Vianney Halter Perpetual Antiqua:A Pictorial by Michael SandlerJanuary 4, 2001 Recently, I had the opportunity to handle and photograph Perpetual Antiqua No. 15. Without question, it is one of the most unique, intriguing mechanical watch designs that I have ever encountered. The watch clearly stands out in a crowd,... Read more

A Bunch of Stuff on GMT by Michael Sandler Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is also known as Zulu Time and UTC (Universal Time Coordinated). The standard by which all World Time is set was agreed at the 1884 International Meridian Conference at Washington DC, USA placed Greenwich on the... Read more

A Bunch of Information on Watch Winders Posted by Michael Sandler on March 31, 2000 at 12:43:13:TZ Classics Forum Number: 1185 …I hope it’s all accurate. I gave it my best shot! Watch Winders It seems to me that more and more people are purchasing multiple automatic watches, and... Read more

The IWC Portuguese – Calibre 5000 by Jon Lombardi (JL) and Michael Sandler (MS) OPENING COMMENTS The Hunt JL: My quest for the “Supreme watch” began several months ago. I was in search of a high-end piece to add to my collection, something dressy yet sporty, that was also... Read more

A Visit to a Watch Store by Michael Sandler I got out of work a little early last Friday, so I figured I’d pay a visit to my favorite watch dealer to see what he had to play with. Not only was he gracious enough to pull a whole... Read more

The British The British Masters in Timekeeping:A Pictorial Part 1 of 4 – Introduction by Michael Sandler The subject of this essay is a set of three watches which, called “The British Masters in Timekeeping”. Each of the three watches is a tribute to one of the great British... Read more

The British Masters in Timekeeping: A Pictorial Part 2 of 4 – Arnold & Son Marine Timekeeper I by Michael Sandler Case / Dial Case Composition: 18K red gold, three parts Crystal/Bezel: Flat, sapphire, bezel secured by 6 screws Crown: Screw-down Caseback: Secured by 6 screws Water Resistance: 660... Read more

The British Masters in Timekeeping: A Pictorial Part 3 of 4 – Graham Foudroyante by Michael Sandler GRAHAM FOUDROYANTE Case / Dial Case Composition: 18K red gold, three parts Crystal/Bezel: Flat, sapphire Crown: Non-screwdown, with coaxial pusher (for rattrapante) Pushbuttons: Start/stop at 2:00, reset at 5:00 Caseback: Secured by... Read more

The British Masters in Timekeeping: A Pictorial Part 4 of 4 – Tompion Alarm GMT by Michael Sandler TOMPION ALARM GMT Case / Dial Case Composition: 18K red gold, three parts Crystal/Bezel: Domed, sapphire Crown: Dual crowns, first sets all functions except alarm, second sets alarm Caseback: Secured by... Read more

Crystal Hardness by Michael Sandler In general, strength and hardness are not synonymous terms. Material strength can be evaluated on a number of criteria…..tensile strength, hardness, brittleness, etc. Dependent on what your criteria are for defining “strength” in the case of a metal….your answers will be different. In terms... Read more

Review: The IWC Pellaton Automatic Winding System 5:1 Model by Michael Sandler Click image to enlarge OPENING COMMENTS I first learned of the existence of this little toy when I was browsing through the IWC website a couple of months ago. Then, about two weeks ago, I visited the... Read more

A Visit to Blancpain USA by Michael Sandler  Recently, I had the opportunity to pay a visit to the the offices of The Swatch Group (U.S.) Inc. in Weehawken, NJ, specifically to visit Blancpain. I needed to have a tiny screw replaced in the deployant clasp on my Aqualung.... Read more

Review: Zenith Class 4 Chronograph by Michael Sandler This is a review of the Zenith Class 4 chronograph. I hope you find it useful. At the bottom of the page, there are links to MANY pictures I have taken of this watch. Please let me know what you think.... Read more

Geneva Seal Criteria by Michael Sandler As you all probably know…Patek Philippe and a few other brands are very proud to state that their watches contain the Geneva Seal. In case you were wondering, the following 12 conditions must be met in order for a watch to contain the... Read more

Blancpain AquaLung: A Pictorial by Michael Sandler The Statistics Case Case Composition: Stainless steel, brushed, Blancpain name engraved on side Crystal: Domed sapphire, glareproofed Caseback: Screwed in, stainless steel with sapphire insert Crown: Screwed down Case Diameter: 37.8 millimeters Case Thickness (incl. crystal): 9.8 millimeters Case Length (lug-end to... Read more