bulang and Sons
Back in April, I bought a Diablo strap for my 145.012 from Bulang and Sons. Love the look, and have worn it regularly. Well, the decorative stitch on the tip of the strap came unraveled recently. A pretty minor thing, really, but I wanted it fixed, so I shot them an email and asked for a length of matching waxed linen thread to make the easy repair. Bernhard B&S quickly got back to me with a note of apology, and the promise to send me, not the thread, but whole new strap! It arrived yesterday. :D That's a stand-up response and one that I thought deserved a quick public shout out...so this is it...

AD Sales Rep Told Me This Was Fake...
I've noticed recently there's been a few threads inquiring about how to verify and authenticate a watch. It got me thinking about something that happened to me on Long Island about 4 years ago.My dad was considering selling a vintage Rolex Day-date 1803 and I was going to help him do a little research and leg work. We had no idea what it was worth and I wasn't a member on the forum yet (not that you're allowed to ask), but point being, I had nowhere to turn.The closest Rolex AD was Tourneau in Huntington at the Walt Whitman Mall.I called in advance and brought the watch in. The sales rep straight up embarrassed me, or at least tried to. He looked at the watch, and immediately blew me off saying it was fake. I told him I seriously doubt that, and he literally proceed to ignore me. I said Excuse me! is there a watchmaker here who can verify what you're saying? He seemed pissed that I even asked, but still he went in the back and chat with the watch maker for a couple minutes. He

Post ocean swim clean up
Is there anything special that needs to be done to my GMT II after I have gone for a swim in the ocean? I saw a picture of a sub and the owner had removed the bezel to clean it after a swim in the ocean. I typically just rinse my watch under fresh water.