No 241 - Breitling Colt

This is a perfect example of a watch that shouldn’t have been bought. I knew from the start that this was a terrible decision. I really have a hard time with dive watches being 38mm so what were the odds that I would have gotten along with this one? 38mm just feel and look way too small. It’s a perfect size for a dress watch but for a dive watch with a bezel, uh uh. I just went for this one without thinking clearly just because the black matte dial looked so bloody cool, the condition was great, it was a full set and the price was ridiculously low (like $550 or something). So, once again I was tricked by beauty but even though I knew this was a given failure, I reasoned it was worth giving it a chance since I was confident to at least get my money back fairly easy.

#241 - The Breitling Colt, ref. A57035.

So, did it work out? Of course not. It had this cool military style dial that I liked and the indexes and hands had started to turn beige so it looked really sweet but the size was all wrong. Also, I hate that Pro-I bracelet. It might be comfortable but damn it’s ugly. I was hoping it could have done well on a rubber or a nato but still it felt like a ladies dive watch. The Mrs didn’t want it either, so I flipped it and just as expected I got my money back. Being a quartz watch it would have made a perfect vacation watch for her to have lying around in the closet but she decided to pass on that offer. I can't blame her.

Wrist shot in weak kitchen light.

Full set.

So what did I learn from this mistake? No more 38mm dive watches period. The fun thing is that if this one would have been 40-41mm then it could have candidate as a possible favorite. I mean look at it, it sure is beautiful. So close but no cigar.

© All pictures by a Watch Flipper's Diary unless noted.

No 240 - Dagaz Cav-1 Type 2

This watch made by Dagaz was impossible for me to resist when I learned about it. One of my favorite watch cases, favorite dial, lots of lume and an incredibly cool engraved caseback. The only detail I didn’t like was the Miyota movement so I knew from the start that this would just be a catch and release. I was lucky to find a used one on Watchuseek that hadn’t already been sold. The first batch had just sold out at Dagaz and the new ones were in the making so it was actually quite hard to get a hold of them for a while when the demand at the time was higher than the availability.

#240 - The Dagaz Cav-1 Type 2.

 Type 2 dial. Ladder hands. Lumed bezel. Yummy!

You can never go wrong with lug holes!

40mm case excl. crown. Bead blasted finish.

"Get to the chopper!"

I had only had MKII’s homage to the old Benrus diver (the Blackwater) prior to the Dagaz and I must say that they held an overall higher quality. The Dagaz was a nice watch but I can’t avoid comparing it with the MKII and then the Blackwater takes the win. The only thing the Dagaz did better was the lume and the nice looking caseback. So, if you’re looking to buy a Benrus homage my suggestion would be not to look any further than the Blackwater from MKII.

The complete kit.

The best feature of the watch.

© All pictures by a Watch Flipper's Diary unless noted.

No 238 - Casio G-Shock GD-120CM-5ER

I wouldn't say that the camouflage pattern is very popular in Sweden. It’s either seen in the military or in fashion and not very much in everyday use. I must admit though that I absolutely love camouflage. Ever since I was a kid playing with G.I.JOE’s I have loved it. I only bought figures like Ripcord, Leatherneck, Flint, Falcon, Outback and Hit’n Run; guys who actually looked like real soldiers. When we were kids my childhood friend Martin and I used to spend every summer holiday on his private island imagining we were shipwrecked soldiers forced to do whatever it took to survive among ticks and snakes under the sometimes scorching hot summer sun and the roughest of thunderstorms. As the years moved on we left the playing behind and developed a passion for fishing (and beer drinking) instead and even though we today live two different lives in two different countries we’ve managed to keep the tradition of always gather a couple of times every year to go back to the exact same location and just relax and become one with nature again. And even though we’ve grown up quite a bit by now we still haven’t let go of the camouflage. Still love it!

Product picture of the Casio G-Shock GD-120CM-5ER (borrowed from Casio)

For Martin’s thirtieth birthday back in 2014, our other childhood friend and fishing buddy Daniel and I decided to go to London to visit him and at the same time catch our favorite band Machine Head playing at the Roundhouse. I came up with the idea of buying matching watches for the three of us that we could use while fishing and we ended up getting three brand new camo G-Shocks that just had been released. The watches were brought to London and got their first true test of endurance while we head banged along to every song that night. Since that night those three watches have been brought with us every time we meet. We didn’t mark them in any way and I think there have been a couple of occasions were we accidentally might have mixed them up. But who cares, as long as we have all three of them!

#238 - The Casio G-Shock GD-120CM-5ER. Synchronized to perfection. I have no clue which one is mine 😀

Posing with one of Martin's home made jerk baits.

Geared up and ready to move out for some pike fishing in late May 2016.

Waiting for the ferry.

Martin driving on a deserted road in the middle of nowhere.

If you haven’t guessed it already this watch is definitely one of my few keepers. It really does mean a lot to me but the watch actually fulfills a purpose as well. We use them all the time for every kind of activity in every kind of weather. This is a simple G-Shock without any fancy sensors and shit and really is built to withstand a proper beating and still being capable of doing its job. 

First pike on the first throw back in May 2015.

Evening fishing. Such a crazy hobo vibe going on here.

Perhaps I stretched it a little too far with the camouflage on this trip...

Cigar break.

Martin with a pike caught on another one of his home made jerk baits.

Me, Martin and Daniel out for some early autumn fishing in September 2016.

© All pictures by a Watch Flipper's Diary unless noted.

No 236 - Rolex Air-King 114200

I guess we all have had that feeling when we just want to go down to our local AD and pick up something brand new. To some that’s perhaps what you always do, but to me, who in 99% of all my purchases go for used watches, the event of purchasing a brand new luxury watch is quite the rare occasion.

Anyway, it was in the middle of the summer of 2014 and I was sitting at home with a newborn baby boy who mostly slept through the days and when he didn’t sleep he wanted to be with mommy. That meant I had a lot of extra time looking for watches to learn more about. I suddenly felt the urge to buy a brand new watch. I figured I deserved that since I just had bought one for my son. But what to buy? The Rolex price boom had just passed and getting a good discount had become much harder. But there was one model that the stores still had in stock that wasn’t as popular as the Submariner's, Datejust's and Explorer's and that was the 34mm Air-King. To me that felt like it wasn’t even an option to consider due to the size but then suddenly I found a picture of an old Rolex advertisement showing the Air-King with the blue and orange concentric dial. BOOM! I was instantly hooked and couldn't let go. A quick google search told me the dial was discontinued. Damn! I quickly texted a friend who worked as a watchmaker at one of the Rolex AD’s in Stockholm and asked him if it was possible to somehow get a hold of that dial. He soon texted me back “I got one in the drawers right here. A customer had it replaced a couple of years ago with another dial before he purchased it because he didn’t liked it. I can install it for you in a brand new Air-King if you want”. It was like a sign from above.  I texted him back “Do it. I’ll be there in thirty!”

#236 - The Rolex Air-King, ref. 114200. Taken in the store only minutes after the dial change.

It looked awesome! That dial sure was something extra. It was beautiful and sporty at the same time and also had a great youthful feeling to it. Unfortunately he didn’t have the right hands for it so if I wanted it I had to come back later to change them. So what about the price? I don’t want to give it away but to my luck they had just announced that this was the last year when the text "Air-King" was going to be printed on the dial of the 114200 so perhaps they saw it as something they wanted to get rid of since it was being discontinued? But I can at least tell you that I didn’t had to think twice about getting the watch.

My first time removing Rolex plastic.

Time to celebrate!

So a day that had started just like any other with no plans what so ever of purchasing a new watch ended with me walking out of a store with my first brand new Rolex. Such a great feeling! But coming home and removing all the plastic was even better. Regardless its size of 34mm the Air-King wore fantastically well. The thicker lugs and the exceptional bracelet gave it such a solid impression it even felt way better than wearing a traditional vintage 36mm Datejust on a stretchy jubilee. I really must give it up to this, sometimes, forgotten model.

After the hands were changed.

Talking watches over a few beers with my friend Sebastian. From left to right: Rolex GMT-Master 16753, Rolex Air-King 114200, IWC Ingenieur 3239-06 and an 84' Omega Speedmaster Professional (which later became mine).

I wore it almost every day for two months before I sold it. So why did I sell? Heck, I don’t know. I wish I had not done it. Looking back I really regret that. The Air-King was a cool watch. Super wearable and much more unusual and fun looking than all the other common Rolex models. 

For sale pictures.

© All pictures by a Watch Flipper's Diary unless noted.