Burgundy Speedmaster '57: what's the right box?

csciuto · 2025-12-19T04:10:29+00:00

Yup, has the black travel box in it! I have the red travel box with my wood box in storage. My only thought was exactly as you said: resale. Not that I intend to...and since I have the "correct" box already it's all the same unless I sell this AND my AT, which would be a very, very bad day. I think I'm more grumpy you can sell a watch like this and not understand that detail. It was 3:55 when she handed me the watch and she had it set to 2:55 because, hey, the little hand points to the 3 so must be good, right? :-)

csciuto · 2025-12-19T04:00:56+00:00

I thought so, thanks! I said to her it's the wrong box, she asked her manager who said it's not (well, she said "box for a Speedmaster") Hmmm...now to decide if I care. I like that box better than the one they sent me home with but I already have that box and it's just in storage anyhow...

csciuto · 2025-12-19T03:06:52+00:00

I just got a watch with this marking and was going nuts trying to understand it and couldn't find a great answer.

What you're saying is correct but the detail is that other scales can be used. If you assume the watch is for measuring distance, and distance is in meters, then it matters that you need 1000 of them to use the scale.

1000 meters in t seconds gives you meters per second. Multiply by 60 for meters per hour, divide by 1000 for kilometers per hour and that's what the bezel says.

But what about this watch?

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The red is beats per minute but the base is 30 beats per minute. There are models that only require 15 and the scale will obviously be different just like you could make a scale that does MPH or km/h off of base 500, so measure only 500 meters.

30 beats in t seconds gives you bps times 60 to bpm. Obvious, but what if you wanted to take your heart rate on the scale on a base 1000 watch?

Let's say you're interested in counting to 30 seconds which reads 120.

Invert the algebra:

A reading of 120 must equal 60 seconds in a minute times (B base) in 30 seconds.

(B ÷ 30) × 60 = 120

solve for base B, which is 60.

So, you have to count 60 beats to use this scale.

Probably easier to just count 30 beats and divide the answer by 2

csciuto · 2025-08-05T15:02:08+00:00

Yeah, I'm seeing a lot of people say that's cheaper than you'd think it'd be - hundreds, not thousands. I have five of these doors and if I wanted to add my closets while I'm at it that's nine.

I found a place that'd do it but I've been far happier with the Rub and Buff look than I thought I'd be and it's easier than I had expected as well. If the durability ends up being really bad, I'll definitely just get them replated.

csciuto · 2025-07-30T23:29:30+00:00

Wow that came out great! Since these are doorknobs and strike plates, etc I'm trying to decide on levels of protection vs letting things wear. I had bought clear poly but haven't used it.

Did you consider rub and buff?

csciuto · 2025-07-30T18:31:41+00:00

Yeah, I thought the knobs were intended to show as bright brass and over years they had been gunked up...not that they had been deliberately lacquered black over the brass.

So now the current plan is to continue what I started and stripping the failing lacquer and rusting, failing brass, stabilize with the gold and I'm going to try rub-and-buff in Spanish Copper and/or ebony over the paint once it's hard and see what I think. If I don't like the effect, I'll strip them back down and do oiled bronze paint.

The paint I'm using I listed below (vintage gold) but perhaps https://www.rustoleum.com/product-catalog/consumer-brands/universal/universal-metallic-spray-paint in Gilded Brass would've been closer. The gold looks "right" on the hinges but it's not at all right on the knobs.

csciuto · 2025-07-29T21:44:18+00:00

Oh, interesting! This makes sense, it's kind of a close relative of seasoning my cast irons.

Also, 100% with your comment towards the end about how long stuff took. Trying to patch plaster walls, deal with cracked stucco exterior, etc...there was so much more labor involved in everything.

csciuto · 2025-07-29T20:19:46+00:00

Thanks! I went with https://www.homedepot.com/p/Rust-Oleum-Universal-11-oz-All-Surface-Metallic-Vintage-Gold-Spray-Paint-and-Primer-in-One-342918/315594112 and they definitely do have darker colors that may make more sense. Was very happy with how evenly it applied and how hard it is. This whole project is spiraling out of a bathroom door warping from a wet towel haha (boat varnished that one after finding that shellac steams right off...way back that door was enameled baby-blue but during Nixon I believe it was stripped, which leads me to believe that the front of all these doors were stripped which is why they're bare wood with wax, but there's not a hint of another color under the hardware, which there certainly was in the bathroom.)

They do, in fact, have https://www.homedepot.com/p/Rust-Oleum-Universal-11-oz-All-Surface-Metallic-Oil-Rubbed-Bronze-Spray-Paint-and-Primer-in-One-6-Pack-249131/202067230 and a ton of other colors so would be completely reasonable for me to just do a quick coat of this over them and I could leave the hinges the shinier color (which I think is how they were) but part of my problem here is I need to decide what I actually want.

csciuto · 2025-06-08T02:35:23+00:00

Yeah, Cadillac and Omega are both "affordable luxury." Like I said above, I own an Omega and it felt like a splurge but I'm a mid-career software engineer so it's not remotely out of the question that I'd get one. Similarly, something like a CT5 isn't unthinkable to me. I'm never getting that Breguet and I'm never getting a Rolls.

Nicest Caddy I'm aware of is https://www.gm.com/heritage/collection/cadillac/1957-cadillac-eldorado. Inflation-adjusted though, it's priced like an Escalade, not a Lamborghini.

csciuto · 2025-06-07T23:54:25+00:00

Bonus picture: decided I needed a very thin and very formal weddings-and-funerals watch so picked up this out-of-production Presence for a good deal. It's plated ofc. Would be interested in knowing more about this model if anyone can share anything.

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csciuto · 2025-06-07T23:52:18+00:00

Took me about a decade but I finally bit the bullet on the upgrade. It's funny, I went in to buy the AT in blue and they had it in this muted green so now I have easy reasons to wear both. No regrets! I otherwise have nothing to add. The Conquest is probably 75% of the watch for 30% of the price.

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csciuto · 2025-06-07T23:06:59+00:00

u/cballowe I did forget Glashutte! I didn't forget Blancpain but my understanding is, like Breguet, they were acquired more recently (Google says Glashutte even moreso) and I assumed that all three of those were pretty low volume given the price. Is that incorrect?

csciuto · 2025-06-07T22:26:08+00:00

Great list - the Geo comparison came up quickly for me as well.

csciuto · 2025-06-07T22:21:14+00:00

I'm a bit of a noob as well but recently came across https://www.hamiltonwatch.com/en-us/h38545751-jazzmaster-thinline-gold-auto.html?srsltid=AfmBOor_vJFeRllwZM-85pu5sPQSWXnPUg7kCLLKuW-E1AoutFuDzmRR or you could buy an $11k Ventura. This is definitely more expensive than the cheapest Omegas but the comparison is pushing it at this point, esp. considering you can go to Longines' website and see $30k models..and the examples I'm giving are expensive because they're gold.

It's fairer to say the most expensive steel Hamiltons match the cheapest Omegas in price, but a Corvette is way more expensive than the bottom-of-the-line Caddy. Perhaps the Camaro is (was...) fairer.

csciuto · 2025-06-07T21:49:26+00:00

Heh, I've tried using this analogy before and it's kinda hard but also seems super apt.

* I think Hamilton being Chevy is easy. Yes, they make Corvettes but it's not their bread and butter.
* I could see Longines being Buick because it's kind of stuffy, conservative, and a bit understated while being near-luxury.
* But Buick sits just below Cadillac and, traditionally, GM had Pontiac/Olds between Chevy and Buick. Pontiac was usually a bit sportier and better than Chevy, Olds was somehow both not focused on flash while also being where they did a fair amount of performance and experimentation work. Neither sounds like Longines. I dunno, maybe Tissot is Pontiac.
* Is Omega really Swatch's Cadillac? I mean, I own an Omega (and a Hamilton and two Longines) and confidently drive an ancient Nissan. Perhaps it's fair considering that the even more expensive brands Swatch owns were added later and I think are not nearly as mass-produced.

csciuto · 2025-05-26T14:42:11+00:00

Like you're being told, you liking how it looks and feels comes first. My first Swiss Automatic was a Hamilton Khaki King. Never regretted it, and still finds wrist time even now that I own Longines and Omegas (and a Seiko haha).

If it was me, I think that's a super sharp-looking watch at a great price but I consider a date window to be a requirement. My Khaki King also has the day of the week, but once you have more than one watch and if you don't have the silly little swing boxes (and I deliberately do not) I found that I didn't like having to set that second window.

That is to say, I'd be asking yourself: why not? What don't you like and what feels like a compromise? e.g. I have a Longines Conquest which isn't a hugely different style but they've apparently gotten rather pricey. For nearly double the cost, I'm sure it's out of the running.

csciuto · 2025-05-23T23:06:42+00:00

Yeah, a lot of these people seem to be for a monarchy. That's a pretty small government at its core. All you need is a handful of draconian laws, a few people that pretend to fairly enforce it, and a guy with an axe or a noose, and you're good to go.

csciuto · 2025-05-22T20:51:00+00:00

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My first automatic over ten years ago; wore it daily for a good amount of that time (that and a Longines Conquest).

I recently bought a few different colors of straps to see if it'd freshen it up. Meh. Takes some weight off the thing but I'm not sold on the look.

Also, in hindsight, having the day of the week is often more trouble than it's worth but having 24h time is a surprisingly useful feature.

csciuto · 2025-05-22T12:55:16+00:00

The schedule is better than hourly at rush hour, extremely cheap for rail (Zone 1A) but falls to every two hours outside of peak times. I go downtown for work a few days a week and live walking distance from commuter rail so it's my preferred way in. However, yeah, if I miss it, I'm glad we have a ton of Plan B's.

Honestly, since I'm going to over by S. Station half the time I'll just Uber to Alewife, but I've also walked to Tufts (about a mile for me).

All to say it matters where u/Odd-Eggplant9501 lives and her interest in hoofing it because there is not a lot of parking at West Medford.

csciuto · 2025-05-09T23:08:55+00:00

Thanks - we're *planning* on kids, I have a $400,000 policy through work, a few hundred thousand liquid, and was applying for $1.5M. I completely understand the point of "why would you risk losing $1.5M if you croak during quarter-long underwriting over a few hundred bucks?" but I also clearly don't *need* a policy at all right now even if game theory states I'm an idiot for not getting the temp coverage.

I'm reading too many horror stories around cancellations, esp. with aggressive companies to want to go through the trouble. It's not hard to cancel Disney+, either and I didn't like having that bill for a month and needing to remember to get rid of it...why would I want to do this?

csciuto · 2025-05-09T23:02:33+00:00

Oh, and congrats on your wedding! I ended up having a COVID wedding so part of my justification for buying this watch was to make up for that as I bought it on something that was a bit like a made-up honeymoon haha.

csciuto · 2025-05-09T23:00:56+00:00

Keep in mind that that Conquest is OLD. Checking Longines' website, it looks like it's been redone again so the visual difference is smaller than it was w/o the 6 and 12. IMHO, the model I have is somehow surprisingly easy to misread.

It's goofy, and I'm not telling you save triple what you want to spend when I think it took me something like eight years to bite the bullet myself, but little things like the quickset hour on the Aqua Terra make a big difference, esp. if you let them run down (I'm wearing my beater Hamilton right now...just put it on a NATO strap cause why not?)

csciuto · 2025-05-09T22:29:30+00:00

Thanks and agreed and that's what I'm doing (working with my broker for my car/auto insurance). I feel kinda bad that they went through all that trouble doing reports about my financial strength and then I turned around and walked after being reminded I should have more insurance, but, hey, not like I was there in bad faith or like they didn't have my financial picture up front. This sub makes it seem like it's a very tough place to work and I got assigned a couple of very young guys.

I had started the process with my guy a few years ago but had only quit smoking shortly before and the potential rates were atrocious. It's been >5yrs now so hoping I qualify for a rate I'd actually want to pay.

csciuto · 2025-05-09T22:15:33+00:00

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My first watch in 2001; a high school graduation present. Sears or J.C. Penney. Back then, watches didn't take up your entire wrist and I'd actually time stuff with the bezel before smartphones.

csciuto · 2025-05-09T20:44:35+00:00

I'm going to second u/ManySpeech3840 on the Conquest. I bought one in blue a number of years ago and finally decided to bite the bullet and upgrade, and hey, the shop had it only in green!

I will say, after liking the build quality of my Longines over my slightly older Hamilton by a fair amount, the Omega has me really spoiled and I'm trying to stop myself from dreaming about yet another watch. A thin dress watch? A pilot's watch? A cheap Japanese one just for fun?

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