Hello all, I am OmegaCosmicMan, and I am a MKII addict. b-) There. :-x I have posted it- For all to see. :roll:
Five. And a Key West and Project 300 in the works. And all the parts have been collected to be sent to Motor City Watch Works for a Seiko MKII Mod that you all may see- someday.
:think: My story may be a familiar one - perhaps you can relate. I have always appreciated fine machines, and so sought them out. After a Hamilton that I really, really liked went back to the service center in Pennsylvania because it wouldn't run over night, and returned to me, after many months with a hefty repair bill, and continued to run as poorly as before, I swore off mechanical watches and purchased Timex'es - many of them. (I actually still have that Hamilton somewhere in my 'stuff'.) After going through a bunch of those, I stopped wearing them and carried the head in a pocket or hung it on the dash in my work truck. Sometimes I would get six months out of one before it was dropped, lost, crushed or otherwise damaged.
I graduated to the next phase in my work-life, and found that I needed a good reliable watch to wear. Being here in the cold, wet north-land, I have been let down many times
(at the worst time) by battery-powered devices that stopped functioning when they got cold (and sometimes wet too) so simple is best, I sought out mechanical watches. I enjoyed the functionality of GI service watches and went through a bunch of those - but for some reason, the plastics in those GI watches barely lasted a year before something broke. I found O&W watches, and had purchased some of those. Sometimes you get a good one, and sometimes the quality swings wildly across the scale. Purely by accident (
or maybe fate - Destiny?) I happened to bid on and win a one-owner Ollech & Wajs M-series diver on eBay - the owner assured me that it was one of fifty prepared and modified by Bill Yao for West Coast Time, who originally had it listed as an 'Explorer-Style' watch with thin delicate, Mercedes-style hands and an exquisitely marked 3-6-9 MKII dial. The paperwork seems to confirm the claimed provenance.
You know how you can feel quality in the way a stem smoothly loosens and clicks out so you can wind and set a fine watch? I could feel and sense quality and the painstaking care that went into this watch, my first MKII.
I started looking at MKII's web site and dreamed of the day that I would be able to have one of my other O&W's modded. Time passed, and MKII gave up the production and distribution of those superb-quality modding and replacement parts, and evolved into a watch manufacturer. I know I looked at Blackwaters on the website when they first became available and dismissed them because of the wait time, and actually, because I did not like the name. I thought they were too exclusive, and expensive too. :think: Later, I started reading the forum here, read every thing I could read about the Kingston. I was well-past the Kingston pre-order, and then learned of the Project 300, so I managed to get signed up for that. Then, through following the forum, I learned of the last of the Vantages becoming available - somehow, I managed to fumble through and complete the ordering process and that arrived in late September 2011. Then, I managed to fall into a fantastic deal from an original Kingston owner who had waited too long. That watch arrived and far-exceeded my expectations in every way. I bought it because it was too good of a deal to pass up, and never imagined that I would actually like it as much as I do.
I knew that a GMT watch from MKII was a must-have after experiencing the Kingston. There was no way I could miss out on that offering. (
I could sell some Fortis's -even my prized Flieger GMT if need be...) I made the Project GMT pre-order (now Key West). I learned of the technologies involved in producing components for watches and became fascinated with the sapphire bezel and the possibilities that would bring to MKII's line. I was able to purchase a sapphire-bezel ParaDive - It is
fantastic - by far the most accurate and so far reliable watch I have owned so far (there is at least one Omega cal. 565 Constellation and couple of cal. 1012 SeaMaster Cosmics in the comparison pool too...;-) )
And my latest acquisition is my custom Blackwater - it is unusual in that it has a government spec dial and hand set - (tritium vials are the ultimate in illumination for a tool watch). I was told that this was built for the fellow I purchased it from by Bill Yao himself. Again, the quality and perfection of function are apparent. I will be checking it for accuracy this week when I return to work.
And, (despite the name) if a Type II Blackwater with a countdown-bezel in good condition becomes available, I won't hesitate to tap the savings account for that. And if that perfect Kingston with C3 lume, dated with a gold date wheel, or no-date with a C3 dial....;-) I could probably scrape up enough to purchase that. ;-)
I am powerless over my addiction to these fantastic machines, some things I have always deeply desired, without even being conscious of it....My story continues....
-Best to all, apologies for the length. :roll:
-May you enjoy your MKII's in the best of health and circumstance. |>|>