Million Dollar Club 2012: Watch Advertising at All-Time High
In an exclusive report in the upcoming May-June issue of WatchTime, we reveal which watch brands are spending the most on advertising in 2012, a record year for watch-company ad spending, and we provide a complete list of the 60 brands that spent more than $1 million on ads. Watch brands spent more on U.S. advertising in 2012 than ever before. Total spending reached $399.74 million, up 9.3 percent over 2011, according to Kantar Media, which tracks advertising across all media channels. Sixty watch brands spent more than $1 million on advertising, up from 54 brands in 2011. To make the list of the Top 25, a firm had to spend over $3.63 million compared to $3.43 million a year earlier.Ad spending was up for the third consecutive year, after falling sharply in the recession year of 2009. The 2012 total surpassed the previous record of $388 million set in 2007, and was a sign of a continuing recovery in the U.S. watch market.The big spender last year, as usual, was Rolex, with a U.S. ad bu

Christophe Claret Maestoso Watch With Detent Escapement
Quite remarkably Christophe Claret has released a watch that "merely" tells the time. Yes, it is true: while the new for 2014 Maestoso is anything but a simple watch, its only indications are the hours and minutes. That is kind of a big deal from a man who finds standard minute repeaters and tourbillons to be more or less passe. Nevertheless, the Maestoso is an extreme exercise in mechanics and with a detent-style escapement and constant force escapement, it should once again prove to be an object that captures our horological fascination.You don't hear about detent escapements too much in wrist watches because for the most part they make no sense to put in a wrist watch. The lever escapement is what you'll find in virtually all mechanical wrist watches because they fare much better to the type of mobile life that a wrist watch demands. Invented back in the 18th century, detent escapements are arguably more precise as they allow for a more direct impulse from the balance wheel to the e

Cool Breitling Commercial!
Just saw a really good Bretiling commercial, showing a small group of Breitling Show jets flying. Good marketing.

Cracked dial
I recently purchased a pre-owned PAM 051 from a well-established pre-owned dealer. The dealer offers its own 1-year warranty, and also has its own in-house watchmaker. I have had the watch less than two weeks, and have only worn it three times since receiving it. The third time I wore it, I noticed an imperfection on the dial that only shows up when the light hits it a certain way. In many lighting situations, it is fairly unnoticeable, which is why I did not see it right away. However, it is also the kind of blemish that, once you know it's there, you see it every time you look at the watch. Under a loupe, I can see the imperfection is actually a hairline crack in the dial, resulting in a slight upward buckling of the dial surface in that area. The crack starts at a lume dot, and runs straight through several minute hash marks. My loupe has a measuring square, and I have measured the crack to be approximately 4mm in length. The dial itself is only 34mm in diameter (the case

3-6-9-12 with gold hand? Yeah baby!!!!
Can't get enough of this... what a stunner!