u/distilledwater__

Spearfishing in Maui when this guy popped in. Turtle Approved.

It took me four years and a few trips to Africa to get these photos right. Persistence pays off. 2 orphan elephants emerging from their mud bath. They tend to struggle when they come out of the mud pit. I was able to capture these photos on my 4th day at the reserve. Shot on a Nikon d850 with a 50mm

Shot with a 50 prime on a Nikon D850.

It was extremely surreal to take this photo. I was taking some pictures of some babies playing in a nearby mud hole. My guide was paying attention to the babies. Next thing I know this giant male sauntered up to me and by me. All I remember was angling my camera up from the ground and holding the shutter button. [pic 2]He extended his truck, took a giant Sniff Sniff of me and kept on his way. I know how wild this was and my guide gave me quite the talking to but hey, what a memory.

Anyone else have any crazy close encounter shots?

I followed her for 4 days in East Tsavo. I’ll post some more shots as time goes on. She always had her eye on us.

Shot this in East Tsavo with a Nikon d850 and a 50 prime.

My buddy was going down the highway and his tire blew. He ended up in a marsh. Think we can fix it?

Edit: I’m kidding about fixing it.

It’s been a doozy! Here’s the update.

I had a $10,000 budget for my birthday. I already have a Sub and a few other nice watches, so I wanted to branch out. I looked at Tudors, Jaeger LeCoultres, and some Rolexes.

Somehow, I ended up with three watches.

The first watch is an ’85 Speedmaster Professional “Mustache” that I found at a pawn shop. I’ve bought a few watches from them over the years and have built a great relationship with the owner. I don’t think they really knew what they had, but they’ve made enough money off me over the years, so I felt it was a fair deal.

I picked up the watch, complete with the full set (inner and outer boxes, papers, and the original sales request), for $2,250 plus some 14k gold I had bought from a thrift store. I probably paid around $100 for what turned out to be about $800 worth of gold.

Afterward, I took it to my insurance appraiser. By the way, get your watches insured. He told me he had never seen a complete set like this one before. Needless to say, I’m very happy with that purchase.

The two Seamasters came from a guy I met at Costco. I was walking through the store wearing my Speedy when I spotted an older gentleman with a beautiful Seamaster Professional 300M on his wrist. I struck up a conversation and asked if he’d ever consider selling it.

He had a great story. He had driven city buses for 20 years and was looking for some money to put toward a boat engine. He told me he had the full box, papers, cards, receipts, books, everything. I asked if he had anything else he might want to sell. He said he also had two other Omegas, both 39mm Seamasters, one quartz and one automatic.

I ended up paying him $4,700 for the Seamaster Professional 300M and the 39mm automatic Seamaster. I later took the 39mm to my local pawn shop friend, who told me he’d give me $1,150 for it and would probably list it for around $1,800 with the box. Instead, I’m going to give it to my girlfriend.

I have to say, this was one of the most enjoyable watch buying experiences I’ve ever had. Could I have gone to an AD and bought something new? Sure. But instead, I ended up with a few great stories and some incredibly cool watches.

Moral of the story: Always be on the lookout. Talk to random people wearing nice watches. Get your watches insured. And never be afraid to hear “no.”

That’s 3 Omegas in a month. I’m liking them more than my Rolex and IWC. What should I get next?

Okay. So I have a speedy. Love it. I was wearing it at Costco when I saw this guy wearing a speedmaster 300 coaxial. We started talking about omegas.

He was a bus driver for 20 years and he always thought the watches kept the best time.

I told him I’d be interested in the watch. Long story short, he had 2 other watches, both Omega. One was an automatic and one was a quartz. I passed on the quartz and told him I’d do $4500 for the two automatics. We are meeting up on Thursday to do the exchange. The 2020 is a full set. The other just has a box.

Am I nuts?

I went to the Rolex store to try on a Milgauss. I have a submariner and a few other nice watches. After checking out a few of the Tudors, I’m second guessing what I should actually be buying. I hike, camp and do wildlife photography. Basically, I travel a lot and usually don’t wear anything expensive while I’m out. I’ve always thought of Tudor as a young man’s watch. I think the brand has really grown up a a lot. I may have to make the dive and get something that won’t sit in the watch box or safe. Anyone else run into this dilemma? Or the “Why didn’t you just get a Rolex?” I’ve always bought things I like, anyone daily a Ranger or a Pelagos?

So I bought this last weekend from my local pawn shop for $2,250.00. I have been buying watches and coins from this place for a while. It took me a few visits and some arm twisting to get to that price. The more I dig into it the more I realize I may have found something REALLY cool. I love a good watch and love a good watch with an interesting back story. Thought I’d share with everyone because it’s an interesting find and I don’t know where else to geek out about it.

It’s an Omega Speedmaster Professional ref. ST 145.022-76, Cal. 861, probably made around 1977. The caseback has the full NASA engraving “First Watch Worn on the Moon, Flight Qualified by NASA for all Manned Space Missions.” From my understanding the guy who pawned it actually had it shipped back to omega through the store he bought it from for the engraving. Omega did the engraving and sent it back.

Here’s what is really making me smile.

Both original red boxes (outer and inner presentation box) still together

Original Speedmaster Professional booklet with the Earth photo

Original engraving paperwork documenting the caseback
Omega-authorized service record from 2011

633 stamped bracelet end links which I’m told are period correct

Hesalite crystal, unpolished case

Extra Links.

Not sure what the actual value is but I’d say it is a good find.

P.s my other watch guy said he would probably list it for $9k because of the paperwork and the fact that Omega did the engraving. I think that’s a little crazy. I think it’s worth around $6k

Edit 1: this watch is from 1985. Paperwork says Seamaster, definitely has a hand written mistake. This may be one of my favorite purchases. Still very happy!

Edit 2: I think the receipt is the original order paper for the watch not a custom engraving request. Still very happy!

Edit 3: I believe I have found the watch! It’s definitely a Speedmaster “Mustache” https://www.fratellowatches.com/speedy-tuesday-interview-with-a-collector-on-his-1985-speedmaster/#gref

Still Very Happy!