Visiting The Blancpain Haute Horology Watch Manufacture
Blancpain is one of the oldest Swiss watch brands but it was on the verge of death before being taken over by Jean-Claude Biver. This was of course before Biver's purchase of Hublot, and before Blancpain he was at Omega. Biver is said to have pretty much saved Blancpain (just as he did with Hublot) �C a good thing because today, despite the brand's literal English translation of white bread, very few boring things are going on inside the manufacture.Biver sold Blancpain to the Swatch Group a few years ago. The brand's CEO right now is Marc Hayek, one of (the late and regrettably lost) Nicolas Hayek's sons. His rule of the brand has taken it into a series of different directions, and Blancpain has a few distinct personalities as a watch maker. Those personalities include being a classic watch maker, a complicated watch maker, and dive watch maker, a racing watch maker, and a contemporary high-end complex avant garde watch maker. They also have adopted a mechanism similar to the tourbil

The U-Boat Orange Monster Diver SKX781K
The U-Boat Orange Monster Diver SKX781K was first introduced in early 2001 and this bold orange monster has quickly become well-known in the world diver watch community. The U-Boat orange monster has a noticeable bright orange dial which makes it most visible in deep water where shorter wavelengths get absorbed.

Water got into dial
My worst nightmare has just come true. I adjusted the bezel on the CE diver and screwed the crown down pretty firmly I have to say. Showered and cleaned the watch with a soft tooth brush as usual. An hour later, I look at the watch to find condensation on the crystal! That's very strange. Watch is under warranty but will it considered to I'm traveling right now for 10 days so cannot have it serviced immediately. What is the best course of action?Movement seems to be fine, at least the visible part.

Patek 5167 overpriced or just me?
So I'm contemplating getting an aquanaut. Beautiful, quality, versatile piece. My one hesitation is that it feels a bit over priced. I mean we're talking 3 hands, a date and a rubber strap. I get that it holds value and is supreme quality and all that, but how much of it is simply marketing and brand name? I can spend a couple more grand and get a beautiful white gold Daytona, which is precious metal, more complicated, and a beautiful, high quality piece as well. They al hold their value if you get it at the right price.Don't get me wrong, I love the 5167, but I feel like it should be priced $5k less. My wife used to be in fashion and I would always say, how does Versace charge $400 for a t-shirt, it's ridiculous! She would go into the arguement about the quality and craftsmenship and exclusivity and all that. Now I ask her and she agrees, you're paying a lot of extra purely for the brand, it's all just marketing.So 5167 or no? Is it worth it or just go for the wg Daytona!?Really curio

Insurance question
Wanted you're thoughts on this. I just got off the phone with USAA and I wanted to bump up the value of my Hulk since prices have been going up recently. Last thing I want to do is lose it and then have to kick in more money just to replace it. USAA let me bump up the value, but also said I should get a new appraisal. I asked why and they said it will make it easier at the time of loss to get the full amount I have it insured for. My question is since they would probably have a hard time just replacing the watch and would probably just write me a check, will they pay the amount I have it insured for, or go off the last appraised value? Are people really asking for new appraisals every time prices go up or demand raises prices up? Insurance companies will gladly let you insure it for more, but in the event of loss will they really pay you current fair market value for the piece without having a current appraisal on hand?