U-Boat RATTRAPANTE 51

De Bethune DB25 Moon Phase With Silicon Balance Wheel
This latest addition to De Bethune’s DB25 family is fitted with a new hand-wound mechanical caliber with a six-day power reserve, based on the DB2105 movement. The silicon balance wheel, used for the first time in a production movement, is the product of research undertaken since 2002 focused on improving the oscillator. Together with the balance spring with the De Bethune flat terminal curve, the two form an oscillating assembly that marks a new step forward in the quest for isochronism, a precisely uniform rate. The 44.6mm drum case in rose or gray gold houses a silvered gold dial with hand-applied guilloch¨¦. The famous De Bethune spherical moon appears through the dial against a sky that is flame-blued by hand and dotted with gold stars. The moon consists of two hemispheres, one in flame-blued steel and one in platinum, and it rotates on its own axis, reproducing exactly what you would see in the sky. The moon-phase display is accurate to within 1 day in 122 years.The technica

IN-DEPTH: How The Number Three Cigarette In America Made Heuer A Household Name
“A tough year, 1971.” With these four words, Jack Heuer – then the 38-year-old President of Heuer Leonidas – opened the 1972 case study on his company by the Swiss business school IMEDE.The Heuer Time and Electronics Corp (HTEC), the American branch of the company, had enjoyed 11 consecutive years of increased sales heading into 1969. By 1970, the U.S. had become Heuer’s largest market, with $1.2 million in sales. However, 1971 was a different story. U.S. sales declined 19 percent (to $952,000) and HTEC suffered a loss of $154,000. Retailers were afraid of the chronographs.Jack Heuer Today’s collectors may imagine that, entering the 1970s, Heuer was enjoying momentum from introducing the world’s first automatic chronographs in 1969. But the IMEDE case study tells the story of a stopwatch company struggling to sell chronographs at all. Despite the introduction of the Autavias, Carreras, and Monacos, Heuer was still selling 10 times

Patek Philippe Geneva Trip - 2013
I wanted to share one of the greatest experiences of my life, as one of fifteen collectors from around the United States to be invited by Patek Philippe for a week in Geneva to tour everything that is Patek Philippe. Patek flew us all Business Class to Geneva with hotel accommodations at the Mandarin Oriental, with a weeks worth of activities to follow. Here's a short and very brief synopsis..Day 1 - We arrived in the morning at the Patek Factory to experience Manufacturing/Hand Finishing and Grand Complications. We had lunch in Patek's private dining room with Thierry Stern and Larry Pettinelli. Following lunch we departed to the Patek Philippe Museum with a tour of the past and present watches. Day 2 - We departed to St-Imier to visit the dial factory. Following the factory we traveled to Montreaux to visit the Chateau de Chillion midieval Castle. Day 3 - We arrived in the morning to the factory to experience the International Service Center/Restoration Division as well as the Depart

New Arrival!!
Hi, just received this beauty and it's a beaut!Eterna-Matic Kontiki SuperThis does have IDF issue marks, but I don't think that these are original, but if there are any experts here please let me know!I just love the case shape, the lovely aged markers the funky second hand and especially the sun-bleached bezel Let me know what you think!Mark

Tag 6000 Chrono
Ok guys I need some opinions. I have my first what I would call a ¡°nice watch¡± that I bought probably 20yrs ago. It¡¯s a Tag Heuer 6000 Chronograph Quartz. I just had it¡¯s serviced directly at Tag and spent $780. It looks basically new now. The problem I have is that I never wear it anymore and it just sits in my watch box. My question is should I sell it? It doesn¡¯t really have any sentimental value to me, but I just spent almost $800 to have it serviced. I wouldn¡¯t even know what it¡¯s worth. I don¡¯t have kids so that¡¯s not an option. I could give it to one of my older brothers, he¡¯s not a watch guy but seems to only like my Rolex watches. So what¡¯s the consensus, any opinions?