One of the most important parts of any mechanical watch is a Cannon Pinion. The cannon pinion is the heart of the motion works. This piece is what translates the movement of the train wheels into the timekeeping display on the dial side.  It is attached to the center wheel by friction fit and it is the post that the minute hand is set on. How to remove Cannon Pinion for service.. Read More

If you want a watch that also can double as a stopwatch, purchasing a chronograph should be first on your to-do list. But what about two stopwatches? That’s where the rattrapante, or split seconds, chronograph comes into play. Deriving roughly from the French word for catch-up, (pronounced ratt-ra-pont) a rattrapante does just that — the watch features two stopwatches. That can come in handy if you’re trying to time multiple runners.. Read More

What’s in a name? For the Rolesor, it’s not much more than just putting two and two together. Rolex’s Rolesor model is a two-toned watch made with half gold and half steel. So where does the name come into play? Rolex is of course the famous watch company, while “-or” is the French word for gold. It all makes sense, right? From its website, Rolex touts its Rolesor line like.. Read More

Hans Wilsdorf established Rolex in 1905. When he founded Tudor just over 40 years later in 1946, fans immediately put the two brands in competition. Rolex always seemed to trump Tudor in the eyes of the watch world. In more recent years, Tudor has started to receive the recognition it has long deserved. Still, watch lovers, can’t help but continue to measure the brands head to head.  In this post, we.. Read More

Have you ever seen a watch without a removable case back and wondered how you get the movement out? In this post, I will show how to remove a two-piece split stem from a watch. Have you ever seen a watch without a removable case back and wondered how you get the movement out? In this post, I will show how to remove a two-piece split stem from a watch… Read More

A timepiece that also tells you the date is, of course, nothing new. However, the simplest form of calendar watch has to be manually adjusted five times a year because of the varying lengths of the months in the calendar. So, at the end of every month with fewer than 31 days, the wearer will be called on to advance the date by hand to keep it correct. The perpetual.. Read More

There are a few rules about luxury jewelry and wristwear. First, don’t ask how much someone’s jewelry or watch costs. The old saying “if you have to ask, you can’t afford it” plays perfectly in this situation. Secondly, many of these pieces are significant investments, so it’s wise to take care of them. That means being cautious where you wear them (by now you should know never to wear your.. Read More

There has always been a need for time. Before wrist watches, people had to get creative in telling the time. That usually meant relying on the sun, which led the way for the sundial. The invention of clocks — and then in a smaller scale, watches — meant a more reliable way to tell the time. While looking at the sun’s position and the sky and guessing the time wasn’t an.. Read More

In short, a canteen watch made the jobs of divers easier. The watch, which earned its name because of its shape and design (it looks like an over-sized cap linked to the case by a chain), filled a need for navy divers in the 1940’s. At that time, divers needed water-resistant watches, but most of the reliable watches and technology was still several years away at that time.  Canteen watches.. Read More

The function of a dial washer is to prevent the hour wheel from rising and disengaging from the pinion on the minute wheel that drives the hour wheel. The dial washer is also critical for keeping the hour wheel in place when the watch is turned over into the dial down position. Sometimes the minute hand sits close enough to the pipe on the hour wheel and suffices to stop.. Read More