No More Watch Gang-the Vaer and Lucky Watch Repair

I've been reading about Vaer watches for some time now. I like their origin story, a couple of guys in Venice deciding to make an inexpensive quality watch here in the good ol' USA. I had my eye on their S5 watch, which I eventually bought for my son on his graduation.

It's a good, solid feeling watch, and I still may get one for myself.

I was at a watch show at Chelsea Market in New York last year, and I met some of the Vaer people. I told them about the watch I'd bought my son, and they gave me a bag, which was nice. They had a few watches for sale, but they didn't have the one that I wanted, the D5 USA Tropic. If they had had one, I'd have pulled the trigger.

It's an expensive watch for me, though, currently $595 on their website. I haven't ever spent that much money for a watch.

So for this last year, I've checked eBay on a somewhat regular basis to see if one pops up. Since I'm not part of Watch Gang anymore, I figured that if I could find one for about half, I'd pick it up.

And then I saw it. I still spent a little more than I had intended, but it had a second band along with this tan one, and came with it's original box and all of it's papers. It was originally purchased in March of 2021, and was in really great shape. I didn't care for the band color, but the band was actually pretty new, and it came with a khaki nylon strap as well. 

I found an Ottoody Strap on Amazon for about $20, and switched it for the tan band it had come with. The band is black leather, and with off-white stitching, matching the color scheme of the D5 Tropic better, I thought, and it looked really good on my arm. The watch has a 39mm face, which is probably the best size for my arm, and a really cool domed sapphire crystal, (pretty much the same size as my Wolbrook Skindiver), and it sits comfortably on my wrist. There are no sharp edges, and though it has some heft, it doesn't feel bulky.

After wearing the watch for a few days, I was taking it off to go swimming, and dropped it on a concrete locker room floor. The Vaer made a crunching sound when it hit the ground that I had never heard from a watch before, and I was sure that I'd cracked the crystal. But I picked it up, looked it over, and it looked fine. It was running, I didn't see any scratches or cracks, and I thought that I had gotten lucky. But an hour or so later, it stopped. 

I tried to get it started again, but it was a no go, and I realized that I'd spent a bunch of money on a watch that I broke in less than a week. I can count the amount of watches I've broken over the years on one hand, so this was a bit surprising.

Still, the movement is a Miyota 9039, a well known, well liked, common movement that can be bought online for around $100. I figured that if the whole movement had to be changed out, the watch would come up to the price of a brand new one-not really what I was looking for. I also thought that maybe the Vaer people would be able to help me out and get a new movement for less, if that's what was needed. So I emailed Vaer about my watch.

Surprisingly, since it was the second week of December, Evan-Austin at Vaer got right back to me, asking for more details. The eBay seller had sent me his receipt, so I gave the pertinent facts-that I totally understood that the warranty didn't apply on watches bought on eBay, that the person I bought it from sent me his receipt and order number, and that I dropped it on concrete. I asked if I should just take it to my guy and have him take a look.

More surprisingly, I got another response the next day. It was signed from Ryan Torres, one of the Vaer founders, and it said to take it to my guy for an estimate, then let the Vaer people know, and they'd tell me if they thought they could do it for less. In a follow-up email, Evan-Austin gave me the information if I wanted to send it back to them, but warned of a 3-4 week turnaround.

So I took my watch to Lucky Watch here in Ventura. I've had Paul, the owner replace several watch batteries over the years, but more importantly, he's replaced the quartz movement of an 80's era Seiko that my mom had bought me, and a got a 20 year old Seiko automatic dive watch running for me, with both repairs under $100 each. He won't fix everything-the Beltex of a few posts back comes to mind-but I thought he could handle this one.

Red Date

I took it to Lucky Watch on Monday. He opened it up and told me the problem, but Paul's accent is pretty thick and I'm not sure what he said-it could have been 'main spring,' or it could have been something else, and then said that he could have it back to me by Wednesday, and it would cost less than $100. That sounded good, so I told him okay. I figured there was no way the Vaer people were going to charge less, and the turnaround would be no where near as fast. Plus I'd have had to get the packaging to mail the watch to them. 

When I picked up the watch two days later, Paul's advice was, "Do not drop on concrete." It's been running great ever since. 

I do have one complaint about the watch, and it is a minor one. The date is in the 6 o'clock position, without any magnification on it. It's also a black dial with cream numbers, like the rest of the face-except every four days when the date is red. I'm not sure why it's every four days, and with the cream on black numbers, the date blends into the face. Vaer people, if you happen to read this, a magnification over the date would really make this watch pop. It's a minor quibble, and obviously not enough to prevent me from wearing the watch.

One more interesting side note-Vaer makes a D7 Tropic, which to my eye looks the same except for "Swiss Made" on the bottom of the dial instead of "American Assembly." Instead of the Miyota movement, it has a Sellita SW-200 movement. The specs of the movements are the same, but the Swiss watch is $200 more.

I'll stick with the USA assembled, Japanese movement.

Jury Duty post Covid/Beltex Watch/Lucky Watch Repair

It's been years since I've had Jury Duty, and some things have changed. The most important thing for me is that there was a small coffee bar that served pretty good coffee when I was here before, and refills were a dollar. It seems to be gone, though the space here remains.

They do brew up Peets Coffee, which I'm okay with, but in the main cafeteria area.

Also, instead of filling the Jury room and having us stay in or around the courthouse all day, they bring in a morning group and an afternoon group.

I picked the morning of July 1st, figuring that no one would start anything before a three day weekend.

So I'm in the cafe, stalling on doing real work.

Beltex Watch

I've seen this type of watch before, and when it showed up on the Goodwill Auction site, I thought I'd make a bid. The listing said it was running, though untested, which I thought was a good sign.

 

It's a little beat up, but when I see them, they usually go for around $400, so I figured out what I was willing to pay, and made a bid.

 

It wasn't running when I got it, and they'd taken the back off and didn't put it back on. I was able to get the date hand to work, but it didn't wind and there's no ticking. I'm pretty happy with my watch guy here in town, Lucky Watch Repair, and I took it to him. 

 

A quick note about Lucky Watch. An Asian man with a thick accent, his shop is pretty beat up looking behind the Baskin Robbins on Main Street. But his prices seem fair, and he does good work. I've had him replace the movement of a Seiko UCLA Alumni Association watch that my Mom had bought me, service my Harlem Globetrotter watch, replace the batteries on my Zodiacs and Shinolas, get my cheap (though supposedly limited edition) Goofy and Donald Duck watches running, and repair my 20 year old Seiko Automatic Dive watch.  

But he looked at the Beltex and said, "I can't get parts."

I was counting on him, so that wasn't good.

So, now I need to shop online and send it to someone, and hope that I can get it repaired for a price that is worth my while.

I'll let you all know how it goes.

 

Seiko/Cyma

 Seiko /Cyma Watches

Classic Seiko Vibe

It’s been a while since I’ve belonged to Watch Gang, so my watch acquisitions have slowed down some. But I still like them, and I’m still willing to buy new ones.

Plain box

I was watching some watch vlogger on Youtube, and they showed this Seiko SKX SRPJ47K1, and I thought it looked pretty cool. It was on the high end of what I’m willing to spend on a watch, but it seemed like one of those where I’d kick myself if I didn’t buy it and saw it on someone else. I like orange, I like skeleton watches, and I like dive style watches. So I googled it to find the best price, and ended up at Creation Watches.

Creation is a grey market seller that has good internet reviews. They had the watch for a price that I was willing to pay, so I gave it a try. (I just tried to find this watch on the Creation site now-it's not there anymore-definitely a buy now before they're gone kind of site).

The watch arrived after five days, in a Seiko box with tags. Interestingly, though most of the watch was wrapped in shrink wrap, the face was not. I inspected the watch closely and could not find anything wrong. I had to take out three links, but once I did, the watch fit easily on my wrist, without any sharp edges to speak of. I’ve been wearing it for about a week, and it keeps time properly and sits well on my wrist. At 42 mm, it’s a little bigger than I’d like, but not overwhelming by any means. The metal bracelet is well made, without any sharp edges.

On the whole, I’m happy with the watch and I’d be happy to buy from Creation Watches again.

I like the Vintage Vibe

I’ve bought one other watch in the last six months, from an antique shop in Dublin back in February. I’ve always got my eye open for a new watch, and though I was tempted to pull the trigger on one of the Omega x Swatch watches, which were all in stock at the Dublin Swatch Store, before I plunked my money down I saw this Cyma in an antique shop. I’m not much for gold, but I do like the look of these 50s era gold watches (the inscription on the back says “25th Aug. ’55”), especially when they have the dial within a dial second hand and a textured face. I asked the cost, and the old guy at the counter said 60 euros. I said 50, and we had a deal.

The Cyma brand still exists, now owned by a Hong Kong luxury jewelry corporation, but this one is

Engagement? Retirement? Who knows?

Swiss made. After coming home, I took a tooth brush and some tooth paste to it, and it cleaned up pretty good. I found a band on Aliexpress, and after putting it all together, it tells good time. I haven’t opened it up, and if it starts to get way off, I’ll take it to Lucky

Watches for servicing.

10/17/25

 

A funny thing about the Seiko from back in July. I went to a screening of Alice in Wonderland and Dumbo at Quentin Tarantino's New Beverly, and the usher asked if there was any way to turn down the lume of my watch. The New Beverly is a time warp as far as theaters go, a homage to Tarantino's boyhood, and so much like the 70's theaters I remember in Downey, the Avenue and the Meralta, that it's a little frightening. The same type of curtains, the same type of seats (not the reclining seats of today), same type of lighting fixtures, a definite throwback to the 70's movie going experience.

Eyes Open

Today, while walking the dog, I found $0.75. I saw one quarter first, then thought to survey the area and found two more nearby. 

Yesterday, while going to get water, I noticed that the machine was loaded with an extra $1.65, which I collected when I pushed the coin return. I’ve always checked for change in whatever vending machine I happen to be using, and I always push the coin return.

As I see it, I just scored another 225 days of good luck.

Many years ago, when I was a starving student in the dorms at UCLA, I tried to show off a bit, taking

Crab Cooker Menu, circa 1985

my Sacramento bred hot looking red-headed girlfriend Linda to Balboa Island. We walked along the shore, admiring the homes of the wealthy, but I had spent my last $10 on a cheap dinner of clam chowder, Shepard’s bread and ice tea at the Crab Cooker (and I likely sent a postcard to my Mom-they were free) and was wondering if I’d have enough gas to get back to Westwood. It was Saturday in the Spring, and we were by the Balboa Pavilion, a favorite for local high school proms. Up ahead of us, I spied a pair of couples in formal wear walking along, and I saw something fall out of one boy’s pocket as he took his hand out to paw his date. They were beyond shouting distance, and then turned a corner, and as we walked up, I saw his $20. 

Free Postcard

In the mid 80s, that was enough to ride the ferry to Balboa Island for Balboa Bars and a half-tank of gas, more than enough to get back to Westwood. I don’t think Linda realized how close we were to thumbing it back to campus, and I know I got just as lucky as that Prom couple.

My son was an expert at looking down, usually finding change and often finding dollar bills while out for his runs. One time he ran across my daughter’s homework fluttering away in the wind, and was able to return it to her later that day at school. 

On the high school campus where I taught, I’d come across change fairly often too. I’d leave the pennies and nickels, but I was willing to bend over for a dime or more, and certainly for any paper money. I probably found around $50 in the 27 years I worked there.

I’ve noticed as I’ve gotten older that I don’t find as much money as before. I think it has something to do with the

Can you identify this?

ease that young people have at paying electronically. But three weeks ago, while walking the dog, I saw $100 bill across the street from Singing Son Coffee. Unlike my date 40 years ago, when I had some doubt about getting home, I looked around to see if there were any likely candidates to claim the money, but no one was nearby. I suppose that I could have walked into Singing Son and asked if anyone dropped $100, but that seemed silly. 

So I’ll keep looking down as I walk. You never know.

Where Have I been?

Glad you asked! 

After my last post about Neil Young in August, I headed to Portugal and Spain, walking the Camino de Santiago. After that, I spent a few days in Madrid, to live my Hemingway dreams and watch a bullfight at the Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas, as well as visit El Rastro and Botin, among other things.

From there, I met up with my son in Seoul, taking in tons of street food at various markets, as well as learning all about K-Pop Demon Hunters. 

I took a month and circumnavigated the globe. I entertained the idea of posting about the Camino, but couldn't figure out an angle. I wrote a novella in the last part of 2025, and I've been trying to figure out what to post since. Look for more thoughts on coffee soon!