It is friday, which means it is ScanDay at TimeZone. This means you can/have to post pictures of your watch(es), sometimes forums have a theme for scanday, however, not today as it seems.

For example this photograph by Páll Stefánsson

To stay within the Panerai and Paneristi scene, and thanks to Emiliopan here are some great shots of the new Panerai Regatta. Only 500 models made.

Watchmeetings are so much fun! Especially those for a (cult) brand or watchtype with a lot of true fans..

We all know that Omega was chosen to be the supplier of the watch for NASA astronauts, this watch, is the famous Speedmaster Professional. Until now, every once in a while Omega introduces some sort of tribute to the Moonwatch. Most of them are standard Speedmaster Professional models with inscriptions on the caseback or on the side of the case. Like this one here.

Omega also presented a case full of ‘Mission’ Speedmaster Professional models, these had a missionpatch on the subregister at 9 o’clock. For the “Last Man on the Moon” mission, they even introduced a model with a Snoopy figure in the subregister at 9 o’clock and a big Snoopy picture on the caseback. Note: Snoopy is a NASA award.

All fine, but now… Omega introduced a Speedmaster Pro ‘From Moon to Mars’ edition and it looks like this:

Have they lost their minds? After the introduction of this watch at the Basel fair it was quiet ar0und this ugly thing, but it is even popping up in magazines to ‘promote’ Omega… I don’t think this can be defined as promotion…

Patek uses an all new movement (caliber 324) in it’s new Gondolo Calendrio. Main improvements and modifications to this movement in comparision to other calibers are: higher beat rate ( 28.800 i.s.o. 21.600), new (4 spoke, 4 maselots i.s.o. 2 spoke, 8 maselots) Gyromax balance wheel, advances in wheel toothing geometry for higher rate accuracy.

Here’s the whole article: New Gondolo Calendario 5135

Sometimes, when I forget about my monthly paycheck, I think about very exclusive watches. When these thoughts are in my head for too long, I sometimes even visit The PuristS website.

The indepth articles and reviews on this site are great and make you want to forget about your monthly paycheck for a long long time… (at least I do) This article for example, about Daniel Roth’s 8-day tourbillon, is a very nice read!

“All about the benjamins” Is that so? Since a few years, there are a lot of watchbrands on the market who produce watches with designs of (in this example) Rolex. Especially the Rolex Submariner. Now, we all know it is not done to own/buy/obtain copies of watches. It doesn’t mind if it is a 10 USD fake bought in Canal Street NYC or a 150 USD copy bought on the internet. However, it seems to be legit and accepted to buy a MarcelloC Tridente or Nettuno which start in price around 400 Euro to 695 euro. This way you have something that looks like a Rolex Submariner for a fraction of the price of one. The same goes for Invicta, which are a bit cheaper I think.

However, the thing is (there are even guys that try to deny that it looks like a Submariner and just say they almost no design is original or unique), people tend to say something like this “Hey, how do you like my new MarcelloC watch. It looks like a Rolex Sub, but at the fraction of the price and just as good” or maybe even more subtile, “Hey, how do you like my new MarcelloC watch, Rolex Submariner design for just a few hundred Euros”. Can you conclude that it is really “all about the benjamins”? That, if they had the money, would buy a Rolex Submariner over a MarcelloC or Invicta? To each his own, but I would rather spend my money on something unique or ‘original’. MarcelloC and Invicta both have some original and ‘unique’ models as well btw. This rant is not meant to bash these brands, but a way to determine if it is really about the money or if people really really like their MarcelloC/Invicta for its looks, quality and price…

What do you think? You can use the comments button to post a reacion with your views..

Although I believe the text on this page is from The Moonwatch book by Omega Press, it’s cool to read how astronauts were aware of their Speedmaster watches. However, I read in the book by Gene Cernan that most astronauts were showing off their Rolex GMT-Master watches in their private time.

Update: Another cool link on Speedmasters, thanks to Ecartman at WatchUseek’s OmegaForum.

This link covers 24 hour watches, with a clear preference for the Glycine brand. The gallery and f.a.q. are especially worth checking-out……

“Q:What is a 24 hour Watch?

A: The hour hand on a genuine 24 hour watch rotates once every 24 hour.
The minute hand rotates once every hour as it does on a 12 hour watch.”

Check-out Michael Sandler’s pages called ‘MinuteMachines’. A lot of great photographs.

After a 2003 financial year marked by adverse sales (SARS epidemic and war in Iraq in particular), Patek Philippe is looking forward to two-digit growth in turnover in 2004. “We are optimistic, but a terrorist attack or geopolitical risks can never be excluded, which prompts us to be slightly cautious,” said group President Philippe Stern during an interview with L’Agefi.

According to the financial daily, the Genevan watch manufacturer realises an annual turnover of approximately 500 million francs, selling around 30,000 watches. The company has a total workforce of 1,200 employees, with around 950 of this number based in Geneva.

Despite a 15% increase in dollar prices to offset the fall of the US currency, group sales have not suffered. On the contrary, they have continued to progress, said Stern.

Asked about the Patek Philippe strategy, Philippe Stern said that the group would continue on its present path, following a policy of independence and quality. To ensure the company’s future, he plans to reduce his input gradually, allowing his son to take on more and more management responsibility. The latter currently occupies the post of Vice-President. No firm departure date has yet been given however. There was no urgency, said Philippe Stern.

Opinions and facts about watches.

To me, a watchdream would be a nice complication watch. Mechanical that is, these guys over at WristDreams think otherwise

I always liked the Mercedes Benz Gullwing (300SL) and the same goes for its successor, the SLR. Tag Heuer teamed up with Mercedes Benz and designed the Tag Heuer SLR

Unfortunately, only for the people who are able to read German. Perhaps even worth the click if you only want to look at beautifull shots of great watches. I loved the Sea-Dweller review!

Make sure to check-out www.watchtime.ch.

Vintage watches are hot! For the masses that is, watchcollectors knew this for a long time already ofcourse. The day before yesterday, I got a notification that WatchUseek opened a Bulova forum. I remembered that I had written a review on a Bulova Accutron SpaceView some years ago, and asked myself why I sold it. Besides the fact that these watches are quite vulnerable and hard to repair, the movement that is. In fact, I sold most vintage watches, even a very nice Omega Seamaster Automatic Calendar and an Omega Constellation pie-pan in very very good shape with the diamondshaped hourmarkers. Am I part of the new school who just gets bored with vintage watches? No! I really love those watches, especially the ones I mentioned a few sentences back. They have marvelous shaped cases, great dials and even greater movements. However, besides that they are vulnerable and hard to repair, I don’t have a bonding with them. I was born in the mid-late 70s, and raised with Casios and digital Seikos. I always like my granddad’s Constellation, my father’s Constellation and so on, but I never lived the 60s ofcourse. So I can appreciate their beauty, cherish them.. but I never will get the same feeling about them what other collectors who really experienced the ‘mechanical-watch’-era (pre-1970/1980s) do have.

It is here, thanks Dave! I can only use it as a picturebook, since it is in Japanese, but everything on Panerai is welcome. It will probably get a place on my bookshelf near the Time Capsule book by Imai on the Omega Speedmaster-series which is also in Japanese.

Keeping track of accuracy of your new (vintage) watch? Want to know a timezone for your GMT watch? Check-out http://www.worldtimeserver.com/, they have it all.

First post on the watchweblog.