My friend Gary made a great post on PuristSPro detailing the pieces that he has added and subtracted from his collection recently.  Not only is the collection fantastic and the photography top notch, but the notes and introspection add a glimpse into the true power of watch collecting. Recently I had a somewhat tongue-in-cheek twitter discussion with Jack Forster about the […]

Yesterday, the results of the 2011 Concours International de Chronométrie were announced.  This is a competition where brands submit their pieces to be tested under numerous conditions and shocks to see which keeps the best time.  Unfortunately, my subject line will be the only of its kind in the industry, because really, who cares? This is one of many cases where […]

Last time I wrote in, the US Dollar (USD) was crashing with respect to the Swiss Franc (CHF), or perhaps more accurately: the CHF was surging against the USD.  Most major world currencies right now have a severe risk of inflation, as central banks are printing money to try to get out of their debt.  At some point, this money […]

Here we go again… After a long hiatus, I’ve decided to return to the blog.  I can’t promise a post every day, but I will try to post at least a few times/week.  If there are any topics you’d particularly like me to cover, please tell me in the comments or by email. And here….we…..go….

I haven’t written a Tech Tuesday post in a while (or any post for that matter. sorry).  With a couple hours left, I thought I’d jot down something I’ve been thinking of quite a bit. I love Foursquare.  To me, it is perhaps the coolest mobile app – the true future of mobile.  However, at present I have found almost […]

We, American watch collectors and professionals, are in for some rough times.  As of this writing, 1 US Dollar = .86 Swiss Francs (CHF).  Here’s the one year chart: Unfortunately there are no good solutions here.  Earlier this year, MB&F had to raise the USD price over the CHF for the first time ever.  Now we are going to have […]

Tomorrow I leave for Basel.  This is MB&F’s third year in a row exhibiting there and the second in The Dream Factory.  The Dream Factory comprises MB&F, URWERK, Speake-Marin, and Christophe Claret – certainly one of the most exciting areas of the fair! The Dream Factory is in The Palace Hall.  If you will be in Basel, please do stop […]

I started and run MB&F North America.  That means I am responsible for basically anything you see here in the US – from a watch in a showcase to an article in a magazine.  So when I say that the MB&F HM4 is my favorite watch that I have owned, I don’t blame you for thinking I am biased. However, […]

Where Richard Mille helped to subtly usher in a new world of horology, URWERK really founded what I now call Contemporary Horology.  From the advent of the quartz era until the late 1990’s, watchmakers had been focused on the past – slightly changing the same watches over and over again.  The 103 is a true landmark piece.  It represents a […]

If there was one overdone trend in the last 10 years, it was the tourbillon.  Modern production techniques made commonplace what was once the ultimate show of a watchmaker’s skill.  Combined with buyers’ willingness to spend more money on watches, as I discussed yesterday, tourbillons provided the perfect opportunity for companies to sell extraordinarily expensive watches that will eventually hold little historical […]