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

A club for everyone who likes watches.

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

Join us online for a fun and friendly watch quiz. We'll have four rounds of watch-related questions and you can battle for honour, glory, and the ability to tell your family you won a watch quiz. It'll be on Zoom, it's free and just a bit of fun. It will start at 8:00PM sharp, last for one hour, and is completely free.

A short, fun, free watch world related quiz.

Online Watch World Quiz and trivia event for Christmas 2022

WCC Online Watch Quiz

Our next General Meetup will be on Tuesday December 6th at 6:30pm in Central London, and we will release the venue details early in the week of the event. It will be a relaxed evening in a private space where you can come and share your passion for watches with like-minded people. We will give two short talks to help you learn more about this fascinating space, and there will be refreshments available.

We assure you that the venue will be COVID-compliant, and there will be plenty of sanitiser available. We ask that you please either be double vaccinated or have a negative test result from earlier on the day.

Everyone is welcome, whether you have been collecting for years or are just getting started. We are creating a place to share knowledge and help each other out, and you don't even need to own a watch.

Please register using the link and if you have any friends who might like to come, also ask them to register here.

Join us for our final event of the year, a Watch Meetup in Central London

The Watch Collectors' Club Meetup December 2022

Join us to explore Oris' fantastic in house mechanical movement, the Calibre 400. This recently introduced movement is designed and made entirely by Oris and we will help you understand what makes it so interesting. 

Expect warm hospitality, a really cool virtual reality experience, two short talks to help you appreciate what's going on with the new Calibre, and of course many amazing watches to try on.

We are very excited to work with Oris, who have remained independent makers of Swiss mechanical watches since 1904. Join us to learn more about them, their classic ranges, and their fantastic new movement.

Club Plans

Make the watch world simple