Why The Swatch Group Sued Tiffany & Co. And Won About $450 Million
You may have heard that the lawsuit between the Swatch Group and Tiffany & Co. is finally over. The relationship that began in 2007 (which was meant to last for at least 20 years) ended bitterly in 2011. The "strategic alliance" was to have Tiffany & Co. partner with the Swatch Group to produce Tiffany & Co. branded timepieces. Tiffany & Co. made watches before this but wanted someone to take over that part of their business (and ideally to grow it).The first Swatch Group Tiffany & Co. watches were released in 2009 and I believe the last year they showed any new watches at Baselworld was in 2010. In 2011 the Swatch Group announced that it was going to pull out of the deal and sued Tiffany & Co., and Tiffany & Co. counter-sued. The amounts in questions were in the billions of dollars.So what happened? Why did a relationship that was supposed to result in one of the most important watchmakers in the world according the Swatch Group go so sour, so fast? The leg

A Week On The Wrist: The IWC Mark XVIII
The first time I ever read anything about the IWC Mark series, it was thanks to (of course) everyone's favorite non-watchmaker watch writer, the inimitable Walt Odets, who in his series, "Tweaking The Mark XII" called that particular Mark "every non-pilot's favorite pilot's watch." (I call Mr. Odets a non-watchmaker but of course, while he might not be a card-carrying full time professional, he obviously is a guy who knows his way around a movement, to put it mildly.) I wasn't so much interested in the Mark XII as I was interested in what you'd do to tweak a movement so as to wring the best possible precision out of it, at least at first, but like many, I gradually began to find the simplicity, clarity, legibility, and history of the Mark XII irresistible and like many, I've followed the evolution of the Mark series ever since then with avid interest. 1 OF 6 2 OF 6 Overall, the Mark XVIII is one of those watches that you can simply wear every day, without taking an

Ap secured.... with 12 - 18 months wait.
In uk there are no ap boutiques listed on the ap website.... there are However 8 retailers and 1 service centreI called most of them today.... 3 didn't answer... presumably busy with clients... Marcus - the previous go to place is now closed (as reported here)I was specifically after a 15202 stI was told my name was added to 2 waiting lists - no problem according to ap uk - who also pointed out that the London boutique was no where near launch at this time.... mostly tho I was told first come first served was the usual M.O. for handing out the near mythical 15202 when it arrived in the shop....with something like 10-12 units being the total uk allocation... then with those that had paid deposit being at the top of the call list....Once I was told a deposit wouldn't be taken as it's not fair on me because in real terms the wait was in the order of years!!Then a stroke of luck I have been able to come to an agreement with one dealer, that I am no.2 on their list. The watch allocation

Family Picture (233)
First of all, I'd like to give a huge thank you to the whole forum who was so helpful in my process of learning the way of the P, picking the perfect first P for me, and then the inevitable accessorizing!I've been loving my 233 for the last several months, and to say its a versitile watch is a huge understatement. Admittedly, I might have gone a bit overboard in the strap department, but its all personal preference at the end of the day and they all just wear so differently and give the watch a new feel every day.Without further ado, here's the crew! Any loves/hates? Questions? Anything else I'm missing????

Simple incoming
Any guesses! Special thanks to Kirill haha. Should be here tomorrow!