During 2020, my watch rotation was different than a typical year. One of the significant factors was remote working from home, but also other reasons seeped in. Due to the combination of these situations, one watch became my predominant wrist companion and even accompanied me on my limited but worthwhile vacation time over the past year. That watch was the IWC Aquatimer Chronograph Edition Expedition Charles Darwin.But why this IWC in particular? And what led me to it? Lets dive in and find out.The hunt for bronze treasureIn 2014, IWC presented the overhauled Aquatimer collection during SIHH. At the time, then-CEO Georges Kern had a preference for renewing single model lines each year. Among...
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To understand why it seems that everybody on Earth wants a omega, I decided to try and look at it from the inside. Not by trying to see things The omega Way, but from within the brain of the consumer. That's right, I will dive into the brain to try and figure out why your Lizard Brain has you lusting after omega watches. I'm not a brain surgeon, nor am I a neurologist, but after plenty of research and putting one and one together, I think the key to explaining the ever-growing omega urge can be found hidden inside the mirror neurons. Open your mind, and bear with me.Youve heard of the so-called Lizard Brain, havent you? The Lizard Brain is the popular term used for the limbic system inside o...
For this week in Pre-Owned Picks, I am selecting watches from the Twentieth Century that have seen a revival in the Twenty-First. I do not mean watches that have iteratively had improvements throughout the decades ala, the Speedmaster or Submariner. Specifically, I refer to watches that were once made, in a time-gone-by, but ceased production. Decades later, the watches are brought back to life as a re-edition with similar or identical styling and modern materials.Are we living in a crisis of watchmaking? that was the question posed by Tomas in his TBT article here. Quite possibly, we are. But importantly, it is we who are to blame. We reminisce of when wristwatches had to meet the standard...
Why you want an Extract of the ArchivesWhen I bought my first vintage Omega Speedmaster, I wanted to know more about this specific watch. Information on the Speedmaster I could find on-line or in magazines, but I was curious to learn about the history of my own Speedmaster. For this, Omega and a number of other brands are able to provide you with an extract from the archives.Omegas?Museum And ArchivesI ordered quite a few of these Omega Extract of the Archives documents over the years as I feel they do add value to the (vintage) watch.?It also gives you a production and shipping date, as well as the country it was originally shipped to. But what exactly are these archives, and why is Omega...
Of my meticulously planned collection of eight watches, my Zenith El Primero Striking 10th is the star of the show. Sure, its only my second-most expensive piece. But it takes the centermost spot in my watch box as well as my heart. Whenever I see it, I smile. Whenever I wear it, the pride of ownership oozes out of my pores. And whenever I talk about it, I bumble like an idiot, at a complete loss for where to begin (evidenced by the fact Ive started this article seven different times by now). But the road to acquiring my beloved Zenith El Primero Striking 10th was anything but smooth. Like with any watch worth having, the story of my Zenith is one of passion, patience, and persistence. It is...
The omega Datejust is arguably the most recognizable luxury watch in the world. The combination of a Cyclops, fluted bezel, and Jubilee bracelet are symbols of luxury that even the untrained eye will spot instantly. For once, calling this watch an icon is an understatement. But is the Datejust an exciting watch? Well, it's not as prestigious as the flagship Day-Date, and it also lacks the raw sex-appeal of the Submariner. Based on that observation you could call the Datejust neither fish nor fowl, bland, and even boring. But can you really do that?I know one guy that will completely disagree with me when I say the omega Datejust is a boring watch. That guy is Thomas van Straaten who very rec...
Every so often, a press release hits the inbox that looks so familiar you almost ignore it as old news. And then, because a little voice in the back of your head calls out and stays your cursor as it hovers over the trash can, you look again and you realize that this is actually something new. It is something that, while new, looks so much like something that should have already existed you genuinely believed for a second that it did. Your apathy morphs into excitement. This new watch feels like a vivid dream that has leaped from your subconscious and manifested in metal and sapphire before you. Such was my first encounter with the Hamilton Khaki Field in BRONZE.There are few watches so wide...
As you might have heard, 2020 is a special year for Grand Seiko the brands 60th anniversary. For some time, a determined team in Seiko's Suwa facility in central Japan had been working on the creation of a watch that would be as precise, durable, comfortable, and beautiful as humanly possible. The re-creation of that legendary timepiece has just launched. And it is a beauty.The result of their efforts? A watch with a 14k gold filled case and a slim movement, whose precision met the highest international standard of the time. The level of their achievement was such that it was decided to call the watch Grand Seiko. Now, in this special year, a re-creation of the first Grand Seiko watch from 1...
If there is any watch that resembles the famous early original Omega Speedmaster CK2915 then it is the Rodania Geometer. Or is it vice versa? This week, we shine a light on a long-standing but unanswered question: which of these watches influenced the look of the other? Some collectors say Rodania Geometer dates to 1954, which is three years before the original Speedmaster. But does anyone know for sure?In September 2018, a Rodania Geometer sold at Sothebys fore4,750 (hammer price). Just a few months later, Miller Miller Auctions (in Canada) offered another Rodania Geometer with its box. It had an estimate ranging from $1,500 C2,000. The final price including the buyers premium was 16,700. ...
We joined the official launch of the new Omega Seamaster 300M James Bond watch in NYC. We thought it would be interesting to share some impressions of that event, as Omega also took the opportunity to talk about their connection with military watches.In the past years, I've had many experiences which I would have never had if I would still be working in real estate. Visiting NYC twice for two cool Omega events (one being our own Speedy Tuesday event in collaboration with Omega and the other this James Bond launch) is a privilege. Enjoy my report.The Launch Of The James Bond WatchThe official launch begins with a word of welcome by Omega CEO Raynald Aeschlimann, followed by sharing the first ...
Ask any watch enthusiast who has known me for more than a day, and they will tell you of my love for Zenith. It's true. My favorite watch in my humble collection is the 2009 El Primero Striking 10th, and I am an unabashed fan of the brand. Now, I wouldn't say I'm exactly a fanboy. Not every release makes my heart palpitate, and there have been some in the last decade that were just plain hideous (48mm Tribute to Rolling Stones Pilot, anyone?).These days, however, I do greatly appreciate the overall direction in which the brand is heading. From Elite to Chronomaster and Pilot to Defy, Zenith's current offerings cater to a wide range of classical, sporty, romantic, and futuristic tastes, all w...
We take a look at a curious riff on the Oris Big Crown Pointer Date 80th Anniversary in bronze.I needed a new watch like a hole in the head, but there I was at Baselworld 2019 making a decision on what novelty I'd procure.? I'm not really what you'd call an altruist, but I like to support the industry by purchasing a watch every year that's actually in production instead of always defaulting to vintage.? That's really not such a chore these days as I think we're living during the time of some really great watches.? In fact, there's hardly a brand that doesn't offer something that I wouldn't mind calling my own.? But it was our annual meeting with the still-independent brand from H?lstein tha...
A Dutch fellow by the name of Peter took the initiative to start a Dutch omega Forum. I am pretty sure that there are a lot of Dutch omega collectors and fans. However,??because??a lot of??Dutch people also understand the??German language, I wonder if the Dutch omega Forum can get a few of those R-L-X.de visitors from The Netherlands into their new forum. I also wonder if the Dutch can keep the forum as friendly as the R-L-X forum is. omega Forums tend to attract people that can loose their temper quite easily ?? As for now, the Dutch watch forums horlogeforum.nl and dezinvanluxe.nl seem to do allright!??Photo by Gerard from HPN....
In our Sunday Morning Showdown, two of our writers go head-to-head in an epic showdown for the ages. Strong opinions and hysterical hyperbole are welcome (so feel free to join in with the fun in the comments section below). And don't forget to let us know which watches you'd like to see torn to shreds/effusively exalted next week. We'll try and feature as many of our readers' choices as we can. Todays showdown is all about the practical wristwatches for the every-day-adventurer the omega Explorer 214270 versus the Grand Seiko SBGH279.Last week was the finale of our silver screen Bond watch mini-series. The ensuing votes resulted in Jorg and the Spectre Aqua Terra taking the victory with 59%...
The chronograph is easily one of my favorite watch types. Unlike a diver or field watch, the chronograph is a tough one to master. Theres lots of info on display and the wrong design choices can lead to a visual mess. And then there are the movements; buyers LOVE to talk specifications. Thankfully, the big brands now offer some really compelling choices.With watches, we often talk more about what we dont have instead of pausing to examine the current landscape. We say things like, thats great, but, or, I wish brand X would have done such and such instead. Honestly, the complaints now border on the ridiculous because, at the risk of sounding crazy, I think we are currently in the midst of a g...
omega has been listening to some of the customers feedback on their Deepsea Sea-Dweller it seems. We were presented the new and improved version of the omega Deepsea Sea-Dweller reference 126660.Before I continue, I have to say that I find it very interesting that omega is enhancing some of their models. In the past, besides some transitional models, their watches would be in the catalog forever, or at least for many years in a row. That seem to have changed. The regular omega Sea-Dweller 4000 received an update rather quickly (after the previous model was taken out of the collection a while before), the Explorer 39mm received an update regarding the hands and the Day-Date II was introduced,...
Two years ago, watch collector and connoisseur Mike Stockton contributed a wonderful write-up about his omega Submariner 14060M. A 2000 word write-up about the classic omega Submariner 14060M, from the very early moment he laid his eyes on this iconic diver from omega, the moment he bought it (years later) up to now, years of ownership. Time to bring this story to your attention again, a wonderful (Christmas) tribute to the omega Submariner 14060M.omega Submariner 14060M ReviewSouth Florida. The words evoke different things to different people. To some, it means sun, fun and vacation. To others, images of Scarface style hustlers, gangsters and drug dealers come to mind. To me, it is simply h...
With only a day to go, 2016 has come to its end. It was a very interesting year for the watch industry and for watch collectors. The watch industry is currently going through a rough time, but still managed to come up with some very interesting watches this past year.State of the watch industry2017 will likely be an even tougher year for some brands, which means we haven't seen the end of the crisis in the luxury watch market yet. The trend will now be all about how creative brands are with their new collections and, just as important, the value proposition. In my belief, for many watch enthusiasts it has become more important that you indeed get a bit of value for your money instead of buyi...
Can you believe it? I know I didn't at first, but there you have it. The green Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute really does go with anything. And I literally mean with anything. Do You know why? Because its green, and therefore it probably won't exactly match your outfit of the day. And because it doesn't, it does. Catch my drift?Not too long ago, I went on a quest to find out if the rectangular Reverso was a watch that had I deprived myself of for all the wrong reasons. I found my answer wearing a Reverso Classic Monoface Large Small Seconds. Turned out I had indeed been depriving myself of an undisputed watch icon for all the wrong reasons. I just never realized that a fairly dressy rectan...
I havent seen this one before, a DLC omega GMT-Master. This neo-vintage omega GMT-Master with tritium dial has been treated with the famous Diamond Like Carbon coating by Time and Gems.The coating on this timepiece is a mixture of polished and brushed parts, which is a bit different from the regular ref.16700 and ref.16710 models. The center links have been polished, as well as the lugs of the watch case. The anthracite colour on the brushed parts is a bit darker than the coating colour on the polished parts, giving it a bit of room to play with the light.The cool thing about the GMT-Master in DLC edition is that the red GMT-hand stands out. I have seen the newer GMT-Master version (ref.1167...