Sneak Preview! Coming Attraction!

Prepare to be amazed.  This fall Traser introduces the P68 Pathfinder Swiss Automatic Watch with internal compass bezel and dual illumination.  More info to follow.....

Modern Automatics

Once upon a time mechanical watches were the only option for personal time keeping.  During the inception of the personal timekeeping, mankind developed an amazing piece of technology.  Based off the larger, easier to make clocks of the time, we developed an incredibly compact and amazingly accurate (for the time) personal timepiece.  Originally in the form of pocket watches and eventually wrist watches.  These first watches were made entirely of cogs, gears, springs, coils, plates and levers.  There was no power supply like modern watches.  The watches were run off a 'main spring' set inside the watch and you had to wind it up by the stem.  As you wound the watch, tension applied to the spring would force the other parts of the watch to move.  Eventually the main spring would unwind completely and the watch would stop.  Then you simply wound it up and again and away it went.  It was truly a remarkable invention and a testament to human ingenuity.  Even today I an impressed when I look at a mechanical.  I marvel at how well it still works to this day.  No fancy batteries or circuit boards.  Just pure engineering and careful calculations all set to the unwinding of a spring in the center of the watch and managed to keep remarkably accurate time all things considered.

Fast forward a few decades we see a ton of new version and improvements to the wrist watch.  They made them better, smaller, more accurate and durable.  First we saw the invention of the "automatic".  This was the the same basic principal as the first mechanical watches but added a weighted pendulum that would rotate inside the watch case as the owner wore the watch.  The rotation of the weight would "automatically" wind the main spring and keep the watch constantly running as long as the wearer remained active.  This proved to be a major improvement in the overall design and remains the standard for mechanical watches even to this day.  Almost all modern mechanical watches are automatic mechanical watches of some form or another and even the term "automatic" is often used to describe any mechanical watch by the uninitiated. 

But soon came the dark days of mechanical watches with the invention of the modern battery powered quartz watch.  These watches were no longer powered by a constantly unwinding spring but rather by a small replaceable battery.  This provided a constant power supply for longer periods of time and even opened the door to more possibilities then would ever be possible in an "old fashioned" wind up watch.  The technology increased almost as fast as companies could make watches.  1/100th stop watches, multi-time zones, multi-alarms, calculators, altimeters, depth gauges, atomic time, etc...  Greater accuracy and dependability then was ever possible before.  Watch would run better and longer without any required maintenance AND have more features than ever possible.

The automatic mechanical watch was in big trouble.  Companies went out of business and factories shut down.  The modern quartz watch was the future and the older antiquated technology was being left behind.  But it wasn't the only thing left behind.  Something was actually lost in the transition that no one at the time was considering.  Everyone was so concentrated on making a better, stronger, more advanced watch that they lost sight of something very special.  The heart of the watch itself.  Modern quartz watches and very impressive things but they lack... should I say souls?  As impressive as they are technologically speaking, on the inside they have very few moving parts and are controlled by circuit boards and micro computers.  They are boring, dull and lifeless.  No thought to beauty or design.  All function and no form.


Fortunately people eventually started to notice.  Watch collectors and watchmakers at first but eventually the general public as a whole.  The automatic watch movement was helped by some big key player as well.  People like Rolex and Breitling were heavily invested in high-end mechanical watches.  They started to sell the beauty of the movement, the romance.  The precision manufacturing and multi-jeweled movements.  Hand crafted parts and exhibition cases to show off the raw beauty of the mechanical hearts.
Mechanical watches soon became seen more as wearable art.  Beautiful pieces of functional precision.  Something that was to be admired for it's achievement in engineering.  They were elevated to a whole new level that they continue to enjoy even today.  as even today, with all the advances made, an automatic mechanical watch will never be as accurate or dependable as a quartz watch.  But owning an automatic mechanical watch is about so much more.  It's about owning a piece of history, a piece of art.  A precision instrument which can draw direction lines of history back to the very first personal timepieces.  Modern mechanical automatic are better than ever before.  More accurate and dependable but that is not what owning one is all about.

For more information on mechanical watches or watches in general give us a call Toll Free at 1-888-243-6329.  We love watches and love talking about watches.  If you are considering buying a watch or just want some information let us know.  We are happy to help and you get to talk to real watch experts.  You can also check out our online stores Gem of the Day, Time 4 Tritium and TopFlight Watches.  Each is packed with great watches and great deals!

The New SWISS Watchmakers

Yesterday we introduced the new Torgoen Swiss T32 Collection of Swiss Made Automatic Watches.  After literally years of requests Torgoen has entered the mechanical Automatic Watch arena.  Their first entry is a classic design Swiss three hand Automatic with a date function.  And the entry level price of just $795.00 is remarkable, a real bargain among Swiss Automatics.

What's of real interest in Torgoen's choice of Swiss Movements, the Valanvron 24, a 25 jewel classic movement with the date function.  Just one year ago Torgoen would likely have chosen the ETA 2824, which is virtually identical.  But ETA, a division of The Swatch Group, has announced that it will, sometime in the future, stop selling ETA movements to all outside companies.

This has caused an explosion of new start-up manufacturers making certified Swiss movements to meet the demand of the non-Swatch Swiss brands.  We are now seeing ETA 2824 clones from Sellita and now Valanvron spring up to meed the expected demand for Swiss mechanical movements.

Our experience, so far, with these start-ups has been excellent.  We can't be certain of Swatch's reasons for restricting the sale of their movements.  It seems unlikely that they cannot meet demand as worldwide sales of Swiss Watches is stable given today's economy.  More likely they want the prestige of the ETA name for their own brands only.

Either way we think this development is good for the Swiss Watch industry.  Have all their mechanical eggs in one manufacturer's basket was never a good idea. Ultimately more manufacturer's will mean more innovation and lower prices.

We are happy to recommend the new Torgoen T32 Collection for anyone wanting to own a fine Swiss Automatic.  See the Complete collection on Gem of the Day or on Top Flight Watches.

New Automatics from Traser

Today I bring you some very exciting news from the Tritium watch world.  Traser, one of the worlds leading Tritium watch manufacturers, is bring out two brand new automatic watches with full tritium illumination.  The first model is based off of the incredibly good looking Aviator series and the other is from the P6600 military camp.  Both watches feature Swiss ETA movements.  The GMT Aviator features the ETA 2893-2 and the P6600 Automatic features the ETA 2824-2 EL.  Both watches are extremely well made and have the amazingly bright tritium illumination we have all come to know and love.  I love to see both of these series expanding their selection.  Traser truly is one of the very best watch manufacturers out there and these two series are some of my favorites. 

 

BÜcker Automatic UTC

 

The Aviator collect is quite frankly one of the best looking watches being made today.  In a world fully of military type watches the Master collection is a breath of fresh air.  It is a series equally at home in the office, on the golf course or out in the field.  It is still tough enough to wear anywhere you want to take it and still one of the best looking watches around.  On top of that, this watch also features a 4-hand GMT that is also Tritium illuminated.  This allows you to use the GMT function (UTC/ZULU or just as a second time zone) anytime, day or night.  In the Tritium watch world, very few watches have have an illuminated 4th hand setting this watch even further apart from the pack.  This is a truly unique timepiece, not to be passed up by the true collector.

 

BÜcker Automatic UTC - Night View

On the flip side you have the P6600 Military collection.  And just as I noted earlier, this is yet another military style watch in a sea of military watches.  So what makes this collection so special?  Well innovation for one thing.  A truly unique double case design fuses the strength of stainless steel with the lightweight properties of the composite cases.  This allows for a screw down crow and case back but keeps the watch at a comfortable weight.  And that is just the start.  This watch also features a genuine Sapphire Crystal and 300 Meters Water Resistance!  That's right, this is a true hard core divers watch capably of going anywhere and doing anything you can throw at it.  Even after all of that, this is also one of the best looking military watches available today.  I mean just look at it (pictured below)!  Nuff said.

P6600 Automatic

Both of these watches are new and have very limited availability.  Please call us for pricing and available quantities.  Short waiting periods may be required.  Our Toll Free number is 1-888-243-6329.

Walking a Fine Line: Luminox Battle for Positioning

Over the next few days both Zak (The Watch Guy) and I will be introducing several new Luminox Watches that will be available in extremely limited quantities before Christmas this year. Although almost all of these watches were introduced at the International Watch Fair in Basil, Switzerland in the early Spring, only a select few are making their way onto our shores late this fall. The world wide recession and especially the recession here in the United States are part of the reason for this delay, but Luminox own quest for its position in the marketplace also plays a major roll.

Luminox, as a brand, is torn between their heritage in the United States as a hunting ~ military - law enforcement brand and their Swiss manufacturing heritage as one of the world's finest watches.

Luminox's primary distribution avenue in the U.S. is still hunting and sporting goods stores. These dealers are the folks who brought Luminox to the attention of customers. And it was these dealers who made the original Series I and Series II Navy Seals Dive Watches one of the best selling and most highly regarded watches among law enforcement, sporting enthusiast and military customers in the world. Popularly priced in the $200.00 range in the United States, these watches are tough, accurate, dependable AND AFFORDABLE!

But Luminox parent, Lumondi Corporation in Switzerland, KNOWS that the quality of Luminox rivals and exceeds their better known competitors like Tag Heuer and Breitling. They realize Luminox can make and sell watches in the $1,500.00 to $2,500.00 price points that will easily out perform their competitors.

Back here in the U.S., the large sporting goods network simply cannot even display, let alone sell, watches in these price points.



As I mentioned above, over the next few days, we will show you these higher end Luminox watches like the Series 1500 Deep Diver Automatic pictured on the right, along with some interesting new lower price models. If you want to own one of these luxury Swiss Watches at the upper end you need to RESERVE THEM TODAY. In most cases the U.S. markets will received only tiny quantities, with the major distribution going into Europe and Japan.

Feel free to call Zak or me (Bob) TOLL FREE 1 (888) 243-6329 (weekdays 8:30 am to 6:00 pm) to reserve a watch or to get additional information.