Watches

Thumbnail image for The Seamaster returns

The Seamaster returns

April 10, 2011

A few months ago I wrote about the pros and cons of buying vintage watches, and specifically the trouble I had with a 1960s Omega Speedmaster. Well, I finally found a decent watch repairer in the Maruzen bookshop in Marunouchi. They gave it a thorough going over and I was finally able to collect it [...]

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Thumbnail image for A cautionary tale for vintage watch owners

A cautionary tale for vintage watch owners

March 10, 2011

If you’ve ever bought an automatic watch, or inherited one from a family member, then you’ve probably had at least one encounter with a watch repairer. The following short story, written by Mark Twain, brilliantly sums up the frustration of dealing with disreputable, cack-handed cog monkeys:

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Automatic watches: buy new or buy vintage?

February 10, 2011

One of the more expensive – if not the most expensive – accessories that a man is likely to buy during his lifetime is a good watch. Although in this day and age it’s possible to get a perfectly decent quartz watch that keeps good time for a hundred pounds, there’s something about an automatic [...]

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Thumbnail image for Christmas gifts for wives/girlfriends: the antique watch

Christmas gifts for wives/girlfriends: the antique watch

November 28, 2010

Christmas is coming. Have you got something for your wife or girlfriend? An antique watch always goes down well:   If you’re in Tokyo and are looking for a good second-hand watch dealer, check out Carese Co. in Omotesando Hills (for ladies’ watches) and Morishita (for men’s watches). Watch: 1964 Rolex Oyster-Perpetual Date ladies’ wristwatch [...]

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A watch for every occasion

October 23, 2010

When I was about thirteen years old there was only one kind of watch that I wanted: a great big digital Casio that I saw in an Argos catalogue. It had a big globe that covered half its face, a thermometer, a barometer and numerous stopwatch functions that I thought would be useful for timing, [...]

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The Omega Speedmaster

June 9, 2010

First manufactured in 1959, the Omega Speedmaster secured its place in history by being the first watch to be worn on the moon. The Speedmaster is so named because the bezel and seconds hand serve as a tachymetre, enabling you to calculate the speed of a moving object/person. The only drawback with this is that [...]

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