Historical Perspectives: American Pocket Watches: A Primer For The Wristwatch Collector
John Cote is a professional photographer and watch collector living in Indianapolis, Indiana. HODINKEE welcomes his insights on the world of American pocket watches. – NM What should a wristwatch nerd know about American pocket watches and the industry that made them? In my opinion, from the late 1850s until just after WWII, the American watch industry produced more and probably better portable timekeeping machines than the rest of the world combined.I said portable timekeeping machines instead of watches, because during the same time the Swiss produced a lot of fabulous and technically amazing watches. The American watch industry primarily produced time-only watches while the Swiss made these, and also a lot of exquisitely complicated watches. What drove the American watch industry was the idea of producing tool watches for the masses. The founders of the industry were starting from scratch and they wanted to produce quality timepieces that the common man could afford. Ea

15400 - Blue Dial Pricing
I was in NY this week for work and stopped in the AP boutique. I had actually wanted to see the two-tone rose gold/steel in person, but came away loving the blue dial iteration. Would I be right to assume that it's not really possible to swing any kind of discounts from the boutiques? I've got a local AD that says he can get me 25-30% off a black dial so I'm hoping someone will tell me that I'm wrong ;).

RO 15300 bracelet question
Hello all. Just got a new 15300. It's beautiful. The Pateks will be going to the penalty box for a while.I would like to get a proper screwdriver for sizing the bracelet. I don't know anything about them. What kind, size, etc is proper for that bracelet? Also, where would be a good place to buy one?

My dad was given a Patek...
He used to collect Rolexes, and is beginning to get back into it, which is cool. His wife gave him a Patek Phillipe and I am not sure what model it is...it has a few complications on the front and if you turn the watch over theres a lunar star chart moving thing on the back. Any clue what model that might be? its rose gold.Also, do Pateks tick or sweep like a rolex?thanks.

Greys - If you had to Guess %
Something occurred to me. First I will say that I am a big fan of the trusted sellers here. Particularly a nice fellow in Central Florida who has been good to me. Fair prices, fair trades, great service. Watches I would otherwise have to wait for. My question is this... what percentage of overall Rolex sales in 2017/2018 do you think go though greys? Of course, no way to quantify with real accuracy, so best guesses are ok. I'm curious.TRF is an relatively small group of hard core brand fans. We lose sight, I think, of the fact that much of the world does not know of or deal with grey dealers. So if the percentage is as small as I think it is, how can they allegedly have such an influence on the market and to justify the current poor AD availability and strategies?I hope this makes sense. If not, I'm sure I will hear it. My guess ...10% max.