The Rolex Bubbleback 3131 watch was one of the first automatic watches produced in the 1930’s, as well as one of the earliest Rolex models manufactured.  While Rolex was not the first to create an automatic movement, the company patented its first successful self-winding wristwatch in 1932 and introduced the Bubbleback one year later.  Despite the well-known nickname, Rolex never officially called their Reference 3131 the “Bubbleback.”  It earned this.. Read More

Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, but sometimes we come across watches that make us want to gouge our own eyes out, or at least wonder what the designer was thinking. It’s just difficult to understand how something like these watches can make their way out of someone’s head to a drafting stage, into production, then to a display case and finally on to someone’s wrist. Someone along the.. Read More

Some of the early solar watches of the 1970s had innovative and unique designs to accommodate the array of photovoltaic solar cells needed to power them. In the 1990s, Citizen started to sell light-powered watches under the Eco-Drive series name. Since their introduction, solar devices have greatly improved their efficiency and thereby their capacity. Watchmakers have developed their technology such that solar-powered watches are now a major part of their range of watches.   Some.. Read More