6 Ways To Spot A Fake Watch, Even If You Don’t Know How To Spot A Fake Watch

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One evening while we were sipping away at his ex-wife’s stock of 1945 Pétrus, my buddy Slippery Steve and I contemplated a few of the essential questions in life, the kind that rarely find a real answer. Where do I come from? Is there life after death? Can I wear brown shoes after 6:00 PM? Is my Audemars Piguet a fake? Following on that conversation, Slippery Steve and I offer you six easy ways to recognize if your watch is fake. No prior knowledge needed and entertaining photography guaranteed!

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Don’t worry about the names: just enjoy Greubel Forsey’s Invention Piece 1

Why I Bought It: Greubel Forsey Invention Piece 1

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Seems it wasn’t that long ago (in reality, it was close to a year ago) that I wrote my first “Objects of Desire” article about the watches of Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey, finishing with: given the prices of their watches I was unlikely to be able to buy any of the ones I truly lusted after anytime soon. My observation at the time was “go big or go home.” As you will see, I’ve ended up going big and am now the proud owner of a Greubel Forsey Invention Piece 1.

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De Bethune DB25L Starry Sky on the wrist of Mo Coppoletta

The Collector’s View: Tattooist Mo Coppoletta On Watches

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“Whether collecting art or watches, when I fall in love with something, then I need to understand, I need to research deeply,” Mo Coppeletta explains. “You may have taste, but if that isn’t backed up with knowledge then it is superficial.” Coppoletta was wearing an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Skeleton. “It’s my summer watch,” he commented. What else does he own and how did he get into collecting watches?

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Longines “Ambassador of Elegance” Kate Winslet

Celebrity Ambassadors: Good Marketing Or Terrible Waste?

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A few weeks ago, I had the very enjoyable experience of attending a day hosted by Audemars Piguet and the Watch Enthusiasts of New York (WENY) filled with watches, watchmaking, and lively conversation. In the evening, we were treated to something that for me was quite unusual but that in the world of luxury goods marketing is commonplace: an interaction with one of the brand’s ambassadors, in this case Sir Nick Faldo. Read on to learn what is it that leads watch brands to engage celebrities.

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Detail view of the Roger Smith Series 2’s dial

Behind The Lens: Roger Smith Series 2

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Roger Smith holds a special place in the pantheon of independent watchmaking, both on his own merits and as the man who worked most closely with the legendary George Daniels. While any Smith watch is rare, the particular Series 2 that you see photographed in this article is in fact unique: it’s the only such watch in stainless steel that Smith has yet produced.

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Parting shot: Duality by Philippe Dufour

Behind The Lens: Philippe Dufour Duality

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For this edition of Behind the Lens, I’m sharing a series of photographs of one of the great watches of our time, the Philippe Dufour Duality. The Duality, with its linked twin escapements, was originally planned for production in a series of 25 watches. In a turn of events that seems almost unbelievable today, a lack of initial demand eventually led Dufour to limit production to just nine pieces, one of which is owned by a good friend of mine.

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Jaeger-LeCoultre Reversos on the wrist at the 2014 ovarian cancer awareness event

Wristshots: The Story So Far

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If you like watches at all, you have certainly seen wristshots, and perhaps you have even posted a few of your own. Like the selfie, wristshots seem to be ubiquitous these days. But where did wristshots come from, why do they exist, and what are the pitfalls to look out for?

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The first working prototype from the La Garde Temps project

Collectors Speak: Picks And Pans Of SIHH Week 2015

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For the past five years, I’ve had the delightful experience of traveling to Switzerland with several friends to experience SIHH week, before finishing up with a Friday night dinner at which we review our impressions of the week by answering what watch we thought was best of show at SIHH; what was the worst watch; what current-production watch that we saw at any event during the week would we buy if money were no object; and what current-production watch did we see that we would buy with our own money?

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Working under constraints: attempting to freeze motion on the Fonderie 47 Inversion Principle in red gold

Behind The Lens: Fonderie 47 Inversion Principle

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In this edition of “Behind the Lens,” we take a look at a watch that you may not have heard about yet: the Inversion Principle by Fonderie 47. There’s a story to be told about both the brand and this particular watch. We explore both, although we primarily emphasize the design elements of the watch and their links to the brand, as well as some of my observations on what it was like to photograph this watch.

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The Jaeger-LeCoultre Tribute to Reverso 1931 on the author’s wrist

Why I Bought It: Jaeger-LeCoultre Tribute To Reverso 1931

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Over the twenty-odd years I’ve been buying “serious” watches, I’ve purchased more pieces bearing the Jaeger-LeCoultre brand name than any other, by far. Within the Jaeger-LeCoultre pantheon, one watch sub-group stands out for me: the Reverso. Between my wife and I, we’ve bought a total of seven Reverso models. Given that, why add another? In this instance, the Reverso Tribute to 1931?

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