This is a little known fact, but if you walk into any given store that sells luxury wristwatches, it is a virtual guarantee that MOST of the watches there are NOT powered by their own movements.

What?!?

That’s right!  Your shiny new Breitling and your indestructible Omega have movements in them (or “engines” for the layperson) that are NOT made by them.

But don’t fret, they’re not the only ones…

Brands that you have learned to love such as IWC, Rado, Porsche Design, Panerai, Tag Heuer, and even my beloved Hamilton, you’ll be shocked to learn, do not function under their own steam.  Virtually all of them, and I do mean ALL of them, use some form of ETA movement in their watches.

You may not have heard of the name, but ETA is the legendary Swiss movements manufacturer whose constant supply of blank watch movements have made it possible for the Swiss watch industry to exist.

I’m not kidding either, ETA is pretty much the entire Swiss watch industry, and if it were to disappear from the Earth the very next day, the whole of the Swiss watch industry would cease to exist.

It would actually be infinitely easier for me to name all the watch “manufacturers” that DO make their own movements as opposed to those who rely solely on ETA for theirs.

(Here we go:  Rolex, Zenith, Patek Philippe, and maybe a few others…)

Here is one of ETA’s movements which you can see through the back of my beautiful Hamilton:

Hamilton H64455533 Men’s Khaki King Automatic Black Dial Strap, Free Shipping

So how does it work?

Well basically ETA ships off blank, unused movements to pretty much all the Swiss watch companies for use in their watches.  The movements are then modified and fitted into various watches.  In some cases they are very heavily modified, such as the case with Omega’s co-axial movement.  After that is done, the watch companies etch their name and logos all over the movement and ship ‘em off to the consumers, who are none the wiser.

Notice any similarities between these these three watches?

Breitling Chrono Cockpit – A1335812/C654-SP Gents Watch


Omega Speedmaster Date Chronograph Automatic Men’s Watch Stainless Steel Black Dial 3210.52

TAG Heuer Men’s Link Automatic Chronograph Watch #CJF2150.BB0595

These watches may be made by three entirely different watch companies that embody three different design characteristics, but the under-workings are exactly the same.

You’ll notice that the date window is at the 3 o’clock positions, and you’ll notice that the seconds hand is at the 9 o’ clock position sub-dial.  You operate the chronograph by pushing the pusher at the 2 o’clock position, and you reset it with the pusher at the 4 o’clock position.  Yes the workings of these watches are very similar indeed…

Coincidence?

I don’t think it takes a genius to figure out my point here, and that is that the three different watches from three very different, and well known watch companies, are based off the same chronograph movement, and yup, you guessed it…

… it’s an ETA movement!

One thing I’m doing that is very wrong, and I admit, is that I’m talking about all of this as though it were a bad thing.  But it’s not!

There’s a very good reason why the whole of Switzerland turns to ETA for their movements.  Besides the fact that it’s much easier, cheaper for you and the manufacturer, and lazier that way, ETA makes outstanding movements that is better than what most of the “watchmakers” in Switzerland can ever come up with.

They aren’t very pretty to look at, and they aren’t “handmade” or “in-house” as the watch connoisseurs like to obsess about, but they work very very well, and when it comes to building high-quality, albeit simple movements, ETA is the best in the business.

I personally don’t get it when people obsess about things being “hand made.”  It is my personal preference to have something, especially something as small as a watch, made with the microscopic precision and unwavering nature of a machine rather than the fat fingers of a fondue eating, mountain dwelling goat tender.

Rantings aside,  the bottom line is that what you probably didn’t know about many of the fine watch brands you’ve been drooling about, you now know.  But don’t let that be a deterrent.  If anything, let that be an assurance that what you are buying has got one solid movement.

I don’t have much of an interest in politics.  In fact, one could say it is quite similar to a stoner’s feelings toward employment.  You want to be interested because you feel it’ll be better for you, but you’re doing just fine without it so you don’t bother…

That is why when I heard that Barack Obama chose Senator Joe Biden as his vice-presidential running mate, I immediately went for a nap.

But later on in the week I actually read up a little on him, and would you look at the watch he’s wearing:

Omega Seamaster GMT Mens Blue Dial Stainless Steel Automatic Watch 2535.80

Here’s a closeup if you’re having trouble telling what it is:

Omega Seamaster GMT Mens Blue Dial Stainless Steel Automatic Watch 2535.80

To confirm your initial suspicions, yes that IS an Omega Seamaster Professional,  the current James Bond watch!

I’m not sure of the exact model, but based on a picture I saw, I think it’s likely the GMT version as seen here with a few windows outlining its different features:

Omega Seamaster GMT Mens Blue Dial Stainless Steel Automatic Watch 2535.80

It could, however, just as easily be the more true to form “official” James Bond watch as seen here:

Omega Seamaster Automatic – 2220.80.00 Gents Watch

The truth of the matter is that I don’t know what verson it is, but I also don’t really care.  You see it doesn’t matter what version of the watch you have, the automatic version, the quartz version, the GMT version, or even the chronograph version, the goal of the Bond watch has always been the same.

And that is to transform the most dimwitted idiot, the fattest husband, and the most unattractive college grad, to HIM:

Omega Seamaster Automatic – 2220.80.00 Gents Watch

People will lie to you all the time and claim that they got the Bond watch because of the looks, because they couldn’t pass up a great deal, but they can only lie to themselves for so long before finally admitting to themselves that the only reason they got this watch is because the kid inside of them wants nothing more than to be James Bond.

They may be responsible adults these days, but a part of them, and myself I suppose a part of myself, since I used to have one, find an appeal to the kind of charming, brave, and dashing persona of the legendary fictional spy and the lifestyle he leads.

And who can blame them?  It is quite a nice departure from everyday life I must admit…

I thought that it might be the case that Senator Joe Biden might just happen to have several watches, or may be a collector, and he may very well be, but every time I see him with a watch, and I do mean EVERY time I see him with a watch, it’s always the James Bond Omega.

And that’s saying something!

These particular musings of your humble presenter add very little value to the pursuit of worldly knowledge I admit, but there is this current dilemma I am facing that I suspect might apply to all of you out of many things you may encounter in life.  You see, I have always been a fan of diving watches.  I drool over them, I lust after them, and I want them, but the problem is that I do so primarily by looking at pictures that look like THIS:

Ulysse Nardin Maxi Marine Diver Chronometer Mens’ Watch Automatic 18K Rose Gold Black Dial on Black Rubber Strap 266-33-3A/92

… And while watches like these looks fantastic, how does this picture, with the watch in its infinite white background, suggest how this watch might look on ME.

It is often the way with watches.  You can lust after them all you want, you can look at countless pictures, you can even see the way the watch looks on the wrists of others, but when it comes to the day when you walk in the jewelry store ready to meet your dream, you look at it and are forced to concede that it will never work.

Perhaps it is your forest of black arm hair, perhaps it’s your twiggy excuse for a wrist, or perhaps it is the clash of a fine watches with your awful sense of style.  Whatever the reason, it just does not work and you are forced to move on.

In MY particular pursuit of the perfect watch, however, I will share the story of how I accidentally stumbled upon THIS:

TAG Heuer Men’s Monaco Automatic Chronograph Watch #CW2111.FC6177

This is a Tag Heuer Monaco, and as a watch I have always known that they existed, but for some unknown reason, I had largely ignored them.  I don’t know what it was, but I just never liked square watches.  They just never seemed to show time symmetrically somehow…

The way I stumbled on it was entirely on accident as well…

Basically I was going through a mall waiting for my wife to do whatever it is she does at the mall, and just saw that at a jewelry store was having a going out of business sale.

Entering out of pure curiosity, that’s when I saw it!

It didn’t really catch my eye at first, and the way it was kind of tossed in with the other clearance watches didn’t give it much of a sense of aura, but when I slapped it on my wrist…

IT…

WAS…

MAGIC!!!

I really don’t know what to say, but when I put that watch on me it was like getting a B-12 shot right into my veins.  It was just a sensational blend, as though milk met coffee for the very first time.  I just couldn’t believe I could instantly fall in love with a watch the way I did with the Monaco.  The last I had a feeling like this was with a Hamilton, and I got it!

I can’t rationalize it either, no matter how hard I try.

It has no form of water resistance whatsoever, it has one of those stupid automatic chronographs which make it hard to time things longer than 1 minute, and it’s got the date as part of a sub-dial, which just causes confusion.

I don’t care!!!

All I know is that when I wore this watch, it was like two galaxies got together and started to mate.

It felt just right, and I suspect that when comes the day I can shop for such a goody again, it will be this.

A great many decades ago within the pristine mountains of Switzerland, a group of people from a group of Swiss cantons, or “states” if you prefer, took some time out of their fondue breaks and eventually formed a group that would be known as Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres.

The ultimate goal of the Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres, or C.O.S.C. for short, was to set a standard in the Swiss watch industry by subjecting the finest Swiss timepieces to a series of accuracy and durability tests. If a watch submitted to the COSC met their rigorous standards, the manufacturer could officially label the watch as a “Chronometer” and allow it to leave Switzerland with the nation’s honor intact.

You may not have heard of the organization, but if you have ever looked at the dial of a Rolex and wondered what “Superlative Chronometer” and “Officially Certified,” means, now you know:

Rolex Oyster Perpetual Sea Dweller 4000 Mens Watch 16600-BSO

The simple fact is that the only reason why COSC certification is held in such high regard is because ROLEX sends almost all of their watches to COSC, and that ALL of the popular Rolex models carry this certification. Out of the three major facilities of the COSC, TWO devote themselves almost entirely to Rolex movements.

The truth, however, is that on the whole less than 5% of all Swiss watches produced in any given year even bother getting this certification.

Why?

Because it is simply NOT necessary. Manufacturer’s own internal tests and standards tend to be just as good, if not better than COSC, so they don’t bother with the cost and the hassle.

What good is a certification anyway if many of the biggest and most respected watchmakers in the world, watchmakers such as A. Lange & Sohne, Breguet, IWC, and one of my favorites, Jaeger Le-Coultre, don’t even bother with it?

In the opinion of your humble presenter, the only reason other non-Rolex watches get “certified” in the first place is because they try to compete with Rolex by saying that because their watch passed the same kind of certification as a ROLEX, it must be just as good.

The best I could figure out though is that COSC certification is only used to offer uneducated turkeys, with a little money in his pocket mind you, some element of peace of mind. And believe me, I’ve heard the sales pitch before:

Basically some normal guy, who would normally buy his watches at Target, walks into a watch store and is duped into thinking that COSC is this magical Swiss agency that gives watches the gold standard and that all watches not certified by them must be junk.

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a HUGE Rolex fan, but if you are new to luxury wristwatches I implore you to not to let this useless certification be a factor in making your choice. The COSC certification, in the opinion of your humble presenter, does mean something, but it is by no means the gold standard in the watch industry that many claim it to be, and most watches as just as good.

Whilst watching the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, did you ever notice how all of the timing stuff is done by Omega?

Similarly, did you know that an Omega was the very first wristwatch worn on the moon?

I did, it was this one in fact:

3570.50 Speedmaster Mens Stainless Steel Watch

These Olympics Games will actually mark the 23rd time Omega has been the official timekeeper for the Olympic Games, and ever since 1932 Omega has pioneered and innovated the world of sports timing ever since.  That’s more than any other watchmaker in history, and that is a remarkable achievement.

…or is it?

You see if you look at the history of Olympic timing and the development of things like the “Moonwatch,” you will notice a history focused on precision, perfection, durability, and reliability.  The really are fantastic timing instruments and exactly what a watch should be, but to be honest, I really couldn’t care less.

Because in the long and short of it, while Omega tries to be cool, and may currently have James Bond and Michael Phelps spouting its latest euro-chic incarnation, the spectacular Omega Planet Ocean:

Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean – 2201.50.00 Gents Watch

… it cannot escape the fundamental fact that Omega watches are watches built for nerds.

I’ll give you a perfect example:

When man landed on the moon with the Omega “Moonwatch” on their wrists, a bunch of nerdy men with big glasses, and pocket protectors, and Omega watches no less, basically took a very complex math problem and solved it.  There’s no denying that it was a remarkable achievement, but it is a little too cold and calculating to be very exciting for me.

When Sir Edmund Hillary first reached the top of Mount Everest, in contrast, with a ROLEX on his wrist, he was part of a group of men that braved conditions most unfriendly to the human body to achieve a vast unknown.  Obviously there was also some planning involved to it, but there were no calculators and certainly no pocket protectors.  They just saw a peak and decided to go there.  They didn’t just sit around in a rocket-propelled tuna can waiting to play around in some moon sand.

Perhaps I’m being a little too harsh, but the way I feel about Omega and the Olympics is not going to be all that better.

In general, I think the only reason we watch the Olympics is because they don’t come around that often and it instills within us a sense of national pride.  But do we really care about these obscure athletes in these obscure sports that we otherwise would not care to watch?

I don’t…

When I heard that Omega would be sponsoring the Olympics again, it came as no big surprise, but again, it is all a little too calculating.  The Olympics are about the best in the world coming together to compete.  It’s a world where .001 of a second could mean the difference between the Gold and the Silver.  It’s an environment where precision and accuracy rule and a world where athletes are more national precision instruments rather than people you can truly care for.

I just don’t dig that.

Rolex, in contrast, sponsor events like Wimbledon.  Events in which timing isn’t even necessary.  All you care about your favorite tennis player utterly vanquishing his foes.  It’s not a victory over a machine or a country’s atheletic representitive, it is a victory over a person, it is a victory you can salivate, and it is a victory you can truly FEEL.

I hate to say it, but when I think about Omega watches I think of brilliant timepieces for people who use to be nerdy kids and are currently nerdy adults.  The back of my mind is always thinking big glasses, short-sleeved dress shirts, pocket protectors, and office chairs.

When I think of the one I use to have, I knew that it wasn’t right from the very beginning, even though it has never let me down.

No, I’ll always be a Rolex man that’s for sure.  For me Rolex inspires a fire within me like no other.  They may not be perfect, but perfect, I find, can be rather boring.

Besides the limited production, ultra-expensive, unreachable Patek Philippe Sky-Moon Tourbillon, of whose price tag can reach well past the 7-figure mark, the Jaeger LeCoultre Reverso is the only other major luxury watch series that offers a double-sided wristwatch.  So if you ever get bored looking at the same dial with the same stuff on it, you can turn it over.

Unlike the Patek Philippe Sky-Moon Tourbillon, however, with the Jaeger LeCoultre Reverso series of watches you can simply flip the face over to the other side without having to take off the whole watch altogether.  Obviously the Patek Philippe is a lot more complicated:

But the Jaeger LeCoultre Reverso series of watches are a lot easier to use and cost more than one MILLION dollars less.  On top of that you can much more easily impress your friends:

To start, it looks like any other  dress watch:

Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Gran’Sport Duo Men’s Manual Two Time Zone Watch Stainless Steel on Black Rubber Strap 294.86.01 or Q2948601

Then with just a quick, flip-over motion…

Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Gran’Sport Duo Men’s Manual Two Time Zone Watch Stainless Steel on Black Rubber Strap 294.86.01 or Q2948601

You have an entirely different watch:

Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Gran’Sport Duo Men’s Manual Two Time Zone Watch Stainless Steel on Black Rubber Strap 294.86.01 or Q2948601

It becomes an ENTIRELY different watch.  Different dial color, different character, and different overall demeanor.  It’s like two watches in ONE!

Being as I am currently in Boston for work, I’m thinking about how this watch would be brilliant for business tavel, because if you think about it (and I have), a normal GMT  watch always has a  pronounced 4th hour hand to track a second time zone.  Why do you need that ALL the time?

What I appreciate about this particular Jaeger LeCoultre Reverso is that it goes great with business attire.  I think a watch like this would look stupid with anything other than a suit personally, but what a watch!  On top of that it reads the time precisely enough so that you get an accurate time reading on the primary face, but when you phone the wife, the reverse side gives you a general understanding of the time back home.  I mean it’s not like you need to pick up the kids or anything, so why do you need to know the precise seconds or anything like that?

Not all Reverso watches, however, are purely for tracking second timezones and offer a number of different options, I, however, don’t see much of a point.  This Reverso is the one I’d have, but I wouldn’t have one.

And here’s why…

As a man who does not like formal attire, I would not see much of an opportunity for me to wear one.  And similar to my problem with the Tissot T-Touch, the watch seems to focus primarily on its novelty.  It may have a rubber strap and a stainless steel case, but the mechanism that flips over the watch is delicate.  This is not a watch you can simply bash around.

The watch, furthermore, is a manual-wind watch, which means that you have to wind it every other day in order to keep it running.  I don’t personally care to do that as I think automatic watches are troublesome enough.  No… I’m afraid I will still continue to covet the good old Rolex Explorer II…

I once heard someone say that the definition of art is that it must exist only for itself.  That is, the thing must have no other function than just to be.  I don’t remember who said it, or if it makes any sense to me, but when it comes to watches, I think that the only thing on a watch that even comes close to that definition would be the tourbillon.

You see on any normal expensive mechanical watch, every “complication” has a purpose.  A chronograph is obviously used to time things, a perpetual calendar makes it so that the user doesn’t have to worry about changing dates during leap years, a starchart can keep track of the skies, and a minute repeater makes lovely chiming noises.

So how do they do that stuff? Well it’s all by mechanical parts.  Ever wonder why watches not covered in diamonds and King Tut’s jewels can cost as much as a house?  It’s because they have an intricate system of cogs, springs, and things like that doing VERY “complicated” stuff in a very small space.

Whereas chronographs and date displays are all kiddie stuff in the watch world, some of the most complicated functions you will find on a wristwatch are perpetual calendars, skycharts, minute repeaters, and the granddaddy of them all…

The TOURBILLON!

To start things off, let’s explain what a tourbillon is…

In essence a tourbillon is a rotating cage for a watch’s “engine.”  It’s no wider or thicker than a button, yet consists of scores of very small parts.  It’s a remarkable watchmaking achievement.  In the old days almost a century ago when pocketwatches were popular, it was believed that gravity had a negative effect on the watch’s accuracy; Because of the way pocketwatch movements were built during the time, and because of the fact that pocketwatches sat in pockets virtually in the same position for most of the day (crown-up in a vest pocket), it was believed that if you rotated the watch’s escapement and the watch’s balance wheel, or watch’s “engine,” for simplicity’s sake, you could then negate the negative effects of gravity.

Below is a modern-day tourbillon from Breguet, the company that practically invented the wristwatch and made the very first example of the tourbillon:

It was never really sure if a tourbillon actually improved a watch’s accuracy even back in those days, but one thing that IS certain is that it has NO practical use in this day of modern-day wristwatches.

First of all, wristwatches don’t sit idle in a vest pocket all day long so the “engine” of a watch is constantly moving and in different positions (as long as you wear it), secondly, a tourbillon’s effect, even back then, was questionable at best, and movements in luxury automatic watches are already as accurate as can be.

In watchmaking, however, it is considered the most difficult thing a watchmaker could hope to do, and even in its most basic form, it can costs many TENS of THOUSANDS of dollars and many man hours to complete.  The fact that it is a masterpiece of achievement, of course, is what makes it desirable.

What can I say, it is the Mt. Everest of all watch complications, and when watchmakers make a tourbillon, they make it for all the world to see in a beautiful spinning display.  Take for example this Corum:

Corum Tourbillon 18K White Gold Silver Dial Men’s Watch

The tourbillon which you can of course see in the 10 o’ clock position will continue to spin in all of its glory as long as it is wound.  In the watch world it is the very definition of excess.  It is spending well into the 5 to 6 figures for a beautiful rotating button-sized contraption that does NOTHING.  The rarity and exclusively of tourbillon watches is eclipsed only by their price tags.

What can I say, these watches are ONLY for the super rich, and embody the very definition of art.

I don’t like watches with corporate logos on them.  I think they are pretty stupid.  If it were something like a mickey mouse watch that made Timex so popular, or something cheap, that would be perfectly fine with me.  But on luxury timepieces, I just don’t think they work.

Take for example, this Rolex:

No this is not a bad fake, this was an actual Rolex that Domino’s pizza commissioned for its highest ranking franchise owners, because of its rarity it is somewhat of a collector’s item, but I feel I have to ask the obvious:

Why, oh why?!?!

This watch looks so so stupid.  It looks as though it could be purchased at some sort of Domino’s gift shop while waiting for your pizza and buffalo wings.

Luckily, by the grace of whomever you pray to, Rolex no longer allows this kind of altering of their dials, and I approve that decision whole heartily.  I don’t think I would wear that Rolex  if I had a gun pointed to my head, but on the upside, if someone mugged you, I think the mugger would probably give your watch back because he would be shocked at the horror.

When it comes to logos on luxury watches nothing is more common than cars logos.  Because if you think about it, luxury cars and luxury watches go together like cheese and wine.  They both go way beyond the practical, and both owners of luxury cars and luxury watches spend those huge sums of money because they love them and they feel a passion for them.

However, no one that I am aware of has ever made a cheese-flavored wine or a wine-flavored cheese.  Why? Because the two, whilst excellent in itself, are better apart than together.  I feel the same way about watches and cars.  The two manufacturer’s should keep away from each other.  It’s alright for watch manufacturer’s to make clocks in luxury cars, I actually quite like that, but putting car logos on watches is so silly, and here’s why:

Let’s start with two watches that have done it right:

Panerai Ferrari Granturismo Automatic Mens’ Watch Automatic Stainless Steel Black Dial on Black Strap FER00002

And THIS:

IWC Ingenieur Chronograph AMG Titanium Black Dial Men’s Watch

These two watches, The Panerai Ferrari Granturismo, and the IWC Ingenieur AMG (for the Mercedes AMG cars), are exquisite, and while both watch manufacturers are technically Swiss , Panerai has always been traditionally Italian just as IWC resides in the most northern part of Switzerland and embodies largely German traditions.  I like these watches a lot as they embody the characters of the cars quite well.

The Panerai is a brilliant watch just as a Ferrari is a brilliant car, but it is also stylish and looks as though it could have only been thought of by the fashion-crazy Italians.  Similarly, the IWC Ingenieur AMG is a brilliant watch just as the AMG line of Mercedes cars are brilliant cars, but the watch seems cold and calculating when compared to the Panerai.  In the opinion of your humble presenter, that is exactly in keeping in mind with the engineering obsessed Germans and their technically brilliant AMG line of Mercedes cars.

I’ve never seen such lovely pairings of car and watch as in with these two watches, but there is a problem:

The problem is that while these watches are expensive for sure, they are not really all THAT expensive.  In other words, you don’t have to have a Ferrari budget or an AMG budget to buy one.  So that means that inevitably some guy you meet somewhere, who has a faint knowledge of cars or watches, is going to come up to you, admire your watch, and then inevitably ask if you’ve actually GOT a Ferrari or an AMG Mercedes.  If you wear that watch and don’t own the car then you will forever be destined for a life of embarrassment and a life of sagging your head to respond, “No, I don’t have the car…”

To me, a man wearing a watch like this is like a goofy teenager draped in Ferrari gear.  He has the Ferrari jacket, a Ferrari logo on his polo shirt,  and a Ferrari baseball cap.  He’s a fanboy for sure who likes to talk about how Ferrari can smash Lamborghini in a drag race and talks about the performance and the noise, but the problem is that he doesn’t actually HAVE one, nor has he probably ever BEEN in one, and eventually, after a while of listening to his nonsense you just want to tell him to shut the hell up.

I have, however, never come across a logoed watch as strange as this:

Girard-Perregaux Column – Wheel Women’s Watch

This watch is strange for a couple of reasons.  I know that it is a yachting team watch or something like that, but what a silly clash of styling.  You have a white leather banded watch, with a diamond bezel, yet you have the name of a software company on the dial and the name of a German car manufacturer.  Above all it’s the BMW logo, the makers of the most needlessly complicated cars in the world.

The end result is a watch that looks like it was either given away at a software convention or a watch you bought during an oil change, at some sort of BMW gift shop, along with the BMW aftershave.

The costs is what staggers me the most.  It is so INSANELY expensive I could not believe it.  Sure it’s got diamonds on it, but what kind of fan gear has a cost that is in the 5 figures?!?

A few months ago a practically unheard of watchmaker called Romain Jerome released a $300,000.00 luxury watch called the “Day&Night:”

I’m sad to say that there is no real shortage of watches surpassing the 6 figure mark, but what is just staggeringly unique about this watch, and ONLY this watch, is that it is the only watch in the world that does NOT tell the time.  I repeat:

THIS WATCH DOES NOT TELL TIME!

So, you may be asking, what DOES it do?

Basically the idea behind the Day&Night is that you have two rotating tourbillons, one that represents the day and looks like a sun, and one that represents the night and looks like the moon.  For 12 hours (day) the sun tourbillon would run while the moon tourbillon remains idle, and after that period of time the moon tourbillon (night) will run whilst the sun tourbillon remains idle.

Now for those who don’t know what a tourbillon is, I will say that it is basically an elaborate and very expensive watch complication that rotates the watch’s “engine.”  Its main purpose was to counter the negative effects of gravity in pocket watches, but in the day of modern-day wristwatches they are merely an exercise in master watchmaking and aren’t of much benefit.

In even more layman terms, they are spinning thingamajigs.

That’s right, there’s no minute hand, hour hand, date displays, or anything like that.  All you get are discs telling you when it’s night and day.  I think we may those already, they are called the sun and the moon, and for me the absence of light is also quite a good indicator of nighttime as well.

Another unique thing about this watch is that instead of filling up its enormous price tag with jewels, precious metals, complications (besides the tourbillons of course), and all that bling-y nonsense, Romain Jerome fills up the Night&Day with rust.  The rust may have come from the Titanic, but it’s still rust nonetheless.  Yes that’s right, if that bezel looks like it’s covered in rust to you, that’s because it is.

If this all sounds really silly to you, that’s because it is really silly.  It’s even more silly to think that this quarter-million plus dollar watch has already sold out.  I mean come on, the very definition of a watch is that it needs to at least ATTEMPT to tell the time.  It doesn’t have to do it very well or hold up in a heavy downpour, but the purpose of a watch is to tell the time when you need it.  Isn’t it?

The Romain Jerome Day&Night, however, doesn’t even bother and instead sells a pre-rusted thing that I am very hesitant to even call a watch.

But hold on, there’s more…

Now I spent all this time bashing this thing for being a rusted and useless contraption that is a complete waste of money, but what I really should be doing is praising it for its marketing genius.

You see in the watch world it is very easy for a company like Rolex, Omega, and even Seiko stay on top of the watch world.  Rolex, after all, practically invented the wristwatch while Seiko invented the quartz watch and Omega made watches that would later be worn on the moon.  It’s really hard for an upstart to succeed in this industry against the giants who have been doing it for years.  You really need to make something innovative and great, but apparently Romain Jerome didn’t have the talent and decided to go another route.

So one day no one has heard of Romain Jerome, and then the next day all of the watch world is clamoring over this rusted contraption.  Pure genius!

As an example from the automotive world, take the Bugatti Veyron.  As a brand Bugatti has not been really heard of since the first half of the 20th century, so instead of just re-launching their brand with some pedestrian family sedan, they built an incredible 1000 horsepower car that can go up to 253 mph and thus become the fastest car in the world.  In other words, to re-enter the car market they made one model that just smashed everything that was thought possible out of road cars.

Achieving that incredible feat for Bugatti took some serious engineering and serious resources, but after seeing this Romain Jerome watch, it makes me think it probably would’ve been easier if Bugatti had built a car that didn’t move at all…