Breguet Transatlantique Type XXI Flyback - GALLERY

WHAT A STUNNING WATCH!

  

 

 

 

 

Pictures are courtesy of Canwatchco.ca and if you are interested in this watch, it happens to be for sale here:

Breguet Transatlantique for sale on Canwatchco.ca

The BIG BOY's BIG comeback!

HEAR YE HEAR YE, READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Union Pacific Railway is undertaking the movement and restoration of one of the world's largest steam locomotives! Have a look:

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/big-boy-locomotive-begins-california-farewell-tour-22045215

http://www.up.com/aboutup/special_trains/steam/locomotives/4014.shtml

It was also in the Wall Street Journal:

 

And why is this horologically significant? Because one of my very favorite watch brands has a model that honor's this very locomotive. A brand with a rich history in U.S. Railway lore. I am speaking of none other than Ball Watch and here is the Big Boy commemorative Limited Edition timepiece:

 

This model is limited to 999 pieces worldwide. It is offered on leather strap or stainless steel bracelet and like its namesake, it is no slouch in the size department at 46mm in diameter. It features Ball's famous GTLS lumination, a Swiss Mechanical date/date movement and an incredible engraving of the Big Boy on its case back.

For more details on this Super Cool watch follow the link below!

Ball Watch

My history with Tudor and the new Pelagos

In the early 1990’s, pre-internet, my watch collecting was limited to what I was able to find locally. Unfortunately, in Montreal “limited” is the imperative word, especially at that time. That said, there was this wonderful store down-town called York International that dealt in pre-owned watches and was very willing to trades. Now that I think of it, it is their fault I am a watch flipper… hum…

Anyway, I was a little tired of my Tag Heuer S/EL watch and wanted something different so I popped into York International to see what they had to offer. Nothing really caught my eye except this shockingly HUGE blue diver by a brand I had never heard of. Tudor  Submariner. What is a Tudor. Gus, my enabler, went on to explain that it was made by Rolex and instead of Rolex movements, they use ETA movements. At the time, all this meant nothing to me and I said “so it doesn’t use batteries?”

Here is a picture of the model I had: (but mine had a solid Oyster bracelet)

 

Pictures found on Internet, not my watch

By today’s standards, it is relatively small, but back in the early 90’s a 40mm watch with a giant protruding acrylic crystal was HUGE, especially compared to my mid-size Tag Heuer S/EL., which would be considered a ladies watch today.  I had to have it, so I did the trade. Hey, you cannot blame Gus for this trade, those Tags were starting to sell like hot cakes and that vintage Tudor had been sitting there a while. Remember, this is pre-internet.

So I wore that watch for a bit and it pissed me off to no end that the crystal scratched so easily. I also did not like the fact that it was tremendously inaccurate. I do not remember what the deviation was, but I was used to quartz and having to reset the time every other week drove me nuts. I wound up trading it for a two-toned quartz Tag 2000 Chronograph a few weeks later. If I would have known that the Tudor would be worth so much today and the Tag so little… ah… hindsight is always…. Sh….t

Anyway, I spent most of that year trading watches with the good folks at York (now called Matt Baileys), until I had almost every interesting watch they sold.  Thinking I had reached the end of the road and again, at the time, no one else dealt in watches in this fashion in Montreal. I kept on purchasing the odd Seiko and Citizen, until I spotted a private seller in the local classifieds (yes newspaper) selling a Tudor Oysterdate for 400$.

I met the guy at a coffee shop (dunkin’ donuts) and fell in love with this one right away. It was all SS with a silver face and an integrated oyster style bracelet. Like my previous Tudor it had an acrylic crystal, but it did not protrude half as much as the Submariner did and by then I had discovered Polywatch. This is still pre-internet.  I offered him 250$ and we agreed to 300$.

Here are a couple of snaps of this watch:

 

Pictures found on Internet, not my watch

I was very pleased with this one and wore it for almost 2 years without having the urge for something else. In fact, I wore this watch on my wedding day! Then I discovered the internet and a watch seller in the U.S. that many people know with a bulldog for a logo. They had a Kreiger Tidal Chronometer I just had to have. It was so darn cool! I emailed them and offered my Tudor for this watch… I said I found the internet, not commonsense! Of course, they accepted and you know what? I liked it!

Then the real flipping started! Still in the 90’s, I then stumbled onto TimeZone.com and then the sales corners on TimeZone and WatchNet, which were completely separate entities at the time. Those were the days! When real collectors, passionate connoisseurs, shared their knowledge and watches are still very reasonably priced. Heck a Seamaster Professional could be had for under 900$ pre-owned and Rolex Submariner Dates were going for under 2000$! Cool Oris divers for under 500$ and Revue Thommen Airspeeds for 400$. Oh and Minerva had sweet manual wind watches for next to nothing!

Fast forward a half a decade later and in the early 2000’s I wound up with a Tudor Hydronaut. I honestly do not remember what I sold in order to by this one brand new, but the U.S. dollar was so strong that I sold a pre-owned watch in U.S. funds and the conversion into Canadian made it so I had enough to buy a brand new Tudor Hydronaut!

This watch was very nice looking, with amazing angles, hands, dial and case. The bracelet however left much to be desired. I had already owned 50 or so watches with much better bracelets and clasps, so this one really turned me off. That said, it was very comfortable and the size was nice, not to mention it was very accurate.  

Here is a review I did of this watch: Tudor Hydronaut Review

Now fast forward another decade and here we are today. The internet watch landscape could not be any more different. It is not any better or worse, just so vastly spread out. I still see some of the names that have been around as long as I have, but for the most part it is all new. Instead of one main forum where everyone talks about watches, now we have focused / brand specific forums and theme specific forums. And these individual forums each have more members than the old boards had all together.

It is nice seeing so many people enjoying fine timepieces, but at the same time, it is difficult to swallow the prices watches are fetching these days. While I understand currency exchange rates, supply / demand and innovation / technology, I just feel that people’s salaries have not gone up in equal measure. So the affordable has become unreachable for many. Of course, many boutique suppliers have seen to this and now offer products to fill the void. Now imagine if that did not happen? Where would be the watch industry without the boutique brands? Hum…

Anyway, this is not about the state of the watch industry, it is about Tudor and my very latest is this uncanny Pelagos, which I acquired last week. I kind of jumped on this one on a whim and did not really know what to expect. I had seen and read many great things about this watch, but had yet to see one in person. Well, I was immediately floored.

Here are some pics of my watch this time:

The dial has to be one of the most legible I have ever seen.  I do not even mind the black on white date display, as it counter balances the large minute marker on the other side of the dial. The hands are large and clean. The print is perfect and the ceramic bezel is exquisite. The mat ceramic is spectacular and the action is to die for. Really, it is! I read it rides on bearings of some sort, well it feels like it does. No other dive watch has ever been this smooth, precise and solid.

The case is also very well finished with beveled edges in brushed titanium, except the caseback, which is stainless steel. The latter adds a little weight to the head to counter balance the steel clasp. It is so very, very well thought out.  Speaking of the clasps, this one is stupendous! It is as if the engineers / designers at Tudor said “let’s take everything we know about dive watch clasps and throw it in the garbage. Let’s start fresh”. So they did!

The result is incredibly impressive indeed. The features include a ratcheting micro-adjustment system, a diver’s extension with spring-loaded slide adjustment and ceramic bearings to keep things shut tight. It is the most sophisticated non-push-button clasp I have ever seen and it feels so darn good manipulating it. The rest of the bracelet is solid titanium with standard Rolex style screws for adjustments.

I am not sure if I just got lucky or if all of these watches are regulated this way, but mine has only lost 2 seconds in the 7 days I have owned it. This is well beyond chronometer specs and blows away all of my other automatic watches. The crown is also titanium and has the same multiple gasket system as the Rolex Submariner. It also features an integrated has escape valve at 9 o’clock and in case you forget what the dot on the side case is for, it is actually printed “gas escape valve” on the valve.

I did not write all this to review the watch, though I guess I did a little… lol… I just wanted to share my journey in Tudorland and to say they have come a very long way and rightfully deserve all of the recent praise.

I hope you enjoyed the read and pictures.

Tudor

RECOMMENDATION - CANWATCHCO.CA

I do not normally endorse other websites or forums / communities, as I visit and participate on most, but this one is very special. It is owned and run by Bobby Moscovitch, a real stand up guy that offers a wonderful oasis for us Canadians to trade, buy and sell our beloved watches.

Click on pic to follow the link to canwatchco.ca

If you are in Canada and would like to deal with like minded collectors within our borders, this is THE destination for you! I have bought, sold and traded at least a dozen watches with members from this community and they have all been flawless transactions.

On a side note, Bobby often gets his hands on amazing treasures and offers tremendous pricing and exceptional service. If you see one of his watches for sale, jump on it, you will not be disappointed!

HAPPY HUNTING!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

*Pic by Slide 68 in Milan (found on Internet)

From my family to all of yours, HAPPY HOLIDAYS and all the very best for 2014!!!

Ball Hydrocarbon Airborne - GALLERY

I have now owned more Ball watches than any other brand. Even more than Omega, which had been my favorite watch company for the better part of a decade. It is quite easy to understand why. Especially if you have been fortunate enough to own one of their watches. Once you get used to tritium illumination, it is very difficult to live without it.

That is why I tell people who are interested in the brand. CAREFUL, you will start with one, but it will not be your last. We are also blessed with an incredible variety of models and functions. I mean, which other brand has two very difference dive watch lines? Yes, you read that correctly and further more, not only are they different, they do not resemble anything else on the market!

The star of this blog post is the brand new Ball Hydrocarbon Airborne. A model that was first introduced this last spring at the Basel World Fair. It is their latest iteration of their very popular Hydrocarbon line. This new model is a standard time with day & date, but it also houses their new Spring LOCK technology, which helps improve its anti-shock properties.

Before I continue, how about we show some pictures?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is now my 5th Hydrocarbon and with each new one there are tweaks and improvements. This one is not so much a redesign, but it is a more subdued version of last year's Ceramic Peak XV Hydrocarbon. A watch I admired, but did not like enough to own. It was just too "glossy" for me. Besides, I had my hands full with the DeepQUEST:

Ball Hydrocarbon DeepQUEST

This new version, with its discreet dial pattern is just the perfect combination of polish and discretion. I also really like the new numerals on the dial, which for once, are perfectly sized to fit without leaving any gaps. Have a look, this is what I mean:

Those two pictures are mine, taken with two very different cameras and exposures (look at the second hands). Spacemaster on the left, airborne on the right. Hopefully you can see what I mean. There are a ton of tiny little details like this that make the Airborne a superlative watch. 

From the applied markers, to the stunning new sword hands, to the exquisite finish on the case and bracelet. This watch is a total work of art. Oh, make no mistake, this does not mean it is not up to the task. I dare anyone to find a tougher watch! The entire Hydrocarbon line is made for adventure and the airborne is no different. In fact, with its new Spring LOCK system, I bet it can take more punishment than most "would be" sports / adventure watches. Here is some more on this forward thinking technology:

Ball Spring LOCK

For specs and more details on the Hydrocarbon Airborne click here:

Ball Hydrocarbon Airborne

Arnold Schwartzenneger once said, when receiving an award "Of all the awards I have received in my life, this one is... the most recent". Like Arnold, this Ball watch is my most... recent. I absolutely LOVE IT and cannot wait to see what the great minds at Ball Watch will create next!