Lunchtime Lecture - Sandwich Dials, Their Origin & History
A Sandwich what!? You read correctly- the sandwich dials were introduced during the 1930s and presented themselves as some of the most intricate, most special features of visual depth one...
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Order in the Reference Jungle - A Patek Philippe Calatrava Family Tree (1932-73)
What makes a 'Calatrava'? Depending on your definition dozen even over hundred references can be called this. However, this question is inherently ill-defined because no Patek Philippe watch prior to...
The Coup No One Speaks About - Longines First Automatic Movement
The automatic movement - something we consider normal in modern watches - was still an experimental concept during the 1940s. And brands had to work around the gold-standard Rolex patents,...
Ultra-Thin & Symmetrical - The Secret of Patek Philippe's Backwinding Automatic
Meet the third generation of Patek Philippe automatic watches. And not any ordinary movement as the caliber 350 is neither a full-rotor, a bumper, nor a Micro-Rotor. The Caliber 350...
Why Movado Matters - Meet the Movado Triple-Calendar (1938-54)
Do you know who launched the world's first automatic Triple-Calendar wristwatch...? Movado is one of The traditional Swiss watch manufacturers yet little is known about their pieces and their legacy....
Why Even Bother? - Watch Finishing Techniques Beyond Aesthetics
The fine decorations on watch movements are just for aesthetics, right? Well, that's not how it all started! Looking through the Centuries we can see that most artisanal techniques we...
Miniaturization & Modernization - Jaeger-LeCoultre's Ingenious Duoplan Movement
Jaeger-LeCoultre didn't really sell fully assembled watches on a larger scale until... well, until when actually? What timepiece was the grand entrance to the vertically integrated watchmaking stage? Very JLC-esque...
Watches of the Olympic Games & What they stand for
The Paris 2024 Olympic Games are right around the corner - and the newest Omega "Limited Editions" are hitting the stores. Thus, I thought we should take a closer look at...
C.R. Spillmann - The Making of the Rolex Oyster & Beyond
The case maker C.R. Spillmann is the masterful artisan that brought us the very first Oyster cases in 1926 and was ultimately swallowed up by Rolex in the 1980s. However,...
What You Need to Know Before You Buy at Watch Auctions - A Beginner's Guide
There are literally hundreds of auction houses that sell pre-owned and vintage watches. Worldwide! The good thing is that in our modern era you can simply register for all these...
The Deceptive Oyster - Meet The Rolex "Empire"
Let's recap the last time I felt like a naive idiot with a laptop rather than a watch "expert". It's been auction season in Geneva these last couple of days...
Reference Guide to Patek Philippe Chronographs (1936-71)
Patek Philippe is no stranger to the chronograph complication but rather focused on modulating, refining, designing, and finishing some of the most exquisite chronograph watches of the last Century. Of...
About Those Curves - The Quest for Comfortable Watches
Haptics matter as much as aesthetics to me. Sooo have you ever worn a Polyplan? Or a Cintree, a Curvex? The ergonomics are an increasingly important factor in our watch...
Why Gold and Steel Rolex Oyster Cases Are Shaped Differently
Did you ever notice that little extra chamfer between the lugs of vintage Datejust and Day-Date models? Did you also notice that you won't find this on steel versions of...
The Mystery Chronographs Part II - LeCoultre, Jaeger & Universal Geneve
Jaeger-LeCoultre - the watchmaker's watchmakers signature - graces the dial of a chronograph ebauche, what an accolade! That's what makes these pieces for me so exciting. And as Universal Geneve...
Materialistic World - Why Tantalum is The Perfect Royal Oak Material
Very few things arouse me like a tantale and rose golden Royal Oak. Thus, sporting an AP 56175TR is an absolute dream come true. The Royal Oak was launched as...