The Watch Collectors' Club runs regular events where we teach members a little about watches, watchmakers, watch

A club for everyone who likes watches.

Watchmakers and brands are constantly looking to bring something new to their catalogue. This means they often look to celebrate historic milestones in their past with anniversaries in the present. To do this they create special one-off watches to celebrate the anniversary of something, such as the year the watch was launched. They can also commemorate famous events connected to a watch, or simply broader anniversaries of the company or something connected to the company. We are not talking about watches bought as an anniversary gift for someone, but a watch that celebrates an anniversary important to the watch brand. This year (2023) contains many anniversaries of important watches, including Casio G-Shock, Swatch, Blancpain and even Rolex, who have never yet made an anniversary model, but who knows if this year is a first?

Anniversary watches often celebrate the anniversary of the company that makes them. Patek Phillippe, the high-end Swiss Manufacturer has celebrated their company founding date repeatedly, producing a limited edition timepiece for their 150th Anniversary in 1989, and in 2014 they introduced their most complicated wristwatch in production, the Grandmaster Chime for their 175th Anniversary. It has 21 different functions and in order to order one you have to pass an interview with the company in Geneva. To get that interview you have to already be a really big client. They even made pop star Ed Sheeran have an interview (yes really!). 

Another great example of a series of famous anniversary watches is the Omega Speedmaster range. They have created a very large number to commemorate anniversaries of different versions of the Apollo space missions for which they are most famously associated with, being the first watch on the moon and the first watch on a long spacewalk. It's quite entertaining to see just how many special edition Omega Speedmasters there are, but this large number is great for collectors as there are some very cool dial designs. Omega has produced a new limited edition celebrating the Apollo XI mission that landed on the moon every five years since the 20th anniversary in 1989, so that's seven just for one mission! 

50th Anniversaries are a very common reason for watch brands to celebrate their historic models. The Jaeger LeCoultre Polaris dive watch relaunch on its fiftieth anniversary was a particularly well-received highlight of a popular function, the alarm, in the very stylish dive watch design. The range is still doing very well for them today. 

2023 sees many watch models have their 70th anniversary, including two of the most important and famous dive watches of all time; the Rolex submariner and the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms. Rolex does not do "anniversary watches" but the world is eagerly anticipating their new models for the year to see if they commemorate the Submariner's first year of production in 1953. Luxury brand Blancpain has already released their new version of their famous Dive watch, the Fifty Fathoms, with an interesting new complication, a three-hour timer for divers using high-tech rebreather technology. This fun update is the latest addition to their very popular (but also very large and expensive) dive watch range.

Some brands celebrate the anniversaries of their own collaborations, including Patek Philippe. At the end of 2021 they created what is probably the most hyped watch ever to celebrate the Anniversary of their relationship with US Jewellery Retailer Tiffany & Co., a version of their Nautilus model with a Tiffany Blue dial.

Even young brands can create anniversary watches. The British watch brand William Wood, which makes firefighting-themed watches, used its five-year anniversary to create and sell a brand new watch for charity. This auction was a great success and the watch is truly unique, in both colour and dial design.

Anniversary watches are and interesting and quite common way for brands to dream up new versions of past classics. If there is a  brand or watch model that you particularly love it is worth searching for any anniversary models to see if they have interesting designs. It's also worth noting any coming up that you might want to reserve buying power for! Anniversaries are a fun and interesting discussion point for collectors of all kinds. Keep your eyes open at this year's Watches and Wonders watch show at the end of March for any interesting ones to go alongside the Blancpain. 

We explain anniversary watches and special watches made for anniversaries

What are Anniversary Watches?

We explore the watches brand use to celebrate significant historic anniversaries.

Many watch brands talk about the “finishing” of their watches, but what does that mean? Simply, it means the decoration applied to part of a watch. High horology brands talk a lot about their fine finishing, often applied to the case, hands, and movement. A previous blog explored the finishing that you can find on watch dials. 

This blog will briefly explore the various type of movement finishing that watch brands use for their movements.

All watches have movements. Some of these are very simple, and some are very complicated. Some are powered by quartz movements, whilst others are automatic. There are lots of ways in which movements can differ. How a manufacturer finishes the movement is just another one. 

Finishing is simply decoration of the movement. Sometimes manufacturers just use simple finishing, usually completed by a machine, to keep costs down. Other manufacturers might employ highly-skilled watchmakers to finish movements by hand. 

The way in which a watch manufacturer finishes a watch usually reflects the quality of the watch. Really high quality and expensive watches will often have movements finished with a variety of patterns, whilst cheaper watches will have simpler movement finishing. There are obviously some exceptions to this where cheaper watches have really beautiful movements.  

 A simple way to finish a movement is to polish it. It is unlikely that the whole movement will be polished, but some of the component parts might be. The bridge is a part that is commonly polished. 

Some watchmakers will spend a huge amount of time polishing parts of the movement by hand until they have a mirror-finish. This is very striking and requires a lot skill to achieve. Grand Seiko watches often have mirror-finished components to their movements, as you can see in the image below. This type of polishing is called Some polishers are able to create an effect called black-polish. This is achieved when metal is polished to such an extent that it appears black. It is very impressive to see!  

The opposite to polishing is graining, or brushing a movement. Like dragging a rake through sand, a machine with a sharp edge is dragged over the metal. This leaves it with tiny etches, giving the metal a matte finish. The grain is often in a straight line, however, there are various patterns that watchmakers might grain or brush a movement in, such as circular or Geneva stripes. 

Watchmakers achieve another matte effect by sandblasting the movement. This involves blasting compressed air and sand against the metal in order to cover it with lots of tiny craters. This is a very smart finish when combined with polished components. 

Cotes de Geneve, or the Geneva stripes, are a high-end brushed finished that you often see on watch movements through crystal case-backs. To create the effect, the watchmaker either uses a lathe, or a rectifying rule (a bit like the arm of a turntable). This is incredibly difficult to execute cleanly and evenly, so this finish is mostly used on expensive watches. It is also a useful finish, as it hides any marks on the movement, and traps small particles of dust.

Like Cotes de Geneve, perlage is a difficult effect to achieve. The watchmaker uses a rotating head, pressing it onto the metal to create an overlapping pattern of circles on the movement. It is very difficult to achieve a consistent pattern across the movement, so this finishing is often only used on expensive watches. 

Anglage, chamfering, or bevelling the edge of a movement component all mean the same thing. It means to polish the edge of a component, typically on a 45degree angle, to stop the edge of the component breaking off and damaging the movement. The top of a bevelled component is usually brushed in contrast to the polished, sloping sides. See picture below.

Guilloche is one of the most difficult movement finishes to achieve. It involves carving extremely precise patterns into the metal using a rose engine lathe. The lathe operator has to been incredibly skilled to achieve a consistent pattern. The process needs to be completed perfectly first time – so it is only used on the most expensive watch movements. 

At The Watch Collectors’ Club, we don’t have a favourite movement finish. We enjoy seeing the wide variety of finishes that watchmakers use to decorate the movements they put into their watches. They highlight the talent of watchmakers, and the pride that manufacturers take in the quality of their engineering. The best way to see some of the different movement finishes is to come to one of our events. 

The Different Finishes On Watch Movements

Buying pre-owned watches can be a fun, affordable and exciting way to add to your collection, but many people are wary of buying anything other than new watches. There are many reasons to be cautious of pre-owned watches as you can't know for sure how they've been used or treated by previous owners. They might not come with the original paperwork and packaging or any indication of when they were last serviced and what time they keep.

One solution to this problem is to buy a certified pre-owned watch; one that has been through an authorised service centre of the brand in question and therefore has been guaranteed to be both the watch it is supposed to be and has a guarantee of accuracy following a service.

There are many ways to buy a pre-owned watch. Firstly, remember that the category has many other names, including second-hand, vintage, antique and collectable. All of these terms mean a watch that's not being purchased brand new from a retailer or brand. There are a huge number of ways to buy one, including from dealers, online platforms, auction sites, auction houses, watch forums, and retailers with a pre-owned section.

We recommend caution when buying a pre-owned watch of any type or age, and of course, the more valuable or old the watch, the more caution needs to be taken. The older a watch, the more time has passed in which things could have gone wrong, or more dodgy things could have been done to the watch (for example the use of non-standard parts during a service). For very valuable watches, there is more incentive for unauthorised parts to be used, or even for the whole watch to be fake.

The most important thing to remember is the phrase "Buy the Seller not the Watch". Carefully analyse whether the seller seems credible, has a good track record and good reviews, and is accurately showing everything you need to know about the watch. Never be afraid to ask questions. If a seller is unwilling or unable to answer your questions, that may be a bad sign.

When it comes to dealers and retailers selling pre-owned watches, they will often have stores where you can go and look at the timepieces, and these stores lend a large amount of credibility to the sale. However, you still must do your research, make sure they do not have bad reviews or claims that they are selling dodgy watches, and satisfy yourself that they have a good reputation.

This is what we call a watch that has the highest possible guarantee of originality and value when it is pre-owned. This is for two reasons; the first is that the watch has been serviced in a service centre authorised by the same brand or manufacturer that made the watch. This means that the brand sets standards and processes the service centre must follow when servicing a watch under this scheme and then audits the service centre to make sure they are staying up to those standards. Every watch service is different, and the resulting standard depends on the type and age of the watch, but the brand standards indicate the level that should be achieved to maintain the brand's reputation. For example for Rolex, the testing that they do on a watch after a service using specialised and expensive machinery is to a higher standard than other brands.

The second is that watches serviced in an authorised service centre have to be authentic, and when serviced only authentic parts from that manufacturer can be used to repair it. This means that any watch that's gone through the process can be seen to be as close to 100% authentic as possible for a pre-owned watch. 

The reason it is called Certified is that then the retailer is essentially offering a certificate of service to state that these two things are true. The watch is as close to 100% authentic as possible and it is fully serviced to the brand's standard for that model and age of watch.

Where can you find Certified Pre-Owned Watches?

There are three main places to find these watches. The first is at certain brand boutiques themselves. For example, Vacheron Constantin have sold pre-owned models in some of their main boutiques for a while now, including in the London Bond Street boutique. The second is at authorised dealers that also have an authorised service centre for a brand. Longines have multiple authorised service centres across the UK. If you buy a pre-owned Longines watch from one of the Authorised Dealers that have an associated approved Longines service centre, then you can be sure the watch will be certified pre-owned. It will likely be sold with an official Longines service receipt, or you can ask to see it before buying. 

Finally, there is a new scheme from Rolex, recently launched in conjunction with the retailer Bucherer. This scheme is important because while Bucherer has always offered officially authorised servicing of Rolex watches and a certified pre-owned service for the watches it sells from a variety of brands, the new scheme involves official Rolex paperwork and guarantees authenticity. Unlike many other watch brands, Rolex do not offer any extracts from their archives to authenticate a watch, or provide any way of authenticating a watch other than an official service. Rolex believes that this scheme will provide anyone looking for a pre-owned Rolex the best possible experience, and the scheme is simply called Rolex Certified Pre-Owned.

Are they more expensive than other pre-owned watches?

Across the pre-owned market, watches trade at a premium for exceptional quality and the most interesting provenance (which means its ownership history). They also trade at a premium when they have the original box and papers, which means things like the original user manual, guarantee certificate, and even the receipt from the retailer they were bought from. 

Similar to the watches themselves, all of these things get damaged or lost over the years, and they can be faked, so it is normal that a pre-owned watch of any age with the correct papers will be more valuable than one without. 

If a watch has been serviced at an authorised service centre and is therefore known to be fully accurate and reliable, it will also trade at a premium to similar watches that have not been serviced at one. The new Rolex scheme comes with a new set of paperwork and tags that adds to this guarantee. It is therefore fair that these watches may trade at a premium to those of similar quality but without the certified servicing process.

Generally, the more that is known about a watch's past and service history the more valuable it will be compared to similar models. We see similar effects in markets for other pre-owned goods such as cars or antiques. The size of the premium will always be dependent on the market, but it is fair to say that the entire category of certified pre-owned watches should trade at some premium to the rest of the market. 

Buying certified pre-owned is just one way to buy pre-owned watches and you should expect to pay a premium for a watch sold this way versus the same model sold in other channels. The Certified pre-owned market can certainly give the highest level of peace of mind, and the watch may not require servicing for many years. The Watch Collectors' Club is here to help those who love all kinds, of watches, new and old, certified or of uncertain provenance, and we are happy to run events that explore all different aspects of the watch world. If you have any further questions about buying certified pre-owned please do not hesitate to get in touch.

How to buy a certified pre-owned watch. Why you should buy certified pre-owned watches.

Buying Certified Pre-Owned Watches

We explain what it means to buy a Certified Pre-Owned Watch

Join us at our first event with Europe's largest pre-owned watch retailer Watchfinder for an evening exploring their Royal Exchange Store in the City of London. On Thursday 27th April from 6:00PM you'll learn all about how Watchfinder works, what they stock and what to expect when you buy or sell from them. We'll also give a short talk on the History of the Rolex Submariner and have a special selection in store of recent models. You'll be able to try them all on and finally decide which Submariner suits you best!

There are only 20 spaces at this event so please sign up ASAP and please also let us know if you change your mind or can no longer make it. We will not admit anyone not signed up, so if you have friends who are interested please ask them to sign up here.

Join us to see a large range of Rolex Submariners and learn the history of the watch.

Rolex Submariner Event, History of the Rolex Submariner

Exploring the Rolex Submariner

Exploring the Rolex Submariner with Watchfinder

Join us on Thursday April 20th from 6:00PM for a new format of event at Mortimer House, a stylish member's co-working space in London's Fitzrovia. At this event we will give a talk all about how to get started with watch collecting, exploring the different types of collecting, what to look out for, and how to talk about your love of watches in an interesting way. After the talk, we will mingle and you'll be able to share your watch stories, learn from other watch lovers, and get a taste of what our regular Meetups are like. 

Mortimer House is a smart co-working club in Fitzrovia set in a fabulous art deco building, and we'll have the upstairs bar area and terrace to enjoy for the evening.

Join us for an Introductory talk on watch collecting at a fabulous art deco Members Club in London's Fitzrovia.

A Simple Guide to Watch Collecting Event at Mortimer House

Rolex's Post War Innovation Explosion Online Event. Join us on Zoom on Monday 18th April for the second in our series looking at Rolex's fantastic history and this time we will talk about the introduction of their most famous tool watches in the 1950s and 60s like the Submariner, Explorer and Daytona. We'll give a short online talk and then open the floor for a fun discussion of what we like bout them and why they've stood the test of time.

We will send out the Zoom details to all those registered approximatley one hour before the event starts at 8:00PM

Join us on Zoom to explore Rolex's legendary models such as the Day-Date, Submariner, GMT and Explorer

An online Zoom event to discuss Rolex's post war innovation

Exploreing Rolex's Post-war Innovation Short Talk and Discussion

Exploring Rolex's Post War Innovation - Short Talk and Discussion

Hamish Robertson

Our last Blog Post looked at the history of Watch Manufacturing, and we hope it piqued your interest in the long history of horology. There are many excellent books on the subject that we would be happy to recommend. The story of watch manufacturing in the Twentieth century is a fairly straightforward one of modernisation, but the details of how complex and varied it is today are of great interest to many watch owners. This week's post will try to outline some of the details, but much more can be found online or even by visiting a watch "manufacture" as they are known. The Watch Collectors' Club is very excited to be visiting a modern watch factory on February 10th 2023, and there are still spaces available for those who want to join us; details can be found on our Events page.

The Modernisation and Mechanisation of Watchmaking

Watchmaking is a conservative industry, but the constant demand for low priced watches led watch companies to find ever more ways to incorporate mass production techniques in the same way as other industries. The largest amount of push back against machine manufacture of parts was from luxury watch brands, and there are interesting statements from the likes of Henry Stern, who ran the luxury watchmaker Patek Philippe in the 1930s - 50s. He said the following:

“Everything that a hand can do better than a machine, we will do. But when machines can assist the work of a person, we will not adhere blindly to tradition.”

Like in many other industries, the real pioneers of low-cost watch manufacturing arose in Asia, namely the two companies Seiko and Citizen, who built companies capable of producing huge volumes of low-cost mechanical movements. For example, Citizen Group own the manufacturer Miyota, which has produced over 2 Billion quartz movements over the last 40 years. These numbers are only made possible by fully automated manufacturing. Today, watch parts and movements are made in China, Malaysia, and Japan, with assembly also taking place in those countries for movements found in a huge number of brands, large and small.

While the Twentieth Century saw a huge amount of turmoil in the Swiss Watch Industry, including the period of the so-called "Quartz Crisis" in the 1970s, the country remains a watch industry powerhouse. There are manufacturers large and small making everything separately and together: for example, Rolex do almost everything themselves, from smelting their own steel to making their own hands and dials, before assembling and testing the whole watches in their factory in the Les Acacias area of Geneva in Switzerland. However, for every part of a modern watch, there are independent suppliers large and small. There are companies that only make the gears or wheels of the movements, those that specialise in hands or dials, and workshops that create the complications that sit on top of base movements and provide functions like a chronograph, stopwatch, or calendar. 

Some of these parts suppliers are famous in their own right, thanks to important innovations, interesting features they invented, or partnerships with famous brands. The Renauld & Papi movement workshop is now owned by Luxury brand Audemars Piguet, but continues to design and manufacture complications for them as well as other leading brands.

It must be understood that most modern watches will contain parts from many different manufacturers. Rolex are unusual in their dedication to making everything themselves. Most other brands will use a mixture. One thing that is important is the Swiss Made designation. For this to hold, 60% of the components of the watch must be made in Switzerland and it must be cased (assembled) and tested in Switzerland also. Only watches that fulfil this can write Swiss Made on the dial.

It is an important component of luxury watch-making that some parts of the watch are hand made or hand-finished and that the watch is assembled by hand. This is not true of low-priced watches, where most have been engineered to be almost entirely made by machine. Quartz watches usually do not feature movement finishing as the movements are hidden behind the case back. For mechanical watches, it is common today to display the movement through sapphire casebacks. This gives the opportunity to create beautiful finishes to the parts and the movement itself. These finishes can be done by machine, but as a sign of commitment to luxury, many high-end brands do them by hand. 

One exciting thing to research when looking at luxury watch brands is how much is done by hand. For example, the luxury German brand Lange & Sohne finish almost every aspect of the movement by hand, including parts that cannot be seen. Swiss brand Patek Philippe are also famous for hand-finishing parts that cannot be seen. They do this as a commitment to quality for their customers, indicating that if they take that level of detail for the parts that cannot be seen, the quality and reliability of the whole watch will be very high.

Watchmakers have used independent organisations to verify the accuracy and reliability of their timepieces for a long time, and the two Swiss certification agencies of COSC and METAS certify millions of high-quality timepieces as chronometers per year in Switzerland. Rolex also test every single watch after it has been finished to ensure it meets their promised high standards, including testing their dive watches to 125% of their rated water depth. Most companies don't have the resources to do this, so will have a different Quality Control procedure. Often these are done by highly trained people, and it is a mark of a quality brand that is happy to advertise and talk about this. One good example is the young British brand Fears, based in the UK, where the founder regularly posts the details on his Instagram account of the quality control procedure he undertakes on every watch before it is delivered.

One of the huge benefits of the move to highly automated modern manufacturing systems is the collapse in the cost of designing and making a watch to a good standard. This has been demonstrated by the explosion of startup watch Microbrands over the last 15 years. Using common design software and Chinese manufacturing and assembly, it is easy for people to make a small run of new watches for a very low price. This has allowed the flourishing of design ideas, the establishment of new brands in countries with no history of watchmaking, and the resurrection of older brands with new ideas and energy. We encourage you to look out for microbrands you like the look of and investigate their background. 

Modern watch manufacturing is complicated and highly sophisticated, and every manufacturer will do something different. We encourage you to ask watch salespeople and brands more about their manufacturing process so that you can appreciate what a brand is trying to do. We hope this article has given you some more questions to ask of your favourite brands, and if you need any help finding out more, just let us know and we can do some digging. It's also great to share you knowledge about how watches are made with other people, and at our regular events we all do just that. Find out more on out Events Page or on our social media. 

We explore modern watch manufacturing and how watches are made

Modern Watch Manufacturing

We explore how modern watches are made

The modern mechanical watch is a marvel of human progress. Whether it's an expensive luxury watch with handmade parts or an affordable microbrand watch with a mass-market movement, both demonstrate the benefits of hundreds of years of innovation in technology and manufacturing processes. This week we will talk about how watchmaking has changed over the last 400 years, and in the next blog post we will talk about how modern watch manufacturing is done. We're focussing on this topic ahead of our visit to the new UK factory of Bremont Watches, where we will receive an exclusive and unique tour of a working watch factory. You can sign up for that event on Friday 10th February, here.

The first watches were small clocks, and the novelty of having a clock that was portable on a personal level emerged in the 16th century. When Queen Elizabeth I of England died in 1603 she was said to have owned 11 watches, which she may have worn on a bracelet attached to her clothes. These watches were all entirely manufactured by a single artist or craftsman. Very few survive and the makers of that time are little known. To make them they would have used skills similar to jewellery-making or locksmithing. 

Watchmaking from 1600 to 1800 is a story of continued and deliberate development. Various watchmakers were spread across Europe, including England, France, Germany and Switzerland. The development of the balance spring and then the lever escapement led to watches that were precise down to the minute. The first minute hands appeared on watches in the 16th century and transformed the usefulness of the watches. These technological developments led to specialisation, so different people and workshops became expert in making different parts of the watch. Some people made the springs to power the watch and run the escapement, and some made cases, dials, hands, or the wheels or gears in the movement. 

The crucial thing about this specialisation, similar to the development of modern manufacturing in other industries, is that it allowed mass production of similar parts. This was seen in France, but particularly in Switzerland after the arrival of Huguenot refugees fleeing persecution in France in the 17th century saw a large number settle in Geneva. Many of these refugees were skilled craftsmen in the areas of metalwork. This provided a massive boost to the Swiss watch industry at a perfect time. The strict religious leader John Calvin had recently banned the wearing of all jewellery and adornment in the city. Focus turned immediately to the production of fancy watches, which were still allowed to be worn and used. The Huguenots brought technological craftsmanship and the Genevans supplied the artistry, and Geneva leapt to the top of the European watchmaking trade. 

In the following century, the Swiss did something even more interesting; a system called the Éblissage was developed in the Swiss cantons of Neuchâtel and Geneva in the 1730s. This clarified the separation of different parts manufacture to different skilled workshops and made the assembly, casing and testing separate and more of a "manufacture" as we know them today. These parts workshops also took advantage of the long snowy winters in Switzerland where travel was difficult. Small workshops in the long Jura valley would make parts over winter and deliver them to Geneva in Spring for watch assembly to begin. 

The largest benefit of this system was that the separate parts manufacturers could innovate and improve their individual parts much faster than someone trying to do it all. This led to Swiss watches becoming the world leaders in quality, accuracy and reliability. 

This Swiss system did not lend itself to modernisation following the industrial revolution. Instead, the vast industrial powers of the UK, Germany and most of all the USA transformed watchmaking into the factory-led process it mostly is today. 

Famously, Henry Ford, the car maker who introduced the "production line" concept of mass manufacturing to large items in the early 20th century, was inspired by watchmakers such as Waltham, Elgin and others in the USA. They found ways to make pocket watches at huge scale. Similarly in the UK, larger manufacturers such as Fears were also selling millions of timepieces a year. The Swiss did not match this at this time as they still used a highly fragmented system of small workshops. 

Ingersoll, another US watch company, created a watch called the Yankee in 1892 that they sold in person for $1.50 and via a catalogue for $1. This started a boom in cheap watches for $1 and it's estimated that over the next 20 years, over 500 Million were sold. This was possible only thanks to large scale mass manufacturing. They were of low quality and not even designed to be repaired, and many even had paper dials.

One of the most interesting things that these industrial-scale watch producers had to do was conquer precision machining for such small parts, and it is the watchmaking industry we have to thank for the tools to do this. These tools were later used to make precise scientific instruments such as microscopes and measuring devices that changed the face of modern science. It was the need for smaller-than-a-millimetre sizing and precision in watchmaking that led to these possibilities. 

By the time of the First World War, the world was awash with low-cost pocket watches, and any man who could have would have owned and used one. They were produced in many countries across the world, and examples can be found from places such as Russia and Japan, as well as across Europe. For high-end watches it was still the case however that most watches were sold as a movement only, and a local jeweller would separately buy a case, and potentially the dial and hands, and assemble them for sale. Often the movement manufacturer was not even mentioned on the dial. Indeed, it was Rolex who really pushed hard for this (and then eventually made it mandatory) on their wristwatches in the 1920s.

The boom in men's wristwatch demand following the First World War changed everything again. Pioneering manufacturers of both luxury and mass-market watches used their brand name to sell the brand and by the 1930s the era of manufactured watches had truly arrived.

The Swiss catch up and everyone mechanises

Eventually, watchmakers in every country adopted the full benefits of mass manufacturing and making timepieces in large factories. Only the very high-end brands retained the skills to make every part by hand, and even those such as Patek Philippe embraced automation and high-tech machinery from the 1930s onwards. In our next Blog Post we will explore what happened in the 20th Century and what it means for how watches are made today.

We look at the first few centuries of watch making and manufacturing

A short History of How Watches are Made

We explore the early histroy of watch manufacturing.

Today we assume all modern watches will be reliable and accurate during daily wear. Watchmakers have spent a long time working to achieve this, especially for the tiny mechanical movements that drive wristwatches. One of the key design problems watchmakers face is how to protect the movement from shocks, bangs and blows to the case, or episodes of shaking or vibration. This week's Blog Post will explain how this is done.

Shock protection for watch movements is a system of components designed to protect the delicate parts of a watch movement from the effects of impact and vibrations. This includes things like shock absorbers, springs, and shock protection plates. Shock protection helps to keep the watch running accurately and prevent potential damage to the movement. 

Some forms of shock protection protect the whole movement by carefully designing the parts holding the movement so they absorb the impact. This can be done with metal case surrounds, or in the case of some watches, with rubber parts. The goal is for any knocks to the case edges or sides not to be transmitted to the movement. 

Protecting the most important and fragile part, the Balance

The most fragile part of a mechanical wristwatch is the balance that sites within the escapement and ensures the watch keeps time. The small balance wheel turns around a pinion, or post, called a balance staff. This balance staff is held top and bottom by enclosures and usually a synthetic jewel is used to ensure it does not wear out too quickly. When watches are knocked or dropped, this balance staff can be knocked out of place, bend, or break. If this happens the watch will not run accurately. A solution invented in 1934 and patented as "Incabloc" was the first to be able to absorb blows from each different side and return the balance staff to the right position afterwards. It used a combination of a spring and a conical mounting design. 

While incabloc was a huge technical success, eventually many other competitors emerged. By the 1950s most mechanical watches incorporated a balance staff shock protection system such as this.

The modern watch world is full of watches that offer great shock protection for everyday use, plus some watches boast features that will protect them even under extreme uses, such as mountaineering, diving, and adventure sports. We've written about these unbreakable watches before, and a particular favourite is the Casio G-Shock, designed by someone who was fed up with his specialty diving watch not being tough enough. 

There are all kinds of modern materials watch makers use to provide shock protection, including rubber, plastic and carbon fibre. The additional metal movement rings in watches such as the Bremont Martin Baker or the Rolex DeepSea also provide immense strength and protection.

Even modern dress watches have some shock protection within the movement to protect the balance staff, as detailed above. They use different designs; Rolex has Paraflex, Omega use Nivachoc, and there are many more. As well as these spring based protection systems, many of the parts of high-end and luxury watch movements are now made of specialty materials to make them stronger and more impact resistant.  

Almost all modern watches will have some kind of shock protection designed into the balance and other parts of the movement. If you have a vintage watch from before the 1950s when Shock-Protection became widely available, it is crucial to take great care of it, but given your watch is already nearly 70 years old we are sure you already do!

Shock-protection is necessary for all mechanical watch movements to protect many of the parts and especially the Balance and Balance Staff. There are many interesting technological aspects of shock-protection, and you can rest assured all modern watch movements use at least some of them. The Watch Collectors' Club is here to help you learn more about the watch world, so if there are any further watch parts or technologies you'd like to hear about, please let us know!

What does Shock Protection mean in a watch? We explore shock protection in watches.

Why does a watch need Shock Protection?

We explore what shock protection means for your watch

It is common to see many mechanical watches advertise their Anti-Magnetic properties. You may have wondered what the problem is and what the risks are to your watch. This article will explain magnetism and the technologies of anti-magnetism in the Watch World.  

Magnetism is a fundamental property of all things, in that every object emits electromagnetic forces from its atoms as part of the quantum structure of reality. Some materials are affected so strongly in this way that they can attract and repel other items using these forces. We call objects acting in this way magnets, the most common magnetic material is iron or steel, and we find them useful in everyday life. Magnetism can also be created by electrical forces from devices such as motors, smartphones, charges, etc.

Fortunately, most magnetism wears off and it requires very special materials to create a so-called permanent magnet. Most things that become magnetised can be de-magnetised deliberately or the magnetism fades over time.

Mechanical watches are made up of a large number of small parts, many of which are made of metal. Certain metals and metal alloys can easily become magnetised for a short period when in the presence of a magnetic field. For a watch to remain accurate and reliable, it has to work as intended and all the parts have to move at the right speed. If some of the parts become magnetised, their relationship to each other may change due to the magnetic force, and therefore their speed of movement may change. This may interfere with the accuracy of the watch.

One part, in particular, is at risk; the hairspring in the escapement. This is the part of the watch that makes it tick and regulates the timekeeping. The various parts of the escapement are small and if they become magnetised they can move differently from how they are supposed to. The hairspring is a fine spring and if this gets magnetised it can mean the watch runs faster than it is supposed to.

How do watchmakers make a watch antimagnetic?

Fortunately, watchmakers have been working on this problem for 150 years. The first specifically antimagnetic wristwatch was made by Tissot in 1930 and used a special metal alloy including Palladium to make the Hairspring less at risk of magnetism. 

Another popular technique is to surround the whole watch movement with a special case made of soft iron, which will literally intercept a magnetic field before it can affect a movement. One of the most famous antimagnetic watches in the world uses this technique, the Rolex Milgauss. 

Many modern watches use a variety of metal alloys that are anti-magnetic, or highly resistant to magnetic fields to make their watch components, specifically the Hairsping and other parts of the escapement. There is a widespread increase in the use of silicon to make watch parts, and one reason is that silicon does not become magnetised easily. We can see this in watches from Oris, where their new Calibre 400 movement specifically boasts many anti-magnetic properties. 

It is also the case that modern watch cases themselves are antimagnetic and protect the movement from magnetic fields. Case materials such as Titanium and the 316L Stainless Steel alloy used by many luxury watch brands provide a large degree of protection on their own. 

It should be noted however that a sapphire or crystal watch case back does not offer protection from magnetic fields, so watches with those features need to make sure they include antimagnetic features within the movement itself, such as the silicon parts mentioned above.

What can I do to avoid magnetising my watch? 

Some watches are more at risk of becoming magnetised because they did not include any of these technologies as standard. Vintage watches from before around 1990 are likely to be more at risk, especially those in thin cases such as Dress Watches. 

To avoid magnetising these watches make sure you keep them away from anything that has a magnetic clasp, such as some jewellery boxes, bags and coats. Your mobile or smartphone can generate magnetic fields by simply operating. These are quite weak, but those generated by the chargers for such devices are not, and therefore you should keep your watches away from chargers at all times. Another device featuring a large magnet is your microwave so do not wear any vintage watches near microwaves for any length of time.

It is possible to test for a watch being magnetised using a machine or a smartphone app. If a watch has become magnetised (and usually is running fast because of it), a machine can be used to demagnetise it, and these can be found affordably online. When a watch is serviced it is demagnetised as part of the process if necessary.

Today, many watches advertise themselves as antimagnetic or a close reading of their specifications will show that they include this as a feature. Almost all tool watches, such as diving watches or adventure watches will have these features. Some watch movements such as the Omega Master Chronometer range all feature an escapement design that is highly antimagnetic, meaning all of their watches with this feature will be highly resistant to magnetic fields. The Oris in-house calibres, the 400 and 100, are other good examples of this. 

Almost all quartz and digital watches are antimagnetic unless in the presence of some very powerful ones such as those found in MRI machines in a hospital. Quartz movements can be affected by magnetism but much less so and it will be very unlikely to seriously affect it.

Modern watches often advertise anti-magnetic properties and we at The Watch Collectors' Club enjoy exploring which features of the watch make them safe from magnetic fields. Modern materials used in watches today make them much less at risk of a fall in accuracy despite the increase in magnetic fields in modern-day life. If some of your watches have specific antimagnetic features we'd love to hear about them, we are always curious about new and interesting watch features. You can join one of our in-person or online watch events, or get in touch via Social Media.

What is an antimagnetic watch? What protects a watch from magnetic fields?

What makes a watch Antimagnetic?

We explore how magetism affects and watch and how watchmakers prevent it.

Breitling are a company we keep returning to on the Blog Series because we really like the watches and there are so many stories to tell. At our event this week we are focussing on their long history of innovative chronographs. This Blog Post will run through some of their most interesting historical watches so you can see the inspiration in today's range. 

Breitling was founded in 1884 as a manufacturer of timing instruments such as stopwatches for industrial and leisure use. They went on to create pocket watches and then wrist watches beginning in the early 20th century.

During the 19th-century various designs for pocket watch chronographs, or stopwatches, featured separate buttons, or pushers to control the timing mechanism of the stopwatch part of the watch. Making this idea small enough to fit into a wristwatch case was very difficult, but Breitling were one of the first to achieve success and patented their invention in 1915.

Willy Breitling took over the firm in 1932, and the story of his leadership of the firm is one of a long string of successes. In 1934 they were the first to patent and launch a chronograph as we know it today, with two pushers in the positions we are familiar with them today, at 2 O'Clock and 4 O'Clock, with one to start and stop the mechanism and the other to reset it. This was highly convenient and was a great success. These watches were called the Montbrilliant series after the name of the factory. 

Launched in the early 1940s the Premier line was a line of very smart dress chronographs. They later included interesting complications such as the Duograph split-seconds chronograph and a calendar chronograph named the Datora. In recent years Breitling has relaunched versions of these watches in an amazing array of dial colours. We've written previously on different types of chronograph, and Breitling has made them all at some point.

This is the first watch that included a technology that was revolutionary at it's time but today baffles most of us; a circular slide rule. It was added to a watch by Breitling's designers in 1942, so right in the middle of WWII.

A slide rule is a device that facilitates calculations, and in this case it facilitates multiplication and division so that a pilot can convert speed into distance and calculate fuel usage etc. The Chronomat was a success, but nothing like the later Navitimer. It came in different metals and styles and is a much more all-round watch and was sold widely right through until the 1960s.

This is one of the most iconic watches of the 20th century and has been ridiculously popular since it's original launch in 1954 on sale to the American Owners and Pilots Association. It went on global general sale in 1955.

This was a bigger version of the Chronomat, with a larger scale allowing for large calculations, as well as the chronograph function. The manual and operating guide from the first series is great, and it really is a fascinatingly complex tool. At first, the watch was only available to members of this organisation, but Breitling swiftly made it available for general sale. It has been on sale almost continuously since then, with a recently expanded and updated range launched just this year.

These were a new departure for Breitling. They essentially took the Premier, Datora and Duograph ranges and updated them for the 1960s. They made something very sleek and slick. These were made from 1964 through to the mid-1970s and evolved slightly, but had a cushion case as well, which apparently were more popular.

There was also a version with three registers, or sub-dials called the Top Time Long Playing as the third dial was to register elapsed hours, which is useful for timing motor racing or other long events.

Breitling have always had chronographs as the core of their offering, and the current range offers a huge number of different models. Most of them are powered by in-house movements, and all of them are Chronometer rated to demonstrate a high standard of accuracy and reliability.

The modern Navitimers are still as popular as ever and now come in a great range of colours, suiting the current fashion for colourful dials in the watch world. You can even buy a re-creation of an original 1950s model that is entirely faithful to the first series design, but built to modern standards.

Breitling has a long and innovative history when it comes to making chronographs. We at The Watch Collectors' Club do not have a favourite brand or type of watch, but love exploring the heritage that stands behind watches currently available today. Join us to explore brands old and new across the watch world, by signing up to our Blog Posts and attending one of our events. 

We explore a few of the historic Breitling chronographs and their modern reissues.

Watch shows are a really fun and exciting way to learn more about the watch world, and the largest in the UK is happening soon. This week we want to highlight what happens at a watch show, why you should attend, and what to expect from the brands when you are there.

Watch Shows take two forms. Those for established brands selling and promoting new watches, and those for second-hand and vintage watch dealers and buyers. Both of these types of show have been held for decades around the world, but the largest number can be found in the USA, Germany, and Switzerland. There have been fewer shows in the UK, but currently there are a selection of both types held throughout the year, and The Watch Collectors' Club will be attending the WatchPro Live Salon on November 12th, 2022

These shows serve two purposes; to educate retailers like jewellers who might be looking for new and interesting brands to stock in their store, and to show off (but not necessarily sell) watches to the general public. They usually sell tickets to attend, run for a couple of days and are held in a large hotel ballroom in a city centre. In the UK this is almost always in London.

There is usually a large range of brands showing their timepieces, from very small companies that may make very high-end or hand-crafted watches, to large global brands who want a large presence at the show to show their new releases or educate people on certain ranges. This means attendees can see an amazing range of watches in the same place, with more brands than even the largest watch store may have. There may be watches that cost £100,000 in the same place as some that cost a few hundred. The brands also bring their own staff who are able to explain the ideas behind the design, materials, history and technology of the watches.

A Watch Show is a great place to get up close with watches you may have never seen before and try them on! There may be brands there with no retail presence in the UK, brands that only take commissions, brands that are very famous with long waiting lists, as well as brands just starting out. You can try all these watches on at a watch show. It's entirely about learning and exploring these brands and their watches. We've written more about evaluating watch brands here.

At the stand of a brand you know already, a good question to ask is "Which are your newest pieces?" or "Do you have anything special to show off at this show?" and the staff will point you to what they are most excited about. 

If you don't know anything about a brand but are interested in what they are displaying, maybe say "Please introduce me to your brand and show me your most popular watches." You can then see if you connect with what they are trying to do. You might not like their most popular models but might like something else they have. Do not hesitate to ask to try on the things you like the look of.

Always be confident to ask the price. Sometimes it is not obvious how much a watch might be, as there is so much variety and difference in manufacturing techniques. If you really like something and then discover it is way out of your price range that's fine. The brand will not mind and you can say something like "Oh well that's more than my normal budget, but maybe one day!". If a watch is lower in price than you expected then that is a wonderful surprise and you can ask "How do get this quality at such a good price?". They will be flattered and help you understand more about the brand's areas of expertise.

If you want to buy one of the watches at the show you should ask if that is possible. Sometimes it will not be for logistical reasons and they will take your details to arrange a follow-up appointment or call to complete the transaction. Do not be put off; hopefully, you will enjoy the process of reconnecting with them after the show, especially if they invite you to their store or arrange a personal meeting somewhere. It also gives you time to do more research online, and prepare any further questions you might have before you make the purchase.

At antique fairs and specialist vintage watch and clock shows there is a very different atmosphere to those shows that sell new watches. The stands will be full of specialist dealers in watches and clocks and much of their interest in being there is in dealing or swapping with each other. Specialists will attend very early in the morning to see what bargains can be had, and many people will know each other well. 

They are open to the public and can be fun to attend. You will see watches you've never seen before and probably encounter an extraordinary variety of timepieces. You can ask to try everything on, and it is usually the case that everything is for sale. 

If you are interested in vintage watches, these kinds of shows are for you, and you will be able to see a range of vintage timepieces and start to get to know the dealers. We always recommend being extra careful when it comes to vintage watches, and following the rule: "Buy the Seller, not the Watch". You can read more in our guide to buying vintage watches.

Watch Shows and fairs are great places to go to see and try on a lot of watches and learn more about watch brands. While they can be large, busy, and confusing, a few simple questions can get you started and should lead to a really fun experience. The Watch Collectors' Club hope to attend most watch fairs in the UK to help members make the most of them, find the watches that they are most interested in, and connect them with brands they might love. Please let us know if there is a watch show you think we should be going to, and keep an eye on our watch events page for details of all our other events.

We explain what to expect at a Watch Show or Watch Fair

What is a Watch Show?

We explain what happens at a watch show and how to enjoy it

It is common for us today to think about Men's watches and Women's watches, but this is a relatively recent invention. Before the early 1900s, there were only watches, and men and women wore similar types. They did of course come in different sizes, but since they were all what we now know as pocket watches, there was no need to discriminate by sex. Many women used and wore pocket watches, and they were just as much of a status symbol then as they sometimes are now. Today we will explore the long history of women's watches.

Notable early watch owners include Queen Elizabeth I of the United Kingdom, who was known to have a range of watches and they are mentioned in her estate at her death. By modern standards, these watches were small and highly unreliable, often featuring only hour hands, and only ran for around ten hours a day. They were often beautifully crafted, and for a Queen, the watch would have been made of gold. 

Possibly the most famous watch made for a queen is the Breguet "Super Complication" made for Marie Antoinette, the last queen of France who was executed during the revolution in 1793. Marie Antoinette bought many watches from Breguet, who was the world's finest watchmaker at the time. In 1783 it is thought that a mysterious admirer ordered the most spectacular watch ever made for her as a gift. It was expressly ordered with no limits on cost, should be made of gold where possible, and include the fullest range of complications, or functions, known to watchmakers at the time. It still exists, and Breguet themselves have made a replica to explore the historical methods of the time. 

Around the same time another watch was ordered, this time it was a wristwatch! Caroline Murat was the Queen of Naples, the sister of Napoleon Bonaparte, and is known to have ordered 34 watches from Breguet. These included a wrist-mounted timepiece that she wore on a bracelet made with hair, which was a common practice of the day. The hair was usually taken from family members or loved ones, including those who had passed away as a memento. The other interesting fact about this watch was that it was Oblong, not round. Today it inspires the Breguet Reine de Naples line of watches.

The high-end Swiss watchmaker Patek Philippe got started in the 1840s and also received an order for a women's bracelet watch, which still exists. It was made in 1868, and is tiny, with a small key wound movement within a jewelled setting and on a rigid gold bracelet. The watch is now in the Patek Philippe museum. Many watches similar to this were made throughout the 19th century but very few are recorded and preserved like this one and few are famous. Portraits and pictures and photographs of the time however often feature ladies wearing wristwatches, mostly on simple bracelets. Women wore pocket watches on chains, and watch chains went through huge numbers of fashion cycles over the 18th and 19th centuries.

At the dawn of the 20th century, wristlets and wristwatches were almost exclusively worn by women and were seen as effeminate. Almost all men who could afford one used a pocket watch. In 1904 the first Men's wristwatch was ordered by Alberto du Santos-Dumos, a  pilot who wanted an accurate watch that wasn't in his pocket. The First World War accelerated demand for Men's wristwatches and boosted the market for those for women. 

These watches remained jewellery inspired by jewellery and were often small and not particularly robust. The invention of waterproof watches, automatic watches and watches with multiple complications were all first sold to men. 

However, since the size of almost all wristwatches remained small by modern standards, it is likely that women bought and wore watches with these features when they wanted to. Right up until the 1960s anything over 36mm was considered a large watch, whereas today that is very much a standard size for a women's watch and plenty of men wear watches of that size too.

Women have something that men don't when it comes to watches, and that is a staggering lineup of interesting, varied and colourful jewellery watches. Men's watches mostly come in traditional shapes and focus on functions. Women's watches have had no such restrictions, especially since the Second World War. Large jewellery houses with famous names competed to make fine jewellery watches, and more modest brands and affordable mass-market women's watches are often much more about the case shape designs and materials. They may have gems included, interesting bracelets, or covered dials. The time-telling function is secondary and often the dials are very small and the mechanisms very simple or of quartz. Incredible examples can be found from the great jewellery houses, but also watchmakers such as Omega and Piaget, famous for their use of coloured stones.

Some women's watches have gone onto become icons, most notably those from Jewellers such as Cartier, with their Panthere range, and Bulgari with their Serpenti. The Rolex Lady Datejust debuted in 1954 and is still incredibly popular. We also have many icons that are famous for famous women wearing them but they are actually available in men's and women's sizes and loved by both almost equally, such as the Cartier Tank and the Jaeger Le Coultre Reverso.

It is extremely common now to see women wearing watches originally designed and sold as men's watches, in particular from Rolex, where the incredible increase in popularity of the Rolex Daytona has led to high demand from women. The trend for larger watches that has been in place since the 1990s means that many women are happy wearing watches with a case diameter of 36mm or above. This takes them into the same territory as many models sold as men's watches, and opens up an enormous range of vintage watches they could consider. Watch companies are responding by making their marketing material gender-neutral and also marketing their larger models to women.

We at The Watch Collectors' Club don't think that any watch is solely for men or women. People can wear whatever size of design they like, and we have members who wear small vintage pieces that could be for ladies as well as huge modern digital timepieces, sometimes even on the same day. We have female members who wear men's watches every day. We have people exploring mid-century vintage as well as modern fashion watches. The world of watches is huge and we can help you explore it, whatever you are into. 

Women's Watches through History

A Short history of Women's Watches

In recent years there has been much more experimentation with watch case materials. From interesting composites to carbon fibre, and then from innovative new alloys to good old-fashioned bronze, we've seen many options for watch lovers who want something different from the usual stainless steel. Now many watch companies have added Titanium-cased watches to their catalogue.

Titanium is a metal that is mined from various minerals and formed using a special chemical process. It has three particularly useful properties: it is 45% lighter than steel but equally as strong, it does not tarnish, and it is not corroded by water or many chemicals. It can also be polished to a dull grey lustre. This combination makes for watches that are light on the wrist with an interesting metallic finish.

The simplest answer is it lets a big watch feel like a small watch. Titanium really feels light on the wrist. If you get a Titanium bracelet as well, then the combination is extraordinary. If you are used to wearing stainless steel sports watches on steel bracelets you will notice the difference immediately. 

The case colour is also different. It is a darker grey than steel. There are a large variety of steel alloys and Titanium alloys and they all have very slightly different colours of grey when polished, but Titanium really is noticeable. It is also less shiny than Stainless steel. For people who want something more subtle than steel, titanium is a great option. 

Some companies offer a surface treatment that makes it even more of a matt finish. This is particularly interesting, and the Tag Heuer Aquaracer in Green is a good example.

 Unfortunately, they are definitely more expensive than similar steel-cased watches in a given range. This is because the material is harder to form into the required watch's case shape, and there are fewer of them. It is the reduction in machining costs for titanium that has led to it becoming available in modern watches, previously it was so expensive to produce it was only used for things like aeroplane parts and medical implants. On one hand, it is good that watch lovers now have this option, on the other, they should expect to pay more for it. 

The good news is that many different brands use Titanium and it is available at lower price points than you might think. The Japanese brand Citizen has a good range of dive watches available in an alloy they call Super Titanium, known as the Promaster Tough series. 

Microbrands have been using Titanium to create very reasonably priced watches for a few years now. Often choosing dive or adventure watches to highlight, there are many interesting options available. 

Like many big Swiss brands, Omega has not been afraid to use titanium in their range, including Seamasters, Planet Ocean models, and even the smart Aqua Terra Ultra Light. It made sense for the latest James Bond watch to feature a Titanium case and Milanese strap, which makes it surprisingly smart and easy to wear. We have written about James Bond watches before, and recently held two James Bond watch events. If you don't really know what this fuss is about, this version of the Seamaster Professional 300 is well worth seeing up close.

There is one downside to Titanium cases, and that is they are much harder to repair if they get scratched or damaged. Many local watch repair places or polishing places will not have the required tools, and you may need to return the watch to the manufacturer for repair. One way to avoid this is to look for grades of Titanium that are advertised as extra hard. Many people will of course see such marks or scratches as general wear and tear and part of the enjoyment of wearing a watch. 

Titanium is one of many interesting case materials available in the watch world today. Its growing use across many different brands and price points gives you many options to explore. The Watch Collectors' Club exists to help you explore the watch world and if you have any further questions about Titanium watches just ask. If you'd like a personalised shortlist of Titanium watches then you can fill out our Watch Shortlist form, and mention your interest in Titanium, we can help find the right watch for you. We also run regular watch events where you might encounter a Titanium cased watch, we never know what people are going to be bringing along! You can find all the event details here.

An overview of Titanium watch cases, the good points and downsides

What's special about Titanium Watch Cases?

We explore the benefits of Titanium for watch cases and bracelets

What's Special about Titanium Watch cases?

It's been a while since we have provided an updated on our Club Plans, so this week is the perfect time to tell you what's coming next and more about the amazing events we have coming up! We'll also give you an early insight into our plans for 2023.

There is still time to sign up for the incredibly exciting event with Watches of Switzerland focussing on the Omega Watches of James Bond. This is in partnership with Britain's biggest James Bond collector, and will feature props, memorabilia and watches from the Daniel Craig films. You are welcome to join us anytime from 5:00PM on Wednesday, October 12th, but you must sign up.

There'll be plenty to look at, watches from the latest Omega range to try on, and three short talks to help you explore more about the world of Omega watches and James Bond.

This month we are also hosting two further exciting events; 

On Thursday 20th October we are having our first event solely for Women who are interested in watches. There are now enough women who come to our events to allow us to put on an event just for them, and we'd greatly appreciate it if you could highlight this event to anyone you know who might be interested. It'll follow our usual fun, friendly and informative Meetup structure, and whether you are new to watches or a seasoned collector, it'll be a great chance to come and learn more about the watch world. Sign up here.


On Thursday 27th November we are hosting a small and intimate event with IWC Schaffhausen. We have only 12 spaces for this so if you are interested let us know ASAP by signing up here.

read more about upcoming events and club plans for The WCC

Articles by Hamish Robertson