Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox vintage steel/acier cadran silver dial

Franck Muller Triple Scale Chronograph Ratrappante Ref. 8883 Watch
This is the first new Franck Muller watch in sometime - which makes sense as the watch maker has had to lay-off people due to a reduction in demand. The development of a few watch is very expensive, especially with a maker like Franck Muller. They don't just get a movement from ETA and built a watch around it, but rather build their own movement, or have one made for them. This with the physical design of the watch takes years, and is a huge investment. For a watch maker to stay in the spotlight, they must release new watches on some regular basis, unless they want people to think that are going under. Well Franck Muller is not going under and this new Triple Scale Chronograph Ratrappante Ref. 8883 watch.While the look of the watch is familiar to the typical tonneau shaped cases that Franck Muller is know for, the design and functionality of the watch is pretty unique. This watch has a lot going on both on the front and back of the watch, and all revolves around the chronograph functio

Illinois Square
The Illinois Square is a fairly basic watch with a 6/0 movement, and one of the first advertised by Illinois as early as 1925. What makes this one a bit unusual is that it is a solid 14K example. It's the only one I've ever seen, and Fred does not list them as being made in solid gold. Another nice feature about this one, amazingly, is the original NOS dial. This is obvious by the brushed butler center and the circularly-brushed sub-circleplus the back shows no marks of havig been re-done. My gut feeling is that there must have been some time early-on, not long after the problems of radium surfaced, that the dials were made with the same green numbers so common during the radium days, but with no radioactive materials at alland this is one of those dials, and it explains why is did not "burn" into a green-brown over time. (Modern luminous is only mildly radioactive, but the old radium was much more so.) You will occasionally also see Canby cases with similarly perfect NOS dial

Incoming!!!!!!
I posted this in the general discussion forum but it belongs here.Incoming!!!

Three PAMs short of a box...
Is the box half empty or half full ? I have a huge desire to get 3 more Panerai.

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.