Introducing the Stowa Rana
Late last year Stowa announced a new addition to the Antea line, the "Back to Bauhaus" collection. Born out of a collaboration between Stowa's Jorg Schauer and famed German designer Hartmut Esslinger, the B2B series revamped the Antea line by introducing a number of playful dial colors, a "new" font, and a slightly redesigned case. Around the time of that release Schauer hinted at a second watch, the culmination of his work with Esslinger. That watch was officially unveiled this year at Baselworld and it's an absolute stunner. Introducing the Stowa Rana.Over the past few years Schauer has been steadily modernizing Stowa's catalogue. With brands both big and small looking to the past for inspiration, Stowa has decided to buck that trend so as not to fall into the "retro trap" of present-day watch design. Schauer first introduced a contemporary flieger range with a number of different models, among them the TO1, the 24 H Racing Countdown, the GMT Worldtime, and most recently the TO2. The

Ap Diver vs. VC Overseas
Happy Holidays all,I'm close to taking the plunge on my first AP - the Diver in steel. But two other contenders jumped into consideration. Disregarding the rest of my collection, as a watch in of itself, which of the three do you recommend. All are similar prices.1. AP Diver Steel 2. Vacheron Overseas Automatic White Dial3. Vacheron Overseas Dual Time Grey Titanium with leather strapMy thinking so far:AP Diver: Big chunk of steel. Classic Royal Oak looks only blown up. Durable and chunky strap. Wore large on me - almost like a 45 or 46mm. Heard it's a scratch magnet.VC Automatic White on Bracelet: Beautiful Giiulloche dial. Pretty good water resistance and comfortable bracelet. Doubles up a bit on my white nautilus (5726) . And very shiny, much more than I thought. VC Overseas Dual Time (AKA: Deep Strem) : More subdued than the white dial and more scratch resistant bezel. Beautiful strap integration. Wears smaller than the AP but not too small. Excellent dial confi

Royal Oak Offshore Safari Strap
I have this fantastic watch with a standard (horn back) strap but the clasp is a bit uncomfortable. I'm told that AP do a smaller strap for this watch and that it might be more comfortable for me.Does anyone know what the smaller strap is like? Does it look the same as the regular size one? Does it have a clasp or buckle? And big question.... How much?Grateful for informationCheers

Vintage Omega Bracelet question
Hi folksHope some here with deep experience can help answer a question on whether I can get a replacement bracelet to work with my old Omega Automatic.First, the case number is 166.070, polished stainless, and the lugs are sized for 18mm end links.The original bracelet is no longer made and I've exchanged email with Bob Frei to choose a suitable replacement. I'm looking at the Omega Bead of Rice bracelet model 3010 but there are 3 different end links (511, 512, 514) they offer for that one. Even Bob is stumped on which would work. I have a call into Omega but not holding my breath on a definitive answer there.So the question is, which compatible case number from the list associated with the 3 end link choices makes sense?To see the bracelet/end links, here's the link: .ofrei/page1280.html I know this is a lot of detail but I didn't want to be vague on such a precise question.The watch itself looks like this:

Speedmaster differences - help please
Hello...posted a couple of previous posts , but now I am pretty close to pressing the button on a Speedmaster - one problem though - there is a few of them , and since the shops do not have most of them , its only looking at pics and specs on websites - and ofcourse your helpFirstly the relevance of the professional in a speedmasterAlso , what are the major differences between these3210.50.00 0 -40mm so slightly smaller than others but I think it will do, has date , but is automatic at a good price - the face looks like it has a lighter black circle in the middle ( GBP 1560 )3220.50.00 - has day too , otherwise very similar to above , GBP 1810 )3570.50.00 - Cheapest Pro , same price as above , no date , 42mm , ,manual wind which in my eyes is a small negative ( GBP 1920 )311.30.44.50.01.002 - the Pro , 44mm , co axial system , still not sure if it means same as automatic but I think both are movement wound , the Pro face seems slightly cleaner and it has a glass back , GBP 2870311.30.4