Memoirs Of A Watchmaker: Coming Of Age With Horology
I came of age in the 1960's and 1970's in New England. If you asked most of my schoolmates back then what they wanted to be when they grew up, most would have said a fireman, policeman, cowboy, politician, lawyer, doctor, teacher, sailor��. just about anything but a watchmaker. The average age of watchmakers in the 1960's and 1970's was around 50 years old, and it seemed, at least in the United States, to be a dying breed, perhaps even an endangered species. Americans didn't value watchmakers as highly skilled technicians, as they did in Switzerland and other European communities, they more or less saw them as the equivalent of a plumber, electrician, house painter or refrigerator repair man. Not something to strive for when you're young ��didn't seem glamorous like a secret agent, lawyer, or computer punch card operator��. or something to get girls with like the lead singer of a rock band.So when my Dad decided when I was 12, to take me to his retail jewelry store on Saturdays to teach m

2018 Sneak Peak on AP Website
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Black Dial RO
Much has been said about the blue and white dial Royal Oaks. They are indeed beautiful, but I happen to prefer the black dial. Aside from the sheer versatility of the color black, this dial also displays a range of shades depending on the light environment. Here are a couple of iPhone snaps of my beloved 15300!Deep Black Slate Grey

Breitling Super Avenger II vs Avenger Hurricane
So far I have a Panerai Pam 90 and a Rolex Two tone bluesy Submariner. I want to add a 3rd watch to the collection and this time I want a Breitling. I like the 24 hour display and large 50mm size of the Avenger Hurricane but I wonder if its worth substantially more than the Breitling Super Avenger II which is a 48mm. Also the Hurricane is made of a new Breitlight material which is basically plastic for a watch that has an MSRP for $8,390. If you had to choose one over the other which one would you go for and why? I like my watches bold and flashy with wrist presense instead of being low key and flying under the radar. Save my money and go with the Super Avenger 2 or spend the extra $ and get the 24 hour display and 50mm case of the Avenger Hurricane?

PAM Questions
Bear with me guys. I know very little about these watches. I had a brief love affair once, but it was short lived. I'm recently loving these watches again, and debating picking something up. I was just killing time and saw a 1940 657 and I really liked it. At 45mm that's typically very big for me. But because of the slim profile, it fit super. Curious what the consensus is on the 1940 line. Also Chadri prefers the 1950 Luminor. So I started looking at those. I like them too. And at 44mm options I'm getting just a tiny bit smaller. But are they as slim as the 1940?I tend to like a second hand and a date. Don't care about a GMT, but I won't kick it out of the watch box for having that complication. Lume and the ability to change out straps is super important to me. There appears to be so many to choose from, I'd appreciate any thoughts from you PAM experts. Thanks,