2009 Swiss Watch Exports Down 22.3%
The headline on the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry’s report on December, 2009 exports reads “Recovery Confirmed.” This is perhaps a case of news that is less bad being viewed as good. Swiss watch exports for December were down only 7.2% compared with the same month in 2008, though for all of 2009, Swiss watch exports declined 22.3% to 13.2 billion Swiss francs.On the bright side, December followed November as the second month in which the steep declines reflected in the the 12 month moving average leveled off, and December’s single digit decline is perhaps a sign that the fever has broken, though the patient remains in guarded condition at best.Markets that registered growth in December were mainly those in the Far East. China enjoyed a 43.5% increase while Hong Kong was up 27%. The U.S. market’s decline slowed from -21.4% in November to -15.7% in December. The decline increased in France (-24.8%), and Italy suffered a 33.6% decline in December. Ja

Happy birthday to me
Something you guys would like here ...my favourite watch and a birthday cake to go with it

New leather strap on electric blue
New leather strap looks mighty fine. Purchased from Watchgeko. This strap along with a couple others made it to my US address within a week. That was some fast international shipping which was free. Hope my pictures show up note sure if i did that correct. I cannot post a link because of my thread count. The strap is listed as SIMPLE HANDMADE ITALIAN LEATHER STRAP on the watchgeko site.

AT 8500 not jumping anymore...
I had sent my Aqua Terra to Omega last year as it was running very fast, but apparently not magnetized. It took almost three months to get it back. Once I received the watch I noticed that the crown didn't feel he same when setting the time, but everything was working so I didn't want to send it out again. Last night I went to wind and set the watch and all of a sudden the hour hand stopped jumping from hour to hour. It is now a smooth rotation, I know there is a problem. I'm planning on sending it back again today however I'm out of warranty at this point.... Bummer, really love this watch and I'd rather not be without it for so long again, not to mention the potential repair costs.

Most comfortable model
I was wondering what was the most comfortable model Patek. Obviously a lot of factors contribute to determining comfort (bracelet, hairy wrist, wrist shape, weight of metal, case size, etc). Just looking at pictures or trying something on at the AD isn't insightful enough to opine on the topic IMO. What's your most comfortable Patek and why?