Alpha-Numeric names.....

Remember when cars had great names? Cadillac had Seville, Deville, Biaritz. Acura had the Legend and Integra. There are more but you get the idea.

Companies caved in to the German car companies alpha-numeric designations like Mercedes' 500SL, Audi's 5000CS, and BMW's 635CSI.

So what do you think about watches?

I like the historic names like Seamaster, Speedmaster, Carrera, SuperOcean, Navitimer, etc. It gives the owner a connection, not to mention a description of the watch.

It's frustrating to open a forum thread and read, "hey, guys, what do you think of the 329? Or, the 2201.XX?

Panerai is famous for it, but Gees, not everyone knows the model number for every watch. Sometimes I'll Google the number just to see what model is being talked about but lately I just say "screw it" and move to another thread.

It's nice to read a forum where members give a description if they don't have a picture of the watch in question. But I'm forever grateful to those companies that continue the tradition of great names.

Now excuse me as I must drive my Mazda CX-9 to the store. I think I'll strap on my 16610LV before I go.

Funny, but good post. I remember when I got interested in Panerai I was like "PAM, shouldn't it be PAN. Then 000, 105, 111, 112...and what are the LETTERS at the end for?

After some research I did find out but yes, PAN Classic/06 would have be SO MUCH easier...

I guess it depends on the context that the models are mentioned. If I see something with 3750.50, 2254.50 or 2201.50 in an Omega forum, it is fine. But in a general forum, sort of goes over the non-Omega fanboys heads...

Another neat topic here WP ! ..I think you are onto something with this !
It's definitely nicer to have a nice name for a watch rather than a number.
Like you said it allows for a connection to a watch, whether it has a long
history, or is a brand new watch model, names help you identify with what
a watch is, how it looks, and who it's from. Plus let's face it, it's alot more
fun saying, and remembering a cool name rather than a number. That's why
I find myself often calling watches by their manufacturer name more and more.
For example, that is a NICE Rolex, Omega, Panerai etc. ..In a way, the
whole number thing has probably helped people come up with nicknames
for alot of watches. Like for instance the Eco-Zilla rather than BJ8050-59E.
It's all very cool to think about imho !

I'm with you man. Thanks for sharing.

I don't even know the number of my favorite Panerai. Never could keep track. Just know it has small secs and a date wheel.

Speaking of Euro influence on cars...
I recall it being so strong in the US at one point, you could buy a Chevy Lumina "Eurostyle". They actually pasted the word on the car as if that would make all the difference.

HA! I remember that too!

Can't keep the model names straight let alone all the variations in model numbers.