12 FACES OF TIME Profiles Top Watchmakers
The mood was refreshingly festive inside a packed pavilion in front of Hall 1 at Basel as luminaries from the world of watches gathered to celebrate Elizabeth Doerr's new book, 12 FACES OF TIME: HOROLOGICAL VIRTUOSOS. Slated for release this fall, 12 FACES is a non-commercial, close-up look at 12 leading independent watchmakers and their mechanical masterpieces. Leonid Khankin, owner and creative director at the Swiss-American watch company Ernst Benz, threw the party to simultaneously celebrate the launch of his company's Instrument Series and to honor the horological heroes profiled in Doerr's book. (L to R): Leonid Khankin, Elizabeth Doerr and Philippe Dufour enjoy the festivities.Seven of the featured watchmakers attended and guests enjoyed a rare opportunity to meet and speak with this august group that included Philippe Dufour, Vianney Halter, Roger Smith, Kari Voutilainen, Felix Baumgartner, Beat Haldimann and Thomas Prescher. The watchmakers featured in the book not able to mak

Greubel Forsey Tourbillon 24 Secondes Contemporain Watch With Titanium Dial
Greubel Forsey is probably one of, if not the first name that comes to mind when one talks about companies specializing in tourbillons. The company is almost obsessed with this mechanism and is adamant that it really does improve chronometric performance. Even their competition and other selective watchmakers freely admit their work is top notch.If you are skeptical, know that their Double Tourbillon Technique watch won the 2011 International Chronometry Competition held by the Le Locle Museum of Horology. Hence, the tourbillon(s) in their watches are definitely not for show.To be honest, the Tourbillon 24 Secondes Contemporain is not new, and is?derived from the earlier Invention Piece 3. Ariel had the chance to handle it a year ago and was blown away by its blue dial. Indeed, the "royal blue" dial is a work of art, and according to Greubel Forsey, they took a very long time to perfect the color. However, as pretty as it is, there are some who would inevitably find it too flashy. Fear

Introducing the Mondaine Stop2Go
If you've ever traveled around by train in Switzerland, you've relied on the Swiss Railway clocks at every station, with their distinct red seconds hand and easy to read layout. Originally designed in 1944 by Hans Hilfiker, the bold, geometric design that speaks to the Bauhaus philosophy has become iconic and a symbol of accuracy. In the over 60 years since, the design has remained, as its vocabulary of modern forms is as relevant today as it originally was.Of course, you don't actually have to travel to Switzerland to see these timepieces in action, but rather take a trip to your local museum shop. Starting in 1986, Mondaine began producing the Official Swiss Railway (SBB) watches, which replicated the original Hilfiker design. Certainly more familiar to those of us in the states, the Mondaine watches are simple, legible and classic. In the nearly 30 years since their creation, there have been many versions and variations on the design, from mechanical varieties to phantom palettes, b

Anyone own PO with diamond bezel?
if so, mind sharing what you paid and where from?Thanks in advance!

Watch Test PAM312
Very fortunate today to have an opportunity to tour a Rolex repair facility. Cool stuff to see. They had this instrument that measures acoustic vibrations. You place your watch on it and it show a digital and graphical output on how your watch is performing. Many of the folks I was with tested their Rolex Subs. I was off target because I wore my Panerai 312 today. I asked if he would test mine and he did. Really nice. It was perfect!! Started out +/- 1 sec but balanced out with 0 variation. Definitely a fun morning. Just thought I would share this experience.