WatchTime Q&A: Seiko Watch CEO Shinji Hattori on Seiko’s First U.S. Boutique
Seiko Corporation of America has opened a boutique at 510 Madison?Avenue in New York between 52nd and 53rd Street. The official opening was August 19. Seiko has many boutiques in Asia but this is its first one in the United States. On hand for the occasion was Shinji Hattori, CEO of Seiko Watch Corp. and chairman of its parent company, Seiko Holdings Corp., who is the great-great-grandson of Seiko founder, Kintaro Hattori.Shinji Hattori led a delegation of Seiko executives from Japan for the official opening of the boutique and a celebration party at 620 Loft & Garden in New York. A special guest of honor at the party was Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic, who is a Seiko ambassador.Earlier that day, I met with Hattori in New York to discuss the boutique. The following is an excerpt from the interview.WT: Why is Seiko opening a boutique in the United States?SH: Seiko has been seeking the most ideal time and location to spotlight our products that cater to the affordable luxury timep

Swiss Watch Exports to USA Drop Nearly 50% in February
The Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry reports that the value of Swiss watch exports to the U.S. market declined in February by 47.5% compared with February 2008 levels. For the first two months of 2009, the value of exports to the U.S.A. is down 38% compared with the same period last year. Hardest hit were watches priced at 500 to 3000 Swiss francs (about $445 to $2670 at press time), sales of which were down by more than 40% in terms of both units and value. Exports of watches priced at 200 to 500 francs or $178 to $445 were down about 33%.Watches priced above 3000 francs fared best, registering a decline of 6.6% by value and a bit over 10% in units. Based on materials, as might be expected, steel watches were the hardest hit with exports down about 29% based on units and value. Gold/steel bimetallic watches were off about 37% based on units and value. Exports of platinum watches increased 9.7% by value while falling 13% measured in units. Looking at the bigger picture, Switzerla

Hands-On: With The New 39 MM Rolex Oyster Perpetual
A question we receive from readers all the time is, "I have around $5,000 to spend, and I want one watch I can wear every single day, and will last me the rest of my life – what do I buy?" There are plenty of good options, certainly, but not many great options. If we are talking about a product that will last a lifetime, we tend to think of blue-chip lines from Omega, JLC, IWC, and certainly, Rolex. Today at Baselworld, Rolex showed us a brand new watch that we think might become a stock answer for the question above – a new Oyster Perpetual, now in 39 mm, and retailing for $5,700. 1 OF 4 The Oyster Perpetual is the entry level Rolex (RIP "Air-King"), but still one of the absolute core products of the collection. The Oyster Perpetual comes in five, yes five, different case sizes, with the latest being a perfect 39 mm. The new 39 mm OP also has some updated dials including a beautiful dark rhodium with a sunray finish. The OP is also made s

Servicing my AP
My bumblebee is running a bit slow. I am going to send it in myself to clearwater. Any pointers or tips on what I need to make sure?

Presenting my Speedys...
So here are they Anyone here that knows how rare or limited this Gold Speedy is actually??Ive seen it for sale on some homepages and they are saying its rare and so on... Is it true??I myself had some problems finding it before I bought it...