Bring a Loupe: Some Quick Thoughts On The Collectibilty of (Special) F.P. Journe Watches, As Demonst
F.P. Journe is one of the few modern watch manufactures that many serious collectors have any love for. Their watches are thoughtful, beautiful, wearable, and rare. Don't believe me, read this. That said, Journe watches have never exactly been auction house darlings – with modern pieces typically selling for a fraction of their current retail prices. That, of course, is no way to measure the success of a watch, but resale value is something that many collectors simply can't ignore – if you put money into something, you want to know you can get money out of it. This week, however, a few F.P. Journe pieces sold at auction well above what one might expect, and we are beginning to see that like special pieces from Lange, special Journe watches can also do quite well on the public market. A Unique Tourbillon Souverain Sells For 650,000 CHF 1 OF 7 The first watch we will examine sold Tuesday night in a charity auction benefiting Action Innocence. This

Interview: The Shockingly Thin Piaget Altiplano Chronograph Explained By Piaget CEO Philippe Leopold
The chronograph is a decidedly difficult complication to produce – that much we know. After all, up until about 15 years ago there were less than a handful of manually wound chronographs in existence. Another great tenet of watchmaking is that of the ultra-thin movement, a specialty practically owned these days but nobody but Piaget. It was last December that we caught a glimpse of a truly extraordinary timepiece – the Piaget Alitplano Chronograph – a manually wound, in-house chronograph with fly-back mechanism and GMT function that was only 8.24 mm thick. As of today, this incredible watch is in stores, and we thought it was worth revisiting this incredible piece by allowing Philippe Leopold-Metzger, Piaget's global CEO, to explain it to you. 1 OF 3 2 OF 33 OF 3 The Piaget Altiplano Chronograph is currently in stores (as of this week) for $28,600. You can see more on this watch here, and stay tuned in the upcoming weeks for a detailed review

Joined the Royal Oak Club
I have to thank George and Alaina at Govberg Jewelers for the awesome customer service and giving me some Royal Oak love! I was in SF the previous week, and made the mistake of trying the Royal Oak on. Once it was on my wrist, I knew I had to have it. The person I dealt with in SF was kind of an arrogant a$$ and made me feel I was wasting his time by asking him questions. So I made a call to George, and was able to work out a trade plus cash to acquire my grail! I received the Royal Oak on Wednesday, and I just can't stop looking at it. The fit, finish, and quality of the watch is at a whole other level. I didn't realize how dangerous it was to own an AP, now I want a Forged Carbon diver for something a little more sporty. LOL Well on to the pics.

HELP: Big triangle 300 - Real/Fake
Yes, the headline says it all. I can see that the seconds hand is changed, but what about the dial? Relumed? Fake?Any help would be nice - thanks!

Crown guard help ...
Question related to service...After several years of heavy use, my old man is giving me his Panerai 299. While generally in good shape, the crown guard is pretty loose and jiggles around. Certainly not useful any more in preventing ingress of water. Is there a way to tighten it myself using inexpensive tools I can buy online, or would you recommend bringing it in to an AD for service/sending it to Panerai. All else being equal or nearly equal, I'd prefer the lowest-cost option. Thanks!