My First Grail Watch: Hartmut Kraft
Welcome back to an original watches-dealer feature, "My First Grail Watch."? In this series, we ask prominent people in the watch industry about the first timepiece that they lusted after.watches-dealer (ABTW): ?Who are you and what is your relationship to the watch industry?Hartmut Kraft (HK): ?I am the German-American Watch Collector turned Industry Executive that everybody simply refers to as the "H," President of Maurice Lacroix North America.ABTW: ?What was your?first?grail?watch?HK: ?A Patek Calatrava Ref. 3919. ?I saw a black and white ad in a German newspaper when I was 14 years old and it made me fall in love with watches as beautifully valuable objects.ABTW: ?Was there ever a time in your life when you could afford it?HK: ?Yes, in my prior career as a corporate attorney of a global US law firm.ABTW: ?What did you like so much about the watch?HK: ?The understated simplicity, the hobnail bezel, the proportions of the small seconds hand, the expression of value that this timepie

Stowa Wants You To Design Their Next Watch
I'm sure we've all at one point dreamt of designing and manufacturing our very own watch. I know I have a few scribbles and sketches stashed away somewhere in my apartment. But for most of us, the thought of having to deal with suppliers and manufacturers is often enough to keep us just dreaming.Now Stowa, one of our favorite German watchmakers, is about to simplify the entire process with a design contest open to the public, with the winning submission to be realized by the brand. The contest, in collaboration with Watchtime, launched on July 17th and will be open for submissions until the 30th. By mid August, the 10 most popular designs will be put up for a vote on Watchtime.net, with the winning design to be sold through Watchtime.net's online shop. The winner will receive the watch for free, valued at around EUR 1,000. Runner-ups will get vouchers from the brand.If you'd like to participate, you can download the case template from Stowa's contest site. Fret not if you don't have an

Omega Mesh Bracelets...
Hi all,I have a speedmaster and was thinking it would look cool on a mesh bracelet. I'm still somewhat new to Omega and am wonder if there are any recommendations in terms of mesh bracelets... does Omega make one? Or would this be an aftermarket part? Is there a best one?Please let me know and if you have one on a speedy please post a pic!Thanks!Greg

Speedmaster 145012-67
I just bought a Omega Speedmaster Professional w/ a cal.861, the number in the caseback is 145012-67, is the 861 caliber correct for this model, and does the '67 mean 1967? Thanks

My BLNR Experience yesterday.
To start off I live in Wisconsin, traveled down to Illinois to look at some cars that I'm interested in. Right by one of the dealerships is an AD, as a watch enthusiast, I feel I'm obligated to stop (haha). I was more just curious about their inventory, purchasing a watch wasn't even on my radar. Recently, I've been interested in the BLNR, just caught my eye as a 'cool watch.' After walking in, I browsed their inventory and honestly, nothing caught my eye that I'd even want to see out of the case. Then I asked if they had the BLNR said: Yes, we just got one in this morning and isn't even checked into inventory and not sure if it's sold. I still wanted to see it, see if it would work on my wrist etc. We then found out at that particular moment it wasn't sold yet. At that point, I fell in love with the watch but didn't want to make an impulse buy, so I declined. I knew full well that the watch would be sold by the end of the day.After the hour drive home I couldn't keep my mind off the w