brand watches wiki – rolex watches, omega watches, replica watches

Last year, we participated in a pop up flea with a multitude of other brands, giving readers a chance to buy some of the watches you see on our site everyday. If you went you also got to meet our head man, Ben Clymer, a thrill for anyone. The sale was a hit for our east coast fans, so we’ve decided to have another, this time on the other coast. Starting May 25th, HODINKEE will be teaming up with our friends at Taylor Stitch to host our second pop up shop in the great city by the bay.

That Friday through Sunday you can swing into Taylor Stitch’s shop in San Francisco’s Mission district, where you’ll find an appropriate selection of fine vintage watches from the likes of Rolex, Omega, Breitling and JLC. A small modern selection will be included as well, from d.m.h. to Xetum. What’s more, both Ben and Blake will be present to answer any questions or just engage in some watch talk.

We’ll also have a small selection of HODINKEE leather goods, so if you’ve missed them in our online shop be sure to swing in and snag one. Additionally, Taylor Sitch will have their full array of goods available, check em out right here.

So if you live in the Bay Area be sure to mark May 25, 26 and 27 on your calendar and swing in to say hi and buy a watch or two. Details you need to know:

What: HODINKEE Pop Up

When: May 25 thru 27

Where: Taylor Stitch  |  383 Valencia St  |  San Francisco, CA  |  93103

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There are a few sports watches that, if they came up for sale would surely create unprecedented buzz among collectors and no doubt fetch high prices, such as a Moon-worn Omega Speedmaster, Siffert’s Heuer Autavia or Newman’s own Daytona. HODINKEE has learned about one of the most important Rolex Submariners to come available and we’re featuring it here today in an exclusive first look.

In the mid-1960s, while newspaper headlines were focused on the daring exploits of men pushing boundaries in outer space, a lesser-known feat of exploration was going on in an equally hostile environment hundreds of feet under the sea.  The U.S. Navy was undertaking pioneering experiments in technology, human endurance and physiology under the name of the SEALAB program. SEALAB was the Navy’s first foray into saturation diving, in which “aquanauts” lived in a pressurized habitat underwater for days, even weeks, on end. The program, which continued over five years, though grossly underfunded and underpublicized, laid important groundwork for the future of saturation diving. And, of particular interest to watch lovers, SEALAB was also the birthplace of the Rolex Sea-Dweller.

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You may have heard we launched a limited edition strap line last week.  Actually, if you didn’t hear, that means you’re probably not familiar with something called the “internet,” because, it was everywhere, and then some.  We’ve actually sold out of everything in our shop, but we promised our good friends at Freemans Sporting Club a small sampling of straps for their customers.  So, starting today, Freemans on Bleecker street will be carrying four varieties of HODINKEE Straps. 

Swing on by or give them a call to see what they have in stock.  They are located at 327 Bleecker street and their phone number is 212-255-5509. 

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Last friday night, we invited you, our dear friends and readers, to join us up at the Park Avenue Armory to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak.  The setting was inside the spectacular exhibition combining fine watchmaking with both traditional and digital art from some of the world’s most creative thinkers (which we previewed in video here).

Over 150 HODINKEE readers came to view the exhibition over the three hour event, we have to say, we couldn’t be more pleased with how things turned out.  The chance for you, real watch lovers, to be in the same room as over 100 haute horology timepieces from one of the top manufactures in the world (including Gerald Genta’s personal Royal Oak, and Guy Laliberte’s unique grand complication that went into space) was really something special.  Also, to be able to talk to senior executives at Audemars Piguet, including Olivier Audemars (who can been seen in several pictures below), head of design Octavio Garcia, and North American CEO Francois-Henry Bennahmias made for an incredible, personal look into a great brand and the people that make it so special.

We want to thank each HODINKEE reader who made it to our special event on Friday and send a sincere thank you to everyone at Audemars Piguet for allowing us to celebrate such an important milestone in your history together. 

Above we have prepared a short video recap of the night, and below, several photographs (see if you can find yourself!).

See you very soon.

- Ben & the HODINKEE team

From:HODINKEE

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Today is an exciting day for us – it marks the opening of the HODINKEE shop, hosted right here on our fair little website.  You see, a watch is a great thing, and we have always enjoyed customizing our pieces with different straps depending on how we’re feeling.  So, by popular request, we’ve gone ahead and sourced a limited supply of those beautiful hand-made straps you often see on the wrists of vintage watch collectors exclusively for HODINKEE readers. 

Each strap is made by hand by a single artisan in a small town in Tuscany (seriously) and due to this factor, plus the fact that he uses different cuts of leather for each style, no two straps are identical.  The straps are divided into three categories: leather, distressed leather, and suede.  Then, we also offer single watch travel pouches in both leather and suede, as well as a six watch travel roll.  While these straps were designed with the great sport watches of the 1960s and 70s in mind, they will fit on any watch with a 19 or 20mm lug width. 

All products in the HODINKEE shop are available for shipping worldwide and both PayPal and all major credit cards are accepted as payment. Again, all of these straps were made for us in a limited run, so they might not be around for long. 

Visit the HODINKEE Shop here.

(ps – ever seen a camouflage watch strap before?)

From:HODINKEE

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It’s that time of the year again, the time when over 1300 (yes, that’s one thousand and three hundred) exhibitors comes to the intersection of France, Germany, and Switzerland to show the world their wares.  At Basel World you’ll see everything from the latest watch from Paris Hilton (yes, unfortunately she has a brand of timepieces – no, you won’t be seeing a “Week on the Wrist” soon) to the mightiest of Patek Philippes, and everything in between. 

The show officially launches Wednesday, March 7^th, but we’ve shown you some early peeks at some Basel releases, including the least expensive De Bethune to date.  We also showed you a quick and dirty look at the brand new Bell & Ross Regulator on our Tumblr page.

Which reminds us, while you’ll see the absolute best, in-depth coverage of the event right here on HODINKEE, we’ll also be updating our Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, FourSquare and Instagram accounts with behind the scenes action, so be sure to follow us everywhere you can.

Stay tuned for the busiest week of the year for the watch world.

Follow HODINKEE on:

Twitter / Tumblr / Facebook / Instagram / Flickr / FourSquare

Follow our contributors on Twitter at:

@BenjaminClymer / @BlakeBuettner

Boom.

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We love the Royal Oak. A lot. So much in fact that we are throwing it a 40th birthday party right here in New York City. 

Actually, Audemars Piguet is celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Royal Oak with a truly incredible exhibition of more than 100 different examples of the watch that changed everything, many of which are leaving the Le Brassus Museum for the very first time. 

The exhibition will be open for four days (March 21-24) and will be open to the public.  The collection of watches from Audemars Piguet will be set atop the artwork of famed contemporary artists Sebastien Leon Agneessens, Quayola and Dan Holdsworth.

On the night of Friday, March 23rd, HODINKEE will host a special celebration in honor of the Royal Oak.  While specifics will follow, we invite all of our readers, both new and old, to join us for a private viewing of the watches (with cocktails, of course).  RSVP is required, and we welcome everyone interested in attending to send us an email with the number and names of who will be attending.

See you there!

What: HODINKEE Celebrates The 40th Anniversary Of The Royal Oak With A Private Viewing of Over 100 Royal Oak Examples

When: Friday, March 23

Where: The Park Avenue Armory

Who: All HODINKEE Readers

RSVP: Required at Events@Hodinkee.com

Specifics and Confirmation Will Come Via Email.

From:HODINKEE

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Remember when we promised to send one of you, a HODINKEE reader, on a VIP trip to visit famed Swiss watch manufacture Piaget?. You should, because it was the biggest, baddest giveaway we’ve ever held. 

The response to this project was enormous, and we had hundreds of participants take the time watch all the videos necessary to answer the ten (very difficult) questions.  From the few entrants that managed to answer all 10 correctly, 1 winner was selected – Bao Nguyen of Virginia, who brought his wife along for the adventure that took place earlier this month. During his stay, Bao was taken to the manufacture’s movement production facilities in La Cote-aux-Fées, within Swiss Canton Jura, and the headquarters responsible for the remainder of production, in Geneva. Below find a detailed recounting of the trip in Boa’s own words, and a few of our pictures of his experience.

My wife and I would like to thank Piaget and HODINKEE for our trip to Switzerland to visit Piaget, and to see its manufacture in La Cote aux Fees, and its headquarters in Geneva.

Here are a few of my thoughts:

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Ben and Jason are currently somewhere over the Atlantic ocean en route to Geneva for one of the most important weeks in watches.  This week is the annual SIHH, where the Richemont brands, plus some great friends, announce their latest and greatest.  This week is also the GTE, which showcases some independent brands. 

We will be bringing you constant updates from the field via a number of social media outlets, in addition to posts right here on the blog.  To be as close to the action as possible, you’ll want to follow HODINKEE on:

Tumblr / Twitter / Facebook / Foursquare / Flickr

You can also follow our two intrepid journalists on their personal accounts at @JasonHeaton and @BenjaminClymer.

From:HODINKEE

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Last April, I wrote an open letter about what you could expect from HODINKEE moving forward.  I promised in-depth, magazine style content that you wouldn’t find anywhere else in the world – digital or otherwise.  Today, I am proud to announce the first HODINKEE Feature has gone live. 

The first Feature story we have for you is about a man named Gene Stone, a man who is, we assume, the world’s leading travel watch collector.  In fact he may be the world’s only travel watch collector.  He’s also a best-selling author, a vegan, and an interesting person we thought you’d like to hear about.

So, with this, I invite you all to view our inaugural HODINKEE feature.  Read it, watch the video, enjoy the pictures.  If you like, let us know what you think. 

Click Here To Read Traveling With Time, A HODINKEE Feature.

- Ben

From:HODINKEE

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