The mechanical watch industry has a long history of being cyclical. And with war, COVID-19, and inflation, is the bubble about to burst yet again? Ian Skellern shares his thoughts on what 2023 may bring.
The rise of the internet, and the consequent evolution of the watch-watching community, has inevitably amplified the phenomenon whereby certain objects have come to exert an extraordinary hold over the collective imagination. Here, Colin Alexander Smith debunks three watch myths circulating widely and freely online and in print concerning former French president Nicolas Sarkozy’s Rolex and Patek Philippe, the Khanjar Rolex Sea-Dwellers, and what in fact Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay were wearing on their wrists as they summited Mount Everest.
Type 20 is a specification by the French Ministry of Defense for the standard-equipment pilot’s watch chronographs. Unlike German pilot’s watch specifications, those for the French Type 20 are not clearly documented but are rather based on common characteristics shared by various manufacturers. Bhanu Chopra explains what makes these watches so sought after and goes through the main models and characteristics.
In the real world, some complications are pretty useless. And that’s not saying they aren’t cool. Here Joshua Munchow runs through his top 5 most useless complications and why they are simultaneously cool.
Now that the year has renewed and we are looking forward to all the 2023 releases, it is a great time to take a look back at 2022, which was a pretty tremendous year for watchmaking. There were so many amazing watches that Joshua Munchow’s “shortlist” that he realized he had to take a different approach.
After a couple of years of COVID chaos, 2022 was a fine vintage year for excellent wristwatches. Here Ian Skellern shares his Top 6 watches that caught his eye over the last 12 months.
One of the most important yet underappreciated parts of a watch is the crown. The humble crown has played an extensive role in helping Rolex – and the rest of the watch industry – get to where it is today. Here’s why.
One evening, WMMT was sipping away at his ex-wife’s stock of 1945 Pétrus with his buddy Slippery Steve and contemplating a few of the essential questions in life, the kind that rarely find a real answer. Is there life after death? Can you really wear brown shoes after 6:00 PM? Is his Audemars Piguet a fake? Following on that conversation, Slippery Steve and WMMT offer you six easy ways to recognize if your watch is fake. No prior knowledge needed and entertaining photography guaranteed!
Do you consider yourself a collector? For years GaryG resisted the label, however, he slowly tipped over into having, for lack of a better term, a watch collection. Here Gary shares what collecting means to him.
Here is an entertaining little story about John Keil, his Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, and a bunch of guys around a poker table – a story he’s sure many watch guys and gals can relate to.
