Ulysse Nardin GMT Big Date 42mm

Patek Philippe "Advanced Research" Ref. 5550P Watch Uses Lots of Silicon
Silicon for the win! The material that has had watch brands debating and experimenting is here to stay and Patek Philippe is making sure of that. News from the big guys in Switzerland says that they intend for all Patek Philippe watches in the future to have Silinvar (their type of silicon) parts. A new limited edition watch called the ref. 5550P uses the brand's newest Silinvar component called the GyromaxSi balance wheel. This balance wheel has a new shape that looks less like a wheel and more like an hour glass with inlaid gold added for weight. The ref. 5550P encapsulates the brand's total efforts in Silinvar research to date and has three areas of the movement done in Silinvar. Now, get ready to remember some vocabulary.The three areas of the watch done in Silinvar are the GryomaxSi balance wheel, the Pulsomax escapement (two parts which includes the escapement wheel and anchor in Silinvar), and the Spiromax balance spring. Patek Philippe first began using silicon parts a few year

Orbita Sparta 1 Mini Giveaway Winner Follow Up
aBlogtoReadwatches-dealer reader Michael L. was the lucky winner of the Orbita Sparta 1 Mini Watch Winder giveaway help a few months ago. He was nice enough to take some images of his winnings and provide his thoughts. I reviewed the Orbita Sparta 1 Mini myself here. Overall I think he really liked the winder for its easy functionality and quite use. Though Michael is a man which larger wrists, and some of his watches may have felt large (but not necessarily too large in the winder). Here are his thoughts (I comment a bit in there as well).The winder is not overly large, yet I was very pleasantly surprised that it could hold my watches just fine. I have larger than normal wrists, 8.25-8.5" around and tend to wear larger watches. A good size for me is 46 mm, and I can go up to 52 mm without it looking too silly. Most of my automatics are between 46 and 48 mm.The Orbita winder comes with two different pillows. The thicker of the two fit perfectly for my watches with bracelets sized to my

Birthday Straps!
I scored a couple new straps last week for my birthday!Old green Hamilton strap:Black leather strap:

A fantastic find!
I've alway loved watches. My father had a nice watch collection and he got my brothers and I to appreciate the value of fine watches. And to this day it is a hobby that I enjoy. A lot. So it was only natural that I wanted to transmit this experience to my son, so I got him into learning and appreciating fine watchmaking.He got a Seiko diver at 11 (a $200 watch at 11 is a huge deal...), and when he turned 15 I gave him my Marathon diver, which he loves. A couple of years ago while on a cruise in the caribbean, we stopped at lots of duty free shops, to look at watches. When I asked him what would he like for his 18th birthday, he said, to my surprise, that he would like a Speedmaster. He not only liked the looks, but the history behind it, and the fact that it was not an automatic.It seemed like he had learned a thing or two... Since that day I have been trying to find a special speedmaster. Something that would show that I did something more than write a check. So I

Tudor Warranty
I returned my Tudor Black Bay recently for a warranty repair. Watch was bought new and is still under the 2 year warranty. The crown had pulled out and stopped functioning properly. I returned the watch through Mayors a local Tudor dealer. They just called to say that the crown is not covered under warranty because it is aesthetic. I would appreciate any feedback or input on this response and/or any similar experience. I cannot find any small print as to what the Rolex/Tudor warranty does or does not cover but this response is hard to understand.