IWC Portoghese Chronograph

watch winder question
ok, i just picked up a sub-no date.. do i need to buy a watch winder or is it ok to just leave the watch in the box when not in use for a period of time? thanks.

Musings on the future of our passion.
Faced with a dilemma. Once again. Its not the pressing kind, and its one that I most likely will not have to deal with. But the day will come. Oh, loath the day that our precious Hamilton Electric Watches (HEW) begin to become rarer and rarer to the point where only the scarcest and rarest are kept alive, with the few spare parts necessary to keep them going, but they will dwindle.It has been said that the parts for repairing the HEW are finite. That is a very sad future indeed. It has also been said that without a stock of OEM or NOS replacement parts what is eventually done is that other less desirable HEWs are scavenged for the necessary parts to keep the more desirable HEWs operating. I give three examples. The first being that more common HEWs are purchased from various sources to create and maintain a stockpile to keep the other going. The second being that certain high value parts are harvested from lesser watches to the same end and then sold as “not currently runningR

Thursday Elgin
Decided to wear my heirloom Elgin DeLuxe today. This was my father's: he told me he wore it throughout his college years (1949-53). When he gave it to me last year, the crystal was cracked, but all it needed otherwise was a COA. The Kreisler gf mesh bracelet is original to the watch (at least original to his purchase of the watch), and very comfortable. Here are some pics:I love this watch, and would even if it hadn't been my Dad's. My only Elgin wristwatch though (I had another way back, but sold it long ago).

Before and after using polyWatch
I was taking a picture of my Benrus Wristalarm for today's WRUW and the photo revealed what I already knew. I had done a terrible job of removing scratches from this crystal. This is the photo I took. As you can see, I left a lot of the sand marks in the crystal and they are reflected onto the dial.Now here's an after shot, at almost the same angle and all I could find was a small spot I missed between 10 and 11 o'clock.At first, I wasn't impressed with polyWatch. I'd put a few drops on the watch, and buff it with a cloth. The results were underwhelming.Then I tried buffing the watch a different way. I placed my cloth on a table, put a drop or two on the cloth, then the crystal and vigorously rubbed the crystal side to side(versus circular patterns) with copious amounts of elbow grease (I held the cloth taut with my other hand). I tilted the watch, still moving it side to side, to get the rounded parts of it. I repeated the process a couple of times. I think rubbing the watch in

Patek Officer's Watch 5053
I've never owned a Patek but really like the older 5053 version. Prices on eBay run around 22K (but I would never buy on ebay), and Tourneau in the D.C. area had one for $30K plus. Below is the model I want..europeanwatch/19050.htmlAny tips of buying one would be appreciated, as I have seen a lot of really good fakes out there (I had no idea this model was popular).I have seen the reissue of the Officer's Watch and don't care for it as much.I have small wrists so if fits fine.Welcome any info on my grail.