Audemars Piguet “Time to Give” Auction
Audemars Piguet teamed with A-List celebrities to raise funds for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS at the “Time to Give auction in New York City. The event is a collaboration between AP and the Tony Awards. The highlight of the evening was a live auction of 13 celebrity-autographed timepieces. Signatures from Meryl Streep, Vanessa Williams, Hugh Jackman, Scarlett Johansson and others brought $816,000 for the cause. A Royal Oak Offshore Las Vegas Strip signed by Jay Z was the evening’s top seller, bringing $220,000. Meryl Streep’s AP brought $100,000, and a piece signed by Catherine Zeta Jones drew a bid of $80,000. Other celebrities participating this year include Kelsey Grammer, Liev Schreiber, Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Lane, and Antonio Banderas.Here are a few scenes from the evening, which can be enlarged with a click. Photos by Bill Davila/startraksphotos.Francois-Henry Bennahmias, President & CEO, Audemars Piguet North America, with Vanessa Williams Jay Z

Come to the Autodromo Stradale Launch in NYC Tomorrow
Just the other day, Autodromo, released a new line of automatic watches at the Concorso Italiano in Monterey California. The Stradale series continues their automotive inspired-spin on watch design with a refreshing sense of elegance and style. Their last series, the Prototipos, drew from 60��s and 70's chronographs, achieving a vintage aesthetic that both watch and car enthusiasts found very appealing. The Stradales go back to the cars themselves and a slightly earlier era, being based on the dashes from Italian sports berlinettas of the late 50s and early 60s. There is a definite retro feel to them, yet the execution looks very modern. Fusing a 40mm case with wire lugs, dials with floating glass indexes, domed sapphire crystals and simply to-die-for straps, these Miyota 9015 powered stunners are their new flagship line, priced at $875.We'll be getting these in for review post-haste, so I'll leave my more detailed thoughts for then, but right now we have an exciting opportunity to shar

Patek Books
Good Day All,Where can I get a good book on Patek's? I found a few on Amazon but not sure what one to get.Thanks,Eric

Panerai Design of Time Workshop in London
What a great morning this past Sunday. I was able to attend the Panerai Design of Time Exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum....which which was actually a Hands-On Workshop around watchmaking. There was a table set-up with maybe 12 stations with either a P.999 or P.3000 movement to play with. It was only a 45 minute workshop, but it was a very special treat to be able to participate.There was even a table showing a running Tourbillon movement. s606.photobucket/user/msz...85a70.mp4.html

Buying an 11-year-old Explorer II...service it?
I'm about to acquire an 11-year-old Explorer II that I'm assuming has never been serviced. I'm wondering if getting it serviced is the first thing I should do, mostly concerned about the case remaining waterproof. Any feedback would be much appreciated. Thanks!Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk