NicoH, posted a picture of his new watch strap on TimeZone. Nothing special you think.Looks even a bit ‘old , you might think. You are right. It is about 50 years old. This strap has been made out of leather from a Mercedes Benz 300 SLR dated 1956. It gets even better. The car belongs to Jean Todt, who is the executive director of Scuderia Ferrari, the Ferrari company s Formula One constructor.His car needed a new leather interior and a strap maker could lay his hands on the original leather interior and decided to make some straps out of it. 40 straps have been made, individually numbered and ‘stamped .Click here to read the full story, including more pictures....
Kiber launched their new watch line, Gran Specchio, which means ‘big mirror . This obviously has something to do with the mirrored edge combined with carbon look silver dial. These watches come in a luxury wooden box, an extra leather handmade Kiber Race band and a spring bar tool. All pushers and crowns have a screw attachment ?????u the watch is 5ATM water resistant ?????u and the stainless 48mm case has a sapphire front glass and a see through glass on the back. The chronograph has an automatic mechanical movement, based on the famous Valjoux (ETA) caliber 7750. The non-chronograph has an automatic mechanical movement based on the ETA 2824-2 caliber. The chronograph is available...
Since a few days, the new Milgauss has been hitting stores (authorised dealers as well as they grey market dealers) and visitor ‘page on TimeZone is probably one of the first to show his!This ref.116400 features an inhouse automatic movement (caliber 3131) and measures 40mm in diameter. As big as the current sportsmodels (Submariner, Sea-Dweller, GMT, Explorer II????etc). ‘Page also photographed his Milgauss next to the Daytona (ref.116520 or 16520).Click here for the post on the Modern forum over at TimeZone, it includes some larger pictures with more detail of the watch.Both photos taken by Page and published on TimeZone.A quick search on the new Milgauss on Chrono24.com s...
????I feel lucky that I live very close to The Hague. The city where Christiaan Huygens lived in the 17th century. He was a Dutch mathematician, astronomer and physicist; born in The Hague on April the 14th 1629. Besides his other impressive (mostly astronomical work),????he also worked on the construction of accurate clocks, suitable for naval navigation. In 1658 he published a book on this topic called Horologium. In fact his invention on Christmas 1656, the pendulum clock (patented 1657), was a breakthrough in timekeeping. Devices known as escapements regulate the rate of a watch or clock, and the anchor escapement represented a major step in the development of accurate watches. You can r...
There are thousands of posts on watch forums and sometimes the forums are so crowded, that it is nearly impossible to even read and remember the most interesting ones. But once in a while, almost anonymously, someone posts a message that will remain in your thoughts for a long time. Click....
All aboard for another voyage on the S.S. Wrist Game or Crying Shame. This week, we examine a watch that feels a bit polarizing to me: the Yacht-Master II. Before we leave for sea…Marco! Polo! Marco! Polo! Ah, just kidding. Last week, I brought you back to the days of Studio 54 with the Piaget Polo. Folks, this equestrian-intended watch bracelet engaged in quite the horse race and it went down to the wire. Sadly, the Polo lost by a nose in a 51% Crying Shame result. Something tells me that today s Yacht-Master II will finish far more decisively. Let s see which direction.The Yacht-Master IIThe Yacht-Master II left the boatyard way back in 2007 and has motored on under its own power...
What to do if you like the Submariner and GMT-Master models but you wouldn t want to be caught dead with a ? You look for alternatives ofcourse! Besides the ‘usual alternatives like the Omega Seamaster Professional or even the cheaper MarcelloC rip-offs, what about spending some extra bucks (or whatever currency you have) and buy something more exclusive?As an alternative to the Submariner or Sea-Dweller diving watch, take a look at this Blancpain Fifty Fathoms! Besides their rather classic looking watches, Blancpain also features this sporty diver in their collection. This large (45mm) watch is waterresistant to depths of 300 meters, features an inhouse mechanical self-winding movem...
..for the ones who are able to read German, go here. Article by Elmar, from oysterinfo.de.????...
The GMT-Master (II) finally stepped out of the shadow of its diving brother, the Submariner. With the introduction of the ceramic Pepsi and Batman (on Jubilee) recently, the hype is real. Long waiting lists and market prices far over retail result in disappointed customers, but that doesn t seem to slow down the demand. On the contrary.I can imagine why the GMT-Master II is so much in demand. It is a great daily companion, with the added value of an extra timezone. I had my share of GMT-Master watches, including a few vintage 1675s and a GMT-Master II 16710. When I was ready to purchase a GMT-Master II ‘Ceramic or ‘Batman in 2017, I was confronted with the above-mentioned dem...
After exactly one month of silence, I am back ?? Holiday, and especially moving, took (and takes) more time than I expected. My cableprovider still has problems to connect me to the internet in my new home, but luckily I have some unsecured wifi networks in the area.I don t know if you watched Wimbledon 2007, but I was surprised that Roger Federer was wearing a Daytona when he received his Wimbledon-cup. Ofcourse, the Maurice LaCroix sponsorship is over since 2006, but the love was purely a contract it seems ?? By the way, he signed his sponsorship contract with Maurice LaCroix in 2004 for 5 years.. so it ended prematurely for whatever reason.Then, on the 6th of July, a number of watches we...
Although most novelties are already covered on the TimeZone Basel 2007 Forum, tomorrow????I will post an overview of – what I think – are the nicest new time pieces. And then, on to the SIHH 2007 starting tomorrow in Geneva.Universal Geneve with microrotor, 43mm model. The large watches aren t over yet! ??...
Some guys over at the Sinn Forum @ WatchUseek.com took part in the Sinn factory tour in Frankfurt on the 23rd of February 2007. Sinn has a big share of fans over at WatchUseek and the watch internet portals in general. Personally, I am not a????fan of most of their designs because????Sinn is focussing a bit too much on pure functionality of a watch (in my opinion). Anway, I always look at their watches with great interest (I owned a Sinn 142St.S for a while) and have a lot of respect for the brand s innovative creations.Cick here to see a small pictorial on the Sinn factory visitRon Engels, moderator of the Pilot Watch forum over at WatchUseek bought a Sinn 757. Mr. Lothar Schmidt, owner and...
Prince Bernhard (1911-2004), member of the Dutch Royal Family, was an avid wearer. Dutch magazine Quote published an article in their March edition about the auction of this particular Date. Christie? s in Amsterdam will auction this Date on the 3rd of April 2007. Maarten van Gijn, Public Relations & Marketing of Christie? s, mailed me the picture below and stated that I could use it for this blog. I am curious why the Royal Family is auctioning this watch, in my opinion it should be on one of the wrists of his grand childeren. Anyway, according to Quote Magazine, it will fetch around 3000 Euro....
Now that I think of it, it has been almost 8 years since I have this watch. And finally, completed! A few weeks back I noticed this reference 1039 bracelet for sale, which belongs to this type of Speedmaster. According to most sources that is, you are never sure with those vintage Omega watches. My watch left the Omega factory in 1968 (October 22nd to be exact) on a journey to Norway. The reference 1039 was used on this model in 1968 according to information by Omega. However, I have also seen them on earlier models as well. 1968 is also the year that the reference 1171 bracelet got introduced for its successor, the Speedmaster Pro with caliber 861 movement. Earlier models of the Speedmaster...
A timepiece that has been produced in your year of birth, seems to be an all-time favourite wish for many watch collectors. I ll have to admit that I once almost pulled the trigger on a Speedmaster Professional from my year of birth (1977). However, after a phone call to the seller in France to discuss last details, it seemed that this watch was not made in 1977. One of the inscriptions on the inside of the case back clearly stated that this watch was produced in 1978. Bummer.I can have more luck with a from my year of birth, however, the prices of these vintage beauties are becoming annoying. Just a few days ago, I noticed that ‘friend of the show Henrik over at SubGMT has a Submar...
John Holbrook recently bought this Submariner ref.1680 (approx. 1972), with red printing on the dial. As you can see on the photo below, the watch is quite worn. The bezel is incomplete (mind the missing luminous dot) and the bracelet is stretched. The watch case is still sharp edged, which means that this watch hasn t been polished much before. Especially on older es, the sharp edges are gone most of the time. This is mainly due to polishing of the case by a non service center. A lot of watchmakers who are asked to buff the watch to get rid of all scratches, polish a bit too fanatical. The movement in this watch is caliber 1570, seems to be in good condition and is still running fine afte...
Are you looking to buy an Omega Speedmaster but don t know where to start? We re here to help! Over the past 65+ years, Omega has created many variations of one of the world s most famous chronographs. The classic 42mm Moonwatch has been in the collection since 1965, and to the novice eye, little has changed since then. But if you look a bit closer, you will find that the Speedmaster evolved quite a bit in the decades that followed.In this Speedmaster guide, we ll give you an overview of the most important references of the Speedmaster (Professional) and some of its variations. Although this article isn t meant as a pricing guide, we will give some hints, of course. If you re already a knowl...
Just recently, an interesting thread at one of the Dutch watch forums regarding IWC was started. In short, the topic starter of the thread wrote that IWC was the new watch for the rich. Perhaps a bit exaggerated, but I drew that same conclusion a while ago as well. I define it as follows: IWC is the new . used to be, and perhaps still is, a watch that stood for a successful career, life and wealth. At least, that is the image that it is stuck with. For collectors and watch aficionados, this brand has another meaning, but you probably already knew that. Otherwise you wouldn???t be visiting this web site. Anyway, IWC Schaffhausen seems to be on a mission. With their new range of advertisement...
Today I spoke with my watch friend, and also watch maker, Gerton. He told me about this Girard-Perregaux Chronograph watch he has for sale, with an Excelsior Park 4 movement. When I googled on this watch, one??of the results was this ‘In Memory of Time website. A great website by this Japanese collector (TRS)??who has a number??of great (vintage) time pieces. Among them, the Girard-Perregaux??Chronograph with Excelsior Park movement.????????His site is really worth checking out. His collection also sports this great Ulysse Nardin Rattrapante Chronograph with Venus 179 movement. A watch produced in 1991 with a NOS 1960s movement by Venus.All pictures by TRS of ‘In Memory of Time ...
The Sea-Dweller 16600 was my first sports back in 2003. After owning it for over 10 years, I decided to trade it for something else. Only to come to the realization - a few sports models later - that the Sea-Dweller is, in fact, the one for me.When I started taking my first steps into the world of watch collecting in the late 1990s, I had to learn everything from scratch. Magazines like Uhren Magazine, Chronos (later WatchTime), and websites like TimeZone, taught me a lot of the things I know about many brands, including . Although the prices (and availability) were much more attractive at the time, being a student, purchasing a was quite simply out of the question.Back then, leafing thr...
