Grail Watch

The search for the grail is the search for illumination

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Chronotechna Ultimate Black Hands-On Review: Black? Yes. Ultimate? Not Really.

April 5, 2020 By Stephen 1 Comment

After over a year delay, I finally received my Chronotechna Ultimate Black watch, with its NanoBlack coated dial, cut-out luminous numerals, and black case and strap. It’s really black, but was it really worth the wait? Yes and no. It’s a good watch with a cool dial, iffy lume, and a horrible strap. But at least I got mine!

Filed Under: Collection, Reviews Tagged With: Chronotechna, Kickstarter, NanoBlack, Sellita SW200-1

Jean d’Eve Samara: The First Automatic Quartz Watch

April 3, 2020 By Stephen 2 Comments

Browsing through the archives of Europa Star, I came across a groundbreaking watch I had never encountered. The Jean d’Eve Samara was not just the world’s first automatic-winding quartz watch, it was also a remarkably novel design! My research rabbit-hole lead me to learn not just about this watch but about an entire dark corner of horology.

Filed Under: Collection, History Tagged With: ETA Autoquartz, Le Phare, Renley, Seiko AGS, Seiko Kinetic, Sultana, Ventura MGS

Where’s My Watch? The Ongoing Chronotechna Saga

February 16, 2020 By Stephen Leave a Comment

Chronotechna promised “the blackest watch ever made” but hasn’t delivered on their promises. Or, in my case, hasn’t delivered at all!

Filed Under: Collection, Reviews Tagged With: Chronotechna, Kickstarter, NanoBlack, Vantablack

Jaeger-LeCoultre AMVOX1 Alarm Titanium: Standout Sports Watch

April 30, 2018 By Stephen 1 Comment

I fell in love with this Jaeger-LeCoultre AMVOX1 Alarm Titanium limited edition on first sight and still love it just as much today. That’s why it’s one of the final watches in my “Watch A Day” series. The dial is lovely, with different textures, materials, and depths all coming together as a cohesive whole. It’s wonderfully legible and sports a cool complication. It’s got an amazing history from one of the best brands. And above all, it’s a wearable, enjoyable watch. What more could you ask?

Filed Under: Collection, Watch A Day

Movado 1891 Ultra-Slim “Museum Watch”

April 29, 2018 By Stephen Leave a Comment

Despite the sketchy history of the design, Movado’s “Museum Watch” remains an icon of horology. It’s one of the very few watches that is instantly recognizable even to the uninitiated, and thus belongs in any serious collector’s watch box, if not on their wrist.

Filed Under: Collection, Watch A Day Tagged With: dress watch, ETA 956, ETA 956.032, Movado, Movado 1891, Museum of Modern Art, Museum Watch, Nathan George Horwitt, quartz, ultra thin, Vacheron Constantin

Paul Picot Firshire Chrono: Classic Movement, New Case

April 28, 2018 By Stephen Leave a Comment

Today’s “Watch A Day” is my Paul Picot Firshire chronograph, which I described extensively back in 2014. It’s combines a classic hand winding chronograph movement with modern build quality in a dressy yet sporty tonneau case. Four years on, I find myself wearing it about once a month, which is above average in my collection.

Filed Under: Collection, Watch A Day Tagged With: 2002 Paul Picot Firshire Chrono, Chronograph, Di-Modell, Lemania 1872, Paul Picot, Paul Picot Firshire, Paul Picot Firshire Chrono

Storm Microcamera: Cool Bracelet!

April 27, 2018 By Stephen Leave a Comment

The Storm Microcamera is something special only because it’s so darn odd. It’s not very functional or useful, but it looks cool and is excellently designed and made. It’s everything that “mushroom brands” like the Xeric aren’t. And I like it.

Filed Under: Collection, Watch A Day Tagged With: bracelet, fashion watches, Miyota, plate bracelet, quartz, Storm, Storm London, Storm Microcamera, Storm Watches

Nivada Antarctic Chronometer: Forgotten Importance

April 26, 2018 By Stephen 4 Comments

Today I’m returning to one of my favorite watches for “Watch A Day”. This Nivada Antarctic was created to commemorate the company’s accomplishments in exploration, part of the International Geophysical Year, 1957. It’s tiny by modern standards but has a wonderful look to it.

Filed Under: Collection, Watch A Day Tagged With: chronometer, ETA, ETA 2472, International Geophysical Year, Nivada, Nivada Antarctic, Nivada Grenchen

Xeric Xeriscope: An Amusing Piece of Junk

April 25, 2018 By Stephen 8 Comments

The Xeric Xeriscope is not an enjoyable watch. Mine was $349 on Kickstarter, and I feel it’s not worth even that. The finishing and usability is so bad I can’t even enjoy the novelty of the open heart carousel movement. I thought I knew what I was getting, but I didn’t know it would be this bad.

Filed Under: Collection, Reviews, Watch A Day Tagged With: Carousel, China, Chinese, dual timezone, Kickstarter, Open Heart, power reserve indicator, PTS Resources, PTS ST-1201, Wachismo, Watches.com, Xeric, Xeric Xeriscope

Levrette Chronograph: Classic Elegance

April 24, 2018 By Stephen 3 Comments

Today’s “Watch A Day” is a real classic: A Swiss chronograph in a gold case with the historic Venus 175 movement ticking inside. It’s a joy to wear and enjoy such a wonderful timepiece!

Filed Under: Collection, Watch A Day Tagged With: Chronograph, column wheel, Levrette, Tissot, Venus, Venus 175

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