Hands-On: The Girard-Perregaux Minute Repeater Tourbillon With Gold Bridges
After Girard-Perregaux took home the Aiguille d’Or at the 2013 GPHG with its Constant Force Escapement piece, it claimed a staggering level of haute horology. That’s why a tourbillon minute repeater turned inside out for your viewing pleasure is really no surprise from the manufacture. We were big fans of the enamel dial 1966 Minute Repeater a couple of years ago, and, if aiming to surpass that was the goal, bringing the back to the front and adding a tourbillon is certainly a way to do it. 1 OF 5 The Tourbillon Minute Repeater is rather stunning to behold. The open-worked concept displays the striking mechanism’s components up front. There is no wrist or skin or case confining the chimes, only a layer of sapphire crystal.The 18k gold case itself is shaped, front and back, as an acoustic amplifier. Notice that the hammers are mounted on jewels to reduce friction, a means to increase both the speed of the strikes as well as the force of their impact. The

A Week On The Wrist: The Zenith El Primero Reference A3817
If you have been following HODINKEE, you might agree with us that Zenith is a manufacturer that produces some of the more value-for-money watches these days. There are few totally in-house chronograph movements that can be had for just around $10,000, and which come in such a variety of dial and case designs ranging from sporty, to totally classic, to something in-between. Most modern watch collectors would probably also recognize the distinctive tri-color dial, especially with the recent lineup of watches such as the Zenith El Primero 36,000 VPH or El Primero Original 1969. And as most of you might know, the tri-colored dial originates from the Zenith El Primero ref A386, a watch produced in 1969 with the (arguably) first high-beat automatic chronograph. 1 OF 15 But did you know that the reference A386 was not the only watch in the El-Primero family with the tri-color dial? There was one other, less well known cousin to the ref A386, which has a more interestingly design

After 13 year break I have returned to AP
Hi all,So after my first AP Royal Oak which I purchased in 2003, and sold within 6 months because at the time I felt it was too easily scratched/damaged, recently I decided that as I was few years older I could buy into the AP brand and take better care of the watch. After owning a couple of Rolexes (ss Daytona and GMT), a couple of Panerais and a VC overseas chrono (the only watch I still own and the best of the bunch), I have decided to buy an AP Offshore Steel Rubber Clad as my daily wearer.I have been looking for the last few months and have been undecided between a 39mm ROC city of sails, a 41mm steel ROC, a Navy themes and a Rubberclad.In the end I went for the Rubberclad and I managed to get a great condition watch with just few bruises and marks on the bezel and perfect elsewhere, it was also my cheapest option so left me some space for servicing costs etc. Had -5 sec/day and 310 amplitude on the timing machine which was a good sign that it was well looked after, and after a f

Omega news
Current POs and automatic SMP 300s are being phased out of production in favor of the 2011 Basel models. Current quartz SMPs will remain available.New models should be available in July.US MSRP for entry level POs will be $5700 and automatic SMPs will be $4700. The new PO chronograph base price is $7700. The new Apollo XV LE is $6000.More details later.Fr. John ?

Why I think the 116619LB "Smurf" is the best Watch in the World
So it's time for a little controversy. I decided to open this topic to share with you some reasons that lead me to find the Smurf the best watch in the world.First, in my view, the submariner is Rolex's biggest classic. I know, I know, many will say it's the Daytona or the Day-Date or this or that. But in my opinion it's the Submariner, the watch used by James Bond. Also, in my experience, every time I mention the Rolex name in some casual conversation to someone not into watches is the image of the Submariner that comes to mind. So, for the simple fact that, in my opinion, being the Submariner the classic Rolex watch, this makes it the most iconic watch in the world, or at least quite high at the top. It is the archetype of the watches.It can be used for all activities, from the deepest dives to the black tie dinners. Just look at this ad:So where does smurf come in at all?In my opinion, the Smurf is the submariner for the WIS. The fact that it is in white gold and the blue dial and b