Zinex Landing Here Soon

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Here is another sneak preview of some Zinex gems:
Zinex pic 1
Zinex pic 2
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I will have the opportunity to personally review this new line soon!!! The pictures have been tempting, I am sure the real product will be great, check back soon for the Official CTWG review. CTWG

4 comments July 31st, 2006

Watch Guy Heaven!

If there is a watch heaven, this may be it. Check out the scene on sooooo many watch topics, and dig on ole CTWG coming in at #52!

Add comment July 24th, 2006

Who Run Thunderdome?

Master Blaster listen to the law:
“This law is based on a concept according to which Swiss quality depends on the amount of work actually carried out on a watch in Switzerland, even if some foreign components are used in it. It therefore requires that the assembly work on the movement (the motor of the watch) and on the watch itself (fitting the movement with the dial, hands and the various parts of the case) should be carried out in Switzerland, along with the final testing of the movement. It also requires that at least 50% of the components of the movement should be manufactured in Switzerland.” Hold on a second Charlie, 50% percent of the components can be made in a singapore garage and it still can be called Swiss? Yes! So how do we assure ourselves that we get pure Swiss product. Research the product, the deeper you dive into the manufactoring process the more you will see how work is farmed out to differenet sources. Many companies use a bracelet assembled in China and a Swiss movement, or an all Chinese bracelet/ case set fitted with a Swiss movement. It can be advantageous if some circumstances when a company like Fricker(German) makes the case or any of the fine Italian gold folks make a bracelet. Still, rarely does the outsource scream quality. Swiss Made is a true mark of quality, just make sure that is what you are getting isn’t a “deal” or you may face the wheel. CTWG (a.k.a. Ragedy Man)

Add comment July 24th, 2006

Viola Voilà

What was that watch advertisement playing all day at Basel World this year? Well Viola, it was Voilà. Voilà is new on the scene and has a strong fashion appeal. Check out some attractive models for ladies on their website. CTWG

Add comment July 13th, 2006

That Baffling Bezel

Have you purchased a watch with a striking and complicated working bezel, just to have a friend stump you with the question, “How does it work?” Never again my friends! Lets review some standard bezel operations. The famous Uni-Directional Bezel is the most popular and is standard on most dive watches. Simply turn the pointer to the minute hand and count down time, piece of cake, it only goes in one direction for safety (you would surface early rather than risk the bends, or worse, on a dive). Tach or tachymeter bezels measure the rate of speed of an object, units start at 500 and go clockwise to 60. Using a mile marker, as a scenario, start your chrono, when you reach the next marker, stop the function. Look to your bezel for a number that will calculate your miles per hour/kilos etc. Pulsometer chronos can monitor pulse rates for a doctor by a bezel reference. The bezel can be a great tool and it is rarely used by most customer’s, push your sales people to get information on the most complicated pieces and have them teach you about the product. As for the Breitling Navitimer/slide rule style bezels keep the instructions near by for reference untill you can master all the tricks. CTWG

Add comment July 11th, 2006

L’ Orologio Time To Eat

Passion in life is a must! My top three - watches, food and judo in no particular order… I love them equally. The trick to maximize enjoyment is to combine these when and if possible. Now Judo and eating I recommend against, but food and watches… perfect. The one place this rare feat can be had… a tastey little restaurant nestled in La Chaux-De-Fonds Switzerland. This small restaurant is adorned with watch propoganda from years past, clear tables with watch parts and watches for viewing. Be sure and give it a try if you are ever in the watch land, their food is just great… I recommend the perch. CTWG

2 comments July 7th, 2006

Look Into My Crystal Watch

photo credit: larcher

It’s a sapphire crystal the salesperson regurgitates dryly… rote info learned at training session. What does that mean? Oh, it’s hard and can’t be scratched! Hard as what? Nails? Diamond tipped saws? Chinese arithmetic? What? Many of you know the skinny on watch crystals, but for those who don’t! Check it out… sapphire good, everything else not so good(period). Sapphire is corundum, it takes second seat only to diamond on the Moh’s hardness scale. The last time you saw this scale was eighth grade science lab and now you are asked to remember it! Nah! forget it! Take it from CTWG, just stick with sapphire and you will be A-Ok. Watches used to be manufactured with mineral crystal (cheap models still are) which ranks 5th on the Moh’s scale, basically hardened glass. Some coat the mineral crystal with a sapphire layer, still no good. Real crystals are grown in very large synthetic tubes and cut to order for watch companies, it should feel cool to the touch and last for years without a blemish. CTWG

Add comment July 5th, 2006