The Big Pilot's Watch: Supplied to the German Luftwaffe in 1940 in an edition of 1,000 watches. With a case diameter of 55mm, a height of 16.5mm and a weight of 183g, it was the most imposing IWC wristwatch ever built.  Let’s face it, most of us dream about becoming pilots or astronauts at some point in our lives. For the determined few, they fulfill their dream and become pilots, while for the uninitiated like me, I just like to wear the watches and leave the dream where it’s supposed to be. So when I came across pilot’s watches a few years ago, I started to learn more about their origins and histories. Many questions came up like “why is the design used by so many brands with no end in sight”? I will start with its early origins, its association with pilots and if you’re really interested, some B-uhr’s that are worth owning.The earliest known origin of the Navigator’s watch came in the form of the Longines Weems second-setting watch.

1839: On May 1, Antoine Norbert de Patek and Francois Czapek founded the firm Patek, Czapek & Co. in Geneva, with head offices located at 29 Quai Des Bergues.1842: Jean Adrien Philippe made the first watch which could be wound and set by means of crown. 1843: On May 29, Antoine Norbert de Patek obtains Swiss Citizenship. 1844: Antoine Norbert de Patek meets Jean Adrien Philippe at the universal Exhibition in Paris. 1844: Jean Adrien Philippe is awarded the gold medal at the Universal Exhibition in Paris for his revolutionary system of keyless winding. 1845: On April 22, Philippe is accorded Patent no:1317 for his first system of winding by means of the crown. 1845: On May 1st, Antoine Norbert de Patek with his partners Jean Adrien Philippe and Vincent Gostkowski found in Geneva the firm Patek Philippe & Co, located at 15 quai Des Bergues. 1845: On May 17, The firm Patek, Czapek & Co changes name, officially adopting the name Patek & Co.

Panerai was started in 1860 by Giovanni Panerai as a watchmaker’s workshop, selling Swiss manufactured timepieces in Florence on the Ponte Alle Grazie. In addition to selling prestigious Swiss timepieces, it also offered repairs and maintenance of watches. As their technical skills grew, tooling precision was enhanced and improved. Soon they started Guido Panerai Optics which eventually supplied equipment for the Ministry of Defense in Italy. These instruments included radiomir ronconi sights, depth gauges, aiming and signaling devices to name a few. After numerous successful tests by the Royal Italian Navy, deliveries started in the 1900’s with the patented “radiomir” tubes containing zincsulphide, radium bromide and mesothorium. The Ronconi sights were distinguished by their high luminescence that enabled weapons to be used even in total darkness. In 1915, the company received the patent for the radiomir – “fiat lux” in Italy, Britain and the United States.

TAG Heuer introduces the Grand Carrera Caliper Concept Chronograph with a sleek 50 second quicktime movie. Hit PLAY to view the movie directly from your browser.

When one conjures up Russian creations, we tend to bring up familiar names like Igor Sikorsky (Sikorsky helicopters), Mikhail Koshkin (chief designer of T-34 Russian tanks) and Alexei Tupolev (designer of the Tupolev Tu-144 and the Boran space shuttle). With watch enthusiasts, Poljot is a brand that comes to mind as the company was the earliest watchmaking company formed in the Soviet federation.Poljot Moscow Nights ChronographThe Russian watch industry during the Czar Russia was focused on the assembly of imported movements mainly from Germany and Switzerland, but the supply of watch parts ran short therefore the USSR government decided on developing its own watch industry to satisfy the needs of the red army and the precision timing required by its railways. Machineries were purchased from the ailing Dueber- Hampden watch company based in Ohio, USA. Further technical training was done by the competent staff of Dueber- T Hampden and by German watchmakers.

Unlike the Maharajas whose time has spectacularly come and gone anti- climactically, blue blood still exists albeit more for symbolism. Vast fortunes have been made by private businessmen and women who historically made their wealth through Royal transactions and endorsements. Many of these fortunes have lasted longer than the monarchies that supported them. The key components of such longevity and resilience are quality and innovation. Every important jewel and Horological house that still exists today has had their coveted runins with royalty, but only a few have really grown and have their reaches, ironically, further than that ever achieved by any kingdom. From this short list only one has the immortal status of the supreme watch brand, Patek Philippe.Monument to Genius: The Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva.The status of Patek Philippe is coveted by both customers and competitors. If there is any watch company that has permanent cross-hairs on it by its natural rivals, Patek is it.

The functioning of a fountain pen is relatively simple ... the pen holds ink in a reservoir and delivers it to the nib via gravity and capillary action. The earliest successful fountain pens are often called eyedroppers. Simply because you unscrewed the part that held the writing point, or nib, and used an eyedropper to fill the barrel with ink. Without a sac or a filling mechanism to take up space in the barrel, they held a lot of ink and wrote for a long time. The barrel itself was made of hard rubber. And therein lay the problem.

The Breguet Type XX isn’t what most budding enthusiasts would consider typical of the storied name’s offerings. It doesn’t have many of the popular innovations and details of worksmanship you come to expect from the watchmaking company.The casework is simple, though it does carry the fluting on the side. The dial shows none of the legendary detailwork expertise for which Breguet has become known and popular, especially if you choose the unique carbon fiber dial that comes with the titanium case. You have no guillochage, no “secret number,” no signature. Even the byword “Breguet hands” only make an appearance on the Chronograph’s seconds hand.A Type XX from 1954 with flyback and straight line lever escapement. Note the similarity in details with the modern XX, including the shape of the subdial hand at 3 o’clock. Note the differences also, the central seconds hand uses a diamond shape rather than the recognized Breguet circle.

Jaeger-LeCoultre uses a brand new model line to remind us of their history.Jaeger-LeCoultre has been making some very strong statements lately, bringing forth wristwatches that grab attention and generate discussion at a glance. Their new pieces have been strong, masculine and daring, all in the direction of the next generation of wristwatches. But Jaeger-LeCoultre has been around for rather a long time, and has earned itself the reverential nickname of the Grande Maison. Since 1833, it has brought to the world over one thousand different movements and been granted more than two hundred patents. So while many newly-minted enthusiasts look at the name and think of pieces like the Master Compressor Extreme W-Alarm or the Extreme Lab, Jaeger-LeCoultre has been responsible in many ways for the creation of the classics we look to for purity, design and elegance as well.

Why care about about D&B’s “flying case”? You will--when you discover it is a truly revolutionary case design and contains one of the rarest movements in the watch market these days. Quite passé and trite to declare, but once in a while, a real gem in the cluttered and confusing world of wristwatches comes along and inspires a genuine flight of fancy.