Watches Blog Wrist Watch Reviews

A few months ago, I wrote about the non-fitting NATO strap on James Bonds watch in the Goldfinger movie (click here for the article). I also stated that I really dont like NATO straps on Rolex watches.Still from GoldfingerIn one of the comments by Dell Deaton (THE James Bond watch authority), he more or less wrote me that I shouldnt be so harsh on NATO straps Live and let live. Perhaps he was right, as I got a few NATO straps a few days ago from UK Watch Strap and I am slowly getting used to wearing such a strap on my t-dial Rolex Sea-Dweller.The straps start at 5.99 UKP (add one pound for the striped models) and are of excellent quality. Attaching them is a piece of cake and they feel quite [...]

Nick Faldo (b.1957) was one of Europeans best golf players in the 1980s and 1990s, and recently honored with nighthood (Sir Nick Faldo) in recognition of an incredible sporting career by the English queen. What most golfers probably do not know (with the exception of the watch connoisseurs amongst them), is the long time partnership between Nick Faldo and Audemars Piguet.Audemars Piguet, King of special editions, created three different Royal Oak watches to honor golf legend Nick Faldo. The first model showed up in 1992, with reference 14790. A rose gold Royal Oak, limited to 325 pieces. In 1997, Audemars Piguet introduced the Royal Oak Nick Faldo edition ref.15090, limited to 150 pieces in [...]

Tom Mulraney, of The Watch Lounge website, makes it very easy for you to win this RED8 wrist watch by Christian Bedat. With the RED8, Bedat Co created something entirely different from their normal collection of watches. I actually like the RED8, because it is a fresh looking design with a self-winding eco-quartz movement, as we know it from the Omega Seamaster QMatic (the watch is powered by a capacitor that is charged by a spinning rotor). This would make a nice watch suitable for sports, big crown, large dial and hands.Anyway, the only thing you need to do is go to Toms website and follow the instructions. You either have to sign-up for his Twitter feed or sign-up for his newsletter. Bes [...]

I am a huge fan of watch winders. The practical ones that is, the ones that dont take up too much space and do the job right. Now, I have written on winders before (a 2009 watch winder review and one in 2005) and always wrote that you should be on the look-out for a programmed or programmable winder. This means that the winder will work a few programs in such a way that your watch gets enough excercise to keep on running. Although I cant imagine that you are still able to overwind your watch, a running watch is still better than a watch that stands still. This probably has something to do with the synthetic oil that thickens a bit after a long period of non-wear.Anyway, the Leather One Watch [...]

In 2021, Omega updated the iconic Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch with the caliber 3861 movement. A very good reason to update our Speedmaster Buyers Guide as well!This guide dates all the way back to 2014, and since then, a lot happened. Not only did we have our own way with Omega and the two Speedmaster Speedy Tuesday watches (in 2017 and 2018), Omega also introduced a number of interesting Speedmaster watches to the collection. What about the Speedmaster Calibre 321 from 2020, or the new Moonwatch Master Chronometer models in gold? Time for us to update this Speedmaster Buyers Guide.In this Speedmaster Buyers Guide, we give you an overview of the most important references of the Speedm [...]

Roger Federer won the French Open and got his 14th grand slam title. As soon as he received the Coupe des Mousquetaires from Andre Agassi, people over at the online watch community websites started guessing which watch he was wearing.Although Rolex advertizes with Roger Federer wearing either a Rolex Daytona in white gold or an all gold Rolex GMT-Master II (he probably has all models anyway )), Roger is wearing a Rolex Yacht-Master II.Elmar of Oysterinfo.de has an incredibly large collection of original Rolex advertizements (vintage and modern), including this one of Roger Federer and his white gold Daytona. You can see its white gold due to the dial. The stainless steel versions have no Ara [...]

When I started collecting wrist watches, I never considered Oris as a serious option. They made nice mechanical watches, had nice designs, but brands that do doubl??? or plaque gold cases were off-limit. I also wasnt very convinced about the quality of the watches.Perhaps I didnt do Oris any justice, because afterall, this brand exists since 1904 and have this only mechanical movements philosophy. Anyway, I skipped Oris and rather went with brands like Omega (when they were still very affordable).Since a few years, you cant deny the fact that Oris upscaled in terms of quality and image. Their collection became a bit more of this time and became a serious entry-level watch, where perhaps a b [...]

It has been almost 2 months ago, since Frank and I visited BaselWorld 2009. One of the highlights was visiting the Blu stand in Hall 2.0 on our last day there. After looking at their displayed watches for a while, I decided to go and ask for some more information about them, as I liked their style and use of precious materials. My questions about the brand were answered by Mrs. Lederer, wife of Bernhard Lederer (Blu stands for Bernhard Lederer Universum). She invited us over to a desk, to show us some watches of the Blu collection and give us some more explanation on the brand. Our discussion was mainly about materials, such as diamonds on Blus watches for men. When our questions became more [...]

On the 11th of June, Antiquorum is auctioning Timepieces from Twentieth Century Icons. This auction includes some stuff that belonged to Steve McQueen. Besides the actual watch that Steve McQueen wore in the Le Mans movie, the Heuer Monaco (ref.1133), Antiquorum is also auctioning his Von Dutch motorcycle (what has this to do with timepieces you may ask? I dont know. It has to do with money probably.) and a Rolex Submariner 5512 that was given to Jimmy Brucker, early 1980. I dont know if it is the actual watch that has been spotted on the wrist of Steve McQueen several times, or that it is just a similar model. Chad McQueen, Steves son, has been spotted wearing a similar Submariner as well. [...]

I am a big fan of the Rolex GMT-Master, not only because it is one rock solid watch that has this neat feature of being able to display multiple timezones (3 in total, using the bezel), but also because of its history. We probably all know the historic Pan-Am GMT-Master models, with the white dial, given to pilots of that company. Jake Ehrlich even claims it was the unofficial Moon Watch. I dont know about that (well, I do), but at least it was favored by a lot of NASA astronauts as well.Sometimes, I regret selling the ref.1675 I had a few years back, but thats only because its value doubled ?? The ref.16710 remains my favorite model of GMT-Masters anyway. However, the only downside of this [...]

Besides his work as interior and furniture designer, Robert Lighton also created a few wrist watches by the names of Hudson, Empire, San Remo, Algonquin and a few more. Mechanical watches with stainless steel, sterling silver or gold cases, most of them with an ETA (mechanical) movement. A few years back these babies sold for over 2600 USD, but you can get them now for as low as 695 USD Robert Lighton New York is having a close out sale, and if I may say so, you really will have a bargain when buying one of these original beauties. Below, a stainless steel Empire model is pictured.My mother has been wearing her Hudson in sterling silver for over years now, and the cushion shaped case of the [...]

Project X Designs, famous for their customized Rolexes, is proud to present their PXD SS1 Limited edition Rolex Submariner. This watch, based on the current Submariner ref.16610LV, is a hommage to the James Bond Submariners of the 1950s Military Submariners of the 1970s. Although Bonds Submariner was less high-tech (in real life that is), Project X Designs tried to bring the look feel of that very watch by removing the crown protectors and putting the watch on a NATO strap. Most information available about the watches that James Bond actually DID wear, can be found on Dell Deatons excellent website https://www.jamesbondwatches.com/.By using the LV (Lunette Vert) model of the Rolex Submarin [...]

Although James Bond is probably perceived as one of the most stylish men around, he certainly messed up his watch in Goldfinger. In Goldfinger, he was wearing a Rolex Submariner (ref.6538 probably) on a NATO strap. On several Rolex Forums, the close-up below shows the watch with as much detail as possible:I dont like NATO straps at all, and find them far from stylish, but I guess that there are a lot of Rolex (and Bond) fans that do. But look at the width of the strap, it is way too small, approximately 18mm (if not any smaller). This looks pretty awkward, and I cant imagine they couldnt find a fitting NATO strap for this watch in 1964.Anyway, some of the Rolex / Bond fans are delighted by f [...]

On the 10th of August, I wrote this post about the (new) Rolex Milgauss ref.116400, almost a year after its introduction during Basel 2007 (which I covered here). The post wasnt very positive, because it seemed to me that the Milgauss wasnt the immediate hit Rolex had hoped for. However, fast forward to 2009, it seems that the hype regains a bit. The availability of the Milgauss improved (you can even find the green sapphire version quite easily) and the prices dropped to an interesting level.My watch friend John Chan has traded his Date-Just for a Milgauss (black dial) and after trying his and one at the airport, the watch doesnt let me go. Last week, I ran into JK, owner of JKWatchStore.nl [...]

(by Elizabeth Doerr, Freelance Journalist for Watches)(left to right): Leonid Khankin (owner and creative director Ernst Benz), Elizabeth Doerr and Philippe Dufour enjoy the Baselworld party on March 27, 2009.A book like this one has really never been seen before in the world of watchmaking: a non-commercial opus focusing on art on three fronts: the artistry of independent mechanical watchmaking with little or no commercial background, the artistry of creating an eminently enjoyable text with no marketing behind it, and the artistry of visuals created to express the rare stories of twelve unique watchmakers.The atmospheric look and feel of 12 FACES OF TIME: HOROLOGICAL VIRTUOSOS will delight [...]

In 2008, Rolex introduced a new Submariner in all white gold (with blue dial and bezel), ref. 116619. This year, Rolex introduced the gold/steel (Rolesor) model of the Submariner in both black and blue dial versions at BaselWorld 2009. These are respectively the ref. 116613LN and ref.116613LB models (Ariel of aBlogToRead.com did nice coverage on them).When the GMT-Master 116713 and 116710 were introduced a few years ago, I remember a sudden short price drop of its predecessors (ref.16710/16713). Perhaps this is the time to keep an eye on the current/former models of the Rolesor Submariner models (ref.16613).Since a few weeks, I am wearing a Submariner 16613. Once in a while, there is this op [...]

Not too long ago on this blog I put forth a healthy dose of skepticism (Feb 26:???? New Detail Emerges on the Concord C1 QuantumGravity) as to the potential of the unconventional and nonconforming Concord C1 QuantumGravity watch.???? I further questioned the QuantumGravitys ability to live up to expectations that were being set by an effusive and over-the-top marketing campaign in the lead up to Baselworld 2009.Now after seeing some live photos and now live video of this watch, I confess that I am even more intrigued by it, but in a good way.???? The Concord C1 QuantumGravity is growing on me!???? What can I say it seems that my dismay was not with the watch itself but its verbose and unecc [...]

I will keep you updated on a Basel 2009 novelties the next coming days, both here and on our partner site, Perpetuelle.com. The company that keeps their secrets very well, is of course Rolex. Too many people their introduction at BaselWorld 2009 today will be a bit of a disappoint perhaps, but to me, it is great to hear that they keep things as they were ?? With a few exceptions of course, like the new ladys Daytona.The new update on the DateJust (being called DateJust II on various forums) has been done very nicely in my opinion (except that the diameter of 41mm might be a bit big). They have their lessons learned from the introduction of the Day-Date II last year. Other Rolex news is tha [...]

This customized Rolex is an initiative by Philipp Stahl (Steiner Maastricht) and Jerrel Manbodh (Manbodhwatches). It is a Jacques Piccard Edition called the Single Red DeepSea, and will be produced in only 86 pieces.This number stands for each year of the life of Jacques Piccard. Phlipp and Jerrel have an official approval by the son of Jacques Piccard, Bertrand. The Rolex DeepSea Sea-Dweller that has been used, underwent quite a metamorphose. A DLC coating, engraving on the caseback and a single red wording of DeepSea (referring to the red printed vintage Sea-Dwellers).The watch comes in a special box and with an additional NATO strap. This project has been a crown on the work of the creato [...]

I have read different stories about the (relative new) history on the Rolex Yacht-Master models. So, what else can I do on this wednesday evening and sort it out ). If I do a Google-search on Rolex Yacht-Master history I get a few hits, but the information in there talks about the introduction of the steel/platinum (Rolex calls this combination Rolesium) version in 1997. That cant be right, since the introduction was during the Basel fair in 1999. Lucky me, I have this Mondani book called 100 years of Rolex, which is a must-have for Rolex aficionados anyway, and all the Yacht-Master information can be found in there. As I am sure not everyone is eager (or able) to pay 275 euro for a book, I [...]