I don’t mind non-watchies talking about buying watches, but this article was a little too “I don’t know me arse from me elbow, har har” for my taste

Whatever, these watch companies give you all this active lifestyle guff and show you pictures of Swiss pensioners in brown store coats painstakingly assembling the inner workings with tweezers, and then they try to flog you something that is more complicated than a slide rule and is made from uranium. Or which is bigger and heavier than Fort Knox and would look stupid on even Puff Diddly.

I think I’ve found an answer, though. There’s a watch called the Bell & Ross BR 01-92 which, according to the blurb, is made in Switzerland from German parts by a company that supplies the American military and is used regularly by people who make a living by being fired from the gun turrets of Abrams M1 tanks while riding burning jet-skis.

This is kind of like the guy who says “I know nothing about cars and I’m really poor. What should I buy? A Porsche Carrera or a Boxster?” The second statement kind of negates the first statement. I mean that B&R he mentions is essentially his nemesis. Oh well.

I’m calling time on silly watches [TimesOnline]

A great story on the history and value of modern tourbillons. That still doesn’t make me want to get one, though. They’re cute, but not worth the price.

FROM 1801 to 1945, about 600 to 800 tourbillons were made in total, an average of four to six per year. In contrast, the respected Jaeger-LeCoultre Platinum 2 Reverso was already a 500-piece limited edition produced over several years. And Girard-Perregaux reportedly makes about 150 of its iconic Three Golden Bridges classic annually.

Why the big spin on tourbillons? [The Straits Times]

Listen, I like a good Omega as much as the next man, but old Hayek need to rethink this shiz if he thinks he can take on Rolex. Rolex = Golfing Executive’s Watch of Choice.

The flames of hostility began to spark during an interview that Nick Hayek Jr. gave to the excellent newspaper, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. “The growth of Rolex seems to be slowing down a little,” he declared, adding quickly, “Omega, on the other hand, is doing quite well.” And, laying his cards on the table, he went on to say, “Our ambition is clear. We want to equal, and then to surpass Rolex in three to four years.”

SWATCH versus ROLEX [Europastar]

A quick post on WatchRap opens up a whole can of worms on the nature of watch collecting. It is an obsession, friends, and an expensive one at that. Not as expensive as buying a Corvette every year, but this stuff adds up.

You’re asking advice from a bunch of watch addicts that are willing to buy expensive photo equipment to take macro pictures of movements. We will go on vacation and take pictures of our watches in foreign places. We will drive a car really fast and take a picture of our watch beside the speedometer. We take pictures of screws and post them. We also get replies to the post. We have no common sense. We are really lemmings leading you to the edge of the horology cliff.

What should a person do… [WatchRap General Watch Discussion Board]

Here is an excellent look at Donald W. Corson’s foray into creating his own watch completely by hand. We’re talking everything from the movement. Amazing stuff.

The following are posts I made to an Internet watchmaking forum describing the advancement of my work during the course of almost a year. From a few square pieces of cold brass to a working movement in a one-of-a-kind case. One of the joys of this work was the constant changes in skillset needed. From machinist to watchmaker to silversmith, etc.. As such the work is never boring, never repetitive, always new challenges and unknowns to be overcome.

Making a Watch by Hand [Ticino]

My buddy Amit lives in Nigeria now and just bought a Vulcain Cricket GMT to celebrate a new job. He wrote a bit about his experience and it was quite moving.

I tell you what, buying the Vulcain was a real
extravagance but I didn’t do it on a whim. I’ve always known that I would
buy a nice watch at some point and when I saw the thing in a shop window I
knew that would be the one. I then made an agreement with Claire that I
would only buy it if/when I got my next job. So that watch waited for me
in that shop window for five months. In fact, although we then bought the
watch when my new job had been agreed in principle, I didn’t wear it until
the paperwork had been completed and that took another three months!! I
had my wife hide it in the house and then had to try and forget about it.
It was agony!!

(more…)

Harry at WatchingHorology takes on the age old question: is it better to spend your wad on one timeless piece or buy a few, more inexpensive pieces. The jury is obviously out, but my suggestion is this: buy cheaper pieces at first and when you know what you want, sell them and buy the dream watch. Or, better yet, never buy the dream watch - remember, when the watch has had about 2 weeks of wrist time, the bloom is off the rose, friends. There are so few watches that can withstand a longer than usual wear time that it’s almost a fool’s game.

Many have suggested that I liquidate my collection to move on to a higher value piece such as a tourbillon or minute repeater. While I may have considered this, it has yet to take root in my collecting values. For me currently, I fell that unless it’s absolutely certain that the (over S$30k) purchase will not depreciate, I will not fork out the hard earned money nor liquidate the hard to acquire pieces of lesser value I have. Save for Pateks - which MAY have some assurance of its long term value and secondary market. Almost nothing in the watch world can promise a recovery of investment cost. For me, Patek does not especially do anything for me at its price point.

FAQ #2 - Single High Value Timepiece v Collection of Mid Values [WatchingHorology]

A shifty store, Dualtime sold one of the watch folks a Glycine with box and papers. Apparently, the buyer received only the watch and then got a broken box and weird papers for his trouble. I suppose they’re someone to watch out for now.

Bad bad experience of online trading (pls read) [BWF]

An amazingly detailed post on how to buy a Seiko 6309 diver, one of the iconic Japanese divers of the last century. The 6309 has an automatic movement and is built like a tank with the crown at 4 o’clock. I have my father’s, which I redid completely after he left it sitting in a drawer for about 20 years. It’s a striking piece and, along with the Orange Monster, is a great newbie collector’s watch.

HOW TO BUY A SEIKO 6309 DIVER (Belongs in FAQ) [Seiko and Citizen Forum]

WuS has one man’s quest for the PERFECT watch. The story he tells is an incredible tribute to watchmaking and patience.

Long story with loads of pics about my ‘little’ watch project [WatchuSeek
]