Sturhling Original: Saw One for the First Time Yesterday

I had a buddy come over yesterday and he showed me a new watch that he purchased. To my surprise, it was a Sturhling Original Skeleton which is something I have blogged about in the past but I have never seen one in person.

The one he purchased was the one above but instead of arabic numbers along the outside, it had roman numerals. I was quite surprised because for $150 dollar watch, the movement appears to be decenly made (knock on wood). I have heard of a lot of issues with these watches in the past but the movement looked well done and the watch kept time very well.

He told me he purchased it through chronoshark.com for $70. For those of you who are interested in affordable watches at discounted prices, chronoshark basically scours the internet for the best deals of the day and posts it. I would highly recommend that you check out that website. Just as a test to see if you are actually reading my article, what did my last article cover?

History of the Tourbillon

Perhaps the most talked about feature, the tourbillon has its place in history as one of the most admired pieces of engineering in watchmaking.

Who created the tourbillon?
The God, a.k.a Anton Louis Breguet. Aside from creating and innovating a lot of things, the tourbillon was his crowning achievement in 1795.

So what exactly is a tourbillon?
It is quite simple to explain really. If you guys look at traditional automatic watches and observe the oscillator, it just moves back and forth to provide energy for the watch to tell time. I am sure you guys have seen this many times before. A tourbillon on the other hand has the entire assembly that holds it together moving freely.

So what exactly is the point of this?
The point of this is to improve accuracy and to counter the effects of gravity. Lets say you have the watch face up if you have your wrist flat on a table. By the force of gravity that oscillator and housing are biased downward, thus causing torsion and reducing the frequency at which the oscillator moves back and forth. This is the same thing as if you had your wrist on the side. So by moving the entire cage, you can counteract this because the cage is never in the same position for more than a fraction of a second at a time.

Sounds expensive......
You got it. Tourbillons are extremely hard to assemble. There are a bunch of chinese manufacturers who sell knock off tourbillons but the watches would be lucky to last more than a month. A quality tourbillon in the watch would starts at around $100,000. Nowadays, the feature is really for watch manufacturers to show off who has the bigger dick.

What does a tourbillon look like?

Tokyo Flash: The Weirdest Watches in the World

I am going to go off on a slight tangent for this one folks.

Tokyo Flash has generated a buzz recently due to their awkward watches, or at least I deem them as awkward. The watches hail from Japan and there are a ton of different designs and styles that the watch comes in. From what I have seen, you must purchase them directly from Tokyo Flash and have it shipped from Japan but it seems the transit time is extremely fast.

You don't tell time like you regularly do on a normal watch. Instead, you read the time based upon a series of lights based upon a certain theme. For instance you have nuclear warning themes, road themes etc. This is actually very hard to understand unless you watch the video below (trust me it is well worth the time). Below is both the video and examples of the watches that they offer. For around $150 bucks, you can pick one of these up from www.tokyoflash.com if you like something really weird and eye catching.

The Cartier Tank: The Watch JFK Made Famous

True story folks.....

The Cartier Tank was introduced by Cartier in 1917 by Louis Cartier of the world famous jewelry company. His inspiration for the watch was the tread pattern of Renault army tanks in Europe, thus providing the namesake of the watch as "The Tank". Although the watch does not have anything particularly special about, it has a storied history because it was John F. Kennedy's watch of choice while he was alive. As seen below, you can see him wearing his 18k gold tank on a black leather band.

There are many versions of this watch today but the classic Cartier Solo will always be the one thought of when people think of this watch. The newest version called the Tank Française is the most up to date model that Cartier offers but all models are still available. Seen below are the main variations with both the leather version that JFK wore and the bracelet version which gave the watch its name.

Today is my birthday

I turned 23 today. hooray

The Panerai Luminor Composite: Panerai's New Product for 2011

This is a quick follow up to my previous post earlier today about the Panerai Monopulsante. SIHH 2011, which is one of the world's largest product showcases beside Basel had Panerai Showcasing one of their new products for this year: the PAM386 Composite.

So what exactly is this watch? Looking at the pictures, it looks like your typical luminor style case but with a slightly brown tone case and watch. Panerai decided to follow up on one of their most popular products last year (the PAM339) with this little gem this year. The 339 was the radiomir version (seen below), which is a slightly different case without the crown guard but the watch carries over some of the design elements onto the new watch.

Don't ask me what composite means because in reality I have literally no idea, but since it is a "composite", I am willing to guess that it is a blend of ceramic with some other metal most likely being steel. The case measures in at 44mm and has that old school dirty desert type feel. The face is extremely clean with a basic second hand function at 9 o clock and a date at 3 o clock. The watch will carry Panerai's in house caliber P.2000 movement with a display back, so it will carry a premium over a basic second and date luminor. Price estimates should be around $10,000-$11,000 upon release.

For you Panerai bandwagoners, this may be the perfect watch for you. Check it out a bit more in detail if you wish. It is an eye catcher to say the least.

The Panerai Luminor 1950 8 Day GMT Monopulsante Chronograph

I know what you were thinking when you read that title. Is he really being serious? Did I just spent 10 seconds of my life reading all that? The answer to all that is yes....

I have seen a bunch of requests for squared faced watches, so I will put some focus into that the upcoming week or two. Today, I will blog about the Panerai 1950 Monopulsante, which is one of the few Panerais I like and is one that is high up on my wish list.

If you are unfamiliar with Panerai, let me give you a brief 30 second run down of the brand. Panerai was founded in 1860 by Giovanni Panerai, at italian watchmaker. As the sole supplier of watches to the italian navy, the brand gained prowess in the watch world for both their use and eye catching design. As I have said in the past, there are only two watch brands and people can spot just by looking at: Rolex and Panerai. The brand has since been acquired by the Richemont group, who owns a conglomerate of high end watchmakers and a few other luxury brands but the roots of the watch have remained intact. The company is still headquartered in Italy, but the watches are now manufactured in Switzerland.

The Monopulsante, model PAM311 is a special watch. Panerai runs the tables in a way similar to IWC where many of their cheaper watches contain the ever popular ETA movement that is pre-made, but the higher end watches that demand a premium are all in house and something special. This watch is mind blowing because it contains a GMT function (capability of telling time in two time zones), a chronograph (essentially a stop watch) and an eight day power reserve (can run for 8 days on a full wind) all wrapped up in a 44mm case.

The watch comes in three different styles: steel with a black face, titanium with a brown face or black ceramic with a black dial but the one above is the stainless steel model. At the 9 o clock position, you have a subdial that measures seconds as a watch normally would, but it also has a smaller hand that indicated AM or PM time in the second time zone. The GMT hand is not shown in the picture about because it is probably hiding behind another hand, but you essentially set it like you would any other watch that has a main pin GMT hand. The 3 o clock position contains the second subdial which measured seconds up to 30 if you have the chronograph running. At 6 o clock, you have your 8 day function, which tells you how much time you have left on the power reserve. Panerai uses a three barrel main system on their calibre P.2004 in house movement (seen below). It is beautifully finished and masterfully shown through the display back case. The last design feat this watch contains is the monopulsante function, which is the name sake of this watch. If you look on the side of the case at the 8 o clock position you will see a button. This button serves as the all in one button which starts, stops and resets the chronograph function each time you press it. This is very unique from a traditional chronograph that uses two buttons where the top starts and stops and the bottom resets. Retail on this watch is a hair over $20,000 for a stainless steel watch but for what you get in return, it is well worth the price if you want something incredibly unique and hard to find. Panerais also have incredibly high resale value. So for those who care about that sort of thing, keep that in the back of your mind as well.

Thanks for your time guys.

Long Weekend

It has been a very long weekend for me and unfortunately I have been unable to blow very much. I am pretty exhausted from this weekend but I will make sure to get back to writing next week. There were some requests for some square watches to be posted and there are a bunch of routes I can go there with your Panerais and Vacherons but we'll see.

As of now, I am going to bed because I feel like the disney fellow in the picture below. Quite a haggard old chap isn't he?

Blancpain Villeret Moonphase: Another Watchman Favorite

I greatly apologize for the lack of activity on my blog but I am current at the lake having some fun :)

I am going to follow up my previous article about the Breguet moonphase with another one of my favorites: the Blancpain Moonphase. For those who are unfamiliar with the brand, it is a very well known swiss manufacturer who is probably most well known for its 50 fathoms sport watch. The Villeret is one of Blancpain's dress lines.

The Villeret Moonphase is an annual calendar with a moonphase. The price is extremely affordable considering full 18k annual moonphases by a company like Patek Philippe start at around $60,000. Blancpain does offer this watch in stainless steel with an MSRP of $11,000 but in my opinion, this puts a dent in the companies image by offering it in stainless steel (pictures below).

As you can see above, the dial is a bit more busy than most dress watches but it is still extremely clean. The dial has a very unconventional layout with roman numeral markers along the outside and the date listed in a 360 degree circle along the edge. Just like the Breguet I blogged about before, the moonphase has a beautifully designed complication with the face on the moon (amazing in my opinion) with markers for the 29.5 day lunar calendar above it. The annual calendar function is listen right above the mid point in the 12 o clock position showing the date and month. All of this is housed in a case with a transparent back containing Blancpain's 6763 movement with a 100 hour power reserve. You can observe the movement below, which is a predecessor of the current 6763 movement but the movement is essentially the same.

The special edition 18k version is a whole heck of a lot cooler in my opinion. The model for the original one is the same design with a 18k case, but  the special edition "Half-Hunter" Villeret Moonphase was released that has a out swinging 18k movement cover, blued date indicator hand and goulliching on the dial. Stunning to say the least.

I hope you guys have a great weekend but I am signing out to go spent some time out on the lake. See you folks later.

The Breguet 7337: One of the Most Beautiful Moonphases in the World

This watch has been at the top of my want list for quite a while now. I still to this day still want one, but they are incredibly hard to find and there aren't too many Breguet dealers around......

For those who are not familiar with Breguet, let me blow your mind in about two minutes time. Breguet is one of the long time legacy swiss watch makers that everyone associates swiss watchmaking with. When I say the phrase "swiss watches", there should only be three names that pop into your head just because of the power of the brand: Rolex, Patek Philippe and Breguet. You could argue Breitling but for some reason, people think they are French.....

The 7337 is in my opinion, one of the most beautiful moonphase watches in existence. Below is a picture of the piece itself. The watch itself measures in at 39mm and is only set in gold and platinum like all Breguet watches except for their sport line. The face of the watch carries the traditional moniker of breguet witht he clean roman dial and guilloched face. There is a weekly calendar that shows the date at 10 o clock and a date counter at the 2 o clock position. The moonphase is centered at the 12 o clock position and has references for the lunar calendar on the outer portion for the 29.5 days of the lunar calendar.

The watch carries Breguet's in house 502.3 QSE1 automatic movement which contains 35 jewels and has a 45 hour power reserve as you can see below. With all recent Breguet models in their classique line, the watches not have a transparent caseback to allow you to view the movement. The predecessor to this watch was the Breguet 3330 has the exact same design except it contains an outdated movement, a solid caseback and the moon on the front of the watch does not have a face painted on it. Call me crazy but if you look back on the first picture, the moon has an awesome looking old school pocket watch face that is a big time selling point for me.

Thanks for your time guys and gals

The World's Most Expensive Watch

Anyone here ever heard of Chopard? Yea...it was that 1.5 million dollar diamond encrusted monstrosity that rapper Birdman purchased. You may have thought that was expensive but that doesn't top this next watch made by them.This watch does not have a name and there is nothing listed online. How could you name something that no ones buys right?

This watch is an absolute beast. The watch has a total of 201 carats of diamonds and yes that is not a typo:

201 CARATS!

A woman would be lucky to get over a carat for her engagement ring if that puts something into perspective.....

The highlight of the watch are three main heart shaped stones. One is a 12 carat blue diamond, one 15 carat pink diamond and one 11 carat white diamond. All these stones put together actually engulf the face of the watch that is set in 18k yellow gold. So do you guys think this is a men's or women's watch?

PRICE? 25 million

History of the Rolex GMT

There is perhaps no other watch in the Rolex line as heralded and story filled as the GMT. Although I posted about the submariner a few days ago, this GMT has a far more rich history.

The GMT was originally released in conjunction with Pan Am Airways in 1955 to provide a timepiece which allows pilots to measure time in different timezones as a result of long flight durations. For those who are unfamiliar with the term GMT, it stands for Greenwich Mean Time, which is the timezone all others are based on. Have you ever seen on forum sight ups, or international time websites where it lists the central united states as -6 GMT? This is because we are 6 hours behind the GMT line which runs through Britain. So essentially, the point of any sort of GMT watch is to measure time in two or more timezones simultaneously.

The original 6542 (seen below) was what started it all. Like all rolexes it was waterproof, but you can see how the company incorporated the GMT bezel which allows the user to keep track of a second time zone.

The original bezel was a bakelite bezel. Basically it was a cheap piece of plastic that was easily breakable but it got replaced the next year by a metal bezel as a result. This model was highly talked about for two reasons:

1964: Actress Honor Blackman wears this model in the Movie Goldfinger

1970: Jack Schweigert wears this on Apollo 13. There is a movie based upon this event but it revolves around a failed attempt to get to the moon due to an exploding oxygen tank. For my older, followers. i am sure you remember this event.

In 1983, Rolex released a new and improved GMT called the GMT Master II which was basically an updated version of the original design but had a scratch resistant crystal (seen below). This is probably the most common GMT you see today.

Finally in 2005, Rolex released the GMT Master II Ceramic which is the newest and most current model. The design is basically the same the to honor the 50th anniversary, they applies green lettering for GMT Master II on the face and changed the GMT color hand from red to green. The bezel as also changed to ceramic, which is pretty much scratch-proof. The numbering on the bezel is also engraved (not printed like the previous models) and are set in platinum.

Enjoy folks. This is watchman signing out, enlightening your day one post at a time.

Sturhling Original: For Those Who Like Skeleton Watches

So who here wants to hear about a skeleton watch that contains an automatic movement for less than $200 bucks? The answer is Sturhling Original.

The watches Sturhling makes are eye catchers to say the least because it offers a full skeleton case, which allows you to view completely through the watch from both sides. The designs are quite traditional which really strikes me for this type of watch because many of the cheaper watches that advertise for things like these have really outlandish design elements.

For those who are thinking about buying this watch, do your research and do keep in mind that the watches are quite cheap. I wouldn't expect to last for 10 years but for 100-200 dollars, who really cares in the end right? For those who want a really trendy watch that would be a conversation piece, this brand is definitely worth a look. Take a look at some examples below and check out their website if you wish at www.sturhling.com

Colorado Student Pays for Tuition in 14,000 $1 bills

This is not a watch related post but I thought this was worth mentioning because it is relevant to me. Please refer to the link below to watch the video:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12216545

As a college student, I have seen the price of tuition increase every year. During my freshman year of school, 15 hours cost just over $4,000 dollars per semester. I just paid for my spring semester tuition and ended up paying $4,400 dollars for 12 hours.

A student at Colorado did this act to protest to the state of Colorado how ridiculous the price of tuition has become, so he went to his local bank and got $14,000 dollars worth of $1 bills and paid for it.

Yes, they had to count every one.

The Casio G-Shock: Fist Pumpin' for Love

Since we were kids, the G-Shock line released by Casio has been a solid favorite of younger aged school children but with the recent success of the show Jersey Shore and coverage by media icons, the public perception of this watch has changed and sales have exploded. And let's face it folks, big watches are in style.

This post really about one G-Shock, but the entire line in general. First introduced in 1983, the watch has really become a staple in the watch world and the brand really took off once the 90's rolled around. There are too many models to even count in one day but the design and style of the watch is unmistakable. All G-Shocks have a few function in common even though other pieces of functionality differ between models:

1. Countdown timer
2. Stopwatch
3. Lighted Background
4. Water Resistance

Because of these reasons, the watch has been a favorite of the athletic individual and outdoorsmen alike, but the style has really changed to target the more tip and main stream taste. Now you can find watches in all color combinations, sizes and even limited edition pieces. For around $100 a watch, I personally do not own one but for gym use, this is something I am considering even though I have a sort of mental bar against any watch that doesn't contain a mechanical movement.

Below are some example of some wacky combinations. Take care folks.

Breitling's New Navitimer for 2011

To start this off folks, I am a huge Breitling fan. I use to own a traditional navitimer but sold it about a year ago. It is one of the few things in life that I regret doing. Although I am a huge advocate of in house movements, this is one of the few watches I can overlook because of the design and history.

So why blog about this watch?

Breitling is basically the cult watch of any who is into aviation and their most iconic watch is the navitimer. The navitimer nowadays look almost the same as the they did when they first came out, thus keeping the soul of the watch intact. The new limited edition navitimer, called the navitimer 01, has the same exact design as the traditional navitimer but with a few slight differences.

Unlike the traditional navitimer, this one has a few changes. First, the special edition one has a few differences on the face. Specifically, it has a red chronograph second hand, a red date wheel for the date and the numbers on the subdials have been slightly changed to be guided along the edge. As far as the case is concerned, the case measures in at 43mm, which is slightly larger than the traditional navitimer which sits at 41.8mm and the watch is offered in only stainless steel (limited to 2000) or 18k red gold (limited to 200).   The special edition navitimer also has a display back that lets you look through the case to see the movement unlike the traditional one that had a solid caseback. Within, you can view the new and improved ETA valjoux movement that now carries 47 jewels unlike the old model that carries 25.

Below are some pictures for you guys to take a look at. I for one am a big time fan of the new navitimer, specially the fact that it has a display back. Although I am a big sucker for in house movements, I can make an exception for this one even though it carries a modified ETA. Enjoy

OLD NAVITIMER

NEW NAVITIMER

Why I do not like Designer Watches

Long story short folks, designer watches are anything made by a large in house fashion designer. This means watches that carry a label like Chanel, Armani, Burberry, Louis Vuitton, Gucci etc.

So why does the Watchman hate these brands? Basically you are paying for an overpriced watch that carries a well advertised logo. You could argue this point with all the in house watch makers in Switzerland or Germany, but those manufacturers actually put in research and development effort that goes into their product. Breguet for instance spent 4 years creating their main spring barrel for their La Tradition skeleton line but then you have designer brands on the other hand that use pre-made and modified ETA movements or battery powered watches? How can you justify spending $1000 dollars dollars for a watch that is no different than a Casio Gshock while the Gshock costs $100?

Basically folks, don't get suckered into buying designer watches for a few reason

1) no one cares
2) no one knows what brand your watch is besides a Rolex and Panerai. This is because the case designs are so iconic and can be spotted by everyone.
3) you are paying a huge surcharge for something that says "ARMANI" on the face

For the price you are paying, you could buy yourself a nice automatic movement watch like a tissot or oris seen below (which I will blog about later)

200th follower

Just got my 200th follower to my blog!

I'll post some more articles tomorrow but I am pretty tired. Thanks for your support.

Again if you have any questions about watches or what to wear, do not hesitate to pm me or email me.

Birdman's 1.5 Million Dollar Diamond Encrusted Chopard Watch

Did you guys hear about this a while back?

Rapper Birdman purchased a diamond encrusted Chopard watch, one of only two in the world, and decided to drop $1.5 million dollars on it. The watch was conceived by Chopard in order their 10th year of support for singer Elton John's AIDS foundation. Guess who the other watch owner is? :)

The watch (seen below) is an absolute monster but I have been unable to find the specs of the watch online because it is so rare. I have personally seen reports of the watch weighing in at 480 grams (that is just over a pound) from the while gold/diamond content and from the looks of videos I have seen of the watch, it has to be at least 44 mm in diameter.

Recession? What recession?

History of the Rolex Submariner

For this article, I think I'm going to write about a watch a little more people can relate to.

A Rolex Submariner

Quite possibly the most iconic watch in their line, the first submariner went into production in 1953 and to this day is Rolex's best selling watch. It is a little know fact, but Rolex actually makes over ONE MILLION watches a year and around half of them are submariners. The design of the case and the face were later used to influence other watches in the brand like the GMT Master.

There were many stages of the submariner as a result of gradual progression and improvement. Most notably:

1959: Model 5512 was released with crown guards
1965: Model 1680 was released with a date added
1977: Model 16800 was released with an artificial sapphire crystal and a 300 meter water resistance
1989: Model 14060 was released with a 28,800 VPH (vibrations per hour, basically how many times it ticket per hours)
2010: Model 116610 was released with a ceramic bezel

So basically we started out with this:

And ended up today with this:

Miss Nebraska Teresa Scanlan named Miss America

17 year old Teresa Scanlan was named Miss America this even for the 2011 calendar year.  She becomes the youngest pageant winner since 1921. Miss Scanlan told the judges of the competition that she plans on attending law school to become a federal judge and eventually a politician.

Now I ask you fellow friends? What are your thoughts on this blonde bombshell? My thoughts....

1) pictures seen
2) boner achieved
3) ?????
4) profit?

Sonbol: New company, great looking and affordable watch

For this blog, I am going to cover a fairly new brand called Sonbol. This company is based out of Illinois and has generated a buzz in the industry because of the size of the watches, the design and the value.

In my opinion, these watches are a steal for the price. It seems nowadays that the trend in watches are big watches (thanks jersey shore) and this company offers a clean way to buy into one that offers and automatic movement for a great price. The watches themselves use a japanese based Miyota movement with 21 jewels (seen below) and measures in at 54 millimeters.

The design is awesome as well in my opinion and the color combinations are a definitive eye catchers. They have some pretty wacky ones that incorporate pink and even lime green. Take a look at some of the examples below. Well worth the look in my opinion.

Audemars Piguet: History of the Royal Oak

Audemars Piguet's Royal Oak line is one of those iconic watch lines that everyone knows about. Ever since the company was founded in 1875, it has been one of the top switch manufacturers in the world for both in house complications and beautiful design work. Most people wonder: Where did the name and design come from anyway?

If you look at the image above, it is a picture of a traditional royal oak. The bezel design was inspired by the port holes of ships, and if you really think about it, it looks exactly like you are looking through one into a ship. 

The royal oak was first introduced in 1972 and sold for 3200 swiss francs. Although this may not seem like a lot by today's standards, consider that a Rolex submariner was 280 swiss francs back then! Although the royal oak is still an icon, the shift has gone to the more sporty royal oak offshore deviation which many people are accustomed to today, seen below. It is one of the most popular watches on the market and has that "hollywood" type effect that everyone is accustomed to. It is basically the same watch but much larger, much thicker and carries a chronograph and is largely influenced by formula one and special edition one off pieces.

AP ROO Safari

AP ROO Rubens Barrichello