A New Case for an Old Classic: Patek Philippe’s New Calatravas
Patek Philippe has a well-deserved reputation for being rather conservative in its watch designs and rarely giving in to transient trends. Thus, even a subtle change to one of its classic models garners attention among watch cognoscenti. At this year’s Baselworld, the brand introduced the new Ref. 5227, a Calatrava in a slightly larger case and a new, hinged dustcover over the exhibition caseback.The first Calatrava, Reference 96, was launched in 1932, the same year that Patek Philippe was acquired by its longtime owners, the Stern family, and has been a mainstay of the brand’s portfolio ever since. And while most watch aficionados know that Patek Philippe is a full-fledged manufacture that makes its own movements, many may not realize that for decades now it has also made its own cases, from sketches to final, polished product. Thus it is with pride that the company touts the new “officer’s style” case of the Ref. 5227, which is slightly larger than those

Christie’s 2010 Watch Sales Highest Ever at $91 Million
Christie's wrapped up a record-breaking year for fine timepieces, realizing $91.2 million in total sales �C the highest annual total ever for the the global auction house. Patek Philippe dominated the results, capturing each of the year’s top 10 positions for wristwatch sales. In all, five Pateks sold for more than $1 million apiece. Look inside for images of the top sellers, and a list of Christie’s Top 10 for 2010. Christie’s achieved more world records in 2010 than any other auction house, and every sale saw a sell-through rate of more than 90 percent by value. The top watch of the year was a unique Patek Philippe ref. 1527 perpetual calendar chronograph manufactured in 1943 that achieved a record $5.7 million at Christie's Geneva sale.A Patek Philippe ref. 2523 “world time” manufactured in 1953 finished in second position. This is the larger 35.5mm version of the reference, and only 14 examples are known to have come to auction. This piece brought $2.7

I like this forum...Speedmasters abound
and very little talk of yellow gold dress watches or other non-Speedmasters. Perfect. Alam, how are you? Did you miss me?

Best Clasp...SMP or Speedy ??
It's no secret....My favorite Omegas are the Speedy Pro and the Seamaster Pro (with swords). Both of these watches come with identical bracelets; one of the most comfortable on the market.However, they each come with a different clasp.The Speedy comes with a slightly smaller clasp, but it is equipped with a couple of micro holes for adjustment, a nice touch. Unfortunately, the smaller clasp allows much of the deployant clamshell to fit under the links and while not a huge issue, does make it slightly less well thought out.The SMP comes with a slightly longer clasp to hide the divers extension link so the deployant is covered by the clasp, but any adjustment needs to be done by adding or removing links...even for a slight seasonal comfort change.Overall, I would like to see the Speedy come equipped with the larger SMP clasp. The real winner would be if they put a couple of micro holes in the SMP clasp and fitted it to all their Pro line.Semaster Pro on the left and Speedy Pro on the

GMTc TT, or 16710 Pepsi?
I have a SUBc date and I love it. I have been looking at the GMTc TT for a while and it's been growing on me although I wasn't a big fan of TT for a while. I have tried the full gold and it was just too much for my liking. It also wouldn't make a good daily wearer. The 16710 is also lovely. I am just having trouble justifying paying almost the same price as a new tt GMTc. While having the old clasp. I have darker skin and noticed the TT looks nice on my skin. I love the Pepsi but afraid it might not look good on me. What do you guys think?Thanks for everyone's help in advance.Sent from my SM-N920C using Tapatalk