Something borrowed, something blue...

So there I was, walking down State street in Santa Barbara, and what do I see staring back at me but a big Rolex sign and display at 33 Jewels.


But on closer inspection, I saw that these were not your "father's Rolex".

Usually, you think of the Date, Datejust and the Air King - it's not unlike the Model T, you can have any color you want, as long as it's black!  Not so -

A wonderfully vibrant blue Air King has already caught Wendy's eye.

But let your imagination go further - a wonderful yellow date, and a beguiling orange/tangerine colored Air King.

And a pistachio green Date.

Now in fairness, I'm sure that many of you have seen these on Ebay, or some online watch sellers.  But I'd never seen one up-close and personal.  They are really wonderfully done, and the results are better than the average "re-dial".  The original watches are taken apart, serviced, and the dials are sent off to something of a spa treatment.  In the words of 33 Jewels:

"Unique Custom Colored Dial Vintage Rolex Luxury Watches from the 1960s and 1970s.  Built to last more than a lifetime.

These one-of-a-kind vintage Rolex watches with custom colored dials are serviced by an expert watchmaker and beautifully restored to the highest level.

The original dial is carefully painted or metal plated, lacquer coated and has the markers reapplied, luminescence reapplied, along with the application of silver indexes and silver 'batoon' hands."

What is particularly nice is that these updated Rolex's are backed by a 1-year warranty.

If you're in Santa Barbara, check them out!

Odds & Ends

Sometimes you are lucky. Sometimes it actually pays to believe that things are not entirely what they seem. Sometimes your presumptions will ensure that you miss out on something special. And sometimes if you take the time, you will find something truly special.

Meet Ali Athari - watch maker and jeweler.


On one of my many visits to the FED EX station to ship a DOXA SUB, I encountered a very unlikely shop with an extremely unlikely owner! Today Ali shared something very special with me. Full marks to the first person to guess what it is!




So speaking a bit more about Mr. Athari - an engineer, he is now living and working in Santa Barbara. For those of you looking for a GREAT watch maker - Ali is your guy!

So far the only respondents to the question of "what is Ali sharing" were things like - watch parts, etc. - in some ways I will say fair enough - but use some imagination! Surely someone out there has some idea?


Maybe you need a bit more help -


Really look -




Okay - the final piece -