Watch This!

Ponzi watch collector watches his collection disappear

2011-07-19T09:33:00.000-05:00

Infamous South Florida ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein apparently had exquisite taste in jewelry. He currently resides in the federal penitentiary system, but many of his beloved fine watches have found themselves new homes as of this past Wednesday.

His white gold Audemars Piaget sold for $77,500, and later in the afternoon a new auction high was set on his limited edition Concord – garnering $100,000 in revenue to be used towards the reimbursement of those he swindled.

There were some outstanding examples of horological craftsmanship on display at the auction including pieces by Franck Muller, Patek Phillipe, and Roger Dubuis. Word has it that a few of inmate Rothstein's prized timepieces will find their way to the Gray and Sons Bal Harbour showroom very soon.

Buying Diamonds Online

2010-03-12T13:57:00.002-05:00

PICKING A DIAMOND
The first step anyone should take when buying diamonds is educating themselves on diamonds. Knowing about diamonds and what to look for will make it easier for you to pick out the best diamond for your taste and your budget. Take a look at our Diamond Education page to get a crash course in diamonds.

Decide what type of diamond you want: the carat size, cut, color, and clarity. You might also want to think about shape.

WHY BUY DIAMONDS FROM ESTATE JEWELERS
There are many advantages when buying from estate jewelers. Normally, diamond buyers have to buy rough diamonds from places like Africa. They have to spend money getting the diamonds cut, polished, possibly certifying them. They end up selling their end product high above cost.

Estate jewelers operate differently. We buy diamonds from the public, mounted and loose, already cut and polished. Estate jewelers, like Gray & Sons, take the diamonds and jewelry and fix any problems in-house with our own jewelers and gemologist. If they need to be certified, we send them out to GIA. There is no middle man involved. This makes it possible for us to sell our jewelry and diamonds at a much lower costs than other retailers do.

BUYING DIAMONDS FROM GRAY & SONS
You can shop online and through the phone with the peace of mind that Gray & Sons provides! We’ve been in business for 30 years and are accredited by the Better Business Bureau with an A+ rating. All our diamonds are certified. We have a 10 day, no questions asked, return policy so you can be absolutely sure it’s the PERFECT diamond for you.

ALL the diamonds we own are in-stock and ready for pick-up or delivery. We examine ALL our diamonds by our in-house gemologist, and we offer our diamonds to you as we would to our own family!

CARING FOR YOUR DIAMOND & DIAMOND JEWELRY
You should also be aware of how to care for your diamonds after your purchase. You should always make sure that your jewelry is separated. Not only can your diamond be scratched by another diamond, but your diamond can scratch other stones and metals. You should have your diamond professionally cleaned a couple times a year, but in between these you can clean your diamond with mild detergent and water, rinse off with fresh water, and dry it with your complimentary Gray & Sons polishing cloth provided with every purchase. Never clean around the sink, but if you must, make sure the plug is in!

Patek Philippe's Polish history

2010-01-18T12:46:00.001-05:00

Thinking of buying a new watch for a family member? Well, everyone knows that the best watches are Swiss watches, particularly a Patek Philippe. However, the question remains: just how Swiss are these watches? The truth is that Switzerland's watchmaking fame is largely due to the work of Polish patriots that were forced to emigrate from Russian-occupied Poland after the failed November Uprising of 1830-1. The most prominent of these émigrés was Antoni Patek who distinguished himself in the rebellion and received the Virtuti Militari Golden Cross (highest Polish military honor). Afterwards, he settled in Switzerland and started his watchmaking business with Franciszek Czapek, establishing Patek, Czapek & Co. in 1839. In 1861, the company name changed to the world famous Patek Philippe Company. The Poles revolutionized watchmaking by combining beauty with precision and expanding their business on an international scale. At the same time, loyal to their homeland, Patek and the other Poles made sure that people knew that these were Polish watches by decorating them with images from Polish history as well as portraits of Polish national heroes such as Tadeusz Kosciuszko and Prince Jozef Poniatowski. In 1867, the company presented the first wristwatch. From the very beginning to this day, Patek Philippe watches have been considered the best in the world. Thus the pride of Switzerland should more fittingly be the pride of Poles.

Luxury watches winding down their production as sales slow

2009-12-23T21:16:00.004-05:00

With so many cooperations feeling the pinch of the recession this year fewer top executives are receiving their typical large end of year bonuses. Without the bonuses, these executives have less disposable income to spend on high end timepieces.

Swiss watchmakers had hoped recession-weary holiday shoppers would regain some of their taste for self-indulgence, giving the luxury-watch business its first spark of life since the financial crisis set in. But it may take the return of big bank bonuses, possibly early next year, to produce any significant uptick in sales of Rolexes, Patek Philippes and Piagets.

In recent years, the banking industry's bonus payments to top employees helped fuel a global splurge on luxury goods, including handcrafted watches priced at thousands of dollars.

But those payouts, which can total hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars—fell substantially over the past year as banks struggled with soured investments and tight credit conditions, leaving Swiss watches among
the hardest-hit luxury items.

During the boom, the industry, which has annual revenue of roughly 17 billion Swiss francs ($16.4 billion), ramped up production, and retailers loaded up on classic brands, as well as flashy new names, only to be caught out when sales plummeted.

The result is the toughest market for Swiss watchmakers since the 1970s, when cheap Japanese quartz watches threatened their franchise. Swiss watch exports in November were down 11% from a year earlier at 1.4 billion Swiss francs, an improvement from their 23% decline in October. While consumers in Asia, particularly China, are still hungry for luxury timepieces, Switzerland's November watch exports to the U.S. fell 21%, and were down 40% for the year through November.

Sales of Rolex watches, the powerhouse of Swiss watchmaking, probably will fall to about $3 billion this year from around $4 billion at the peak of the boom, according to Jon Cox, analyst with Kepler Capital Markets. Rolex, owned by a Swiss foundation, doesn't release sales or profit figures.

Watch dealers are seeing some pickup in the Christmas market. "It's definitely better than last year," says Mark Udell, owner of London Jeweler in Manhasset, N.Y., "although I don't want to get overly positive yet."Mr. Udell says the watches that are doing well this season are sporty models, such as Rolex's Daytona, or those with multiple features like delicately configured dials that track phases of the moon or the tides.

"The spirit seems a bit stronger [this year]," he adds,Many watch dealers have higher hopes for January, when banks are expected to pay their first bonuses for 2009 performance. Industry watchers say that while Swiss luxury watches given as Christmas gifts tend to have price tags of thousands of dollars, bonus recipients are more likely than Christmas shoppers to splurge on the highest-end timepieces that cost $100,000 or more.

There are limits, however, to how much bank bonuses can boost the market.

Banks around the world are generally under pressure from their regulators to defer large chunks of their bonuses and to pay much of them in equity, rather than cash. It isn't clear how much that will leave for watch splurges.

On top of a sharp drop in demand, Swiss watchmakers have been struggling with other pressures, including high costs, particularly for personnel. Big brands typically take two to four years to train skilled craftsmen before they let them hand-assemble the hundreds of components that go into a luxury watch, and so are reluctant to lay them off during a down turn. As a result, their profits have plunged.

At the same time, the strength of the Swiss franc and rising gold prices have forced brands to raise prices, particularly in dollar-denominated markets. This fall, privately held Parmigiani Fleurier and Audemars Piguet both raised the suggested retail prices of their brands by about 10% for the U.S. market, dealers say. Audemar Piguet declined to comment.

Operating profit margins at the watch division of Compagnie Financière Richemont SA, maker of the Cartier brand, are likely to fall sharply to 14% next year from 27% last year, according to UBS Equity Research.

In response to falling margins, Cartier put some of its workers on a short workweek this year, while independent watchmaker Franck Muller announced it would roughly halve its staff, cutting 200 jobs.

More info here

Do you think the luxury watch industry will see some casualties at the end of 2010? If any watch maker does go out of business this will make their exisiting timepieces even more valuable.

"Tag Heuer" brand unaffected by Tiger Woods

2009-12-18T21:29:00.023-05:00

Tiger Woods sponsors are still rethinking their long term association with the golfing great, but the reeling golf great’s mug still looms large in Boston, where the luxury Swiss watches he’s touting remain big sellers. In fact, Tag Heuer watches may even be getting more attention from the extra publicity.

A massive, thoughtful Tiger Woods sporting a pricey Tag Heuer watch is splashed across a Clear Channel billboard along Interstate 93 just south of the Hub. The ad asks “What are you made of?”

Despite the tales of his personal life that have tarnished the once-squeaky clean “Athlete of the Decade,” Toodies owner Howie Jacobs said the billboard has been a boon for
business, and Tag Heuer is his No. 1 selling watch.

Jacobs said he hasn’t gotten any complaints about the billboard ad - which is paid for by the Swiss watchmaker - and he’s still selling lots of the luxury watches. “Tag Heuer is my No. 1 selling watch. Business is fantastic here,” Jacobs said. “There’s been no problems. If anything, I’ve been getting more publicity because people are looking at it.”

Some of his customers have had a good chuckle. “I don’t care. It’s great business,” Jacobs said.

Jacobs said the billboard ad has been up for a month and may stay up until the end of January. Clear Channel reps couldn’t provide any information on the ad campaign yesterday and whether similar Woods billboards are on display in the Bay State.

A Tag Heuer spokesperson didn’t respond for comment but the company has yanked Woods’ ads from stores in Australia and said this week it is assessing its relationship with the billionare golfer. The watches range in price from just under $1,000 to several thousand dollars.

Craig Rottenberg, president of Long’s Jewelers, said, “The power of the brand transcends Tiger Woods. We haven’t really seen, so far this Christmas, any dropoff in the brand because of the Tiger Woods scandal.”

Rottenberg did replace the Woods ads in his stores with another one from Tag Heuer. “We did not want to have his image up while the scandal was unfolding,” he said.

Added Jack Winer, manager of Lux Bond & Green in Boston: “Christmas sales of Tag Heuer are doing really well."

Do you think long term this really affect any of Tiger Woods sponsorships? Do you think the extra publicity may have some sponsors paying more for him?

Read more here.

Auctions work well for premium timepieces in a down economy

2009-12-12T21:48:00.018-05:00

It's not just eBay that attempts to sell luxury items to the highest bidder. Many other auction houses still run auctions the old fashioned way. In fact, were any of the watches in your personal collection acquired through an auction like the one mentioned below?

Following recently successful auctions of fine and rare watches in Dubai, Geneva and Hong Kong, Christie’s New York will present a selection of over 380 fine and rare timepieces for auction on Tuesday, December 15. Vintage and modern wristwatches from major manufacturers as well as pocket watches, fine ladies watches, and rare signed clocks will be highlighted. Prices for the timepieces begin at $700 and range upwards to $350,000 for the most important signed timepieces.

The total sale is expected to achieve in excess of $4 million. Sam Hines, Head of Watches at Christie’s New York comments, “As our recent sales have demonstrated, demand for high quality timepieces continues to expand globally, as we welcome new collectors into this field.”

Among the top lots of the sale is a selection of Patek Philippe minute repeating wristwatches – a highly covered complication among devoted collectors of fine wristwatches.

The watches include a platinum minute repeating tourbillion wristwatch estimated to be from $350,000 to 550,000, a signed 18k gold minute repeating watch estimated to be between $280,000 to 350,000 and a signed platinum minute repeating watch with a handsome enamel dial coming at a price between $250,000 to $350,000. Also featured is the Cartier retailed Audemars Piguet wristwatch estimated to be between $120,000to 180,000.

Leading the broad selection of over 200 modern signed watches from top houses is a sleek platinum Girard-Perregaux, a fine and rare oversized tourbillion hour striking watch with a pink golden bridge visible though the aperture approximately priced between $100,000 to 150,000; a curved tonneau-shaped Richard Mille, a 18k pink gold tourbillion watch with a skeletonized dial estimated to be between $80,000 to $120,000; a very rare Franck Muller, the “Consquistador” model in 18K white gold and estimated to be between $80,000 to 120,000: and a Patek Phillipe with the rare and highly sought after black dial and white gold baton numerals costing between $80,000 and $120,000.

Havee you ever participated in a live auction for one of your timepieces? What was the best part of the experience? What could have been better?

Why are luxury watches so expensive?

2009-11-29T15:17:00.054-05:00

I was reading an article over at Forbes the other day and wanted to share some of the information they wrote up. It delas with the difference between a a watch that costs a couple hundrend dollars vs a watch that costs tens of thousands of dollars.

Most of the price of these watches deals with the hand finishing.

An appreciation of finishing is an insider passion even today. But a basic understanding of it can give the nonfanatic a new perspective on the price-value relationship of timepieces. Here are key points to remember.

Robotics have lowered the cost significantly for all luxury watches - A modern CNC cutter or spark- erosion machine can turn out parts that without further finishing can be assembled into high-precision micromachines. The 'bots make possible entry-level mechanical watches from Swatch, Seiko, Citizen, Orient, and Timex of a precision that would have been impossible at such a price point (often less than $500) a few decades ago.

Your watch is not more accurate from more finishing - Top-grade hand-finishing is really the connoisseur's delight--beauty in the eye of the beholder who knows how to recognize it.

Quality of finish and price tag don't always match - If a particular model becomes a collectors' darling (like the stainless steel Rolex Daytona chronograph), or if a brand is just plain hot, price follows suit, even if the watch has little or no hand-finishing.

Precious metals and gemstones (like diamonds) can quickly up the price - A machine-finished watch with one or both can cost more than one that is hand-finished. Rarity and peculiarities can make a watch expensive regardless of finishing.

Absent those factors, higher price means more finishing. A $12,000 watch, as a rule, has more hand-finishing than a $8,000 one.

At the high end, it's the finisseur. His painstaking work & skill bestows a pedigree price. A $1,000 chronograph with industrial finishing becomes a $25,000 one with hand-finishing.

Above that, complication comes into play. At the very high end, it drives price as much as finishing.

Finally, finishing is a three-tiered cake: basic (robot), machine, and hand.

Basic Finish - Mechanical watches that sell for less than $1,000 compose the base. They have little or no finish beyond that produced by the robots that manufacture the movement.
Machine Finish - ($1,000–$12,000) are mechanical models with varying degrees of machine-executed decorative finish: attractive beveling, blued-finish screws, gleaming countersinks, and engraving. Watches at the upper end of this layer also have some hand-finishing.
Hand Finishing ($12,000 and up) in the top tier starts to predominate. North of $20,000, you're getting the full-on haute treatment, horology's equivalent of haute couture. A premium-grade movement like Vacheron's caliber 1400, the caliber 215 from Patek, or the caliber 3120 automatic from Audemars Piguet, is a singular object: The hand-finishing means no two are exactly alike.

One of the top watch finisseurs in the world is Maik Pfeiffer, the gentleman who finishes Lange watches. He actually used modified dentals tools to hand finish watches at Lange. See a picture of him below at work.

We understand why people ask, "Why is a top-notch timepiece so expensive". But when you multiply the number of hours it takes to hand-finish just one part--more than half a day in some cases--by the number of components in the movement (easily 115 pieces in a Rolex watch) and then by the number of years it takes to learn how to finish a piece of metal the size of a fly antenna, it's easier to see how the price starts to add up. It's the hundreds of hours of niche expert human labor concentrated in a small universe on your wrist.

Read the original article here at Forbes.

Octavia Garcia, the artistic genuis behind Audemars Piguet

2009-11-23T21:48:00.000-05:00

The making of a legend. Where did this guy come from?

Educated in Switzerland, where he attended a school specializing in industrial design, Octavio Garcia familiarized himself with the craft principles and discovered the watch industry. Graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Industrial Design, his intuitiveness led him fiirst to Omega, and he designed the entire collection--including the Constellation, Speed Master, and Sea Master. Additionally, Garcia worked for Swatch and its subsidiaries. Such opportunities afforded Garcia with important positions at the world's finest watchmakers.

The beginning of this artistic craftsmanship began with an architectural muse in the early urban industrial architecture of Chicago. Octavio became more interested in architecture and began his course in the arts. During his studies, Garcia met his wife, a citizen of Switzerland, and visited the country he now resides in.

Octavio Garcia, the design director of Audemars Piguet, is now a pillar in the luxury watch design industry. In a less than a year, Octavio Garcia has become one of two designers developing contemporary, neo-industrial concepts for Audemars Piguet, the only family-operated, watch-making manufacturer that prides itself on tradition. Of the company, Garcia states, "It is the only high-end company that experiments with new ideas." Involved with the design of the entire Piguet collection, Garcia focuses on the creation of the watch head, dial, and bracelet.. Upon taking over the creative mantle at Audemars Piguet, his first acts were to:

contemporize the brand’s classic collection, evinced by his updated Jules Audemars Equation of Time watch
unveil sleekly menacing, relentlessly modern watches

This first happened with the Juan Pablo Montoya Royal Oak Offshore watch that would come to define a large part of Audemars Piguet's contemporary brand equity as well as the prevailing creative substance of this era. The Royal Oak watch was named after a trio of warships christened Royal Oak, after the legendary Royal Oak (a hollowed out tree which offered King Charles II a safe hiding place from his pursuers) lent their distinctive name in 1972 to the luxury sports watch, Royal Oak. When examining the simple, yet refined stainless steel case, the face accented with dark blue, black, or silver, and a robber or Velcro fastening, the design elements incorporated by Garcia into this classically fashioned timepiece is indisputable. "It is a landmark. Essentially, we elevated the design. A soft re-style with a reflection of us with contemporary proportions. This was done to keep the soul of this landmark piece."

Garcia’s Montoya was the first timepiece to take functional elements from F-1 cars and introduce them as aesthetic flourishes in his watch. While this has become de rigueur today, at the time, it was verging on Dadaist subversion. It was at Audemars Piguet — the manufacture famously associated with audacity — that Garcia flourished and distilled his singular brand of design magic. In 2006, he completely recreated the once-staid Millenary case into a palace of three-dimensional architecture. Together with his key collaborator Philippe Vaptzarof, he’s overseen some of the modern era’s most sought-after watches, including the Rubens Barrichello Offshore, the Maserati MC-12 inspired Millenary MC-12 Tourbillon Chronograph, the forged carbon fiber Alinghi Team, 2007’s drop dead gorgeous Millenary watch with deadbeat seconds, and much more.

Who do you think is the greatest living watch designer in the world?

Criminal found his niche by only stealing Rolex watches

2009-11-19T18:13:00.037-05:00

This local story caight my attention. It seems that this Miami, FL thief was so proud of how he made a "living" that he even tatooed the Rolex logo on his forearm. Even after spending nearly 2 decades in prison for stealing these luxury watches, he returned to his trade as soon as he was released from prison.

A Florida thief with a peculiar penchant for Rolex watches faces up to 25 years in prison. Leonardo Perez has pleaded guilty to charges he stole eight gold Rolex Presidential edition watches, each worth $50,000, over four months in 2007. The crime spree began just after Perez finished a 17-year sentence for stealing Rolexes in South Florida.

The 36-year-old Miami native is so loyal he even has the Rolex logo tattooed on a forearm. He used his eagle eyesight to assist with his crimes. Investigators say he's been able to glimpse and follow drivers wearing the watch from the other side of the road. He primarily found victims out shopping, followed them home and robbed them at gunpoint.

He is still awaiting trial. Of course, having a 5 point crown tattoo is not a good idea to have tattooed on you anyway, especially in jail. Their is a gang called "People Nation" that also uses the 5 point crown to symbolize their affiliation.

In closing, our advice for all those wearing Rolex watches is to make sure nobody follows you down your driveway at your home. Of course, we always should be aware of our surroundings anywere we go when we have a $50,000 watch on your wrist. What do you do to prevent your luxury watch from being stolen when traveling?

A Rolex watch that doubles as a cellphone, mp3 & movie player

2009-11-12T22:38:00.003-05:00

OK, I don't think that Rolex or Omega would ever come out with a watch that can double as a cellphone (except in a James Bond movie) but LG has and it looks to up the stakes again.

Most watch enthusiasts remember when the LG GD910 watch cellphone was first seen at the January Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in 2009. We expected great things and were overall impressed with the phone's specs. Of course once we had the phone, it didn't quite live up to it's hype. The new rumour is that LG is coming out with an update of the phone for the beginning of 2010 and should add some bold new colors and fix some of the problems customers have compained about:

- 80MB storage is really small
- backlight goes to low power mode when not in use so you can't read the watch in daylight
- No Internet Browser
- No live preview of what you are taking a photo of

Here's a quick rundown of what the watch has currently:

A VGA camera with 640 x 480 resolution (pretty much equal to a $10 Chinese digital camera). But it does provide the ability to make and receive video calls

The watch phone comes with a 1.4 inch TFT display touch screen which displays 256,000 colours at a pixel size of 128 x 160 pixels. The screen doubles up as the watch face as well as the display screen for all the enclosed functionality, which is accessed by using the flash user interface provided.

This is big for a watch face but really small for a video screen. If you want to pull having nice video with a watch you need a built in LCD projector or an adaptor to your video projection sunglasses for the 2012 model ;-).

It also provides text to speech capabilites (easier for texting than trying to ype on this thing) and an mp3 player.

This phone will likely not appeal to your typical luxury watch enthusiast. It lacks the style and distinction we look for in a watch. This is more suited for the ultra techno geek than a man wearing his Armani Suit and his custom Italian leather shoes.

I don't see Rolex ever coming out with a cellphone watch, ever. But what technological improvements could Rolex, Cartier, or Bvlgari make that would make you want one more? Any?

Herre's a great video faeturing the cellphone watch.

Men's luxury skeleton wrist watches - Pros & Cons

2009-10-30T17:24:00.000-05:00

What exactly is a skeleton watch? Is it made up of the bones of animals? Are they only seen during the week of Halloween? Not exactly..these types of watches usually are encased in some type of transparent material that allows you to see the inner mechanisms of the watch working. Typically it is part of the face that can be seen ticking, sometimes it's the sides or back of the watch.

Pros - You get to enjoy watching the spectacular inner workings of a watch in motion.

Cons - If the skeleton watch face shows working gears behind it, it can occasionally be a little bit more difficult to tell the time. Some of the faces have extremely small numbers or are complicated to tell time. If you buy a cheap Chinese knockoff skeleton watch you should only expect it to last a few months (maybe a year or two). They typically will stop working after a short time.

The most expensive made skeleton watch is the the Skeleton Central Tourbillon from Omega according to the Watch Report. This watch is no exception from the well-known watches from Omega. The Skeleton Central has impressed with its 800 separate parts, each of them being hand-made, and with the placement of the tourbillon right in the center of the face. This watch is available for anyone being willing to pay $282,500 for it. We currently don't have any of these but are more than happy to help you sell it.

Here are some great examples of premium skeleton watches available at a discounted price for a limited time from Gray & Sons. Let us know in the comments which watches you like best and why?

Gents Chronoswiss Opus in stainless steel. Auto w/ subseconds, date and chronograph. With box and papers. Ref CH 7523. Est. Retail $12,950 ~~G&S: $6,350~~ Special: $5,720	Cvstos Challenge QP-S C QPS SYR in stainless steel on a rubber strap. Auto w/ date, day, month, moonphase and perpetual calendar. Box and papers. Limited edition of 50 pieces. Est. Retail $27,600 ~~G&S: $17,940~~ Special: $15,640	Zenith Chronomaster Baroque in 18k yellow gold. Skeletonized dial and automatic movement under glass w/ subseconds, date, day, month, moonphase and chronograph. Complete with box and booklets. Est. Retail $47,000 ~~G&S: $29,500~~ Special: $27,900
Hautlence HLO in 18k pink gold on leather strap. Manual w/ retrograde minutes, subseconds and date. Partially skeletonized. With box & papers. Est. Retail $49,000 ~~G&S: $32,400~~ Special: $29,540	Corum Perpetual Calendar Skeleton in platinum on leather strap, with 18k white gold deployant buckle. Auto w/ moonphase and perpetual calendar. With original papers & Kubic watchwinding box. Est. Retail $69,000 ~~G&S: $37,950~~ Special: $35,970	Breguet La Tradition in 18k on leather strap. Incredible skeleton dial. Manual w/ power reserve. With box and papers. Ref 7027. Est. Retail $24,000 ~~G&S: $15,440~~ Special: $14,840
Rare Pierre Kunz Spirit Of Challenge Ref.# G403 in black steel & rubber. Auto w/ sweep seconds, chronograph and day night. Box and papers. Limited edition of 250 pieces. Est. Retail $21,800 ~~G&S: $14,170~~ Special: $13,320	Limited edition Swatch Tresor Magique in platinum on leather strap. Auto. Complete with box and papers. ~~G&S: $2,700~~ Special: $2,350	Chronoswiss Opus Ref.# CH 7522 R in 18k pink gold & stainless steel on a black leather strap. Auto w/ subseconds and chronograph. Box and papers. Est. Retail $12,500 ~~G&S: $8,125~~ Special: $7,300

It's a Rolex watch, of course the family would notice if a Doctor took it

2009-10-21T19:28:00.001-05:00

Next time you have a medical emergency we suggest you remember to take off that Rolex watch even if it's used, even while under cardiac arrest. I was reading recently about a man out in California who had his doctor pocket his watch "instead" of resuscitating him. The man, Jerry Kubena Sr, a retired Manteca police lieutenant, on the ER table ended up dying and the remaining family slapped a lawsuit on the doctor. Read the full details here.

I would normally give a doctor the benefit of the doubt BUT when the nurses noticed a watch no longer on the man and a watch like "bulge" in the Dr.'s pocket things start getting questionable. But, it seems things get worse. Hospital security was called to investigate the dispute. Ignoring security's orders, the lawsuit notes Enmon walked out of the operating room and into the parking lot. This evidence was easily backed up by security camera footage.

Another nurse saw him toss something into the grass. Once security searched the area they found the watch. Hmmmm.... I feel sorry for the defense lawyer who represents Dr. Cleveland James Enmon, 32 yrs. old. Not going to be easy.

Have you ever took off your Rolex watch before going into certain locations or being admitted to the hospital?

A historical perspective of the Rolex Daytona

2009-10-20T13:08:00.002-05:00

Rolex introduced its first chronograph models around 1937. In 1960, Rolex gave the chronograph line a major facelift with the introduction of the Cosmograph (model 6239), a Rolex trademarked term which is similar to the chronograph--the cosmetic difference being that the 'tachymeter scale' is printed (or engraved) on the bezel rather than on the outer rim of the dial.

The legendary Rolex Cosmograph "Daytona" wristwatch traces back to the early months of 1961, when Rolex began manufacturing the Rolex Cosmograph. At the time, Rolex was a sponsor of the 24 Hours of Daytona race, and named its new chronograph watch after that famous race (why not right?). Because of their usefulness in calculating average lap speed, the watch's popularity took off in the motor racing community. This smart marketing maneuver would later become celebrated in marketing case study textbooks worldwide on how to successfully market a product.

Early models were iIntroduced in 1961 using a Valjoux 72 manual-wind 3-register chronograph movement, the Cosmograph, Cosmograph Daytona and Oyster Cosmograph Daytona were produced continuously until 1988. Relatively unpopular, they were replaced by a bigger Daytona featuring self-winding movements, using a slightly modified version of Zenith's El Primero caliber, under the name Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph. In 2000 Rolex replaced the Zenith movement with a 3-register chronograph movement entirely of its own design, the Rolex 4130 caliber (model number: 116520). Due to its limited production and increasing popularity, the stainless steel Rolex Cosmograph Daytona is considered a rare watch to own.

The Rolex Cosmograph Daytona is one of the most expensive watches marketed enough to be readily recognized by non-enthusiasts, and is often worn for this reason, The Daytona comes in several models, these can be identified by the color of the watch face, the type of metal used, and the type of strap, these include, white gold strap with white face; and stainless steel strap with black face amongst others.

It is fact that Paul Newman himself had worn the Daytona style of Rolex watch from the time he fell in love with automobile racing up until his death in 2008. Paul Newman was quoted as receiving a Daytona model from his wife in 1972. It was similar looking to some he had worn in movies and posters before but the 1972 watch was the real thing. Unlike other celebrities, Paul Newman was not a paid endorser of the Rolex brand, he just always wore one because he liked it.

Omega Speedmaster - 50 years in the making

2009-06-17T14:00:00.002-05:00

Omega has created timepieces since 1912. However the Omega Speedmaster history begins quietly in 1943 when Omega launched the movement "27 CHRO C12" or “321” as the official nickname. The CHRO stood for Chronograph, 27 for the movements diameter in millimeters and C12 for the 12-hour totalizer. The movement was designed by Albert Piguet of the now famous Piguet line of watches.
This model was available to the public from 1946 with a shock protection system and antimagnetic balance spring. In January 1959 Lemania started production of the Speedmaster. In 1958, Omega began preselling what was to be THE most well known chronograph. In 1960 the bezel was replaced with a black one, the hands were changed from arrow shaped to "dauphine" and the case diameter grew by one mm. In 1965 they began the work of creating a new movement and in August 1965 began the assembly of the first "861- calibre" movements. The new movement meant increased frequency from 18,000 (2,5Hz) to 21,600 (3Hz) vibrations per hour. By now the Speedmaster was well into the space program and in April 1966 the addition "Professional" was made to the dial of the Speedmaster to commemorate it’s debut in space.
How did this watch become known as the moon watch/space watch? Well, NASA indiscreetly sent two employees out to purchase five reputable chronographs in the Houston, TX area to be tested for possible use in space in 1964 (this included Corrigan’s, which at the time was the city’s best-known watch and jewelry retailer). The Mercury program was nearing completion and the coming Gemini program would require a watch that could withstand the extreme conditions in space, including space walking. After the first round of tests 2 of the 5 brands were disqualified. By the second round there was only one left.
On 09/29/1964 NASA ordered 12 Speedmasters from the US Omega importer. They paid full retail price, $82.50 (Considering inflation that’s $566.83 in 2008 dollars) for the watches and wanted them delivered by 10/21/1964. Meanwhile NASA arranged for a series of test to finally determine what watch to use in space. The watches had to cope with:
• Extremely high temperatures: 48 hours at 71º C followed by 30 minutes at 93º C. This under a pressure of 0,35atm and relative humidity not over 15%. (this replicates Phoenix, AZ)
• Sub Freezing temperatures: 4 hours at -18º C. (like your ex-wife’s mother-in-law)
• Temperature-pressure: 0,000001atm and temperature raised to 71º C. Temperature then lowered to -18º C in 45 minutes and again raised to 71º C in 45 minutes. This cycle was repeated fifteen times.
• Relative humidity: 240 hours in relative humidity of at least 95% and at temperatures varying between 20º C and 71º C (similar to Miami, FL). The steam had a pH value of between 6,5 and 7,5.
• Oxygen atmosphere: Exposure to 100% oxygen atmosphere at a pressure of 0,35atm and a temperature of 71º C for 48 hours. (almost like an asthma attack while skiing downhill at 60mph)
• Shock: Six 11 millisecond shocks of 40g each in six different directions. (reminds you of when your teenager told you she was pregnant from her boyfriend)
• Acceleration: Linear acceleration from 1g to 7,25g within 333 seconds. (like when your girlfriend throws your watch out of the car window into oncoming traffic)
• Decompression: 90 minutes in a vacuum of 0,000001atm and a temperature of 71º C and 30 minutes in the same vacuum but at a temperature of 93ºC. (replicates what happens when the cleaning lady at work vacuums up your watch)
• High pressure: Exposure to 1,6atm for one hour. (like a high pressure sales call)
• Vibration: Three cycles of 30 minutes (lateral, horizontal and vertical), the frequency varying from 5 to 2000cps and back to 5cps in 15 minutes. Average acceleration per impulse 8,8g. (similar to flying a small plane in a third world country)
• Acoustic noise: 130db over a frequency range from 40 to 10000Hz for 30 minutes. (similar to children screaming in a daycare facility)
The tests were completed on 03/01/1965. Three chronographs from different manufacturers were still running, but only the Speedmaster had passed without any of the serious troubles that had occurred with the two others (twisted hands, warped crystals, etc.). NASA stated: "Operational and environmental tests ot the three selected chronographs have been completed, and, as a result of the test, Omega chronographs have been calibrated and issued to three members of the GT-3 crews." The "GT-3" (Gemini-Titan III) took of 04.52 March 23, 1964 with the astronauts John Young and Virgil Grissom on board. On the next Gemini flight (IV) Edward White left the capsule and became the first American to walk in space. On his wrist was the Speedmaster.
Omega ironically only learned about the Speedmaster’s journey into space after seeing a photograph of Ed White taken during America’s first spacewalk as part of the Gemini 4 mission in June of 1965. This is how the Omega Speedmaster earned a place in American history & now you know the rest of the story.

History of the Rolex GMT Master watch

2009-06-04T11:22:00.004-05:00

The GMT Master was originally designed in 1955 in collaboration with Pan American World Airways for use by their pilots during World War II. As a result of their rigorous flight schedules for the U.S military, Pan Am pilots were the first afflicted by “jet lag,” a condition caused by making frequent jumps between time zones. Pan Am’s founder, Juan Trippe, theorized that if the pilots had a watch that would help them keep track of the time in their current time zone as well as their home time zone, the effects of jet lag would be milder. The original Rolex GMT master watch was developed by Rolex and Pan Am exclusively for Pam Am pilots, first officers, and navigators. This model featured a fourth hand and adjustable 24-hour bezel, enabling pilots to know their "home" time as well as the local time of any destination in a different time zone.

Many Rolex connoisseurs miss the convex crystals found on these older Rolex GMT Master watches.

The first version of the GMT Master series, 6542 had a bakelite bezel insert. As this bezel was likely to crack, it got replaced by a metal bezel in 1956. The bakelite bezel was luminous. The standard GMT Master series was waterproof to 50m/165 ft.

In 1964 the GMT Master series 6542 was worn in the James Bond Movie, “GoldFinger” by Honor Blackman, a female actress.

The GMT Master acquired more press in 1970 when a GMT Rolex Master was worn by Jack Schweigert, an astronaut. Not just any astronaut, but the one who helped Apollo 13 return safely to Earth after an oxygen tank ruptured.

In 1981 the waterproof depth was increased to 100m/330 ft. These models (1981 and up) are more common and best represent the Rolex GMT master series today.

A new model of the GMT Master came out in 1983 that features a sapphire crystal which cannot easily be scratched. This model was named the GMT Master II. In 2006 it was updated with the Parachrom hairspring which is unaffected by any magnetic field & 10x more resistance to shocks than standard hairsprings. In 2007 the bezel was updated to the nearly indestructible ceramic bezel, the most durable bezel in the world.

The GMT can display time in two different time zones and the GMT II in three. Using the additional "GMT" hand which completes a 24 hour cycle in a single rotation, the GMT (and GMT II) uses a bi-directional rotatable bezel marked zero to twenty three allowing for a second time zone to be displayed with the GMT hand pointing to the bezel hour. The GMT II allows the GMT hand to be set independently from the hour hand thus allowing a third time zone.

Panerai Ferrari Granturismo Chronograph

2009-02-03T15:12:00.005-05:00

Here is our video review of the Panerai Ferrari Granturismo Chronograph in stainless steel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWCBeFX5ikE

Go to this watch on our website:
Panerai Ferrari Granturismo

Video Review of the Omega Speedmaster Professional

2008-04-16T22:05:00.002-05:00

Vacheron Constantin Malte Tonneau Tourbillon

2008-03-27T22:22:00.000-05:00

Rolex Submariner in 18k & stainless steel

2008-03-26T22:24:00.000-05:00

Video Review of the Panerai Luminor Chrono Daylight

2008-03-13T21:19:00.003-05:00

Here is our reveiw of the Panerai Luminor Chrono Daylight (PAM 250).

If you are interested in Panerai watches visit our Website:

http://www.grayandsons.com/category/30

Our Video Review of the Breguet Transatlantique Type XX

2008-03-05T22:06:00.001-05:00

If you are interested in this watch visit our website:

http://www.grayandsons.com/product/5856/14

Our Spring Catalog is Now Available!

2008-03-04T17:19:00.003-05:00

Visit our online catalog by clicking on the image above to browse our selection of fine preowned watches and estate jewelry.

Video Review of the Rolex GMT Master II (model 16710)

2008-03-02T17:18:00.002-05:00

If you are interested in this watch visit our website:

http://www.grayandsons.com/category/71

Patrizzi's Honor

2008-01-15T09:59:00.001-05:00

After three months, the former head of famed horological auction house Anitquorum fired back at The Wall Street Journal in an open letter, parts of which were reprinted in the Feb 2008 issue of WatchTime magazine. The letter was written in response to the WSJ's front page article of Oct 8, 2007, in which it was implied that the practice of allowing watchmakers to purchase their own products at single-brand auctions was of a dubious ethical nature. In my personal opinion, the letter Patrizzi wrote was nothing more than a sophisticated version of "I-know-you-are-but-what-am-I". Much more helpful and to the point of clarifying the issues at hand was the editor's letter at the front of the magazine written by WatchTime's Joe Thompson. His points in a nutshell: 1. the ethical issues surrounding watch auctions and the battle over control of Antiquorum are separate issues and remain largely unrelated. 2. That people at the inside of watch auctions know about the practice of companies buying their own wares, and that this is not considered unethical, and 3. that the implication that themed auctions in connection with "artificial" price inflation driving up market prices may be overstating the impact of these auctions. He sites many other forces that contribute greatly to the constantly rising prices of high-end watches, and makes other very relevant points concerning the Patrizzi "scandal". I suspect that Mr. Thompson knows Patrizzi well, and probably considers him a friend, so it is not surprising that he would come to his defense, though he does a good job of maintaining a professional journalistic distance.
In any case, there remains a sure-fire way to buy the watch you want at the lowest possible price: buying a certified pre-owned watch from the selection of fine watches and jewelry to be found at Gray & Sons. We are the world leaders in used Rolex, preowned Patek Philippe, used Cartier, preowned Vacheron Constantine, and all other leading brands. Check us out!

Watch Buyers beware!

2007-12-21T11:47:00.001-05:00

As printed on the front page of The Wall Street Journal Oct. 8, 2007, the famous auction house Antiquorum of Geneva has been staging unethical auctions for decades in which the leading watch makers have been anonymously buying their own creations with the intention of driving up the perceived value of their wares. And it works. Why does a relatively simple stainless steel Patek Philippe sell for $30,000? Because people think it's worth that much. By artificially inflating auction prices the watch makers in cahoots with auction houses are creating a perception of collectibility where there may be no depth of collectors. The Journal's article focuses primarily on the so called "Omegamania" auction in April which set many new records for Omega and helped establish them as a leading brand, despite the fact that their watches are mass produced.
Conversely, Gray & Sons, the world's market leader in pre-owned high end timepieces, sets prices the old fashioned way - supply and demand. Printing over 200,000 catalogs annually and sending them around the world, Gray & Sons are able to put their finger on the pulse of what the public wants in brand name watches. We price watches according to what is fair and reasonable in the existing market, without a 10% or 15% sellers commission or the normal 20% buyers commission that auction houses charge, not only to make money off the top but also to increase the final sale price to well beyond the fair market value.
Osvaldo Patrizzi, the founder and president of Antiquorum, was removed from his position by the board of directors shortly after the Omegamania auction, but remains a minority stock holder in the company. An outside auditor was brought in to scour the books and records. The moral of the story, however, is that the practice of artificial price boosting is not illegal and no doubt will continue as long as it remains so.
If you find yourself in the market for a collectible watch, check the website at Gray & Sons first... you may be very glad you did.

Tiffany & Co staging the ultimate 4th quarter comeback.

2007-12-17T17:17:00.000-05:00

Where have they been all these years? Tiffany & Co., one of the world's leading jewelry designers who has been on the front edge of style for 170 years is not a major player in the watch game. Their watch sales account for less than 3 percent of their gross. An astute observer might say that with the meteoric rise in the popularity of fine Swiss watches over the last decade Tiffany has not just dropped the ball, they have been sipping champagne in the jacuzzi while the game rages on the field.
Enter Swatch Group, the largest mass producer of fine timepieces on the planet. With a recent agreement Tiffany and Swatch have jumped into bed together for 20 years, and the competition better watch out. The new company will be called Tiffany Watches, but will be wholly owned by Swatch Group, with design and marketing shared between the two. How long will it take to achieve a respectable market share? ...Time will tell.
For more details, check out this article.
-Brian

Origin of an Horophile

2007-11-23T10:53:00.000-05:00

First Things First

When I started at Gray & Sons four months ago I knew this much about watches: people wear them on their wrists. I have a watch somewhere in my closet that sees the light of day once a year, maybe. I don't wear jewelry or have any tattoos, and I thought quartz meant that a watch was really good. But as I began taking pictures of fine watches it dawned on me that there really is something special about a nice mechanical watch - beyond the purely aesthetic beauty of polished gold and shiny dials. I am beginning to understand how someone could spend $30,000 on a watch (!), and I daydream about some day being able to afford one (or many) myself. So what is it about a well crafted watch that fascinates us? Is it the unbelievable precision of the movement? The shape and weight of the case? I suppose some people buy a watch simply as a status symbol, but I imagine a collector couldn't care less about that. If he has the money to collect great watches status is not an issue. I must admit that if I could buy a nice watch, I'd have more than one. And this is coming from someone who, four months ago, didn't know the difference between Timex and Rolex! I'll grant you that I still don't know very much about watches, but I am learning more every day, and I am developing an appreciation that will undoubtedly last the rest of my life, whether I ever own a Patek or not! Browse the complete collection of fine watches at www.grayandsons.com. -Brian

Top Name Brand Watch Straps and Bands

2007-11-17T12:05:00.000-05:00

Gray & Sons are proud to announce the release of our extensive collection of original name brand watch straps and bands! We now feature a wide variety of new and pre-owned Rolex bands, as well as straps and bands from all of the leading watch makers in the world - including but not limited to: Patek Philippe straps, Cartier bands, Breitling straps, Bvlgari straps, Breguet bands, Corum straps, Omega straps, Panerai bands, Tag Heuer straps, Jaeger LeCoultre straps, Concord straps, Baume & Mercier straps, Bertolucci bands, Ebel straps, Girard-Perregaux bands, Piaget straps, Boucheron straps, and many more! Or to browse our entire collection simply click here. If you don't find what you're looking for please feel free to call our store: 800-705-1112 or 305-865-0999. We have thousands of straps and bands that don't yet appear on our web site!

Limited Edition Platinum Chronoswiss

2007-03-05T12:14:00.000-05:00

The watch shown is a Limited Edition Chronoswiss Opus in Platinum. Only 50 pieces were made and for some reason - by coincidence or luck or the aligning of the stars - we have had three different ones in the last year. This one here is number 24.

Holiday 2006 Catalog

2006-11-14T15:29:00.000-05:00

Our biggest catalog of the year is being sent out this week. This is probably the largest mail order catalog of pre-owned watches & estate jewelry in the world. The cover features an incredible 13 ct fancy light purplish pink diamond going for $1,500,000. For the watch collectors we are featuring a Rolex Masterpiece with double row of diamonds, a Platinum Breguet Marine Chrono, and a Ladies Platinum Rolex President.

If you are currently not receiving our catalogs but would like to, you can sign up here.

Helvetia

2006-06-15T10:29:00.000-05:00

When you are very involved and interested in Fine Swiss Watches you can't help but learn a little about Switzerland itself. Something new I just learned was the name Helvetia. Helvetia is the old Roman or Latin name for the area of central Europe we now know as Switzerland. It is the name that Switzerland itself uses when they don't want to use any of their other official languages (French, German, Italian or Romansh). The official Latin name of the country is "Confœderatio Helvetica" abreviated CH - (hence the ".ch" you see at the end of Swiss websites).

Helvetia is also often depicted as a woman, sometimes called the mother of the Swiss nation. She is a symbol of Switzerland much like Uncle Sam is a symbol of the United States.

Look at those curves

2006-06-08T14:54:00.000-05:00

The curves of those lugs and the domed crystal of the Audemars Piguet Canape are like no other in the fine world of watches right now. With so many watches out their that look the same Audemars Piguet definitely keeps things unique. This rose gold version is available for sell on our website.

Our Mother's Day Catalog

2006-04-21T12:13:00.000-05:00

Gray & Sons Mother's Day Catalogs should be arriving in people's mailboxes this week. Our catalog is filled with some rather impressive pre-owned watches such as the 1920's platinum, diamond & ruby cocktail watch on the cover: movement & dial by Patek Philippe. The catalog also features a Limited Edition Cartier Skeleton watch in 18k - limited to 100 pieces.

If you are not receiving our catalog you can request one here.

Could there be a more perfect watch?

2006-04-14T16:09:00.000-05:00

Ok so I'm sure there are plenty of you answering that question: "Yes!" as I'm sure every one has their own opinion of what the "perfect" watch is. But the Vacheron Constantin Malte Dual Time Regulator has a clean yet interesting dial, useful functions including date & dual time zone, Roman numerals & Arabic numerals that don't clash, incredible flared lugs, hinged back for viewing the automatic movement under glass. . . Beautiful.

Interesting Fact

2006-04-05T10:22:00.000-05:00

I've got to thank my mom for pointing this one out to me: Today, at two minutes and three seconds after 1:00 in the morning and afternoon, the time and date will be 01: 02: 03: 04/05/06.

The Patek Philippe-Jacob & Co Perpetual Calendar

2006-04-01T09:12:00.000-05:00

Have you heard about this ultra exclusive 48mm platinum Perpetual Calendar watch produced as a joint venture by Patek Philippe and Jacob & Co? Apparently they must feel there is some great synergy between the two brands.

By the way. . .

Happy April Fool's Day!

White Gold Daytona

2006-03-14T13:12:00.000-05:00

I love the use of red on the new 18k white gold Rolex Daytona. The case & dial maintain the monocromatic black & white style of the popular stainless steel model but the red accents on the hands and the numbers on the sub-dials add a very distinct and dramatic look. The bold Arabic numerals on the dial also help distinguish this watch from its steel counterpart. This watch is being sold on our website for $23,000.

The Offshore

2006-03-03T09:28:00.000-05:00

I love this watch. I Never did care much for rubber strap watches before this one (and it has much more than just a rubber strap: a rubber bezel, crown & chronograph pushers.) And the rose gold color gives it just the right tone of warmth to contrast the dominant black rubber. It is available on our website for $28,500.

A Frequently Asked Question. . . Answered

2006-02-09T13:43:00.000-05:00

As a marketer & photographer of watches I often get asked the question:

"Why is the time always set to 10:10 on all watch ads?"

The simple answer is "Because it looks good."

Why it looks good though is getting to the heart of the question. All the watch manufacturers photograph their watches this way but I don't know if there has ever been extensive focus group research or if that is just the way it has always been done. I did come across a brief article that attempted to trace the history of it among watch manufacturers.

So I'm not sure that there are any definitive answers but here are some of the more popular answers according to wikipedia.com (which it identifies 10:08 as being the magical number):

The form of the hands has a positive effect on the viewer: the short hand pointing at 10 o'clock and the long hand pointing at 8 minutes is reminiscent of a check mark, which commonly means "ok" or "fine." Some observers further identify this appearance with a smiley face.

The position of the hands does not obscure the date on watches with a date-function at 3 o'clock or any other functions at 9 or 3 o'clock.

The position of the hands does not obscure the company logo, which is often printed under 12 o'clock.

The hands are nearly symmetrically balanced on the face of the dial at 10:08. The minute hand is 48° right of vertical, while the hour hand is 56° left of vertical. Exact symmetry would be achieved at 10:09:13.8. Other symmetrical times would not meet the needs above.

If a rectangle is drawn inside the circle touching where the hands are pointing the this will approximate the Golden rectangle which has been proven to be pleasing to the eye. Note: this is not exact and can be off by a few percent.

At 10 o'clock in the morning, the day is young. There is still time to accomplish many things.

10 o'clock is the time at which people typically wake up if they are able to sleep in. 10:08 is thus associated with weekend, leisure and relaxation.

Explorer II model 1655

2006-01-16T17:17:00.000-05:00

The Rolex Explorer II model 1655 with the orange 24 hour hand was produced for a only a couple of years in the 1970s. Because it was only produced for a relatively short amount of time it is a particularly rare timepiece. It then became a very popular watch starting in the 1990's making it now a very collectible piece. This particular watch is from 1972 with the original un-refinished dial. It is selling on our website for $9,500.

Read more on the history of the Explorer here.

Patek Philippe 5135 Gondolo Calendario

2006-01-12T17:07:00.000-05:00

We just got in this new Patek Philippe 5135 Gondolo Calendario, a nice large size tonneau-shaped watch that is a moonphase annual calendar, in 18k yellow gold on a leather strap. Automatic caliber 324 movement under glass w/ day, date, month, moonphase & sweep seconds. This watch is a very hard to find model - we only have one piece available - unused with box & papers. Our price is $29,650 (payment by bankwire only on this piece).

Read the whole story about this watch and its various horological advances:
http://www.patek.ch/Press/new_gondolo_calend_5135.htm

Which Watch to Wear

2005-12-29T13:49:00.000-05:00

New Years Eve is one of those big timing moments that should be an important event for watch lovers. Which watch will you be wearing when the clock strikes midnight? One watch that I've always thought would be perfect on New Years Eve is a good perpetual calendar with year indication like this IWC DaVinci:

At that moment when the confetti is falling around you, all those magical gears inside this complicated movement will advance the date hand at 3 o'clock, the day hand at 9 o'clock, the month hand at 6 o'clock and the 4-digit year indicator to 2006. Plus this watch is a ratrapante chronograph so you could also be simultaneously timing that New Year's kiss.

From everyone at Gray & Sons we wish you all a happy & healthy New Year!

Forbes list of most expensive watches

2005-12-12T17:57:00.000-05:00

If there is one thing that the people at Forbes Magazine like to do it is making lists - lists that involve large sums of money. This time they've listed the world's most expensive watches for 2005 (meaning produced this year - not auctioned watches). Topping the list is the Vacheron Constantin Tour de l'Ile which was produced to celebrate Vacheron's 250th Anniversary. This highly complicated timepiece (Tourbillon, Perpetual Calendar, Power Reserve, Sunrise/Sunset, skychart etc etc etc) has a price tag of $1,500,000.

Watch Wallpapers

2005-12-02T10:35:00.000-05:00

There's a lack of good watch-themed wallpapers for your computer desktop out there on the web so I've made some of my own from watches we have taken pictures of over the last year or so. Just click on the picture below and then right click on the large image that appears to set the picture to your desktop image. Check back often, I'll keep adding more as I have time.

If want to see some other options check out these sites:

http://www.watchwallpapers.com/
http://www.omegawallpaper.com/
http://www.timezone.com/library/twarped/twarped631669458868944522
http://www.paneristi.com/wallpapers/

Orbita's Tourbillon Watchwinder

2005-12-01T15:06:00.000-05:00

Don't be confused here. Orbita's new Futura Tourbillon watch winder is not a watchwinder for tourbillon watches. . . rather it is a tourbillon itself (or uses the tourbillon model to wind a watch more accurately). Confused yet? Here's Orbita's explanation:

Keep your watch in a winder for an extended period and it loses accuracy. Why? For the same reason that Breguet invented the Tourbillon watch mechanism in the days when pocket watches were in vogue. . . to negate the adverse effects of gravity when a watch remains in a fixed position. Our new FUTURA TOURBILLON winder constantly indexes the rest position of the watch so that gravity effects are canceled out. Digital displays of turns per day and actual time in a futuristic crystal glass framework. The future is now!

For more info click here

If you are a big watchwinder fan you might also like this new informational site and forum: www.watchwind.com. It is still pretty new and some of the sections are less than complete but it could be good. . .

Our December Holiday Catalog

2005-11-30T16:22:00.000-05:00

If you are on our mailing list then you should be checking your mailbox for our 64 page December Holiday Catalog. On the cover we are advertising a half carat Russian cut diamond give-away. If you would like to signup for the contest click here.

Also if you don't get our catalog in the next week you can request another one here.

A few of Switzerland's favorite things

2005-11-22T10:09:00.000-05:00

When you think of Switzerland two things probably come to mind: fine watches & delicious chocolate. Claudine, one of our salespeople, just came back from a trip to Switzerland and brought each one of us a nice bar of chocolate. I got an incredible bar of Lindt raspberry flavored chocolate. I ate the entire thing in under 5 minutes.

Omega has just introduced a new Deville model that takes as its insiparation Swiss chocolate, coupling two of Switzerland's most famous exports. There are some pictures of the watch on the Timezone Omega Forum, including this one here:

Delicious right?

Who knows maybe next they'll be making a Swiss cheese inspired pocket knife.

Let the Holiday shopping season begin

2005-11-01T13:43:00.000-05:00

We just mailed out our November Holiday Catalog. 48 pages of incredible watches & jewelry. The cover features some powerful watches: an IWC DaVinci Rattrapante Chronograph Perpetual Calendar in 18k rose gold, a platinum Patek Annual Calendar, a limited edition Jaeger LeCoultre Perpetual Calendar in platinum, a Rolex President in platinum and a tantalum & rose gold Audemars Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar with skeleton dial.

If your not receiving our catalog you can sign up here.

Back to Business

2005-10-27T11:42:00.000-05:00

After three days in the dark our store is fortunate to have power again after Hurricane Wilma hit this area on Monday. We were also fortunate in that the store was completely safe and undamaged. So it is back to business. Everyone here at Gray & Sons is doing well, though many of us are still without power in our homes and some of us have varying severity of home damage to clean up and repair.

A view of Bal Harbour during the height of the storm. (Click picture for larger view)

Our October Catalog

2005-09-30T15:56:00.000-05:00

We just mailed out our October "Pre-Holiday" Catalog. If you are on our mailing list you should be receiving it in the next week to ten days. The cover features a unique Rolex Day-Date Oysterquartz in 18k yellow gold w/ custom sapphire & diamond dial, bezel & bracelet. If you aren't receiving our catalog you can sign up here.

Some advice for beginners

2005-09-26T11:22:00.000-05:00

Grabbed this from an interview with Zenith President & CEO Thierry Nataf in the Sept/Oct issue of Watch Aficionado:

Watch Aficionado: What advice would you offer to first-time luxury watch buyers?

Thierry Nataf: Believe in your instincts, try on the watch, and if you feel as if it has always belonged to you, then buy it. If it is a Zenith watch, even better.

Mr. Nataf follows a rule that all good CEO's should know: Plug your product at every oppotunity.

Now Buying for our 2005 Holiday Season

2005-09-20T11:09:00.000-05:00

We are currently preparing our 2005 Holiday Catalogs and need your help. If you have any watches or jewelry that you are no longer wearing or using then let us convert it into cash for you (or you can trade it in for something new for the holidays). If you have anything to sell, trade in, or leave on consignment this is the absolute best time to do it. If you are interested in learning more give us a call at 1-800-705-1112 or contact Matthew: matthew@grayandsons.com

The Pasha Grows

2005-09-20T09:08:00.000-05:00

The Roadster perhaps best marked Cartier's experimentation with larger watches. It must have worked because then they made the Santos larger (with their anniversary Dumont & 100 editions) now they are bumping up the size of the Pasha to 42mm. This larger Pasha comes in 18k yellow, rose or white gold on a leather strap with automatic movement.

Our New Website

2005-09-13T11:20:00.000-05:00

Today was the official launch of our newly redesigned website at www.grayandsons.com. It is much more functional and hopefully easier for all our clients to find exactly what they are looking for. Besides that is always nice to have a new updated look.

Our September Catalog

2005-09-09T13:44:00.000-05:00

We just mailed out our September Catalog with 32 pages of watches & jewelry for your viewing (and hopefully purchasing) pleasure. On our cover this month we have an incredible platinum Piaget watch that is completely covered in 97 cts of prestine emerald cut diamonds and retails for $1.5 Million!

If you aren't receiving our catalog send me an email and we will add you to our mailing list.

Watch Quotation

2005-09-01T15:12:00.000-05:00

Thanks to my cousin Rich (yes we share the exact same name) for sending me this quotation:

Wear your learning like a watch and do not pull it out merely to show you have it. If you are asked for the time, tell it; but do not proclaim it hourly unasked.

Philip Dormer Stanhope Chesterfield
(1694-1773, British statesman, author)

The Business of Stainless Steel

2005-08-23T15:18:00.000-05:00

Excerpt from an interview with Fabian Krone CEO of A. Lange & Söhne:

Question: Do you see Lange & Söhne ever producing watches in stainless steel?

Fabian Krone: This is a question which is often asked. We have a very limited capacity, which we are not able to increase very much. We have around 350 employees, of which around 50 % are watchmakers. To find a watchmaker is not easy. So we have a school where we train them for three years and they come into the process. So before we are able to increase the capacity, it takes time, and if we increase by maybe 500, 600 watches, this is nothing. So the question is “Why do stainless steel?” If we do it, we will probably increase the demand and will have a price which is lower than today, and we will not be able to deliver those watches. So there's not a reason today to do stainless steel.

I never thought of that before, how much growth a luxury mechanical watch manufacturer must have before stainless steel watches make good business sense. At another point in the interview Mr. Krone says they have no immediate plans to reach an annual production of 10,000 pieces. Quality over quantity is what keeps the mechanical watch business ticking I suppose.

Read the entire interview on Timezone.com

A few good watch links

2005-08-15T08:57:00.000-05:00

Fratello Watches posted a few good watch links recently that I want to pass on:

www.time.gov: Want to check how slow or fast your watch is running and you don't have an atomic clock to check it against? This site maintained by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the US Naval Observatory will show you official United States time and UTC time accurate down to 0.0000001 seconds.

www.watchwallpapers.com: If you are like me then you are constantly changing the wallpaper on your computer desktop. For all of you watch enthusiasts out there here is a site with a number of impressive watch photographs (primarily Rolex) that you can download for free. Check it out.

Photo from watchwallpapers.com

Steel, White Gold, or Platinum?

2005-08-04T10:27:00.000-05:00

Anyone who knows anything about Pateks will be able to quickly rule out stainless steel - Patek makes very few watches in steel and the 5110 World Time is not one of them. One of the appeals of white gold and platinum in jewelry & watches though, is that it is a more descreet metal - less flashy than yellow or rose gold. The wearer may very well want some people to think the watch is steel all the while knowing it is much much more.

So white gold or platinum? The casual observer will never be able to tell the difference. The more astute observer, if given the watch to handle and examine, could look for the "750" or "pt950" symbol stamped in the back of the case or the clasp (750=18k gold, pt950=platinum). One could also have the case back removed and take a look at the model number (the letter at the end of Patek model numbers indicates the metal: A=steel, J=yellow gold, R=rose gold, G=white gold, and P=platinum). But beginning in the late 1990's Patek made it even easier on some of their models to distinguish platinum from white gold: they began setting a discreet diamond between the lugs at 6 o'clock on their complicated platinum watches.

So white gold or platinum? Just check between the lugs.

Decoding the dials

2005-07-25T17:04:00.000-05:00

Any idea what those little letters and symbols next to "Swiss Made" at the bottom of your watch dial mean?

The "O" means the numerals are gold.
The "T" means the numerals are luminous and contain Tritium.
The "T<25" means that the amount of Tritium is less than the legal limit (tritium is a radioactive substance afterall).

Read more about it here.

Happy Fourth of July

2005-06-28T17:16:00.000-05:00

We would like to wish everyone a great Independence Day and want to make everyone aware that Gray & Sons will be closed from July 2nd to July 11 to celebrate. I will also be taking a lengthy three week vacation so you'll have to check back the end of July for new posts. In the meantime check out the archives.

The many names of Vacheron & Constantin

2005-06-20T07:35:00.000-05:00

We've all seen with corporate mergers and business ownership changes the names of very popular brands switch around (sometimes multiple times): think FedEx-Kinkos, AOL TIme Warner, Exxon Mobil, etc. Well the same thing was going on the 18th & 19th centuries. Take the watch house of Vacheron & Constantin for example:

1755 - The company is founded by Jean-Marc Vacheron and watches are signed J.M. Vacheron.

1785 - company ownership & name changed to Abraham Vacheron-Girod

1810 - changed to Vacheron-Chossat

1867 - changed to Cesar Vacheron & Co

1869 - two short years later it becomes Charles Vacheron & Cie

1870 - one year later changed back to Vve. Cesar Vacheron & Cie

1877 - name is formally & permanently changed to Vacheron & Constantin

You can check out a great timeline of Vacheron history by ThomasM on thePurtists.com.

Vintage Ads

2005-06-13T09:45:00.000-05:00

If you like to collect vintage watches then you are probably interested in vintage watch ads as well. Timezone has a good collection posted online including this one from 1943 for the Rolex Oyster:

This was back in the day when you could have an ad that was more ad copy than photography - quite the opposite from today's ads with full-bleed pictures and minimal text (a sign of our shortening attention spans perhaps? or maybe just a sign that in the deluge of today's advertising we prefere to be bombarded with images rather than words.)

How about that last line - starting at $80!

Top selling Fine Watch Brands in the U.S.

2005-05-19T16:35:00.000-05:00

According to 2004 sales statistics from National Jeweler Magazine, these are the top-selling watch brands in the United States by dollar sales:

1. Rolex
2. Citizen
3. Seiko
4. Movado
5. Bulova
6. Cartier
7. Tag Heuer
8. Breitling
9. Omega
10. Patek Philippe

Blurry

2005-05-13T11:11:00.000-05:00

Sometimes even photographic mistakes can end up looking pretty cool.

High Tech Watches

2005-05-13T09:00:00.000-05:00

Clear Aluminum. Silicon gears. High-Tech Ceramics.

Sounds like a list of items needed to upgrade the Space Shuttle right?

Actually these are some of the latest high-tech materials to be used in mechanical watch-making.

First you have clear aluminum (I didn't even know the metal could be made transparent) as employed in the new Krieger Mysterium. Their ad says it is "So Beautiful, it's Scary." You can take a look at it and see if you agree. According to Krieger this type of case material took 4 years to develop and because it so hard to work with they are only able to produce a limited quantity each week. Because of this they are limiting this edition to 1,000 peices.

Then you have Patek Philippe who announced just prior to the Baselworld watch fair that their new limited edition 39mm Annual Calendar watch will contain an anchor escapement wheel made of silicon. This material (long used is computer components) is ideal for micro-machanics. The fact that it is extremely hard, dense & perfectly smooth means that the wheel needs no lubrication. Read more about it at Europastar.com. Does this mean another Silicon Valley will emerge, this time in Switzerland?

And finally one recent trend in case & bracelet materials is high-tech ceramic. This material is extremely hard (considerably harder than any metal in fact) and is highly resistant to heat, corrosion, scratches, wrist sweat etc. And it looks pretty cool too giving watch cases a color and style that is completely new and innovative. The best known example of this is the Chanel J12 in either white or black ceramic. Versace has added their own ceramic watch, the DV One, also in white or black ceramic. We'll see how long the trend continues. . .

Watches in Literature: Alice's Adventure in Wonderland

2005-05-11T11:11:00.000-05:00

Here is a good reason not to have just anyone overhaul you watch:

The Hatter was the first to break the silence. 'What day of the month is it?' he said, turning to Alice: he had taken his watch out of his pocket, and was looking at it uneasily, shaking it every now and then, and holding it to his ear.

Alice considered a little, and then said 'The fourth.'

'Two days wrong!' sighed the Hatter. 'I told you butter wouldn't suit the works!' he added looking angrily at the March Hare.

'It was the best butter,' the March Hare meekly replied.

'Yes, but some crumbs must have got in as well,' the Hatter grumbled: 'you shouldn't have put it in with the bread-knife.'

The March Hare took the watch and looked at it gloomily: then he dipped it into his cup of tea, and looked at it again: but he could think of nothing better to say than his first remark, 'It was the best butter, you know.'

Alice had been looking over his shoulder with some curiosity. 'What a funny watch!' she remarked. 'It tells the day of the month, and doesn't tell what o'clock it is!'

'Why should it?' muttered the Hatter. 'Does your watch tell you what year it is?'

'Of course not,' Alice replied very readily: 'but that's because it stays the same year for such a long time together.'

'Which is just the case with mine,' said the Hatter.

-- Lewis Carol, Alice's Adventure in Wonderland, Chapter 7.

The Mystery of the Red Submariner

2005-05-05T15:59:00.000-05:00

We recently acquired a vintage Rolex "Red" Submariner. The Red Submariner (model 1680) was the first Submariner model to incorporate a date function on the dial. The "no date" Submariner had been in production for over 10 years before Rolex decided that even under water you might need to know what date it was.

There is an entire website devoted to Red Rolex Watches where you can learn more than you probably ever wanted to know about Red Submariners, GMT-Masters & Daytonas. The "Mystery" of the Red Submariner is in the years of its production. While it is mostly agreed upon that these Red Submariners were produced between 1966-1973 (ours is a 3 million serial number putting it at 1971) the author of Redwatches.com explores a few possibilities that cast some doubt on this. You can read all about it here.

The Persistence of Memory

2005-05-04T12:32:00.000-05:00

"Time is not rigid. It is one with space -- fluid."
- Salvador Dali

So this is a little off topic - what is a jewelry piece doing in a blog about watches? Well this particular piece of jewelry is very interesting and features a limp pocketwatch so I figured it was enough of a fit. A client recently gave us this pin on consignment. It is called the Persistence of Memory and was designed by Salvador Dali and produced by Alemany & Ertman in New York City back in the 50's. This is based on Dali's painting of the same name created in 1931. Originally there was a production of 8 pieces in 1949 that featured a pave diamond watch face with black enamel numerals & hands - these are all housed in the Dali Theatre-Museum in Figueres, Spain. According to the Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, this particular piece in our possession must have been a reproduction of the original, produced at a later date and was created for commercial distribution. We're still digging around for more information on this unique pin.

What's your Birth-Watch?

2005-05-02T16:30:00.000-05:00

Ever wonder how the idea of birthstones came about? How did April get the honor of the diamond while January gets a lousy garnet? Is it all just a marketing ploy to increase sales of certain stones in certain months?

Well the origin of the birthstone, most people agree, dates back thousands of years to the breast plate worn by Aaron the brother of Moses. It was adorned with 12 different jewels to represent the 12 tribes of Israel. Over time these precious stones were matched with the 12 months of the year or the 12 signs of the Zodiac and attributed with special qualities. The chart varies in different traditions and cultures but here is the official modern American list (adopted by the American National Association of Jewelers in 1912):

January - Garnet
February - Amethyst
March - Aquamarine
April - Diamond
May - Emerald
June - Pearl, Moonstone
July - Ruby
August - Peridot
September - Sapphire
October - Opal, Tourmaline
November - Yellow Topaz, Citrine
December - Blue Topaz, Turquoise, Tanzanite

(I suppose with a few of the months you get a choice depending on which stone happens to be in fashion at the time.)

Now there were no wristwatches back in the time of Aaron so the idea of a birth-watch hasn't really taken hold yet. But there is no reason we can't change that. If there were a chart of birth-watches, what would they be? Well here is my list (only time will tell if it becomes universally adopted around the world.)

January - The Pocket Watch (the pocket watch was of course the first watch, the ideal choice for the first month of the year).
February - The Perpetual Calendar Watch (this is the month that screws up all regular calendar watches and is the whole reason for the Perpetual Calendar function anyways.)
March - The "Iced Out" Fashion Watch (You know like a Michele, Ice-tek, Technomarine, Jacob etc. - colorful watches great for Spring).
April - The Tourbillon Watch (April's birthstone is the diamond - the most valuable of all gemstones - so why not also give it the tourbillon - the most valuable of all watch functions.)
May - Vintage Ladies Cocktail Watch (perfect for Mother's Day)
June - The Chronograph Watch (great for timing a good car race like the Le Mans 24 Hours.)
July - The Oversized Sports Watch (wear it while off-roading in your oversized Sport Utility Vehicle.)
August - The Diving Watch (A Panerai + Aruba + August = Perfect combination).
September - The Classic Yellow Gold Watch (September is a nice simple month: a good Patek 3919 or 3802 comes to mind).
October - The Rose Gold Watch (to match those rich autumn colors.)
November - The Dual Time Zone Watch (Over the river and across the timezone to Grandmother's house we go. . .)
December - The Minute Repeater (chimes just like those Christmas bells.)

Well what do you think? Would you make any changes/additions? Don't take it too seriously though, it is just a marketing ploy.

The phases of the moon

2005-04-22T00:52:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite watch functions has to be the moonphase.

It reminds you that time, as we calculate it, is based not merely on the thin sweeping seconds hand spinning on your watch, but rather on the enormous movement of a barren moon, a spinning planet, and a star that holds it all in orbital motion.

I've just added a moonphase function to the side bar of this site. So if you can't make it outside that often to look up in the heavens yourself then you can always visit us here to find out what phase the moon is in (an especially handy feature for werewolves).

picture: jilt33.com

Guess That Watch

2005-04-15T11:23:00.000-05:00

Remember the parable of the blind men and the elephant? Six blind men touch different parts of the elephant and describe each part individually without being able to put the pieces together to describe the whole elephant. So here is the game for the day: Can you name this watch model only by seeing the different parts of it and not the whole?

Let's see, what are the clues: round case, yellow gold, do you recognize the emblem on the crown?

Moonphase. . . and what are those numbers around the moonphase?

Movement under glass. Is it Manual wind or Automatic?

What is that? A chronograph pusher?

And a deployant folding clasp.

Do you know it?

Well here it is:

Patek Philippe 3970 Perpetual Calendar Chronograph in 18k yellow gold on a leather strap w/ deployant buckle. Manual wind movement with optional solid case back or exposition back. Chronograph, day, date, month, moonphase & sub-seconds. Certified Pre-owned w/ exclusive one year warranty & like new for life policy. Original Box & papers. Est. Retail $89,200 Gray & Sons price $72,000

Are larger watches here to stay?

2005-04-14T12:23:00.000-05:00

Excerpt from an interview with Hank Edelman, President of Patek Philippe USA:

Are larger watches here to stay?

Hank Edelman: I've been with Patek for a long time, and the pendulum does swing back and forth as things get bigger and smaller. While this is a pretty long-term trend, at some point it will level off.
For a brand like Patek, there's a limit for how large we'll go. We want soemone 50 years from now to feel comfortable wearing our watches the way people feel comfortable wearing our watches from the 1940s and 1950s today. So extremes tend to be out for us.

Taken from Watch Aficionado Magazine, April/May 2005.

So if you want a BIG Patek it looks like your best bet is the Jumbo Nautilus (you may not see one on the wrist of Arnold or Stallone but that's OK - Patek Philippe can only cater so much to you Action Hero types.)

More new stuff from Rolex

2005-04-12T09:33:00.000-05:00

This new dial from Rolex is called "Goldust" and is essentially a mother of pearl dial overlayed with 24k gold dust. Hence the name.

50th Anniversary Rolex GMT Master II

2005-04-11T12:23:00.000-05:00

In 1955 Rolex introduced the GMT Master (with its dual timezone feature) to a society that was increasingly traveling across timezones and working with people around the globe. This year Rolex is celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the GMT Master with a new commemoritive edition. Available only in 18k, it comes in two dial configurations: black dial with green 24 hour hand, or a beaming green dial. While the dial is the most obvious difference there are a few other features that differ on this new model as well. Though Rolex has not answered the call to produce larger case size watches that are so popular right now, they have made the lugs on this new GMT larger and the case heavier giving the entire watch a bigger look & feel. If you haven't seen them already, James Dowling has posted pictures of the watches on the Timezone Baselworld forum.

2006 is the 50th Anniversary of the Day-Date, so we will have to see next year what part of that watch they make green.

BaselWorld 2005

2005-04-05T11:20:00.000-05:00

BaselWorld, the largest watch & jewelry show on Earth, is going on now in Basel, Switzerland. The watch world always goes abuzz this time of year anticipating, critiquing, boo-hooing, and applauding the new watch models that are unvieled at BaselWorld. This year is no different.

If you can't make it over to Switzerland then you can check out this fair-goer's post on the Timezone BaselWorld Forum.

Hublot & Spain

2005-03-24T11:51:00.000-05:00

Why is it that Hublot watches are so big in Spain? The fact that Juan Carlos, the King of Spain, is an avid Hublot fan probably helps, but it must be something more. Out of 14,000 watches that Hublot sells annually, 7,000 are sold in Spain. Spain is their top market followed by the United States, Japan, & the Middle East. It is even said that in Spain Hublot is ahead of Rolex. That is pretty good for a relatively young watch company.

Read an article about Jean-Claude Biver, CEO of Hublot.

Crazy Beautiful Dial

2005-03-18T10:53:00.000-05:00

So what do you think? Is this dial complicated? Amazing? Confusing? Beautiful? Crazy? A work of art? Loud?
I say "yes" to all of the above.

The dial is the handy work of Roger Dubuis. The model is the Sympathie Biretrograde Perpetual Calendar 18k white gold, manual wind movement under glass. The dial consists of alternating dark/light tones of mother of pearl and features minutes, hours, sub-seconds at 9 o'clock, chronograph w/ sweeping seconds & 30 minute register at 3 o'clock, retrograde day & date, month & leap year at 6 o'clock, moonphase at 12 o'clock, and weeks (a rather uncommon feature) around the outer rim of the dial. Now that's a lot of hands.

Rose Gold Audemars Piguet Royal Oak

2005-03-16T18:16:00.000-05:00

I took a picture today of a lovely Audemars Piguet Royal Oak in 18k rose gold on a leather strap. I think it just might be my new favorite watch.

White Gold Rolex Daytona

2005-03-15T11:50:00.000-05:00

This watch is Red Hot! Rolex Daytona in 18k white gold. 18k white gold Oyster bracelet with flip-lock clasp. Black dial with Arabic numerals & red track. Engraved Tachymeter bezel. Automatic movement with chronograph and sub-seconds. Screw-down crown & chronograph pushers. 40mm case diameter.

Gray & Sons Price is $26,500

Audemars Piguet Quantieme Perpetual

2005-03-11T15:00:00.000-05:00

This watch is beautiful:

The Audemars Piguet Quantieme Perpetual in 18k yellow gold with fully skeletonized dial. Comes on a leather strap with 18k deployant buckle. Finely engraved automatic movement. Day, date, month & moonphase. Est. Retail $60,000

Special price until Wednesday March 16, 2005: $19,900
Click if you are interested.

A watch goes with you wherever you go

2005-03-10T10:55:00.000-05:00

Excerpt from an interview with Ozvaldo Patrizzi founder of watch auction house Antiquorum:

How do you explain the huge interest for vintage watches within a ever growing public?

Ozvaldo Patrizzi: For me it’s a question of quality of life. The brands’ communications help but it’s mostly the importance that men give to their own image. A watch is a status symbol which immediately shows the level you are at, your tastes and financial capacity. You can have an amazing car but you will need to park it outside, whereas a watch goes with you wherever you go.

Read the entire interview here.

What's in a Name?

2005-03-03T12:17:00.000-05:00

Just picked up the new 2005 Wristwatch Annual. One of the best additions to this year's book is sandwiched without much fanfare between Ebel and Epos: a helpful pronunciation guide and summary of the brand name origins. Probably 90% of Watch Manufacturers are named for the founders (Audemars Piguet: Jules Audemars & Edward Piguet; Patek Philippe: Antoine Norbert de Patek & Adrien Philippe; Vacheron Constantin: Jean-Marc Vacheron & Francois Constantin).

But a few of them are not.

A few brands are named for places not people: Glashütte (for the city in Germany) and Ventura (for Ventura, California). Latin also has supplied inspiration for many watch brand names including Corum (quorum), Fortis (strong) & Tutima (protected). Hublot comes from the French word meaning "porthole", chosen by Swiss founder Carlo Crocco because his watches reminded him of Ship's porthole. And Rolex comes from a modification of the Spanish words "Relojes Excelentes" (Excellent Watches).

By the way I love it when people call and ask if we have any "Rolodex" watches.

A Billionaire with a Passion for Flight

2005-02-28T15:20:00.000-05:00

Well The Aviator lost out on a few major awards last night at the Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director & Best Actor, but if you want to see the magic of a modern day billionaire financing innovative airplanes & encouraging new aerospace milestones you need look no further than the founder of Virgin Atlantic, Richard Branson. His latest chunk of money is going to finance what could be the first solo non-stop around the world trip by pilot Steve Fossett in the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer.

The article I was reading about it mentioned Branson giving Fossett his watch:

Branson planned to follow Fossett in a chase plane for the first day of the flight and on the last leg. He gave Fossett his wristwatch, complete with emergency beacon device, to wear for the flight.

“We want you and (the watch) back in one piece at the end,” Branson quipped.

A Breitling Emergency I would presume???

Fossett is no stranger to Breitling. He one-upped the crew of the Breitling Orbiter 3 which flew a hot air balloon non-stop around the world in 1999, by doing it solo in 2002.

Time & Measurements Converter

2005-02-25T12:23:00.000-05:00

I found today on the web the most complete measurement converter that I have ever seen. Maybe you know that 1 meter = 1.094 yards, but do you know how many furlongs, nautical fathoms or astronomical parsecs are in 1 meter? (the answers are: 0.004971 furlongs, 0.5468 fathoms & 3.241e-17 parsecs). You can also convert measurements of weight (my weight of 200 lbs = 90.72 kilograms, 58330 pennyweights, 151.2 Japanese kinn, or 278.3 Ancient Roman Libra), temperature, volume, speed, pressure, power and even time (5 years = 1826 days, 43830 hours, 2630000 minutes or 157800000 seconds.)

Check it out: convert-me.com

Ernst Benz sold to Universal Watch

2005-02-23T17:30:00.000-05:00

Just got a press release announcing that Chuck Agnoff sold off Ernst Benz Limited to Universal Watch Company so he can focus on his Orbita Watchwinders:

Agnoff, who is also the founder of Orbita Watchwinders, had a good problem which this acquisition solves. Orbita's remarkable growth and success in the watchwinder business caused Agnoff to expand both in the USA and in Europe where Orbita has become an important supplier of private label watchwinders to several major Swiss watch manufacturers. Mr. Agnoff has had to establish a European factory to meet increased watchwinder demand and this growth requires his full attention.

The Jaeger LeCoultre Grand Reveil

2005-02-18T11:20:00.000-05:00

A classic watch full of features. Jaeger LeCoultre Grand Reveil.18k yellow gold case on a genuine black alligator strap with an 18k Jaeger LeCoultre classic buckle. Automatic movement. Features a Perpetual Calendar (day, date, month, moonphase & year), sweep seconds, & alarm. 40mm case diameter (excluding crown).
Est. Retail is $25,000

Our newest customer

2005-02-16T09:28:00.000-05:00

Any of you who have ever called into Gray & Sons and heard a dog barking or a bird squaking knows that Gray & Sons is an animal friendly place. Keith, the owner, was a zoology major before he turned to horology. Gray & Sons is also a proud supporter of the Wildlife Care Center located in Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

So you can bet Keith was excited on Monday when a client brought in his pet: a 5 month old Russian Lion. The cat was beautiful but had a deep growl that made you glad she was on a leash.

Keith Gray (owner) & Junior Whyte (Head Watchmaker) show "Sasha" some watches.

Can you guess what her favorite watch was? It was a tie between the Cartier Panthere, and the Baume & Mercier Catwalk.

The 10,000 year clock

2005-02-04T11:25:00.000-05:00

"My customers were always looking at 'faster, faster.' So I naturally began to think of 'slower' as the unnoticed frontier."
-- Danny Hillis

Our society is certainly fixated on a faster/cheaper mentality - you can buy DVD players now for less than some DVDs. We buy faster and faster computers that are obsolete with in a year or two. When something breaks we rarely fix it - we just get a new one. We run in the rat race day after day to earn money to buy stuff to make our lives easier (but it only gets more complicated, doesn't it?)

I was reading an article today about a project to create a huge mechanical clock that will run acurately for the next 10,000 years in a cave near the Nevada/Utah border. The cost: $10 million. The purpose: to foster long term thinking and a slower/better mentality.

The clock is being developed by the Long Now Foundation which was established back in 01996 (they use a 5 digit date to solve the "deca-millenium bug" when the calendar rolls over to the year 10,000). The clock will be completely mechanical with a couple innovative technologies in place to keep the clock acurate over the long haul. The project is still in a fund raising and design mode but several prototypes have already been built. When will the final porject be completed? As the executive director of the Long Now Foundation says: "Not sooner than 10 years and possibly longer than my lifetime." That sounds like it is keeping within the foundation's ideals.

The Color of Gold

2005-02-01T15:40:00.000-05:00

What do you think about when someone mentions gold?

Most people make a quick association with wealth and riches - a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow or Scrooge McDuck swimming in his vault of gold coins. We make this association even though gold coins aren't so common anymore (nor is the desire to keep all of one's wealth tied up in gold coins or bars).

The next thing people think of is jewelry & watches. Maybe they immediately think of their preference: white gold or yellow gold? They think about the shine and luster. The precious nature of the metal.

Those within the jewelry industry think of gold in terms of penny weights & grams. The fluctuating market price. The design & craftsmanship. The purity: 24k, 18k, 14k.

After several years of photographing jewelry & watches and touching up those pictures in Photoshop, I tend to think of gold in terms of CMYK.

For those not familiar with what CMYK is here is a brief summary: CMYK stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow & Black (I know, "black" does not being with the letter "K" but it sure does end with it.) In color printing, all colors are created by blending these four inks together in different proportions. All colors can be expressed in percentages of each ink. For example:

Red: C0% M100% Y100% K0%
Blue: C88% M76% Y0% K0%
Yellow: C7% M0% Y100% K0%
The color of pants you wouldn't be caught dead wearing: C100% M30% Y100% K27%

So what is the CMYK equation for the color of gold? Well that is the hard part. Because gold is shiny and reflective you get a whole range of colors. Look at a gold watch and move it around - you'll notice the color keeps changing. Making that gold look just right is one of the hardest parts about taking pictures of jewelry & watches. Here is a sample of the 256 different colors found in a Corum $20 gold piece watch:

Chain Smoking Watch Theives

2005-02-01T10:06:00.000-05:00

A simple reminder to all sales people and shop owners: don't ask a customer to take his cigarette outside while he is still wearing the $37,000 Rolex he just tried on.

Read about it here:
http://www.watchreport.com/2005/02/warning_cigaret.html

The Golden Age of Watches?

2005-01-25T17:23:00.000-05:00

Found an interesting post along with string of comments over at the Fratello Watches wristwatchweblog. Are we currently living the Golden or Silver Age of mechanical watches? Have a read and then you decide:

http://www.fratellowatches.com/archives/2005/01/21/the-golden-age/#comments

Tachymeter Instructions

2005-01-20T09:39:00.001-05:00

I found some good instructions for how to use a tachymeter scale on a chronograph from www.righttime.com.

Q. What is a TACHYMETER (TACHYMETRE) scale and how does it work?

A. WHAT IT DOES:

The tachymetre scale can be used to compute many things, but it's primary purpose is to compute the speed after noting how long it takes to travel a fixed distance (e.g. one mile or kilometer). The dial is a scale which computes the function: Tachymetre Dial = 3600 / Elapsed Time in Seconds

The scale is valid for all elapsed times from 7.2 seconds to 60 seconds. If the duration of the event is outside this range, then the answer on the dial is invalid.

HOW TO USE IT:

For example, suppose you wanted to measure the average speed a racecar was traveling. After starting the chronograph function when the car passes the starting line, and stopping it after the car travels exactly one mile, you note that the chronograph hand is pointing at the 4 o'clock position (i.e. 20 seconds have elapsed) Looking beyond the 4 to the Tachymetre dial reveals the chronograph hand pointing at 180. This means that the average speed of the car would be 180 MPH.

Let's say, instead of the race car speed, you are measuring something much slower, like sailboat speed. In this case, you need to use a shorter distance because the elapsed time must fall within the 7.2 - 60 seconds range. For this example, let's say it took 36 seconds for your sailboat to travel 1/10 of a nautical mile. Reading the tachymetre dial gives a speed of 100 knots. However, since we only traveled 1/10 of a nautical mile, the actual answer is 1/10 of that or 10 knots.

Now let's say you wanted to measure the speed of a VERY, VERY fast airplane: after traveling 10 kilometers, you noted that 10 seconds have elapsed. The tachymetre dial gives an answer of 360 but we traveled 10 Km. Therefore, the answer is 10X360, or 3600 km/hour.

There is really nothing magic about using the Tachymetre dial to measure speed. You can also use it to measure other things, like gas consumption. Suppose it took 50 seconds to burn up a gallon of gasoline. Reading the tachymetre scale shows that you are burning 72 gallons of gasoline per hour

Interesting Bit of History

2005-01-19T16:06:00.000-05:00

For someone like myself interested in watches as well as World War II history I found this little exerpt from HR: Watches Magazine interesting:

During World War II, Schaffhausen was the only Swiss town bombed by Allied forces. On April 1st, 1944, as a result of a fatal error, the IWC factory was hit by a bomb which, fortunately, failed to detonate after crashing through the rafters. The flames from incendiaries exploding nearby penetrated the building through the broken windows, but were quickly extinguished by the company's own fire brigade. (The U.S. claimed that pilots had mistakenly identified Schaffhausen -- the only sizeable chunk of Swiss territory on the north bank of the Rhine -- as a German target. They apologized profusely and paid out compensation, only to make the same 'mistake' again on February 22, 1945).

An honest mistake? or the workings of various American watch company executives conspiring to damage the Swiss watch market?

The Power of Color

2005-01-13T13:33:00.000-05:00

I finally saw one of those new 50th Anniversary Rolex Submariners with the green bezel. The most amazing thing though is that it is just like the black bezel Submariner but retails for $2,000 more from Rolex. That's some expensive ink! Now green is my favorite color so I will agree that it should sell for more, but $2,000 is a good chunk of money. Aftermarket inserts are selling on Ebay for less that $100. But even with the $6,250 suggested retail the thing is selling. It's all about the marketing and branding right?

Here are some colors that didn't make the cut for the 50th Anniversary of the Submariner:

Pink

Teal

Peach

Lavendar

Price Increases

2005-01-11T09:32:00.000-05:00

So rumor has it that the big three watch manufacturers (Patek, Rolex & Cartier) are going to be bumping up the retail prices on their watches next month. This follows a fairly dramatic price increase last year at this same time. Good news if you just purchased a watch for the holidays (as the resale value of your watch could also be increasing). But it may be bad news if you are waiting until next month to buy that new watch. We'll just have to see how much of change they implement.

I read a pretty informative article today about the weakening dollar and the effect that will have not only on imported goods from Europe but on our economy as a whole.

http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/invest/extra/P104150.asp?GT1=5980

Another blog huh?

2005-01-10T17:03:00.000-05:00

They say a new blog is created now every 7.5 seconds. So who needs another one right? Well if you are reading this then maybe you do. I figured if nothing else then a good blog about fine Swiss watches would at least help me learn more about them. (So forget you, this is all about me.)

For 4 years now I have worked for Gray & Sons Jewelers putting together a monthly catalog, updating the website, sending out emails, etc. I have had probably billions of dollars worth of watches and jewelry pass through my hands, their images captured by my Canon EOS D60, their description recorded into countless Word, Simple Text, & Quark documents. I've had to research numerous watches on the web & in reference books. With that said I readily admit that with only 4 years of experience I am far from being an expert on the topic. I hopefully though will be able to gather information as I find it and make comments when necessary. I will leave it to the real experts out there to hopefully read and add their own wisdom as they see fit and ideally bring us all a little closer to Swiss watch enlightenment.