Rolex Oyster Perpetual Submariner
Unveiled in 1953, the Rolex Oyster Perpetual Submariner was the first watch water-resistant to 330 feet. Its combination of unparalleled elegance and spy-friendly versatility appealed to Sean Connery’s James Bond. MSRP $5,175

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Rolex Datejust Oyster Perpetual Stainless Steel Mens Watch 16234 List Price: $5,800.00

Description

Men's Stainless Steel Rolex Datejust Oyster Perpetual wristwatch. Comes with DeMesy's full one year warranty. This watch is in like-new. This is a beautiful watch!

Features

• Automatic winding with date, 31 jewels, Quickset, sapphire crystal
• Stainless steel case with 18k white gold fluted bezel (36mm diameter)
• Rhodium dial with raised Roman numerals
• Stainless steel Jubilee bracelet
• Pre-owned, P series, with Rolex box and papers

Reviews

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Rolex Ladies Stainless Steel Oyster Perpetual No-Date Salmon Dial List Price: $5,650.00

Description

Rolex Ladies Stainless Steel Oyster Perpetual No-Date Salmon With Arabic Number Dial. Features A Stainless Steel Oyster Bracelet And Stainless Steel Smooth Bezel. Model Number: 6600 Series

Reviews

Omega Speedmaster
The first watch to go to the moon (Buzz Aldrin and his Apollo 11 colleagues were wearing them when they touched down on July 20, 1969). Sporty and sturdy, this automatic chronograph is among the most accurate and affordable you can buy. MSRP $3,000

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Omega Men's 3222.80 Speedmaster Chronograph Dial Watch List Price: $4,100.00 Sale Price: $3,895.00 You save: $205.00 (5%)   Eligible for free shipping! Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours 1 new from $3,895.00

Description

Stainless steel case with a stainless steel link bracelet. Blue ion-plated with tachymeter bezel. Blue dial with luminous hands and index hour markers. Date scale around the outer rim. Luminiscent hands and markers. Month, day and date. Three: 24 hours (gmt), 12 hours, and 30 seconds. Automatic movement. Scratch resistant sapphire crystal. Screw down crown. Skeleton case back. Case diameter: 40 mm. Fold over clasp with double push button . Water resistant at 100 meters/ 330 feet. Functions: hours, minutes, seconds, calendar, gmt, chronograph, tachymeter. Omega speedmaster day-date automatic chronometer chronograph mens watch 3222.80.00.

Add a true classic to your timepiece collection with the amazingly precise and rugged Omega Speedmaster day-and-date men's watch (model 3222.80.00), the latest generation that first started with the timepiece designed for NASA in the 1960s. It features the Omega 3606 caliber automatic movement, which has been certified as a chronometer by the COSC (Swiss Official Chronometer Control). Only 3 percent of watches produced in Switzerland are "chronometer-certified." To achieve this highly coveted certification, the movements are subjected to numerous tests over a period of 15 consecutive days and nights, in five positions and at three different temperatures. The watch also includes a central chronograph hand with 30-minute and 12-hour subdial totalizers, 24-hour subdial, and day and month windows. The large, round watch measures 39mm wide (1.54 inches) and 15mm thick (0.59 inches), and it's topped by a blue-plated bezel with tachymeter readings. The blue dial background has a circular Geneva wave pattern, luminous silver-tone hands, luminous tipped stick hour markers, and small second indexes. It's completed by a silver stainless steel link bracelet band that offers polished highlights, which is joined by a secure, push-button clasp. Other features include a scratch-resistant and glare-proofed domed sapphire crystal, and water resistance to 100 meters (330 feet)--offering protection from accidental splashes as well suitable for swimming, snorkeling, and light recreational diving. Automatic Watch Movement An automatic watch is self-winding, and its movement has a reserve that must be at least partially filled prior to being worn. This is done by shaking and winding the timepiece manually. In order for an automatic timepiece to keep a reserve, it must be worn daily for 8 hours of active wear. This watch as a 44-hour power reserve. How to Use a Tachymeter A tachymeter is an instrument for measuring speed. It is a chronograph with a graduated dial on which speed can be read off in kilometers per hour based on 1000 meters distance. For example, the chronograph indicates that the distance of one kilometer has been covered in 30 seconds. The corresponding point on the tachymeter scale indicates 120, and thus the speed is 120km per hour. The Omega Story The Omega watch story begins in 1848, when founder Louis Brandt began hand assembling key-wound precision pocket watches from parts supplied by local craftsmen in his principality La Chaux-de-Fonds, in the northwest corner of Switzerland. However, the Omega name didn't appear until 1894, after Louis Brandt had passed away and his watchmaking traditions were taken over by his sons, Louis-Paul and Cesar Brandt. Omega watches have long been associated with glamorous screen and sports stars--the Omega Seamaster is famous for being the watch of choice for James Bond--with current ambassadors including Pierce Brosnan, Nicole Kidman, tennis player Anna Kournikova, and swimmers Michael Phelps and Ian Thorpe. But Omega is more than just a fashionable watch. In 1965, the Omega Speedmaster chronograph was "flight-qualified by NASA for all manned space missions" as the only wristwatch to have withstood all of the U.S. space agency's severe tests, including passing grades for extreme shocks, vibrations, and temperatures ranging from -18 to +93 degrees Celsius. The greatest moment in the Speedmaster's history was undoubtedly 20 July 1969 at 02:56 GMT, when it recorded man's first steps on the Moon's surface as part of the Apollo 11 mission. Today, Omega is known for its rigorous testing of new movements, cases, and bands. Each new Omega movement is tested on the wrist in existing Omega models, while various laboratory tests are conducted to determine temperature-resistance, shock-resistance and vibration-resistance.

Features

• Automatic movement
• Anti-reflective crystal protects watch from scratches
• Metal Case
• Case diameter: 40 mm
• Water-resistant to 330 feet (100 m)

Reviews

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Omega Women's 3535.70.00 Speedmaster Diamond Bezel Watch List Price: $8,600.00 Sale Price: $7,775.00 You save: $825.00 (10%)   Eligible for free shipping! Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours 2 new from $7,775.00

Description

Steel case with a steel bracelet. Fixed stainless steel set with diamonds bezel. White mother of pearl dial with luminous silver-tone hands and Arabic numeral hour markers. Minute markers around the outer rim. Luminescent hands and markers. Chronograph - three sub-dials displaying: 12 hours, 30 minutes, 60 seconds sub dials. Self winding automatic movement. Scratch resistant sapphire crystal. Solid case back. Case diameter: 39 mm. Case thickness: 13 mm. Fold over clasp with push button safety. Water resistant at 100 meters / 330 feet. Functions: hours, minutes, seconds, chronograph. Omega Speedmaster Ladies Watch 3535.70.

Features

• Automatic movement
• Scratch resistant sapphire crystal
• Case diameter: 39 mm
• Metal case
• Water-resistant to 330 feet (100 M)

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Cartier Santos
Designed in 1904 by Louis Cartier himself for Brazilian aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont, this was one of the first wristwatches built specifically for men. The gold-and-steel self-winding version, released in 1978, is now a standard of gentlemanly elegance. MSRP $4,200 The Santos also has a ladies model.

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Cartier Men's W2020008 Santos 100 Medium Watch List Price: $6,800.00 Sale Price: $5,569.00 You save: $1,231.00 (18%)   Eligible for free shipping! Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days 5 new from $5,569.00

Description

Stainless steel and titanium case with a black toile de voile bracelet. A fixed 18K bezel. Black dial with 3 hands and Roman numerals. Case diameter 32 mm. Screwed down case back. Swiss Automatic (self winding) movement. Deployment clasp. Water resistant to 100 meters / 330 feet. Cartier Santos 100 Medium Watch W2020008

Stainless steel and titanium case with a black toile de voile bracelet. A fixed 18K bezel. Black dial with 3 hands and Roman numerals. Case diameter 33 mm. Screwed down case back. Swiss Automatic (self winding) movement. Deployment clasp. Water resistant to 100 meters / 330 feet. Cartier Santos 100 Medium Watch W2020008

Features

• Swiss Automatic (self winding) movement
• A fixed 18k bezel black dial with 3 hands and roman numerals
• Screwed down case back, deployment clasp
• Stainless steel and titanium case with a black toile de voile bracelet
• Water-resistant to 330 feet (100 M)

Reviews

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Cartier Santos 100 18kt Rose Gold Ladies Watch W20108Y1 List Price: $19,350.00

Description

18kt pink gold case with a brown leather strap. Fixed 18kt pink gold bezel. Silver dial with sword-shaped black hands and Roman numeral hour markers. Minute markers around an inner ring. Luminiscent hands. Automatic movement. Scratch resistant sapphire crystal. 18kt pink octagon crown with a faceted sapphire. Solid case back. Case dimensions: 34 mm x 34 mm. Deployment clasp. Water resistant at 100 meters / 330 feet. Functions: hours, minutes, seconds. Cartier Santos 100 18kt Rose Gold Ladies Watch W20108Y1.

Reviews

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Cartier Women's W20012C4 Santos 18K Gold and Stainless Steel Watch List Price: $6,500.00 Sale Price: $5,200.00 You save: $1,300.00 (20%)   Eligible for free shipping! Availability: Usually ships in 3-5 weeks 4 new from $5,200.00

Description

18kt yellow gold and stainless steel case with a 18kt yellow gold and stainless steel bracelet. Fixed 18kt yellow gold bezel. Silver opaline dial with blue hands and black Roman numeral hour markers. Minute markers around the inner ring. Luminiscent hands and dial markers. Quartz movement. Scratch resistant sapphire crystal. Octaganol crown. Stainless steel case back. Case diameter: 24 mm. Case thickness: 6 mm. Hidden deployment clasp. Water resistant at 30 meters / 100 feet. Functions: hours, minutes. Cartier Santos Two-Tone 18kt Yellow Gold and Steel Ladies Watch W20012C4.

Features

• Precise cartier swiss-quartz movement
• Scratch-resistant sapphire crystal; brushed stainless steel and 18k case and bracelet
• White dial with blue metallic hands and roman numerals
• Cabochon crown
• Water resistant up to 99 feet (30 M)

Reviews

My personal favorite and the watch I wear:
Movado Museum
Movado—which means “always in motion” in Esperanto—debuted the Museum in 1947. The minimalist timepiece, which features only an hour hand, a minute hand, and a dot at twelve o’clock, still sits in the Museum of Modern Art’s design wing. MSRP $995

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Movado Men's 606086 Museum Black Genuine Leather Strap Watch List Price: $695.00

Description

Slip a true classic onto your wrist with this gold-tone Movado Museum stainless steel Swiss quartz watch for men, which features the utterly recognizable, minimalist look of the Museum Watch, made famous by American designer Nathan George Horwitt in 1947. Defined by a single dot at 12 o'clock representing the sun at high noon, the Museum Watch's uncluttered dial is regarded as an icon of Modernism, and it was the first watch dial ever selected to be part of New York's Museum of Modern Art's permanent collection. The deep black dial face includes just the signature single dotted marker at 12 o'clock--evocative of a sun dial--and two silver hands. (Movado's Museum watch is often referred to as the "boss's watch" due to its vague display of time and because the boss doesn't have to be on time.) Powered by a precise Swiss quartz movement, it also features a highly scratch-resistant sapphire crystal and water resistance to 30 meters (99 feet)--enabling it to withstand splashes and accidental dunks into the water, but not suitable for swimming. It's completed by a textured leather strap in black with tonal stitching. Museum Collection The watch dial defined by a dot at 12. Design simplicity unrivaled in the history of time-keeping. Flat dot/stick hands, or concave dot/dauphine hands. Stainless steel or gold-plated case. Fine leather strap. Swiss quartz movement. Sapphire crystal. Water resistant to 3 atm.

Features

• Precise Swiss-quartz movement
• Polished gold-tone stainless steel case and bezel; genuine leather strap; gold-tone stainless steel buckle
• Scratch resistant sapphire crystal
• Water-resistant to 99 feet (30 M)

Reviews

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Movado Women's 606088 Museum Black Genuine Leather Strap Watch List Price: $695.00

Description

Slip a true classic onto your wrist with this gold-tone Movado Museum stainless steel Swiss quartz watch for women, which features the utterly recognizable, minimalist look of the Museum Watch, made famous by American designer Nathan George Horwitt in 1947. Defined by a single dot at 12 o'clock representing the sun at high noon, the Museum Watch's uncluttered dial is regarded as an icon of Modernism, and it was the first watch dial ever selected to be part of New York's Museum of Modern Art's permanent collection. The deep black dial face includes just the signature single dotted marker at 12 o'clock--evocative of a sun dial--and two silver hands. (Movado's Museum watch is often referred to as the "boss's watch" due to its vague display of time and because the boss doesn't have to be on time.) Powered by a precise Swiss quartz movement, it also features a highly scratch-resistant sapphire crystal and water resistance to 30 meters (99 feet)--enabling it to withstand splashes and accidental dunks into the water, but not suitable for swimming. It's completed by a textured leather strap in black with tonal stitching. Museum Collection The watch dial defined by a dot at 12. Design simplicity unrivaled in the history of time-keeping. Flat dot/stick hands, or concave dot/dauphine hands. Stainless steel or gold-plated case. Fine leather strap. Swiss quartz movement. Sapphire crystal. Water resistant to 3 atm.

Features

• Precise Swiss-quartz movement
• Polished gold-tone stainless steel case and bezel; genuine leather strap; gold-tone stainless steel buckle
• Scratch resistant sapphire crystal
• Water-resistant to 99 feet (30 M)

Reviews

Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso
The most celebrated of this Swiss watchmaker’s offerings, and for good cause: It features a reversible case, innovated in 1931 to allow British officers in India to play risk-free polo. Get the classic automatic model, or up the ante with a large, dual-time-zone version with an eight-day power reserve. MSRP $7,750.

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Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Squadra World Chronograph Mens Titanium Watch 702T670 List Price: $17,700.00

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Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Classique Lady 18K Yellow Gold Watch 2611410 List Price: $9,100.00

Description

18K yellow gold case, Silver dial, Black Arabic numerals, Brown leather strap, Deployment buckle, Scratch resistant sapphire crystal, Water resistant to 100 feet.

Reviews

Omega Constellation

Crafted from stainless steel and 18 karat yellow gold, this midsize
Constellation series watch from Omega is a handsome luxury timepiece for
business, dress, or sport occasions. Goldtone hands and hour markers
are featured against a white dial, along with a sweep seconds hand and a
date display at the three o'clock hour. Set in a round steel case, the
dial is capped with a virtually scratch-proof domed sapphire crystal and
framed by a solid gold bezel with engraved Roman numerals. This Omega
watch is showcased on a steel bracelet with full gold bars between the
links. It boasts precise Swiss quartz movement and is rated water
resistant to 165 feet (50 M).

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Omega Men's 1212.30.00 Constellation Quartz Two-Tone Watch List Price: $3,200.00

Description

Crafted from stainless steel and 18 karat yellow gold, this midsize Constellation series watch from Omega is a handsome luxury timepiece for business, dress, or sport occasions. Goldtone hands and hour markers are featured against a white dial, along with a sweep seconds hand and a date display at the three o'clock hour. Set in a round steel case, the dial is capped with a virtually scratch-proof domed sapphire crystal and framed by a solid gold bezel with engraved Roman numerals. This Omega watch is showcased on a steel bracelet with full gold bars between the links. It boasts precise Swiss quartz movement and is rated water resistant to 165 feet (50 M).

Features

• Precise Swiss-Quartz movement
• Domed, scratch-resistant sapphire crystal with anti-reflective treatment inside
• Case diameter: 33.5 mm
• 18kt. Yellow gold - stainless-steel case; Silver-white dial; Date function
• Water-resistant to 165 feet (50 M)

Reviews

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Omega Constellation Automatic Diamond Women's Watch 1297.75 List Price: $6,600.00

Description

Steel and 18K gold case & bracelet, Bezel set with diamonds, White dial, Diamond hour markers, Date window at the 3 o'clock position, Scratch resistant sapphire crystal, Swiss automatic movement, Water resistant to 30 meters / 100 feet

Reviews

A fine Swiss timepiece is an excellent way to say "I love you" and every time that the timepiece is viewed. Notice all prices are the manufacturer’s recommended retail price ( MSRP). You will find all of these fine Swiss watches at substantially decreased prices at the Luxury">http://www.swisswatchbargains4u.com/store">Luxury Swiss Watch Shop

For Him:
Rolex Oyster Perpetual Submariner
Unveiled in 1953, the Submariner was the first watch water-resistant to 330 feet. Its combination of unparalleled elegance and spy-friendly versatility appealed to Sean Connery’s James Bond. MSRP $5,175

Omega Speedmaster
The first watch to go to the moon (Buzz Aldrin and his Apollo 11 colleagues were wearing them when they touched down on July 20, 1969). Sporty and sturdy, this automatic chronograph is among the most accurate and affordable you can buy. MSRP $3,000

TAG Heuer Monaco
Issued in 1969, this stainless-steel classic was the first automatic chronograph to feature a water-resistant square case. MSRP $3,195

IWC Portuguese
Developed in 1938 in response to Portuguese tradesmen’s request for an oversized watch with precise, pocket-watch movement, this is IWC’s signature model. Available in every imaginable iteration, from the classic automatic chronograph to a “perpetual calendar” model, which features a moon-phase indicator that varies by only one day every 577 years. MSRP $19,400.

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak
The Swiss company revolutionized sport watch design when it introduced this model, with its octagonal case and eight visible screws, in 1972. The automatic, stainless-steel Royal Oak is now available with all kinds of bells and whistles, from chronograph to tachymeter, and is a big hit with golfers like Vijay Singh. MSRP $15,700

For Her:

Ladies Rolex Presidents

The Ladies’ Rolex President stands as a representation of one’s accomplishments and status. A prime choice of female politicians, executives, and actresses alike, the President watches are adorned with varying amounts of diamonds which sparkle magnificently on any wrist. Rolex Super President models differ from traditional Ladies’ Presidents with the additional diamonds which are set on the band and lugs, creating a timepiece which makes a bold statement regarding a lady’s refinement and distinction.

La Grande Classique de Longines
Capturing the soul and the style of Longines’ earliest design tradition, La Grande Classique de Longines watches have until today largely retained their original appearance and proportions. Changing expectations and technical advances have now prompted Longines to update their design, not least by introducing a larger case size and offering an even broader choice of subtly refined dial faces. But the slim, sleek La Grande Classique de Longines case profile remains unchanged, as does the cool elegance that gives this collection an appeal as enduring as the classic tradition itself.
L4.191.7.11.6

L4.191.9.11.0

Omega New Constellation
Omega has re-designed its iconic luxury watch line – Constellation collection which was created in 1982 and developed into a milestone in 1995 when super model Cindy Crawford started worked as Omega Ambassador. Constellation collection is one of the world’s most recognizable luxury timepieces with the famous “claws” that look beautiful and firmly hold the sapphire crystal together with the case.

The 2009 Omega Constellation watches are highly anticipated by global Omega fans as there has not been a new Constellation in years. And these fresh Constellation watches with dynamic and contemporary look can live up to expectations of their fans. They fully present new design features and technical innovation while respecting Constellation’s precious heritage. If you like matching his and hers watches Omega also has a men's line of New Constellation watches.

A fine Swiss timepiece is an excellent way to say "I love you" and every time that the timepiece is viewed. Notice all prices are the manufacturer’s suggested retail price ( MSRP). You will find all of these fine Swiss watches at substantially reduced prices at the Luxury Swiss Watch Shop

The difference between a $500 watch and a $50,000 one is often in the movement.

The ground floor of the Roger Dubuis factory, a top-tier manufacturer specializing in artistically extroverted timepieces, comes as a shock. This is one of Geneva's temples of haute horlogerie, a place where you'd expect the loudest sound to be the nearly inaudible cricket-song of a hand file against brass. But in this gigantic room blue- and white-coated technicians tend enormous, sleek machines. The air is redolent of oil and coolant, the ceiling is strung with pipes and conduit, and, here and there, warning signs and bundled cables testify to the huge amounts of electricity being consumed.

It's in a room like this that virtually every watch, from the humblest $100 automatic to the costliest limited-edition mechanical marvel, starts its life. The components are made by supersophisticated industrial robots--computer-guided automatic milling machines and spark-erosion fabricators. Which brings up a question: If this is so, why do watch prices range from less than the cost of a decent lunch to more than that of a comfortable suburban house?

The answer lies one floor up, where those raw parts undergo a dramatic transformation. Here the workers wear blue or white coats, too, but otherwise you've gone back in time. There are no robots, only tools that would be recognized by a watchmaker from a century ago. At one workbench, a woman uses a spinning boxwood disk to polish a delicate sine wave curve into the flanks of tiny brass-gear teeth. Nearby, another woman passes a movement repeatedly under a spinning disk charged with jeweler's rouge. As she does so rows of gleaming parallel stripes appear, like ripples in a frozen pond; these are the famous Geneva stripes, or Côtes de Genève, one of the signature movement decorations of the Genevan school of watch decorating. At yet another workstation, a young man works with painstaking slowness to give a tiny irregular movement bridge a beveled flank so that it catches light like the facet of a diamond. Each stroke is done with the care of a vascular surgeon stitching shut a hair-thin blood vessel.

These are the finisseurs (finishers), and it's their time-consuming, labor-intensive work that holds the answer to the question I posed earlier. The art of movement decoration has been part of watchmaking since the first table clocks were made during the Renaissance. Over the centuries national style developed: the reserved gilt-and–blued steel stolidity of English chronometers; the glitteringly sensuous Genevan approach; the superbly flat dress pocket watches of France, made as thin as possible so as to avoid disrupting the tailored fit of a waistcoat. Whatever the style, the finish of a watch movement was one of the purest expressions of a craftsman's pride, as in most cases nobody but the watchmaker himself even knew it was there.

Which is still the case: 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.
Respect the robots. 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.
More finishing does not mean more accuracy. 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 parallel. 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 change the equation. A machine-finished watch with one or both can cost more than one that is hand-finished. Rarity and peculiar provenance can make a watch expensive regardless of finishing.
Absent those factors, higher price means more finishing. A $10,000 watch, as a rule, has more hand-finishing than a $6,000 one.
At the high end, it's the finisseur. His painstaking work 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. 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. In the middle ($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. In the top tier ($12,000 and up) hand-finishing 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.

And the expense is huge. The finest haute horlogerie brands train most of their finisseurs in-house. Just learning how to bevel a flank properly can take anywhere from one to one-and-a-half years. Learning how to black-polish steel to a mirror finish, hand-engrave a rotor, or apply Geneva stripes of just the right depth requires a touch that has to be passed down directly--there are few manuals to go by.

It's fair to ask why a top-notch timepiece is 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 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 human skill concentrated in a cubic centimeter.

Buzz Aldrin may have been only the second man to walk on the moon, but he was the first to wear a watch on its surface. In 1962 NASA visited a jewelry shop in Houston, bought some timepieces, and subjected them to what agency historians describe as ‘exhaustive tests aimed at determining performance reliability in the conditions likely to be experienced during EVA’. That acronym stands for ‘extravehicular activity’, which means moon walking, which means temperatures ranging from -250 to +250ºF. The agency also exposed the watches to ‘accelerations of 12gs’ and the violent shaking of a ‘vibration table’. The only one to survive was the Omega Speedmaster. Despite congressional pressure to buy American, NASA went Swiss, and ordered one for every astronaut.

Neil Armstrong left his in the lunar module as a replacement for the ship’s timer (American-made), which had malfunctioned. Aldrin wore his strapped to the outside of his surface suit, because, as he said recently, he wanted it to do ‘more than just sit inside the spacecraft’. A few years later, back on earth, he lost it. But on a warm Wednesday evening in June, at an event to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing, he could be found at the Omega store on Fifth Avenue, looking at replacements. (Aldrin, at ease in public, unlike the rest of his Apollo crew, is a regular on the promotional circuit, and was also featured in a recent Louis Vuitton campaign.)

White coated men with monocles hustled about. Aldrin, in a blue pinstripe suit, answered questions about time, Mars, and Magnificent Desolation, his recent memoir (the title a reference both to what the astronaut saw on the lunar surface and to his terrestrial struggles with alcoholism). During the Apollo program, Aldrin and my aunt Glendora were neighbors. Thanks in part to Aunt Glen’s enthusiasm; I had been reading his book. I told him I was enjoying it and had ‘just got to the point where you crash your Saab Sonnet’.

The astronaut responded with a jerk of the head and a disbelieving look. ‘That was a really bad time for me! Don’t talk about that!’
Then he reached down – onlookers could be forgiven for flinching, as Buzz had punched a man just a few years back for badgering him about complicity in the supposed faking of the lunar landing – fished around in his pocket, and pulled out an AA medallion, which he held up a bit too close to my face.
‘Twelve years,’ he said.

The medallion was gold and inlaid with red and blue stones. He repocketed it.
NASA has spent the last few years designing and testing a new series of spacecraft to return to the moon and continue on to Mars. Aldrin, like many of his Apollo program colleagues, is dismayed by the slowness of the project. The Obama administration recently convened a panel to review the whole thing and determined that there is not nearly enough money to make it happen. (Though there seemed to be more than enough in the Omega store.)

I asked Aldrin about the new lunar rover. A bystander and amateur lunar historian pointed out that Aldrin had never driven the original rover, and could not, therefore, be expected to have an opinion on the new one. There was a brief pause.
‘Beats walking,’ Aldrin said.

A woman with red lips and white hair walked past. She appeared to be a regular denizen of Fifth Avenue boutiques, and caught Aldrin’s eye. After saying hello he asked: ‘Where do you live?’

‘New York,’ she replied. ‘But I see you in Monte Carlo all the time!’
He nodded.
‘See you there soon!’ she said.

The evening ended behind a pair of ebony pocket doors, where white-coated men and the Swiss president of Omega presented Aldrin with a diamond encrusted Speedmaster. The diamonds looked like – and looked valuable enough to get us to – the stars.

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As investors continue to ponder whether the recovery in markets is sustainable, some may find that this is the time to put their money in an asset class that lasts.

The downturn has hit the luxury watch market hard. Luxury watch exports from Switzerland, where many of the premium brands are manufactured, have seen a decline of 25 percent over the past 9 months and the slump in demand was especially severe for watches made of precious metals.

However, the picture for "retail" luxury watches seems to bear little resemblance with the "collectible" luxury watch markets for brands such as Patek Philippe, Jaeger Le Coultre or Vacheron Constantin.

Sales of luxury collectible watches have been more resilient in the crisis and have shown buoyant demand as old and new investors fled into the prestigious asset class. Auctions held in May by auctioneers like Antiquorum, Sotheby's and Christie's clocked up a total of 90 million francs.

At a recent collectors' wristwatches auction held by auctioneer Antiquorum in Geneva, the sale of a platinum Patek Philippe set a new world record for its kind and sold for 114 000 Swiss francs ($114,000), while other auctions have seen prices for rare time pieces even reach the million dollar mark in the last several years.
Timing your purchase of a collectible watch may be more important than ever. Jon Cox from Kepler Capital Markets says collectible watches may also offer inflation protection as investors may be worried of higher price levels in the future. He adds that in some countries, a Rolex is even considered a currency.

Investors wishing to avoid the volatility of traditional asset classes, such as stocks or commodities, may find watches are a timeless investment. But as with many things in life, this investment is one for the long-term and requires investors’ patience: the value of collectible watches increases with time.

While age for most other asset classes is associated with depreciation and loss of value, a collectible watch investment ticks differently. The older a timepiece is, the more value it usually holds.

A word of caution for those who hope to make a quick profit: the market for collectible watches is very illiquid as these valuable timepieces are either passed on from one generation to the next or can only be bought and resold at auctions.

The return, and hence the retail price of a watch depends on many factors, beyond just the design and the quality.

Many experts cite the emotional value as being one of the most essential characteristics of a watches’ price: how much a luxury watch will fetch often purely depends on how much a buyer is willing to pay.

Tips for investing in collectible watches:
• Reputation is key: Buy a brand with a long history and excellent reputation
• Age does matter: Timepieces’ value increase with its age. Signs of wear and tear show a watch is authentic and has history, while a polishing only reduces a watches’ value
• Rarity drives valuation higher: The fewer time pieces of one series exist, the more it will be able to fetch in an auction
• Quality is King: As with other assets, the quality of the collectible watch, including its movement, are essential to its value

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The prestige Swiss brands have engraved their position as the world's number one status symbol, limited to the rich and famous. Some of the mass Swiss brands on the other hand, target a somewhat different demographic and are now the world's largest producer of watches.

Many countries in the world now produce and export high quality watches. Yet, ask people on the street which country makes the best quality watches and 9 times out of 10 the response will be Switzerland. So, how did Switzerland and watches become synonymous with key traits.

The custom of quality and detail has been upheld for over five centuries and would seriously doubt if there is any industry can make this claim in any other industry. Swiss watch making one way or another manages to merge state-of-the-art technology and innovation with creativity and passion and maintain quality standards in the process. The results are obvious as the Swiss can claim the first wristwatch, the first quartz watch, the first water resistant wristwatch, the thinnest wristwatch in the world, the smallest and the most expensive watch in the world.

Brands were in the beginning developed as labels of ownership, an early example would be branding of cattle to point towards ownership. Today, it is what brands do for people that matters, how they define their aspirations, image and status. It is uncertain if any brands manage this better than Longines, Rolex, Breitling, Tissot and dozens of other top Swiss watch brands.
What is a Swiss watch? - and according to Swiss law a watch can only be well thought-out Swiss if it is manufactured in Switzerland, its movement is Swiss and the manufacturer carries out the final examination in Switzerland.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jaybe_Scott

The precision chronographs in the Olympic Timeless Collection pay special tribute to the Games of the XXIX Olympiad in Beijing and to OMEGA’s key contributions to the art and science of sports timekeeping. The watches recall the chronographs used at the Los Angeles 1932 Olympic Games when OMEGA was named Official Timekeeper for the first time.
Six of the models in the Collection feature the Arabic numerals and the red OMEGA name and logo found on those early models and share an extraordinarily striking feature: the five interlocking coloured Olympic rings are mounted on the counterweights of the central chronograph seconds hand.
The Collection also includes a stunning world premiere: the Speedmaster 5-Counters Chronographs are the first mechanical wristwatches ever to have five counters displayed on their dials . . . even more remarkably, the five black counters are arranged to form the Olympic rings. The 5-Counters Chronographs are visual and technological masterpieces.

Each chronograph in the Olympic Timeless Collection has the Olympic rings symbol, the OMEGA name and logo and the inscription “Official Timekeeper” stamped on the case back, further reflecting OMEGA’s historic connections to the Olympic Games.
The remarkable watches in the Olympic Timeless Collection salute the Games of the XXIX Olympiad in Beijing and commemorate OMEGA’s peerless record of innovation in watchmaking and sports timekeeping.

Speedmaster 5-Counters Chronograph
An exclusive world premiere: five counters form Olympic rings on dial!

A first glance at the Speedmaster 5-Counters Chronographs reveals at once that these are very special watches indeed: for the first time ever, five counters are displayed on the dial of a mechanical wristwatch . . . but there’s more!

The five black counters are spread across a bright black dial in the form of the Olympic rings! Starting at the 3 o’clock position, they include 1) a small seconds counter, 2) a 7-day chronograph recorder, 3) a day indicator, 4) a 12-hour chronograph recorder and 5) a 30-minute chronograph recorder.

The dial’s dramatic detail is viewed through a box-form, scratch-resistant sapphire crystal with anti-reflective treatment on both sides.

The 5-Counters Chronographs are not only visual masterpieces. The exclusive Calibre 3888 movement with OMEGA’s Co-Axial Escapement assures remarkable accuracy and reliability – they are COSC-certified chronometers; the self-winding chronographs have a power reserve of 52 hours.

The 5-Counters Chronographs are available in four versions: 18 Ct red gold or yellow gold numbered editions with alligator leather straps, or in stainless steel either with an alligator leather strap or a stainless steel bracelet. The cases measure 44.25 mm; the 18 Ct gold editions have bezels in corresponding colours; the steel models have a black aluminium ring on the stainless steel bezel.

The OMEGA-Olympic medallion on the case back is another reminder that the 5-Counters Chronographs are part of the Olympic Timeless Collection honouring OMEGA’s long relationship with the Olympic Games.

The instantly-recognizable OMEGA Speedmaster 5-Counters Chronographs pay truly unique tribute to the Games of the XXIX Olympiad in Beijing!

Speedmaster Date
The Speedmaster Date in the OMEGA Olympic Timeless Collection features red chronograph recorder hands and blued-steel hour, minute and small seconds hands set against a lacquered white dial with black Arabic numerals and vintage red OMEGA logo and name, with the date window at 3 o’clock. The five coloured Olympic rings appear as the counterweight of the red central chronograph seconds hand. Available exclusively with a matching brushed and polished stainless steel bracelet, it retains the typical Speedmaster feature of a tachymeter scale engraved on the stainless steel bezel and has a domed scratch-resistant sapphire crystal with anti-reflective treatment. This chronograph is powered by the OMEGA calibre 1164 self-winding chronograph movement enclosed in a 40mm steel case; the movement has an exclusive rhodium-plated finish and a power reserve of 44 hours. This Speedmaster Date is a certified chronometer and is water resistant to 100 metres / 330 feet.

Speedmaster Broad Arrow
The Speedmaster Broad Arrow in the OMEGA Olympic Timeless Collection features facetted black gold plated hour, minute and small seconds hands, blued chronograph recorder hands and a blued central chronograph seconds hand with the five coloured Olympic rings serving as a counterweight. The “broad arrow” hands recall those found on the very first Speedmaster models, set off by the lacquered white dial with black Arabic numerals and the vintage red OMEGA symbol and name. The Speedmaster Broad Arrow of the OMEGA Olympic Timeless Collection uses OMEGA’s column-wheel chronograph movement, the OMEGA calibre 3313. The movement has a 52-hour power reserve and makes use of OMEGA’s advanced Co-Axial Escapement and free sprung balance to offer better precision and performance over the long term. Available exclusively with a brushed and polished stainless steel bracelet, this Speedmaster Broad Arrow features a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal with anti-reflective treatment and is water resistant to 100 metres / 330 feet.

Speedmaster Ladies’
The Speedmaster Ladies’ in the OMEGA Olympic Timeless Collection derives from the original Gents’ Speedmaster, launched in 1957 and later chosen by NASA for its manned missions to the moon. The Ladies’ Speedmaster uses a reduced case size and retains the classic tachymeter scale on the bezel. The hour markers on the mother-of-pearl dial appear in the official colours of the Olympic Games—yellow, blue, black, red, and green—and complement the coloured rings on the counterweight of the central chronograph seconds hands. The heart of this distinctive model is the OMEGA calibre 3220. A self-winding chronograph movement with a power reserve of 40 hours. This Speedmaster Ladies is protected by a sapphire crystal with anti-reflective treatment and is water-resistant to 100 metres / 330 feet. Available exclusively with a white alligator leather strap that subtly underlines its feminine elegance.

Seamaster Planet Ocean
The Seamaster in the OMEGA Olympic Timeless Collection is a Planet Ocean Co-Axial Chronograph featuring white Arabic numerals, rhodium-plated hour and minute hands and chronograph recorder hands on a semi-matt black dial protected by a domed scratch-resistant sapphire crystal with anti-reflective treatment on both sides. Its distinctive Olympic look is highlighted by coloured Olympic Rings that form the counterweight of the chronograph seconds hand. Its status as a divers’ watch is accentuated by the robust case, the unidirectional rotating stainless-steel bezel, the helium escape valve and water resistance to 600 meters / 2000 feet guaranteed by a screw-in crown and case back. The sporty look of this Seamaster Planet Ocean chronograph is enhanced by the integrated rubber strap and stainless steel foldover clasp. Its performance is guaranteed by the OMEGA calibre 3313 movement, which features a Co-Axial escapement and free-sprung balance— technology exclusive to OMEGA that enables greater precision and stability over time. This self-winding OMEGA chronograph movement is a certified chronometer and uses a column-wheel chronograph mechanism – the sign of a truly superior chronograph.

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OMEGA 1970 CHOCOLATE MARK III SPEEDMASTER HANDWIND CAL861 RARITY
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