No Swiss watch brand has a more powerful reputation than Rolex. The name has long been synonymous with luxury watches of enormous prestige and the highest quality. Since the Genevan manufacturer's founding by Hans Wilsdorf in 1908, these precious timepieces have become coveted around the world. In this overview, become acquainted with Rolex's exciting history, which has been almost constantly characterized by success and expansion. At the same time, examine the highlights of the most important models, primarily from the current collection, presented here in detailed images with complete technical specifications and accurate prices. This compact volume is a fine starting point for the novice collector and an efficient guide for the aficionado.

The absorbing and everlasting subject of watch repairing has been dealt with in books in many languages throughout the years. But when de Carle first set out to write "Practical Watch Repairing" in 1946, it was with the intention of creating a textbook "that a watchmaker can understand, even if he can't read." With over 550 instructional black-and-white illustrations and an approach that assumes no prior watch-repairing experience, this book achieves and surpasses that lofty mission, and has been touted as "the best illustrated book on practical horology" ("Horological Journal") ever written. For the readers in his audience, de Carle has provided well-informed discourse on every topic a watchmaker, or aspiring watchmaker, needs to know. With "Practical Watch Repairing," even a layman can become a watch-repair specialist.

Breitling. One watch has made this name famous worldwide, the Navitimer. In 1952 this watch was a real sensation, the chronograph along with the calculator made it possible for the pilot to carry out all necessary calculations during the flight. This made the Navitimer a valuable on-board instrument at that time, and a valuable collectible today.This newly revised book shows the whole spectrum of the firm's products since its founding in 1884, and gives the reader an informed insight into more than 100 years of the firm's history. Many photos, old catalogs, and advertising material support the informative text. With the help of reference numbers, the collector can also locate individual watches chronologically. This fascinating portrait of the Breitling firm will enthrall all who appreciate fine mechanical precision.

A long-awaited reprint of an important illustrated reference work on the general history of the watch from 1500 to 1980. When Watches was first published in 1965 it quickly gained for itself a reputation as the foremost general history of the subject and, following the expanded edition in 1979 which covered recent years past 1830, this has remained unchallenged in horological history. In this long-awaited reprinted edition, collectors and horological students can again make use of the reference illustrations and history in this work as approached by the leading horology historians and clockmakers of the twentieth century. Clutton and Daniels write expertly on the vast history of watches, through the changing tastes and styles of collectors and makers, as well as imparting their own knowledge on various technical aspects within the watches. The expansive historical section encompasses both decorative and mechanical aspects of mid-sixteenth to late twentieth century watches, including those by George Daniels himself, detailing the rich history behind more modern designs and fascinations. These later years include a variety of semi-experimental escapements, as well as covering the development of the precision watch and work leading to it by Ferdinand Berthoud and Pierre Le Roy, discussed alongside John Arnold in England, to satisfy the technical-minded collector. Horology and collecting have grown with the changing technologies, and watches continue to be produced to an exceptional technological standard. Precision watches from the 1730-1930 period are covered in detail, as well as high standard Swiss and American watches of the last hundred years; these highly complicated watches benefit greatly from having both colour and mono illustrations to clarify the details. For a truly comprehensive understanding of escapements, photographs of these have been included alongside a critical approach to this essential mechanism. Since its first publication, Watches has provided an essential work of reference and history behind some of the most renowned minds and creations. Now reprinted for a new generation of collectors and students, and featuring over 600 illustrations, the technical and decorative elements of historical watches can be studied and enjoyed once more.

This book's contents include: general condition of the movement; cleaning and oiling; balance pivots; fitting a flat balance spring; fitting a breguet balance spring; positional timing; further considerations when fitting a spring and observing the point of attachment; general notes on springing and timing; other methods of positional adjustment; and, timing machines. "No writer can have added more volumes to the horological bookshelf than Donald de Carle, and his careful and detailed approach to the technical side of the craft has done a great deal to improve the standard of knowledge of a host of craftsmen, and has gained him readers in every part of the world. The many craftsmen who are already familiar with Mr de Carle's earlier work, Practical Watch Repairing, will note a great similarity in the attitude of mind behind both books, and, indeed, this latest volume is, to some extent, a companion and a follow-on from the previous book, for it carries the reader into what is, undoubtedly, the most exacting and skillful aspect of all work on watches." Horological Review

This comprehensive and detailed reference guide to Rolex sports model watches is an indispensable asset to watch collectors and dealers. The only work of its kind, it covers the history of the Submariner, Sea-Dweller, Explorer, GMT-Master, Turn-O-Graph, Milgauss, and Cosmograph watches, from 1952 to 1990. The history of more than 140 vintage models is described in detail, with the watches shown in chronological order. Color photographs illustrate every watch model, with hundreds of diagrams providing clear and useful information about the development of each model. Twenty-two rare Rolex brochures are shown along with numerous catalog photographs and the associated sale prices of sports models sold at Christie(1)s and Sotheby's worldwide from 1997 to 2017. Also included is a current price guide for every model shown in the book. Rolex watches continue to dominate the collecting market, and this authoritative volume, now in its revised and expanded 4th edition, continues to be the essential resource for the Rolex collector, dealer, and auctioneer.

'Downright fascinating...indispensable reading' Daily Telegraph 'Nicholas Foulkes' excellent...book is beautifully illustrated. Captivating' Daily Mail For more than 25,000 years, humanity has sought to understand and measure the passing of time, in the process creating some of the most remarkable and beautiful timepieces. Now, in Nicholas Foulkes' lavishly illustrated book, the battle to tame time is brought vividly to life. From the baboon bone dating back to the palaeolithic era that marked the lunar cycle and on to the 3500-year-old water clock at Karnak, from our earliest days mankind has sought to track the passing of time. More recently, the struggles to measure longitude and to create a workable train timetable across the vast, open expanse of the United States have inspired new developments. In Time Tamed, Nicholas Foulkes reveals how we have done this by focusing on some of the most significant developments in timekeeping across the ages. He also highlights the most stunning and lavish clocks and watches in history - from Big Ben to Rolex - for telling the time has never been purely about function, but also about design. The book is filled with remarkable tales, from the 14th century monk in St Albans who created one of the first mechanical clocks to the Holy Roman Emperor who built a clock into an automated ship that fired a cannon to summon guests to dinner. More recently, there was the Surrey woman who used a Napoleonic era watch to 'deliver' the accurate time to London shopkeepers in the wartime era of Churchill, or the Swiss denture maker who solved a tricky problem for the Indian Raj's polo players. Time Tamed is a book you'll want to spend many hours enjoying.

Following on from the success of his three previous books, The Pocket Watch, The Verge Pocket Watch and The American Pocket Watch, Chris Barrow has produced another clear and concise guide, aimed again at the enthusiastic amateur. This book concentrates on one particular type of watch, namely the English fusee lever. It combines a brief history of the development of the watch with a step-by-step manual covering the dismantling, cleaning, repair and reassembly of a variety of English fusee lever movements made during the nineteenth century. If you have acquired a pocket watch of this type, and would like to investigate its workings, perhaps with a view to getting it going again, then this book will help you step by step to reach that goal. It will also give you a better appreciation of the beauty of both the design and technology of the English fusee lever pocket watch.

This celebration of high-end men's wristwatches is a collection of essays, timelines, and more than 250 color photographs. Aimed at collectors, watch enthusiasts, and anyone with an interest in fashion, the book ranges from in-depth looks at specific models, including classics and contemporary timepieces, to overviews of pilot's watches, diver's watches, and other watches developed for various purposes. Short essays and timelines take a look at pop culture, including topics such as cars and watches, watches in space, watches in films, famous advertising campaigns, and celebrities and their timepieces. Learn about today's customized watches, smart watches, and a watch that shows the time in words only. Featured watch brands include Audemars Piguet, Omega, Rolex, IWC, Patek Philippe, Hublot, Tag Hauer, and more. The author also presents his top 10 list for the ultimate watch collector.

Time is a great mystery. A changeable element, which expands or vanishes, but that appears concrete as it is marked by the passing of seconds, minutes, hours, days, and years. The path toward the capture of minutes and seconds coincided with the phases of scientific evolution that allowed man to manufacture watches that are increasingly reliable, but that are also in tune with changes in customs, social needs, and aesthetic canons. This book covers the art of watch manufactory as well as 60 great models, covering both their technical evolution and style trends. In each chapter in-depth studies will guide the reader to the history of the most important manufacturers, the personalities linked to the models treated, technical innovations, styles of the period, or records achieved by the wristwatches: from the watch that helped Charles Lindbergh during the first transatlantic solo flight, to the one worn by Sir Edmund Hillary on the top of Mount Everest, the most iconic models will be discussed in detail.

Paul Newman wore his Daytona Rolex every single day for 35 years until his death in 2008. The iconic timepiece, probably the single most sought-after watch in the world, is now in the possession of his daughter Clea, who wears it every day in his memory. Franklin Roosevelt wore an elegant gold Tiffany watch, gifted to him by a friend on his birthday, to the famous Yalta Conference where he shook the hands of Joseph Stalin and Winston Churchill. JFK's Omega worn to his presidential inauguration, Ralph Lauren's watch purchased from Andy Warhol's personal collection, Sir Edmund Hillary's Rolex worn during the first-ever summit of Mt. Everest...these and many more compose the stories of the world's most coveted watches captured in A Man and His Watch. Matthew Hranek, a watch collector and NYC men's style fixture, has travelled the world conducting firsthand interviews and diving into exclusive collections to gather the never-before- told stories of 76 watches, complete with stunning original photography of every single piece.

Omega has become the watchmaker with the highest name recognition in timekeeping for personal and sports events worldwide. If the father owned an Omega, so does the son. This important, color illustrated, new book presents, an illustrated description of all the watch movements manufactured by the Omega Watch Co. since the registration of its trademark in 1894. Over 400 watches are shown in 80 color and 334 black and white photographs. Started as a small watchmaker shop in Biel, Switzerland in 1848, the company expanded to Geneva and has made precision pocket and wristwatches including the world famous chronometer wristwatch Constellation, the diver's watch Seamaster, and the chronograph wristwatch Speedmaster Professional.

The early 2000s were an important period, spanning a time when mechanical watches had quite rightly retaken their place in the world market. We all may have a digital device in our pocket that is more accurate than a mechanical watch, but a timepiece has soul, personality, and history. The collection in this book is a step into the world of vintage watch collecting, with a range of photographs, intricate research, and accessible reference material that will intrigue both the casual and avid enthusiast. The collection showcases some of the most interesting, luxurious, and functional 20th-century (1930-1980) mechanical timepieces ever to be produced, including Heuer's Autavia, Rolex's Submariner, Gallet's MultiChron, Zenith's De Luca, and the Universal Space Compax.

Breitling is especially known for its characteristically masculine wristwatches. This distinctive design is the main reason for its great popularity since the 1930s. The book presents the most beautiful and most important models of the Breitling history. The fascinating text provides a history of the brand and historical examples. The models explored include the Navitimer, Avenger, Chronographs, Superocean, Breitling for Bentley, and Cockpit. Also included are brief histories of each wristwatch presented. Excellent photography in over 120 images and all relevant technical details are included. Technical data provided includes the reference number, movement, functions, case, and the price of the watch at the time of sale. This is a reliable guide anyone passionate for quality wristwatches will treasure.

The history of Rolex is inextricably linked to its founder Hans Wilsdorf, who took the first steps in the world of Swiss watchmaking as he dreamed about a timepiece that could be worn around the wrist. This experimental research led Rolex to achieve its highest goals in both technological innovation and in the use of the finest materials alone. Its models have been photographed on the wrists of political leaders, sports champions, and film and fashion celebrities, transforming each Rolex into a fully-fledged status symbol, a synonym of elegance and precision. Including essays with a historical and technical slant, in-depth descriptions of the most representative pieces and a brief glossary, the pages in this book sparkle with golden hands, diamond-studded dials and patent-leather watchbands, illustrated in period photographs and macro-detail. The volume ends with a chapter dedicated to the most amazing auctions that saw the sale of the Geneva-based company's vintage watches. (Reprinting 10.02.2020)

The phrase ""in a New York minute"" is virtually synonymous with all that is fast-paced and technologically advanced. One of the first cities founded on the eastern seaboard, New York has been a horological trendsetter for almost four hundred years. When the first Dutch settlers came to Manhattan in the early years of the 17th century, they established America's first stronghold of capitalism. Over the next few centuries, precise schedules became an inescapable reality of modernization and precision timepieces became an art form in Europe and America. As the center of commercial and industrial activity, New York City developed a particular preoccupation with time, and hence became a showplace for an astonishing array of timepieces. From tower clocks to time balls, this richly illustrated work chronicles the history of public clocks in New York City. It discusses the premiere clock-makers of the 19th century such as the Ansonia Clock Company and the Self Winding Clock Company, the heyday of American public clock making and the ever-increasing importance of clocks. Post clocks, church clocks, sundials, and labor timepieces are all discussed herein. Photographs of subject pieces and an index are included.

There are names in horological history that echo much more than just watches... Such is the case of Jaquet-Droz, 18th Swiss watchmakers with an international horizon, whose ceremonial clocks, prodigious androids, fashionable birdcages, pocket watches with moving scenes or collector's snuffboxes remain the stuff of dreams for passionate enthusiasts. Today, the Maison Jaquet Droz continues to draw its inspiration from this rich heritage in order to reinterpret techniques and aesthetics, pushing back the boundaries of watchmaking and representing a perpetual source of fascination for collectors. Based on the latest research on the subject and published on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the birth of Pierre Jaquet-Droz (1721-2021), this book offers a deep dive into the history of characters with a captivating journey. Born in La Chaux-de-Fonds, in what was then the principality of Neuchatel, Pierre Jaquet-Droz founded a watchmaking workshop and developed it through a combination of technical, artistic and commercial skills enabling it to reach international markets. His son Henry-Louis developed the family business and further diversified production, a significant portion of which found its way to China and its dignitaries, devotees of luxurious and ingenious mechanical marvels. This richly illustrated book aims to enable a rediscovery of their mechanical masterpieces as well as those of the Maison Jaquet Droz, whose rebirth and recent history are recounted here. These splendid historical and contemporary pieces embody a love of technical challenges and a taste for artistic refinement, adhering as much as possible to the sources of inspiration offered by nature. The Worlds of Jaquet Droz thus reveals part of the expansive universe of pre-industrial watchmaking while drawing parallels between past and present productions.

Twentieth century Russian wristwatches are too costly for many native buyers, but they are still inexpensive for Western Collectors, and are becoming extremely popular. Watch faces commemorate all the great moments of Russian and Soviet history-from Yuri Gagarin's space flight to the Summit meeting between Gorbachev and George Bush-and celebrate Russian culture with images of native costumes from Chechnya to the Ukraine. Collectors have long clamored for a definitive reference and this new book will satisfy even the most avid enthusiast, with photographs of over 500 watches manufactured in Russia and the USSR during the second half of this century, and explanations of their styles, workings, and manufacturers. Poljot, Wostok, and Slava wristwatches are covered, along with a sampling of pocket watches, deck watches, and marine chronometers. This book is a must for serious collectors in the growing field of Russian timekeepers.

This book presents complete measured drawings and detailed plans for 20 clocks for the craftsman to make and features designs ranging from period bracket clocks and a traditional long-case to more contemporary styles. Throughout the text there are instructions and the plans are scaled both in metric and imperial units, with a range of suppliers for clock components included.

This beautifully illustrated volume presents an in-depth look at horology, the scientific study of time and timekeeping. Brimming with more than 150 detailed and full-color images, illustrations, charts, and technical drawings, it's a must-have for anyone interested in the art of watchmaking and watch design. But it's also much more. If you've ever wondered how watches work, or thought about how time influences our lives, then this book is also for you. It offers a comprehensive overview of watch styles, movements, complications, and parts, as well as the basics of starting and caring for a watch collection. A multifaceted study, it discusses the philosophy and measurement of time, the possibility of time travel, and the emergent smartwatch industry. A behind-the-scenes peek into the watch industry, plus pricing and market data, rounds out the contents. Readers will leave these pages with a newfound, renewed, or enhanced love of watchmaking, as well as an increased appreciation for the value of time.

Laurie Penman has written an indispensable guide for both the absolute beginner and the experienced clock enthusiast. "The Clock Repairer's Handbook" provides information on how to repair and maintain a clock's delicate mechanics and teaches the basics of clock repairing through detailed, easy-to-follow instructions and more than three hundred instructive diagrams and illustrations. Advice and directions for cleaning clock movements, pivoting and mounting, fixing train faults and gears, the importance of lubrication and friction, and how to make sure the strike and chimes work on the hour, every hour. "The Clock Repairer's Handbook" provides all the necessary information to troubleshoot any clock's problems and to make sure your clock continues to run in perfect order for generations to come.

In this virtual catalog of Rolex wristwatches, collectors and buyers will find 3,621 wristwatches in over 14 different model lines: Oyster, Bubbleback, including Chronograph, Submariner, Explorer, and more. Each watch is shown in full color, with the most important technical details as well as reference numbers, and year of manufacture provided. This variety of information is of inestimable worth for the wristwatch collector and buyer. In one place, for example, they can see the typical Oyster from the 1940s and nearly all the case and dial variations that were available. The same applies to all the lines made by Rolex. In short, for everyone who collects Rolex or only wants to acquire a beautiful vintage wristwatch with the "crown," this book an absolute must. An illustrated history of the Rolex waterproof wristwatch is included.

The grandfather clock, an entirely new kind of furniture, first appeared in the late seventeenth century. From then on, with its long case to protect pendulum and weights, its rugged movement and large, clear indication of time, it has been a success story right up to the present day. Virtually none of these clocks is beyond repair and often the work required is within the scope of inexperienced owners. This is the first full-length book to cover repair and restoration of these attractive and often valuable antiques, including their casework. The first part outlines how to clean and service the clock 'works' and also how to refurbish the dial, while in the second part restoration or casework, both structural repairs and finishing, is considered. The illustrations are of two actual clocks (one eight-day and one thirty-hour) and work proceeding on them. The last part of the book sketches common variations from these particular examples. Armed with this book and appropriate tools (for work on both movement and case), the owner of a dilapidated grandfather clock will be encouraged and given the know-how to restore it to life as a useful and attractive clock and a prized possession.