7 Under the Radar Watches from Omega, Zenith, IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Blancpain, Girard-Perregaux and Cartier

Not everyone wants to own an iconic watch. Some want to stand out for their individuality or even go under the radar. Ramon Kalra shares his thoughts on collections from some of the largest watch brands that he doesn’t feel get as much attention as they deserve.

How Dangerous is it to Wear your Watches in Public? With Tips for Minimizing the Risks – Reprise

As a collector, and a fairly visible one at that, GaryG has been paying attention to reports of muggings and thefts of watches and wondering whether it makes sense these days to wear valuable pieces in public. He polled a group of 20 watch enthusiast friends on their personal safety while wearing watches to learn what steps they take to keep safe.

What was I thinking? Now-departed Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox in pink gold

Watch Collecting Regrets? I’ve Had a Few, But Not too Few to Mention: They Include Selling too Soon and Failing to Buy – Reprise

You can like everything, but you can’t buy – or keep – everything! Inevitably, the choices involved lead at times to regrets; for GaryG, along with many of his pals, the sadness is much more often about pieces they sold too soon or failed to buy rather than pieces they were sorry about buying in the first place. Here’s a story of shoulda, woulda, coulda.

In Praise of Anglage: Exceptional Hand-Finished Anglage is Difficult, Slow, and Expensive so the Big Brands have Given Up and Few Seem to Have Noticed (or Seem to Care): Thank God for the Indies! – Reprise

Big brands are now making beautiful, reliable, and relatively accurate “traditional” mechanical watches, but the handcrafted work many of us value is disappearing. Highly skilled watchmakers and artisans are rare and expensive: there just aren’t enough of them available to churn out the large quantity of nice watches now being sold. And why bother when nobody seems to have noticed?

Microbrands vs. Independent Watchmakers: The Rise of (Relatively Affordable) Microbrands

In recent years, several factors have come together resulting in the exponential rise of microbrand watches. This new microbrand wave is one of the biggest developments in the broader watch market. I would mention here that not all microbrands are equal. There are many watches out there that, to be honest, are not worth your time. However, some microbrands are getting it right as Raman Kalra highlights here.

Ouchhh!!! This Rolex Submariner has seen better times

5 Unexpected Ways you Might Damage a Mechanical Watch

Timepiece repairs can be expensive and often take a long time, so you generally want to avoid damaging a watch. Here John Keil lists five common things you may not be aware of that can damage a watch and how to prevent them.

Rolex Milgauss Review – The Most Underrated Rolex?

The Rolex Milgauss, despite being one of the longest-standing offerings by Rolex, remains one of Rolex’s more under-appreciated models. Having owned a black dial 116400GV since 2016, Raman Kalra shares his thoughts on why it’s worth your consideration.

Crash Course In Flieger (Pilot) And B-Uhren (Navigator) Watches Covering Both Historic And Modern Examples: Pilot’s Watch Photofest! – Reprise

The majority of today’s numerous flieger-style watches are inspired by the now-iconic German pilot’s and navigator’s watches of World War II, becoming a genre unto themselves. Bhanu Chopra flies high to take a deep dive into the long history of this popular style.

Shopping Airports for a Luxury Watch: Customs, Duties, and Discounts Explained – Reprise

Some people understand the benefits, limitations, and mechanics of duty-free shopping for a luxury watch at an airport: they know a deal when they see one. For these savvy individuals, shopping at the airport can and does make economic sense – sometimes. In this article Chris Malburg explains watch shopping at airports for the rest of us.

Rolex Oyster Perpetual Sea-Dweller Deepsea with helium escape valve

Deeper, Further, Faster: Why do Some Dive Watches have Helium Escape Valves? – Reprise

Humans have long had a fascination with the depths of the ocean, striving to go ever deeper, ever further, and ever faster by pushing the limits of the human body, technology, and advancing modern science. But like all things, we are often faced with limits. And the helium escape valve was invented to push one of those limits as watchmaker Ashton Tracy explains.