The Heritage 1969 is the latest Heritage model from Longines, one of our favorite collections from the Swatch-owned brand. Based on a yellow gold, cushion-form yellow gold wristwatch originally released in the late 1960s, the new Heritage 1969 embodies the old-world vintage charm that collectors love so much, and looks like a solid continuation of Longines' ability to make appealing, vintage-inspired timepieces rooted in best-of-breed vintage designs.

The original watch came in three variations: steel, gold-plated steel, and 18k yellow gold. The updated version is available in steel and measures 36mm x 36 mm, which is a welcome size for all you vintage lovers out there (we always appreciate it when a company resurrects a vintage design and trusts the original enough to not say, "That was a great design but let's make it bigger.") The dial is silvered with rose gold hands and applied indexes. The date window is angled and set between 4 and 5 o'clock. 

The watch is powered by the automatic caliber L888.2 movement which has a 64-hour power reserve and is based on the ETA A31.L01, which you may be familiar with from other Longines models such as newly released Railroad. The movement is an improved version of the ETA 2892, which formerly had a 45-hour power reserve. 

The price hasn't been released yet, but check back for an update (UPDATE: Retail price is $2,050). For more information on Longines you can visit the website here. 

As we mentioned up top Longines has guest-starred in our Value Proposition on more than one occasion, with great stuff like this monopusher, column wheel chronograph, or this cushion cased diver's chronograph.

The last time we looked at Mido, it was to check in with the Baroncelli Heritage wristwatch, which impressed us so much that it made it into our Value Proposition column not once, but twice. Today, we'll look at a more complicated Mido: The Multifort Chronograph Adventure, an affordably priced, above-entry level mechanical chronograph, that wants you to love it for its overall style and its attention to detail. Let's see how it stacks up, quality-wise, next to the Baroncelli, and to some of the competition.

Competition from mechanical chronographs for hearts and minds at the $3000 mark – both slightly above and slightly below – is pretty keen, with entries from brands as varied as Hanhart, Sinn, Fortis, Seiko, and others, with many using some variation on the honorable Valjoux/ETA 7750.  As you might expect, the price point is heavy on straight-up tool watches and while there is nothing wrong with that (at all) Mido's gone in a slightly different direction with the Multifort Adventure.  It's a two register chronograph, which gives it a slightly old-fashioned flavor, and which is underscored by the Geneva stripes on the dial, "anthracite" PVD case treatment, tachymetric bezel, and perforated racing-style strap.  

It's a completely different watch in orientation and general ambitions than the Baroncelli, but what it does have in common with it is great attention to detail.  Bezel, dial, dial furniture and hands all look very clean, and while I generally don't find the use of movement plate finishing techniques on dials very successful or attractive, somehow it seems to work here.  The glitter of perlage or Geneva strips is a little hard on the eyes and I don't think it does very much for the legibility of a watch as a rule, but the dark anthracite coloration here gives you a cool machine vibe without half-blinding you in the process.

I also don't think it hurts that the color palette's well controlled; there are a lot of nice, warm-skewing  earth tones all the way through and Mido has, thankfully, elected to allow them to do their thing without trying to jazz the whole thing up with unwanted primaries, or solid blacks or whites. Plus the use of warm earth colors makes the light brown tint of the SuperLuminova look like part of the design, instead of a striving-for-vintage-cool add on (or afterthought).

The warm earth tones of the watch itself play very nicely with the strap, which is, by the way, a very handsome thing.  This isn't being pitched as an automotive themed watch by Mido, which insists, for better or worse, on sticking with its decades-long association between its designs, and architecture. We're told that the Geneva stripes evoke the "suspension cables of the Sydney Harbor Bridge" – okay.  I don't have the heart to take too much exception to what seems dutiful, if perfunctory, in the supposed correspondence, but I think between the strap, tachymetric bezel, Geneva strips on the dial and two register design, that the copy writer for the press release would have much preferred to say that the watch evokes – oh, I don't know, the world of post-World War II autosports, with all those open cockpits, helmets and goggles, and cars that managed to be high performance, and curvaceously elegant at the same time.  

It's tough to stand out in this price range, for chronographs.  There are certain safe choices you can make, and a lot of designs make those choices because, let's face it, it's easier to sell watches that way.  Take an ETA 77xx, put it in a round case, keep things simple; mostly do sports chronos (aviation theme for choice) or do a simple chrono with classic design elements.  And, again, nothing wrong with that.  The Multifort Chronograph Adventure is a little different though, which is kind of fascinating; it manages to have a surprisingly authentic, vintage chrono flavor, tempered with just enough modernity that you don't feel the almost instant glazing over of the eyes that accompanies encountering most chronographs in this price range.  (The photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson once said, "Really, how many pictures can you look at more than once?" and I feel like he could have just as easily said that of most circa-USD3k sports chronographs).

This is a watch that under ordinary circumstances I wouldn't have looked at twice, but the more time I spent with it the more I felt like it's kind of a breath of fresh air.  I still don't buy the Sydney Harbour Bridge thing, but if touting it is what it takes to get a tasteful, thoughtful, sub $3k chronograph out there, I say, God bless you, Mido; you do you.

The Mido Multifort Chronograph Adventure: case, 316L stainless steel, anthracite PVD coating, engraved tachymetric bezel; 44mm diameter; water resistance 10 bar/100 meters.  Movement, Mido caliber 80, ETA A05H31 base (derived from the ETA 7753).  30.40mm x 7.90mm, running in 27 jewels at 28,800 vph.  Strap, brown perforated calfskin with folding clasp.  Price, $2130. See it on Mido.com, also available this week for purchase online from Mido.

Forty seven years ago today, man walked on the moon for the very first time. It is no secret that along with the good men of Apollo XI went an Omega Speedmaster or two. As such, on this anniversary of one of mankind's most momentous achievements, we look back at some of our favorite Speedmaster-related stories. We ran a similar story last year – read that first – and then enjoy these five different and awesome stories on the Omega Speedmaster.

1. A Week On The Wrist Video With The First Omega In Space

Arguably the HODINKEE-base's favorite current production Speedmaster if the FOIS, or First Omega In Space. It is remarkbly true to its roots, and our European Editor Arthur counts it as his daily wearer. He was nice enough to fly over and hop on camera to give us a great, in-depth video review of it. Watch it above, read the whole thing here.

2. In-Depth: The Omega Moonphase Master Chronometer

At Baselworld this year, Omega brought back the moonwatch with a moonphase! Our main man Jack Forster went hands-on with it and found it generally a charming iteration of a classic, with a few kitschy but cool touches – such as the microscopic footprint on the little moon near the Sea of Tranquility. Read Jack's review here.

3. Actual Pictures Of An Actual Speedmaster Being Used In Space, Today

We all know the Speedy went to the moon, but back then they didn't have such things as digital watches, so big deal, right? Did you know that right now, at this very second, NASA astronauts are up there at this very moment and they're still wearing a Speedmaster? True story, and we found some pictures to prove it. Check em out here.

4. How To Service An Omega Speedmaster Video

What does it take to service one of the most iconic watches in the world? Turns out quite a bit, but not too much for the master watchmaker up at Manfredi's in Greenwich, CT. Check out the video above and read about it here.

5. Hands-On With The $137,000 Speedmaster

This year, Christie's held the very first night-time thematic auction in New York City. At the center of it? The Omega Speedmaster. One of the most hotly contested lots was this – a reference 2915-1. It ended up selling for a whopping $137,000 and you can see our hands-on story with this mega Speedy here.

Ask any vintage Rolex lover what watch they'd love to own the most, and there's at least a fifty percent chance they'll reply "MilSub." These similar but different Submariners were made by Rolex in the 1970s explicitly for the British Ministry of Defense, and are very much the same as your standard Submariner with the addition of a few purpose-built touches: fixed spring bars (eliminating the weakest part of a watch), larger sword shape hands (easier to read under water due to more luminous material) and a bezel that is graduated for a full 60 minutes instead of just 15 (giving divers a more precise reading), and finally, a circled T on the dial indicating the use of tritium.

These little traits don't sound like much, but they add up to a lot in terms of emotional value and in fact real value – a good full-spec MilSub reference 5513 sells for north of $140,000 these days, with documents, maybe more, and for a 5517 or dual reference, even more. Needless to say, a MilSub isn't exactly on the shopping lists of many. So, with the help of the Bamford Watch Department, we have the next best thing, built in a more robust way, for a fraction of the price.

The Bamford Heritage MilSub takes all of that, and drops it into a brand new Rolex case, modified by Bamford to include those fixed lugs (on the NATO version), a metal bezel, and all the bits and bobs you'd find on a real MilSub. The fully graduated bezel is metal, just like it was on the original, too.

The entire case is coated in Bamford's proprietary MGTC (military grade titanium coating) for a matte grey finish. These watches will retail at $19,375, and because this is the Bamford Watch Department, you can buy them stock with a circled B here, or even customize which letter you'd like on the dial here.

One of our most popular categories in the HODINKEE Shop is our reference grade selection of books. In fact, it's something that you, our readers, constantly ask us to update with new offerings. So, as always, your wish is our command and if you haven't checked out what we've got in the way of watch books, do it now here.

Some of our popular additions from the last few months include a look at military-made watches, the detailed book on one of today's most popular chronographs – the Heuer Autavia – and the Universal Geneve bible from Pietro Sala. These are all fantastic books and in stock now (if they sell out, put your name on the list to be notified because we re-stock often). Today, however, we are proud to announce to brand new offerings in the HODINKEE Shop library that we think you'll love. Oh, and we're going to be announcing two more new books in the shop very soon, too.

Pucci Papaleo's Portfolio Of Historic Vacheron Constantin

How many books are there on vintage Patek? Maybe too many. Today, working exclusively with the legendary Italian publisher Pucci Papaleo and Roberto Caso, we are now offering an immaculately photographed and produced book on a selection of the highest grade vintage Vacherons in the world. If you are a fan of VC, fine watches, or just great design, this book is a must, and really shows what made Vacheron such an iconic brand over the year. Buy it here.

Chronographs For Collectors

While the Pucci book above focuses singularly on Vacheron Constantin, this next book is a broad survey of vintage chronographs – complied and written by Dr. Sebastien Chaulmontet, who is the head of movement development for Arnold & Son, and all of La Joux Perret. If you've ever been to one of our Arnold & Son events, you may have even met him.

This is a book filled not only with information but the opinions of the authors, which vary greatly from the Italian collectors. Here they focus on horogolical craft instead of rarity and value, and will open up your eyes to a whole new range of vintage chronographs. Buy your copy here.

As we mentioned above, we'll be launching two more books in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!

One of the oldest makers of multifunction digital watches is Casio, which, over the years, has done things like moonphase and tide complications (in 1989) early touch screens (1991) fitness tracking (also as far back as 1991) blood pressure and heart rate monitors (once again, 1991) and one of the very first watches that could send you an alert when your phone rang: the VivCel VCL-100, which was released in 1994. And then, of course, there's the G-Shock, which was originally designed to tolerate just about anything, and which since its birth has been redesigned again and again, to serve just about every special purpose imaginable. The G-Shocks have been joined in recent years by the Pro Trek line of sensor equipped watches, which have the ability to detect, depending on the model, ambient temperature, barometric pressure, and direction based on a digital compass. Casio's most recent foray into the world of sensor equipped, information-centric watches also represents the very first integration of the watch toughening construction derived from the G-Shock, with smartwatch functionality: the WSD-F10 Smart Outdoor Watch.

WSD-F10 was first shown at CES 2016, back in January.  Unlike many wearable devices, including fitness trackers and "connected" watches like those made by Mondaine and Frederique Constant, this is a true smartwatch, running Android, and capable of doing everything you'd expect an Android smartwatch to do, with all the usual bells and whistles including alerts, calendar functions, voice-activated Google search, the ability to run watch apps from Google Play, and so on.  However, it also has some very interesting physical features that set it apart from a lot of other Android watches – as well as some baked-in apps that make use of Casio's mobile environmental sensor technology.

The case is quite substantial, to put it mildly.  This is a 61.7mm x 56.4mm x 15.7mm wristwatch, and obviously it's designed for durability and functionality, not style per se.  The case is in compliance with MIL-STD-810, which is a general military standard for shock and vibration resistance.  It's dustproof, water-resistant to 50 meters, and though tough, it's surprisingly light (about 92 grams all told, including the strap).  Conserving power is a major priority for smartwatch designers, and to that end Casio's designed a two-layer LCD display.  One is monochrome, easily visible in daylight, and consumers very little power; the other is an illuminated color display, which is useful for reading the time at night, and which is also used to view all the smartwatch functions, including the built in Tool app.  The processor, if you keep track of that sort of thing, is a Snapdragon 2100 with 512MB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage.  

Battery life in typical use is about a day, which will vary depending on app use.  Surprisingly, for a company that makes extensive use of GPS technology elsewhere, Casio has chosen to not integrate a GPS receiver into WSD-F10, presumably with a view to improving battery life; however, the watch can piggyback on the GPS receiver in your phone.  There's full compatibility with any Android phone in terms of functionality, but bear in mind that if you're an iOS user, you're going to be somewhat limited in what you can do.

What you can do, whether you're an Android or iOS user, is take advantage of the sensors in WSD-F10.  Unfortunately if you're in iOS, you only get the basic suite: a compass, barometric pressure, and altitude, in addition to any Google alerts you've set up in the Android Wear app (and basics like agenda, stopwatch, alarms, and so on).  These, however, work well, though I would have loved to be able to use not only the compass, air pressure and altitude functions, but the tide graph and the sunrise-sunset times as well.

All these functions are, as we've mentioned, preinstalled as part of the Tool app, and moreover, are accessible through the dedicated Tool button on the right hand side of the case.  On the opposite side of the case is an aperture that at first looks like some sort of micro-usb port, but is actually the vent for the air pressure sensor.  Just above it is the port for the charger.  There has been some complaining about the proprietary power connector but that was probably an important part of getting 50m water resistance.

The charger attaches magnetically and it's a little fiddly, tending to detach more easily than I'd like but it's not a deal breaker.  Setting up the watch was very straightforward, and as an Android watch on iOS it worked just fine, sending calendar alerts, messages, and so on with aplomb, as well as dutifully tracking steps.  Still, the most fun was taking WSD-F10 for a weekend walk over a local landmark: the Williamsburg Bridge.  

This was the altitude measurement along East River Park, before heading up on the pedestrian walkway of the bridge (if you're not familiar with New York City geography, the Williamsburg Bridge runs over the East River from lower Manhattan to Brooklyn).

This was the altitude reading right in the center of the span, on the pedestrian walkway. The difference between the two is 135, and lo and behold the official height of the center span of the Williamsburg Bridge is 130 feet.  Pretty darned good resolution for a barometric altimeter.

Despite the limitations imposed by the use of iOS with an Android watch, I had a lot of fun with WSD-F10.  I suspect that its target audience (especially, of course Android users) will have fun with it too; despite the size it's very easy to wear, and the sensors seem to all work very quickly and accurately.  (The steel construction of the bridge seemed to make the compass go a bit haywire but in the great, non-urban outdoors I presume this is a non-issue).  

The only downsides that I can see to the watch are related to battery life, and to its reliance on a smartphone for GPS.  Outdoor smartwatches are a great idea but it's inherent in their design to be pretty power hungry if you use them as intended, and this particular watch requires a proprietary charger, so if you want to use it for longer than single day expeditions, you'll need to bring along a generator.  It's designed for day-hiking, and shorter term activity oriented outings like cycling, kayaking, and so on.  For longer term activities, Casio's solar powered Pro-Trek watches are a great alternative.  It'd be interesting to see a version of this watch that can charge off a portable cell phone/mobile device charger; paired with a smartphone in a suitably water resistant case, this could turn into a multi-day expedition timepiece.  In the meantime, though, it's a solid choice for an athletically inclined weekend warrior.  

Price, $500; available to buy online from Casio.

For a look at the classic G-Shock, check out what we paired it with in our recent Two Watch Collection.

This week, our selection comes from both reputable dealers, and a lot of eBay hunting. Hence, the diversity of watches, from a $20,000+ full set Rolex Explorer to an unusual $500 Concord Mariner SG. You will see also see two Minervas, illustrating the craftsmanship of the former independent manufacture, able to make great military chronographs and dressy wristwatches. This is your Bring A Loupe for July 22, 2016.

A Minerva Chronograph VD 712, For The Swedish Army

The Swedish Army had great taste in chronographs; a notable example is the rugged Lemania Viggen that we covered here. In the late 1950s, they also picked the beautiful Minerva VD 712, powered by the trusted caliber Valjoux 72. As for most of their military pieces, you should expect to find the 'Tre Kronor' (three crowns) engraved on the case back, here followed by an intriguing number 0. The overall condition of the watch looks great, with a good case and dial, the latter with minor marring of the sub-registers. And the blued hands show their expected aging, but thankfully without lume loss, which is always a downer for vintage watches (read more about it with the following watch).

This military Minerva is listed on Cars And Watches website for 5,860 Euros or around $6,500 here.

A Rolex Explorer Reference 1016, With Tropical Dial And A Lot Of Extras

The serial number of this Rolex Explorer indicates that it was manufactured in late 1967, something confirmed by the case back and the original guarantee. This records the sale just 2 years after to the Ford Company in Argentina, which was definitely giving cool gifts to its employees. This date also coincidences with the last gilt dials, with their characteristic gold font. And here, the dial does not disappoint, showing the best tropical patina you can expect. This change of color remains one of the most coveted feature in vintage Rolex, provided it happens evenly. As the seller puts it, this Explorer 1016 is "completissimo", not only including the aforementioned guarantee but also the COSC certificate, booklets and original box. I would nonetheless watch out for the lume condition of the hands, as they show some existing breaks and are therefore running a higher risk to flake away, something along the lines of the ticking bomb that Jack described here.

The Italian dealer Tempus Orologi offers this very complete Explorer 1016 here, expect the ask to be slightly above 20,000 Euros or $22,000.

Note that an earlier example with box and papers (but no bracelet) is currently offered by HQ Milton for $22,950 here.

A Minerva Pythagore Reference A481, With A Gorgeous Dial

With its dainty looks and 34mm size, you would not believe that the Minerva Pythagore was produced in modern times, less than 20 years ago. The overall attention to details is impressive, from the beautiful finishing of the caliber 48 to the mirrored ring on the dial, reminiscent of great time-only pieces from the late 1930s. The Pythagore excellent price-quality ratio made it a favorite on forums, you can read a comprehensive review from one happy owner here. He offers a very interesting breakdown of the caliber 48, engineered "to incorporate Pythagore's golden mean into the architecture of its bridges" hence its very recognizable design. 

You can find this good-looking Minerva on eBay here; at the time of publishing, bidding was still below $600.

A Heuer Skipper With Automatic Movement But Some Incorrect Hands

Heuer's ties with motor racing are well known through the success of the Carreras and Autavias; the brand also offered regatta watches under the Skipper line, from 1968 onward. The very rare first model was cased in a Carrera case, and the following ones in Autavia cases, as the present one, which explains why the seller incorrectly described it as a reference 1163, the denomination of a 'regular' Autavia. Any Skipper presents a distinctive minute counter, designed with contrasting colors as a 5-minute countdown, to be ready for the start of a regatta. As mentioned on the dial, this Skipper relies on the automatic caliber 15, an evolution of the caliber 11 built with cost consideration in mind, and recognizable by the running seconds placed at 10 o'clock.

The German dealer Meertz offers this 1970s Skipper here; note that the chronograph minute hand is incorrect, and the one for the second seems a bit too short.

A Concord Mariner SG, With Square Case And Slim Quartz Movement

This Concord firmly belongs to the late 1970s- early 1980s, after the revolution brought by the integrated bracelet of the Royal Oak from Audemars Piguet, and at a time when quartz was cool. And Concord proved quite good at this game, launching the Delirium in 1979, which 1.98mm height qualified it as the thinnest wristwatch ever made. The Mariner SG followed and displays a slim profile, while its case shape is really close to the contemporary Vacheron Constantin 222, and Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, both of them with square cases. Nowadays, the Mariner SG is a bit of a quirky choice, which interestingly costs roughly half its original retail price some 35 years later.

The eBay listing for this atypical Concord can be found here, with a Buy-it-now price at 449 Euros or almost $500.

There are a number of interesting things about writing about watches from Arnold & Son these days. The company is owned by Citizen Holdings, which owns (among other things) Citizen Watches, and Bulova, as well as the Swiss movement manufacturer La Joux-Perret; Miyota; and, of course, the subject of our present discussion, Arnold & Son. This is a little parenthetical to the timepiece above, but not entirely; the existence of a Japanese owned Swiss based brand named after an English watchmaker who died in 1799, and which has as an important stablemate a US based brand headquartered in the Empire State Building, says a lot about the nature of the world of watch design and manufacturing (and also makes the whole business of "in-house" seem more irrelevant than ever, if that were possible). Of course, one of the most interesting things about the Golden Wheel, is the watch itself.

The wandering hours complication is very old.  Traditionally it's attributed to the Campani brothers, who are thought to have made one as a commission from the Pope, in the mid-1600s.  Despite its age and history, it is something of a rarity in modern watchmaking; Audemars Piguet made a wandering hours watch called the Star Wheel, which launched in 1991.  The AP Star Wheel was a beautiful and interesting wristwatch but it was always something of a niche product for AP, and it went out of production some time ago. (Urwerk's entire production consists of wandering hours watches, which shows you how versatile the complication is.) It also proved a bit problematic technically.  The wandering hours complication gets its name from the passage of a number showing the hour, across an arc marked out in minutes; it takes one hour for the number to cross the arc, and as it disappears on the far right, the next hour rotates into position at the far left.  

There are three discs (transparent sapphire in this case) carrying four numbers each.  The tricky part is that you have three discs, all of which have to jump once an hour, through a 90 degree rotation.  Jumping indications are always a problem because the force comes from the mainspring, and as the load from the complications increases – especially right before they switch – energy available to the mainspring drops.  The trick is to adjust the jumper springs holding the gears under the hour discs so that they hold the discs securely in place, but not so securely that accuracy's impaired.

Though the styling of the Golden Wheel's very similar to that of the Star Wheel, one way in which it's significantly different mechanically is in the presence of a deadbeat seconds complication, which has become something of a signature complication for Arnold & Son.  A deadbeat seconds (or "true beat" as A&S prefers to call it, though I prefer the appealingly archaic flavor of the traditional term) jumps once per second, like the seconds hand of a quartz watch.  This complication is sometimes found in long case astronomical regulator clocks, which have a one-second pendulum; to implement it in a wristwatch with a balance wheel requires a fairly complex additional arrangement of gears.  

The deadbeat seconds complication in the A&S Golden Wheel runs under the center of the dial and in this exploded diagram, you can see not only the individual hour wheels and jumpers, but also the sixty toothed wheel, with its own jumper, that carries the seconds hand.  The complication is partly visible through the semi-open dial of the Golden Wheel.

The Golden Wheel was first introduced at Baselworld 2015, and the new version you see here has had some changes made.  These aren't dramatic, but they add up to a much more legible watch; the outer seconds track has been simplified, and the numerals on the hour discs are now black rather than gold.  One other change is a small one, but an interesting and perhaps significant one.  The dial of the first version read "Arnold & Son Since 1764."  Now of course, John Arnold died a long, long time ago, and the modern company has no direct connection with him.  The attempt to create, or hint at, such a connection always seemed a little forced to me and also unnecessary, as their watches are very well made and mechanically interesting enough to stand on their own merits.  The new version's dial reads "Arnold & Son Cal. 6018" instead, and if this indicates a move away from suggesting a direct connection, and towards quietly acknowledging John Arnold as an inspiration rather than a direct ancestor, I think it would remove a small but persistent obstacle to appreciating the watches themselves.  

And that would be terrific, because their watches in general, and this one in particular, are beautifully made.  Yes, it's true that they had a good model in the Star Wheel, and yes, it's true that this is an inherently symmetrical and mechanically attractive complication.  It's also true that there are many great concepts that are ruined by sloppy execution, and this is just a lovely, lovely watch; one of those wristwatches that seems to take on a different character every time the light changes.  It may not have been made by John Arnold, or a descendant of John Arnold, but it does seem to radiate a sincerity of craft that I think does service to him as an inspiration (and given who Arnold was, and what he meant to horology, that is not a small thing).

Casework, and even the buckle, show the same level of attention as the dial.

The movement side is familiar to anyone who knows movement design at La Joux-Perret, but again, it's extremely cleanly done and like the dial side, has a great deal of dignity coming from its honest quality.

This is a high-end collector's piece, obviously, and it's not going to appeal to everyone however, it's a lot like a number of other very niche horological interests – hand-painted enamel miniatures, for instance.  But there are certainly collectors out there who are interested in unconventional ways of expressing the time mechanically, and both for them, and for more broad-minded enthusiasts who want something different but also with a lot of historical depth and technical interest, this is going to be a very appealing watch.  And PS, thumbs up to A&S for tweaking the design; exactly the sort of small but critical improvements that let you know someone actually looked at the design, carefully. 

The Arnold & Son Golden Wheel: case, 18k red gold; 44mm diameter, thickness approximately 13.5mm; water resistance 30m.  Movement, A&S 6018, 37.20mm x 8.00mm; 45 hour power reserve, 28,800 vph running in 29 jewels.  Wandering hours, minutes, deadbeat seconds.  Limited to 125 timepieces worldwide; price, $47,500.  More from A&S here.

I went to the bank this morning to take out some cash, dripping in the kind of sweat you see only in New York City in July. If you know what I'm talking about, I'm sorry. If you don't, trust me, you're better off. While I was there, I thought to myself, "Hey wait, I have one of the best summer watches in the world down in the vault and I almost forgot about it!" So I went downstairs and fixed that. And now, here I am, writing this story in shorts and t-shirt, sunglasses clipped to my breast pocket – in full-on summer mode – with my Tudor Heritage Chrono Blue on my wrist (the 116500LN sits on my desk, temporarily). It got me thinking about what the very best summer watches are – I believe the Tudor is up there, as you can see in this IG post – so I thought I'd go back through our archives of detailed Week On The Wrist reviews and pick five of the best summer watches we've touched. So here they are, in no particular order – five of the best summer watches money can buy as described by myself, the honorable Mr. Forster, Pulvirent, and Boutros.

The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph (Video) By Ben Clymer

A solid rose-gold chronograph Royal Oak, from Audemars Piguet – doesn't necessarily sound like something I'd be into, right? Totally. But, there is a certain charm and warmth about this watch, and the build quality is just superb. This one may surprise you, so go ahead and read my review of it, and be sure to watch the video here.

The Panerai Luminor Reference 560 By Jack Forster

The only thing that makes less sense on paper than Ben Clymer and a gold AP RO 41 mm is Jack Forster and a Panerai. But this watch, with its in-house caliber and classic design, really works. Read his review of it here.

The Blancpain 50 Fathoms Bathyscaphe (Video) By Stephen Pulvirent

The Submariner is kinda the ultimate summer watch, right? Sure, but the Fifty Fathoms gives it a real run for its money – and it is a far less expected option. Young Mr. Pulvirent gave the then new steel Bathyscaphe a good, solid review on a trip to the south of France here. Be sure to watch the video!

The Tudor Heritage Chrono Blue (Video) By Ben Clymer

As I mentioned above, I liked the Tudor Heritage Chrono Blue so much after reviewing it, I bought it. It's just a fantastic and fun summer chronograph in a great, light-hearted color way. Waterproof and durable, it's hard to beat at the beach. Watch the video and read the review here.

The Richard Mille RM033 Extra Flat By Paul Boutros

You might be shocked to know that Paul Boutros loves Richard Mille. But, he'd always thought they were maybe a little too thick. So when the RM033 came out and it was thin, and round (!!) he was pretty excited. He offered to do a detailed review of it back in 2013, and this high-end summer watch remains a favorite of those in the RM crowd (whatever that means). Read about it here.

The Dirty Dozen is the name of a movie from the 1960s, depicting the misadventures of 12 fictional soldiers during the Second World War. It is also, in watch collecting circles, the name given to a group of 12 watches worn by those who actually fought in it – specifically, British soldiers. They were commissioned by the British Ministry of Defense (MoD) during World War II, and while they may not be as highly rated as other military watches when they are presented individually, as a set, they become some of the most collectible – specifically (but not exclusively), by British collectors.

The British military had always been equipped with the most contemporary timekeepers of their era, from the marine chronometers of Harrison, John Arnold, and other horological pioneers, which gave the Royal Navy the essential ability to reliably determine longitude at sea, to "unbreakable glass" wristwatches advertised by Smiths watches during the First World War. But, when Great Britain declared war on Germany in 1939, few local watch companies could compete with Switzerland’s greater production capabilities, and those still in the business of making components were asked to focus their efforts on building military parts for the Air Force and the Navy.

Switzerland would export large quantities of watches and pocket watches during WWII, to both the Allied Forces and the Germans, but these were civilian market orders which pre-dated the war. The MoD thought these were not suitable to the needs of British soldiers, and decided to place an order for custom-built wristwatches. These needed to be accurate, reliable and durable, which in watchmaking terms meant they had to be regulated to chronometer standards, and also be waterproof and shockproof.

The watches also had to have a black dial, Arabic numerals, luminous hour and minute hands, luminous hour markers, a railroad minute track, a shatterproof crystal, and a stainless-steel case. Powering them would be 15-jewel movements, measuring between 11.75 and 13 lignes.

Twelve companies would fulfill this brief: Buren, Cyma, Eterna, Grana, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Lemania, Longines, IWC, Omega, Record, Timor, and Vertex.

Each manufacturer delivered as many watches as their production capabilities would allow. Though official numbers have not been released by the MoD, we believe the largest companies were able to take orders of up to 25,000, while smaller manufacturers produced around 5,000 pieces – only IWC, JLC, and Omega kept a strict record of their order: respectively 6,000, 10,000,  and 25,000. Collectively, they would export around 150,000 wristwatches to Britain during the second half of 1945, classified for "General Service" but issued to special units, including radio operators, and artillery staff members.

The Dirty Dozen are easily identifiable by the engraving on the back. The three Ws, which stand for for Watch, Wrist, Waterproof, identify the watches as government property and indicate the type of good in order to distinguish them from weaponry. Other defining features include Broad Arrow heads, on the dial, inner case, and at the back, and two more lines of engravings at the back: a military serial number – a capital letter followed by up to five digits – above a second, standard civil serial number - some watches have the civil one on the inner case. (The use of the Broad Arrow for government goods goes all the way back to Sir Philip Sidney, Joint Master of the Ordnance in 1585, whose family used the Broad Arrow in its coat of arms.)

Today, hundreds if not thousands of collectors own military watches commissioned by the MoD. But very few collectors – some suggest less than 20 in the world – own a complete set of “The Dirty Dozen” in original condition. Why? Because, even though so many were made and most can be found relatively easily, others like the Grana pose a much great challenge.

Not because it looks any different, or any better than the other eleven – it doesn’t. In fact, collectors typically point to other watches when you ask them which one they find most attractive. As ever when rating watches based on looks alone, no one seems to agree.

However, most point to the Longines as their favorite. Its contemporary size (38 mm) and the stepped case make it one of the most interesting. Others swear by IWC’s version of the W.W.W, also known as the Mark X, which has inspired its own dedicated following, and spawned a line of successors which continues to grow to this day – this year’s Mark XVIII being the latest.

But of the Dozen, none is more desirable than the Grana, simply because it is by far the most difficult to find. According to Konrad Knirim’s book British Military Timepieces, less than 5,000, and perhaps even only 1,000, were made for the MoD, making it the rarest of the lot.

Considering the scarcity and history behind that watch, it’s perhaps surprising to learn that it’s still within the realm of the affordable. When they come up, as one did recently during the Watches of Knightsbridge July auction, they typically have a minimum asking price around $7,000. That's seven times what collectors pay for the most common W.W.W, but far, far less than six-figure Milsubs.

Then there are the other eleven. Funding an entire collection requires deep pockets, and collecting the Dirty Dozen – especially if you want them in original condition – is not without its pitfalls. Due to the extreme conditions they were subjected to, many of them were repaired and restored at some point during their lifetime. And that meant being sent back to the Corps of Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers (R.E.M.E), which dealt with all mechanical equipment in need of maintenance or repair, including watches worn by military personnel.

Of course, the Corps had little interest in preserving the originality of the watches that came back. Their primary concern was to get them back in the field as quickly as possible, and they found it much more practical and time efficient to restore watches using MoD replacement parts of lower quality and in some cases, with parts from other models. Mistakes were made, especially when changing case backs. And then there's what happened after the war. In the 1960s, dials containing radium and promethium were replaced by non-radioactive dials (the Longines and the IWC in the Watches of Knightsbridge are both examples of this practice).

Because of this, collectors should tread carefully when acquiring these watches online or through auctions, if the originality of the piece is their primary concern.

Besides the Grana, the most elusive W.W.Ws are those which returned, albeit briefly, to MoD at the end of the war in Europe. Those that could be saved, or did not need saving, were sold to other Allied forces still engaged on other fronts, such as the Pakistani Military, the Dutch Military and the Indonesian military. These have a fourth line of engraving, identifying the watches’ new owners.

Final Thoughts

There are about as many reasons to collect watches, as there are watch collectors in this world. For some, they are way to connect with an important part of our history. For others, the motivation comes from the thrill of finding a rare piece. The Dirty Dozen satisfies them both.

And then there are those who seek watches of great and undeniable beauty. By their nature, military watches offer little to that type of collector, though many find the honesty of their design incredibly satisfying in itself.

Finally, there’s the straightforward challenge of collecting The Dozen. Twelve. It’s a number that sounds dangerously attainable, especially when you consider the prices of the most common models, and large enough to cement the credibility of the collection by size alone. But it's much, much harder than it sounds.

The mid-year results for the Swiss watch industry have just been released by the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FH, and the steep declines in sales volume as well as profits seen in recent months continue – showing an industry struggling with external negative forces beyond its control, but also, internal issues as well.

The report stated in part that "Swiss watch industry exports fell faster than at any other time in the first half, reflecting the difficulties with which the branch has had to contend for many months. They were worth 1.6 billion francs in June, 16.1% less than in June 2015."

Precious metal watches appear hardest hit, showing a 31% decline, although all materials categories were down.  In terms of price segment, the report states: "Watches priced between 500 and 3,000 francs (export price) are the only ones to have avoided a double digit decline. They followed the same trend as in the past twelve months. The 200-500 francs category posted the steepest falls. Timepieces priced above 3,000 francs also lost nearly 20% in value (-19.5%) as compared to June 2015."

"Il n’y a pas de crise." Nick Hayek Jr. to Le Temps, July 21

In other industry news, Swatch Group reported a 54 percent decline in profits year over year, bringing its first half profits to the lowest in seven years. Despite criticism from some quarters that shareholders are losing confidence in his management of the Group, CEO Nick Hayek insists that no significant changes in operating strategy are necessary, characterizing the present headwinds facing the industry and the group as an "exceptional situation" but not a crisis.

Yet while some analysts acknowledge that there are short term headwinds exerting downward pressure on sales, others see more long-term issues – some outside the industry, and out of its control, but as well, outdated perspectives and an inability to adapt to shifting market demands and tastes. Bloomberg View columnist Leonid Bershidsky writes:

"Swiss watchmakers sailed into a perfect storm this year. The industry, which generates more than $20 billion in exports, was buffeted from all sides – largely by circumstances largely beyond its control, but it's increasingly clear that the decline will continue unless the industry changes the way it designs and markets its products . . . the Swiss industry can't lay all the blame on external factors. The commodity, currency and tourism fluctuations are so much white noise that's distracting the Swiss from their industry's major problem: The aura of old-world luxury, on which its advertising culture is based, has an increasingly limited appeal in a tech-driven world where the younger generation is, for the first time since World War II, poorer than its parents."

At the very least, the enormous amount of unsold stock in retailers' hands will depress sell through for some time; Bershidsky notes that Bloomberg Intelligence data points to unsold stock making up at least 60% of the market capitalization of major Asian market retailers.  The Financial Times reported last May that the Richemont Group is buying back stock from some Hong Kong retailers. In the same story, Richemont chairman Johann Rupert expressed skepticism that any near-term improvement is to be expected, saying, "In the near term, we are doubtful that any meaningful improvement in the trading environment is to be expected."

Among the many things in this world that it's been impossible to not hear about over the last few weeks, one of them at least is about bringing a little fun into the world. Pokémon Go lets you find, via an augmented reality app, the adorable little monsters that are the subjects of the game, lurking out there in the real world. Alas, every silver lining has its cloud, and for Pokémon Go, it's the fact that walking around in the real world while your face is buried in your phone can have some unpleasant real world consequences.

According to our friends over at TechRadar, the device (which communicates with your phone via low energy Bluetooth) flashes blue when a Pokémon is nearby.  You push the button to try and "catch" the little devil, and if you did, you get a rainbow light to tell you the good news.

Get all the info from Nintendo here, and hey, if it gets the next generation into watches, how bad can it be.  Maybe the one time in history you can help the gaming industry, Japan, and Switzerland all at the same time (oh, and let's be careful out there).  We don't quite know why more people aren't using this little thing.  Probably could save more lives than the Breitling Emergency.

Carl F. Bucherer is one of the very few manufacturers in the world to have a peripheral rotor automatic movement in its repertoire. Caliber CFB A1000 was first introduced in 2009 and it was, and remains, a very interesting piece of engineering, with a sophisticated bearing system for the rotor, a distinctive design in terms of bridge configuration and finishing, and the use of a special system for isolating the regulator and balance spring stud carrier from shock – a system which in theory means the regulation of the watch shouldn't drift between service intervals. Just this month, CFB introduced the next evolution of the movement: caliber CFB A2050; as well as a new watch to house it, the Manero Peripheral – and moreover, it's being offered at a price which in light of yesterday's business report, is a bit of a breath of fresh air with respect to realistic pricing.

Before getting into the new guy, let's look at its predecessor, the CFB A1000.

CFB A1000 came out seven years ago, and it was a very unexpected accomplishment at the time.  Carl F. Bucherer had recently acquired the movement design firm Téchniques Horlogères Appliquées, and the CFB A1000 was a genuinely original and technically interesting first fruit of CFB's movement development efforts.  A1000 uses a peripheral rotor winding system, in which the rotor is carried around the circumference of the movement.  This offers a lot of the advantages of a micro-rotor  – a flatter movement than would be possible with a full rotor system, especially – but it also as the advantage over a micro-rotor that you can have a more traditional bridge design.  The problem is that a peripheral rotor system has a leverage disadvantage with respect to a central rotor system, so everything needs to operate with as little friction and as much efficiency as possible.  In the CFB A1000, the rotor is carried on three DLC coated rollers running in ball bearings, whose assemblies are designed to absorb shock by allowing slight lateral displacement of the rotor.  The first gear in the automatic winding train is shock protected as well.  The system worked very well; something of a miracle, as several companies (including Citizen and Patek Philippe) had experimented in the past with a peripheral rotor system, but ultimately abandoned it.

The CFB A1000 also featured a very robust big date display designed for maximum reliability and minimum parts count, as well as the so-called CDAS (Central Dual Adjusting System) which, in the image above, is visible as the two-armed assembly on either side of the upper balance jewel.  The CDAS consists of a clamp for the stud (outer terminal of the balance spring) and regulator index (used to adjust the effective length of the balance spring).  Both of these are usually friction fit, and can move over time or under the effect of a physical shock, and the CDAS was intended to ensure that once regulated and put in beat, the watch would stay that way until the next service.

CFB A1000 also featured a very modern take on bridge design and movement finishing.  It's found its way into several current production watches – the Manero Powerreserve is a good example – and with the A2050 in the new Manero Peripheral, CFB looks to be bringing many of the advantages and advances of the A1000 into a more affordable watch.

In steel, this is a very handsome, simple watch; no surprises in the design but for this kind of watch, in this price range, surprises when they come tend to be unpleasant ones anyway (unwanted dial decoration, unwanted case design flourishes, and so on).  The case is 40.6mm x 11.2mm and the movement, at 30.6mm x 5.28mm, fills the case nicely.  In terms of thickness the movement more or less splits the difference between a Rolex 3186 (6.4mm) and an ETA 2892 (4.6mm) but of course, the peripheral rotor system allows you to have an unobstructed view of the movement.  One interesting feature of caliber CFB A2050, by the way, is that it's not a center seconds movement, which means running seconds are displayed in a sub-dial at 6:00 – forming a slightly archaic counterpoint to this otherwise very modern movement.

There are some obvious ways in which the CFB A1000 and A2000 series are similar – overall bridge layout is identical; the peripheral rotor systems are identical.  There are some immediately notable differences as well, however.  The A2000 series has a tradition finish; anglage, and Geneva stripes, which is a departure from the very technical-looking finish in the A1000 series.  Which is better is a matter of taste but I suspect a wider group of consumers will find the traditionally finished version more appealing.  From a technical perspective the most noticeable change is the absence of the CDAS (Central Dual Adjusting System) in the CFB A2050.

Instead we have a free-sprung adjustable mass balance, with Gyromax-style peripheral weights.  These give basically the same advantage as the CDAS with respect to regulation.  The balance spring stud holder is now a conventional friction-fit assembly.  The replacement of the CDAS with more traditional solutions helps keep the movement feeling more traditional and a lot of the technical appeal of the original CFB A1000 series is there.  One last big difference between the two movements is the absence of the big date display in the CFB A2050 and Manero Peripheral, which, again, makes for simpler and presumably more economical production.  It also means more flexibility in the dial layout.  The movement is a COSC certified chronometer.

In rose gold this is a fairly expensive watch, at $18,600.  However, in stainless steel, it really comes into its own: $7200 on a strap, and $7600 on a bracelet.  The problem, of course, is that there is a tremendous amount of competition at this price point from Rolex, Omega, IWC and many others and it's going to take some doing to sway consumers into understanding what's going on with caliber CFB A2050, and connecting with emotionally enough, to get them to make a pretty unconventional choice.  If you do, though, you're going to get a really aesthetically different and technically interesting watch,  that does what many of its competitors can't do: set you apart from the crowd.

See all the Manero Peripheral models here.  As shown, $7,200.  Stainless steel case, 40.6mm x 11.2mm, sapphire on both sides, water resistant to 3 bar/30 meters. Alligator strap, stainless steel pin buckle.  Movement, caliber CFB A2050, 30.6mm x 5.28mm, running in 55 jewels with peripheral rotor, 55 hour power reserve.

Seeing a minute repeater is one thing, and hearing a minute repeater is another, and hearing and seeing a minute repeater is another thing entirely. The approach that Audemars Piguet has taken in making the Supersonnerie is to emphasize acoustic characteristics – the approach Bulgari has taken with the Octo Finissimo minute repeater, on the other hand, is to go for a particular range of physical characteristics while doing everything possible, within those constraints, to emphasize the sound quality of a very traditionally constructed movement.  

The Bulgari Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater is, as you've probably heard, ad infinitim and ad nauseam, the world's thinnest minute repeater in current production but even though it's been said, and said again, it still bears repeating (pardon the pun) because of what it represents.  We've discussed some of the challenges in making an extra-flat/ultra thin minute repeater in quite a lot of detail in our series on ultra thin watchmaking, and to some extent in our coverage of the Audemars Piguet Supersonnerie, but they're worth ticking off again now that we're looking at the world's thinnest.

Size matters for a repeater, if sound matters.  The bigger the watch, the more mass and energy you have to strike bigger gongs, which resonate through a larger case, and move a greater mass of air.  All other things being equal, a thicker and wider movement can be made to work reliably more easily, as tolerances are more forgiving.  Assembly is easier (and disassembly, which, when you're putting a repeater together, is a necessary part of the process as you trouble shoot and fine tune).  A repeater is a watch, but it's also a musical instrument, and as we all know, the smaller the instrument, the more compromised sound is.  That said, however, there have certainly been repeaters in the past that were very thin, and though extremely delicate and requiring careful handling from their owners, they were irreproachably lovely in sound.  It's these repeaters that the Bulgari Octo Finissimo minute repeater strives to emulate – but in a case that has all the benefits of modern engineering, and which offers both superior acoustic properties, and better rigidity and water resistance than was possible in the watches of yore.

The case for the Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater is extremely modern in appearance, although it also has some of the rectilinear, architectural feel characterizes much of Bulgari's design work over the years.  Clean, simple lines that make a strong, unified design statement have always been Bulgari's stock in trade and the Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater continues in that tradition.  The case and dial are both in titanium; dimensions are 40mm x 6.85mm, and water resistance is 30 meters, which is 30 meters more than you'd get from a vintage repeater, certainly.  

Caliber BVL 362 is an extremely traditional movement in every respect, and it has a very interesting history.  Its origins go back to 1981, when Gerald Genta produced a unique piece minute repeater that was only 2.72mm thick overall – that's movement and case, and it was a self-winding watch as well.  As was so often the case with extremely thin watches of that era it simply proved too delicate to be produced; however, the movement was re-engineered to make it more reliable (if slightly thicker) and when Bulgari acquired Daniel Roth and Gerald Genta, it also acquired the design and decided to put it into production.  This is the thinnest repeater movement and thinnest repeating watch anyone's making right now, and unlike many other modern repeaters, this one is pure traditional watchmaking.  The only production wristwatch movements to beat it in thinness that I'm aware of, were some of the movements used in the Vacheron Constantin 4261, which were reportedly 3.1mm thick.  This is horological eye-candy at its best.

The sound is remarkable, especially for such a thin, small movement.  Part of this is owing to the case material, but it's also partly due to small tweaks in the case design, such as making the markers in the dial physical openings that allow sound waves to propogate outward more easily. The video we shot and sound we recorded show the sound properties of a traditionally constructed repeater at its best: clear, very musical in quality, and in the background you can hear the delicate buzzing of the traditional anchor regulator.

It's a hell of an accomplishment. Not just for the record, but for what that record represents, and as well, for combining a cutting edge repeater with an elegant and wearable design, we think Bulgari deserves a round of applause for a command performance in the very, very challenging arena of ultra thin complications, and and ultra thin repeaters in particular.

The Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater: movement, Bvlgari caliber BVL 362, hours, minutes, small seconds, minute repeater. 21,600 vph, 3.12 mm x 28.50 mm, 42-hour power reserve. Titanium case, 40 mm x 6.85 mm, water resistance 30mm. Price, $155,000.

For more on ultra thin watchmaking from Bulgari check out our coverage of the Octo Finissimo Tourbillon.

Girard Perregaux had a pretty big year at Baselworld in 2016, releasing watches such as the 1966 Dual-Time and the Esmerelda Tourbillon, but one we haven't talked about yet is the new Competizione Line of vintage-inspired chronographs. Within this new line, GP released two new watches - the Stradale and the Circuito. 

Girard Perregaux was known for their racing chronographs, produced in the 1950s and 1960s, which were loved for the simplified case design and overall balance. With the Competizione Line, you can get that same vintage feel in a 42mm case. The Line has two versions, the Stradale and the Circuito. Both are essentially the same watch (same size case and same automatic movement with 46-hour power reserve) however one is made of steel (the Stradale with silver or black dial) and the other, titanium and carbon composite (the Circuito with honeycomb dial). 

The Stradale plays to the classicist collector, with its traditional lines and appearance. It features three-registers for constant seconds, 30-minute and 12-hour registers. Furthermore the date window (for all you date lovers out there) is nestled in between the constant seconds and 12-hour register at four o'clock. The watch is powered by the GP03300 reference caliber automatic movement and is available with a black or silver dial (as mentioned earlier) and with a bracelet or alligator strap.

The Circuito is the edgier version in the collection and features the same 42mm case in titanium and carbon composite. It has a black honeycomb dial with red accents and same register-date layout, along with the same automatic movement. This watch retails for $13,400 while the Stradale retails for $9,800 (with strap) and $10,500 (with bracelet) and are availble now.

For more information on Girard Perregaux please click here. 

Rounding out the month of July, we have ten watches up for sale this week. We have a great selection, with an emphasis on chronographs, some cool dress watches, and a few good full-sets. Read on to see what we've got in store for you.

A 1950s Komet 'Esquinas Tantos'

Komet is likely a brand that you have never heard of, but we couldn't resist listing this gorgeous travel timepiece. Dating to the 1950s, the heyday of glamorous air travel, this two-tone steel and pink-gold plated watch has the ability to keep track of time in five time zones simultaneously. Each of the four subsidiary dials has a 24-hour track with a single hour hand that is adjusted by the corresponding pusher set in the case band of the watch. This watch is super cool and definitely worth a closer look. Click here for the full listing. 

A 1960s Patek Philippe Reference 570

The Patek Philippe reference 570 is like the big brother to the reference 96 (or younger depending on how you look at it). Measuring at 35 mm – versus the 31 mm reference 96 – the 570 is the slightly larger and more modern vintage Calatrava, making it incredibly desirable. The yellow gold version we have here is in great condition and is a quintessential dress watch. Here are the deets. 

A 1970s Rolex Sea-Dweller Reference 1665

Ah, the Rolex Sea-Dweller, AKA the glorified Submariner. You can't beat this diving watch, with its depth rating of 2000 feet (610 meters) and the crystal without a magnified date aperture. However, the coolest part about this example is the Mark 2 "rail dial" with extended minute indexes, just like the coveted Comex version. If you want to find out more, click here. 

Wait, there's more!

In addition to the three watches above, we have some other exciting pieces including: a 1950s Helbros Chronograph; a 1950s Longines Conquest in steel; a 1950s Movado Chronograph in yellow gold; a 1960s Chronosport Computergraph with original box and manual; a 1960s Omega Constellation with original box and papers; a 1970 two-tone Rolex GMT-Master reference 1675 with "root beer" dial (which is the subject of our latest Shop Journal in-depth article) and a 1970s Breitling Navitimer reference 7806 with original user manual.

For the full selection, click here. 

The Overseas line's revamp was the biggest news from Vacheron Constantin at SIHH, but just last April VC announced an addition to the Quai de l'Île family that made a surprisingly big splash: a steel Quai de l'Île watch (the first in the Quai de l'Île collection) with Vacheron's own in-house caliber 5100, at a relatively (by Vacheron standards) approachable price: $14,900. The acid test for any entry level watch from a company with Vacheron's reputation, of course, is whether or not it feels like an entry level timepiece, and of course, it shouldn't – ideally, what you want from companies like Vacheron, Lange, AP and Patek is that there should be the same level of attention to detail paid to their least complex, least expensive watches as to their highest priced high complication. The entry level is a far better test of the fundamental integrity of a watch brand, in some respects, than its higher end offerings.

As we discussed in our launch coverage of the all-steel Quai de l'Île, the collection was first launched in 2008 (a perilous time to launch anything, especially a risky new collection of luxury watches) and there were a couple of talking points when they first came out.  These were, primarily, the modularity of the collection (you could mix and match different components to produce a highly personalized final product) as well as the use of anti-counterfeiting techniques borrowed from the currency printing industry.  Today, the Quai de l'Île family is still one of the very few places you can get a wide range of highly customizable options in a luxury wristwatch (if you haven't ever played with the customization tool on Vacheron's website, you should – certainly one of the more enjoyable ways to window shop for a watch) but with the addition of the latest model, reference 4500S, you can also get a watch that emphasizes presentation of the case design, rather than interchangeability per se.

It's a pleasure to be able to say that the case design, in stainless steel, really stands on its own.  Without the transitions from one material to the next that you can see in the other customizable Quai de l'Île models, you can see the the case design in a more integrated fashion, and its Deco lines and use of stainless steel make it look like something the founder of, say, a particularly ambitious iconoclastic young architect in a booming post-war economy might have worn (or maybe the founder of a utopian underwater city in a fictional alternate universe, if you prefer Andrew Ryan to Howard Roark).  It's got a combination of unified, harmonious design and an air of almost egalitarian utility that's very hard to find elsewhere – generally, emphasis on the latter is at least to some extent at the expense of the former, and I almost feel as if the clarity of the Quai de l'Île case design is actually easier to see without the interchangeability of different materials obscuring it.

Fit and finish in the steelwork of the case is very good as well; this is the kind of watch that can look very different depending on how the light hits it, which gives it an almost jewel-like shimmer.  It's always great to see the aesthetic qualities of steel celebrated along with its practical qualities, and again, that's hard enough to do that when it's done well you often get very memorable (Royal Oak, Nautilus) watches.

The dial is available in either silver or black opaline; as usual you get a bit more formality from the white, and a bit more versatility from the black; the white dial version we have offers an interesting sense of depth, and it's kept from seeming too stark by the date ring, which is an insert of mineral glass that adds some necessary textural variety as well.  For anyone who's ever felt that the simple date complication is carried out, too often, in a perfunctory way, it'll be a pleasure to see it better integrated into the design of a watch as a whole.  I've always found exposing the entire date wheel a little cheesy, but in this case it's not the ring carrying the number that turns, but the small white pointer at its periphery, which travels around the dial once a month.

The view through the back is, well, terrific.  This is Vacheron's in-house automatic caliber 5100 and it's the same, Geneva Hallmark-qualifying movement you find in the new Overseas reference 4500V steel model, introduced along with the rest of the collection refresh last January. The only difference is the use of a different material for the rotor in the new Quai de l'Île; tungsten, whose mass makes it a great material for a winding rotor (and the industrial grey glitter of the metal is a great fit for the retro-industrial chic design overall).  

To me this is a great example of how to do entry level high end watchmaking right.  The movement is absolutely to the standard you'd expect from Vacheron and what you'd expect from a Geneva Hallmarked movement; the case design and case finish make a great, seamless continuum with the dial design and execution.  Most of all, it's a watch that a normal, reasonably successful person looking for a great, luxury level watch you can wear every day for the rest of your life, get serviced periodically, and get a small but definite kick out of whenever you check the time or put it on in the morning, can go out and buy without worrying it's going to be a cause of regret later on.   It's got character and quality, it's made by a company with some of the most interesting history in the business, and best of all, you don't feel like you are wearing a consolation prize when you put it on – you feel like you're wearing a Vacheron Constantin.

The Vacheron Constantin Quai de l'Île in steel, reference 4500S: dial, silver toned or black. 18k gold hour and minute hands Movement, in house Geneva Hallmarked Vacheron Constantin self-winding caliber 5100/1; 30.60mm x 4.70mm; 60 hour power reserve; 28,800 vph running in 37 jewels; hours, minutes, center seconds, date.  Case, 41mm x 11.75mm, water resistance 3 bar/30 meters.  Brown alligator strap with triple folding Maltese Cross steel clasp.  Price, $14,900. See the entire collection from Vacheron here.

Further reading: check out our hands-on coverage of the new entry level Saxonia Thin from A. Lange & Söhne (with almost identical pricing to the Vacheron 4500S) as well as our Week On The Wrist with the Vacheron Overseas Ultra Thin.

It's a little redundant to say Rolex does anything secretly, since for many years, many of us thought that the entire Rolex Public Relations Department might easily consist of a single bored functionary in a windowless room in central Geneva, with a single well-worn rubber stamp that read, "No Comment." (In all fairness in recent years, Rolex has become far more forthcoming and even (rarely) invites press behind closed doors to view its manufacturing facilities). Still, the decades of reticence mean there are many fascinating historical tidbits remaining to be discovered, and this is one of them.

The fascinating story of the 147-year-old tower clock in the English Church of the Holy Trinity, situated just back from the hustle and bustle of the Rue du Mont Blanc, comes to us via Watch Around Magazine and horological writer Alan Downing (whose writing as Watchbore, on Timezone.com, many of us remember fondly).  The mystery began with his curiosity about the clock, and enquiries to the church secretary, who after some time finally remembered, "A man from Rolex comes to wind the clock every Wednesday morning."

As great as the temptation is to quote extensively from Mr. Downing's story, I'll resist the tempation and not ruin it for you; check out the rest of this very interesting story here (pdf).  

Check out HODINKEE's own trip Inside Rolex, inside all four Rolex production facilities.

In the years just after the Second World War, the market for American-made wristwatches was extremely competitive and makers like Elgin, Bulova, and Hamilton were in a race to develop more technically sophisticated watches that would appeal to consumers. One of the sharpest races was to develop a watch powered by a battery rather than by a conventional mainspring, and what you're looking at is the winner: the Hamilton Electric 500. Though Hamilton was the very first to offer a battery powered watch to consumers, it was a victory that came at a significant cost, in the end.

The first electric clocks go back quite a long way; in 1814, Sir Francis Ronalds invented the very first (which is pretty amazing when you consider that Breguet had patented the tourbillon only thirteen years earlier). There were two problems that had to be overcome to make a battery powered wristwatch, though: the first was coming up with an oscillator system using electrical current that would work in a wristwatch, and the second was coming up with a battery small enough to fit in a watch case. The two problems are related, of course; whatever system you use has to be efficient enough to not drain a reasonably sized battery. Engineers at Hamilton began work on the problem in 1947, when Arthur Filllinger created Hamilton's first electric movement. However, the first working model was made by Fred Koehler, in 1951, which was to form the basis for the eventual development of the Model 500 movement. Credit is usually given to Hamilton's Chief Physicist at the time, John Van Horn, and his teammates, physicist Phillip Biemiller and Master Technician James H. Reese.

The Model 500 movement made use of a battery that was co-developed by Hamilton, and the National Carbon Company (which later became Union Carbide) which agreed to work with them after over 40 other battery makers turned them down. The battery was designed to be leakproof and provide very constant voltage. Hamilton at one point toyed with the idea of making the battery themselves to reduce costs, as well as free them from reliance on a single supplier, but as it turned out manufacturing the battery to scale made it affordable, and they abandoned the idea of getting into the battery business. 

In the Model 500 movement, there's no mainspring – the power to move the gears and hands comes from the movement of the large balance wheel, which indexes the gears as it swings. The Model 500 is a so-called "moving coil" electric watch – if you notice, one side of the balance looks more or less normal, with balance screws; the other side has a large wire coil mounted on it. The coil is an electromagnet.  Below the balance, set into the plate, are two disk-shaped permanent magnets. As the balance swings, the coil enters the gap between the two magnets, and one of the two very thin wire springs you can see passing below the balance feeds a short trickle of current to the coil, via a contact on the hub of the balance.

The induced magnetic field in the coil interacts with the fields of the permanent magnets, which keeps it swinging. The balance spring is made of non-magnetic alloy, but Hamilton's engineers still had to go to considerable pains to keep magnetic field leakage to a minimum, requiring them to develop their own proprietary formula for a platinum and cobalt battery (without infringing on a prior patent by General Electric, which took some doing). The second of the two long, thin springs is actually a "trip" spring, which is tripped by a jewel on the hub of the balance, and which acts to break the electrical contact between the current-carrying spring. This cuts off the magnetic field in the coil and the balance is free to swing through its full arc.

Hamilton, unfortunately, rushed the watch into production, opting to release it on January 3, 1957, at a press luncheon at the Savoy Plaza Hotel that was attended by over 120 journalists. The watch was initially offered in solid gold, and cost $175. Advertising proudly described the watch as "the first basic improvement in 477 years of watchmaking history" (taking as the starting date Peter Henlein's supposed "invention" of the watch in 1480, a notion long since discredited). Hamilton's electric movements found their way into a number of watches, including the Richard Arbib-designed Ventura and Pacer watches.

However the first models proved temperamental and moreover, watchmakers and jewelers were reluctant to sell them because they were unfamiliar with proper repair procedures. Hamilton compounded the problem by recommending that any and all service work should be handled by sending the watch back to the factory. Among the serious problems plaguing the Electrics in practice was the fact that the contact point on the balance hub was prone to corrosion and even the most minute amount would stop the watch.

A major nail in the coffin for the Hamilton Electrics was the introduction by Bulova, in 1960, of the battery powered tuning-fork Accutron. Unlike Hamilton, Bulova supported its product with extensive service staff training from the outset. Of course, the Accutron, like the Electric, would itself turn out to be a dead end when, in 1969, Seiko introduced the quartz Astron, which marked the beginning of an era when timekeeping would, for the first time in history, become truly ubiquitously accurate. As much as the Hamilton Electric (production of which finally ceased in 1969) was ultimately a failure, it was still a piece of incredibly ingenious engineering and to this day, they have their fans – among collectors, if not watchmakers.

Thanks to Aaron Berlow, who provided the movement and photographs of the Hamilton Electric used in this article (follow ambwatches on Instagram).

Much of the information in this story is from The Watch Of The Future: The Story Of the Hamilton Electric Watch, by René Rondeau. Highly recommended; the standard reference for Hamilton Electric collectors and enthusiasts.

Raymond Weil has always been something of an underdog, right from the beginning. Founder Raymond Weil started the company in Switzerland, in 1976, which is pretty much when the Quartz Crisis really started to hurt the industry, and you wouldn't have given it very good odds on surviving more than four years, let alone 40. Yet here they are in the Year Of Our Lord 2016, not only in business, but with a new high profile partnership with Apple Records, a quite large range of watches (not all of which are hits, but a surprising number of which are rather appealing) and a price point that puts a variety of timepieces within easy reach for just about anybody. On top of all that, they've somehow, whether through good luck or good management or both, managed to remain family-owned and independent. (In fact, they're in the hands of the original founding family; the current CEO, Elie Bernheim, is Raymond Weil's grandson.)

The Freelancer Collection has been around since 2007, and I think this is probably the most attractive member of the family I've seen so far. This particular version (there are a total of 23 Freelancer models in current production, both time-only and chronograph) is a 3 register chronograph with date. The movement is a Valjoux 7753, with an additional pusher at 10:00 for quick setting the date.  The dimensions are pretty much what you'd expect: 43.5 mm x 13.7 mm, which is to say a little on the big side but not in manhole-cover territory.

The single biggest problem with designing an automatic chronograph in this price range is that you don't have a ton of options when it comes to making it stand out from the rest of the pack – in other words, most of them look like they were designed with economy in mind, which is not the kind of thing that exactly makes your heart do that little skip of pride you want it to do when you look at your wristwatch.  The nice thing about this particular version of the Freelancer chronograph is that it's a little triumph over the weight of a limited design palette. There's an almost irresistible desire on the part of designers in this price point to try to jazz things up, for lack of a better word and thankfully, in the Freelancer chronograph Raymond Weil's managed to resist the temptation. You've got a clearly readable design; there's no nonsense about monkeying with the shape of the crown or pushers to make them seem, you know, "sporty" and the circular engraving on the dial manages to add texture without seeming like a slapped-on afterthought.

And, of course, there's the panda dial, which along with the generally laid-back feel of the rest of the watch gives the the whole thing a nice retro vibe without seeming pushy about it.  This is the sort of watch design there used to be a lot more of – solid mechanics, good looks without unecessary histrionics and above all a price that let you enjoy the darn thing without making buying a watch seem like an exercise in high-risk long-term investing (or short term, if you're an habitual flipper).

No, it won't stir you to your deepest depths with the orchestral sweep of, say, a Vacheron Cornes de Vache, but there's nothing wrong with a piece of fun popular music with a catchy riff, either (just ask the Beatles). A very nicely made, vintage-leaning panda dial automatic chronograph that asks for (relatively) little and gives a lot.

The Raymond Weil Freelancer chronograph: case, stainless steel, 43.5 mm x 13.7 mm; water resistance 100 meters; sapphire crystal with double antireflective coating; screw-down crown.  Movement, Valjoux 7753, three register chronograph with date; quickset pusher at 10:00; 46-hour power reserve. View the Freelancer collection here.