5 comments about Wristwatch Annual 2006: The Catalog Of Producers, Prices, Models And Specifications.

1. Do not expect to find quartz electronic watches from the orient here. This is a catalog of the finest in traditional watch design from Europe, primarily Switzerland, Germany and France. Here are watches that are the ultimate in design, both mechanically and artistically. They are also the ultimate in price, intended for the well to do who wants to make a fashion statement that is also a supurb timekeeper. (I don't know the most expensive watch in the book, but the highest priced one I found was $783,100.)
   
   The book is organized by manufacturer and gives the highlights of their current product line. It is profusely illustrated with color photographs on virtually every page. Of course not every watch of every manufacturer could be included on a book of any size. But then again, that's what the web is for.



2. After years of buying the equivalent in French and German, this is definitely the best guide, very complete, very well written. The prices are in US$, though. The most expensive watch, a Vacheron Constantin. 1.6 million dollars, production is limited to 7 watches. The mind boggles!



3. I found the catalog very limited. A review should include all products available from a manufacturer or list variations of products displayed. For example, a watch made of stainless steel is also available and not just white gold.



4. Of course you can't include everything, but these annuals usually have some glaring omissions of watch lines, particularly American made.



5. A wonderful resource book, exhaustive coverage of big and small wristwatch producers. This is a commercial book and all company's are written about favorably (not reality). One is best to research products/reviews online in addition to get a true picture of the products represented in this book. This is the best in my opinion of the watch annual books.
   
   The strengths are: clear listing of all watch specs, often interesting blurb about each company, pronunciation list, company contact info, additional resource list (forums, dealers, etc.). Annual does not change that much yearly, might try buying last years annual and saving about 50% for very similar content.
   
   Enjoy this wonderfully rich subject.

2 comments about Practical Clock Repairing (2nd Edition).

1. The book was what I was looking for and more. Answered questions I didn't know I even had.



2. This book is a classic, around in various incarnations since the 1950's.
   
   The reason is simple: it covers a wide range of clocks and tackles a complex subject with admirable clarity. Well over 100 illustrations.

2 comments about Complicated Watches and Their Repair.

1. Not a very up to date book on watch repair. There are also very few pictures/diagrams available. For those wanting to buy a book about watch repair at a beginners level, I'd suggest you look elsewhere.



2. I don't agree with the last review. This book has to be viewed as a complement, a second volume, to Practical Watch Repairing of the same author. You have to read the first book to fully understand it. If you look at this book as a second volume of the classic Practical Watch Repairing, it deserves 4 stars. It does not cover new automatic movements from the 70s and 80s, but every automatic system used by the industry is documented. Well, if you can repair an ETA or Omega from the 50s or 60s, you can repair a movement from the 80s and 90s. That's my point of view.

5 comments about Classic Wristwatches 2008/2009: The Price Guide for Vintage Watch Collectors Over 1300 Models! (Classic Wristwatches: A Catalog of Vintage Timepieces & Their Prices).

1. This book covers a very broad selection of watches and is especially strong in the major brands - Omega, Patek, JLC, IWC. Rolex, etc as well as some of the more "working class" timepieces which today are very collectible.
   
   Some of the calibre and associated information on some of the listings are not totally accurate but on balance, this soft cover resource provides a good point of reference to check value and collectability of many classic watches.



2. Very nice and informative book. Quality is fine and price is fair. I strongly recommend it for watch enthusiasts like me.



3. I just went over the book, and I was a bit disappointed.
   Picture for money is quite interesting, thanks to a lot of images for small bucks, but the goods of the book is just that.
   
   Interesting are the pages with the history of the maisons, that provide some useful hints about not very well known producers.
   
   Organization of the book is quite disappointing, though: the models depicted are put on paper at random, with no age or value order.
   As far as I could understand, those are the watches that were estimated by some kind of trader during the year, so no section covers completely the model range of a brand. If you need to evaluate a specific piece, most of the time you have to guess comparing it with similar age-feature watches of the same or other manifacturer.
   Some brands aren't even in the book (Breguet? Rado?) while for other you just get 6 models.
   
   The book is useful, anyway: with few dollars it can help you in identifying a particular brand that may catch your imagination, or browse through many hundreds of pictures, to find ideas for particular models, shapes, or features you may like to have in your collection.
   
   If possible get a new copy: I bouth an used one, and the binding glue went bad: pages started to part from the book.



4. The 2008-2009 edition of CLASSIC WRISTWATCHES packs in features of over 1300 models, including good-sized color photos of each watch, descriptions of manufacture, case and appearance, and company histories. This blend of price guide, identification guide and watch history is outstanding for any collecting watches, and is a highly recommended pick for any library catering to collectors.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



5. Very easy usefull Price-Guide.
   There are to many expensives models, I would prefere a Mid-Prices Guide only.
   It's a good help for new collectors.-

5 comments about Instant Expert: Collecting Watches (Instant Expert).

1. Thank you for the swift order. You saved me a great deal of money for my school book.



2. This book is primarily written for collectors of pocket watches and only gives cursory information regarding wristwatches. Should be titled: Collecting Pocket Watches



3. The book is well written, and is primarely about watches produced in the USA, and pocket watches at that. There are a lot of illustrations, and describtions of most of the principles of the art of watchmaking.



4. This book is more or less a repeat of the introduction to the Complete Price Guide to Watches, by the same author. Save yourself time and money by buying the latter work, which is much more informative on watch pricing and contains all the information in this one.



5. I bought this with a few other books on the same subject. The material is presented well, but I'm still deciding my interest level, so I'll use it for reference more than for current information.

5 comments about The Clock Repairers Handbook.

1. This book was a total waste of money for me. The UK English is nearly impossible to decipher at times. It is very difficult reading. This mihgt be a good book for experts but is worthless to the beginner. The author describes repair in detail, but assumes the reader knows all the technical terms being used without explaining them. The drawings are difficult to decipher. Photos would have been better. If you are a beginner looking for a good book to get started in clock repair, this isn't it!



2. Very difficult book to comprehend. Just about useless as an aid to repairing clocks. I think a lot of it has to do with the language gap between American English and what the people in Britain speak. I am sorry I wasted my money on this book.



3. Excellent book!! Very detailed. It will require study, but is easily understood. And it's ALL in there- ftom nubie to expert. I've purchased 5 books, and this is the last one. I'll never need another.



4. A very concise and detailed book, with many simple graphics but no photographs and certainly not of use to the novice who just wants to clean up and maintain a collection of old clocks.



5. The book arrived quickly, and in good shape. The book has a lot of good information, with clear diagrams.

5 comments about Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time.

1. One of the most pressing issues for early sailors was the problem of longitude. Because it was impossible to determine longitude, many ships and sailors died. Also, captains used the same routes as pirates or enemies of the state, which made it easy to lie in wait for your next victim. In 1714, English Parliament passed the Longitude Act which created an award for the first person to accurately determine longitude. Longitude, by Dava Sobel, explores the work of John Harrison, the man credited with accurately determining longitude for ships at sea.
   
   Contents:
   Acknowledgements
   Foreword, Neil Armstrong
   Chapter 1: Imaginary Lines
   Chapter 2: The Sea Before Time
   Chapter 3: Adrift in a Clockwork Universe
   Chapter 4: Time in a Bottle
   Chapter 5: Powder of Sympathy
   Chapter 6: The Prize
   Chapter 7: Cogmaker's Journal
   Chapter 8: The Grasshopper Goes to Sea
   Chapter 9: Hands on Heaven's Clock
   Chapter 10: The Diamond Timekeeper
   Chapter 11: Trial by Fire and Water
   Chapter 12: A Tale of Two Portraits
   Chapter 13: The Second Voyage of John Cook
   Chapter 14: The Mass Production of Genius
   Chapter 15: In the Meridian Courtyard
   Sources
   Index
   
   Today, ships have GPS to tell them where they are on the seas. But before John Harrison created his first sea worthy clock, sailors were pretty much lost at sea as soon as they lost sight of land. Watches were not accurate and clocks worked on a pendulum, which didn't help on a rolling sea. Sobel weaves an interesting tale of John Harrison, a carpenter turned clockmaker, who created an extremely accurate clock for determining longitude. But this story isn't solely about Harrison. There are others that are attempting to do the impossible as well, using the heavens to find longitude. Harrison must battle prejudice, and himself, to get his timekeeper judged for the prize (£20,000 is the award). In the end, Harrison developed several chronometers, extremely accurate and able to withstand the seas and weather, that by the 1780's all log books had an entry for longitude readings by timekeeper.
   
   This is a topic that many may not find interesting. But Sobel hasn't written an academic dissertation on the subject, she has created a highly engaging study of a man dedicated to solving one of the greatest issues facing the world at the time. Her writing style makes this an easy book to read, as there are few technical details. However, for those that need more information, she provides a rather detailed source listing. I found the book to be a fascinating look at early sailing and the answer to a problem that plagued those sailors. Also, the background on Harrison adds to the story. While he worked as a carpenter, his knowledge of wood aided him in his quest for an accurate timekeeper. His chronometer was accurate to less than a second, in the 1700's, when other, more learned clockmakers could only be accurate to 15 minutes a day (plus or minus).
   
   This is a very good, enjoyable book on a fascinating subject.



2. What do Galileo and John Harrison have in common? They both had run-ins with bureaucracies that impeded the acceptance of their breakthrough ideas. And they are both subjects of books by Dava Sobel. Longitude is second book by her that I have read, the other being Galileo's Daughter. As with the latter book, Sobel combines the science of the times with a lot of background on the politics and religion of the age. She weaves these together into a coherent story that is entertaining and informative. I had never even considered that there was a ever a problem in determining longitude, so this book opened my eyes. The book I had purchased contained color illustrations that helped bring the devices that are the subject of this book to life (more can be found at http://www.portcities.org.uk/london/server/show/ConNarrative.132/chapterId/2685/Greenwich-and-the-story-of-time.html). These devices were one inventor's way of solving the problem of determining longitude at sea. Sobel covers her topic with a great deal of sympathy. Indeed, the blatant way in which the establishment hampered Harrison was very frustrating, meaning that the writing was very compelling. Interestingly it speaks to Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific revolutions, which pointed out the great steps forward in science can be accomplished by those newer to the field and that science doesn't really change until the older generation passes. I recommend this book to anyone interested in boating or science or anyone who uses a GPS device to have an appreciation for how difficult travel used to be.



3. John Harrison completes his first pendulum clock in 1713 before the age of 20. He made the gears for this out of wood which was radical for such a use, but as a carpenter, perhaps not to him---which is a mark of genius, I'd say; to reach beyond accepted norms in this manner. This he did after borrowing a book on math and the laws of motion; which he copied word for word, making his own copy. He incorporated different varieties of wood into his clock for strength and later invented a bi-metal pendulum to counteract the expansion and compression of various individual metals. He also employed friction-free movements so as to do away with problematic lubricants. When intrigued by the puzzle of time at sea and the issue of longitude he contemplated substituting something not prone to gravity, as a pendulum of course is, to track times passing. In 1737 he creates a cantilevered clock 4 foot square. This the longitude board (which had offered a cash bonus to anyone who could devise a method in which time at sea could be kept) admired. Four years later he returns with an improved model; then starts on a 3rd model, like the previous two, also a fairly large sized clock.But there exists a problem within this book: An artisan freemason by the name of John Jefferys at the Worshipful Company of clockmakers befriends Harrison and then later presents to him a pocket watch in 1753. Then in 1755, while still working on his 3rd model, Harrison says this to the Longitude board: I have..."good reason to think" on the basis of a watch "already executed that such small machines[he's referring to pocket watches] may be of great service with respect to longitude." He then completes version 3 in 1759. His fourth version appears just a year later, however, and is a 5 inch wide pocket watch! The obvious inference made by the author is that after he received the pocket watch from Jeffreys he seemingly put his version #3 on the back burner and soon started on the pocket watch 4th version. The author does not claim Harrison copied anything from the Jeffreys model, but she certainly phrases this section so as to lend one to believe that this may have been the case; that Jefferys had a hand in the masterstroke invention Harrison eventually produced in version #4. This is not true. Harrison commissioned the watch he received from Jeffreys and was based on Harrison's specifications. It seems that Harrison simply asked Jeffreys to test an idea which he himself hadn't the time to attack just then; as he was still working on his 3rd version of a table-top prototype clock. Hence Harrison's above statement to the board in 1755 whence his ideas were validated by Jeffreys. In addition, the author plays up the part of the Astronomer Royal's part in attempting to impede Harrison from convincing the longitude board of the efficacy of a time-piece solution to this problem over a celestial answer to this conundrum. The author also jazzes up the issue of whether Harrison received the prize the board promised to pay for a successful solution herein; even though the board supported him for upwards of 20 years as he pursued this quest. It's as if the author intentionally omitted some facts (that the Jefferys was a Harrison commission), and pumped up others (of a rival/foil on the board trying to impede Harrison and the compensation issue; implying that Harrison was jipped) just to make the story more compelling. John Harrison's story, however, is extremely compelling as it is and didn't need this extra spice served up by the author.Do read this (very short) book on how this Mr. Harrison solved the problem of knowing where one is when at sea; and if you're in London, visit the Old Royal Observatory and the Clockmakers museum (in the Guildhall) where you can see Harrison's wonderful creations in person. Enjoy!



4. A short but well written book that sheds light on an almost forgotten man who changed the world. Interesting and fun to read, worth checking out.



5. My husband (a scientist) loves books on exploration and discovery. When he finished this book - surprisingly quickly - he said "you'll love this." Sure, I'll read anything once so I gave it a try. The author has such a knack with prose that this book basically read itself! Time flew when I picked it up and I was done in no time. What a fantastic surprise! When I finished it, I mailed it to my brother who read it & sent it to a friend; it;s that good....

5 comments about 100 Years of Vintage Watches.

1. I found this book to be excellent reading. It includes hundreds of beautiful photos and a brief but fascinating historical summary for several well-known foreign and American watch manufacturers. Even a person who knows nothing about watches would enjoy browsing through this book. Highly recommended.



2. The book has thousands of pictures of watches, mostly pocket ones. However, it does not cover the history of such watches It's just a picture timetable of watch development.



3. Disappointing. Little if any information about European and English watches. Misleading title should be call American watches and a few others.
   
   Unless you are into American watches - a waste of time and money



4. This is a great reference however it has very limited information and only a fraction of collectible Watches are listed.I will admit the photography is excellent!



5. Good photos & description of vintage products. I bought this as a gift to a friend and he is really into Vintage watches.

No comments about Grand Complications: High Quality Watchmaking Volume IV (High Quality Watchmaking).

2 comments about Watches International: Volume IX (Watches International).

1. This publication has the "potential" for being great. However, everything seems a little incomplete. Many watches lack prices. Many of the brands are missing models of great importance. Several big companies are missing. The good thing is the brief description offered of each brand including facts and history.



2. Ugh.
   
   I've had different versions of the "watch bibles" for the last 10+ years, and from now on I'll have to look at them in person before buying.
   
   These books used to be great references for the products of all the major watch manufacturers. Now it's just a glossy overview of what's new in watches.
   
   If you are into the boutique and jewelry watch brands like Cartier, Dior, and the like, this is a great book. Most of the content is dedicated to these watches, and the pictures are great.
   
   If you want a reference for Patek, Rolex, JLC, etc. Stay away. Get the manufacturers catalogs instead.