Watch straps

I did some surfing and came up with a few online dealers of straps, which can be ordered online as well. I didn have personal experience with all of them, but had some rather good feedback on all of them.New for me is TC Straps, which have a nice selection of leather straps in croco, calf and ostrich. For Panerai as well, because these have a rather arge?width and not every strapbrand carries these sizes. Besides replacing straps when one is worn out, I am probably not the only one who think it is fun to switch straps once in a while to give a watch a different look.Ever tried to buy a strap for your watch from the original manufacturer? Ever found a tray of Omega straps at the Omega dealer or a tray of IWC straps at the IWC dealer? It is not easy to get accessoires like straps and buckles at your dealer, especially when it is about watchmanufacturer accessoires. Only a few brands have their dealers stocked with buckles and straps, like Sinn, Panerai and I was at one time lucky at an Omega dealer Usually, the only other brand for straps at jewelers is Hirsch. However, I can find myself wearing a 20 Euro strap on a +2000 Euro watch. The quality of the watch and the quality of the strap should be equal in my opinion.

Odd looking Speedmaster

The referencenumber is definately Speedmaster, since it is in the 3000-series. The case-shape showed some similairities as well (notice the outside of the lugs). But that’s it.No Speedmaster on the dial as well, but I was told that the caseback had ‘Speedmaster’ engraved. Click here for the thread over at the Speedmaster Forum at The Speedmaster Club.Yesterday I was at Gerard’s place and he asked me if Speedmasters always were chronographs. I didn’t have to think long and said that I can’t remember seeing them. Then he showed me this Omega brochure from 1991 with a Speedmaster on the cover which wasn’t a chronograph.

SteveG did it again

Do a search on SteveG on Fratello and you will see he has an impressive watchcollection and for us fellow-collectors, great pictures of his collection (to drool on).This time he really got macomaniac…. Click here to see his latest work.

Siemens hides Rolex

I got this one in via e-mail by Martin, it is a reference to an article in a German magazine called Der Spiegel.“Hi RJ!Do you know some German? If so, I’m sure you’re going to like this one about a Siemens manager who had his Rolex Sub retouched from his official press photo before announcing major layoffs. Pretty embarassing stuff.-martin”The photo the article is about.

Rolex CEO Patrick Heiniger resigns

 Madoff Denial Rolex said in an e-mailed statement today it ?¢‚Ǩ?ìformally denies any implication with the Madoff affair.?¢‚Ǩ¬ù Madoff has been accused of running a Ponzi scheme. He was arrested Dec. 11 and said clients of his New York-based firm lost $50 billion. Rolex invented the Oyster, the world?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s first waterproof watch, in 1926, and made headlines after Mercedes Gleitze swam the English Channel wearing the timepiece. The company makes more than 170 models of the Oyster now and employs 8,000 people. In the 1990s, Rolex took over the entire manufacturing process of its watches, avoiding reliance on third-party suppliers. Heiniger was the third executive to lead the company since its founding by Hans Wildorf from Bavaria. The brand is worth $5 billion, according to Interbrand, a consultancy. Jon Cox, an analyst who covers watches at Kepler Capital Markets in Zurich. A drop in timepiece sales may lead to the bigger watchmakers ?¢‚Ǩ?ìhoovering up some of the smaller players,?¢‚Ǩ¬ù Cox said. ?¢‚Ǩ?ìIf we get this nuclear winter next year in the watch industry, a lot of watch companies will be in trouble.?¢‚Ǩ¬ù Longines President Walter von Kaenel said last month that newer competitors will be the biggest losers as a result of slowing demand for luxury timepieces. Montres Villemont SA, a Swiss watchmaker with 14 employees, has said it might file for bankruptcy after demand ?¢‚Ǩ?ìcollapsed?¢‚Ǩ¬ù in Asia and eastern Europe.

Rolex CEO Patrick Heiniger resigns

Sales of the luxury industry will decline 4 percent in 2009, as revenue growth from emerging markets slows, Melanie Flouquet, an analyst at JPMorgan Chase & Co., estimated yesterday.Him stepping down at this time does seem slightly odd given that the watch industry is in for a tough time.Normally, I don’t like to copy/paste a blog post, but this message is most interesting to post as-is:Dec. 17 (Bloomberg) — Rolex Group, the Swiss watchmaker, said Chief Executive Officer Patrick Heiniger resigned forìpersonal reasons after 16 years in the post. Heiniger will leave Rolex at the end of the year, the Geneva-based company said in a statement late yesterday. Separately, Rolex today denied a Agefi report that the company may have lost 1 billion Swiss francs ($900 million) invested with Bernard Madoff, the U.S. money manager charged with fraud. Heiniger, who replaced his father Andre in 1992, leaves as the financial crisis ends a boom for the watch*** industry that led to the fastest growth in two decades last year.

BaselWorld 2009: Impression on the new Rolex models

 So, a lot of decorating, no news, but no harm done either.The conclusion last year was that after a Deep Sea that can travel almost 4 kilometers under water there is not much functional news to bring anymore for Rolex. Supersizing is continued this year with the intro of the new DJ. More bling, well, same watches, plenty of bling added.The good news is that the home decorating mainly took place in the Oyster line and not too much in the Professional line. The slight improvements made with the GMT like the ceramic bezel, new clasp and more substantial case are gradually introduced across the sports line. No surprises happening with the roll out of the new TT Subs. We always want to know what new at Rolex, but the best news can be sometimes that there is not much going at all.For example they introduce their new sports models in gold and two tone first, probably to boost the sales of the gold models a bit. With the DJ they only introduced it with a fluted bezel. It is a nice bezel but most people simply prefer a domed one, so, why not give it to them right from the start?Well, so much for the news. There was a lot of watch decorating going on at the Rolex stand that can not be classified as design: icy Daytona full of diamonds, some with romans, some with sticks. Some nice but predictable white croco straps for the ladies, like most brands introduced  10 years ago. More ?¢‚Ǩ?ìhome decorating going on with the 36 mm : flowery wall ***s on the dials, diamond bezels, randomly chosen combinations of sticks and romans in surreal color combinations. I guess Rolex wants more sales to women, fine. But the way to persue this goal does not make Rolex stand out from other brands anymore like they always did in the past. On the other hand, these flower dials can probably be exchanged once the girls get tired of them, just like the wall *** at home. And the watch itself still has all the qualities Rolex always had.

BaselWorld 2009: Impression on the new Rolex models

It will probably take some time to get used to and there is nothing really wrong with the watch, but maybe 39 mm would have been easier to design and a better size for a dress watch.In the introductions there is always a tactical point from Rolex.In all a TT Sub is not everybody?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s cup of tea of course, but I rate the black version 9/10. With gold writing on the dial and a gold date disc instead of the new white one it would have been a perfect 10.Than there is the classic Date-Just, better known as DJ. It has gotten it?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s long awaited supersizing, going from 36 mm to 41 mm like the Day-Date last year. It has the well known oyster bracelet and calm and classic dial designs. As pointed out about the Milgauss last year: 41 mm is a whole lot of space for a classic watch that has nothing going on than time and date. No diving bezels, 24 hour hands or text about original ring lock systems to keep the eye busy. How on earth to fill the space? Well, the stick markers were blown up to the same gigantic proportions as on the Milgauss.