Gear Patrol

Another BaselWorld is in the books. Journalists, retailers and watch nerds alike are retreating as we speak to their blogs, stores and web forums to debate who the winners, the losers, the biggest surprises and the biggest disappointments were at this year’s show. Of course, all of the hype surrounding the biggest watch event on the planet is a sign of the times. Watches have become big business, and the launch of a new OMEGA or TAG Heuer attracts the same buzz as a new U2 album or Bond film. Watches are cooler now than they’ve ever been.

Our intrepid band of watch experts has elbowed past the hype and tirelessly pored over the onslaught of new watches shown this past week to distill a list of the most interesting, groundbreaking and just plain sexiest new timepieces of BaselWorld 2013.

It’s pretty clear that our staff is passionate about gear, and as we strive to bring you the best of the best, we also want to take the time to share our own personal favorites. For the next eleven weeks, we’ll bring you each of our writers’ 10 personal favorites. The selection runs the gamut, from heirloom pieces to the most practical of gear that can be easily procured. Last but not least, each man will share one “holy grail” item that remains the stuff of dreams: out of reach, and hopefully only temporarily so. Our inaugural Staff Favorites features Mr. Jason Heaton, one of GP’s most seasoned writers and a consummate adventurer.

Vintage watch buying is enjoying incredible popularity, thanks to a community of savvy collectors, great internet resources for both learning about and buying old watches, and a nostalgic yearning for quality products from an era before planned obsolescence. Old watches also represent great value, the chance to wear a piece of history and, if you’re lucky, a good investment. Not to mention, they just look cool. We explore just how you should go about buying one of these beauties.

There’s a bit of dialogue in Casino Royale, the 2006 reboot of the James Bond movie franchise, when Vesper Lynd thinks she has Bond figured out, right down to his watch: “Rolex?” she asks. “Omega”, Bond replies. “Beautiful”, Lynd assesses. Those three words sum up 50 years of Bond and his wristwatches. They also have…

When most people start getting interested in timepieces, the first thing that usually attracts them is the appearance. A distinctive dial, a unique case shape, even a nice strap can draw in the uninitiated. Then they notice watches whose hands sweep smoothly, driven by springs and gears versus the tick-tick that gives away battery driven…

The most important excerpt from this week’s Briefings, which we ask that you read if you have time for nothing else: “Perhaps more importantly, did you know that the 18th century Hungarian engineer, Wolfgang von Kempelen, made a phony mechanical chess master to woo Empress Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina of Austria?” But you can’t…

Introduced at the dawn of the jet age, the Rolex GMT-Master has become an enduring symbol of a time when travel was both more glamorous and more adventurous. This most colorful of Rolexes, transcended its aviation beginnings and has been worn by astronauts, test pilots, a famous TV detective, a Bond girl and a sports…

Depending on who you ask (or read), there’s a good chance you might walk away with a handful of stories behind the origins of the “California” dial. This writer humbly admits to not knowing the truth. Some attribute the widespread knowledge to a California-based company that refurbished a large number of Rolex Bubblebacks in the…

Someone once said that writing about music is like dancing about architecture. But while I’m sure music critics have their own challenges, I suspect they have an easier time explaining what they do than we watch writers, who fetishize the arcane minutiae of an anachronistic art. But I’ve learned to respond to questions about my…

Let’s face it, times are tough and it’s not just European governments that are implementing austerity measures. A lot of guys can’t squeeze a new watch into their 2012 budgets. But don’t despair, there’s an affordable way to get a fresh look for your existing watch – change the strap. You might be surprised at…

Yes, they’re doing it again. Are we surprised? Not at all. In 1960, Rolex created the Deep Sea Special with the express purpose of joining Jacques Piccard and Lt. Don Walsh on their record-breaking descent to the bottom of Challenger Deep in their submersible, the Trieste. Unlike Mr. Piccard and Lt. Walsh, however, the Deep…

Director James Cameron has been an avid diver and deep sea explorer for the past ten years, unbeknownst to the majority of us plebs. It’s like finding out that Jack Nicholson enjoys serious forays into quantum physics. And perhaps not even James Cameron, himself, could’ve imagined that his 1989 film, The Abyss was actually quite…

It is rare enough that Rolex updates their existing model line up, let alone creates an entirely new watch, so it is understandable that one of the most hotly anticipated announcements at Basel is their new Sky-Dweller. Featuring a revolutionary — for Rolex — annual calendar, in addition to a GMT indicator and a healthy…

Ask the average guy where the best watches in the world are made and he will undoubtedly say, “Switzerland.” After all, most of the recognizable brands like Jaeger-LeCoultre, Vacheron Constantin, Rolex and Patek Philippe hail from that neutral Alpine nation. It is partly the neutrality of Switzerland that has allowed these great names of horology…

‘Tis the season for wishes and we bet that a lot of Gear Patrol readers have a new watch on their Christmas lists. We do, too, so we rounded up ten of the most exciting and gift-worthy timepieces of the year for you to add to yours. Whether you’ve been naughty or nice is between…

Author’s Note: It’s no secret we’re all about surfacing the latest and greatest, newest and shiniest gear. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have a healthy respect for careworn, well-made gear from the past. Because in the end, good quality stuff should last a while, perform for years, and become careworn itself. In this era…

As Rolex moves further away from its tool watch roots with bigger, shinier version of its classics, there are still those in the watch community who are carrying forward the legacy that began in the 1950s with the Explorer and Submariner. A couple of years ago, a Dutch Rolex collector, Philipp Stahl, created a modified…

Unique and utilitarian vintage timepieces, qualifiers that are in like a raging tsunami, are rarely embodied better than a classic Rolex with dive strap. Granted, one of the biggest hurdles when purchasing a vintage timepiece is not just finding solid product, but identifying a trustworthy procurement source. Worse, the two in tandem are practically rarified…

By Brian Huang and Gear Patrol Reader Ty Alley: We at Gear Patrol love watches. There’s no doubt that we have a fascination with timepieces here. While we enjoy talking about and introducing you to all manner of watches, we realize that not everyone understands the terminology involved. Similar to how we introduced you to…

The Rolex submariner has been a cultural icon ever since Sean Connery wore one in Dr. No.  It’s a watch that wasn’t created just to be pretty, but also to thrive under pressure (in this case, 300m under water)…kind of like a good Bond Girl.  However, even though this is my dream watch, aside from that…