The "Doctor" is Always In!

Hamilton Ventura

January 3rd, 1957, The Hamilton Watch company introduced the very first electric watch movement.  Called the 500, this watch used a battery to drive a complex gear train, which in turn pushed the hands.  The watch was not a commercial success and a decade later, the quartz crystal technology put the Hamilton 500 out of action for good.  The 500 was used in a few different cases, the most popular.. Read More

Watches and Clocks that are “Frozen in Time”

In Victorian times, people would stop a house’s clocks at the time of an occupant’s death. Although this tradition continues somewhat today, there are some death clocks that weren’t stopped on purpose. Instead, they were broken by terrible circumstance, frozen forever to mark the last moments of disaster. These clocks are reminders of past tragedies. The story of the Titanic is well-known. On the night of April 14, 1912, the ship.. Read More

What is a Helium Release Valve?

In the 1960s, Rolex and Doxa co-created the helium escape valve and introduced it in the Rolex Submariner, the Rolex Sea-Dweller, and the Doxa Conquistador. Today, plenty of luxury watch brands will include a helium escape valve in their serious dive watches.   At that time, Rolexes were being used by the SEALAB and COMEX divers and others in the field of commercial diving, when diving bells and underwater habitats were just coming into use. The.. Read More