Chronos24.pl and Fratellowatches.com are proud to present you this new, special, bi-weekly section dedicated to our fellow watch journalists and bloggers. Ever wondered what they really like? – read on.

Without going into the long-lasting dispute about who is a journalist, who is a blogger, and which of this two is better (like it matters) we tried to find out about a  more interesting topic: what are the personal favorite watches of watch editors and which timepieces would they purchase when having unlimited resources. In the next coming weeks (every other Monday) we will bring you some of the biggest names from the world of watch editors, both acclaimed authors with an impressive track-record and new-age digital-world bloggers, who re-shape(d) journalism as we know it today.

So without further ado, here is the first “Watch Editor’s Picks”, to give you a better perspective.

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Who are you?

My name is ?ukasz Doskocz, I’m co-founder (with my friend Tomasz Kie?tyka) an Editor-in-chief of the Polish watch portal Chronos24.pl, and avid and passionate watch-geek with special thing for mechanical chronographs and crazy out-of-the-box creations (more on that later). I occasionally also write for number of different digital and printed publications like Playboy magazine, Watch-Anish and DreamChrono blogs. All in sake of educating and spreading the watchmaking love among our readers.

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What does your ordinary writer’s day look like?

One of the many things I like (and sometimes don’t like) about my job is no particular daily schedule. Of course there are things to do and deadlines (the part I do not like) all the time, but you can pretty much work whenever you feel like. There are news breaking-up every now and then so you can never predict or plan your routine, which none the less is occupied with all the more in-depth text like the reviews and manufacture-visits reports. This requires a lot of work to be done, including research, preparation, facts checking and long but fruitful photo-sessions with our great photographer Michal. Photo-session that later need to be prepared along with some other tiny details like videos, graphics etc. And when not working on any of this things, I constantly try to think out new, interesting ideas to create, like this “Watch Editor’s Pick” you read now.

What’s your favorite watch to wear (and why)?

In the 4,5 years we run Chronos24.pl I had a pleasure to wear and test over 30 very different timepieces, from an entry-level great Longines to the high-end Roger Dubuis. However there is one watch I particularly liked (over many other I liked a lot) and If you read my introduction above, you will already know it’s a chronograph. And not any chronograph that is, but a very special, iconic and legendary El Primero by Zenith in it’s very special edition – the Striking 10th. When Zenith introduced the El Primero chronograph movement back in 1969, it was the only series-produced caliber to work with a frequency of 5Hz = 36.000 bhp. Surprisingly it still is the only such movement made today, and a true icon for Zenith. Although it was already running at 5Hz in ’69, it was only back in 2010 that Zenith used its capabilities to the fullest. The Striking 10th has a central chronograph hand that makes one turn in 1/10 of a second, representing the power of El Primero’s great design. And the movement, just as the whole watch, looks great with its complex structure, silicon double complication’s wheel, openworked rotor and the iconic, blue-grey-silver on white dial layout. I loved how this watch works, how its 42mm steel case wears and how collectible the 1969 pieces limited edition is, for still quite reasonable price. Plus all the history and fantastic recognition behind. I’ll surely join this watch to my collection one day… if I’ll find a piece that is.

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What’s your holy horology grail?

Again – I will bore you with my chronographs fetish. I find this complication both very craftsmanship-requiring and fully useful. After all aren’t watches all about measuring time? So, with that im mind, my two favorite, Holy Grail wrist-stopwatches come from two top watch manufacturers – A.Lange & Sohne and Patek Philippe. The first one is the mighty Datograph Up/Down, the new incarnation of the Datograph from 1999. The watch has a stunning manual-wind movement (caliber L951.6), slightly bigger that the original case with 41mm of platinum, power reserve indicator and a big date. Pure perfection for my taste.

datographThe second piece is a Ref. 5960 chronograph annual calendar from Geneva. Equipped with the automatic CH 28-520 IRM QA 24H caliber the watch busts a stopwatch with combined hours and minutes counters and an annual calendar with the display of the day, the month and the day of the week. All in platinum 40.5mm case with anthracite dial (Ref. 5960P-001) and tones of sexiness.

5960p-001I was supposed to select just one Grail, but I honestly can’t decide between the two. Both represent the perfect bland of artistry, functionality, comfort and class.

What is your best advice for a beginner collector with a 1500 Euro budget?

Starting a journey into watches is not an easy task, by all means. With so much going on in the industry, so many brands and such wide range of timepieces one could get easily lost and confused, especially that serious watchmaking requires significant bank account. There are however some entry-level (meaning accessible price-wise) watches that represent very good quality for reasonable money – just like the Longines Legend Diver. The company from Le Sentier managed to combine vintage-inspired design, modern yet comfy dimensions and reliable automatic movement in a watch priced below 1.500 Euro – well done. There are also some great other pieces from the likes of Glycine (the Airman is truly a great watch), Tissot (the new Heritage Navigator 160th Anniversary is quite nice), Frederique Constant and of course the mighty Japanese Seiko.

But to be perfectly honest, you should always follow your taste, never buy fakes, and with a bit of gained knowledge select wisely, for you will wear your watch every day, and it should fit like a glove.

Here is a link to the Watch Editor’s Pick at Chronos24.pl (in Polish)

Here is a link to the Watch Editor’s Pick at Chronos24.pl (in English)