No 273 - Doxa SUB 600T Sharkhunter

This watch was a grail for a long time. I had come to conclusion that the measurements for the SUB 600T should make it the perfect Doxa. I was searching for one for so long and in the end of 2015 I finally found one located in the US. It was a fullset in very nice condition and it arrived in early January of 2016. And it was indeed a beautiful watch! The proportions were great just as I expected. But! There were two details that started to bother me. One was the edge of bezel which felt very thin. The bezel on the 1000T and 1200T felt fatter and sturdier to grip. This was also a detail that made me dislike the reissue of the 300T but more on that when we reach that post. The other detail was the lume on the hands. The lume covered a smaller area on the hands compared to the 1000T and 1200T and it just didn’t look 100% to me. One thing I did like more on the 600T compared to the newer versions was the design of the crown but that wasn’t enough to make up for the two details I didn’t like.

#273 - The Doxa SUB 600T Sharkhunter.

My dear friend Magnus bought this watch from me and he still have it in his collection. The 600T has become really hard to find and when you do they are expensive! This version of the Sharkhunter with all white hands, a.k.a. the Great White, has become my favorite Doxa design and my new goal after selling this one was to find a 1000T with that appearance (which I did but more on that later as well). Owning the 600T was a good experience because that made me realize that the 1000T in my opinion is the most complete and perfect Doxa SUB.

A wristshot from an extremely cold winter's day in January 2016.

I haven’t had a Doxa SUB for quite some time now. The new Black Lung versions look cool but since I didn’t like the reissue of the 300T I have decided to avoid them. The yellow Poseidon SUB on the other hand, now that’s another story. Especially since Poseidon is a Swedish manufacturer if diving equipment it is really cool to see them collaborating again. But why they hell do they call it 300T when it actually is a 1200T? That shit just bothers me. I still haven’t had a Divingstar yet… damn… now I want one... a 1000T Divingstar.... the COSC version... I think I just found a new project…

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

No 266 - Korsbek Oceaneer

It sometimes happens that I buy watches located overseas, mainly from the United States, but when I do I rarely pick up anything expensive because of the risk that it might get lost or stolen on its way over here. I just don’t like taking that risk. But this Korsbek just never wanted to pop up locally, or even within the European Union, which gave me no other option than to look for it in the US. And one day in early October 2014 when this watch came out for sale on WUS I just couldn’t hold myself back any longer. I needed to cross it of my list. Now! Luckily I had a friend, who was working in NYC at the time, who I could use as the receiver of this watch. Perfect! Risk eliminated! Just one small catch. I had to wait almost five months until he was scheduled back for a trip to Europe. Goddamn, a five month wait is a long time when waiting for something this good.

It turned out I only had to wait two months and a half instead of five because I invited him over to celebrate New Year’s Eve with us in Stockholm (and no, it was not only because I wanted to get the watch quicker 😅). Finally I got to wear it on New Year’s Eve morning when we went for some winter fishing and it was awesome. The watch I mean. The fishing not so much...

#266 - The Korsbek Oceaneer. Here on top of its Pelican case.

The Oceaneer was a beast. Big watch! Thick and long. Unfortunately it was impossible for me to wear it on the bracelet. The lugs where just so long and straight. So instead of having the bracelet curving and hugging my wrist it was just hanging straight down from the sides leaving two big empty spaces between the bracelet and my wrist which looked ridiculous. On an Isofrane it worked and looked much better. What made me love the Oceaneer was its huge minute hand. Now that’s a sword alright! The combination of the bead-blasted case and the PVD bezel were also two details I loved about it. It actually came with an extra matching bead-blasted bezel if you wanted to switch but I never bothered to install it. The PVD one looked so much cooler and gave it more contrast.

Solid piece with the bracelet on!

Of course I knew this watch was going to be too big for me, I'm not stupid, but I just had to check it out and I’m so glad I did it at last. Dive watches from micro brands used to be my thing! I don’t know what happened to Korsbek but the brand seems to be pretty dead today. There doesn't seem to have been any activity from Korsbek in the last five years. Too bad I think, the Dane behind this brand really had some wicked watches going on. 

Taken during brunch on New Year's Day.

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

No 385 - CWC 1980 Royal Navy Divers Reissue

It has been time to once more travel back from the past and return to the present! I just couldn't wait writing about this watch.

It was in the middle of May when CWC announced that they were making a reissue of their first automatic dive watch. I contacted them directly with a “sign me up!” and then the wait began. The first estimated delivery was July and I immediately put the watch as number one on my list of watches to buy. Then in the beginning of June, Jason Heaton wrote this great article for Hodinkee and nothing else except for this watch was interesting anymore. This was going to be my Exit watch.

But July was postponed to August and August became "sometime later this year". So I started to purchase other watches and fell back into my regular flipping pace, and then I started the Tactical Diver project and forgot about the reissue completely. Then last week I suddenly received an e-mail from CWC saying that the watch was arriving any day now and asking me if there was a certain serial number I would be interested in. Hell. Yeah.

My watch was sent on October the 17^th and showed up yesterday on the 18^th. Instead of heading home to my family directly after work I took a small detour and went down by the water, to sit down on a park bench, where I could open up the package in peace and quiet, while the sun was setting down in the sea. I was going to savor this moment.

The black CWC watch roll inside the tin can case together with the certificate.

#385 - The CWC 1980 Royal Navy Divers Reissue. Straight out of the box (Okay okay! I did set the hands to ten past ten because it looked better).

The watch was delivered in its regular tin can with the white paper cover (I wouldn’t want it any other way). The only new feature was a black leather watch roll inside the case that held the watch which was a nice touch. 

Jeez Louise! What a beauty! I sat starring at it for a while, feeling the clicks of the bezel, listening carefully to the sound of the movement being wound manually, and just forgot about time even though a was holding it my hands. Suddenly I noticed the daylight fading rapidly. "Oh no, Instagram!" I quickly put the watch on my wrist, snapped a few photos of it in the little light that was left before the sun had completely set, and then I hurried home.

Taken in the setting sun.

Many have asked me “£2000, was it really worth it?” and all I can say is that I’m super happy and love it so I guess for me it was.

I will continue to update this post with new pictures and thoughts as this watch will accompany me through my everyday life. I just felt I had to share this with you while it was fresh instead of trying to look back on this moment in two years. 

From yesterday.

Taken this morning while waiting for the bus.

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

No 99 - Kemmner Marine

This little 38mm automatic watch really surprised me. In a good way that is. I wasn’t sure what I was getting into when I purchased my first Kemmner on eBay. I just happen to come across this user called ‘erkahund’ who had a big variety of custom made watches. He had some nice sub-looking dive watches and usually I would have gone for one of those but there was something with this dresswatch that made me want to go for that one instead.

I paid about $300 for it and I must say I really got my money’s worth. It housed an ETA 2824-2 movement which ran perfect and the overall finish was really high. It had a see-through sapphire case back and I even think it had a screw down crown. The blue hands looked perfect against the off-white dial. It was so clean and simple and went great together with all kinds of clothing. A great budget choice for someone who’s looking for a real watch and not a “perfume” watch. 

#99 - The Kemmner Marine.

On the train together with my wife. The Marine on my wrist.

I later learned that the man behind Kemmner Watches was Roland Kemmner and that he sold all his watches through eBay. We’ve had some e-mail correspondence and Roland has always been really friendly and helpful. Looking forward to one day give one of his 007 Sub's a try. 

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

No 51 – Hamilton Khaki

I found this little bad boy on eBay back in September 2010. Threw in an offer while being a little drunk one evening, forgot about it, and then received an e-mail a couple of days later saying I won the auction. Classic! It came on a bracelet I haven't seen on any other Khaki's and it looks a little IWC inspired. The movement inside was an ETA 2824-2 and the case measured 36mm. A great casual everyday wearer. 

#51 - The Hamilton Khaki automatic.

See through case back with the ETA 2824-2 visible.

Funny story when I sold this watch the first time. I met up with this guy Björn that I hadn't done any deals with before. Björn greets me on a shady subway platform with a huge dog (and I'm terrified of big dogs) and has tattoos all over his arms. I was sure he was going to rob me. Of course he turned out to be the sweetest dude and we have been good watch buddies since. 

A couple of years later I started to miss it and asked Björn if he still had it. He'd given it to his dad and told me I could have it back as long as I could find a watch that his dad liked more than the Hamilton. I gave Björn loads of suggestions but nothing worked until one day when a Kemmner showed up for sale. I paid for the Kemmner and asked the seller to ship it over to Björn's dad and then got the Hamilton sent to me. Mission complete! I wore it every now and then but mostly it got to spend time in the drawer. 

A wrist shot at work.

It sat in the drawer for quite some time but finally got some attention from another friend who asked if could have it. Christoffer has been wearing it together with his Seiko SKX007 since 2012 and I love to see it on his wrist.

I haven't had any Hamilton's in a while but after seeing the movie Interstellar with Matthew McConaughey last weekend a little spark lit up to a flame inside me. The old military style Khakis are really cool watches. 

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