My Third Anniversary as Semi-Professional Watch-Nerd
My mantra is: You gain respect the more you know about the backstory. This is true for people but also for watches. I do what I do, I love what...
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Beginner's Guide to Vintage Watch Brands
Omega Constellation Reference Guide
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Latest Articles
A Square Polerouter?! - The Universal Geneve Cioccolatone
Finally, we can combine chocolate and watches in one article! Introduced in 1955 Universal Geneve's "Cioccolatone" is one of the most eye-catching references of the last Century. Expressive bezels, intricate...
Fresh Wind from Rolex - The Curious Case of the Rolex Zephyr
During the 1950s the Rolex Zephyr was advertised as the "world's handsomest and most waterproof watch". And while modern Rolex appears like same same every time there's a "new" release...
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...
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...