 |
 |
 |
I got this one in via e-mail by Martin, it is a reference to an article in a German magazine called Der Spiegel.
“Hi RJ!
Do you know some German? If so, I’m sure you’re going to like this one:
http://www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/0,1518,339120,00.html
It’s about a Siemens manager who had his Rolex Sub retouched from his official press photo before announcing major layoffs. Pretty embarassing stuff.
-martin”
The photo the article is about:
Do a search on SteveG on Fratello and you will see he has an impressive watchcollection and for us fellow-collectors, great pictures of his collection (to drool on).
This time he really got macomaniac…. Click here to see his latest work.
Yesterday I was at Gerard’s place and he asked me if Speedmasters always were chronographs. I didn’t have to think long and said that I can’t remember seeing them. Then he showed me this Omega brochure from 1991 with a Speedmaster on the cover which wasn’t a chronograph. The referencenumber is definately Speedmaster, since it is in the 3000-series. The case-shape showed some similairities as well (notice the outside of the lugs). But that’s it.
No Speedmaster on the dial as well, but I was told that the caseback had ‘Speedmaster’ engraved.
Click here for the thread over at the Speedmaster Forum at The Speedmaster Club
My collegue over at WatchReport reports a Rolex robbery in Athens….
A while ago, I did a write-up on watchstraps. This write-up mainly covers the original watchfactory straps and the 3rd party straps from Sirtoli, Officina Italia Bros, TC, Camille Fournet, ABP and so on.
My Panerai is the watch which I have most straps for, which is kind of weird since I own this watch relatively short… (June 2004). Besides three original (the watch comes with two) factory straps, I have a few Camille Fournet straps and Officina Italia Bros straps for it. My Speedmaster Pro come probably second, I have a few original Omega straps (croco) and besides those.. from Hirsch to Officina Italia Bros and Kauffman. Where Hirsch is a brand I rather don’t want on my watches anymore. I bought my first Speedmaster Pro when I was a student and for straps I had a student’s budget. So Hirsch it was. However, I don’t like croco grain (which Hirsch sells, which is a normal leather strap with a croco print on it) or shark grain. An expensive watch should earn a quality strap, and Hirsch is relatively (to the expensive watch) not in my opinion.
Anyway, back to the point I want to make… which is that I am wondering what the characteristics are of a good strap besides optical finish. With optical finish I mean the stitches, glue (since stitches are just for looks nowadays, the glue which is used is more important, as I have been told), looks of the material/animal used etc. Ofcourse, these characteristics are of great influence of the quality of the strap, but have nothing to do with the comfy-factor when wearing it. For example, the factory straps by Panerai (except for the rubber ones ofcourse) and those from Camille Fournet are quite stiff when you first wear them. I always have to bend them a few times before I wear them else the watch just floats above my wrist with these stiff strap-pieces attached to it. The original louisiana croco strap by Omega for my Speedmaster Pro 3573.50 or Officina Italia Bros straps for both my Speedmaster Pro and Panerai on the contrary are very smooth/soft and don’t need bending them the first time you use them. They just go around your wrist very easily.
So what’s the better characteristic? The easy smooth one or the stiff one which gets easier to wear after a while. I can guess what makes the differences in terms of fabrication, but I really don’t know if you can speak here in terms of quality.
What do you prefer and think?
What’s the best watch for x money… (where x is 4000 USD in this case) It seems that the crowd at WatchRap goes Rolex.
Click here to check the thread
I would probably go Rolex as well. However, I am lucky that I don’t have to stick with one watch. This guy also has this choice, since you can easily buy two or more decent watches for this money.
Recently, I posted about the limited edition Sinn 142 and added a link to an article on Chuck’s blog. In the comments of my post, Chris (Christopher Meisenzahl) made a remark about the golden age of mechanical watches which should be somewhere between 1940 and 1970. Here is a quote from his comment:
“I know that in the mech. golden age (maybe 1940 to 1970?) watches were largely sold on the number of jewels, brand recognition, and amount of precious metal. But without the intricate knowledge that us WIS nuts have pulled together in our communities over the last decade, I suspect that movements would come and go withing anyone outside the company really caring or knowing.”
This is all true, and should be written somewhere in the historybooks of watches. However, I gave the ‘golden age’ of mechanical watches a long thought and I think the Golden Age of mechanical watches was not in the era that Chris mentions, but I think it is now.
Ofcourse, in the days before tuningfork and quartz, people had no choice. They had to wear a mechanical watch, so in that point of view, it was at least the ‘age’ of mechanical watches. However, the golden-part should be added after that era. In these days, a mechanical watch is luxury. You can buy a 10 Euro quartz watch in the supermarket, a quality quartz watch like a Seiko or Swatch can be had for 40 Euro. That money doesn’t buy you a mechanical watch. People who adore mechanical watches are paying extra. And like every ‘extra’ in life for luxury, you have certain levels of it [luxury]. You can adore cars and be perfectly happy with your restored MGB, but some people take it a few steps further and buy Jaguar E and XK types for hobby. There is currently a market for extremes, and watchmanufacturers know this ofcourse. Although it is hard to do any new inventions in mechanical watches, they do add new features and try to perfect these.
Would there be a Patek Skymoon tourbillon in the age of mechanical watches? I think not. It would be too expensive and maybe because the lack of modern design technology. So the golden age of mechanical watches, where mechanical watches are luxury anyway, allow them to make a watch like this. And it gets sold as well. Would there be a Panerai Tourbillon diverwatch? I think not, because this complication is completely useless on a diverswatch. It is for people that have everything already.
However, how long will this golden age of mechanical watches last? The former age of mechanical watches, between 1940 and 1970, Japanese quartzwatches passed the Swiss mechanicalwatch industry and they (the Swiss) couldn’t catch up with them. Only later (1990-now), where mechanical watches are considered to be luxury, things are going well again. But since they are doing extreme things now, tourbillon divers for example, how long is this going to last? How much Speedmaster variants is Omega going to produce, how many Panerai variants are going to spoil the market, how many different Breitling Navitimers models do you want to see? Ofcourse, having a choice between 10 different Speedmaster models is great for the customer, but it requires some investment from the company who makes them. Spoiling the market is the beginning of the end. I think the Golden Age of mechanical watches will come to an end as soon as people are getting bored with the many variants of watches coming out. Which is already the case with people who are fortunate enough to take it one step further and focus on high-end watches like Patek complications or other exotic watches like F.P. Journe/Jacquet Droz/Richard Mille etc. But for those who can’t….
One thing is certain, we (mechanical watchfreaks) don’t have to fear for Japanese quartzwatches which killed the mechanical era in the late 1970s, we don’t like them anyway. I think it will be boredom and the lack of affordable innovation which will end it. In my opinion, one of the things that can save us, is moving over to brands that make nice and affordable watches who have to offer something nice as well, something different. Think BRM, Sinn, Bell & Ross, Chronoswiss, Ventura or other independant watchcompanies.
About 3 years ago, I visitted the Camille Fournet office in Paris, together with Gerard Nijenbrinks. I was immediately impressed by the quality and looks of their straps.
A few months ago, I bought a Panerai and as you probably know, they come with a little screwdriver to exchange straps quite easily. So after a quick browse on the internet I discovered the TCStraps site by Elliot Lazarus. They have an incredible collection of Panerai straps and buckles. I decided to order a tan beaver(tail?) strap for my Panerai PAM00113 (white dial Luminor Marina), an expensive strap, but it looks marvelous on the watch. I get a lot of comments on this one.
Last monday, I got in a pre-Vendome style buckle, an extra beaver(tail) strap in a different color and a tan connolly leather strap (same leather they use in the current range of Rolls Royce cars). I couldn’t be happier!
Besides Camille Fournet, Elliot sells TC, Dirk and Mario Paci straps. Also check the section of watches (if you like Panerai and Rolex).
Elliot seems to be a Panerai-lover, he also started the populair ViaPaneristi site and co-organizes the VP-Day in the US.
The last few Lemania 5100 movements at the Sinn factory have been reserved for the (now available) limited edition of the Sinn 142. Prices are a bit higher (ofcourse) then the normal 142 models, but for the true Lemania 5100 or Sinn die-hards probably worth it 
Chuck posted more about this specific watch, and you might try the official Sinn website as well.
People that dislike quartz-watches surely should take a peek at this site, it is about the Rolex OysterQuartz. The OysterQuartz is a great Rolex movement which looks nicer than some mechanical movements outthere. I have had one, a 17013 if I am not mistaken, a Date-Just OysterQuartz in stainless steel/yellow gold. A massive watch which really looked and felt great. I sold it to my step-father, who seems to enjoy it as well. I hope to find an all-steel model in the future, for a good price Below you can see the 1977 model I had, according to the Rolex book by Osvaldo Patrizzi it has a rare dial because of the printing.
Click the banner below to visit the website.
Over at ViaPaneristi (the other Panerai site) I noticed the invitation for the USA VP-Day event!
So if you live in the USA, and couldn’t make it to P-Day #3 in Frankfurt, you better check their website.
I live in a small village near The Hague called Voorburg. There are a few shoppingcenter’s nearby and one of them has a jeweler called Alexander. This shoppingcenter isn’t anything special, on the contrary. The only good thing is that it has two large supermarkets and a shop where they sell about every watchmagazine there is. So, for serious shopping I go to The Hague. However, my girlfriend has some shops in the shoppingcenter which she really likes, so everytime I join her, I try to peek around at the jewelers who are located there. Alexander is one of them. Most of the brands they sell there are not my cup of tea, Tag Heuer, Rado, Longines, Montblanc etc. The only thing that have my attention are the Montblanc pens in the window. I tried a Montblanc watch once there, and I decided that I should stick with their pens only. The last time I was there, it was for a bracelet for my girlfriend (we didn’t buy anything, they had nothing for her small wrists). Anyway, when I was there the last time, I glanced at the seller’s (Alexander himself) wrist and noticed his Rolex GMT-Master II. Great watch, I had the GMT-Master for quite a while. However, this made me think about Alexander and the collection he sells.
The fact that he wears a watch that he doesn’t sell is something you can think about. He surely tells by wearing this watch that he rather wears a Rolex than a watch from his own selling collection. Has he more ‘faith’ in Rolex than in the brands he is selling? I think there are a lot of customers who are looking for a watch who will ask what the seller himself is wearing (at least I do) and ask about their opinions/arguments. This isn’t the case for jewelers who also sell occasions and who do grey-import, but this isn’t the case.
Ofcourse, maybe watches are his hobby and this is just one of his watches. Could be. But I still rather saw him wearing a watch from the collection he sells. I just feel that wearing a Rolex in your store where you sell Longines, Rado, Montblanc, Tag Heuer is showing contempt towards these brands.
Jason Oliver at TimeZone posted a message that the Speedmaster Pro owned by astronaut Deke Slayton was sold at some auction. You can find it here.
Here is a picture of the watch:
I hope the buyer puts on a new strap! The buckle seems to be original Omega (and in the right time-period). I really doubt if I would ever sell such a personal belonging as a watch that joined me on spaceflights.
That’s the question that keeps Michael Sandler of TZ busy A lot of reactions, and it almost seems to be a Rolex vs Other brand.
It is nice to see all those opinions, and sometimes Patek is getting the same blame as Rolex. “Do you want it because it says Patek?” Pfff… unbelievable. Some people tend to forget that buying a watch is very personal, either you like it better than the other or you don’t. Most of the time people can’t even explain why they like the other one better. And they don’t have to in my opinion. It is about taste, not about a name on the dial, especially not with watches with these kind of names on it.
Oh btw, it is this watch:
and this one..
Personally, I would go Patek. To me, it represents all that is perfect! Arabic numerals on the dial are quite tricky, I tend to get bored by them, and I wouldn’t take that risk for this kind of money. I also like the case design and clean dial very much. The watch is so timeless in my eyes, I couldn’t tell you if this watch is made in 2005 or 1950. I love that.
When I came after work last evening, a big box from Amazon was waiting for me! I didn’t expect this, because it slipped my mind already that I had ordered this book some time ago. Anyway, after unwrapping it, I was immediately impressed by the finish of the book. It wasn’t flimsy (which I exptected it to be, by the price) and the pictures inside were very nicely done at first glance.
Because of the current Euro - US Dollar ratio, it is very interesting for us Europeans to order books, cd’s etc from the USA. Finally justice, because books and cd’s are normally way more expensive here than in the USA.
Anyway, the authors of this book really have done their work it seems. The book is some sort of mixture between the writing and introductiontexts of “Rolex Wristwatches an Unauthorized History” by Dowling and Hess (the Rolex authorities) and the photographs per model (sports models from 1952 to 1990) brings the Rolex standard to mind from Osvaldo Patrizzi, “Rolex, Collecting Wristwatches”.
It focussus on the Milgauss, Submariner, Sea-Dweller, GMT-Master, Explorer, Daytona/Cosmograph models from the early days till approx 1990. It also has sections with tips for collectors, pictures of Rolex boxes (usefull if you have to search for the correct box with your vintage watch, which can become a real queste if you don’t have the right resources), bracelets etc.
To me, the book by Osvaldo Patrizzi (click here to see it) is about untouchable in terms of ‘credibility’, but the book by Martin Skeet (collector) and Nick Urul (watchdealer) is a very nice addition to your collection of watchbooks. And for the price (58 USD), you can’t go wrong! Especially when you live in a country with the Euro-currency!
Last week I also bought a book from Miller’s. About collecting watches and appraising them, which is hard to write about in general (for ‘every watch’). I will write my opinion about that one as soon as I have the time to read it through, because I think it is a gift if you can appraise just every watch without specializing in them.
The Co-Axial escapement by Omega, it seems to be hard to seperate marketing bs from reality. Jeremt at WatchRap.com asked this question and Jack Forrester gave a great detailed reply.
To get a better understanding of the co-axial escapement, you can click here for a detailed description.
Like I wrote on the 21st of December here, we decided to revive the Speedmaster Club and make it an international happening. We are now busy translating the website for the English speaking part of the world
However, the forum is already open and people can sign up for a membership already! Not only for the Dutch anymore that is. There is already some traffic on the fora, thanks to some of you Speedmaster enthusiasts who found it already!
So, Speedmaster owners or soon to be Speedmaster owners, join the club!
Click here to visit the Speedmaster Club site
TimeZone visitor KtownGreg really has a nice collection of watches. It is very diverse, from Seiko via Panerai till JeagerLeCoulte. Besides watches he has a good taste for pens as well! However, his kid seems to get a bit tired of his daddy’s hobby.
Click here to see the entire photo-collection
Photo by KtownGreg
Here is a small conversation with the owner of WatchUseek, Ernie Romers.
Click here to go to the conversation with Ernie Romers!
Enjoy!
On the look-out for a Breitling, or do you have some newbie questions about this brand and don’t want to get burned on a forum (Breitling vs Rolex vs Omega is always good for flamewars)? Visit this Unofficial Breitling FAQ, liaisoned to the TimeZone Breitling Forum
Powered by WordPress
