Mr.Dee.Bater

Brian
788 Followers
62 Following
1 hr ago
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San Diego, CA
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Recent posts

Which watch should I make my buddy buy for me? AKA, the story of my risk-taking friend and how he has to buy a watch for me by losing a bet

TLDR; good friend is going to lose a bet to me, so which watch should I make him buy for me? Vacheron Constantin Fiftysix Complete Calendar Rolex Dayt...
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Hublot is awesome, and the greatest words of wisdom I've ever heard with regard to watches... AKA, window shopping with @edge168n

I went on a watch window shopping trip maybe 6 months ago with  @Edge168n . As always, I can listen to the guy wax eloquent about particular brands an...
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The value of brand... AKA, why Rolex should continue to dominate the watch market centuries from now, but they won't because they're completely EFF'ing up their long-term competitive advantage in fixed cost economies of scale

[Shameless plug] Bid now in charity watch auction to win the Unison Watches Model Orbital in Ion Blue! https://www.watchcrunch.com/Mr.Dee.Bater/posts...
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Recent Comments

commented on Which watch should I make my buddy buy for me? AKA, the story of my risk-taking friend and how he has to buy a watch for me by losing a bet ·

You know, in signaling theory, the strongest and most reliable signals come when someone goes AGAINST type. Like if, for example, the New York Times endorses Biden for President, or Fox News endorses Trump, those signals provide exactly ZERO useful new information. It’s only if NYT endorses Trump or Fox endorses Biden, that you learn anything useful out reliable.

The fact that you’re an Omega man, but endorse the VC… now that is a valuable signal!

commented on Which watch should I make my buddy buy for me? AKA, the story of my risk-taking friend and how he has to buy a watch for me by losing a bet ·

Yeah, exactly!

But, something about that Moonshine Gold is tempting me to "backslide." Dammit!

commented on The death of the first-ever Spring Drive, 7R68 movement ·

That's crazy! I guess I've got several thoughts on this:

It's a bad marketing move

  • GS absolutely should fix that watch - doesn't matter if they need to hand machine every single part from scratch

  • If they were smart, and clearly they're not, they would fix the watch in order to avoid piercing the illusion and make the admission that "luxury" watches are just durable consumer goods that depreciate over time and end up as worthless junk in drawers - you want your consumer base to continue to delude themselves that these are somehow special and magical artifacts that will last for all eternity, passed from grateful generation to grateful generation

  • But, as we all know, Asians are TERRIBLE at marketing, so clearly they're EFF'ing that up big time! (And, of course I'm allowed to say that, because I'm Asian, but more importantly, anyone is allowed to say it, because it's the truth)

The reality

  • Nonetheless, the reality is that "luxury" watches are nothing more than durable consumer goods that depreciate over time and end up as worthless junk in drawers!

  • I mean, the whole "You never really own a Patek Philippe, you merely look after it for the next generation" is an absolute genius marketing slogan! It's a Swiss thing, created by absolutely genius Swiss marketers. Seiko could learn a thing or two from Western marketing minds. But, well, the past 3,000 years of history would suggest that Asian cultures are too insular to adopt modern practices / technology!

Does this change my views in any way with regard to Spring Drive?

  • No. Gonna happily continue to buy them left, right, and center

  • Why? Because "luxury" watches are nothing more than durable consumer goods that depreciate over time and end up as worthless junk in drawers!

  • I expect all my 9R calibers to last significantly longer than 25 years - that's just something that comes with manufacturing learning curves. Every mass manufactured good today has incomparably better reliability and quality than the same good manufactured 25 years ago

  • But, I don't expect to be alive for much longer than 25 more years, and the last thing my children would want is a bunch of durable consumer goods that have depreciated over time and have ended up as worthless junk sitting in my drawers continuing to clutter up their lives after I've died!

commented on Mr.Dee.Bater's WRUW ·

Yeah, I absolutely love it. Not your typical dive watch! Somehow, it’s like a dress watch pretending to be a dive watch! Ha!

commented on Is there a Watch Snob in us all? ·

No. Can’t get past a bad name/logo. The Chinese have notoriously bad brand names - I’m allowed to say this because I’m Chinese… but more importantly because it’s true.

I bought a boot dryer off Amazon. It’s a cheap Chinese jobby. The brand name? Forlim. FORLIM. WTF??? Anyone with any passing familiarity with English would know you don’t want your brand name to evoke thoughts of skin sheaths that cover glans!!!

“Seestern” though is a perfectly wonderful name for a watch brand!

commented on Is there a Watch Snob in us all? ·

I can say with utmost conviction that San Martin, Pagani, and Seestern watches are some of the best built watches you could hope for. Absolutely fantastic watches.

commented on Which watch should I make my buddy buy for me? AKA, the story of my risk-taking friend and how he has to buy a watch for me by losing a bet ·

OMG! No, different gal. And it wasn’t a Daniel Wellington, it was a Kenneth Cole Reaction watch! Ha!

More posts

New Year, new charity watch auction! Unison Model Orbital in Ion Blue (#28)

Hello friends! Well, since it’s a new year, it’s time for yet another charity watch auction!  Up for consideration today is the Unison Model Orbital i...
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Limited editions are a good thing and this is why. AKA, forget all the talk about FOMO or tricking us out of money, limited editions increase consumer and producer surplus

The first photo above is the GS SLGH005, the White Birch.  I know what you’re thinking:  “That watch is hideous!”  I know, I know.  The second photo i...
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What does Rolex have to do with Marvel's poopification, streaming movies, and those weird DVD bundles at Walmart? AKA, how Rolex's purchase of Bucherer was a terrible, terrible mistake on their part

[Begin aside] PSA:  Do yourself a big favor right this very moment, and go to www.theescapementroom.com There you will find many articles written by f...
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For god's sake, can we finally put a fork in it? AKA, putting an end to threads about "which watch is a better investment?" or "which watch will hold its value better?"

I saw a thread the other day that made me react thusly… It was a thread all about how the OP wanted only to purchase watches that maintained their val...
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Why we all feel such disdain for Seiko now... AKA, the @ichibunz SPB143 homage perfectly illustrates why Seiko and other mid-tier manufacturers can no longer compete for enthusiasts’ hearts and minds

[Begin aside] PSA:  Do yourself a big favor right this very moment, and go to https://theescapementroom.com There you will find many articles written...
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Luxury brands are misleading all of us with the fiction of their "artisan watchmakers." AKA, why it takes 3 months for your watch to get serviced, when it should actually take 2 weeks

[Begin aside] PSA:  Do yourself a big favor right this very moment, and go to https://theescapementroom.com/ There you will find many articles written...
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I acquired a Grand Seiko Lion... not the watch, but a statue!!! AKA, a field report and meetup recap from the Annual GS9 Experience in Hollywood

 [Begin aside] PSA:  Do yourself a big favor right this very moment, and go to  https://theescapementroom.com/ There you will find many articles writ...
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