If such a thing as an underdog could exist within the rarefied realm of the Big Three Swiss watchmakers, it would be Vacheron Constantin. Collectors and speculators alike fawn over Patek Philippe, and to a slightly lesser extent the Royal Oak in all its incarnations from Audemars Piguet, but Vacheron is often overlooked. There are […]

Many collectors consider Patek Philippe to be one of the most prestigious watch brands in the world. While there are other high-end watch brands that might match or even exceed the storied Swiss manufacture in some aspects of watchmaking, Patek Philippe stands apart for two main reasons. Firstly, a Patek watch almost always appreciates in […]

Audemars Piguet was founded in 1875 by two Swiss watchmakers in Vallée de Joux, Jules Louis Audemars and Edward Auguste Piguet. The company is still owned by its founding families to this day and has never ceased production, and over its 146-year history has created some of the world’s most complicated timepieces. Along with Patek […]

Amongst enthusiasts Grand Seiko is known as perhaps the biggest value proposition in luxury watchmaking. The manufacture was almost unknown to Western markets only a decade ago, catering primarily for the Japanese domestic market and only occasionally imported overseas by the few “in the know”. Now Grand Seiko can be found in high-end watch stores […]

Officine Panerai was founded in Florence, Italy in 1860 by Giovanni Panerai, initially as a watchmaking school, repair workshop and point of sale for imported Swiss watches. By the early 1900s Panerai had secured contracts with the Royal Italian Navy, supplying them with watches and precision military instruments. Marie and Pierre Curie’s discovery of radium […]

When it comes to Japanese watches, three main brands dominate the landscape; Seiko, Citizen, and Casio. Each have their own areas of expertise and emblematic watches, and appeal to different demographics of watch collectors. While both Seiko and Citizen offer a dizzying array of watch collections at almost every conceivable price point, Casio is more […]

Schaffhausen-based International Watch Co is a manufacture with a rich history, founded by an American watchmaker named Florentine Ariosto Jones way back in 1868. Now a subsidiary of the Richemont group, IWC is the most aviation-focused of the groups’ brands and arguably its best producer of luxury tool watches designed to be worn every day. […]

When you think of Citizen watches, what likely comes to mind are inexpensive quartz watches of little interest to the serious collector. Even the brand name “Citizen” implies wristwatches for the masses, rather than anything exclusive or luxurious. And while Citizen do make a dizzying array of affordably priced watches, much like Seiko, they also […]

Breitling occupies a rather unique niche in the world of luxury watches. The brand is strongly linked with aviation, and unlike many of its competitors who focus on the clean legibility of a classic 3-hander “pilot’s watch”, Breitling tends more towards providing as much functionality as possible. Chronographs are their forte, sometimes even paired with […]

There’s a good reason Seiko has become the household name it is today, even among those who do not collect or even wear watches. The company has been around for a very long time, beginning its life as a humble watch and jewelry shop in Ginza, Tokyo in 1881 and shortly afterwards adopting the name […]

Omega’s partnership with the James Bond franchise has been one of the most prominent features of luxury watches in popular culture in recent memory. Since GoldenEye in 1995, James Bond has worn an Omega (or multiple Omegas) on his wrist as he saves Great Britain and everyone else from the world’s most dangerous supervillains. The […]

Every single time someone asks me how to ship a watch, I tell them, “Use the company that gives you the most control.” This means you probably want to use FedEx, UPS, or DHL. As the sender, you have the power to change the destination, stop the package, and have full insurance on the watch. […]