Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Pocket Watch Recovered fromTitanic Victim Goes on Public Display











Pocket watch survived the wreck of the Titanic.



A pocket watch formerly owned by Titanic passenger, John Chapman, has been put on public display for the first time. Chapman, 37, took passage on the doomed luxury liner with his young bride, Lizzie Chapman, 29. They had been heading to America to be near Mrs. Chapman's brother and planned to run a farm and start a family together.
When the Titanic struck an iceberg and began to sink, Mrs. Chapman actually entered one of the ship's few lifeboats. Upon learning that her husband would not be allowed to accompany her, she turned to her friend Emily Richards and said: "Goodbye, Mrs. Richards. If John can't go, I won't go either."
The couple drowned when the mighty ship sank into the icy water minutes later.
Mr. Chapman's pocket watch stopped at precisely 1:45 AM on April 15, 1912--the moment he entered the frigid water. The watch was later recovered along with Mr. Chapman's body.
Now the watch is being shown for the first time at a new Titanic exhibition at the National Maritime Museum in Falmouth, Cornwall.
Long-Hidden Message FinallyRevealed in Lincoln's Pocket Watch

Abraham Lincoln's Inscribed Pocket Watch


For generations it has been rumored that there was a secret message engraved by a watchmaker in 1861 inside the case of a gold pocket watch that belonged to Abraham Lincoln.

On Tuesday, March 10, at the request of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, NAWCC member George Thomas opened the back of the timepiece to formally investigate the claim that there was a hidden message on the underside of the watch movement.
The following inscription was found:
"Jonathan Dillon April 13- 1861 Fort Sumpter was attacked by the rebels on the above date. J Dillon," and the brass underside of the watch movement reads: "April 13- 1861 Washington thank God we have a government Jonth Dillon."

The back of the watch movement also bears two other inscriptions: "LE Grofs Sept 1864 Wash DC," presumedly engraved by another watchmaker, and what appears to be "Jeff Davis." Jefferson Davis was the president of the Confederacy and may have been engraved there as an expression of a later repairman's pro-Confederacy sentiments.
Sadly, the pocket watch is no longer functional. "It's frozen," Mr. Thomas said. "It hasn't been touched in a hundred years."
After the internal workings were photographed for posterity, the watch was carefully reassembled. It will be placed back on exhibit at the Smithsonian, now accompanied by a closeup photograph and a written transcript of the engraving.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Friday, February 29, 2008

Jaeger LeCoultre Master Control
















This is a picture of my newest watch. It is a Jaeger LeCoultre Master Control.

It has a Caliber 899 movement.

It has a see through back so people can see the movement working.

This watch winds more smoothly than any other watch I have ever had, bar none.

The movement has ceramic ball bearings. They are just as rugged as the steel version but because they naturally have less friction, no lubrication is necessary.





Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Omega Seamaster Chronograph



The dial is all original.


Here is an interesting watch I found.

It is an Omega Seamaster.

It has a caliber 321 movement, 17 jewels, manual wind.
All the functions work properly and it keeps time
very accurately.

The case is made out of stainless steel.





The movement is clean and in excellent working order.


Thursday, August 30, 2007

Charlize Theron Gets Sued


Charlize Theron Gets Sued

Actress Charlize Theron is experiencing the dark side of celebrity endorsement. Sure you get a fistful of cash but you also get a lawsuit if you don't wear the products. Swiss watchmaker Raymond Weil has filed a breach of contract lawsuit against Charlize because she had signed an endorsement deal saying that from October 2005 through December 2006 she would only wear Weil watches. In March 2006 she was spotted wearing a Dior watch. That's a big no-no and the company is taking action. This isn't the first celeb endorsement lawsuit we've seen. Jessica Simpson was sued by Princy for wearing True Religion instead of her own branded jeans and Melanie Griffith got in trouble for not mentioning the name of the designer she wore to the Golden Globes in 2006.

Thursday, July 12, 2007

1969 Omega Seamaster Deville

Omega Seamaster Deville 1969

This is my pride and joy... for the week. . It is made of solid 14k gold.




It is powered by the Omega caliber 563 movement. It is a 17 jewel movement. The date is at the 3 o' clock position. To set the date one has to pull the crown all the way out. So to set the date 2 days after the date showing, one pulls the crown out, pushes it back in, then pulls it out again. To the best of my knowledge, this is the only movement that has that date setting procedure.