400 pages of incredible Vacheron history and design and gorgeous photos of stunning watches! Hardcover for just $100, if nothing else it's a heckuva coffee table book!
I picked up a vacheron constantin 56 self-wind on a bracelet a few weeks ago and it's quickly become my absolute favorite bracelet, even beyond previous favorites like IWC or Rolexes. Especially for a trifold butterfly clasp.
Don't get me wrong, IWC and Rolex make fantastic bracelets! But I'm really loving this VC bracelet with its very small links, little bit of taper, and the clasp has a small surface area which is nice compared to how much area there is to scratch on say an IWC or Rolex clasp.
The micro adjust is pretty spectacular though, as all you have to do is pull on it and it clicks out with a very nice satisfying click in 2 millimeters on each end, for a total of 4 mm of extra space when needed. Simply push it back in to make the bracelet smaller again. No button, no removing the bracelet, and even with it extended you can barely tell. You can also choose to just extend one side.
I’m looking for some outside perspective because this has been going on for a while and I’m having trouble deciding whether I should continue ignoring it or do something about it.
I (30sM) am very happily married and recently dated a girl (40sF) for about a year who also had/has a partner (40sM) (I'm not sure of their current relationship status though they've been open for years) but I broke it off a couple months ago because she was avoidant and didn't communicate. That's not the issue.
For the last 8 months, her maybe partner has been repeatedly looking me up and viewing my Instagram stories. We are not at all connected and I've only met him once. I don't follow him and he doesn't follow me, which means he has to actually pull up my profile to watch my stories and the frequency is what has started making it feel less like casual curiosity and more like monitoring.
It happens every single day. Yesterday alone, he came back and viewed/looked up my stories four separate times.
I haven't been posting things for his benefit or trying to provoke him. They're just stories about me and my life and family etc. At this point I'm mostly uncomfortable with the fact that someone connected to an already complicated interpersonal situation seems to be keeping such close tabs on me.
Part of me thinks the obvious answer is just block him and move on. Another part of me wonders whether blocking him gives the behavior more significance than it deserves, or potentially escalates something that so far has remained entirely digital. Maybe it would cause him to hurt himself or others??
I have already tried to talk about this with the girl I was dating, but she refuses to have the conversation.
For people who have dealt with someone repeatedly monitoring their social media like this:
Would you block without saying anything? Say something directly? Or simply continue ignoring it?
And at what point would you consider repeated online checking something worth taking more seriously rather than just weird curiosity?
2008 335i convertible with 43k mi. Mhd stage 1+, xhp stage 2, chargepipe, FMIC.
She's a beauty 😍
I bought my 56 a few days ago on the secondary market and took it into the vacheron boutique here in Costa Mesa just to have it water pressure checked. Not only did they do that for free, demagnetized it, but also gave me this hardcover catalogue for free!
I've wanted the Vacheron Fifty Six ever since I first came across it about 2 years ago and today I finally got one! I sold my Rolex explorer 2 and picked up this mint 2025 example and wow!
The blue is spectacular and changes depending on the light from a light blue all the way to midnight blue. The white gold indices and hands are gorgeous and the bracelet - what a bracelet! The micro adjust on the butterfly clasp is so clutch.
Hopefully this won't be my only VC in the years to come!
I've wanted the Vacheron Fifty Six ever since I first came across it about 2 years ago and today I finally got one! I sold my Rolex explorer 2 and picked up this mint 2025 example and wow!
The blue is spectacular and changes depending on the light from a light blue all the way to midnight blue. The white gold indices and hands are gorgeous and lumed to give this classic design some casual functionality. VC also water tests to the indicated depth and in the manual says swimming is fine, so that's great too.
The val fleurier movement is assembled, finished, and regulated by VC and is really beautiful to look at. And the bracelet is extremely comfortable especially because of its micro adjust on the butterfly clasp, something I hadn't really seen before!
As I love to do whenever I get a new watch, I stuck this 2018 explorer 2 under a $40 Amazon macro lens attached to my phone and took these photos!
I've put everything from Omega, JLC, Cartier, Rolex, and others under macro and here are my thoughts:
Rolex printing is sublime. The crispness of the text and specifically the serifs on the thin font for explorer is amazing to me.
The lume application is so even and smooth.
Even though the hands and indices are all painted in black, they are apparently all still 18 karat white gold underneath which is pretty cool that they were consistent about that despite the possibility of saving cost by putting a less expensive material underneath.
Quick aside - JLC hands are not always the best for some reason ..just saying.
Lastly, 8 years old and still passed a 100m water pressure test yesterday and keeping less than a second off a day rate with 290+ amplitude. Rolex 31xx calibers are just something else! I honestly prefer this generation versus the most current one especially with some of the low amplitude issues of the 32 series calibers and the unserviceability of the main spring barrel.
Picked up this 216570 from 2018, yesterday, and loving it! It feels like the least hype Rolex and just a bit quirky and interesting. For a 2018, the movement is running spectacularly well with near perfect rate and over 290 amplitude and love that I won't have to worry about the low amplitude issue of the 32xx movements and will remain serviceable forever with the regular swiss lever and serviceable barrel!
Took some fun close up shots with my phone and honestly the printing is pretty fantastic. I also love that even though they cover the hands and indices with black, they're still 18k white gold underneath.
Picked up a Rolex explorer 2 today, the 216570 or previous generation with the 3187 caliber movement. A 2018 production piece, it's still after 8 years keeping incredible time with an excellent amplitude and acceptable beat error. Those 31xx Rolex movements are really something! And nice not to have to worry about the low amplitude issue that plagued some of the newer 32xx movements.
The legibility is completely maxed out and I really enjoy the aggressive taper of the bracelet down to 16 mm.
I've owned a bunch of Rolex watches in the past but things like the jubilee bracelet and fluted bezel always made them feel too flashy and show off-y.
What does this sub think of the explorer 2?
Bought this Seiko on a work trip to Toronto, today. SPB515 Prospex Speedtimer with an inner rotating countdown timer. 39.5mm and 12mm thick, 3 day power reserve, 200m water resistance, sapphire and lume.
It's got a fun 70s vibe and I actually have a 70s automatic chronograph Speedtimer Seiko to go with it. Got a racing strap with orange accents thrown in to match the orange second hand tip and countdown bezel accent.
In heavy rain, I will get some drops of water coming from behind the headliner at the point where the middle roof section connects to the windshield. I have cleaned the drains so I don't think it's a clog, and when I pull back the headliner I think maybe it's this piece here where water is getting in.
If anyone else with an e93 can take a look, does yours look like that? It's the same for me on both sides.
Thanks!
Was looking for the ideal combination for my watch for the summer as it comes with a leather strap, and the boutique had one of the bond NATO straps available and I felt like the color combination really fit! But is it weird to have a precious metal watch on a NATO strap?
Trying to find the ideal rubber strap for the summer, how does this one look? Thanks! Also open to other ideas!
One month in with my Chronoscope and it has gained all of 8 seconds during that month! I wore it every day and at night just set it on my night table.
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I know the Moonwatch is the preferred chronograph for many when it comes to omega, but their 9900 movement architecture is really something.
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4hz beat rate, more power reserve thanks to 2 barrels, this Chronoscope is 1mm thinner than the Moonwatch (both manual wind), column wheel and vertical clutch for that sweet tactile feel and precise engagement.
I'm in Barcelona and had a leather strap handmade for my speedy while I'm here and personalized for my wrist size! Thought green would go well with the bronze gold case and asked for gold thread for a bit of green and gold because go pack go! It's also embossed on the back with the initials for my wife and our 3 kids.
I'm in Barcelona and had a leather strap handmade for my speedy while I'm here and personalized for my wrist size! Thought green would go well with the bronze gold case and asked for gold thread for a bit of green and gold because go pack go! It's also embossed on the back with the initials for my wife and our 3 kids.
Got my 2nd tattoo and first larger design! My wife and I started getting tattoos at the same time when we traveled internationally on a wedding anniversary trip and our first one was in Greece. This time we're in Spain and staying in Llafranc and I had this done!
I'm a violinist by training hence the treble clef. I also love chess and celebrating getting into the top 5% on chess.com. My best friend also loves chess and he's the one that taught me so I referenced two moves that he and I often play. I love watches and collecting and working on them, hence the hands. My wife is a big hiker so the nature accents. And lastly for whatever reason most of my closest and dearest friends are Leos.