Red Gold IWC Special Edition 'Le Petit Prince' Pilot's Watch Double Chronograph Edition
As part of their sale of Important Watches this year, Sotheby's is auctioning off a unique red gold IWC Special Edition Pilot's Watch Double Chronograph Edition "Le Petit Prince." We took a look at the stainless steel version?of the children's book-inspired watch, and this special version is being auctioned to benefit the?Antoine de Saint-Exup��ry Youth Foundation. ?Antoine de Saint-Exup��ry was, along with being the author of The Little Prince (Le Petit Prince,?en Fran?ais), an avid pilot who penned numerous books about the subject.It's hard not to find the "Le Petit Prince" watch attractive, and in red gold it's downright beautiful. The blue face with seven stars has, just like in the stainless steel model, a gold disc which "illuminates" a random star every day. It's not really too practical, since you'd have to assign a star to a day- but this isn't really a piece for practicality. Rather, the feature is whimsical and unique- much more the style of this piece.The red gold case back f

Hands-On: With The New 39 MM Rolex Oyster Perpetual
A question we receive from readers all the time is, "I have around $5,000 to spend, and I want one watch I can wear every single day, and will last me the rest of my life – what do I buy?" There are plenty of good options, certainly, but not many great options. If we are talking about a product that will last a lifetime, we tend to think of blue-chip lines from Omega, JLC, IWC, and certainly, Rolex. Today at Baselworld, Rolex showed us a brand new watch that we think might become a stock answer for the question above – a new Oyster Perpetual, now in 39 mm, and retailing for $5,700. 1 OF 4 The Oyster Perpetual is the entry level Rolex (RIP "Air-King"), but still one of the absolute core products of the collection. The Oyster Perpetual comes in five, yes five, different case sizes, with the latest being a perfect 39 mm. The new 39 mm OP also has some updated dials including a beautiful dark rhodium with a sunray finish. The OP is also made s

World Time
Hi TRFI am at a point that I have decided I want to have a World Time complication in my collection. I am veering towards a 5230 but would like to get more inputs from this forum on the following:1) the center dial legibility2) the hour hand legibility3) the bezel style4) the lugs styleI have decided that I want a 38-39mm case size and a rose gold version for my World Time watch, simply because the 38-39 fits my 5.75 wrist nicely and I don't have precious metal so far in my collection. I travel frequently both within and out of the country. Thanks in advance !

Panerai deployant buckle a pain-literally!
Hi TRF friends,I purchased a PAM 0164 recently from the Panerai AD in Dubai and am now regretting buying it. The watch is beautiful but the deployant buckle a real pain in literal terms. It's very heavy, gets stuck in the wrist and by the end of the day the whole wrist is in pain. I have tried alternating between the alligator and rubber straps but the problem persists. Even wearing it a bit loose doesn't help. Have any of you experienced the same problem?I called up the AD in Dubai (I live in Pakistan) and they informed me that ordering a strap and pin buckle can take upto 3 months and will cost anything between 400 to 600 USD. Can you believe it ? Makes me wish I had gone for the PAMs 312 or 359 which were about 800 USD more but at least had the pin buckle plus a 3 day power reserve.Can any of you recommend any good aftermarket straps and Pre-Vendome pin buckle suppliers. I tried ordering them online from panatime but for some reason they were not accepting Pakistani credit cards. Ar

Re: Rolex Accuracy - Damn Right!
Hi gang; Before I start let me say: I've been off the forum for a few years. Recently I've rejoined and I'm delighted to find this is still the best discussion group on the internet. Smart, classy and frequently witty posts are a commodity that never gets old. I'm proud to be a member. Anyway......Rolex has been refining their watches more or less continuously. Sometimes there are very noticeable changes like new cases, expanding the dial choices and even desirable bracelet upgrades. But I gotta' say the latest, and greatest movement upgrades are really impressive to me.My new Datejust, which I purchased about 8 weeks ago, has run *dead accurate* since day 1. Yes, it was adjusted for DST but the watch runs about -2 / +2 per day so minutes remain locked to the atomic clock. (My reference)I've owned 4 Rolex watches over 27 years and none have performed at this high level of perfection. In fact I always expect some 'slew' in a mechancal watch - it's the nature of the beast. But, wow this