IWC Vintage Portofino Hand Wound

Christie’s Auction Features Thomas Jefferson’s Watch Key
Christie’s Americana Week sale takes place January 21-25 at Rockefeller Plaza in New York. The sale includes a unique watch key owned by Thomas Jefferson. The key contains a lock of his wife’s hair and is inscribed “Martha W. Jefferson Born 19 Oct. 1748, Died 6 Sept. 1782.” Jefferson, who never remarried, pledged to always remember his wife. It is believed that Jefferson commissioned this watch key as a means of fulfilling that promise. Jefferson is known to have had a penchant for watches. Christie’s cites Silvio A. Bedini, “Thomas Jefferson, Clock Designer,” Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, who wrote “Probably more than any other of the notable American statesmen, Jefferson had a special interest in timepieces.” Christie’s also notes that Jefferson intended for each of his grandchildren to inherit a gold watch, indicating that he considered these personal timepieces ideal for remembering loved ones. Describ

Zenith Captain Winsor Annual Calendar Watch
As a unique collaboration with the MIH (the Mus¨¦e International d¡¯Horlogerie), Zenith introduces a great new member of their Captain family of watches. With a base in-house made El Primero Chronograph movement, Zenith and the MIH have developed a special new module that adds a very legible and practical annual calendar complication to the mix. In total you get the high-beat El Primero automatic movement, a 60 minute chronograph, and an annual calendar with the date, day, and month. All that and a lit Ludwig.Ludwig? Yea, you know Ludwig right? I of course mean Ludwig Oechslin, and by MIH I really him. He is the curator of the MIH and a friggin' genius. One of his most interesting achievements was the creation of the "trilogy" set of astronomical watches for Ulysse Nardin in the 1990s. Oechslin is unique because he didn't start his life as a watch maker until he was about 30. Before that he was a mathematician. He is particularly good at engineering concepts requiring complex calculation

Hands-On: The Jaquet Droz Montre De Poche Email Ivoire, A Pocket Watch With A Past
La Montre de Poche Email Ivoire means, more or less, "Pocket Watch with Ivory Enamel," and of all the timepieces Jaquet Droz makes, this is perhaps the most traditional in both appearance and construction. It's a pocket watch whose design is based on the Grande Seconde pocket watch created by Pierre Jacquet-Droz in around 1790, and the movement inside is as much a part of the fascination of this watch as the design. 1 OF 8 2 OF 8 Pocket watches are indisputably archaic, but they have a charm that no wristwatch can claim to have. As you probably know, the wristwatch is a relative newcomer in horology. The very first watches evolved from portable table clocks, sometime around the early 16th century, and in fact, they weren't pocket watches at all, technically speaking, because people weren't wearing clothes with pockets in the 1500s. Portable watches would have been worn on a ribbon or chain around the neck, or carried in a pouch attached to one's belt. As the early

On the fence & looking for opinions
I've been planning on purchasing my first AP since late last year, but have changed my mind several times. I'm not currently in a position to buy 2 different models, so one will have to satisfy me for a while.Here are the favorites in my price range, in no particular order:RG RubbercladSS 44mmCarbon 44mmCarbon DiverI also like the Diver & several of the new, updated 42mm versions, but think a stainless bezel will eventually disappoint me since I tend to scuff my current watches pretty easily. Of course these are also a significantly lower entry point as well, which isn't horrible either.I haven't tried on a Carbon 44 or even seen one in person, but have tried on the others. My wrists can support both size and weight of any of them without discomfort. My only concerns on the carbon models are that they are very unique, which might force me to get a more traditional AP down the road.Anyway, I'm still kind of all over the place and would likely be happy with any of them, but I'm l

PVD coating durability
I know for many of you a PVD treated Rolex is pure blasphemy, but for those others that actually own or have owned a Rolex with a PVD treatment, I¡¯d love to get some feedback (and some photos) on how well the PVD has held up. It seems that one of the knocks against them is that if you get a serious scratch, there¡¯s not much you can do other than use a sharpie and just deal with it.However, my experience has been different. I have a PVD Panerai that has seen a lot of wear, and it doesn¡¯t have a single scratch on it. It does have an interesting patina around the edges of the case. I also have a PVD treated Sinn U1, and I don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible to scratch that thing. After nearly a decade it doesn¡¯t have a blemish anywhere on the case. On top of that, I had a DLC treated Nighthawk Custom 1911, and I had a similar experience - no scratches anywhere.So...let¡¯s see ¡®em if you got them. Please post pictures of your well worn PVD Rolexes. I¡¯d also be curious to compare the difference betwee