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

The Value Proposition: The Speedmaster And The Speidel Twist-O-Flex Bracelet, A Match Made In Heaven
Here’s the thing about mechanical watches Back In The Day: they came along with a lot of other stuff. There was a whole world of products, advertisements, ancillary services, and points of sale that, like while-you-wait kiosks for printing film, have gone the way of the dodo bird.  The brands and products that survive are largely in the service of supporting, more or less, and more or less expensively, what you might call the Walter Mitty approach to watches: absent any real practical need for a mechanical watch, they’re there to fulfill various fantasies of what we’d like to be, and how we’d like to see ourselves.   1 OF 5 Now that’s not to say that pre-Quartz it was a golden age; there were just as many canny, avaricious, amoral retailers and quote unquote brands before 1969 as before, but there were also a whole host of companies making a whole bunch of products that were intended to provide, at a good value, a solid answer to a

New Releases - PAM656 & 670 Titanium Equation of Time
Panerai just released 2 new Equation of time models with GMT functions. Looks like they also fixed the issue with the date by putting it below the month sub dial. I like the new domed crystal as well..paneraicentral/panera...equation-time/

Panerai on Modern Family
I am watching tonights episode and Jay's inner WIS came out tonight. He believes his wife has bought him a new Pam (however the box looked more like a rolex box) and he was excited. Sorry for the silly post however love seeing WIS moments on TV

Buying new from AD , DJ 36 model 116234
Should I ask for discounts/haggle. What have been some of the prices folks have been able to get for this, since the caliber is soon to be changed to 3235 Im guessing.Any advice is appreciated.