La Chronom��trie Ferdinand Berthoud Will Be New Luxury Watch Brand From Chopard In 2014
Chopard has just announced that it will debut a new luxury watch brand under its corporate guidance and ownership in 2014 celebrating the work of historic Swiss watchmaker Ferdinand Berthoud. Technically a new and distinct company, the new brand will be located in Fleurier near Chopard in the Val-de-Travers canton of Switzerland. The new brand will officially be called La Chronom��trie Ferdinand Berthoud, and is reportedly located just a few miles from where Berthoud himself was born in 1727.Ferdinand Berthoud was a contemporary of Abraham-Louis Breguet. Both were Swiss and both moved to Paris to produce clocks and watches for civil, military, and scientific use. Many of Berthoud's creations are still in existence today, and some have been sold at auction for a tidy sum. Though if a new brand incarnation of his persona were to become successful, then it reasons that his work will be valued even more. Chopard reportedly purchased the rights to the name in 2006 and has been working on the

Swatch Group's ETA Watch Movement Maker Oversteps: Receives Unlawful Monopoly Probe By Swiss Competition Commission
The Swatch Group is the largest watch maker in the world, with a highly complex vertically integrated manufacturing system with a ton of subsidiary and partner companies, as well as watch brands. The goal has always been for each watch component to be made by a company under the Swatch Group Umbrella. They've become so good, that their purchasing of companies and manufacturing arms makes them the premier maker of parts; especially movements. Swatch purchased ETA from Eterna many years ago, which was one of it's wiser decisions. ETA is the premier maker of fine watch movements in the world. They don't produce the highest volume of movements overall, but certainly the highest volume of fine watch movements.Many brands rely on ETA as a source of movements. There are alternatives, but ETA is really the only place to go for most companies' needs. Last year, ETA announced that it would cease to provide movements to watch companies outside the Swatch Group due to high demand. Many feared the

AP "Equation of time" dial change: Royal Oak/Juels Audemars
Hey Guys,Im about to purchase my very first AP. I have gone throw the model lineup and discovered that the model i want does not quite exist. I would like to have the Royal Oak Equation of Time (.audemarspiguet/en/wat...uation-of-time) but with the skeleton dial from the Juels Audemars collection (.audemarspiguet/en/wat...T.OO.D002CR.01). The calibre 2120/2808 is the same on both models. I have not yet approached AP with my idea. What do you guys think, is it technically feasible and what the reaction from AP would be? will they even allow it even if its possible?I also made some photoshopping of how the watch will look. I havent decided yet whether whether i want it in steel or gold so i made both versions. I also changed the brown strap to black one on the gold version. Do you know if there is a rubber strap available for this model?

Some Nuances on two 15300ST watches from G series!!! Any Thoughts???
So today I decided to have lunch with a good friend that also owns a 15300ST. When looking at our watches we noticed that certain things seem quite odd as there were differences on certain aspects of the watches. Both are G series but mine is earlier than his.1. The flange on his watch has a somewhat different shape than mine. While mine starts more curved and then flat, his is flatter and slightly curved towards the bottom.2. The font on the letter G of his serial seems slightly different to mine. More straight edges and less rounded than mine.3. The letter O on the word Oak engraved on the case back seemed more oval on his and perfectly round on mine. 4. The security engraving on the inside of the last link of the bracelet seemed finer on his than on mine. 5. His is slightly lighter than mine at 134.4 grs vs. 140 grs on mine. Both have the exact same number of links on the bracelet and no visible over polishing on one vs. the other. 6. The sapphire on the case back protudes slightly

My first venture into PP.
Hi guys, recently I had a chance to reflect on my collection and realized I don't have a bonafide dress watch. As fate would have it, I came across the Gondolo ref. 5111g-001 this past weekend and I'm now contemplating pulling the trigger. IMHO, it's a very handsome piece. What are your thoughts and thanks for your inputs and advice. Here's a stock pic.