June 13, 2017

Inside A Novice Watch-Buyer’s Mind

June 13, 2017/ Bryan Dougherty

I have always loved watches. From the time I was young, I loved the different styles and colors, chronographs vs. dress; hell, I even loved pocket watches. But, it wasn’t until recently that I started to appreciate the engineering that goes into making a quality watch.

Luckily, I get to hang out with the creator of spazz.com on a regular basis, so I get schooled on the in”s-and-out’s of a variety of different watches. There is so much to learn and understand, and I am taking it all in little by little.

So, I decided to write this article to help others like me - the guys who love quality watches but don’t have the money to buy the best of the best. The good news is that you don’t always have to buy the best; just buy the best in the range that you can afford.

May 01, 2017

How Competitive Diving Helps Judge Watches

May 01, 2017/ Spazz

“A fool and his money are soon parted.”

That is a famous proverb that seems to be the foundation of the marketing used by watch brands today. In other words, for better or worse, despite the absolute fact that watches are machines, tools, instruments of time, etc., watch brands want us to view and judge watches subjectively like jewelry. This is how you end up with gold dive watches, for example, and people foolish enough to buy them.

April 24, 2017

Tudor Submariner 7923 And The Moron About To Pay $350K

April 24, 2017/ Spazz

This past March there was an auction for an old Tudor Submariner. This watch is unique because it is the only reference Submariner made by either Rolex or Tudor that has a manual wound movement. The other thing that is interesting about this particular example is that it really does appear to be completely original and untouched, but also in really amazing condition. As you will see in the photos, it definitely looks old and has signs of aging, but the case is still really crisp and its original finish is mostly there, even the bezel insert wasn’t changed and the lume is still untouched.

April 05, 2017

The Omega Speedmaster Turns 60

April 05, 2017/ Spazz

Regardless of industry, companies that make products are always trying to create that perfect product that can translate not only to great sales, but that can actually become an icon.

In computers, think of the iPhone. The first true Smartphone and it literally changed how every single human who has ever held a mobile phone sees mobile telephony forever.

In the automotive world, think of what it must have been like when in the early 70’s Ferrari introduced the 308 GTB. In an era where most cars were the size of small boats, here comes this sleek, wedge inspired design that literally sliced through the air standing still. It defined Ferrari for a new generation and defined what an exotic sports car is supposed to be, having influenced hundreds of designs afterward.

March 21, 2017

The Time Grand Seiko Ruled The World

March 21, 2017/ Spazz

If you’ve lived all your life in the Western hemisphere, your opinion of Seiko most likely is that Seiko makes “cheap” watches. That they are not very high-end.

If you haven’t lived all your life in the Western hemisphere, or you are a true watch person, then you know that is absolutely false!

In fact, the Seiko Credor Eichi II is quite possibly the most interesting and best-finished watch in the world. It goes toe-to-toe, literally, with the Laurent Ferrier Galet Micro-Rotor and the Philippe Dufour Simplicity. Furthermore, the Credor line also contains some higher-end complication watches, such as the Credor Repeater, Credor Sonerie, and the Credor Fugaku Tourbillon. These are complications that only a hand full of companies can compete with. Rolex, Omega, Longines, and many other traditional “big” brands from the 60's can not, and never have!

January 10, 2017

Happy New Year! And Materialism As We Enter 2017

January 10, 2017/ Spazz

Every year we have our "new year's resolutions", but given the holiday season has just ended, which is always filled with the standard commercialism and retail therapy, I thought it might be worthwhile to give my perspective on the subject. Specifically when we refer to a certain type of spending as "materialism" - this ties in nicely with the watch world, since 2016 was officially the worst year on record since the early 80's!

First, what is materialism?

December 13, 2016

IWC Is Making A Statement

December 13, 2016/ Spazz

A couple years ago I wrote that IWC was back! That was when they introduced their revamped Portuguese collection, even renaming it to Portugieser. It included a slew of brand new in-house movements, and the revamping of other pre-existing movements. To refresh our memories, this is the list of what became the latest Portugieser collection:

December 06, 2016

Bang-For-Your-Buck: Zenith El Primero 36000 vph

December 06, 2016/ Spazz

Quite possibly an ongoing series, today’s bang-for-your-buck is the Zenith El Primero 36000. Specifically the 38mm version that is branded “original”, as in the original case specs/design from 1969.

The history behind the El primero is legendary. It was one the first three automatic chronograph ever made. The Heuer c.11 and the Seiko c.6139 being the other two and all were released within months of each other in 1969. The Zenith is named “El Primero”, which means “the first” in Spanish, because Zenith released their prototype before either Heuer or Seiko could release theirs (although both the heuer and Seiko were available for purchase before the El Primero).

November 03, 2016

Common Mistakes To Avoid As Watch Hobbyists, And Those Who Profit From Them

November 03, 2016/ Spazz

I am literally beside myself when I browse around online, or happen to stumble upon conversations regarding watches by so called “experts”. The amount of junk thats out there dressed up as fact, when in reality is nothing more than some self-perpetuation prophecy designed to mold and shape public opinion in a particular direction is sickening.

It’s as if over time everything has been turned on its head. What used to be considered important is now less so and vice versa. A whole new formula has been created and passed around, which is then used by those receiving this “advice” against their own interests.

At Spazz.com we call those responsible Horological Douchebags (“HDs”). They don’t want you to think for yourself using logic, but rather they want you to trust them blindly. They’ve “been there”, so they "know of the mistakes" they don’t want you to make (wink wink).

But you still have a brain, don’t you?

October 14, 2016

Quartz Movements: A General Overview

October 14, 2016/ Spazz

Much has been made of the Quartz Crisis, and the implication that Quartz watches are not as good as mechanical ones.

The Quartz Crisis was devastating to the watch industry to be sure, and I do agree that mechanical watches are much better than Quartz, but as is always the case, there are exceptions to the rule, perspective matters, and its always a good idea to at least try to have some knowledge to back up your claims.

So, what is Quartz?

September 15, 2016

Lemania: History and Follow Up

September 15, 2016/ Spazz

As a follow up to a previous article where I discussed the connection between the Omega Speedmaster manual movements, and the Vacheron Constantin 1141/1142, and the Patek Philipper CH 27-70, since they all used the same Lemania based caliber, I also

thought it’d be a good idea to give some more background on who Lemania was and is, especially their intimate connection with Omega via the SIHH.

September 12, 2016

Rolex Yacht Master; Frustrations in Marketing

September 12, 2016/ Spazz

I was browsing through some photos of watches (as I like to do), and came across the latest Rolex Yacht Master 40 and I liked it! I liked it a lot!

In fact, I liked it so much I actually went to the Rolex website to learn more. Happily, I discovered that not only does the Yacht Master have a 40mm case (not some 44mm barbarity), but they even make it in 37mm!

The 37mm is not only directed at the traditional watch enthusiast like myself, but 37mm also works great for the female market. So, all in all, so far so good!

September 09, 2016

Cousins: Vacheron Constantin 5000T, Patek Philippe 5070, Omega Speedmaster

September 09, 2016/ Spazz

One of the things I’ve learned as I continue my journey in the watch collecting and watch hobby world, is that there really was a “golden age” of watchmaking. This golden age reached its summit somewhere around 1970 after Seiko released the world’s first commercial Quartz wristwatch on December 25, 1969, which in turn started what was dubbed the “Quartz Crisis” (how's that for a Christmas present!).

The “Quartz Crisis” referred to the fact that many manufacturers of mechanical watches, some that had been around since the 1800’s started to disappear by the hundreds as people started buying Quartz watches in favor of mechanical ones. Some companies survived of course, but the majority that did were gobbled up by large conglomerates such as The Swatch Group, who bought Omega, Longines, Breguet, to name just a few, or Financière Richmond SA who bought IWC, A. Lange And Sohne, and Vacheron Constantin, again to name just a few.

Opinion