F1 President Bernie Ecclestone Mugged in London; Hublot Stolen From His Wrist
Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone suffered a black eye when he was attacked by four men outside his London office around 10:30 p.m. on November 25. His girlfriend was with him at the time. The robbers made off with jewelry – and Mr. Ecclestone’s Hublot – together valued at $314,000. Following the attack, Ecclestone sent a picture of his face along with a short note to Hublot CEO Jean-Claude Biver. The message said: See what people will do for a Hublot. Since the two have a great sense of humor, they agreed to make an advert based on the photo and message.This Hublot ad will be a strictly one-off shot, appearing in today's Financial Times and International Herald Tribune. The ad shows the unretouched “mugged shot”, along with Bernie Ecclestone’s original commentary. The ad also notes that Hublot does not condone this method of acquiring one of their watches.

Perfect 15202ST
What an elegant, balanced and classic piece! This is hopefully in my future. Right now I'm just happy to post this picture taken at the AD today!

Why doesn't Rolex do things like this?
I know this involves discussing another brand (I throw myself at the mercy of the mods!), but after attending the Breitling B01 unveiling here in Atlanta (awesome, see link for pics) last night I was left wondering why others (Rolex?) don't treat their customers similarly? Surely I'm not the only one here that has been to one of these events....Maybe it's because they just don't have to...has Rolex and others become that aloof and distant? I was really impressed with how well we were treated and really enjoyed the gesture that was made by the evening.Have on one of my other watches today! Hope you enjoy the pics and discussion.--Paul

New companion for BLNR...
What do you think about this one? I Think the Master Co-Axial is really cool and a very impressive movement. Since I'm working in a cockpit environment I guess the 15000 gaus thing couldn't hurt anyway. I really like this one - fits everything as I see it. Uniform, dinner with friends, formal occasions...Thanks for looking.

233 straps
Who do you guys recommend for straps? I had a couple made from the Strap Smith a few years back but I find they are thicker than I like to wear. I have larger wrist and although the XL OEM straps fit they seem just a bit lopsided and are hard to come by. I've seen straps from Dangerous9straps and they look like good work but after a few emails trying to place an order he just stopped writing. I would rather someone point me in the right direction than to keep trying at a few hundred a pop. Thanks