Frederique Constant Maxime Manufacture Watch Collection At Basel + Video
Frederique Constant has something to be proud about. At the very least it should be something?that is exiting to fine watch consumers. While not the only company to offer relatively low cost in-house made movements, their new Maxine Manufacture Collection watches are beautifully made and feature a totally in-house made Swiss movement for under 2000 Euros. Typically the cost for in-house made manufacture movements is much higher.The new movement is the FC-700 automatic, and is the accumulation of over three years of development. What surprises me is the look and feel of the movement. The focus on aesthetics in the layout of the elements (such as the placement of the balance wheel) is complimented by a level of decoration not expected at these modest price points. The gold rotor, perlage and other polishing, and use of blue screws makes viewing the movement a pleasure. Nothing makes me feel better than taking off my watch and showing it to a friend (especially those that don't know about

Tissot Introduces a Regulateur, a Hand-Winder and a Silicon Hairspring at Baselworld 2016
Baselworld 2016 felt a bit quieter and calmer than previous years. Brands released fewer items, and most generally played it safer than years before. If these were signs of an economic down turn, you wouldn’t know it from Tissot, who had 240 new models (including all variants). In fact, Tissot is at the top of their game right now, saturating the European market and securing a position as the NBA’s official time keeper in the US. This year, they showed us a lot of great stuff, too much to show you here. So we chose three cool, different and high value pieces that will be coming out this year. Enjoy.Le Locle RegulateurTissot's Le Locle series is an undeniable bestseller for the brand. It's not hard to see why; the line boasts an impressive blend of elegant styling and quality construction at an attractive price point, making it immediately appealing for customers across different segments. For Baselworld 2016, Tissot announced their latest addition to the ever-growing Le Loc

Hands-On: The Peter Speake-Marin Bi-Tourbillon
Peter Speake-Marin is introducing a new member of the J Class collection this year and it’s called the Bi-Tourbillon. The watch is a technical tour de force, featuring a pair of vertically aligned tourbillons linked by a spring clutch system. The Bi-Tourbillon is a nod to the rich history that ties Peter Speake-Marin to the tourbillon, a complication that accompanied the first timepiece to bear his name (a pocket watch in 2000). We got our hands on the watch in Basel last month, and there’s a healthy amount of recognizable Speake-Marin style in the new watch, as well. 1 OF 2 The Bi-Tourbillon is reminiscent of the Vintage Tourbillon we saw from from Speake-Marin back in 2005. The two watches share similarly styled bridges made of German silver, and a baseplate with perlage and ruthenium plating serving as a backdrop on the dial side. The Bi-Tourbillon aligns each tourbillon vertically along the 9 o’clock side of the dial, and links them with a large, han

Cross-pollination?
I've been an Omega collector for many years and didn't even know that TRF existed. But in May of 2008, I came over here in my search for a watch to fill the GMT niche in my collection.Lo and behold, I not only found a friendly, helpful group of members over on the Rolex Discussion Group but there was also a few interested in Omegas. So I began to hang out over here and tried to contribute as best I could.Suddenly, I realized that I have gone from zero Rolex to three in as many years with a vintage 6050, a 16710 (M/3186), and a 16600 (also an M).But it has also been interesting to see so many Rolexers have come to appreciate Omegas. New converts seem to pop up almost daily.Psalm 133:1 comes to mind, and to paraphrase, How good and pleasant it is for Omega and Rolex fans to live in harmony.Fr. John?

Faulty screw overnight
Was selling my 5170G and had a buyer for it and was about to wrap the watch for shipping. Before the last farewell I chose to set the time to the buyer's local time. Suddenly I started to hear some rattling inside the movement, I turned the watch over and saw a piece of metal going all over the place. It appears that one screw had got loose and popped out or cut in half.What is funny (well, not really) is that I took the first picture last Saturday and kept the watch in safe until yesterday when I just took a glimpse of it and it was still running perfectly without issues. Then put it back in the safe and today it's as in the second picture. Some might think I dropped the watch or did something humiliating to it, but sure I did not.I don't know if it's a torque issue with screw or faulty piece of threaded steel or whatever, but anyways this one is going back for service, luckily still under the warranty.