Inside The Manufacture: The Making Of F.P.Journe's Most Complicated Watch
Before we get started, we need to talk about just what a grande sonnerie is, and what it's not. A grande sonnerie is not a cartoonish complication. A grand sonnerie hasn't been taken from the highest echelons of true artisanal watchmaking to become a status symbol for anyone who can string together a few bucks. There are no movement shops selling off-the-shelf grande sonneries to fashion brands. There is no such thing as a grande sonnerie module from Dubois Depraz, and we've yet to see a Chinese grande sonnerie.You see, in the world of high complications, the grande and petite sonnerie holds a very special place, well above even split-seconds chronographs, perpetual calendars, and certainly above the once-holy tourbillon. Consider the fact that the very first grande and petite sonnerie wristwatch was produced not in the 1940s like so many complications, but in 1992, and it took the skills of no one short of Philippe Dufour to accomplish this. It was just this past October t

AP @ duty free shop discount?
Hey guys,(please dont tell me to buy a used as im not really a fan of buying used products, i want that NEW experience.. which i think is worth it)ive been eyeing the 15400 for a while now and really thinking about pulling the trigger sometime in january; i was just wondering should i expect a discount at an AP retailer at a duty free shop in seoul korea?i am looking at a brand new 15400 (not looking to buy a used one) and the asking price was $16800 which i thought was WAY expensive compared to my initial thought of about $14000~I thought this AP was a boutique but i found out there were no AP boutiques in Seoul Korea;i checked on the AP website and it is one of 5 or 6 RETAILERS of AP in seoul. Not sure on the differnce between retailer and boutique because this shop didnt have any other company brand name on it, it looked just like a AP boutiqueMy question is should i expect a discount? I havent asked yet as i was eye shopping but just want some experts opinions on this if a discoun

Cheapest Breitling????
Dumb question, Im looking to give a Breitling watch as a gift whats the cheapest model can I buy? I rather stay below 3K if its possible. Any Model ideas? ? Thanks

Deployant strap question
I ordered a 16mm rose gold Calatrava deployant for my 5296R. I want to order a strap from Camille Fournet. My strap is currently a 115mm and 75mm for the Tang buckle. What lengths are the strap for the deployant, I know the Patek branded straps are marked B for the Tang and D for the deployant. Also is there abspecial thickness to fit under the buckle?

Nautilus strap warning
This is for those who want to order straps for Nautiluses but not from Patek, Nautilus straps have a special titanium construction, otherwise a strap without it will fall off, so the strap maker needs to destroy an original Patek strap, 490 euros, to take out the titanium construction and make a new strap with it, I went to see ABP, they told me it's hard to make so 640 euros, didn't do it as 640 plus 490 was a bit too much, will see when one of my straps is dead, but don't make a strap without the titanium piece inside, your watch will fall, a strap maker who is not honest or who has poor knowledge of Patek might say nothing or say it will be ok, I was at ABP and asked Patek and the answer is don't ever put a strap on it without this metal part, you will regret it��Here are a few pics of the straps, you see it's not just leather��P1000835.JPGP1000834.JPGP1000833.JPG