The Rise Of The Boutique-Exclusive Watch
Swiss watch making is all about control. Parts are machined within tolerances of one thousandth of a micron. Assembly is done in near-clinical environments. External influences such as moisture, temperature, position and magnetism are not allowed to interfere with the operation of these precision machines. This quest for mechanical perfection has always been the case but in recent times, this desire for control has reached out ever further.Brand image is tightly policed, whether it is a no-expense-spared advertising campaign featuring a Hollywood luminary, a carefully worded statement from the company CEO or an artfully massaged representation of the brand history on the corporate website.So far 'so in-house,' and the problem begins when you want to sell your products to the public. For years, watch brands have built partnerships with retailers to develop a distribution network. Using a variety of ��carrot and stick' techniques they try to ensure that their products are sold in the ��rig

My first experience with Audemars Piguet...
Greetings TRF,I have never posted a thread in this section before so I thought I would do it today to share with you my first experience with Audemars Piguet and one of their AD's. As some of you may know AP only has one dealer in Montreal, La Swiss on Ste-Catherine Boulevard (which is in downtown Montreal). I went there the other day with my girlfriend.First of all, allow me to talk to you a bit about the staff. Upon entering in the store we were greeted by a young lady who politely asked us if we needed help. Since it was my first time I told her I was just looking around and she told us to take our time before letting us take a look at the watches. A few minutes after a man came to us and after talking to him a little bit I asked him if I could try one on, he then invited us to a small desk and took the gloves out to let us take a look at some models. Overall the staff was very, very polite and kind, the man that helped me while I was there didn't seem to be your ordinary salesman,

Some AT "Love"!
A not to common AT with gold hands and indices introduced in 2012 on a brown strap. Thought I would throw it in a bracelet!

Poll PP,AP,DD wedding watch
Ok so I'm getting married 7-7-17 and my fianc��e is allowing me to purchase a wedding watch!!I've been waiting for the Basel daydate rose white roman dial for a few months now and getting impatient so decided to broaden my range and add PP AND AP to the mix! Here's the three contender. What do you guys think??

Broke the glass of my PAM219
It had to happen one day! While I was putting on the watch, I accidently dropped it from about chest height. It fell face down on the tiles in the kitchen. The crown guard got dented and there is a crack on the glass at 6 o'clock.Went to Panerai 5 hours later and brought it in for glass replacement. Verdict = 200 USD. I specifically asked not go repair anything else, nor polish it. I like it when my watch looks rugged but I can't stand the glass being broken.I did however asked them to check if everything is alright with the movement. It kept time between dropping it and bringing it in, so I suspect no harm was done on the movement. They will do that free of charge.