Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Lady Quartz

The Rise Of The Boutique-Exclusive Watch
Swiss watch making is all about control. Parts are machined within tolerances of one thousandth of a micron. Assembly is done in near-clinical environments. External influences such as moisture, temperature, position and magnetism are not allowed to interfere with the operation of these precision machines. This quest for mechanical perfection has always been the case but in recent times, this desire for control has reached out ever further.Brand image is tightly policed, whether it is a no-expense-spared advertising campaign featuring a Hollywood luminary, a carefully worded statement from the company CEO or an artfully massaged representation of the brand history on the corporate website.So far 'so in-house,' and the problem begins when you want to sell your products to the public. For years, watch brands have built partnerships with retailers to develop a distribution network. Using a variety of ¡®carrot and stick¡¯ techniques they try to ensure that their products are sold in the ¡®rig

Kari Voutilainen Thinks This Young Watchmaker Is Cool, And You Should Too: Rexhep Rexhepi's AkriviA Tourbillon
What were you doing when you were 14 years old? I was in high school in California, playing lots of soccer and generally getting into trouble. Over in Switzerland, Rexhep Rexhepi was an apprentice at Patek Philippe working on tourbillons. Now he has started his own brand, AkriviA. While AkriviA is young, the brand has already drawn praise. A while back Kari Voutilainen was in NYC for a Q&A event. A question was asked along the lines of, "what young watchmakers are doing interesting things?" Kari's answer was "Rexhep Rexhepi." 1 OF 10 2 OF 10 A few weeks ago I received a press release about a new watch from AkriviA, the Tourbillon Hour Minute. While this watch is really impressive and interesting, the press release was not. Instead of trying to rehash the press release, I interviewed Rexhep Rexhepi over email. My goal was to learn a bit more about his background, and where the brand is going. We received some great workshop photography a

Seamaster problem
I have a Omega Seamaster (2254-50-00) purchased in Feb. 2005. Stopped back during the summer. I recently took it to the local Omega Repair in Marietta and they are telling me it needs a complete overhaul for $395.00.Plus the bezel spring needs to be replaced for $45.00. I think I am being sold a bill of goods. After it stopped I pulled out my 25 year old Rolex GMT and started wearing it again! Don't get me wrong I love the watch and never had a problem with it before it stopped. What are my options. Thanks

A productive trip!
Well, besides going to the Phillies parade I had an interesting day. I spent a few hours at Sam's shop photographing a complete service for a coming installment of the Horology 101 series (I know, it's a gratuitous promotion). I took my Maurice LaCroix with me to see what we could do about the crown digging into the back of my wrist. He didn't recommend changing it, but asked me a few questions about how I wore it. I showed him that it was too tight on one strap hole and didn't have enough play to let the crown move when I bent my wrist back, but too loose on the next and would roll around my wrist. So he grabbed a punch and put a hole between the two and shazam! it was perfect. There were some other pleasant distractions during our breaks like this UltraChron 36,000 bph Longines automatic and a nice Aqua Terra:I have some great photos, but so many it will take a week or two to edit them. Oh, and the city was PACKED with throngs of red clad fans! What a fun day!

A rather tasty Nautilus
A great surprise from my lovely wife to celebrate my new Nautilus. Ties in well with the nautilus 40th Anniversary too! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk