Ian Skellern came up with a solution that would not only eliminate flipping but would also decimate the gray market. Or at least it would significantly minimize them. Might it work?
If cases get too little attention from watch collectors, GaryG feels that the straps and bracelets that turn a timepiece into a wristwatch seem to get even less. And of late, especially with the controversy surrounding the introduction of the “integrated” bracelet of A. Lange & Söhne’s new Odysseus, he has been pondering metal watch bracelets and what makes them so special.
There are more than a few people investing in watches that they can’t touch, wear, or wind: welcome to the sometimes murky world of watch funds. Here, Brendan Cunningham takes a look at what they do and their impact on secondary-market prices and scarcity.
Post-war United States boasted unique market conditions that allowed for diamond-set men’s watches from a variety of brands to thrive. Martin Green takes us on a journey to discover how and why diamond-set watches for men became part of the American Dream.
Wouldn’t it be splendid to have everything your heart desired? Well, it’s a nice fantasy but it’s not going to happen for GaryG. And, besides, he’s not so sure that the experience of “selling to buy” isn’t actually a significant part, albeit a bittersweet one, of the collecting experience. Find out why here.
GaryG’s first rule when it comes to collecting is to avoid setting too many exclusionary rules. With watches, he believes that it’s the passion that separates collectors from investors and accumulators. Which brings him to another rule: deriving the full enjoyment from the things you own.
Many professsional watch journalists may or may not have loved watches when they first started writing about them. But attitudes and personal tastes transform over time, so that some journalists who started in another field may come to love watches more than they ever thought possible. And four of them feature in this Instagram Live video. The overriding question answered is what makes individuals like us decide on what we do, say, buy, collect, and, above all, write?
Why is this timepiece important from a holistic view of horological history? The reasons are manifold and include the unheard-of technology nestled within its movement, the audacity of a German newcomer in challenging Swiss status quo, and the symbolic value for A. Lange & Söhne’s rebirth as well as the golden age of mechanical timepieces.
It will come as no surprise to anyone who has read Joshua’s pieces in the past that he likes a good jump hour mechanism. There is just something about that instantaneous change driven entirely by mechanical means that fascinates him. And yet not all “digital” watches require the use of jump hours and minutes; some don’t even use a jump at all, yet still read digitally. Here, he breaks down a list of his seven (plus change) favorite “digital” watches.
Nothing can stir up the watch world these days quite as much the launch of a new Apple watch. For some it’s a must-have gadget, for others it just isn’t a real watch. But quartz watches face perhaps more competition from smartwatches than mechanical watches. Does quartz even have a real future?