It’s known to all that here we concentrate mainly on mechanical and collectible watches. We write for collectors and replica watch fans with the target of telling the very best stories we can about this funny little world for one reason or another. While online we’re sometimes tied to the watch industry news cycles, with auction results, product releases, and reviews of new watches often taking center stage, here we give you all a chance, twice per year, to sit back, reflect, and focus on long form storytelling that is, if you don’t mind it.
There are tons of killer watch stories in our recently-released second volume, ranging from a sweeping history of the dive fake watch to a deep dive into why Patek Philippe’s Calatrava is so legendary to a technical explanation of some of modern horology’s best movements. However, after spending several months working on Volume 2, here are five of my favorite takeaways from our second issue.
When you ask Jason Heaton to pen a definitive history of the dive watch, you know that you’re going to get something unique. I was greatly and completely impressed, but not totally surprised, to learn that the world’s most famous SCUBA diver was so impressed with Doxa dive watches that he went into business with the company, selling them for a time via his company U.S. Divers. This story also contains some really beautiful underwater photography that you will not want to miss.
In his amazing story explaining the appeal of certain large, waterproof Universal chronographs, Ben devotes a lot of space to the balance and the quality of the cases used to make these cheap replica watches. The replcia Audemars Piguet Royal Oak RD#2 was one of the standout watches from SIHH 2018. But during his talk with award-winning chef Daniel Humm, AP CEO François-Henry Bennahmias revealed that when they first made up their mind to make an ultra-thin Royal Oak perpetual calendar many of the manufacture’s older watchmakers thought it was pure folly and not worth even trying. I, for one, am glad they gave it a shot. 
Eventually, some of the very best watch writing in Volume 2 comes courtesy of our very own Jack Forster. In this issue, Jack writes a great story about how the complete calendar and the annual calendar have made a major resurgence in recent years, but the thing that really shocked me is a reference to Ian Fleming artfully describing a particular assassin’s Girard-Perregaux. I won’t spoil it, but you surely want to dig into Jack’s story to get the details.
You don’t need to be an Apple fan-boy to appreciate the top-quality industrial design that goes into making an Apple product. One replica watch that he finds especially appealing is the fake Patek Philippe Nautilus, but maybe not for the reason you’d dream of.