Grail Watch

Always watching for holy grail timepieces

  • Grail Watch Reference
  • Grails
  • Commentary
  • Collection
    • Watch A Day
    • Breitling Datora 592
    • Buren Calibre 82
    • Jaeger-LeCoultre AMVOX1
    • Junghans Mega 1
    • King Seiko 56KS
    • Nivada Antarctic
    • Paul Picot Firshire Chrono
    • Seiko SCED “Aliens” Chronograph
  • Reference Materials
    • Reference Database
    • Buren Calibre 82
    • Junghans Mega 1
    • Nomos Models and Movements
    • Sinn Models
    • Watch Battery Cross Reference
  • About Grail Watch

Connect

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2021 · Log in

Hebdomas: The True Story of the 8-Day Pocket Watch

November 29, 2020 By Stephen Leave a Comment

Spend some time looking at old watches and you’re bound to stumble across an unusual watch with an off-center dial, fancy exposed balance, and 8-day power reserve. The dial will likely say “Hebdomas” and “8 Jours” and not much more. Is this some exotic high-end watch or a mass-market pretender? That’s the story I’m telling today!

Filed Under: Commentary, Grails Tagged With: 8-day, Aerowatch, Arthur Graizely, Baladin, Bienne, Hebdomas, Kolber, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Otto Schild, Schild & Co, Vincent Calabrese, Xantia

How I Find Great Deals in Watch Auction Catalogs

November 28, 2020 By Stephen Leave a Comment

I’m a big fan of auctions as a way to obtain interesting watches for my collection. There are plenty of online antique, art. and specialized watch and clock auctions, populated with collected watches deserving of attention. If you look carefully, you will find some interesting watches, along with plenty that should be avoided!

Filed Under: Commentary, Grails Tagged With: Auctionata, auctions, Enicar, Glashütte Original, Invaluable, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Nivada, Seiko

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 2 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

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

Enicar Star Jewels: Transitional Vintage

April 19, 2018 By Stephen Leave a Comment

Today’s Watch A Day is another Enicar, representative of the transition from 1960s to 1970s styling. This Star Jewels automatic has lots going for it though perhaps it’s not a 100% match for the vintage James Bond strap.

Filed Under: Collection, Watch A Day Tagged With: AR 1140, AR 1145, Bond Strap, Bond Watch Strap, Enicar, Enicar 1145, Enicar Star, Enicar Star Jewels, Star Jewels, Watches

Breitling Datora 592: Funky Chronograph

April 18, 2018 By Stephen Leave a Comment

Today I’m wearing another watch I’ve previously written about here. I bought this Breitling Datora as a bit of a “fixer-upper” back in 2014 and promptly sent it out to be serviced. It’s now a fairly regular “wearer” in my watch box.

Filed Under: Collection, Watch A Day Tagged With: Breitling, Breitling Datora, Breitling Datora 592, Bretiling, Chronograph, Strap, tonneau, Valjoux, Valjoux 7734

Certina DS-2: Alternative Dive Watch

April 17, 2018 By Stephen Leave a Comment

I’ve written about this watch before, picking it as a “grail” even before I bought it. It’s a good example of the “DS” shock proof case from Certina and has good period details. I purchased this at auction (the only bid) with an incorrect modern box and papers.

Filed Under: Collection, Watch A Day Tagged With: Certina, Certina 25-661, Certina Ds, Certina DS-2, Certina Kurth Frères, Dive Watches

Roamer Rotopower 44: Elegance with Balls

April 14, 2018 By Stephen 2 Comments

After yesterday’s epic 1500 word “Watch A Day” post, I decided to go for something simpler. Today I’m wearing a classic dress watch from a little-remembered brand. This Roamer Rotopower features a 44-jewel (!) movement, 14 karat gold case, and classic dress watch styling.

Filed Under: Collection, Watch A Day Tagged With: MST 370, Roamer, Rotopower

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • Next Page »

Latest Posts

Inventing the Solar-Powered Watch: Patek Philippe, Synchronar, and Uranus

Hebdomas: The True Story of the 8-Day Pocket Watch

How I Find Great Deals in Watch Auction Catalogs

How My Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda 1950 Went Bad, and What It Took To Get It Back

Why Have No Smartwatches Won at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève?

My Take on the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève 2020 Headlines

Two Movements, One Case: Alexander Shorokhoff Levels and Los Craneos

What Was the World’s First Quartz Watch?

CEH and the Beta 21: The History of the First Swiss Quartz Watch

The History of the IWC Da Vinci via Europa Star

About

About Grail Watch

Favorite Sites

  • Blancpain Blog
  • Le Monde Edmond
  • Perezcope
  • Plus9Time
  • Reddit /r/Watches
  • Seiko & Citizen Watch Forum
  • Snowflakes & Shields
  • Swisswatches Blog
  • The Watch Lounge
  • Watch Wiki
  • WatchBase
  • Watches by SJX
  • Watchuseek