Bell & Ross Vintage BR 123 Automatic Original Carbon

Deep Sea SD - 2009
Here is the email my local rep sent me. I told him I was drilling for gold so I could pay for it!!I just got an email back from my Rolex rep saying that there has not been a price determined for the US yet and that I should not expect to get one until 2009. You are the first on the list.Are you drilling for oil at 12,000 feet down?Thank you!

BASELWORLD 2011 - New Model - Patek Philippe 4897 R
(Info and images - Patek Philippe SA)4897R-010Ladies' CalatravaDescriptionAs a classic expression of feminine elegance, the ultra-thin Calatrava Reference 4897 unites a precious mechanical heart with a refined rose gold case and a delicately guilloched and lacquered dial in a new cream hue. Framed by a diamond-set bezel, the watch is worn with an elegant satin strap in pearly white.Technical dataWatch: * Caliber 215 * Mechanical manually wound movement * Bezel set with 72 diamonds (~0.47 ct) * Cream-colored guilloched dial, powdered gold hour markers * Pearly white brushed satin strap * Prong buckle * Sapphire-crystal case back * Water resistant to 30 m * Rose gold * Case diameter: 33 mmCaliber: * Overall diameter: 21.9 mm * Height: 2.55 mm * 18 jewels, 5 bridges * Balance: Gyromax * Vibrations per hour: 28'800 * Power reserve: 44 h max. * Number of parts: 130

Incoming! (no, it's not deja vu)
This just in - a 1953 LeCoultre Powermatic:I forgot how hard it is to shoot black dials under crystals with no AR coating. Anyway, it's the original black dial and it's in pretty good shape. This was the first automatic watch with a power reserve when it was released in the late 40's. And of course, it's a 14ct case because I love gold!Black dialed vintage watches are my weakness, especially when they're bumpers.

Watch Protection Tactics
I witnessed a funny situation while walking the other day. 2 guys walking the opposite directions towards each other and their watches smashed into each other's. They didn't even bother looking at the watches after the incident happened. It made me thinking; I actually am fully aware of my surroundings and I'm actively scanning the area for any possible threats to my beloved AP watches' well being. I learned it the hard way when some dude accidentally hit my Panda (no, not the animal) while in the elevator causing a scratch on the bezel. Elevators are the only place where I get that close to strangers. And I'm not particularly a fan of such situations, unless the person(s) in there posses qualities prized by a superficial man, if you know what I mean I cannot be the only one? How do you make sure your AP watch stays flawless?

Mitsukoshi mod is back!
My Speedy had been a bit neglected over the past 12 months, probably only seeing a day or 2 of wrist time a month. Nothing wrong with it, I'm just a little heavy on black face watches. Wanting to change things, I set about doing a Mitsukoshi conversion on my 3570.50 purchased in 2014.Tracked down the parts on eBay and found out TRF member afoz02 was listing a dial and full hands set. Great guy to deal with, very responsive an honest.I sent the project out to my local maker who initially ran into some fit issue. The dial was way off center and the subdial hands not fitting. Worried I have purchased the wrong parts, I spend 2 days scouring the web and even speaking to a C21 watchsmith for clarification that I had the right parts. Turns out I did and that the issues my watchmaker was running into were fairly common. After some great advice I was able to persuade my chap to re-attempt the conversion. SUCCESS!Picked it up last week and was blown away. Like many who have done this conversion