18 Entrants Will Compete in the 2011 International Chronometry Contest
Fourteen watchmaking companies and four schools will participate in the 2011 International Chronometry Contest. The winners will be announced on October 20 at Chateau des Monts �C Horological Museum of Le Locle. Find complete details and a list of entrants inside. The first officially-sanctioned timekeeping competition in 37 years was held in 2009 when 16 timepieces were entered in a single category, each competing against the others. For 2011, the competition has been modified with the contestants divided into three groups: traditional movements, tourbillons, and watchmaking schools.During the competition, the timepieces are subjected to a variety of tests that are based on international standards, and that are much more rigorous than the well-known Official Swiss Control of Chronometers (COSC) tests. Measurements will be carried out in officially-certified laboratories in Besan?on, Bienne and Le Locle. In addition to timekeeping accuracy measurements, the watches will undergo magnetis

My First Grail Watch: Bradley Price Of Autodromo
Welcome back to an original watches-dealer feature, "My First Grail Watch." In this series, we ask prominent people in the watch industry about the first timepiece that they lusted after. Today, we are speaking with Bradley Price, the designer at the helm of Autodromo. Read on to see how passion for design first led him to watches, and how he made the shift to a vintage racing-inspired piece.watches-dealer (ABTW): Who are you, and what is your relationship to the watch industry?Bradley Price: I am first and foremost a product designer. Before starting Autodromo in 2011, I was working for 10 years in the industry designing all manner of electronics, appliances and furniture. In this respect, I don't really consider myself a part of the "watch industry" but rather a designer and car aficionado who creates watches as a way to express his passion for both cars and watches.ABTW: When did your fascination with watches start?Bradley Price: My passion for cars certainly predates my passion for

Pre-Baselworld 2014: Introducing The Hublot Big Bang Unico Bi-Retrograde Chrono, The Official Watch
In the 1970s there were special chronographs called "Soccer Timers" with markings on the registers for counting the 45 minute halves of a match. Hublot has taken things much further here with the Big Bang Unico Bi-Retrograde Chrono, building a mechanism from the ground up that is optimized for this function. The two retrograde hands clock the seconds and minutes on a specially designed scale and a window at the center of the dial shows which half is being timed. The main timekeeping is separated in a smaller dial at 6 o'clock, so you can wear the watch off the pitch.??The foundation of the?Big Bang Unico Bi-Retrograde Chrono is the new in-house movement. The caliber HUB1260 was built using the same dual-coupling column-wheel technology as the UNICO caliber, but with the marked difference of having two center-mounted retrograde hands for the chronograph mechanism. This 385-part movement is the first bi-retrograde caliber from Hublot and is patent-pending. 2 OF 3 You're pro

Deployment Buckle vs. Tang
I admit that over the last few years, I have really been drawn to both rubber and leather straps. I find them to be exponentially more comfortable than metal. So on my continued quest to find the perfect watch for me, I find myself looking at a number of different brands. I have noticed that more often than not, I am looking at watches with tang buckles, rather than deployment. I don't understand it. Watches that cost many thousands of dollars and they don't have a deployment buckle. I am guessing that I am missing something. Can someone enlighten me as to why this might not be included with a watch. I am currently wearing a JLC Deepsea Chrono and this watch is nothing short of spectacular...but again no deployment. Would love it if anyone had any insight.

Omega GMT, Seiko SBQJ015
uploadfromtaptalk1343087748789.jpgNot sure which one came first but I just saw this Omega and I love it. Reminds me of my favorite Seiko, the SBQJ015.