For CIA Leadership Analysts seeking to learn everything they can about a world leader, even something as seemingly insignificant as a wristwatch can play a role in assembling a complete profile to be shared with key decision-makers including the president. Whether it’s Kim Jong Un’s IWC, Putin’s insane luxury watch collection, or a Panerai favored by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, remember: A watch is never just a watch.   In the newest episode on the W.O.E. YouTube Channel, we discuss the watches worn by several prominent world leaders. Leaning into our experience from the world of intelligence, we provide examples of the types of insights that can be gleaned from the watches world leaders choose to wear on their wrists. Enjoy episode twelve of W.O.E. TV. Happy Hunting, -W.O.E.

Rolex, Omega, Timex, & Patek Philippe Worn By US Political Leaders  As Donald Trump is once again sworn in as the President of the United States, we offer an unbiased look at the watches worn by not only Trump but also members of his Cabinet and close advisors. The watches worn by US Presidents and political appointees are seldom accidental, and you can learn a lot about a person from their timepiece. Remember, a watch is never just a watch. With that in mind, we apply our Agency background and knowledge of timepieces to see what can be learned from the watches worn by the incoming administration, especially those worn by politicians with roles close to the world of intelligence and the military. A White House Breitling belonging to Cliff Sims, Trump’s pick for Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Strategy and Communications Please keep in mind that this is simply an exercise and all in good fun. Watches of Espionage is an apolitical platform utilizing watches as the lens through which we view history and current events. If the new administration were on the other side of the aisle, we’d write the same article. If seeing a watch worn by a political figure you don’t agree with triggers you, we would recommend taking up a soothing activity like hiking, knitting, yoga, or maybe even an ice bath.  If you have additional vitriol that must be expressed, know that we very much enjoy reading your comments. Until then, let’s get started.  Donald Trump - President  During his first term, President Donald Trump notably wore several luxury timepieces including a Patek Philippe Ellipse, a Vacheron Constantin Historiques 1968, and a Rolex Day-Date Ref 18038. While he elected to not wear a watch for the inauguration yesterday as far as we could tell, we will keep our eyes peeled for which watches Trump favors during his second term. Of course, the elephant in the room is the collection of Trump-branded watches released last year, including a $100,000 tourbillon as well as more pedestrian models coming in around $500.  Despite the release with much fanfare, we have yet to spot President Trump (or anyone else) wearing any of the watches bearing the President’s name including such models as the Trump Crypto President 47, the Trump’s Smoky Blue, or the Trump Shield Warrior, a real shame if you ask us.  JD Vance - Vice President  The Vice President for Donald Trump’s second term in office is none other than JD Vance, a former United States Senator from Ohio and US Marine Corps veteran. While Vance is often photographed without a watch, when he was seen wearing a watch during the campaign, it was typically an Apple Watch. The Apple Watch serves as a sign of youth and tech savviness in keeping with Vance’s background in venture capital, but smartwatches also present serious counterintelligence risks. Will the VP continue to wear an Apple Watch in the White House? Or will the Secret Service and National Security Agency inform him of the CI-risks of smartwatches? Mike Waltz - National Security Advisor  Mike Waltz, Trump’s National Security Advisor, has quite the resume, having served in US Army Special Forces during the Global War On Terror and earning a total of four bronze stars (including two for valor). During his service, Waltz appears to have favored a straightforward Digital Tool Watch (D.T.W.), but more recently, Waltz has been spotted wearing a couple of different Rolex models including a GMT-Master II, likely reference 126710, and an older GMT-Master II with the all-black bezel, likely reference 16710. This embodies the old-school adage that all a Special Forces man needs are a star sapphire ring, a Randall knife, and a Rolex. Waltz in Afghanistan wearing a Digital Tool Watch (D.T.W.)  Kristi Noem - Secretary of Homeland Security Trump’s pick for the Secretary of Homeland Security is Kristi Noem, formerly known as the 33rd Governor of South Dakota. Again demonstrating the popularity of Rolex in US political circles, Noem is often photographed wearing what appears to be a 41mm DateJust. What’s more, like many members of the military and SpecOps, Noem has also been seen “inside-wristing” her Rollie for reasons we can also assume are tactical in nature. Noem inside-wristing her Rolex. Kash Patel - Director of the FBI  It almost shouldn’t have to be said at this point, but Sketchy Dudes Wear Breitling. We don’t make the rules. Kash Patel, Trump’s pick to lead the FBI, worked as a prosecutor at DOJ and also served as the Chief of Staff to the Acting Secretary of Defense, Deputy Assistant to the President, Senior Director for CT at the NSC, and Principal Deputy to the Acting Director of DNI. He was also a DOJ liaison officer to Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). Patel’s Breitling also appears to have the White House Seal or another insignia at three o’clock.  Patel appears to be a watch nerd with several watches in his collection.  With experience in many three-letter agencies relevant to our community, a Breitling was always going to be the right choice for Patel who has been wearing what looks to be a 46mm titanium Breitling Cockpit B50. We are told that at least one of the Breitlings is a Unit Watch from the previous Trump Administration, with the White House seal at the three o’clock position.  Pete Hegseth - Secretary of Defense  Pete Hegseth, a cohost of Fox and Friends and former Army National Guard officer, is Trump’s pick for Secretary of Defense. Intriguingly, other than older images from Hegseth’s military service in which he is seen wearing a Suunto Observer, the modern Hegseth does not appear to wear a watch. Instead, like many GWOT veterans, he appears to virtually always wear a memorial bracelet. Dating back to the Vietnam War when they were typically worn to honor soldiers captured or missing in action, today, these memorial bracelets typically display the name, rank, and date of the death of a fellow service member. Hegseth wearing a Suunto Observer during his National Guard days. Marco Rubio - Secretary of State The two may have gone toe to toe during Trump’s first run at the White House, with Rubio famously saying in 2016, “If he hadn’t inherited $200 million, you know where Donald Trump would be right now? Selling watches in Manhattan.” However, the pair appears to have worked it out, with Rubio slated to serve as Trump’s new Secretary of State. In most photographs, Rubio wears a blue Roman Numeral dial Rolex DateJust with a fluted bezel, likely a reference 126334 or something similar.  Christian Craighead - Personal Bodyguard to Donald Trump? Craighead wearing a CWC SBS, a watch designed for the Special Boat Service. According to press reporting, former Special Air Service (SAS) Warrant Officer, Christian Craighead was recently hired by Donald Trump as his personal bodyguard with a special emphasis on traveling ahead of the President’s public speaking engagements to locate potential sniper positions. Craighead burst into the public eye when he responded to a 2019 al-Shabaab attack in Nairobi, single-handedly killing five terrorists. Craig wearing a Seiko SNJ025 “Arnie”, a watch enthusiast favorite. Like many current and former members of UK Special Forces, Craighead is also something of a watch guy, having been seen wearing Rolex, Seiko, and Panerai watches in addition to releasing a collaboration with CWC, a brand that famously supplied the Special Boat Service (SBS). Hired for a role that is typically handled by the US Secret Service, it will be interesting to see how Craighead fits into the POTUS’ protection picture as a civilian. Elon Musk - Czar of the Department of Government Efficiency  While his role is technically non-governmental, it appears Elon Musk will have significant influence on the new White House through his appointment as the Czar of the Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE. It would seem that Musk’s interest in watches has waned in recent years, but he was once known for wearing a special SpaceX version of a TAG Heuer Carrera Cailbre 1887, an Omega Aqua Terra, and a Rolex DateJust way back in the day. One can only hope that when Trump’s licensed watches hit the wrists of those who have anxiously pre-ordered, there’s at least one extra lying around for the DOGE Czar.  Tulsi Gabbard - Director of National Intelligence (DNI) A former member of the US House of Representatives from Hawaii’s second district, Tulsi Gabbard was recently selected by Trump as the Director of National Intelligence. Gabbard also has a military background including service with the Hawaii National Guard including a deployment to Iraq and today serves in the Army Reserve as a lieutenant colonel. Despite her background, most photographs show Gabbard wearing what appears to be a no-name fashion watch.  John Ratcliffe - Director of CIA Trump’s pick to head the Agency as Director of CIA or DCIA is John Ratcliffe, a former Texas representative and the Director of National Intelligence from 2020 to 2021. Despite the link between espionage and watches celebrated on W.O.E., Ratcliffe appears to buck the trend as we cannot find a single photo of him wearing a watch. We believe that this makes Ratcliffe the first Director of CIA to NOT wear a watch, a significant moment in the evolution of Watches of Espionage. If anyone has further details, be sure to let us know. Meanwhile, Ratcliffe’s predecessor, Bill Burns, isn’t a watch nerd, either, he does at least wear a straightforward quartz Timex.  Cliff Sims - Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Strategy and Communications The author of White House tell-all Team of Vipers: My 500 Extraordinary Days in the Trump White House, Cliff Sims has held several positions relating to US Intelligence and served as the Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Strategy and Communications. With at least some interest in horology, Sims is also one of several owners we have encountered of a “White House Breitling”, a standard Breitling model (it seems like a few are available) customized with the White House Seal and a special engraved caseback. Of note, this Breitling was commissioned for the previous Trump Administration.  In Sims’ case, he hits the sketchy nail on the head with a White House Breitling Aerospace, always great to see.  Matthew Whitaker - US Ambassador to NATO  A former Attorney General, Matthew Whitaker is Trump’s choice for US Ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or NATO. In addition to having played college football at the University of Iowa, Whitaker is at least a little bit of a watch guy, having been recently photographed wearing a two-tone Rolex Submariner, quite possibly a reference 126613. This is one of those watches that shows the breadth of the divide between the Submariner’s utilitarian diving roots and its current position on the wrist of a high-powered attorney/politician, but we still love to see it.  Sebastian Gorka - Counterterrorism Chief on the White House National Security Council A television presenter and former Deputy Assistant to the President during Trump’s first term, Sebastian Gorka, who was born in London to Hungarian parents, is the president’s pick for counterterrorism chief. What’s more, Gorka appears to be something of a watch guy. We’ve seen him wearing an Omega Planet Ocean, though it’s hard to discern the exact reference, as well as several more obscure watches on his Instagram. A Sinn 857 showcased in a 2020 post on Gorka’s Instagram. In a post from back in 2020, Gorka showed off his EDC which included a seldom-seen 857 UTC TESTAF. We’ve said this before, but if you’re rocking a Sinn, it isn’t because you picked it up at Macy’s. Watch guys are everywhere.  Final Thoughts One more shot of Cliff Sims’ White House Breitling Aerospace. Politics aside, it’s genuinely nice to see so many “real” watches worn inside the White House. Where digital tool watches (D.T.W.) and smartwatches including the ubiquitous Apple Watch have no doubt taken a sizable chunk of the top of the mechanical watch industry, certain serious individuals continue to value timepieces. Especially in political circles, nothing happens in a vacuum.  At W.O.E., we subscribe to the Use Your Tools ethos, and that includes watches utilized as tools of communication, as is so often the case in politics. In addition, there are a few players in the new White House that are clearly interested in watches, showing once again that watch guys are everywhere.  If you enjoyed this article, please consider signing up for our weekly free newsletter for further updates HERE. Read Next: U.S. Presidents and Timepieces, The Last 40 Years

Global watch crime is an enterprise worth an estimated 1.9 billion dollars in 2024. Almost daily, watches from Rolex, Richard Mille, and Patek Philippe are stolen—sometimes violently—from the wrist of a tourist or businessman. But what can you do about it? In the newest episode of W.O.E. TV, we’ll discuss this alarming trend and provide tips for how to travel with a luxury watch. While criminal watch gangs pose an undeniable risk, with a certain amount of forethought and some common sense, it’s possible to enjoy your watches around the world. Don’t be a soft target and always use your tools. Enjoy episode eleven of W.O.E. TV. Happy Hunting, -W.O.E.

At W.O.E., we’ve commented on the watches worn by some of history’s most infamous individuals including US Presidents, Usama Bin Laden, and Muammar Gaddafi. In recent years, several watches with provenance calling back to these historical figures have been sold at auction where they garner massive results propelled at least in part by their historical significance. The recent sale of Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser’s Rolex for $840,000 is just the latest example. Beyond challenging provenance, the auction world has also seen its share of bad press, with many calling into question the originality of certain high-profile lots including the story of an Omega Speedmaster that was faked with insider help from Omega HQ in Switzerland. Not a good look. We admit we’re no experts in the field of high-profile auctions or vintage watches so we looked to Tony Traina, a talented writer, researcher, and friend of the page to delve deeper into the good, the bad, and the ugly of modern watch auctions. As it turns out, watch auctions are their own wilderness of mirrors. Tony has his own newsletter called Unpolished. If you are interested in learning more, you can subscribe HERE. What The World Of Watch Auctions Reveals About History, Strategy, & Brand Power By Anthony Traina An estimated 5M people attended President Nasser’s funeral in 1970. On October 1, 1970, more than 5 million people attended the funeral of Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser. One of the most respected leaders in the Arab world, Nasser died suddenly at the age of 52. It’s thought to be one of the most-attended funerals in history. Gamal Abdel Nasser (1918–1970) was an Egyptian military officer and revolutionary who became the country's second president, serving from 1956 until his death. A central figure in modern Arab history, he championed Arab nationalism, led the nationalization of the Suez Canal, and pursued policies that transformed Egypt but sometimes sparked regional conflicts and polarized opinions. Nasser wore his Rolex Day-Date ref. 1803 “President” throughout his life. On Nasser’s wrist during most of his time as president: A gold Rolex Day-Date ref. 1803 “President.” It can be seen in various photos, from his negotiations with world leaders to playing with his five children. In December 2024, Nasser’s Rolex Day-Date sold at Sotheby’s New York for $840,000. As far as I can tell, it’s the third most expensive Day-Date ever sold. More than a watch, it’s a historical artifact that tells the story of Nasser and the formation of the modern Arab world. Almost as interesting as the watch and the big result is the rumored buyer: Rolex. Hammering for $840k, Nasser’s Day-Date was reportedly purchased by Rolex. (Photo Credit: Sotheby's) It’s just the latest example of a brand purportedly buying one of its own historically important watches at auction. Patek Philippe, Zenith, TAG Heuer, and even Movado are all known to be active in the auction market. The influx of money into watches has turned auctions into big business, with brands' moves—whether covert or public—highlighting both the opportunities and risks. Understanding the players, their motives, and behind-the-scenes dynamics is key to finding extraordinary watches at auctions; without a strategy, you risk costly mistakes. What Is A Watch Auction? (Photo Credit: Christie’s) A few times a year, the major international auction houses—Christie’s, Phillips, and Sotheby’s—host watch-themed auctions in the world’s major horological hubs of Geneva, New York, and Hong Kong. It’s where the most historically important, expensive, and rare watches typically come for sale. But they’re not without controversy, the most notable scandal involving a record-breaking Omega Speedmaster in 2021 that turned out to be a put-together “Frankenwatch.” The Omega Speedmaster “Frankenwatch” sold in 2021 for $3.4M. (Photo Credit: Phillips) While auctions are public affairs and record-breaking results garner headlines, the real stories and action happen behind the scenes. Covering the watch industry, I’ve attended several watch auctions. I’ve seen Rolex representatives bidding in the auction room for their historical pieces, methodically building a collection ranging from some of the best-preserved examples in the world (paying millions for top-condition Milgauss and Daytona examples) to the most historically important. But auctions aren’t just for high-end pieces. I’ve bought watches at major and regional auctions – and from familiar toolmakers like Heuer and Enicar, not top luxury brands like Patek Philippe. There’s something for everyone if you know how to navigate it. From Watch To Historical Artifact The caseback on Nasser’s Rolex tells a story. (Photo Credit: Tony Traina) Take Nasser’s Day-Date. Its caseback engraving begins to tell its full story: “Mr. Anwar El Sadat 26-9-1963” Anwar El Sadat, a lifelong friend of Nasser and fellow graduate of the Egyptian Military Academy, became Egypt's vice president in 1969 and succeeded Nasser as president in 1970. Nasser can be seen wearing the Day-Date while he visited soldiers and negotiated with diplomats, reshaping the modern Arab world – a witness to history in a way few objects are. Rolex purchased a GMT-Master formerly belonging to Pan-Am pilot Captain Clarence Warren for CHF 177,800. (Photo Credit: Sotheby’s) It’s far from the first watch Rolex has won. Luckily, these watches haven’t been doomed to some vault deep beneath Rolex HQ in Geneva. At Watches & Wonders last year, Rolex displayed several historically important GMT-Masters to celebrate the launch of a new GMT-Master II. This included Captain Clarence Warren’s GMT-Master ref. 6542 (which sold at auction for CHF 177,800), worn on the first Pan-Am flight from New York to Moscow, when then-Vice President Richard Nixon requested Warren to pilot his visit to the Soviet Union. For his airborne accomplishments, Rolex would later feature Capt. Warren in an advertising campaign. Also on display was Jack Swigert’s Rolex GMT-Master ref. 1675, worn while he was the command module pilot of Apollo 13.  As W.O.E. has covered before, modern watch brands are machines dedicated to marketing as much as mechanics. The activity of these brands in the auction market is no different. These big auction results make headlines in mainstream news, helping to reposition luxury watches as heritage objects that can last generations and even witness history. It’s the type of storytelling and brand-building that brands dream of. A LIP belonging to Charles de Gaulle sold for over $500k. (Photo Credit: Artcurial) And these big results aren’t limited to Rolex. Former French President Charles de Gaulle’s electric LIP watch recently sold in an auction of his personal effects for more than $500,000. In an auction of hundreds of his personal items, it’s his watch—a simple electric model from a French maker – that sold for five times more than any of his journals, letters, or medallions. Sure, it’s marketing, but it wouldn’t be so effective if it didn’t hold a grain of truth. Especially through the middle of the 20th century, the men and women making history often had watches on their wrists as they led their governments, piloted command modules, or served their country. These were tools that helped guide those who shaped or reshaped the world. Strategic Operations & Watch Auctions A Tudor Submariner issued to the South African Navy. (Photo Credit: James Rupley/W.O.E.) Somewhere along the way, many of these toolmakers turned into luxury brands. Of course, they still make tools too—for civilians or the military—but auctions are another public stage upon which the secretive drama of the Swiss watch industry now plays out. While the spectacle of auctions and the high prices capture headlines, the real story happens behind the scenes. Auctions are also more accessible than ever. All offer online, phone, and in-person bidding, with the largest auctions often having more than 2,000 registered bidders. Preparation is key: evaluating the watches, understanding the players, acting with discipline and strategy, and avoiding the emotion of the moment. If you’re looking to get involved in auctions, whether you’re spending $100 or $100,000 here are a few tips to get started. Understand The Incentives (Photo Credit: Phillips) Auction Houses & Specialists: Every party comes to an auction with its own incentives and acts accordingly. The most important to know is that auction houses represent the seller, not the buyer. Their goal is to achieve the highest price for the consignor of the watch. Of course, they want both buyer and seller to be happy, and there is the risk of reputational damage if deals go south. But their goal is to achieve the best result for their client, the seller. Auction houses make money by charging a commission on sales (called the “buyer’s premium”), typically somewhere in the range of 25 to 27 percent. This means they typically don’t take a financial stake in a watch, but make money by selling the watch. While they will provide information and condition reports, keep all of this in mind when reviewing the information provided. The goal will be to illustrate the potential of a lot without focusing on its issues or making any guarantees. (Photo Credit: Hodinkee) Buyers (Dealers, Collectors, Brands): Anyone can throw their hat in the ring and bid at an auction, but they may have different goals. Private collectors want to own historically important watches for all the reasons a collector might – from pure passion to pure ego. Watch out for the latter: ego knows no rationality. As we’ve discussed, brands might also bid at auctions. This could be to acquire historically important pieces for their archives or museums. Or, they might want to “protect” the perception of their brand on the secondary market. Either way, it’s important to know that big-time, institutional money might be after a lot, particularly if it has historical importance. Finally, dealers are always lurking. If there’s an opportunity to resell a watch for more money, expect a dealer’s paddle to go up. For large institutional dealers that hold significant inventory, there also may be incentives to bid up certain watches to “protect” the value of their existing inventory. For example, a well-known secondary market player has significant stock in indies De Bethune and F.P. Journe and is known to actively support those markets at auction. The Crowd: There’s also the crowd. That’s everyone from media to influencers to curious onlookers. They cover the news and can amplify record-breaking or scandalous results to generate clicks or headlines. Do Your Homework & Build Your Own Relationships (Photo Credit: James Rupley/W.O.E.) In the watch industry, professionals often move between roles—media members move to auctions, dealers become specialists, and vice versa. All are invested in maintaining a healthy market and ensuring steady growth, so buyers feel confident in spending on expensive watches. This means they all have their own relationships and generally don’t want to disrupt the status quo. This dynamic explains why it’s important to build your own relationships before spending significant sums at auction. This requires being on the ground to assess the situation. When possible, it’s best to attend auctions and auction previews in person. Watch auction previews are a great watch to learn more about vintage watches. (Photo Credit: Asharq Al-Awsat) Auction previews are perhaps the best way to experience vintage watches in person. You’ll hear stories from specialists that don’t make their way into catalogs. But it’s also the best way to make connections, assess watches, and learn. Put your ear to the ground and see if you catch any gossip (there’s always gossip). On the day of the auction, being in the room is the only way to get a feel for the important players, who’s bidding on what, and the general vibe of the sale. Because auction specialists ultimately represent the seller, it’s often helpful to have an independent third-party dealer you trust to help vet watches. Once you develop a personal relationship with auction specialists, they are also more likely to tell you more information about a watch. Flaws that might not be readily disclosed but that they’re comfortable telling to a valued client. Last Call (Photo Credit: Bonhams) Watch auctions, though public, carry a certain air of espionage. Specialists whisper discreetly into phones, connecting with clients around the globe. When brands like Rolex bid, they often don’t even raise a paddle; a nod to the auctioneer often suffices – visible only to those who know to look for it. While these professionals act in rational self-interest, they may exploit private collectors driven by passion. That’s why coming to auctions well-informed is essential. Armed with knowledge, you can bid strategically. If you’re ready to try your hand at auctions – good luck! If you enjoyed this article, please consider signing up for our weekly free newsletter for further updates HERE. Read Next: An Inside Look At The Swiss Watch Industry About The Author: Tony Traina is the editor and founder of Unpolished, a weekly newsletter about what’s really happening in watches. He’s a former editor at Hodinkee. Subscribe to receive Unpolished in your inbox.

Espionage In Luxury, Trump Tariffs, Watch Crime, & The Watches Of Middle-Eastern Leaders By Benjamin Lowry It’s time for the December edition of our Watch Industry SITREP or Situation Report, a brief recap of the previous month’s watch-related news, and any other current events related to our community, paired with our commentary. Tomorrow, we’ll kick off 2025, but before we put a bow on the past year, let’s take a closer look at December’s watch-related happenings. December didn’t disappoint, with espionage making the news at the highest echelons of luxury goods, the watches of Syrian leaders, and new tariffs on the horizon that will likely significantly impact watch brands. In addition, we take a closer look at yet another instance of watch crime targeting a comedian friend of none other than Joe Rogan before discussing the auction of a Rolex owned by Gamal Abdel Nasser, the former President of Egypt. Buckle up, it’s time for the SITREP. Luxury’s Most Powerful Man Takes The Stand In Corporate Espionage Trial (Photo Credit: AFP) While espionage is often the work of state actors and the military, intelligence tradecraft works just as well, and is just as common, in the corporate world. Earlier this month, Bernard Arnault, chairman and CEO of LVMH and one of the world’s richest men, was called to testify in the French trial of Bernard Squarcini, a former head of France’s domestic security service—a spy in other words. Squarcini was hired as a consultant by LVMH to help monitor counterfeiting and more interestingly keep track of some of the group’s left-wing adversaries, allegedly breaking more than a few laws in the process. (Photo Credit: Reuters) Unsurprisingly, Arnault said he didn’t know anything about any illegal surveillance or other illicit activities. In any case, the trial is a rare glimpse into an often unseen world where huge corporations are willing to pay big bucks—and break the law—to protect their image and bottom line. Along with the Swatch and Richemont Groups and Rolex/Tudor, LVHM is among the largest conglomerates in watches, serving as the parent organization behind TAG Heuer, Hublot, Zenith, and Bulgari, among other brands. Syrian Rebel Leader Changes Watches As He Seeks To Become Statesman Al-Jolani made the change from a digital tool watch to a more refined Seiko as he molded himself into a statesman. When “rebel leader” Abu Mohammed al-Jolani overthrew the Assad regime earlier this month, taking control of Syria in the process, he wore the de facto Middle Eastern rebel uniform: olive drab fatigues and a black plastic digital tool watch (D.T.W.). Since then, al-Jolani has made a noticeable shift in his appearance, from bad-guy-in-a-GWOT-movie to a bonafide Banana Republic head of state. Once again demonstrating the power of watches in sending a message, al-Jolani also swapped watches from his tactical digital model to a much more refined Seiko Kinetic SRN045P1. The Seiko Kinetic SRN045P1 is Ahmed al-Sharaa’s watch of choice when in head-of-state mode. The Seiko is not expensive by watch standards but is also not out of place in his new role as he seeks international legitimacy. Whether the watch plays a part or not, the changes seem to be working. Al-Jolani, who now prefers to be called by his real name, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has been busy entertaining throngs of diplomats from around the world in recent weeks, all with a Seiko on his wrist. An Al-Assad-signed Rolex Submariner was auctioned by Antiquorum in November. (Photo Credit: Antiquorum) Often in the news for the wrong reasons, Syria has always been an interesting historical footnote for watch enthusiasts, with the Al-Assad regime famously ordering numerous Rolex models including the Submariner, Explorer II, and Sea-Dweller, typically with Hafez Al-Assad’s signature on the dial. For more on Assad’s watches, see a previous Dispatch on Watches Of The Middle East. Trump’s Promised Tariffs Could Make Already Expensive Watches A Lot More Costly (Photo Credit: AP) President-Elect Donald Trump has promised to invoke new tariffs targeting Mexico, Canada, and China as early as his first day in office. These tariffs, essentially a tax on goods coming from these countries, will amount to 25% for Mexico and Canada and a 10% increase to any existing tariffs for China. (He previously threatened 60% tariffs on goods from China). In China’s case, Trump specifically states the tariffs will continue until the country ceases its illegal import of fentanyl into the United States. Whether they say “Swiss Made” on the dial or not, many watch components come from China. (Photo Credit: European Press Photo Agency) The rising tariffs for goods manufactured in China will likely mean higher prices for the watch industry as many raw materials and finished components are Chinese, including parts of watches that claim to be “Swiss-made”. This could have a particular impact on microbrands, which rely on China for cost-effective manufacturing. At the moment, it’s unclear how it will shake down if these tariffs come to pass, but with around 20% of Swiss watchmaking being imported to the United States through the US arms of Swiss watch brands, one would imagine these higher costs will eventually be passed on to US consumers. Comedian Hans Kim Drugged & Robbed Of Rolex & $25k In Cash Hans Kim wearing his (now-stolen) Rolex Submariner. (Photo Credit: Time & Tide) If you’ve read the SITREP before, you know we like to catch our monthly dose of watch-related crime. This month, the growing luxury watch robbery trend touched the fringes of celebrity when Hans Kim, a comedian and friend of Joe Rogan, was robbed of his Rolex by a woman he brought back to his place. This story comes from episode 2238 of The Joe Rogan Experience, where Rogan describes Kim losing his Rolex and “25,000 dollars in cash” after waking up alone the morning after meeting what he thought was a nice young lady. According to Rogan, testing later revealed Kim had a lot of Xanax in his system. Apparently, Kim’s lady friend put crushed-up Xannies in his drink the night before to put him to sleep, making him an easy target. Also, who on Earth (besides Diddy) has $25k lying around their house? Luckily, though out 25 grand a Rolex, Kim appears to be unharmed. We’ve said this before, but if you’re a solid six and a ten walks up to you in a bar anxious to take you home, be suspicious. It’s possible they’re not only interested in your sense of humor. James Stacey, Hodinkee’s New Editor-In-Chief While we normally don’t cover industry news as such, we’d like to take a moment to congratulate our friend James Stacey who recently took the reins as Editor-In-Chief over at Hodinkee. James is a good dude, half of the team at TGN along with Jason Heaton, a gifted writer/photographer, and a longtime believer in the Use Your Tools ethos, at least when it comes to GMTs. James is a friend of both W.O.E. and myself and has been a great resource as we have grown our platform. While we admit Hodinkee has faced its share of challenges in recent years, we’re excited and hopeful to see where the platform goes with Stacey at the editorial helm. Rolex Purchases A 1963 President Day-Date Belonging To President Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt (Photo Credit: Sotheby’s) On December 6th, a 1963 gold President Day-Date sold at a Sotheby’s auction for an astonishing $840,000, well over the auction house’s $60k estimate. Far from the average mid-century Rolex, this watch was owned by late Egyptian President Gamal Nasser and given to him by Anwar El Sadat, his successor, in 1963. Dripping with provenance, the case back offers an inscription from Sadat, and the watch has been in family hands since Nasser’s passing in 1970, right up until his grandson elected to put it up for auction. Presidents Eisenhower and Nasser, photographed in New York in 1960. Nasser’s Rolex is just visible. Nasser was responsible for the 1952 revolution that destroyed Egypt’s British-controlled monarchy. His influence on the country’s political landscape and the broader Arab world’s relationship with the West are difficult to overstate. Intriguingly, the watch was purchased by the Rolex organization, marking another example of the Crown curating its history by buying important watches at auction, including a GMT-Master worn by Apollo 17 Command Module Pilot Ron Evans. We’ve written at length about watches and world leaders, but suffice it to say that especially for heads of state, a watch is never just a watch. We have asked our friend Tony Traina what this really means and he has pledged to write a more in-depth Dispatch in the near future, stay tuned. Final Thoughts With only a few days left in 2024, we hope you’ve enjoyed this holiday-sized portion of watch industry news and our pedantic commentary. Whether it’s Bernard Arnault catchin’ smoke over corporate espionage, new Trump tariffs that might make your next Seamaster more expensive than ever, a Syrian rebel leader’s watch transformation, a comedian being drugged and robbed of his Rolex, or the Crown itself buying yet another historically-important watch, December provided a ho-ho-whole lot of watch goodies to capture our attention. Before we close out the year, thanks again for your support. We’ve been amazed to see W.O.E. grow from the Instagram page that started it all to the website to our collection of purpose-built tools to the W.O.E. YouTube Channel. We have a lot more in store for 2025. Stay tuned. Happy New Year from all of us at W.O.E. If you enjoyed this article, please consider signing up for our weekly free newsletter for further updates HERE. Read Next: Watch Industry SITREP - November 2024

Omega Unit Watches, Vladimir Putin, The Seiko 6309, & A Black Pelagos FXD - It’s Been A Big Year With 2024 drawing to a close, let’s take a moment to recap some of the top Dispatch articles from this past year. To put it mildly, the W.O.E. Dispatch has grown by leaps and bounds, from sharing never-before-seen Omega Unit Watches to digging into the history of the legendary Seiko 6309 to picking some of our favorite military watches on the market. We have no plans to slow down in the new year, but for now, let’s see what resonated with our community in 2024. 10. CIA Timepiece Analysis: President Putin and Tucker Carlson Back in February, former Fox News talk show host Tucker Carlson interviewed former KGB officer and current Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. While much of the media coverage focused on the controversy surrounding Tucker, in this Dispatch, we focus on what we know best: the watches present at the meeting in the Kremlin. Putin’s watch history is particularly interesting as is his habit of removing his watch before interviews including this one. Continue Reading 9. Sangin Instruments - The Marine-Owned “Raider Rolex” I first heard of Sangin Instruments during TDY travel to a war zone while at CIA. At the time, I was responsible for a counterterrorism Covert Action program in the Middle East and I was traveling to visit the program on a flight with other CIA officers. During that trip, I began to notice Sangin Instruments watches on the wrists of SpecOps personnel, CIA paramilitary officers, and other case officers. For this closer look at the brand, I sat down with Sangin founder Jacob Servantes for a deep dive into how Sangin Instruments came to be. Continue Reading 8. The W.O.E. Tudor PVD Pelagos FXD Customizing My Dream Watch, The W.O.E. PVD Pelagos FXD When Tudor released the Black Pelagos FXD last year, I instantly knew I wanted one to land in my collection. Watches of Espionage is vehemently brand agnostic, but we have a special respect for Tudor, given the brand's seven-plus decade relationship with our community. The latest manifestation of that link, the Pelagos FXD, is the only modern “luxury” watch that was developed in collaboration with modern SpecOps units. Here, I discuss not only acquiring the Pelagos FXD but also my personal journey to have the watch PVD-coated. Continue Reading 7. Dear Panerai, Stop Putting the Navy SEAL Trident On Watches An Open Letter to Panerai, From Watches of Espionage Back in 2022, Panerai released the limited-edition “Navy SEALs collection”, intended for purchase by the public and not exclusively Navy SEALs. The prices range from $10,000 to $60,000, and the high-end models include an invitation to a multi-day Special Operations experience (Xperience) which is, for lack of a better term, corny. In this Dispatch, we examine why slapping a SEAL Trident on a watch is not the right thing to do for so many reasons and on so many levels. Continue Reading 6. The Murky World Of Counterfeit Rolex Fake Watch Shopping In Istanbul -  A Case Study Most articles on fake, or “replica” watches cover topics like “How to spot fake Rolex?”, “How much does a fake Rolex cost?”, or “Where to buy a fake Rolex?” These are all interesting topics, but we wanted to go deeper into the counterfeit luxury watch industry. Backed by a somewhat unhealthy fascination with illicit activity, arms dealers, wildlife trafficking, and organized crime, I went counterfeit watch shopping in Istanbul, Turkey. After all, there’s nothing like first-hand experience Continue Reading 5. The Most Iconic Military Watch Of All Time? The Seiko 6309 One Of History’s Most Important Diving & Military Watches Was Also One Of The Most Attainable Backed by impressive military history, a utilitarian design format, widespread adoption in our community, and a more attainable price point compared to other icons in the world of undersea timekeeping, the 6309 is among the most important diving and military watches of all time, full stop. In this Dispatch, W.O.E. team member Benjamin Lowry argues the humble 6309 is the most iconic Watches of Espionage watch of the last five decades. Issued to and worn by SEALs, Pararescuemen, Special Forces, and others, Ben might even be right. Continue Reading 4. Bezels & Blades - Tools With A Purpose Timepieces & Watches Have Deep Meaning In The NatSec Community For our community, watches are tools, functional items we integrate into our daily lives. Meant to last a lifetime and be passed down to the next generation, their “value” isn’t monetary, it's derived from our shared experiences with these inanimate objects. There are a lot of parallels between our relationship with timepieces and knives, two things that are present with every SpecOps and intelligence practitioner both historically and today. In this piece, we explore the relationship between bezels and blades. Continue Reading 3. The Best Military Watches For Land, Sea, & Air A Capable Timepiece Is An Essential Tool For Service Members While we admit most modern military members utilize digital tool watches (D.T.W.) to perform their duties, a growing subset of the military and the Intelligence Community value the combination of utility, heritage, and mechanical intrigue presented by analog timepieces. In addition, many outside the military reach for military watches because they provide not only a rugged aesthetic but also a higher level of legibility and durability in comparison to more pedestrian options. In this Dispatch, we present our choices for analog watches intended for military members operating in the most common environments: land, sea, and air. Continue Reading 2. A Mystery Death in Oslo, An Intelligence Op Gone Wrong? An unidentified woman was found dead in a luxury Oslo hotel. Was “Jennifer Fairgate” an assassin, spy, or a troubled woman looking to disappear? Her timepiece is a clue to solving a complex puzzle that reads like a Hollywood thriller. In this mystery Dispatch, we discuss what is known about Jennifer Fairgate’s death while also sharing our theories about the real story behind the young woman who died in an Oslo hotel room all those years ago. Continue Reading 1. Omega's Modern Unit Watch Program Frogmen, SEALs, & The US Secret Service Omega has a long history of producing watches for the military, most notably the classic Seamaster 300 made for the British Royal Navy. Today the company is continuing that history with special production “Unit Watches,” and appears to have standardized its program, offering a unique Seamaster Diver 300M solely to military and law enforcement units. The options for customization include the unit insignia on the caseback as well as a name/call sign or other identifier associated with the individual. In this piece, we share Omega Unit Watches from the Danish Frogman Corps, US Secret Service, US Navy SEALs, and other legendary units. Continue Reading – Thanks again to everyone who read an article in 2024. We couldn’t do any of this without you. We have a lot more in store for 2025. Happy Holidays and stay tuned. If you enjoyed this article, please consider signing up for our weekly free newsletter for further updates HERE. Read Next: Top Dispatch Articles of 2023 - Watches of Espionage

I Visited Tudor, Omega, IWC, & Breitling - Here Is What I Learned Switzerland is the epicenter of “watches of espionage.” The relationship to watches is obvious. Based on a watchmaking tradition going back centuries, Switzerland is home to the majority of luxury watch brands from Patek Phillipe and Rolex to Tissot and Hublot. The country’s connections to espionage are less understood. A historically neutral country, Switzerland houses several international organizations including the United Nations in Geneva, and is often the location of high-stakes intergovernmental meetings both overt and clandestine. Traditionally loose banking laws have also made Switzerland a convenient place for individuals to store wealth, regardless of the origin of those financial gains.    Needless to say, Switzerland is a country that I have visited many times and holds a special place in my heart. W.O.E. at Omega SA in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland The intentions for this trip were simple: to learn more about the Swiss watch industry and specifically brands that are closely aligned with our community. While Omega, Tudor, IWC, and Breitling are very different companies, the one thing they have in common is decades-old relationships with our community. Initially producing purpose-built issued military watches in the 20th century, today these brands are the leaders of modern unit watch programs.  IWC’s pilot’s watches, Omega’s Seamasters, Tudor’s extensive dive line, and Breitling's aviation-centric collection are accurately depicted as luxury items today, but they were all once purpose-built tools. “Watches of Espionage” is in the DNA of each of these companies and I would go as far as to say they would not exist or be where they are today without military end users. Breitling manufacturing facility in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland (W.O.E.) I was fortunate to meet with CEOs, watch designers/watchmakers, suits, and most relevant to W.O.E., the individuals that run each brand’s Unit Watch programs. The experience gave me a deeper appreciation and respect for the craftsmanship and resources it takes to build and sustain a leading watch company. I realize how unique it is to be granted access to these closed-off facilities and this level of openness is not something I take for granted. A Geography Lesson Geneva, Switzerland. Switzerland’s watchmaking industry is intriguing in that it spreads across the relatively small country’s varied geography and its many cultural boundaries. While many of the watch industry’s corporate headquarters are located in Geneva, Switzerland's second-most populous city, the majority of actual production including movements takes place in the Jura mountains spanning the country’s northwestern border. Traditionally, watchmakers expanded to this area to take advantage of an agricultural workforce that was dormant during the winter months, creating the “farmer watchmaker” heritage that many brands tout today. Map of Switzerland’s watchmaking centers. (Credit: Federation Of The Swiss Watch Industry) Swiss watchmaking also spans the country’s language barriers. Rolex/Tudor, which is headquartered in Geneva, is staffed primarily by French-speaking Swiss or French workers traveling across the border, but as you head north toward Biel/Bienne, Omega’s headquarters, language and culture shift to a blend of French and German influence. Breitling is also a brand of two cultures, with Swiss-German origins, a headquarters in German-speaking Grenchen, and a production facility in French-speaking La Chaux-de-Fonds. In contrast, IWC is located in Schaffhausen, near Zürich and just across the border from Germany, conducting nearly all of its business in German. Form Follows Function - Purpose-Built Tools Ander Ugarte (left) and Christian Koop are the head designers for Tudor and IWC, respectively. One of the highlights of the trip was meeting with Christian Koop and Ander Ugarte, the heads of design of IWC and Tudor, respectively.  Intensely passionate and masters of their craft, each walked us through the process and attention to detail involved in designing a modern watch for brands steeped in heritage and tradition.  The DNA of iconic watches like the IWC Mark series and Tudor dive watches can be traced back to the divers and soldiers who wore them over half a century ago. While today’s watches trend to luxury items vs real tools, a common phrase I heard was “form follows function.” The watches are still designed with the end user in mind, just as they were a century ago. Automation vs. Hand-Crafted Modern watchmaking is a fascinating blend of cutting-edge technology and centuries-old hand craftsmanship. The two most surprising aspects of visiting the manufacturing facilities of Breitling, Omega, and IWC were the number of robots/automated steps in contrast with the number of steps still requiring human touch. The manufacturing facilities are reliant on technicians and watchmakers from the rural areas of Switzerland, who still work farmers' hours, just as they did centuries ago.  Breitling watch technician. Each morning, hundreds of watchmakers and technicians arrive at the facilities, don sterile antistatic white coats and clean Crocs or Birkenstocks, and spend hours tightening tiny screws to spec or attaching dials to movements. It is a painstaking process and a truly remarkable juxtaposition of futuristic cutting-edge technology and traditional watchmaking. Trying my hand at watchmaking at IWC Schaffhausen. The result is a watch containing hundreds of components, all working in sync to tell you the time. The watches are then shipped around the world through complex dealer networks and intermediaries for you to purchase. Seeing this process firsthand is a remarkable experience and gives me a greater appreciation for the technical and logistical prowess required in Swiss watchmaking. Military Unit Watch Programs - Omega, Tudor, IWC, & Breitling A “Unit Watch” is a timepiece that is customized by the manufacturer for members of a specific unit or organization. Customizations can include the unit’s insignia on the dial and/or an engraving on the caseback. When it comes to Swiss watches, Tudor, Omega, and IWC are the modern leaders in the space and we have profiled each program in past articles.  An Omega Seamaster “Unit Watch” produced for the US Navy SEALs. (Photo Credit: James Rupley/W.O.E.) A cynical analysis of these programs would conclude they are sophisticated marketing initiatives, meant to garner publicity through leaks on social media. While I would argue they accomplish this goal in certain instances, the reality is the brands are largely hesitant to publicly acknowledge the partnerships. Swiss brands have spent decades carefully curating a specific narrative to position themselves as aspirational luxury goods. “Tudors of Espionage,” “Sketchy dudes wear Breitling”, and an iconic image of Omega Seamaster on the wrist of a Secret Service agent after an assassination attempt run counter to these carefully crafted narratives.  Diplomatic Security Tudor Black Bay 58. Further, in contrast to smaller brands like Bremont which garner significant revenue from military programs, for the large Swiss houses, it is costly to divert resources to customizing a dial or caseback for a relatively small batch of custom watches, which are also often sold at a discount. In short, these programs likely aren't big money makers for brands that measure watch sales in the hundreds of thousands of units. IWC Unit Watch for AH-64 pilots. So why do large luxury watch brands bother with Unit Watches? As far as I can tell, these programs are passion projects for individuals within each company and they are somewhat controversial for some brands. I have spent significant time with the individuals in charge of the unit watch programs and they are fiercely passionate about them. They truly believe that they are serving a greater calling by producing meaningful tools and heirlooms for our community. Not surprisingly, these individuals also appreciate what we are doing at Watches of Espionage. Watch Brands Are Businesses This one is so obvious that it shouldn't have to be said, but it's a simple fact that many watch “enthusiasts” often forget. The purpose of a watch company is not to make watches, it's to make money. Many of the individuals who work at the major brands are suits, marketing professionals, and technicians who could work for any number of companies in the luxury goods space. While some of them are passionate about watches, the majority of them likely do not consume watch content on their personal time and are not “watch nerds.” Swatch Group Headquarters, left is Omega building. (Photo CreditL Stefan Wermuth/Bloomberg) To be clear, while I enjoy making fun of suits as much as the next guy, this is actually a good thing. If you love watches like I do, then you should want watch brands to succeed… at making money. Headwinds for the watch industry are at an all-time high with Apple Watch sales surpassing the entire Swiss watch industry. It’s not a foregone conclusion that the most iconic brands like Rolex, Patek Phillipe, and Audemars Piguet will be around in 2074. For the most part, modern watches are luxury goods, meaning they are unnecessary. If they are not profitable, they will disappear. Watch nerds often shed crocodile tears on internet forums complaining about why brand X doesn't produce a specific watch or “listen to the community,” but the reality is brands generally make decisions based on mass market appeal. It may be a tough pill to swallow, but many brands do not care about enthusiasts, and from a bottom-line perspective, they shouldn’t. Ownership Matters As consumers, we often think of brands as discrete monoliths, independent entities that make design and product decisions in a vacuum. However, industry consolidation has led to four conglomerates owning the majority of the Swiss watch industry; Swatch Group, Richemont, LVMH, and the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation, the parent organization for Rolex and Tudor. Somewhat dated graphic showing ownership in the watch industry (Image Credit: Tony Traina, Rescapement) While in theory, the brands are independent or semi-independent entities, the reality is that Omega's decisions could impact the overall standing and profitability of Swatch Group as a whole, and IWC is just one node of the broader Richemont family. While Tudor often paints itself as an independent entity, when I visited Tudor HQS in Geneva, it was inside Rolex. It’s naive to think that there is no coordination between the companies. Breitling was purchased from the Schneider family by a private equity company in 2017 and whether we like it or not, the overall decisions of the brand are impacted by this ownership structure. (Photo Credit: Rolex) Conglomerates are a double-edged sword. On one hand, they offer access to capital and resources, Richemont and Swatch Group are multibillion-dollar conglomerates with robust infrastructure and supply chains. On the other hand, the conglomerates must ensure each company works towards the same goal, which likely limits independence and creativity at the brand level. Coopetition - Competitors Or Partners? Further, even between competing brands, there is a level of cooperation and sharing. Historically, the legendary Rolex Daytona utilized a chronograph movement supplied by Zenith. Even today, Breitling and Tudor, theoretically arch rivals, share movements, with Breitling utilizing several of Tudor’s base automatic calibers and Tudor receiving a modified version of the B01 chronograph caliber in return, a level of cooperation you aren’t going to see from Apple and Samsung. Tudor's MT5612 is produced by Tudor and voluntarily shared with Breitling, a rival watchmaker. (Photo Credit: Monochrome Watches) While they’re never going to admit it publicly, many of the biggest brands also look to the same suppliers for specific components from jewels to mainsprings to cases and bracelets to construct their “in-house” movements and complete watches. Third-party certifications like COSC and METAS are also utilized by multiple brands looking for a competitive advantage. Despite being fundamentally in competition, I heard several brand leaders admit the overall health of the Swiss watch industry is always in mind. A rising tide lifts all ships. For the industry to succeed holistically, the brands must balance being fiercely competitive with a measured level of cooperation. While it was created in collaboration with Omega and an impartial third party, Tudor has also started instituting METAS testing and certification for some of its watches. (Photo Credit: Monochrome Watches) Tribalism Exists at Every Level Visit any social media watch page and the tribalism—visceral feelings for or against a specific brand—is evident. There are fewer general “watch guys” and more “Rolex” or “Omega” guys. The passion is real and watch nerds think their brand is the best and everyone else sucks. The individuals I met at each brand were fiercely proud of the product they produce, which is cool to see. While they were professional enough to not bad mouth another company outright, it's clear that they truly believed their brand was the pinnacle of modern watchmaking. While this may sound like a negative, this intense conviction to be the best was inspiring. If I buy a Tudor, Omega, Breitling, or IWC, I like knowing that the people making it in the mountains of Switzerland are true believers. Heritage Matters Omega museum, Biel/Bienne, Switzerland When you buy a watch, you are not just buying the components, you are buying a piece of history. One of the most educational aspects of the trip was visiting the museums of Breitling in Zurich, Omega in Biel/Bienne, and IWC in Schaffhausen. For the brands I visited, the history is rich and compelling, and on full display. Breitling Emergency Prototype (Breilting Museum, Zurich Switzerland) Of course, the brands emphasize certain periods and events to carefully curate a narrative, but they are still compelling because it’s authentic.  Omega’s museum had numerous watches worn by astronauts, soldiers, and spies, both real and contrived (Bond, James Bond). IWC was founded by an American soldier, Florentine Ariosto Jones who fought for the 13th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment during the Civil War and would go on to produce watches for both the Allies and the Germans during World War II, something the museum refreshingly does not gloss over. Breitling’s DNA is rooted in aviation, having provided issued watches during both World Wars decades before becoming a go-to option for those operating on the fringe of sketchiness in the 1990s and 2000s. These museums are open to the public, and I encourage you to visit if you find yourself in Switzerland. The great thing about the country is you can get pretty much anywhere in a few hour train ride. Left is an issued “MN” Tudor MilSub on an original strap, fashioned from parachute webbing. The one on the right was a unit purchase gift for a retiring officer. It was purchased through the MN Rolex-certified watchmaker, Yves Pastre who had a workshop in Toulon. (Photo Credit: Tudor Archives/W.O.E.) Unfortunately, Tudor does not have a museum, but they did provide us access to their extensive archives of military-issued watches and prototypes. This will be the subject of a future Dispatch and the spice level was high. Swiss Watch Marketing is Antiquated I have written in the past about the sophisticated marketing machines behind the Swiss watch industry and this trip confirmed that thesis (Read Here). The major brands, including IWC, Tudor, Omega, and Breitling, have masterfully curated a narrative based on decades-old craftsmanship and history, that makes them leaders in a crowded industry.  In addition to co-opting watch media, they spend millions of dollars a year sponsoring sporting events, recruiting celebrity ambassadors, and producing slick marketing material. Watches and Wonders, an international watch and jewelry industry organized by the Watches and Wonders Geneva Foundation. (Photo Credit: Wikicommons) While I am by no means a marketing expert, I am intimately familiar with human nature. I get the feeling that the brands are reliant on what has worked in the past and not focused on the future, or for that matter the present. Celebrity ambassadors, event sponsorship, film product placement, and heavily-curated “new releases” are masterclasses in Marketing 101 but the modern consumer is savvy and the media landscape has changed. Legacy watch publications have declined in recent years and have been replaced by a plethora of dispersed voices. There are TikTokers, Youtubers, and podcast hosts who are more influential than Tom Brady and even James Bond. The Swiss watch industry appears slow to adapt to the new landscape and continues to fall back on tried and true methods. Given its age, watchmaking as a whole is steeped in tradition and slow to adapt, especially when it comes to reaching the younger consumers the industry so desperately needs to continue. W.O.E. in Schaffhausen, wearing the same IWC Mark XVII I wore while operational at CIA. Does visiting a facility impact how I will cover them? To date, we have kept the traditional watch industry at arm's length distance, something that frankly much of the industry is okay with. That said, as we have grown our audience we owe it to our community to present thoughtful and unbiased commentary on the watches and brands that are aligned with our ethos. I made some great friends and contacts on this trip and am grateful for the level of access I was granted. It will continue to be a balance between nurturing these relationships and remaining unswayed by the influence of the brands on content. Despite some of the critiques above, my appreciation for the Swiss watch industry in general and these legendary brands in particular could not be higher. I am grateful for those individuals who made this trip possible and thankful for the time and effort of the teams in Switzerland. There are several threads to pull on from this trip and we plan to write additional stories on IWC’s “Top Gun” unit watch program, recent developments in Omega’s unit watch offerings, and the real story behind the Tudor FXD. Thank you all for the support, more to come. -W.O.E. *Note, as with all of our content, this is not sponsored by Tudor, Omega, IWC, Breitling, or any other brand. If you enjoyed this article, please consider signing up for our weekly free newsletter for further updates HERE. Read Next: W.O.E. 2024 Holiday Gift Guide - Top Picks From Other Brands

Our Favorite Tools & Accessories From The Community To help you get the most out of your holiday shopping this year, we are back with another list of our top picks from a wide range of brands close to our community. As always, we do not offer any special discounts or codes, which is not to say the brands aren’t running any of their own discounts. We are highlighting these tools because we believe in them and use them ourselves. Nothing you see here is sponsored. If you’re shopping for the watch enthusiast or gear nerd in your life, this list is a great place to start, representing a wide variety of categories and price points. For a curated list of great options from the W.O.E. Shop, click HERE. *As a reminder, we will be closing up shop on Saturday 14 December at 2000 EST this year for our holiday break. Please be sure to get your orders in before then.* If we missed anything, please be sure to share any other great gift ideas in the comments down below. We are always in the market for new tools and specifically love to support small businesses, people, and brands doing innovative things. Happy holidays from W.O.E. We appreciate the support and genuinely couldn’t do any of this without all of you. Watches: For a full list of watch recommendations at every price point, see The Best Military Watches For Land, Sea, & Air. Arabic Seiko SNKP21 - $134 (Photo Credit: James Rupley/W.O.E.) A staple in our community, the so-called Seik-W.O.E. is one watch that is both incredibly affordable and close to our hearts. To read more about a CIA Officer’s love affair with the Arabic Seiko, click HERE. The best part about it?  You can order it on Amazon and it will be at your door tomorrow. CWC SBS Divers Issue - $775 (Photo Credit: James Rupley/W.O.E.) Backed by some of the most legitimate military connections in the tool dive watch game, the CWC SBS Divers Issue is a staple Swiss-made military diver offering fixed lugs and a blacked-out PVD case. Tudor Pelagos FXD GMT - $4,625 Released back in October, the Tudor Pelagos FXD GMT is the next chapter in the brand’s decades-long history working with the Marine Nationale or French Navy and the first time we’ve seen a GMT caliber inside a Pelagos. EDC Tools: Prometheus Design Werx SPD Ti-BarT - $69 Built to the standard you’d expect from a quality blade, the SPD Ti-BarT from our friends at PDW is a highly capable, elegant, precision machined, multifunctional pocket pry bar tool for many of the everyday tasks and chores that your pocket knife can't do. Leather Works Minnesota No. 9 Wallet - $110 Our friends at Leather Works Minnesota produce many of the leather goods you see on the W.O.E. Shop including our Travel Pouches while also offering an impressive array of items under their brand name. We’ve been using one of their No. 9 Wallets for years and have always been impressed by the American craftsmanship and quality. Tactile Turn Buccaneer Pen - $149 Made largely by hand in Texas by our pals at Tactile Turn, the Buccaneer is the brand’s pen designed for Davy Jones or Captain Blackbeard, produced from titanium with a real 24kt gold plated bolt, a custom Cerakote paint job, and laser engravings on both the deep-carry clip and top. Whiskey Leatherworks The Rocks Glass - $55 If you’re like us and overspend on quality whiskey, why not also get bougie with your glasses? The Rocks Glass from Whiskey Leatherworks provides a set of two US-made glasses with leather wraps made from full-grain Brown English Bridle leather from Wickett & Craig. OffGrid Faraday Bag Mobile - $32 If security is at the top of your list, a Faraday Bag from OffGrid protects invasive signals while also giving you a great place to store (and shield) your device and other EDC items. We have talked at length about the risks of Ubiquitous Technical Surveillance and this is a great tool to mitigate some of that risk. Sandstorm Kenya Canvas Sylvester Work Bag - $289 A bag I use every time I travel, the Sandstorm Kenya Canvas Sylvester is manufactured in Kenya from recycled safari tent canvas and premium leather. This particular bag is big enough for a laptop, documents, and accessories. Bergeon 7825 Spring Bar Tweezers - $169 (Photo Credit: Orion Watches) If you’ve ever struggled to remove a bracelet from a watch without scratching the back of the lugs (we’re looking at you, Tudor), these Bergeon Spring Bar Tweezers are a lifesaver, making a challenging process much easier albeit at a cost. They aren’t cheap, but this is a buy once, cry once kind of thing. Other Stuff: TGN Supporter Subscription - $100 TGN is a community of like-minded individuals who believe in using their tools. Our friends and hosts Jason Heaton and James Stacey break down their love for adventure and shared addiction to watches while also (loosely) discussing travel, diving, driving, and gear. A subscription to TGN includes a grey TGN strap (of course), stickers, and access to additional content. Ad Patina - Prices Vary The best in the business when it comes to sourcing, curating, and framing advertisements both vintage and modern, Ad Patina is a great option for a watch enthusiast looking to complement their collection with something for the wall. Bad Art Nice Watch - Prices Vary ​​If you want something completely custom, why not commission a piece on your favorite watch from Bad Art Nice Watch? North Carolina artist, Bryan Braddy, combines his passion for watches with his love for art. What started as a doodle at his kitchen table with his daughters has blossomed from a hobby into a business. The concepts of wabi-sabi as well as the acceptance and contemplation of imperfection guide the principles of his style. Books: For a more in-depth reading list, check out our previous dispatch article, W.O.E. CIA Reading List Part 1 - The Global War On Terror HERE. G-SHOCK, Ariel Adams - $37 G-Shock chronicles 40 years of history for an almost indestructible, affordable, resin-cased digital watch that has risen to prominence in our community. From 1983’s DW5000C to the brand’s current position as a favorite among hype beasts and the military alike, this is a great one for anyone who appreciates Digital Tool Watches (D.T.W.). If you haven’t watched our video on G-Shock, check it out HERE. The Main Enemy: The Inside Story of the CIA's Final Showdown with the KGB,  Milt Bearden & James Risen - $14 In Milt Bearden and James Risen’s The Main Enemy: The Inside Story of the CIA's Final Showdown with the KGB, the authors, a 30-year Agency veteran, and a journalist, share stories of espionage from the Cold War from an insider’s perspective. Marine Nationale: Vintage Military Watches of the French Navy, Scott Heileson - $100 One of the most celebrated partnerships in the arena of tool watches is the 70-year link between the Marine Nationale or French Navy and Tudor. In Marine Nationale: Vintage Military Watches of the French Navy, author and collector Scott Heileson shares an in-depth history of the collaboration as well as museum-quality examples of many of the issued watches. A Die Hard Christmas: The Illustrated Holiday Classic, Doogie Horner - $21 There are probably a few of you out there who don’t think Die Hard was a Christmas movie. Luckily, it’s ok to be wrong every once in a while, and Doogie Horner’s A Die Hard Christmas: The Illustrated Holiday Classic is even more compelling evidence of the film’s holiday spirit, presented in a new and fun way. Targeted: Beirut: The 1983 Marine Barracks Bombing and the Untold Origin Story of the War on Terror, Jack Carr & James M. Scott - $15 Like many in our community, we are big fans of Jack Carr’s Terminal List book series and its protagonist, James Reece. Targeted: Beirut: The 1983 Marine Barracks Bombing and the Untold Origin Story of the War on Terror is the author’s first foray into non-fiction, discussing the 1983 bombing of the US Embassy in Beirut and the attack’s lasting impact on the rise of global terrorism. 2054: A Novel,  Elliot Ackerman & Admiral James Stavridis USN - $17 In 2054: A Novel, the authors continue their series with a dystopian future set twenty years after the last installment where a drastic advance in artificial intelligence prays on America’s violent partisan divide to create an existential threat to the country. This is one of those fictional pieces that provides commentary on what is happening right here and now. Vickers Guide: Heckler & Koch, Volume 3, Larry Vickers & James Williamson - $135 In Vickers Guide: Heckler & Koch, Volume 3, authors Larry Vickers and James Williamson continue their beautifully photographed series with a detailed history of the production of rifles and machine guns utilizing the roller-delayed blowback operating system at Heckler & Koch. A Man & His Watch: Iconic Watches and Stories from the Men Who Wore Them, Matt Hranek - $22.50 One of the most commonly gifted books for watch enthusiasts has to be Matt Hranek’s A Man & His Watch: Iconic Watches and Stories from the Men Who Wore Them. With professional photography of great watches and intriguing personal stories from the men who wear them, this book illustrates once again that a watch is never just a watch. Clothes & Shoes: ThruDark Heritech Moorland Fleece - $234 One apparel brand close to our community is ThruDark, which was co-founded by Anthony Stazicker CGC and Louis Tinsley, both operators from the UK Special Forces. Their stuff ain’t cheap, but quality seldom is, with the Heritech Moorland Fleece serving as a great example. Clarks Desert Boot Suede - $150 Originally developed in Cairo’s Khan el-Khalili bazaar, the Desert Boot traces its origins to WWII when Commonwealth Forces began wearing these simple suede boots while fighting in the North African campaign. Today, the Clarks Originals Desert Boot in suede is the OG, and the standard pair of suede Desert Boots is one of the few looks that’s never out of place. Relwyn Quilted Insulated Tanker Jacket - $318 It may be more of a cool-guy fashion brand, but Relwyn makes great jackets I often use for travel including the Quilted Insulated Tanker Jacket I wear all the time. Based on old-school military tanker jackets, the Relwyn has enough tech features to be capable while looking casual enough to wear just about anywhere. Field Ethos The Magnum FE Hat - $30 Deep down, we all want to be Thomas Magnum at least a little bit, and the Field Ethos Magnum FE Hat calls back to Magnum’s iconic lid while also celebrating our friends (who are also animals) at Field Ethos. Burly Selleck mustache not included. Goodr Bosley's Basset Hound Dreams - $25 If you’re of the Use Your Tools mentality, sunglasses can have a hard life. The best inexpensive sunglasses I’ve found capable of stacking up just fine against the expensive boys are from Goodr. For $25, the Bosley's Basset Hound Dreams are worth a shot. Spirits: Belle Meade Bourbon - Prices Vary We’re not bourbon hipsters, but Belle Meade’s bourbons are one of our top choices for casual sipping that isn’t obnoxiously expensive. If you’re newer to “fancy” bourbon, this is a great place to start. Hooten Young Whiskey & Cigars - Prices Vary Founded by former US Army Special Mission Unit Member (MSG RET) Norm Hooten and Tim Young, Hooten Young is another great example of entrepreneurship coming from Global War Of Terror SOF veterans. More than a novelty item getting by on its SpecOps associated, I’ve enjoyed every bottle I’ve tried from them. They also produce premium cigars. Four Branches Bourbon - Prices Vary Four Branches is a brand founded by four veterans from four different branches that produces high-end bourbon on a small batch basis. We were introduced to the brand by RJ Casey, a friend of W.O.E. who served with US Army Special Forces before joining the US Air Force Pararescue community. Knives: Winkler Knives Crusher Belt Knife - $375 Executed by craftsmen under the direct supervision of Master Bladesmith Daniel Winkler, Winkler Knives was born as a result of requests from special operators for edged weapons and tools to suit their unique needs. The Crusher Belt Knife is small enough for IWB use while being stout enough for a wide variety of use cases. Wolf Forty Designs SEAF - $350 Another brand producing edged tools with SpecOps in mind is Wolf Forty Designs. Their SEAF is the product of three Special Operations Veterans looking to take the best features from the knives they’ve used and combine them into a single multi-purpose 8-inch blade. Tabasco - $3 (Priceless) If you didn’t know this was coming, you probably should have. Three bucks for the world’s finest hot sauce. Enough said. W.O.E. Gift Card If you’re still lost after all of that, the best option could be the Watches of Espionage Gift Card, instantly available via email in a range of denominations from $50 to $300. – As we close in on the holidays, we sincerely hope this gift guide has helped you find the best holiday gifts of espionage from some of our favorite brands. From everyone here at W.O.E., we appreciate your support and are excited to show you everything we’re working on for 2025. If you enjoyed this article, please consider signing up for our weekly free newsletter for further updates HERE. Read Next: 2024 Holiday Gift Guide - Top Picks From The W.O.E. Shop  

Straps, Storage Options, & Other Purpose-Built Tools For Our Community 2024 has been a year of incredible growth for Watches of Espionage, with more articles on the Dispatch every week, the addition of our first full-time team member (intern), Benjamin Lowry, an Instagram following 185k strong, the launch of our YouTube Channel, and an ever-growing collection of tools on our site. Before we do anything else, thank you all for your continued support. The end of the year also means it’s time for the holidays, and we admit that watch enthusiasts and other gear-oriented people are notoriously hard to shop for. With that in mind, we assembled some of our top picks from the W.O.E store. Whether you’re shopping for yourself or trying to find exactly the right gift for the watch nerd in your life, this list includes a wide range of price ranges representing our most popular categories. *We will be closing up shop on December 14th this year for our holiday break. Please be sure to get your orders in before then.* Straps: One of the single best gift ideas for a watch enthusiast is a strap, a relatively inexpensive way to give a watch a new look. For a comprehensive look at the entire W.O.E. strap collection, click HERE, but here are some of our recommendations for this holiday season. NEW - W.O.E. FKM Rubber Strap - $85 More than a year in development, the new W.O.E. FKM Rubber Strap is produced to our specifications from FKM or fluoroelastomer, the highest quality rubber material on the market, and paired with a custom engraved 316L stainless steel W.O.E. buckle. 007 Bond Nylon Strap - Five Eye - $35 In honor of filmmaking’s most legendary secret agent, the 007 versions of our Five Eye Nylon Watch Strap provide three distinct patterns recognizable to Bond fans paired with our custom matte weave nylon construction, custom 316L stainless steel “WOE” buckle, a reinforced stitched tip, and beveled keepers. Glomar Explorer - Hook And Loop Watch Strap - $47 to $49 Available with either stainless steel or new PVD black hardware, the Glomar Explorer Hook And Loop Watch Strap is a premium execution of the classic hook and loop nylon straps favored by divers for decades. Gear: In addition to straps, we offer a wide variety of EDC or everyday carry tools not intended for watches. These are great options fit for virtually anyone who appreciates quality, utility, and W.O.E. The Mosebey Blade - $358 Inspired by Bill “Bwana” Mosebey, a legendary Africa Division Case Officer, The Mosebey Blade is a fully customized all-purpose blade made in the USA from premium domestic materials. Leather & Canvas Moleskine Notebook Cover - $145 Produced by hand by our friends at Leatherworks Minnesota, the Leather & Canvas Moleskine Notebook Cover is made from full-grain leather and U.S. government spec canvas and intended to fit the (included) Moleskine Classic Softer Cover Notebook. W.O.E. Spearhead Dad Hat - $35 We didn’t reinvent the wheel here, they are hats. That said, this is the ultimate “if you know, you know,” and if someone recognizes you wearing the W.O.E. Spearhead Dad Hat, you are sure to have a new friend. The Vespers Copper W.O.E. Flask - $89 For the adult beverage connoisseurs in the room, the Vespers Copper W.O.E. Flask is made of food-grade stainless steel coated with copper and wrapped with American-tanned English Tan Dublin leather from The Horween Tannery in Chicago. W.O.E. 3 Patch Pack Hook & Loop - $25 One of our best options if you’re unsure where else to look, our hook and loop-backed W.O.E. 3 Patch Pack includes three unique designs referencing key aspects of our “Use Your Tools” ethos. Watch Storage: Whether you’re traveling internationally or just want a great way to store your collection of tool watches, our watch storage options are custom-made to suit the high standards of our community. The Diplomat 4 Watch Roll - $165 Produced in the United States, the Diplomat 4 Watch Roll safely holds four watches while being hand-sewn in the USA with American-made waxed ripstop canvas and leather. Travel Pouch and Challenge Coin - $138 Our first custom tool and still one of our favorites, the Travel Pouch and Challenge Coin set is produced in the United States by our friends at Leatherworks Minnesota from US-tanned SB Foote leather and repurposed M81 camouflage material. 6 Watch Storage & Travel Case - $78 If security and safety from the elements are your primary concerns, the 6 Watch Storage & Travel Case is our best option, offering water resistance as well as custom-cut interior foam to safeguard your collection. W.O.E. X-Pac Strap Pouch - $42 Manufactured by hand in the United States from X-Pac, a waterproof three-layer material with a rugged camouflage 500D Cordura face fabric, the X-Pac Strap Pouch is an excellent option for straps, tools, or chargers. Home & Office: Whether you’re deeply into watches or not, our home and office collection provides excellent daily tools everyone can use to stay organized while demonstrating membership in our community. EDC Travel Valet & Bottle Opener - $115 For keys, watch accessories, or other small items, our EDC Travel Valet & Bottle Opener set is made from full grain leather and Mil-Spec canvas while coming with a custom metal bottle opener complete with the W.O.E. Spearhead insignia. W.O.E. Use Your Tools Coffee Mug - $35 If there’s one thing watch nerds and the military can agree on, it might be the importance of coffee. Our Use Your Tools Coffee Mug is handmade in the USA and complete with our Spearhead logo. W.O.E. Gift Card - $50 to $300 If you’re still lost after all of that, the best option could be the Watches of Espionage Gift Card, instantly available via email in a range of denominations from $50 to $300. – As we close in on the holidays, we sincerely hope this gift guide has helped you find the best holiday gifts of espionage. From everyone here at W.O.E., we appreciate your support and are excited to show you everything we’re working on for 2025. If you enjoyed this article, please consider signing up for our weekly free newsletter for further updates HERE. Read Next: Tactical Watches & Christmas Films - Die Hard, Lethal Weapon & Home Alone

Trump’s NatSec Pick Wears A Rolex, New Omega Seamaster, Yakuza Stealing Luxury Watches, Giuliani Surrenders Watch Collection, & $50B Worth Of Submariners By Benjamin Lowry Welcome back to the Watch Industry SITREP or Situation Report, a brief recap and discussion of the previous month’s watch-related news and any other current events pertaining to our community. Here in the United States, Thanksgiving has come and gone and November is officially at an end. If it hasn’t already, Mariah Carey’s seminal work, "All I Want For Christmas Is You" will soon be bombarding your ears to harden your resolve ahead of another bustling yuletide season. But for now, let’s keep our sight picture squarely on watches and espionage. November offered a plethora of watch-related happenings from the worlds of politics, national security, and crime. In case you missed it, the US presidential election unveiled a new (old) president, with at least one of his potential appointments demonstrating solid watch taste likely related to his intriguing background. In addition, we have an updated Omega Seamaster, a legendary Japanese crime syndicate getting in on the watch theft trend, politicians surrendering watches, and some impressive Rolex stats. Trump’s Former SpecOps Pick For National Security Advisor Wears A Rolex GMT-Master II Rep. Mike Waltz is, like many members of US Army Special Forces, a Rolex guy. A few weeks back, President-elect Donald Trump asked Mike Waltz to serve as his national security advisor (NSA). We’re not here to comment on the political ramifications of Waltz serving in the role, but the Republican Representative from Florida does have quite the resume, having served in US Army Special Forces during the Global War On Terror and earning a total of four bronze stars (including two for valor). Waltz in Afghanistan wearing a Digital Tool Watch (D.T.W.). Embodying the adage that all a Special Forces man needs are “a star sapphire ring, a Randall knife, and a Rolex”, Waltz has been spotted on several occasions wearing a GMT-Master II, likely reference 126710 also known as the “Batman”. W.O.E. has been known to call the Rolex GMT-Master the perfect CIA Case Officer’s watch. With Waltz and SF legend Billy Waugh serving as excellent anecdotal evidence, the model family has strong roots in Special Forces as well. (Photo Credit: Green Beret Foundation) In another photo from the 80th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy, France where Waltz jumped from a WWII-Era C-47, he is seen wearing an older Rolex GMT-Master II with the all-black bezel, potentially a reference 16710, on a nylon pull-through strap, clear indication Waltz is at least a little bit of a watch guy. A New Omega Seamaster Diver 300 Bares A Striking Resemblance To Unit Watches (Photo Credit: Omega) Leaked during the Olympics on the wrist of wannabe spy Daniel Craig, Omega finally officially unveiled its revamped Seamaster Diver 300. It’s not a meteoric change compared to the preexisting model, moving to a non-date format, transitioning from ceramic to aluminum for the dial and insert, and adding a mesh bracelet option. While we don’t typically cover new releases, there is an uncanny resemblance between the updated Seamaster Diver 300 and recent examples from Omega’s modern unit watch program that has outfitted the US Navy SEALs, US Secret Service, and the Danish Frogman Corps, to name a few. The US Secret Service Omega Seamaster unit watch. It would be a stretch to say the new watch was developed as an answer to the hype surrounding Omega’s unit watch program after the US Secret Service variant was spotted on the wrist of an agent during the attempted assassination of President-elect Donald Trump, but in any case, we’re happy to see one of the most popular luxury dive watches move in a more utilitarian direction better suited to the Use Your Tools lifestyle. Yakuza Suspected In Coordinated Luxury Theft Of 172 Rolex Watches An alleged Yakuza member wearing a Rolex Submariner “Bluesy”. (Photo Credit: Sabukaru) Recently in Osaka, Japan, a delivery van loaded with over 170 new Rolex watches was stolen while its driver left the vehicle unattended and unlocked for “around three minutes”. Three individuals have since been arrested in connection to the theft, with one having strong ties to the Yakuza, a legendary organized crime syndicate with roots dating back 300 years. As you’d imagine, the van was later dumped after being emptied of its horological contents, which had an estimated value of $1.9M. If your AD has been dodging you, now might be a great time to check Chrono24’s Japanese Rolex listings… I’m just saying. Also in Osaka, a store clerk and police detained a would-be robber after he attempted to flee with four luxury watches. While much of the conversation surrounding watch theft in 2024 revolves around European cities including London and Paris or New York and Los Angeles in the United States, this coordinated robbery demonstrates a growing trend in Japan. In contrast to the strongarm robberies often perpetrated in Europe and the US, watch thefts in Japan are, other than this delivery van robbery, typically characterized by organized smash and grabs of high-profile retail locations. For another example of an organized crime syndicate focused on watches and jewelry, check out our recent Dispatch on the Pink Panthers (HERE). Rudy Giuliani Surrenders 26 Luxury Watches After $148M Lawsuit L Giuliani wearing a Shinola chronograph that appears to have been among his surrendered watches. Former New York City Mayor and Time Magazine Person of the Year Rudy Giuliani has been ordered to surrender 26 luxury watches as well as a 1980 Mercedes-Benz SL 500 formerly owned by movie star Lauren Bacall. This comes after Giuliani’s meteoric $148M loss in a defamation lawsuit filed by two Georgia election workers following the 2020 US presidential election. Giuliani has been the subject of no shortage of financial concerns as of late, and it looks unlikely that he will be able to repay the $148M, hence the surrender of many of his personal effects which also includes a $5M apartment on the Upper East Side. A screen capture from Ted Goodman’s video on X showing some of Guiliani’s surrendered watches. (Photo Credit: X) On November 14th, a spokesperson for Giuliani, Ted Goodman, posted a video on X showing 18 watches and a ring he said were in the process of being turned over to relevant authorities. According to court documents, these watches include Bulova, Shinola, Tiffany & Co, Seiko, Frank Muller, Graham, Corium, Rolex, IWC, Invicta, Breitling, Raymond Weil, and Baume & Mercer.  In the video, Goodman goes on to say, “This is the accumulation of 60 years of hard work. Many of these watches hold great sentimental value.” Whatever Guiliani’s watch collection is worth, it’s a small drop in a $148M bucket. The Total Value Of The World’s Rolex Submariners Surpasses Many Nations Analysis of data released in the recent Rolex Submariner book provided surprising conclusions. (Photo Credit: Hodinkee) Based on analysis of the production data for Rolex Submariners released in the Crown’s recent book, Oyster Perpetual Submariner—The Watch That Unlocked The Deep, the combined value of all of the nearly four million Submariner and Sea-Dweller models produced over the years adds up to a weighty $50B. It’s an astonishing figure, but the real revelations stem from contextual analysis of what a number like that means. We would have guessed the total value of Rolex’s Subs would have been a lot, but still… $50B is, for example, greater than the GDP or gross domestic product of countries like Jordan, Tunisia, Bahrain, El Salvador, Cambodia, and Iceland (according to 2023 World Bank Data). Of course, you can’t compile all of the world’s Submariners into an unholy Scrooge McDuck-style pool of gold doubloons, but the world-beating figure does help to illustrate the size of the global financial impact commanded by Rolex SA over the decades, which also turned over no less than $10B in 2023. We’re not here for Ernst Blofeld comparisons, but what kind of bargaining power and political influence does that offer to a brand that is already also among the most recognized on Earth? There’s a reason they call it “The Crown”, and it ain’t just the logo. Final Thoughts As we brace ourselves for the holiday season, we sincerely hope you’ve enjoyed your monthly helping of watch industry news and commentary. From a former Special Forces guy being picked to work in the White House with a Rolex Batman on the wrist to Rudy Giuliani’s forfeited watch collection to a Yakuza luxury watch heist, and an astonishing Rolex statistic, the November gales of watch industry content blew fast and strong. If you appreciate this format or have other stories you’d like to see covered in next month’s SITREP, please do not hesitate to let us know in the comments. If something about our coverage offended or upset you, we’re confident you’ll have no trouble expressing your concerns as well. If you enjoyed this article, please consider signing up for our weekly free newsletter for further updates HERE. Read Next: Watch Industry SITREP - October 2024  

US Navy-Issued Doxas, Rolex, & A Complete Surprise By Benjamin Lowry The US Navy’s SEALAB experiments of the 1960s were pioneering attempts to prove man’s ability to live and work on the sea floor for an extended period, supported by a specialized underwater habitat. The techniques and equipment developed for SEALAB I, II, and III would later be used in shadowy underwater espionage targeting the Soviet Union, but SEALAB is better remembered to watch enthusiasts for some of the legendary watches used by some of history’s boldest divers. In this Dispatch, I’ll share how a chance encounter with a piece of handwritten history forever alters our understanding of the watches of the Navy’s final SEALAB project. __ For someone like me, the Man In The Sea Museum in Panama City Beach is something akin to paradise, providing one of the world’s most impressive collections of vintage military diving memorabilia, much of it related to SEALAB. Given the timing, SEALAB is associated with some of history’s great tool dive watches and played a key role in the development of the Rolex Sea-Dweller. Artist’s rendering of SEALAB III, the Navy’s final experiment to prove men could live and work on the sea floor. (Photo Credit: US Navy) But, despite what the internet may say, Rolex isn’t the only name in the SEALAB game. Thumbing through old binders while volunteering in the museum’s library, I came across an issue log for dive watches hand-written in 1968 by a SEALAB legend. The usual suspects including Rolex were there, but the log also illuminated the outsized role played by Doxa as well as another Swiss brand I would argue no one would ever guess. In this Dispatch, we’ll look to archival evidence, interviews with surviving Aquanauts, and a few educated guesses to provide the most complete picture ever assembled of the watches of SEALAB III. Man In The Sea Museum, Panama City Beach - 2022 My dad and I were hard at work cataloging and organizing the library in the Man in the Sea Museum when we came across a document that stopped us in our tracks. In this increasingly digitized world, there are still a few horological secrets lost to history waiting to be uncovered, the type of secrets that haven’t been converted to PDF. The same watch stories make the rounds again and again, some amazing discoveries are put forth by genuine horological enthusiasts, and some stories are haphazardly cobbled together by brands to help push more watches. Searching for dive watches in vintage photographs at the Man in the Sea Museum is the stuff of legend. (Photo Credit: Man in the Sea Museum) Most are somewhere in between. Watches have never received the amount of attention they do today. Record-keeping for the sake of enthusiasm or posterity was not common practice. This is also true in the arena of dive watches, fostering a healthy debate about the actual timeline of the introduction of the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms, Zodiac Sea Wolf, and Rolex Submariner, in particular. Except when it comes to the military. In military settings and especially diving, recording every bit of minutiae is an occupational necessity, a matter of life and death in certain cases. Luckily, as a Coast Guard veteran turned commercial diver, it happens to be my area of interest, which is how I found myself volunteering to help organize the Man in the Sea Museum’s stacked but admittedly disheveled library a couple of years ago. The Man In The Sea Museum is home to the original SEALAB habitat as well as an incredible library full of old US Navy records. Leafing through records from the SEALAB programs, I came across a few scribbled lines on notebook paper that validated my years-long horological quest to understand the role of tool watches in the United States military, particularly in underwater applications. Along with these handwritten records, I uncovered hundreds of photographs from SEALAB that had yet to be digitized, and therefore, had yet to be seen by the watch community, until now. A dive watch enthusiast’s dream. An archival photo from the SEALAB program shows Dr. George “Papa Topside” Bond (left), Captain William Nicholson (center), and Commander Jack Tomsky (right). Tomsky is wearing a Doxa Sub. (Photo Credit: Man in the Sea Museum) I went through binder after binder of records from all three of the Navy’s SEALAB experiments. I was looking for something that clued me into what equipment was used, particularly what watches were used. These aquanauts recorded everything. It was part of their job, of course, but the level of detail was staggering. A detailed record of saturation dives undertaken in a chamber at the Navy Experimental Diving Unit (NEDU) preceding SEALAB III. (Source: US Navy) Finally, after hours spent carefully flipping through delicate aged paper and deciphering faded handwriting from the ‘60s, my efforts paid off. A list of the exact watches that were used on SEALAB III. And when I say exact, I mean it—right down to the serial numbers. And it came directly from one of the aquanauts, meticulously detailed like everything else about the mission. While several watchmakers have established SEALAB connections—including an excellent article by Justin Couture detailing the role potentially played by Aquastar—some of the brands mentioned in the log had never really been in the SEALAB conversation before, let alone with hard evidence of being officially issued by the US Navy. If I could, with the help of friends and former Aquanauts, prove the veracity of this hastily written log, our understanding of military dive watches would be forever altered. Here is the handwritten log that sent me so deeply down the rabbit hole. The original handwritten log was reportedly penned by none other than Bob Barth, the only aquanaut to serve on all three SEALAB missions. For the sake of legibility and to aid in deciphering the shorthand, I have—with help from surviving aquanauts—added some context to the list to help give us a better picture of who these watches were issued to. Watches Issued On 03 Sep 1968 SEALAB III Rolex, 25 jewels Cyril Tuckfield, Chief Petty Officer, USN     Rolex, serial 1478174 Derek J. Clark, Petty Officer First Class, Royal Navy    Jaquet Droz Keith H. Moore, Machinist’s Mate Second Class, USN Doxa William P. Lukeman, Leading Seaman, Royal Canadian Navy Doxas Issued To Aquanauts On 23 Sep & 27 Sep 1968 SEALAB III Doxa 6665358 Keith H. Moore, Machinist’s Mate Second Class, USN Doxa 6665354 Cyril F. Lafferty, Lieutenant Royal Navy, Team Leader Doxa 6665425 James H. Osborn, Lieutenant Commander, Civil Engineer Corps, USN Doxa 6665416 Leo Gies Lieutenant Commander, USN Doxa 6665364 Richard M. Blackburn, Aviation Ordnanceman First Class, USN Doxa 6665367 Mark E. Bradley, Lieutenant Commander, Medical Corps, USN Doxa 6665417 Robert A. Bornholdt, Lieutenant, USN, Team Leader   Aquanaut Bob Barth’s Rolex Submariner Ref. 5512. (Photo Credit: Hodinkee) Unsurprisingly, we see the usual suspects on the wrists of the aquanauts, starting with Rolex, although it’s important to note that what was sometimes recorded as Rolex was sometimes actually a Tudor Submariner, as Rolex took care of distribution and delivery. In ‘69, the US Navy had a contract with Tudor that had already begun in the late ‘50s, so there’s a chance these watches came from that procurement arrangement. A brand associated with anything but diving in 2024, I was surprised to see Jaquet Droz mentioned in the issue log from SEALAB III. Looking through the list, something else stood out immediately. “JK Droz” was listed in the records as having been issued to an aquanaut. Surely not the Swatch-owned atelier producing automatons that cost six figures and watches with all sorts of crazy enameling and decorations. Jaquet Droz isn’t a name you hear in the W.O.E. sphere often. The brand has never once been mentioned on this site before, and they certainly don’t fit in with the “Watches of Espionage” crop of brands. As usual, there are layers to the story. But first, let’s look at the watches from brands we do know something about: Doxa and Rolex. While Doxa has been loosely associated with SEALAB and Navy Divers in the past, the discovery of this document adds clarity to the brand’s official position as a US Navy-issued watch during the SEALAB experiments. Digging deeper into the Doxa watches on the list, the brand’s serial numbering convention has been well documented by MKWS, a Doxa expert on Watchuseek. MKWS posits that Doxa introduced a 7-digit system where the first two numbers correspond to the year of production. In the case of all the models issued to SEALAB, that number is 66, which would suggest they were produced in ‘66, at least in theory. Officially released in 1967, there are only a few other examples of Doxa Sub 300 models from 1966, meaning the US Navy was among the earliest adopters of the brand. If that’s not an endorsement for a new-to-market dive watch, especially when Navy Divers already had access to Rolex and Tudor Submariners, I’m not sure what is. A Doxa Sub 300 from 1967. (Photo Credit: Analog:Shift) Interestingly, the only Rolex serial number listed also registers as being produced in ‘66 (Rolex serial numbers of that era aren’t an exact science, but can be traced to an approximate year of production). This all checks out, as the gearing up for SEALAB III would have taken place during this time. SEALAB II had been a successful mission in ‘65, and SEALAB III took some time due to engineering requirements and modifications that allowed the habitat to go significantly deeper than the previous two missions, 610 feet as opposed to 205 feet for SEALAB II and 192 feet for SEALAB I. The Vietnam War also put pressure on budgets for such a novel and costly project. Bob Barth (right) wearing his Rolex Submariner 5512, one of many Rolex Submariners used on the SEALAB missions. Much of the equipment and material—including watches—for the final SEALAB program was likely carried over from SEALAB I and II. After Doxa, the second most present brand appearing in the logs was Rolex, and the Crown had certainly been ever-present in underwater exploration for nearly a decade at the commencement of SEALAB III. Bob Barth, the only aquanaut to have dived on all three SEALAB missions, was reportedly instrumental in developing the Rolex Sea Dweller. This SEALAB III Rolex Submariner is not on our list but was owned by Leo Gies and sold by Bonhams in 2015. (Photo Credit: Bonhams) Barth dove with his Rolex Submariner on SEALAB I and II, so it’s no surprise to see several Submariners listed in the SEALAB III records. Another Rolex Submariner was issued to Leo Gies who is recorded on our list as having received a Doxa. Gies’s Submariner—which was sold by Bonhams on behalf of the Gies family in 2015—was engraved “SEALAB III” on the back, which makes its absence from our list all the more interesting. Maybe there is another handwritten log out there. Our research continues. We’ll do another Dispatch on the role of Rolex in US Navy Undersea Research, but for now, let’s continue by discussing the role played by Doxa in the dive watch landscape of the late 1960s. Doxa & Diving In The 1960s Georges Ducommun founded Doxa in 1899, and the company quickly developed a reputation for producing a broad range of dress and sport watches—but the brand will always be best remembered for its contributions to the world of undersea timekeeping. In the 1960s, Doxa was one of the front-runners when it came to producing watches specifically for professional diving applications. The “skin diver” category of watches was well established, with sporty watches suitable for recreational water activity. These came out of the recreational diving boom of the late ‘50s, but as diving equipment became more technologically advanced, so did the need for a watch that could handle significant depth and pressure, but more importantly, remain legible in murky water. This is where Doxa’s signature design element surfaced; the company found that a specific hue of orange was most visible underwater. The bright orange “Professional” dial became their calling card. Legendary oceanographer and filmmaker Jacques Cousteau wearing a Doxa Sub 300T “Sharkhunter”. The Sub 300 and later 300T models emerged from Doxa’s design and field studies and quickly became a popular diving watch for professionals—the intended target segment, and the military alike. The Swiss Armed Forces purchased and issued this model to Swiss combat divers in approximately 1970. Bolstered by its inclusion in Clive Cussler’s thriller novels, the orange dial and “beads-of-rice” bracelet have become a common sight in recreational and military dive communities ever since. The model also became popular because it was championed by none other than French oceanographer Jacques Costeau. Doxa & The US Navy A Navy Experimental Diving Unit photo from the early 1970s shows a Doxa Sub 300T Professional in use. (Photo Credit: Richard Blackburn) With a better grasp of the brands and watches on the list, our next step was to track down and speak with the surviving aquanauts, one of whom provided a bombshell about the written log’s author. When we reached out to aquanaut Richard “Blackie” Blackburn, he took one look at the log and confirmed that it was the handwriting of none other than Bob Barth, the Bob Barth who helped create the Sea-Dweller, pioneering the use of a helium escape valve in watches in the process. Barth was also, according to Blackburn, the man who kept track of where all the Navy’s Doxa Sub models and other watches were going. Unfortunately, Barth passed in 2020, so we weren’t going to be able to ask him directly about the log, but our research carried on. It’s also important to note there is no mention of the Doxa Conquistador in our log, which is a specific version of the 300T equipped with a helium escape valve. For more on the rarest Doxa Sub variant, check out Perezcope’s research on Doxa’s role in developing the helium escape valve. Given SEALAB was a saturation diving experiment—the one environment where you need the valve—it would have made sense for Doxa to have sent over the Conquistador, but we found no definitive evidence of this being the case. There are numerous examples of Doxa Sub models being used by Navy Divers, but their role in SEALAB hasn’t been confirmed until now. (Photo Credit: Man in the Sea Museum) The next step was taking stock of exactly what was issued using the records and then matching those serial numbers with the watches on the wrists of aquanauts, if possible. It was time for the detective work. While many have passed—SEALAB III took place 55 years ago—five of the aquanauts listed in the log as the recipients of Doxa watches are still alive today. We started by tracking down their contact info and cold-sending emails to these legends of undersea exploration. Doxa 6665364 Richard M. Blackburn, Aviation Ordnanceman First Class, USN Taken while working on an oil spill in California after leaving the Navy, this photo shows Richard Blackburn’s Rolex GMT-Master, a gift from Bob Barth upon his retirement. Whether or not Blackburn ever received a Doxa remains a mystery. (Photo Credit: Richard Blackburn) When I sent an email to Richard “Blackie” Blackburn with my number in the signature, my phone rang about two minutes later. After identifying the handwriting on the log as that of Bob Barth, Blackie informed me he had no recollection of ever being issued a Doxa. But, he said it wasn’t that unusual to see his name on the log, describing Barth’s issue process for watches as being as casual as “trading a cup of coffee” for a watch in certain instances before noting the transaction in his log with whatever name and number moved him at the time. Years later, Barth made up for it, gifting Blackburn a Rolex GMT-Master with his name and “SEALAB III” engraved on the caseback, a watch that he lost to a shady watch repairman years later. Doxa 6665354 Cyril F. Lafferty, Lieutenant Royal Navy, Team Leader Cyril Lafferty during SEALAB III. (Photo Credit: Shared By Perezcope) Because of a photo circulating the web showing the former Royal Navy officer wearing a Doxa, I felt confident Cyril Lafferty, who was loaned to the US Navy SEALAB project by Her Majesty’s Royal Navy, might have the goods. While Mr. Lafferty confirmed he is the man in the photo wearing a Doxa, he said he had no recollection of being issued a Doxa watch or any other by the US Navy. He did remember being issued a Rolex or Omega by the Royal Navy, however. Later serving as the captain of the Royal Navy’s only deep-diving research vessel, HMS Reclaim, Lafferty went on to pioneer hyperbaric treatment techniques for multiple sclerosis. Doxa 6665425 James H. Osborn, Lieutenant Commander, Civil Engineer Corps, USN Then-LCDR Osborn preparing for a dive in 1968. (Photo Credit: Jim Osborn) In an email exchange with retired Captain Osborn, he confirmed he was issued a Doxa watch and wore it for all of the years he was an active Navy Diver before making the change to a Seiko in 1983, a gift from his wife when he retired from the Navy. Years later, Osborn sold the Doxa and a personal Rolex to a jeweler, saying, “The cash went into my pocket and I never gave it a second thought.” We may not have the watch or its serial number, but this is a second piece of evidence—after the Laffery photo—supporting the issue log we found. Doxa 6665416 Leo Gies, Lieutenant Commander, USN While I failed to contact LCDR Gies via email, the salty old Naval officer was kind enough to give me a call one Friday morning. Despite the passing of some five and half decades, Gies is razor sharp and remembered being issued a Rolex dive watch before receiving the Doxa when he joined the SEALAB III program. Sadly, the Doxa is no longer in his possession. After leaving the Doxa with a watchmaker in the 1970s, Mr. Gies explained he never saw it again, thinking it was perhaps sold under dubious circumstances. It’s the kind of thing that could break a watch enthusiast’s heart, but for Gies, another lost diving tool wasn’t a huge deal then or now. In any case, Gies’s recollection serves as another hard firsthand link confirming the US Navy’s issue of Doxa watches during SEALAB III. Doxa 6665358 Keith H. Moore, Machinist’s Mate Second Class, USN I met Omar Moore in 2022 at a SEALAB reunion. He was wearing a Navy-issued Doxa T-graph, the stuff of legend. The hardest to track down was ironically the only aquanaut from the list I have met in person, Keith “Omar” Moore. On the very trip where I discovered the issue log in question, I also attended 2022’s SEALAB reunion. Moore attended wearing the impeccable example of a Doxa T-Graph photographed above, a watch he says was also issued to him by the Navy in 1968, before its commercial introduction in 1969. Could one of the serial numbers on this list belong to Moore’s T-Graph? After several unanswered emails, I asked a couple of the other aquanauts I connected with to vouch for me to Moore. 1968 photo of Omar Moore showing the incredible amount of gear worn by divers training for SEALAB III. (Photo Credit: US Navy) It did the trick. One morning a few days later, the phone rang. Moore informed me he was indeed issued a Doxa on one of the days listed in our note. He remembered Bob Barth setting up a small folding table not unlike a bake sale where SEALAB III divers and support staff could go and make an argument for why they should be issued a watch. Moore’s rapport with Barth was good, and Moore distinctly remembered Barth throwing him his brand new Searambler dial Doxa in its box from “across the room”. Where Barth got the watches from is unclear, but it is at least possible Doxa sent the watches to Barth directly or in the care of Barth because of his status as one of the “celebrity” aquanauts along with Mercury 7 astronaut Scott Carpenter. In any case, a few months later, Barth gave Moore another Doxa, this time the then-pre-production T-Graph chronograph. Moore remembered using both extensively in training dives and while supporting the construction and installation of the SEALAB III at no less than 610 feet of seawater off the coast of California’s San Clemente Island. “Mr. Moore, can I take a photo of your watch?” “Sure, man, whatever”. Unfortunately, when I was finally able to confirm the serial numbers of  Moore’s Doxa, both of which he still has, neither matched the handwritten log. Here are the numbers as read (and confirmed) from Moore’s Doxa watches: Doxa Sub 200 T-Graph - Serial: 6675653 Doxa Sub 300 Searambler - Serial: 717923 How the documented serial numbers manage to differ from Moore’s actual watches is anyone’s guess. Perhaps the recordkeeping on Barth’s part was simply not great—a theory Moore seconded—or the names and numbers had become mixed up as could easily happen with any piece of diving equipment. The idea that the first two numbers of a Doxa serial number indicate the year is also not watertight at this point as we are pretty sure the T-Graph wasn’t around in 1966 when the Doxa Sub itself was in its infancy. There are other examples of vintage T-Graphs with “66” as the beginning of the serial number, so I believe Moore’s example to be correct. Omar Moore’s incredible Doxa Sub 200 T-Graph. While it isn’t the smoking gun I was hoping for—a perfect match between the serial numbers on the handwritten log and the caseback of a Doxa Sub owned by a surviving Aquanaut—we’ve done more than enough to prove the role played by Doxa during SEALAB III and after, serving as an intriguing addition to the annals of dive and military watch history. Of course, the mission to record these stories for posterity is never over, so let’s finish with a closer look at the role played potentially by Jaquet Droz during SEALAB III. Though the log lists Moore as the recipient of a “JK Droz”, he has no memory of the watch. The plot thickens… An Unexpected Contender Jaquet Droz produced dozens of dive watches during the 1960s and 70s. Could some of them have been used on SEALAB III? The records indicate that several “JK Droz” watches were also issued alongside the Doxa models. If that sounds familiar, that’s because it sounds like the modern luxury brand “Jaquet Droz” that produces intricate automaton watches. And there is indeed a connection—but let’s get it straight—aquanauts were not wearing complicated watches featuring mechanical butterflies and singing birds worth tens of thousands of dollars during SEALAB III. Pierre Jaquet-Droz was a prolific watchmaker and automaton producer in the 1700s based in the Swiss city of Neuchatel. His name looms large in the Swiss Jura watchmaking region, and that makes it the perfect borrowed name for a brand—or many. Throughout the years, a few brands have resurrected the Jaquet Droz name to capitalize on his fame and imply a quality product, but many of these have a tenuous connection at best. They all originated in the same area of Switzerland, but that’s about it. It’s next to impossible to know for sure, but there are a few watch sightings in SEALAB archives that could be Jaquet Droz. The "JK Droz" watches that were issued have yet to be spotted. They could well be one of the ones pictured above or below, but we have no conclusive evidence. Given the timeframe and the role of the watch, it makes sense that the watch came from Jaquet Droz SA registered by Dr. Charles-Edouard Virchaux in 1964. The name was used to brand watches in the “Coopérative” that he ran. The Coopérative was essentially an OEM manufacturer that produced what were known as “catalog watches” that could be branded by any number of clients. (Photo Credit: Naval Undersea Museum) His in-house brand became known as Jaquet Droz, and they produced watches that looked similar to watches from a number of popular tool watch brands at the time. In the photo above, the “C” case might appear at first glance to be an Aquastar—and it may well be—but indeed Jaquet Droz also produced models resembling this design. Since the logs indicate that a few “JK Droz” watches were issued, this may be one, possibly even a standard skin diver whose bezel fell off. We may never know, but with period ads boasting that there were 1000 distinct models available, the possibility is there. Jaquet Droz might not get named along with the usual undersea living and exploration watches of the ‘60s and ‘70s, but that’s just it—the story is constantly being written. With these documents, two new brands are imbued with the lore of the United States Navy’s SEALAB program. If you enjoyed this article, please consider signing up for our weekly free newsletter for further updates HERE. Read Next: The Dive Watch - How The Military Helped To Shape History’s Greatest Tool Watch  

SpecOps, Spies, & Military Watches In Movies Watches play a significant role in films, and an accurate depiction of a character often includes a watch they might actually wear. This is especially true in movies focusing on the military and intelligence. Whether we’re talking about mercenaries, arms dealers, CIA Officers, or Navy SEALs, a thoughtfully selected timepiece can complement a fictional character, lending a sense of credibility and bridging the gap between reality and Hollywood—especially for those in the know. Watches in popular films are also influential. Believe it or not, we know plenty of real spies and operators whose watch choices were influenced by movies. Take for example the Omega Seamaster and its connection to James Bond. Even though Omega pays big bucks to be the watch of choice for 007, the Seamaster has still become a go-to option for real-life intelligence officers, a classic case of life imitating art and vice versa. In our new video on the W.O.E. YouTube channel, we discuss some of the most accurate and intriguing depictions of watches in movies relevant to our community. Enjoy episode six of W.O.E. TV. Happy Hunting, -W.O.E.

New Omega & Tudor Watches For Military Pilots, Exploding Pagers, Stolen Astronaut Watch Recovered, & Even More Watch Crime  By Benjamin Lowry The Watch Industry SITREP or Situation Report, is a brief discussion of the preceding month’s watch industry news and current events related to the W.O.E. community. Based on feedback, we will ensure each story directly relates to Watches of Espionage and is not just a regurgitation of watch news you can get elsewhere. If you’re here looking for a hot take on the new Patek Philippe x Minecraft collab, you have come to the wrong place. Before we don our costumes and head out the door for Trick or Treat, this past month provided no shortage of intriguing W.O.E. stories, more watch-related crime, and even some explosive international espionage. To start, we have a rare Omega “unit watch” produced for a specialized aviation unit, once again showing the impact watches from within our community can have on the broader watch industry. Omega Speedmaster Flight Qualified “Unit Watch” The Omega Speedmaster Flight Qualified in action. (Photo Credit: Omega Forums) Thanks to a few cell phone photos from Navy SEALs, more widespread coverage of Danish King Frederik’s Frømandskorpset Omega Seamaster Diver 300, and most prominently, a watch worn by a member of former President Trump’s protective detail during his assassination attempt, the cat is very much out of the bag when it comes to Omega’s formerly secretive unit watch program. However, thus far, we’ve largely seen the Seamaster as the watch of choice for Omega’s customized military projects, that is until the leak and later confirmation of a novel variant of the Speedmaster available only to US Military pilots and navigators. The Omega Speedmaster Flight Qualified can be ordered by qualified US military pilots and aircrew and is available with a range of different case back insignia. (Photo Credit: Omega Forums) Most of the details surrounding the Omega Speedmaster Flight Qualified come from a military pilot active on Omega Forums, including an insane action shot of the watch in the cockpit juxtaposed against the edge of the Earth’s atmosphere—very cool. In contrast to the commercially available Speedy variants, the Flight Qualified offers up a color-coded display taking inspiration from Omega’s long-gone Flightmaster. According to the pilot on Omega Forums, you must be a qualified aviator, pilot, or navigator to place an order, and the watch is available with a range of different case backs to reflect specific insignia or squadrons. Our look at Omega’s unit watch program has become one of our most popular articles, and it’s great to see the brand broadening its collection of military-only offerings to include the aviation community. Tudor Pelagos FXD GMT & The Marine Nationale Following up on the original Pelagos FXD of 2021, the new Pelagos FXD GMT is yet another product of Tudor’s longstanding partnership with the Marine Nationale or French Navy. But where the original FXD was developed for diving with the combat swimmers of the Commando Hubert, the new watch was allegedly designed to meet the needs of the Aéronautique Navale, the MN’s aviation component. Coming from Tudor, this was a highly publicized release, and we plan to cover the watch in greater detail but will wait until we have information beyond what is already out there in press releases. At a glance, this is another cool release from Tudor that speaks directly to our community while also feeling like a great basis for future unit watches. Exploding Lebanese Pagers & The Dangers Of Connected Tech A crowd developed outside Beirut Medical Center as the injured poured in after the pager attack. (Photo Credit: Mohamed Azakir/Reuters) Expanding beyond the reach of the watch media, the preceding weeks also produced one of the more memorable and public instances of espionage in recent memory when pagers belonging to members of Hezbollah and others exploded in a coordinated fashion on September 17th. The pagers, which were developed and inserted into Hezbollah’s supply chain by Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency, were packed with hidden explosives and designed to explode almost in unison, causing at least 37 deaths and thousands of injuries. While the use of pagers is not widespread in 2024, Hezbollah has opted for simpler tech in recent years, forgoing cell phones and other more complex wearables that are easily compromised by Israeli intelligence. The remains of exploded pagers. (Photo Credit: Getty) What does this have to do with watches? We’ve written extensively on the counterintelligence risks of smartwatches, and this attack once again demonstrates the dangers of connected technology and the lengths intelligence services are willing to go to reach their adversaries. With this attack setting a precedent, it is conceivable that a future attack could incorporate compromising smartwatches through the insertion of explosives or other means. As the attacks in Lebanon again prove, any level of connection, even the relatively simple tech involved in a pager, is more than enough for lethal effect. Spymaster Mark Zuckerberg Joins The W.O.E. Community With A Series Of Deep Cuts A Patek, two F.P. Journes, and a JLC make for one hell of a watch enthusiast starter pack. Mark Zuckerberg is arguably the greatest spymaster of the 21st Century. Monthly active users of Meta products (Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) are estimated to be up to 3 billion people, approximately 37% of the world's population, a remarkable fact. Zuck knows who you are, where you are, and your deepest secrets. He wields significant political influence with the ability to curate what you see by enforcing opaque community standards. So it is no surprise that spymaster Zuck, an individual traditionally known to wear t-shirts and hoodies, has finally caved and given into the world of Watches of Espionage. We wish him the warmest welcome to our community! Zuck was also recently spotted wearing an F.P. Journe Centigraphe Sport Aluminium. Zuckerberg has jumped into watch collecting with both feet and a surprising amount of taste by billionaire standards, already adding a Patek Philippe reference 5236P perpetual calendar, two F.P. Journe models, and a more obscure JLC to his collection. Of course, a watch is never just a watch, and Zuckerberg is no doubt aware of the inferences people will make based on his newfound appreciation of horology. It’s not rare for someone with billions of spare dollars to get into watch collecting, but Zuck’s approach suggests he is actually a fan of real horology or at least well-advised by knowledgeable enthusiasts or collectors. FBI Recovers Stolen Space-Worn Speedmaster & Returns It To The Smithsonian Eisele wearing two Speedmasters during training for Apollo 7. (Photo Credit: Bloomberg) This isn’t a new story but rather a classic from a few years back that was recently augmented with new information thanks to a FOIA document request by Jason Leopold over at Bloomberg. We all know US astronauts were issued Omega Speedmaster watches purchased directly from the Swiss brand by NASA. Once reaching the end of their service to the Space Program, most astronauts were expected to return the watches to NASA which then donated many—including a space-flown Speedy worn by Apollo 7 astronaut Donn Eisele—to the Smithsonian. Later loaned to the Instituto Geográfico Militar, a museum in Quito, Ecuador in 1988, Eisele’s Speedmaster was stolen the following year and in the wind for almost three decades, which is where it gets interesting. Smithsonian Inspector General documents detailing the return of the Eisele’s Omega Speedmaster. (Photo Credit: Bloomberg) In 2017, a tipster informed the Smithsonian they believed the missing watch—which is valued at $400k—was in private hands in Texas. The Smithsonian’s Inspector General, which is a thing, contacted the FBI who then located and met with the current owner. After verifying the serial number and the watch’s authenticity, and following a few stern words from the FBI, the dubious collector agreed to return the Omega to the Smithsonian to avoid further legal ramifications. You have to love a happy ending. Surprisingly, a total of six Speedmasters used by astronauts are still missing after having been stolen while either on loan or en route to other museums, including the Speedmaster worn by Buzz Aldrin on the moon during Apollo 11. Space-Flown Rolex GMT-Master Sells At Auction For $1.73M Mitchell’s GMT-Master is believed to be the first worn on the Moon. (Photo Credit: RR Auction) Keeping the space theme alive, the first Rolex worn on the moon was auctioned off a few days ago, hammering for an astounding $1.73M (before buyer's premium), well above its $400k estimate. This particular GMT-Master was worn by astronaut Edgar Mitchell on Apollo 14, likely underneath his space suit, while his NASA-issued Speedmaster managed primary timing duties. We at W.O.E. mostly don’t care about auction results and want nothing less than to aid in driving already insane prices with any sort of media coverage, but at times, history and the often frustrating world of auction houses intersect, and Mitchell’s GMT-Master is an important piece of not only the history of space flight but also horological history. Mitchell wearing his GMT-Master during Apollo 14. As Omega’s marketing often reminds us, they are the watchmaker of manned space flight, but that isn’t to say there aren’t other players, which is particularly interesting when astronauts chose to wear Rolex watches in space in addition to their Omegas. Ours is clearly not the first generation of Use Your Tools watch enthusiasts. Having sold for well over 1.5 million dollars, this kind of thing is out of reach for virtually all of us but incredibly cool nonetheless. We may never know, but I can't help but wonder whether it was Rolex itself which purchased the watch. The Crown is no stranger to preserving its history by buying up important vintage examples. Man Robbed Of $100k Worth Of Luxury Watches In Las Vegas The scene of the crime. (Photo Credit: AP Photo) In a real-life homage to the classic 2009 film, The Hangover, a man was robbed of approximately $100,000 worth of luxury watches from Rolex and Audemars Piguet after a very long night in Las Vegas. According to the Las Vegas Review Journal, a man and his friend were approached by two women while enjoying an adult beverage at a bar at Encore Las Vegas. After a certain amount of discussion, the women suggested the men head upstairs where further vigorous interactions were intended to take place. The victim allegedly fell asleep in his room where he had been “hanging out” with one of the women before both ladies elected to leave. In what may be the least surprising piece of news this month, the sleeping victim was relieved of several luxury watches including, “...an Audemars Piguet watch with a black face and full diamonds, valued at $80,000, a Rolex Presidential watch that features a green face and full diamonds, valued at $25,000, and a Rolex Submariner “Starbucks” watch with a black face, valued at $15,000.” Bummer. The victim also sent a Zelle transaction to someone named “Nikaila” though he conveniently has no memory of who that person could possibly be or why he would have sent them money. Some mysteries aren't meant to be solved. As it happens, this story has at least one happy ending. Las Vegas casinos have a lot of cameras and both women have since been arrested after being identified in surveillance footage from the scene. We’ve spoken at length about traveling with watches, but suffice it to say you’re probably better off leaving your $100k watch collection at home when traveling to Sin City, especially if you’re hoping to make friends. And people wonder why everyone meets on Tinder these days… Final Thoughts Whether it’s a pair of watch-thirsty ladies of the night, a new Omega unit watch for aviators, the new Tudor Pelagos FXD GMT, an astronaut’s stolen Speedy, exploding pagers, or Zuck’s new watch-collecting habit, the preceding month or so offered a plethora of intriguing events relating to the W.O.E. community. We sincerely hope you guys have as much fun reading this column as we have writing it, and please be sure to share any events we failed to mention in the comments so they can be considered for next month’s SITREP. As they say, the more you know… If you enjoyed this article, please consider signing up for our weekly free newsletter for further updates HERE. Read Next: Watch Industry SITREP - September

A Watch Belonging To Adolf Hitler… Purchased By A Jewish Collector? At Watches of Espionage, we often explore the darkest corners of horology. Whether we’re talking about the watches of terrorists, mercenaries, war criminals, or dictators, nothing is off the table. We use watches as a medium to get to the human element; they are our prism to view the world. That said, when I heard Adolf Hitler's gold reversible watch was auctioned for $1.1 million, I paused, thinking I may have found a watch too controversial for even W.O.E. to cover. As I attempted to wrap my head around the sale of Hitler’s watch, the buyer’s motivations, and the lack of traditional watch media coverage, I found myself wading into a more complicated conversation. Watches serve as mementos, objects that transcend their utilitarian value by representing history’s best and worst moments. But for collectors of historically charged timepieces, where is the line? Should anyone be comfortable buying, owning, or wearing watches associated with some of the most evil people to walk the Earth? Let’s explore. Watches, Warfare, & Swiss-Neutrality Watches are inextricably linked with warfare and many premier luxury brands owe their designs, legitimacy, and very existence to providing tools to warfighters. Iconic brands like IWC and Panerai often tout their military provenance as tools of choice for pilots and combat swimmers. But what the marketing departments (understandably) downplay is that some of those pilots wearing IWC watches were German Luftwaffe (Nazis) and Panerai’s Italian frogmen were Decima Flottiglia MAS, early amphibious commandos responsible for sinking Allied ships in WWII. The truth is complicated. Some of the most prominent Swiss brands have willingly provided custom watches to murderous dictators, including North Korean Kim Il-Sung’s Omega Constellation, Syrian President Hafez Al-Assad’s Rolex Submariner 5513, and a series of Patek Philippe models made for Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi. Even by conservative estimates, these men are responsible for hundreds of thousands of innocent deaths, yet their watches continue to fetch significant sums. Auction houses and dealers have a clear ideological allegiance: money. But what about the collectors buying these watches? Nazi Watches? WTF? With the above-listed issues in mind, some watches are too controversial for us to touch, most notably the watches of Nazis. In July of 2022, a watch reportedly belonging to Adolf Hitler auctioned for $1.1M at a Maryland auction house, Alexander Historical Auctions. The gold watch was reportedly manufactured by German watchmaker Andreas Huber with a movement from LeCoultre, now Jaeger-LeCoultre, and bears Hitler's initials (AH), a swastika, and the date of his appointment as Chancellor of Germany: January 30, 1933. The watch was allegedly liberated from Hitler's residence by French soldier Sergeant Robert Mignot as a “spoil of war.” The buyer? Reportedly an anonymous Jewish bidder in Europe, a detail that would not be significant if not for the fact that the man who wore this watch was responsible for the genocide of millions of Jews during World War II.  When I heard this news I cringed, why would someone want to own a watch belonging to (arguably) the most evil person to ever live? I am by no means superstitious, but I wouldn't want that thing in my house, let alone on my wrist. But the news of the auction led me down a rabbit hole of introspection on the ethical dilemmas of watch collecting. When does something controversial cross over into taboo? At what point does the preservation of history turn into the promotion of hate? It's complicated and highly subjective. Controversial Timepieces I own and wear several “controversial” timepieces including a Blackwater Breitling Emergency, a Rhodesian military-issued Roamer, and a South African Navy-issued Tudor MilSub. The Tudor Submariner and Roamer are byproducts of apartheid-era conflicts, a controversial topic by any measurement. Blackwater is one of the most controversial private military contractors and also conjures up strong emotions for many. These pieces are more than the sum of their parts, they are wearable artifacts of specific periods in time and for me indicative of historical significance rather than ideological affiliation. I believe one can own them and not condone the behavior of the original end-user (for the record I am against apartheid in South Africa).  Hafez Al-Assad Syrian Dial Rolex Submariner 5513 To complicate matters more, I recently considered purchasing a Rolex Submariner 5513 made for the late former President of Syria Hafez Al-Assad. President Al-Assad was responsible for numerous atrocities, including the 1982 Hama massacre when the Baathist government besieged the town of Hama for 27 days, resulting in an estimated 10,000 to 40,000 civilian deaths.  Hafez Al-Assad Syrian Dial Rolex Submariner 5513 (Photo Credit: HairSpring) Why would I want to own this piece? Is it really that different from Hitler's watch? Having spent much of my life living and working in the Arab world, including Syria, something about the red Arabic signature on the dial speaks to me. Of course, this desire is by no means an endorsement of the Assad regime. On the contrary, much of my time at CIA was spent working against individuals like Assad. For me, it comes down to collecting context. By default, I think we should take a nuanced understanding of history, and exploring a topic, or a watch, does not equate to endorsement of the subject. Provenance & Watches Of Notable Historical Figures Marlon Brando's GMT-Master on set for Apocalypse Now, 1979. “Provenance” is a term used by collectors and auction houses to document the history of a watch’s ownership, modifications, and service history.  Whether Paul Newman’s Rolex Daytona or Marlon Brando’s Rolex GMT, watches with notable provenance fetch premiums as they transcend from “just a watch” to a historical artifact. Military watches are no different and those with documented provenance to a specific individual or unit can increase the value by a multiple of two or three. When it comes to celebrities and other benign “famous people,” the inherent value is widely recognized. But when you get into the gray area of watch collecting, the “value” of provenance can vary based on one's ties to what that item represents.  My prized possession (grail watch) is a South African-issued Tudor MilSub reference 7016 from approximately 1974. While I have no ties to the Apartheid-era South African Navy, I have spent much of my life living and working in Africa and have a particular interest in Tudor MilSubs. The provenance of this watch has a greater value for me than the average collector. Similarly, Israeli Defense Force (IDF) issued Tudor 7928s likely have a greater value to one with ties to Israel whereas those opposed to Israel may view these watches with disgust. So What Type Of Person Would Buy Hitler’s Watch? My initial thought was a neo-Nazi sympathizer, a Bond villain character who wants to wear the watch in his underground lair as he pets his hairless cat. And while this may be the case, the truth, and motivations are likely more complicated.  According to at least one report from the Washington Post, the auction house president claims the watch was purchased by an “anonymous European Jewish bidder.” Is it possible that an individual spent over a million dollars on this item to remember the defeat of the Nazis? As uncomfortable as this may sound, the answer may be yes.  On the shelf in my office is a WWII-era-German (read Nazi) Eagle Claw Scabbard and Mauser-Werke Luftwaffe pistol, both war trophies brought home from the European theater by my grandfather. These items are by no means intended to honor the Nazis and to be clear as an individual and a platform we are anti-Nazi. On the contrary, these items commemorate what my grandfather and the Greatest Generation accomplished, defeating Nazi expansion in World War II. Would I purchase them at auction? No, but they do hold personal value. Watch Collecting On A Spectrum Our willingness to preserve history through the collection of timepieces occurs on a spectrum. Most are willing to buy and wear a new military-inspired watch. Even pacifists can appreciate them for their connection to the past. WWII Allied watches like the Dirty Dozen are also generally uncontroversial given the belief that the Allies were on the right side of history. But once you pass this, the value of the provenance is subjective. Auction Houses Google the name of any major auction house and you are sure to find at least one significant controversy including “fake” watches, stolen artifacts, or items of religious or cultural importance. The trade is morally complicated, and auction houses are incentivized to maximize monetary gain. The fact that Hitler's watch was sold at a relatively obscure auction house suggests that the larger auction houses passed on these items, finding them too controversial. This raises another rhetorical ethical question, is it ok for auction houses to profit off of these sales? Conclusion Would I want to own Hitler's watch? Absolutely not. Despite what is written above, I still believe this watch is a physical representation of pure evil. It belongs buried in a tomb or maybe in a museum honoring the holocaust victims. That said, collecting controversial watches should not be immediately shunned and we should have an open conversation on the ethical considerations at each level. Engaging in thoughtful discussions about the implications of collecting these items and considering their historical impact is essential for navigating this complex issue. If you enjoyed this article, please consider signing up for our weekly free newsletter for further updates HERE. Read Next: The Watches of Hamas, ISIS, & the Taliban

Civilians Wearing Military Watches, W.O.E.’s Grail, A Perfect EDC Bag, & More In this edition of the Dispatch, we’ll answer some common questions we get about W.O.E., timepieces, and the Intelligence Community at large. Many of these responses can—and probably will at some point—serve as stand-alone stories, but for now, here’s some additional insight on Watches of Espionage. If you have any other questions, please ask in the comments section and we’ll do our best to answer them in a future article. See past questions “Ask W.O.E. Anything Part I”, “Ask W.O.E. Anything Part II”, and “Ask W.O.E. Anything Part III”. Is it OK for civilians to wear military watches or does this qualify as “stolen valor”? (Photo Credit: Panerai) Many watch brands and references are centered around a specific narrative and culture of professionals: the Omega Speedmaster and space exploration, the Rolex Submariner and diving, and IWC’s aviation watches.  With this marketing, there comes some form of cosplaying or larping and in general, this is fine and part of the fun of the passion. I will likely never travel to space, but I like the idea of wearing a watch that has and has been designed for that purpose. (Photo Credit: James Rupley/W.O.E.) Additionally, we have covered many military-inspired brands like Bremont, Marathon, and Sangin, which are intended for use by active duty and former military members. While they maintain a strong customer base in these communities, of course not all of the customers are tier-one operators. Overall, there is no problem with this and it is by no means stolen valor. “Military-inspired” is synonymous with tough gear that is meant to be used. However, I do struggle with commercially available watches with a branch or unit insignia on the dial. IWC’s Pilot’s Watch Top Gun, Marathon’s USMC GSAR, and of course Panerai’s “Navy SEAL” watches. While I still don’t think this is stolen valor as such and don’t have a problem with people wearing them, I personally would not want to wear a watch with an insignia on the dial that I have no direct connection to, i.e. a unit I did not serve in. (Photo Credit: Marathon Watch) With “unit watches,” it gets more complicated and, in my opinion, depends on the specific unit watch and how much time has elapsed since it was worn by those who earned it. In general, I think watches with a specific unit insignia on the dial or caseback should be worn by those who earned them, not those who can afford to pay the absurd premium they command at auction. Customized Tudors, Omega, Rolex, and even Breitlings have sold for well over $40,000, a remarkable number. That said, at a certain point these watches do become collectibles and it is fine to collect them. Where that line is, is highly subjective. What was your go-to EDC bag when you were at CIA? W.O.E. in the Middle East, Sandstorm EDC bag. As a Case Officer operating overseas, your job is to recruit spies and steal secrets. This calling requires frequent travel and operational activity in a range of environments, from diplomatic functions in European capitals to dark alleys in war-torn countries. A good EDC bag should support your persona (cover) and not immediately peg you as an American. This obviously rules out the tacti-cool bag with Velcro for your Punisher morale patch. While I was at CIA, I relied on “issued backpacks” that were purchased overseas and modified by CIA as well as man purses I acquired myself, most notably the Canvas Andrew Work Bag from Sandstorm, Kenya, a bag I still use regularly today. Sandstorm Kenya The fictitious representation of “Q” in James Bond is largely a figment of Hollywood imagination, but gear and spy gadgets have been an integral part of espionage since the early days of the Office of Strategic Services.  Prior to an overseas assignment, CIA Case Officers visit an obscure warehouse outside of Washington D.C. and are issued a range of gear from disguises and backpacks. For most assignments, the gear is not as exciting as it sounds, but there are some deep disguises available, as made famous by former Chief of Disguise for CIA, Jonna Mendez. Case Officer’s EDC The key for EDC bags at CIA is to use something that won’t make you stick out as an American, i.e. the ubiquitous North Face and Patagonia backpack. I spent much of my overseas time living and working in Africa and fell in love with a boutique manufacturer called Sandstorm, which makes canvas and leather bags out of repurposed safari tent material. The bags are durable and classy, at home in the back of a dusty Land Cruiser just as much as a first-class lounge in Amsterdam. They aren’t cheap, but nothing good is. If you are really trying to blend in, or at least not stick out, my advice is to buy clothing and bags locally, or at least outside of the United States or your home country. Save the tacti-cool bags for range day and family trips to Chucky Cheese.  Many microbrands you cover use watches or parts made in China, is this ok? I’m a red-blooded American and in an ideal world, all tools would be made in America, watches made in Switzerland, and Whiskey distilled in Tennessee. That said, with the decline in American/British manufacturing and watchmaking, the reality is there are some great watches (and tools) that are designed in the US/UK, but manufactured in China and East Asia. In my opinion, many of these watches offer great value for the customer and I own some of them. Elliot Brown Holton on Glomar Explorer strap (Photo Credit: James Rupley/W.O.E.) Obviously, there is a stigma with “Made in China” and in some ways, this is warranted but the fact is that the country, and the region in general, has specialized in high-quality manufacturing at a cost-effective price. The computer I am writing this on, and the device you are reading this on, are made in China. There has been an effort to “reshore” manufacturing and watchmaking back to the United States, but much of these efforts have come up lacking, with customer complaints about price and quality control. The key here is transparency. Designed/assembled/sewn in the USA can mean very different things and many manufacturers work to obscure the origin of products with clever language. I’m not saying that brands should lead with “Made in China,” or stamp the case back, but they should be at least open about it. (Photo Credit: Atelier DE GRIFF) There is a lot of smoke and mirrors in the watch and EDC industry and even “Swiss-made” means that the watch is assembled and tested in Switzerland but not that all the parts originate there. Legally, “Swiss Made” means “60% of production costs are generated in Switzerland, and at least 50% by value of all components is Swiss-made”, which gives a lot of wiggle room. While I won’t dime them out here, there are plenty of “Swiss watches” with significant inputs from China. When you’re traveling abroad as a civilian with an Agency background, what is your EDC? Case Officer’s EDC, just the essentials. First of all, I think people put way too much thought into “Every Day Carry” and not enough into mindset, training, and physical fitness. I am a minimalist and generally carry the same thing I did at the Agency, no crazy whizzbang tactical tools, just the essentials: pen and paper, folding knife, over $300 in cash, passport, tourniquets, and a Surefire Defender flashlight. An external battery is a necessity also. Check out a past Dispatch on “CIA Case Officer’s Everyday Carry - EDC” for more on my reasoning and experience with these tools. My personal EDC hasn't changed much in two decades and it likely won't change anytime soon. Assuming I can’t afford the real thing, how do you feel about homage watches as opposed to  “fake” or “replica” watches? We wrote an article about the counterfeit watch industry (Read HERE) and several people asked what my thoughts are on “homage” watches like a Seiko modified to look like a Rolex Submariner or GMT. I don’t necessarily have a problem with these, but I would never buy one personally. It's hard for me to determine where the line between homage and fake is and I wouldn’t someone to spot me from across the room thinking I am wearing a Rolex, then come to find out it's a homage. That said, there are some “homage brands” like Tornek-Rayville, Benrus, and Vertex, that essentially brought these brands back to life, and that is something I can get behind (I own a Tornek and love it). (Photo Credit: Modbrand) Congrats on your first video and the launch of the W.O.E. YouTube channel. How did you come up with this unique format? Our core competency at W.O.E. is storytelling, offering readers/viewers insight into our community through the prism of watches. The goal is to inform and entertain and while long-form articles (ie the W.O.E. Dispatch) are our preferred medium, the sad fact is that most people don’t read more than a couple paragraphs, preferring to take in bite-sized chunks of engaging video and photographic content. We knew video was inevitable and have been working on this for over a year. The school solution in launching a YouTube channel is to have an influencer sit in front of a ring light and offer spicy clickbait takes and “Top 10 lists” of the best watches. At W.O.E. we always aim to do something different so we decided to take the concept of our Dispatch articles and convert them into mini-episodes. This concept will evolve as we gain more resources. We have been overwhelmed with the response and plan to continue to release an episode every 2 weeks through the end of the year. Check out our first four videos HERE. What’s the best spy movie from a former Case Officer’s point of view? I like thrillers/spy movies as much as the next guy. Jason Bourne, James Bond, and Red Sparrow are all fun and entertaining experiences, but they are far from the reality of true espionage work which is months of hard work and lots of writing, punctuated by exciting moments and “cool” operations. The fact is most intelligence work is boring and if the movies were accurate . . . they wouldn’t be that interesting. Spy Game is one of my favorite movies and is entertaining, but also has threads of truth, particularly the training and mentorship of Tom Bishop, played by Brad Pitt. It’s still Hollywood, but a great watch, nonetheless. Argo and Charlie Wilson's War are interesting looks at historic CIA operations, however, I would recommend starting with the books. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and The Good Shepherd capture the methodical aspect of the wilderness of mirrors of the spy world, but also aren’t as exciting as the Bourne series. The Recruit is an interesting look at the training pipeline at “The Farm” and one that many from my generation watched multiple times prior to training. (Photo Credit: Black Hawk Down) Movies like Zero Dark Thirty and Black Hawk Down are less historically accurate, but interesting watches nonetheless. Regardless, if you want to learn about these events and what really happened, I would recommend reading the books first. Our W.O.E. Reading List (read HERE) is a great place to start. Last but certainly not least, Spies Like Us is a comedy with zero historical accuracy but does have a real cult following in CIA. “Doctor” can be heard in just about every CIA Station around the globe. Don’t sleep on it. If I’m down to two or three watches that all meet my criteria and price range, how do I decide? (Photo Credit: James Rupley/W.O.E.) One of the most common questions I get is people looking for help trying to decide between two or three watches they want to buy. Sometimes they are very different—like a Tudor FXD and a Breitling Aerospace—and sometimes they are similar references from the same brand. The answer is always the same, go with your gut. Continue to watch videos and read about the watches, but most importantly try them on at the store or borrow one from your watch friends. This is such a personal decision and nothing I say should impact your choice. Ultimately, go with your gut, and your budget.  Is there any watch that’s a grail for you, something you’d trade your entire collection for? W.O.E.’s South African-issued Tudor Submariner reference 7016. (Photo Credit: James Rupley/W.O.E.) Yes, no. A “grail watch” is the ultimate watch for a collector, something that they would never sell if they were able to acquire it. Like the “holy grail”, this watch is often unattainable, or incredibly unlikely to obtain. It’s more of a fantasy than a realistic goal. Pictured above is my South African-issued Tudor Submariner ref 7016 from approximately 1974, which is (was?) my grail watch. I acquired this piece from Ross Povey last year and it is my “prized possession,” I will never sell it. A Rolex Milsub is another grail for me, but I wouldn’t trade my entire collection for one. (Photo Credit: Bonhams) Moving forward, there are plenty of watches I would love to acquire including a Rolex MilSub and an Israeli-issued Shayetet 13 Tudor Sub 7928. That said, there is nothing I would trade my entire collection for. Many of my watches have personal value that transcends monetary value. The Breitling Aerospace I received from King Abdullah of Jordan (Read HERE) is probably worth a few thousand on the market, but to me, it is priceless. I have too many memories with that piece to let it go.    How do I buy a watch for my wife? (Photo Credit: Tudor Watch) This is a tricky one. I have purchased Mrs. W.O.E. several watches including a Cartier Tank, Black Bay 58, and a Patek Philippe Gold Ellipse. Despite my best efforts to woo her into the world of watch nerds, she couldn't care less. The fact is that women have more competition for their attention (and money) than men. While this is a generalization I am probably going to catch some smoke for, women are bombarded by messaging for and tend to covet handbags, shoes, earrings, bracelets, and necklaces whereas men traditionally have fewer personal items to consider. The watch industry has been desperate to acquire women customers and has made some headway, but it's still heavily tilted toward men. My advice is simple, bring your significant other to a watch store to try on a range of watches. If something speaks to them, then follow that thread. If not, don’t push it.    What is your favorite strap and why? (Photo Credit: James Rupley/W.O.E.) When it comes to W.O.E. products, I am our first customer and if it's not something I would use, then it doesn’t get made. That said, each of our product lines is very discrete and developed for different use cases. Just because you like one of our straps doesn’t mean you will like them all. The Glomar Explorer probably gets the most wrist time, particularly in warmer months. It’s such a versatile strap and works particularly well with both the Blue and Black FXDs, but also virtually any tool watch. With the new tightened strap keeper, there is no chance it is coming off your wrist.  Sizing can greatly vary on these straps, depending on the watch and your wrist size. (Photo Credit: James Rupley/W.O.E.) Second, I am a big fan of leather on field watches and divers and wear the Jedburgh, particularly on my older vintage pieces and watches like the Arabic Seiko.  From the start, it is a very comfortable strap with a low profile. (Photo Credit: James Rupley/W.O.E.) Lastly, I love all of our Five Eyes straps and wear them regularly. But when it comes to single-pass straps, I often defer to our past collaborations with Zulu Alpha and recently have been wearing the W.O.E. - Zulu Alpha 4.0 a lot. They are expensive, there is no way to sugarcoat that, but the quality of the hardware and fabric are night and day in my opinion. (Photo Credit: James Rupley/W.O.E.) The main point here is to find a strap that works for you.  There are so many variables in watches, wrist size, and preferences, that there is no one size fits all. I encourage you to read the (over 1,000) reviews on each product page and see what other people's experiences have been. Remember, it’s much easier to buy and try a lot of different straps than it is with watches… What current Rolex model family would you buy assuming no wait list and cost isn’t an issue? I am a big fan of Rolex, particularly vintage and neo-vintage Submariners and GMTs. I am a simple man and give me any Sub or GMT with an aluminum bezel and drilled lug holes and I will be happy. I have “expressed interest” in the new Black/Gray Rolex GMT Master II, and would love to get one, but I am not losing sleep over it. That said, the one piece I would kill for (not actually) is the Titanium Yachtmaster. However, these pieces are almost impossible to get and I am not willing to pay the excessive premium on the secondary market or play silly games with ADs to get one. I am ok with that. Watch buying advice? (Photo Credit: James Rupley/W.O.E.) Still, the most common question we get is on watch buying advice from newbies and experts alike. While the W.O.E. platform is geared towards telling stories from our community, we have considerable resources to answer these questions.  Please check out the following articles if you are new to the world of watches. Advice for Buying a Watch Best Watches Under $5,000 - Ask the Experts Best Watches Under $1,000 - Ask the Experts Best Military Watches If you enjoyed this article, please consider signing up for our weekly free newsletter for further updates HERE. – This Dispatch has been reviewed by the CIA’s Prepublication Classification Review Board to prevent the disclosure of classified information.

What Watches Teach Us About Political Messaging, Propaganda, & Manipulation In one month, the American public will elect the next President of the United States. In honor of another historic presidential race, our new episode on the W.O.E. YouTube Channel discusses the small but significant role played by the watches worn by US Presidents and the current candidates for Commander-in-Chief. Whether it’s Donald Trump’s collection of solid gold luxury watches, a Cartier on the wrist of Vice President Kamala Harris, or a humble Timex on the wrists of George W. Bush or Bill Clinton, watches are a subtle tool to communicate with constituents and influence potential voters. To be clear, W.O.E. is an apolitical platform. Our analysis of political figures and their watches is presented as an informational exercise not intended to align with one side or the other. If seeing a particular president or their watch upsets you, we recommend you take some deep breaths and consider spending more time outside. Don’t let the internet ruin your day. No matter where you fall politically, it’s important to keep in mind that every aspect of a president or candidate’s appearance—including the watch on their wrist—is carefully curated and intended to send a message. Remember, a watch is never just a watch. Happy Hunting, -W.O.E.

“Terrific” Trump Watches, Rolex Submariner Secrets, Shark Tank Tudors, & More Watch-Related Crime By Benjamin Lowry Last month, we tested a new Dispatch format offering a brief overview of notable watch industry news as well as a discussion of current events either directly or tangentially related to our community. Given the positive feedback on our first run, each month I will provide a brief overview of watch-related news and current events pertaining to our community, all paired with our commentary. As a disclaimer, our monthly Watch Industry SITREP (Situation Report) will never include vapid reporting about which Patek Philippe model Zac Efron pairs with his chiseled abs or what brands have paid to be included in this year’s Fashion Week. Most celebrity endorsements are sponsored anyway, and we frankly don’t care (unless it’s Daniel Craig). To quote Thomas Jefferson, “Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government.” While that is probably overstating the value of this watch and espionage-oriented platform, suffice it to say that knowledge is power and you don’t want to be caught sleeping on the big news at your next local watch meetup. That said, here are some notable watch industry events from this past month coupled with our commentary, starting with the recent unveiling of 45th President Donald J Trump’s very own collection of “luxury” watches. “That’s A Lot Of Diamonds. I Love Gold, I Love Diamonds” - Donald Trump Watches If you like gold and diamonds, which Trump says “everyone does”, the Victory Tourbillon could be for you. Bottom line up front, W.O.E. is an apolitical platform, but now and then, political figures cross over into our horological world and—as is the case here—require closer examination. Yesterday, Donald J. Trump revealed a new collection of watches headlined by a solid gold “Victory Tourbillon” that will set you back a cool $100k. If that’s out of your price range, there’s also the “Fighter”, sometimes also called the “Fight Fight Fight”, a dive-inspired model that presents a more reasonable $500 price point while still being equipped with an automatic Seiko movement. But as silly as they are, the watches, which are pre-order only for now, are not the news here. As always, Trump himself is the hook. Trump’s “Fighter” model will set you back a cool $499. In what feels almost like a parody or an AI deep fake, the website, GetTrumpWatches, is led by an embedded video that is the stuff of dreams. In the video, Trump introduces himself as your favorite president, proclaims that he is doing “quite a number with watches”, and that, “the quality to me is very important”. Describing the Victory Tourbillon by saying “This isn’t just any watch, it’s one of the best watches made” before launching into the number of grams of gold and the number of diamonds used in the Victory’s eye-watering six-figure design. No matter where you stand politically, watch enthusiasts must unite to enjoy this incredible minute or so of content. If you thought the front of the “Fight Fight Fight” was amazing, the back is even more terrific, though it does say the watch is rated to 200 meters where the specs indicate 100 meters. I digress. Further, the watches do not appear to be making America great again, with the FAQ section indicating the watches are made from “premium, Swiss-Made materials”, whatever that means, and saying proceeds from the watches do not support the former president’s campaign. Instead, the watches—whose country of origin is unclear—are a product of a licensing deal with TheBestWatchesonEarth LLC. With watch-specific and mainstream media eating these watches up—ourselves included—it’s difficult to fault Trump’s ability to remain at the forefront of the public eye. NFL Player Shot But Survives Attempted Rolex Robbery In San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Rocky Pearsall after being shot in an attempted Rolex robbery in San Francisco. In our last SITREP, we discussed watch-related crime including a still-at-large NYC man who placed victims in chokeholds before relieving them of their watches. It gets worse. Days later, on August 31st, San Francisco 49ers rookie Ricky Pearsall was shot in an attempted robbery of his Rolex on the streets of the troubled city that is San Francisco in 2024. According to local news, a teenager spotted the Rolex on the 6’1” 192-pound first-round draft pick, brandished a firearm, and demanded the watch. A struggle ensued in which both Pearsall and his assailant were both shot, but the wide receiver kept his watch, which appears to be a Rolex Datejust, proudly wearing it on the sidelines only two weeks later. Pearshall wearing his nearly-stolen Rolex Datejust on the sidelines only a couple of weeks after the attempted robbery. At W.O.E., we shy away from telling people how to live their lives but have discussed how to safely travel with a watch in great detail (read HERE). Your experience may vary, but suffice to say SF is not the place for flexing your luxury watch collection. Hammer-Wielding Smash & Grab At Pentagon City Mall Broken glass litters the scene around the Pentagon City Mall Tourneau | Bucherer. In further crime news, a Tourneau | Bucherer boutique close by the Pentagon was the subject of a smash-and-grab robbery back on September 1st, when three teens allegedly used hammers to smash into display cases inside the watch boutique. According to police, the sound of the breaking windows was enough to make multiple eyewitnesses report a shooting had taken place, leading to a full lockdown of the shopping center for about an hour. Whether specifically targeting watches or other industry pillars including Louis Vuitton, the luxury industry has been plagued by similar robberies in recent years.  Tourneau, which dates back to 1900, was acquired by Bucherer, one of Europe’s largest watch retailers, in 2018. In some of the most surprising watch news in years, Rolex SA then purchased Bucherer in 2023, presumably to have greater control over its supply chain, secondary market, and customer experience. For luxury boutiques, often “protected” by unarmed security professionals unwilling to engage in fisticuffs with hammer-wielding assailants, the smash-and-grab methodology is challenging to counter, with similar robberies targeting watch retailers taking place in Newport Beach, California, Ellis​​ville, Missouri, Washington, D.C., and Concord, North Carolina in the past year. That said, with most of the watches on display being “Exhibition Only,” they will likely be disappointed with the loot. A Rolex Submariner Book Full Of Revelations Long shrouded in secrecy, a new book developed with Rolex shares untold history and details about history’s most popular watch. (Photo Credit: James Rupley/W.O.E.) As one of the world’s most secretive brands, Rolex is not known for sharing, making the recent unveiling of a book entitled Oyster Perpetual Submariner—The Watch That Unlocked The Deep all the more surprising. A co-venture between watch industry historian Nicholas Foulkes and the Crown itself, the book peels back the layers on several aspects that have long been speculated among Rolex enthusiasts in the darkest corners of internet watch fora. (Photo Credit: Hodinkee) First and foremost, and in a move that led to numerous pearl-clutching gasps among Rolex diehards, the brand formally provided production numbers for each and every Rolex Submariner reference ever made. For collectors, this is huge, providing concrete data for any argument about how rare a particular reference is or isn’t. We’ve never seen a move like this from Rolex before, and perhaps the book indicates a changing tide for a luxury icon that is quite possibly as secretive as any respected intelligence agency. Beyond the production numbers, a detailed history is provided for the Sub’s close relationship to the Explorer, former names considered by the Crown before landing on “Submariner” and plenty of other historical gems. The book formally launches in French and English on October 1st and rest assured, we will have more to say about the text in due course. A Custom Tudor Black Bay 925 For The Shark Tank Cast Known for wearing red straps with the watches in his luxurious and ostentatious collection, Kevin O’Leary is the resident watch enthusiast on Shark Tank, the popular entrepreneurial reality show that just wrapped shooting for its sixteenth season. To celebrate the 24 team members who have been with the show since the pilot, O’Leary purchased 24 of a custom version of the silver Black Bay 925 with a Shark Tank logo on the dial as well as the name of the recipient and “One great idea can change your life forever” engraved on the exhibition caseback.  Within the watch collecting hobby, so-called “unit watches” are one of our favorite aspects, with Tudors Of Espionage (T.O.E.) playing a not insignificant role in our admiration for these customized timepieces. That said, these particular iterations come off more than a little bit corny. Further, the accompanying attempt at virality—a short video entitled Gifting 24 Custom Shark TankTudor Watches—feels like engagement-thirsty virtue signaling of the highest order when the project could have easily been more subtle. We’ll have to see where aftermarket pricing for these goes when someone inevitably sells one… Final Thoughts Whether it’s a solid gold tourbillon from none other than Donald Trump, an NFL player fending off a would-be Rolex thief and getting shot in the process, or the chamber of secrets that is modern Rolex letting just a little bit of light in with a new Submariner book, September didn’t disappoint when it comes to watch-related news. If you guys enjoyed this format and our commentary, please let us know. If you come across great stories as the next month progresses, be sure to share those as well. As a whole, the watch industry is often guilty of taking itself too seriously. With this monthly column, we aim to share some relevant events you might actually care about while also just maybe having a good time in the process. If you enjoyed this article, please consider signing up for our free weekly newsletter for further updates HERE. Read Next: Watch Industry SITREP - August 2024 *As a disclaimer, as Amazon Associates, we earn from qualifying purchases. When you click on links to various books in our articles and make a purchase, this can result in Watches of Espionage earning a commission. If you’re interested in these books and want to make a purchase using these links, we appreciate your support.

Affordable Yet Capable Digital Watches Favored By SEALs, Special Forces, & Intelligence Officers It’s hard to believe we’re already on our third video on the W.O.E. YouTube Channel. There’s been a steep learning curve in adapting to the new platform, but the response has been surprising and humbling. THANK YOU for your support and stay tuned. We have a lot of great stuff in the pipeline. While W.O.E. often focuses on analog mechanical tool watches, the reality today is that the majority of special operators utilize affordable digital watches including the G-Shock, which has also been widely issued across the US Military in particular. Our third video provides an in-depth look at G-Shock, affordable digital watches from Japan that have earned a place on the wrists of elite military operators and intelligence officers since the 1980s. Whether you’re a seasoned luxury watch snob or a G-Shock fanboy, you can’t argue with the utility and unmatched durability offered by even the most inexpensive G-Shock models. -W.O.E.

Share Your Military-Issued Watches, Custom Unit Projects, & Operationally Worn Watches To Be Included In Our Upcoming Book We have big news. Watches of Espionage is in the early stages of working on a coffee table book that will offer a closer look at some of your favorite stories from the Dispatch as well as completely new content, all supported by brand-new professional photography from our regular photographic contributor and publisher, James Rupley. A US Navy UDT-issue Tudor Submariner 7928 from W.O.E.'s personal collection. (Photo Credit: James Rupley/W.O.E.) As always, everything we do is for, with, and through the community. Our book will be no different, and we are looking for individuals with interesting watches to feature in our first printed publication. If you’re in the DC/Maryland/Virginia area or willing to travel there and have an interesting watch you wore operationally in the military, special operations, or intelligence, we’d love to hear from you. Here’s what we’re looking for: Military-issued watches. Unit watches i.e. custom Tudor, Omega, Bremont, Breitling, etc… Mechanical timepieces that were worn in an operational capacity. If any of these apply to any of the watches in your collection, please let us know by completing this brief survey HERE. As always, thank you for your support. -W.O.E.

The World Needs Watchmakers & A Unique Organization Aims To Help Fill The Gap With Veterans Bolstered by the rise of social media and a slew of watch-related platforms, the internet has made the age-old art and science of horology cool once again. Ironically, as more people enter the hobby, the global watch industry faces a labor crisis. Becoming a skilled watchmaker is no joke, and there are simply not enough qualified watchmakers to go around. In this Dispatch, we’ll discuss the watchmaker shortage, including how we got here, what the industry is doing about it, and a unique opportunity for veterans who want to get involved. It may not feel like an obvious choice, but if you’re a disabled veteran in search of a new career, watchmaking may be one to consider. An organization called the Veterans Watchmaker Initiative provides all but completely free initial watchmaker training, credentialing, and even help with job placement. What Is A Watchmaker? (Photo Credit: VWI) Watches date back to the 16th Century, and watchmakers were artisans who hand-fabricated every component of every single watch they produced. By the early 1900s, standardization took over, with watch companies focusing on mass production using interchangeable components. A watchmaker from the Swiss Vallée de Joux. (Photo Credit: Musée de l’Elysée, Lausanne) Watchmaking changed from a largely European artisanal cottage industry to a broader technical field where budding watchmakers could learn the ways of assembling, maintaining, and repairing watches and “calibers”, which is what watch nerds and the French call the movement. Until the 1960s, watches were virtually all powered by mechanical means. That, coupled with the fact that almost everyone used to wear a watch, meant watchmaking was a small but legitimate career field supported by trade schools, apprenticeship programs, and infrastructure providing aftermarket components for servicing or repair. The Quartz Crisis To Today The release of the Seiko Astron spurred the Quartz Crisis, the effects of which directly influenced the current watchmaker shortage. (Photo Credit: Seiko) While there were numerous earlier efforts with electronic timekeeping, Seiko’s 1969 release of the Astron launched what came to be known as the “Quartz Crisis”, a major contributor to today’s watchmaker shortage. Bad news for watchmakers, quartz calibers were easier to mass produce and would quickly become far less expensive than their mechanical counterparts. Some estimates indicate the number of watchmakers employed just in Switzerland dropped by over 60% during the 1970s while the Swiss watch industry as a whole saw its employment decline from 90,000 at its peak to just 28,000 during the same period. Inexpensive digital quartz watches from Japan like the Casio Casiotron of 1974 emperiled the Swiss industry like never before. (Photo Credit: Casio USA) As the need for watchmaking declined with the rise of quartz, the once-proud trade of watchmaking became less profitable and attractive and the watchmaking needs of those who still preferred mechanical timekeeping were increasingly met by an aging population of watchmakers, a trend that continues into modern times. The numbers are staggering. A watchmaker at work at Patek Philippe's "The Art Of Watches" exhibition in 2017. (Photo Credit: CNN/Getty) According to Jordan Ficklin, the executive director of the American Watchmakers-Clockmakers Institute (AWCI), today there are an estimated 4,000 watchmakers in the United States, a decrease of as much as 90% compared to the 1960s. Of course, there are fewer mechanical watches out and about compared to that period, but the shortage still means backlogs for watch repairs stretch into the years in some instances. Becoming A Watchmaker In 2024 (Photo Credit: VWI) As internet-based watch enthusiasm has spurred a modern renaissance for mechanical watches at virtually all levels of the industry, the supply of newly minted watchmakers has failed to keep pace. Every year, hundreds of watchmakers who were trained before the Quartz Crisis retire with only a handful of qualified replacements stepping up to take up the reins. But let’s say you’re interested in watches and seriously considering taking up watchmaking as a career choice, how does one become a watchmaker in the first place? At least in the United States, there are essentially two options. A budding watchmaker can either attend a formal school—and there are only a few in the US—or complete an apprenticeship program. There are only a handful of certified watchmaking schools in the United States including Gem City College School of Horology in Quincy, Illinois (Photo Credit: AWCI) With a formal watchmaking school, students pay to attend a program lasting from two to four years. The schools also typically work with brands and other entities to employ newly minted watchmakers, which is the easy part given the shortage. With an eye towards self-preservation more than altruism, many watchmaking schools are subsidized by the brands. Apprenticeships, the old-school way of becoming a watchmaker, still exist but are rare in the United States today. In most cases, apprentices don’t get paid, making this a challenging route. (Photo Credit: VWI) In either case, if you can get yourself trained or experienced or both to a solid level, there is no shortage of jobs out there waiting for qualified watchmakers, some of which pay surprisingly well compared to a traditional college education for non-binary art history or whatever kids are studying these days. If you’re a veteran, there is another unique opportunity out there that is so good, we almost didn’t think it was real. Veterans Watchmaker Initiative Sam Cannan founded VWI in 2017. (Photo Credit: VWI) Starting in 2015, Sam Cannan, a retired Baltimore police officer turned watchmaker, set out on a unique journey, to create a school for disabled veterans to learn watchmaking. Even more challenging, Cannan aimed to make the school completely free of charge, providing a pathway for veterans to learn a skilled trade and earn gainful employment in a high-demand career field. It took a couple of years, but Cannan eventually found a building in Odessa, Delaware where he set up shop, donated by the New Castle County government for $1 a year. The Joseph Bulova School of Watchmaking was founded after the Second World War and provided no-cost watchmaker training to disabled veterans. (Photo Credit: Bulova) Calling back to the Joseph Bulova School of Watchmaking founded in WWII to provide veterans of the wars in Europe and the Pacific with free watchmaker training, Bulova came on board as a founding sponsor. In return, VWI is also an authorized Bulova service center, and students finishing the school’s full 16-month watchmaker training course attend a further three-month internship repairing watches within the service center. While studying, students also have the option to live in a nearby house owned by the school, providing an opportunity for students to obtain an almost completely free education in watchmaking. (Photo Credit: VWI) The program’s graduates are in high demand and have been placed—with the program’s assistance—within the Richemont and Swatch Groups as well as brands like Patek Philippe, with a near 100% placement rate for students graduating from the full watchmaker course. Staring into a watch movement wearing a loupe may seem like a far cry from the realities of military service, but many program attendees and particularly those diagnosed with PTSD as a service-connected disability describe the trade as therapeutic, providing a level of mental health support in addition to promising career implications. If you’re a disabled veteran and interested in attending one of VWI’s courses, which also include a shorter six-week watch technician program, click HERE to learn more. Watchmaking In 2024 (Photo Credit: VWI) Thus far, a renewed interest in mechanical watches has failed to spur a new generation of watchmakers. However, with the help of programs like VWI, hope is on the horizon. As is often the case with the so-called “Skills Gap”, awareness is at the core of the issue. If watch brands both big and small hope to persevere, qualified watchmakers must exist at all levels, ready to handle assembly at the production level as well as after-sales service whether handled by an authorized dealer or an independent watch repair business. As we’ve described, brands including Bulova are stepping up to help—in its interest as much as anything—but we would argue a broader effort from the largest players is necessary to keep pace with a majority retirement-age watchmaking workforce. Especially for disabled veterans searching for a skilled career field that is also in high demand, watchmaking might be a great place to look. If you enjoyed this article, please consider signing up for our weekly free newsletter for further updates HERE. Read Next: Advice for Buying a Watch

The Incredible Story Of Todd Beamer, A Rolex, & United Flight 93 It has been two weeks since we launched the W.O.E. YouTube channel with our first video, “Sketchy Dudes Wear Breitling - We Don’t Make The Rules”. The response has been humbling, THANK YOU! While the first one was more of a lighthearted look at the relationship between a brand and its sketchy end-users, our second video tackles a more serious topic, sharing the incredible story of Todd Beamer, an ordinary man who rose to the occasion when United Flight 93 was hijacked on September 11th, 2001. After terrorists took control of the aircraft on the morning of 9/11, Beamer quickly contacted authorities: "If I don't make it, please call my family and let them know how much I love them… Are you ready? Okay, Let's roll." Incredibly, Beamer’s gold and steel Rolex Datejust Turn-O-Graph was found among the debris from Flight 93, serving as a solemn reminder of the brave sacrifice of the passengers onboard United Flight 93 on 9/11. This video was created in honor of the 2,977 people who died on September 11th, 2001 as well as Todd Beamer’s wife, Lisa, and their three children. -W.O.E.

The Olympics, Swiss Industry Challenges, & Watch-Related Crime By Benjamin Lowry In general, the daily watch media news cycle doesn’t interest us. Numerous websites are hanging their collective hat on being up-to-the-minute, covering new releases and other watch industry shenanigans, and doing a far better job than we ever could. That said, we are often asked for our opinions on current watch events, and there are certain stories from the world of watch media and beyond that are interesting for our community. To keep you updated on the intriguing trends, military-adjacent developments, or current events you might actually care about, we decided to test a watch industry “SITREP” or situation report, a quick snapshot of the previous month’s news coupled with our commentary. To start, we’ll take a look at the news from August when all eyes were on the Olympic Games. The Olympic Games In Paris Daniel Craig wearing an as-yet-unreleased no-date Omega Seamaster in Paris during the Olympic Games. (Photo Credit: Hodinkee) Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you’ve been beaten over the head with content from the Olympic Games this past month. As important for marketing as it is for sports, the watch industry also played its part, with Olympic sponsor Omega garnering the majority of the headlines with a carefully orchestrated campaign. In addition to the obvious celebrity watch spotting and a slew of athletes including pole vaulter Armand “Mondo” Duplantis competing while wearing the newly-released Seamaster Aqua Terra 150M Ultra Light, Daniel Craig “accidentally” unveiled what appears to be an as-yet-unreleased no-date version of the Seamaster Diver 300 so often associated with James Bond. Keen observers will note that this no-date version is close to the Seamaster currently available as a unit watch solely to SpecOps personnel. An Omega Seamaster Diver 300 “Unit Watch” celebrating elite French law enforcement units tasked with security at the Olympics. While the Bond connection is always interesting, even if carefully curated by Omega’s marketing department, a more intriguing W.O.E.-related development occurred at the Olympics with Omega’s unit watch program. Omega is producing a Seamaster “unit watch” for the three elite French law enforcement units tasked with security for the event: GIGN, RAID, and BRI. The marketing stuff is fun, but a GIGN/RAID/BRI unit Seamaster is what really gets us going. Beyond the insignia on the case back, this is effectively the same watch as the one utilized by US Secret Service officers during the recent assassination attempt on former US President Donald Trump and a unit-specific model created for the Danish Frogman Corps. Unit watches appear to be having something of a moment, one industry trend we can get behind. We are told that this picture is actually a prototype and the final versions are expected to be delivered in the fall of 2024. Astronauts Stranded In Space Also Wearing Omega Watches A planned week-long space flight was extended for a pair of American astronauts because of doubts surrounding a potential return in a troubled Boeing space capsule, confirming once again that one of the world’s hardest jobs is working with Boeing PR. Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, both retired US Navy Captains, will extend their stay until February of 2025 when they can be safely brought back to Earth on a more proven SpaceX capsule. The only element we have to add is that in the photo being circulated along with the headline, Wilmore is seen wearing an Omega X-33, a seldom-seen ana-digi titanium watch developed specifically for astronauts and introduced in 1998. Where the mechanical Speedmaster Professional continues to be the only watch qualified for space walks, the X-33 is issued to astronauts for use inside the International Space Station (ISS), offering a suite of digital timing functions specific to the needs of astronauts. Swiss Watch Market In Decline It may not be good for the industry, but secondary market pricing for brands like Rolex continue to fall in 2024. (Photo Credit: W.O.E./James Rupley) As has been the case for a couple of years now, Forbes reported a further decline in Swiss secondary market prices for virtually all of the major Swiss luxury brands including Rolex, Patek Philippe, and Audemars Piguet. Falling secondary market prices also impact perceived value among consumers, leading to broader challenges for the industry at large, with the Swatch Group conglomerate—which owns Omega—posting an over 10% drop in sales in the first six months of 2024 led by Asian markets where the fall-off was closer to 30%. Ouch. Richemont, one of the other biggest luxury conglomerates and the owner of IWC, Cartier, Panerai, and others also reported double-digit declines in sales once again led by Asian markets including China. What does all of this mean for you and me? Again reported by Forbes, the wait time for treasured Rolex models including the Submariner is going down, now estimated at 68 days as opposed to 105 days only one year ago. While we don’t think it’s as bad as some of the trolls on Reddit, Bremont’s latest releases left much to be desired for the brand’s biggest fans. Perhaps more impactful to our community, Bremont, a brand known for working closely with military organizations, appears in serious distress, reporting a loss of 14M GBP earlier this year. This news comes after American billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman purchased a minority stake in the brand in early 2023 and following a few releases that were not warmly received at Watches and Wonders in 2024. We’re big fans of Bremont’s earlier efforts and penchant for military collaboration under the aptly-named English brothers and would welcome a return to form that does not include many of the newest designs from the brand. Fingers crossed. Rolex To End Sponsorship Of F1 More of a quick hit here, but Rolex is set to end its 11-year partnership with F1 in 2025, with LVMH stepping in to the tune of an estimated $150M per year, according to Coronet. There are a few ways to look at this, but whatever it is, it isn’t a money problem for Rolex, which according to Morgan Stanley posted earnings of over $10Bn in 2023, more than its five biggest competitors combined. What is perhaps more likely is that LVMH hopes to align TAG Heuer with F1, cementing the brand’s hopeful perceived position as the premier watch brand of motorsports. Rolex, which was reportedly paying closer to $50M per year, may simply have felt the investment was too large for the return in consumer influence, especially when the Crown is already raking in the cash hand over fist. Watches & Crime London has become a hotbed for watch-related muggings in recent years, a trend that is leading billionaires to mild discomfort. (Photo Credit: Sky News) Always a favorite subject of ours, luxury watches continue to be in the news associated with crime, whether that’s street-level mugging as has become so prevalent in London and other European capitals or more elaborate robberies of retail locations. According to Fortune, at least one British billionaire, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, says he will no longer wear his Rolex watches in London for fear of having his watch stripped off by scooter-riding hoodlums (our language). What is the world coming to when billionaires no longer feel safe wearing their luxury watches? According to police, this gentleman approached victims from behind before choking them out and relieving them of their Orient and Rolex watches. (Photo Credit: NYPD Crimestoppers) On a more serious note, a man is wanted in New York City after a trio of robberies in which he placed his victims in a choke hold until they lost consciousness before stealing their watches. Two of the stolen watches were from Rolex while the other was an Orient valued at $300, not the sort of thing you expect to get choked out over. And finally, while his DUI arrest took place on June 18th, the keen journalists at the NY Post released a story a few weeks back saying Justin Timberlake—who single-handedly brought sexy back in 2006—had a “...vape, a Rolex, a gold ring, and a wallet with $306 in cash when he was placed in handcuffs in Sag Harbor”. We wish we knew the Rolex model in question, but Timberlake has clearly read our EDC article where we explain the value of not only a watch but also keeping a few crisp Benjamins on your person at all times, even when you’re hammered. The Tudor Black Bay Chrono Is Now Available In Blue While Tudor’s divers including the Black Bay and Pelagos and especially unit-specific variants (T.O.E.) of those models tend to garner the majority of our attention, the Black Bay Chrono is another excellent luxury sports watch from the brand. A few days ago, Tudor unveiled a blue version of the Black Bay Chrono, the appropriately named Tudor Black Bay Chrono Blue. We know this isn’t much of a breaking news story. We love Tudors, and the new variant looks cool, but if you are looking for in-depth watch reviews on new releases, you won't find them here. Is Watch News Even News? To be clear, a post like this is as close as we ever intend to get to “the news”, which is soon to become an even more off-putting cesspool as the election looms. Still, knowledge is power, and while some months are spicier than ever, we mostly enjoyed putting together this quick and hopefully easy-to-digest look at events and releases that are related to or interesting for members of our community. Were there any other watch-related events or news you think is worthy of sharing this past month or so? If you enjoyed this article, please consider signing up for our weekly free newsletter for further updates HERE. Read Next: Criminal Rolex Gangs and Traveling with Watches

Going In-Depth With History’s Most Popular & Impactful Tool Watch Despite the relative lack of popularity of scuba diving, the dive watch prevails as one of the most popular categories in watchmaking while also claiming several of history’s most recognizable designs including the Rolex Submariner, Omega Seamaster, and Blancpain Fifty Fathoms. Watches intended for diving have also been worn by a variety of sketchy individuals at the forefront of history-shaping events including the pioneering Panerai models utilized by the commando frogmen of the Italian Decima Flottiglia MAS in WWII, Doxa Subs on the wrists of Jacques Cousteau and his team as they pioneered underwater filmmaking, and even a modern Rolex Submariner worn by a US Navy SEAL on the raid that killed Usama bin Laden back in 2011. (Photo Credit: W.O.E./James Rupley) What Is A Dive Watch? With all of that being said, we all have a general idea of what a dive watch is and does, but what exactly constitutes a dive watch? Which functions, formats, or capabilities are essential, and which are marketing fluff? In this Dispatch, backed by my experience as a commercial diver and professional watch nerd, we’ll go in-depth with the anatomy of a dive watch, presenting the key elements that add up to a competent dive timer whether or not you intend to use the watch for its intended purpose. An elapsed time bezel is also great for grilling steaks. What Is Water Resistance? In 2019, a custom Omega Ultra Deep descended to Challenger Deep, the ocean’s deepest point, strapped to the outside of Victor Vescovo’s submersible, Limiting Factor. (Photo Credit: Omega) Let’s get the obvious out of the way. A dive watch is only as good as its ability to resist the sometimes massive pressures and constant risk of flooding encountered in the undersea environment. Most dive watches achieve their water resistance with screwed sealing surfaces and gaskets which are necessary because the pressure at depth can be enormous. For every foot of depth encountered by a watch in seawater, .445 pounds of pressure is applied per square inch. Divers are historically bad at math so the equation for calculating pressure on the fly is typically expressed as “half the depth” meaning that if you’re diving to a relatively pedestrian 100 feet, your watch will encounter approximately 50 (or exactly 44.5) pounds per square inch of pressure, enough to make the water really want to get inside your watch. The deeper you go, the tougher it gets for your watch’s tender insides to stay dry. Therefore, the vast majority of watches intended for diving are rated to at least 200 meters, but many are rated to more extreme depths including 3,900 meters (12,800 feet) for the Rolex Deepsea or an even more obnoxious 6,000 meters (20,000 feet) for the Omega Planet Ocean Ultra Deep. A 100-meter-rated watch like the Casio AE1200WH World Time is typically fine for casual scuba diving. (Photo Credit: Benjamin Lowry) Can I Wear My Watch Underwater? While we’re here, let’s quickly dispel a couple of common myths. I wouldn’t take a 30 or 50-meter-rated watch diving on purpose, but a watch rated to 100 meters is often fine for casual scuba diving assuming it’s relatively new and/or has been pressure tested recently. As a disclaimer, there is still an element of risk. 100 meters is a rating, not a promise of a watch's ability to dive to that depth, and the majority of 100-meter-rated watches haven't been tested in water during production. That said, modern watches are generally more capable than you'd think, and I’ve worn several 100-meter watches including the Seiko 5 Sports SSK001 and Casio AE1200WH for shallow diving profiles without issues. For what it’s worth, the ISO 6425 standard for a “professional” dive watch that we’ll get to in a bit only requires 100 meters of water resistance. In most cases, 200 meters of water resistance is more than you could ever need. (Photo Credit: W.O.E./James Rupley)   For whoever is already typing something in all caps about “dynamic” pressure saying you need a watch rated to 200 meters to go to the pool because more pressure is applied as you move your arm and watch through the water, stop. It is technically true that a watch in motion underwater experiences more pressure than it would if it were static, but many nerds who are good at math have calculated the change as minute, the equivalent of a fraction of a foot to a few feet of depth in many instances, and functionally insignificant as it relates to the water resistance rating of your watch. Measuring Elapsed Time (Photo Credit: W.O.E./James Rupley) Another crucial element of any good dive watch is its ability to manage elapsed time, a function typically utilized to track “bottom time” (defined by the US Navy as the elapsed time from when you leave the surface until you begin your ascent) but also shorter periods including safety or decompression stops. In the days before diving computers, this capability  was the single most important job carried out by the dive watch, with the bottom time being used in conjunction with a diver’s maximum depth in calculating a diver’s decompression profile. Today, this important work is usually carried out by a diving computer, but being able to measure elapsed time is still a core aspect of what constitutes a dive watch. Typically, managing elapsed time is carried out with a rotating bezel measuring from zero to 60 minutes that is typically unidirectional, meaning it can only be accidentally rotated to express less bottom time as opposed to more, which could land a diver in proverbial hot water concerning their gas supply or profile. In many cases, dive bezels are also marked with finer one-minute intervals for the first fifteen minutes. You’ll hear different theories as to why, but I have always understood it was to precisely measure smaller amounts of time whether for decompression stops or individual legs of underwater swims in navigation scenarios. A U.S. Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Technician wearing a G-Shock DW6900. (Photo Credit: US Navy) To be clear, elapsed time measurement by no means needs to take place by way of an external bezel. Still standard issue for US Navy Divers and amphibious special operators, a G-Shock’s stopwatch function is amazing for this task, as are certain internal bezels as long as they don’t utilize a screw-down crown in their operation. Diving chronographs can also be used, but the additional pushers often increase the potential water ingress and wouldn’t be my first choice. There are exceptions to every rule, but generally speaking, fewer case openings in your dive watch is a good thing. Legibility For great dive watch dials less is often more. (Photo Credit: W.O.E./James Rupley) After water resistance and being able to track elapsed time, another central pillar in any good dive watch design is a dial and handset that is legible in all conditions including total darkness. For the dial and hands, high contrast and simple geometric shapes seem to work best. Examples like the Rolex Submariner, Seiko 6309, Benrus Type I, Tudor Snowflake, Omega Seamaster 300, and Blancpain Fifty Fathoms all have designs that have stood the test of time utilizing white luminescent indices and hands in simple geometric forms over a black or navy blue primary dial surface. The best dive watch dials are equally visible day or night. (Photo Credit: James Rupley) In the arena of legibility, being straightforward and even leaning into minimalism is a good thing. Lasting bright luminescent material is also important as is the ability to quickly orient the dial in total darkness or murky underwater environments. Having luminescent material on the bezel at least at twelve but preferably also elsewhere is also key as the importance of measuring elapsed time doesn’t disappear in the dark. Despite breaking some of the design guidelines listed here, some dial designs just work. (Photo Credit: Brock Stevens) There are exceptions to the monochromatic less-is-more rule including the orange “Professional” dial on Doxa Sub models as well as the busier display on the Marathon GSAR, both of which are excellent and highly legible underwater, but the concepts of simple geometric forms and high contrast are great places to start. For further proof of capability, always look to military dive watch designs for a trustworthy indicator of subsea utility. Military supply officers don’t care how cool you look at Red Bar, they just want the cheapest thing that will get the job done. Straps & Bracelets (Photo Credit: W.O.E./James Rupley) While it may seem secondary compared to the watch itself, any great dive watch is only as good as its ability to stay on the wrist. To start, the idea that any dive watch not secured by a pull-through strap is destined for total loss following spring bar failure is overblown, but straightforward nylon straps do provide an additional measure of security while also being inexpensive and convenient for use over a wide range of different exposure suits. After pull-through straps, I would argue a bracelet with solid end links is the next most secure method of attachment but here, we have to take into consideration the potential need for or quality of the clasp or extension system required to fit over your diving suit of choice. Rolex’s Glidelock and Tudor’s T-Fit are among the most refined, but more attainable folding extensions from brands like Seiko get the job done just as well. Many rubber straps are also great but are at least theoretically less secure compared to the aforementioned options. For the ultimate in security, it’s tough to beat fixed lugs and a nylon pull-through strap. (Photo Credit: W.O.E./James Rupley) Different types of spring bars and lug formats also make a difference where security is concerned. Watches like the Tudor Pelagos FXD or CWC’s collection of military watches utilize fixed lug bars that add a heightened level of peace of mind. If your watch has drilled lugs, you can use shoulderless spring bars that also decrease the likelihood of an underwater “oh shit” moment no matter what type of strap is being used. In any case, the decision about what kind of strap to pair with your dive watch should be taken almost as seriously as the watch itself, as it’s mighty hard to tell the time on a watch that’s rapidly sinking away from you into the ocean’s murky depths. ISO 6425 Standard The ISO 6425-rated Citizen Aqualand on a recent dive in Lake Michigan. (Photo Credit: Matt Ludvigson) It’s not a be-all-end-all, but it’s important to also recognize the ISO 6425 standard, a benchmark for dive watches and an informative set of specifications and testing procedures laid out by the International Organization for Standardization starting in 1982. At its core, ISO 6425 describes, “…watches designed to withstand diving in water at depths of at least 100 m and equipped with a secured measuring system to indicate the diving time, which is visible in darkness.” While that sounds simple enough, the complete standard is incredibly long and detailed, covering everything from pressure testing to shock resistance to legibility in the dark to corrosion and magnetic field resistance. (Photo Credit: W.O.E./James Rupley) Many dive watches from brands like Seiko and Citizen closely conform to this standard but many others—from the luxury tier especially—do not, and here I’m talking about many of the original gangsters including the Rolex Submariner and Omega Seamaster and more modern legends like the Tudor Pelagos FXD. With that in mind, we should never limit our search for the perfect dive timer to timepieces claiming certification or compliance with the ISO standard. Helium Escape Valves (Photo Credit: Hodinkee) One of the most misunderstood watch functions of all time, the concept of the helium escape valve is often thrown around in the professional dive watch conversation. In the briefest terms, a helium escape (or release) valve allows expanding helium atoms that have—because they are super tiny—sneaked past the gaskets in a watch case over the course of an extended period spent living in a dry, helium-rich saturation diving chamber to safely escape during the days-long decompression process without making the watch explode. Unlike many dive watch features, the helium escape valve does its thing in the dry. (Photo Credit: Gavan Hennigan) There are automatic valves like you find with the Rolex Sea-Dweller and manual valves like in the Omega Seamaster Diver 300. Both work more or less like a burp. As internal pressure within the watch case increases while external pressure, in the decompressing saturation system, decreases, the valve actuates, allowing the watch to equalize with its surroundings. If you are a commercial saturation diver who needs this functionality, you are most likely already aware. The rest of you do not and will not ever need such a valve no matter how extreme your scuba diving adventures at Sandals resort may become. Final Thoughts There are, of course, other aspects of dive watches that are important including a generally stout and durable build and a robust movement that can handle the knocks and bangs associated with diving and dive boats. That said, for this Dispatch, we decided to concentrate on the traits that are more specific to watches produced for the undersea environment. To summarize, we’re talking about appropriate water resistance, a method of measuring elapsed time, legibility in all conditions, and a strap or bracelet that will keep your dive watch right where it belongs. You don’t need one, but we also highlighted the helium escape valve’s incredibly rare but important work. If dive watches can survive a wide range of underwater hazards, chances are they can take on your daily life. (Photo Credit: Brock Stevens) Whether you intend to go diving or not, it’s important to understand the reasoning behind the basic dive design format that has become one of the most recognizable and popular watch silhouettes in horological history. Scuba diving remains relatively unpopular, but dive watches have transcended their intended use case and category to become the most popular overall sports watch type in part because of the capabilities they developed over decades on the wrists of military, professional, and recreational divers. And hey, even if you’re not going diving anytime soon, the bezel is great for timing whatever you have on the Big Green Egg in the backyard.  If you enjoyed this article, please consider signing up for our weekly free newsletter for further updates HERE.  Read Next: The Dive Watch - How The Military Helped To Shape History’s Greatest Tool Watch

Sketchy Breitlings, A Vietnam-Era Rolex, & More Making fun of Navy SEALs writing books is a joke that will never get old.  That said, there have been some great authors to come out of the Teams and Jack Carr is at the top of the list. Carr’s series of novels detailing the adventures of James Reece has become a massive hit, transcending the boundaries of our community to find broader mainstream success including a 2022 television adaptation starring Chris Pratt, The Terminal List. We have discussed watch culture in the SEAL Teams at length and Carr is also a watch enthusiast, with an extensive collection that includes a Rolex Sea-Dweller he wore while serving in the Teams as well as a Tudor Pelagos FXD Black, several Vietnam-era Seikos, an Ares, and more (Photo Credit: W.O.E./James Rupley) One of the key aspects that makes Carr’s writing compelling is the author’s incredible attention to detail, always doing additional research to describe firearms, gear, and watches in depth. Throughout the series, James Reece, Carr’s protagonist, wears a vintage Rolex Submariner gifted to him by his father, a Vietnam-era SEAL turned CIA Case Officer. In the television adaptation, Reece—portrayed by Chris Pratt—wears several watches including an Oris Aquis Pro Date Calibre 400, Resco Instruments BlackFrog Gen2 Black PVD (an insider told us he wanted to wear a military watch in specific scenes), a G-Shock GA-100-1A1, and a period correct 5.11 Military Tactical Field Ops Watch. Chris Pratt wearing a Resco Instruments BlackFrog Gen2 Black PVD in the television adaptation of The Terminal List. (Photo Credit: Justin Lubin) Carr’s seventh book in the James Reece series, Red Sky Mourning, was released last month. When I read it, I was truly surprised by the number of specific watches mentioned in the text, with one even playing a pivotal role in the plot. I knew Carr was a watch enthusiast, but this new novel shows how far down the rabbit hole the SEAL-turned-author has fallen. If you haven’t checked out the book, be advised: This text contains some spoilers. Elba Industries Breitling Emergency In Red Sky Mourning, at least one watch with a special complication plays an integral role in the plot. Andrew Hart, the dastardly fictional head of the fictional Elba Industries, wears a sketchy Breitling Emergency complete with a co-signed dial featuring Elba’s logo, a golden bee, an homage to co-signed “unit watches” from Breitling including the Blackwater Breitling we have discussed in great detail. Given Carr’s history in the SEAL Teams and working with CIA, it would be reasonable to assume the author has seen a few of these watches in his day. Former Blackwater CEO Erik Prince wearing a Blackwater-signed Breitling Emergency. An analog digital timepiece from Breitling’s golden era producing “watches for professionals”, the Emergency contains an antenna that broadcasts a signal on the 121.5 MHz aircraft emergency frequency when activated. Commercial and military aircraft monitored the frequency and were able to alert search and rescue teams of an individual's location, anywhere in the world. At Red Sky Mourning’s climax, the signal from Hart’s Emergency is used to locate the ne'er-do-well and James Reece, an old-school Rolex guy through and through. Vintage Rolex Submariner A Rolex Submariner reference 5513 from the same era as the Sub worn by James Reece throughout the books. (Photo Credit: Wind Vintage) In the Terminal List series, James Reece is a former US Navy SEAL who has also worked extensively with the Agency. Reece’s father, Tom, was also a SEAL turned CIA Case Officer, having served in the Teams in Vietnam where he purchased the Submariner that also features prominently throughout the series on his son’s wrist. In Red Sky Mourning, James Reece’s Rolex is taken from him by the Chinese intelligence officer Ba Jin who also asks what year the Sub is from. Reece says, “It’s a ’68. You guys had just kicked off your Cultural Revolution a couple of years earlier. How many people did Mao kill in his efforts to purify the Party?” As you’d expect, Reece ends up getting the watch back in a way that does not work out well for Ba Jin. US Navy SEALs in Vietnam wearing Rolex or Tudor Submariners. Given the 1968 timeframe, the Submariner in question is most likely either a non-date chronometer certified 5512 or potentially the non-COSC 5513, both models that are closely associated with Vietnam-era SEALs. It’s also conceivable the watch is a date model 1680 that also offered the red Submariner text at the time that is so coveted by collectors today. While arguably this should have been an issued Tudor Submariner, a classic Rolex Submariner is the perfect choice for a legacy SEAL like Reece that also once again demonstrates the author’s attention to detail and love for horology. Rhodesian Army Roamer Anfibio W.O.E.’s personal Rhodesian Roamer (Photo Credit: James Rupley) In Red Sky Mourning, as he often does, Reece visits the Hastings family, home of his best friend Raife Hastings, a South African-born former SEAL teammate, and his father, Jonathan, who served with the Special Air Service (SAS) and later the famed Rhodesian Selous Scouts. Reaching extremely deep into the annals of military watch history, Carr equips Jonathan with a Roamer Anfibio, a seldom-discussed Swiss watch whose claim to fame is having been issued to the Rhodesian military back in the 1970s. Rhodesian issued Roamer on a leather military "Bund" strap worn by Colonel David “King” Parker, Commanding Officer of the Rhodesian Light Infantry (RLI). Col. Parker is wearing the Roamer, which was common according to pictures from the Bush War. Jonathan Hasting’s history with the Selous Scouts, a special forces component of the Rhodesian Army, makes this watch an excellent and historically accurate choice for Hastings who serves as something of an additional father figure to Reece. What led Roamer, a Swiss brand founded in 1888, to supply the Rhodesian military is one of watch history’s mysteries, but you can’t fault the quality of Carr’s homework. If you have been following this page, you know I've spent a lot of my life living, working, and traveling in Africa, a country with a large number of unique and lesser-known military watches. Interestingly, Hasting’s trajectory closely follows that of a real individual, someone who is not widely known outside of the Intelligence Community. Tianjin Seagull 1963 Chang Zheng is a Chinese Jin-Class Type 094 Submarine featuring  prominently in a cat-and-mouse game with the USS Reagan in the early pages of Red Sky Mourning. In describing her captain, Commander Zhen, Carr says mentions the, “…Tianjin Seagull 1963 watch on his wrist.”, a reference that serves as perhaps the second deepest watch cut in the book after the aforementioned Roamer Anfibio. Known to enthusiasts as simply the “Seagull 1963”, the Chinese-made manual-winding chronograph serves as perhaps the least expensive mechanical chronograph available today, with an ST19 caliber produced in China at Tianjin’s factory with tooling purchased from Switzerland back in the 1950s. A Chinese Jin-Class Type 094 Submarine like the Chang Zheng mentioned in Red Sky Mourning. Initially produced for Chinese Air Force pilots, the Seagull 1963 is an enthusiast-favorite watch because of its attainable price point—typically less than $500—in relation to its complication coupled with a surprisingly well-decorated movement. For a Chinese submarine commander, it also makes a lot of sense given the watch’s military history. Captaining a Chinese submarine likely involves direct inclusion in the communist party. For Commander Zhen to demonstrate his pride in the party by wearing a mechanical watch produced in his country feels dead-on accurate. Rolex Yacht-Master A second watch from the Crown mentioned in the text is the Rolex Yacht-Master, worn by Dr. Lawrence Miles, an avid sailor, former CIA contractor, and the billionaire founder of the Delphi Corporation. Reece goes to Miles’ home in Marin, California to learn more about the motivations behind the nefarious Andrew Hart. During their conversation, Miles describes a meeting he had with Hart and two other sketchy individuals, saying, “I remember they all wore the same watch—Breitling Emergencies. As a sailor you notice things like that,” he said, tapping the white gold Rolex Yacht-Master on his wrist and pointing to the stainless Submariner worn by his guest.” While white gold and platinum are the materials that come to mind first for the Yacht-Master, the new titanium version would also be an interesting pick for Miles’ character. (Photo Credit: Hodinkee) Also describing his sailing history, the Yacht-Master is the perfect choice for the billionaire and passionate sailor who spends his days overlooking San Francisco Bay. Unlike many Rolex sport models, there is no full-steel Yacht-Master in the modern catalog, meaning you’re looking at either full-gold, some combination of steel and platinum or steel and gold, or the new titanium variant released earlier this year. Given Miles’ financial situation, we like to think we went full billionaire bling. (Photo Credit: W.O.E./James Rupley) Digital Tool Watches (D.T.W.) & Smartwatches In addition to the above-listed mechanical analog watches, Carr also mentions a Timex Ironman in the text, placing the legendary attainable digital watch on the wrist of retired US Army General and current CIA Director Marcus Howe. In the text, Carr writes, “Howe looked down at the Timex Ironman watch that had graced his wrist for most of his time in uniform…” With a thirty-year background in US Army Special Forces, the humble Ironman is an appropriate and pragmatic option for the Agency director. Adding another layer, the Timex Ironman was commonly issued to CIA Paramilitary Officers as well as partner forces including Afghan units. While less key to the plot, smartwatches are also mentioned several times in the text, usually in discussions regarding their vulnerability. We’ve detailed the role and counterintelligence vulnerabilities of the smartwatch in modern espionage, and we appreciate Carr for bringing this element of modern watch culture into the book. Read more about “CIA Officers and Apple Watches” HERE. More than many thriller writers from outside the community, Carr manages to capture both the essential essence and concrete details of life within intelligence and special operations. Viewed from any number of angles and by various enthusiast communities for knives, firearms, tactical equipment, and watches, Carr packs the James Reece sagas with layer upon layer of references and Easter eggs that some will grasp and some won’t, but that’s the fun of it. We often make fun of SEALs, most of whom are authors, and will continue to do so. But Jack Carr has done it the right way, avoiding repetitively rehashing his own GWOT adventures in favor of the larger-than-life story of James Reece that is bolstered by Carr’s personal experience in the field of special operations and espionage. For watch enthusiasts, this level of attention to detail and historical accuracy is the good stuff and only adds another level of intrigue to Carr’s work. If you enjoyed this article, please consider signing up for our weekly free newsletter for further updates HERE.  Read Next: SOG Seikos - Vietnam MACV-SOG Watches, Part II     Featured Image Credits: Breitling Emergency (Photo Credit: Lunar Oyster), Rolex Submariner 5513 (Photo Credit: Wind Vintage), Roamer Anfibio (Photo Credit: James Rupley)

Unit Watches Of The UK’s Royalty and Specialist Protection Despite the rise of inexpensive Digital Tool Watches and feature-rich connected smartwatches, there is an ever-growing subset of the military, intelligence, and law enforcement communities with a passion for mechanical or otherwise more interesting timepieces. We’ve discussed so-called “unit watches” in detail many times. However, in this Dispatch, we’ll take a closer look at unit watches from the world of law enforcement, specifically the UK’s Royalty and Specialist Protection (RaSP), an intriguing unit from within the Metropolitan Police’s Specialist Operations directorate. To date, there are three known unit watches from RaSP, a Casio G-Shock from the attainable tier as well as a Tudor and Omega from the world of Swiss luxury, all of which see active service as tools in the performance of the unit’s unique role. Protecting Royals, Politicians, & A Castle Or Two Officers stand guard outside Windsor Castle. (Photo Credit: Maureen McLean) Similar to the role played by the US Secret Service, who are also no strangers to unit watches, RaSP provides close protection services to the UK royal family including the king, the prime minister, various other politicians, ambassadors, and visiting heads of state. In addition, the unit also serves as specially trained armed security for royal residences including palaces in London, Windsor Castle, and other sites in Scotland. Unlike the United States, which has not been ruled by anyone wearing a crown since a kerfuffle ending in 1783, the average police officer in Great Britain doesn’t carry a firearm, making the armed and highly trained RaSP a higher level of protection and response in the event of terrorist attacks or assassination attempts on the Royal Family. Hired from the ranks of experienced frontline police officers as opposed to “off the street”, RaSP officers have been called into action on several prominent occasions. Royal Protection Officers tackle an attacker after an assassination attempt on then-Prince Charles (standing far right) in Sydney in 1994. (Photo Credit: Express UK) Far from idle threats, Royalty Protection Officers engaged in a dramatic shootout during an attempted kidnapping of Princess Anne in 1974 as well as when then-Prince Charles was attacked during a speech in 1994. In recent years, the Duke of Sussex (Netflix calls him Prince Harry) made headlines when he fought to continue his RaSP protection detail even after leaving his royal role and moving to California in 2020. In close protection scenarios, RaSP officers typically wear a suit with a concealed firearm, radio, and less-than-lethal weapons in certain instances. In contrast, officers don a more traditional uniform when providing overt armed protective security at royal residences. This operational duality is reflected in the unit’s choices for customized timepieces. A Custom Full-Metal G-Shock For Royalty Protection Officers The RaSP’s customized GM-B2100BD-1A. (Photo Credit: G-Central) The impetus for this article stems from G-Central, a leader in G-Shock news and information. A few weeks back, we noticed a post covering a unit-specific version of the GM-B2100BD-1A, a full-metal variant of the so-called “CasiOak” that debuted back in 2019. With an analog-digital display and an IP-coated black stainless steel case and bracelet, the RaSP unit variant was spotted on uniformed officers outside Windsor Castle and included a custom United Kingdom flag integrating a Thin Blue Line motif on the clasp as well as a special XIV engraving on the bracelet. The XIV references the SO14, the former name of the Royalty Protection Department that merged with SO1 or Specialist Protection to become the modern RaSP in 2015. On the case back, the watch offered an engraved image of Windsor Castle. Judging by the wear across the case and bracelet on the watches spotted by G-Central, the Royalty Protection Officers use these tools in performing their duties, with the G-Shock serving as an excellent pairing with the more utilitarian uniform worn by the unit in this instance. While we always hear about G-Shock in military and law enforcement scenarios, customized unit versions are rare and in this case, pretty cool. A custom caseback and clasp engraving for the RaSP G-Shock. (Photo Credit: G-Central) Rather than an officially sanctioned unit watch, these G-Shock models appear to have been a smaller unofficial unit purchase only for members of Windsor Castle’s protective detail. With that in mind, the G-Shocks do not expressly display “RaSP”, instead using XIV as a reference to the unit’s history. For more refined scenarios including providing close protection for royals during public events, RaSP also has a couple of interesting official watches from more luxurious brands in its stable. Omega Planet Ocean For Royalty Protection Officers Known for recently providing customized versions of the Seamaster Diver 300 to US Navy SEALs, Danish Frogmen, and the US Secret Service, Omega also produced a very rare unit version of its Seamaster Planet Ocean for RaSP, designing the piece with input from the unit in 2018 with delivery of approximately 60 units taking place in 2020. From the front, the watch looks identical to civilian market versions. On the case sides, the watches are engraved with the officer’s initials, warrant number, and watch issue number, marking the only time we’ve seen engravings on the case side of a unit-customized Omega. In addition, the sapphire exhibition case back is emblazoned with a two-part emblem consisting of a crown representing the royalty side of the branch as well as a portcullis signifying the specialist side tasked with protecting government ministers and other dignitaries. In addition, the caseback's outer perimeter references the previous unit designations used by those departments that merged to eventually become RaSP. SO14 and SO1 we've already touched on, which were in existence until 2015, however SO12(A) was an earlier forerunner on the ministerial side. The Shield Protects The Crown (Photo Credit: Bob’s Watches) The phenomenon of Tudors of Espionage (T.O.E.) is nothing new, with the shield having provided special unit versions of many of its core models to various military and governmental organizations. Around 2017 or 2018, the unit commissioned 75 Tudor Black Bay Blue for current and former members of the unit through Watches of Switzerland. A Tudor rose with a crown on top is on the dial, representing an intriguing mashup between Tudor the watch brand’s rose logo—seen on the crown on this reference—and the traditional heraldic rose that often serves as an emblem of England. The case back is engraved with “ROYALTY & SPECIALIST PROTECTION”, an individual's identification number, and serialized one through 75. Photo Credit: Bob’s Watches (Left) & Ross Povey (Right) Like other special watches commissioned for military or government units, several of these RaSP Tudor Black Bay have made their way into private civilian hands by way of prominent auction houses and aftermarket resellers asking for prices as high as $30,000. One special example produced for Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022 hammered for a staggering CHF 81,900, about $91k in today’s US dollars. These very public sales—one of which occurred around the time of The Queen's funeral—resulted in a change of policy from the department's senior leadership sometime in 2023, and there have been no newly developed official RaSP unit watches since. That’s why the above-mentioned G-Shock was produced on a smaller team-specific scale without RaSP markings. While we are not here to condemn unit members looking to turn a profit on personalized watches they likely never imagined would attain such value, we prefer to see these in the hands of the operators themselves, carrying forward the Use Your Tools ethos. Dual Purpose Tools While we typically concentrate on unit watches related to the military and intelligence community, there is clearly a significant community of watch enthusiasts in law enforcement and first responders. Unit watches like those produced for the UK’s Royalty Protection Officers serve a dual purpose role, acting as tools in the performance of their daily missions while also serving as keepsakes honoring their service both during and after the fact. Seeing such a wide swath of watchmaking within the Royalty Protection community, from a $500 G-Shock to luxury models from Omega and Tudor, further solidifies that our community is oriented around the capabilities and intrigue of the tool rather than flex culture. If you have other interesting unit watches to share, you know where to find us. If you enjoyed this article, please consider signing up for our weekly free newsletter for further updates HERE. READ NEXT: U.S. Presidents and Timepieces, The Last 40 Years

The Watch Journey Of A Vietnam Fighter Pilot & Astronaut  by Nick Ferrell NASA Astronaut and US Air Force Colonel Richard Covey recalls the first time he glimpsed the sunrise over the curvature of the Earth from 150 miles up in space, “I thought two things: First, ‘Holy Cow!’ This was followed by wonder at the thin protective film of the Earth’s atmosphere, the only thing differentiating it from millions of lifeless rocks floating throughout the universe.” On Covey’s wrist was not his NASA-issued Omega Speedmaster Professional, but a 1970s Seiko 6139 chronograph, serving as the second now-confirmed instance of one of the world’s first automatic chronographs being used as a tool by NASA astronauts in space. Colonel Covey during the September 1985 Discovery Space Shuttle STS-51 mission with a 1971 Seiko 6139-6002 ”Cevert” on his right wrist and a 1980s Seiko A289-6019 on his left. (Photo Credit: NASA) Until recently, the legendary “Pogue” 6139 worn by Colonel William Pogue on 1973’s Skylab 4 was considered the only documented case of a 6139 in space. That is until I came across a photo of Colonel Covey during a space mission with what appeared to be a Seiko 6139 on one wrist with another then-unidentified watch on the other. Intrigued, I started my research. After some OSINT sleuthing and outreach, the Colonel himself agreed to speak with me. The Air Force, Becoming A Pilot, & Air Combat In Vietnam Covey’s path to becoming a NASA astronaut began in 1964 after attending the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) and graduating with a degree in engineering. On his wrist upon arrival was cutting-edge watch tech for the day, an electronic Accutron 214 gifted by his family for high school graduation. Fascinated by all things rocketry, Covey was fortunate to find an Academy mentor to guide him toward his ultimate goal of flying in space as an astronaut. Colonel Richard Covey’s Accutron 214 Electric Watch (Photo Credit: Colonel Covey) In 1971, after graduating from the competitive USAFA-Purdue Aeronautics and Astronautics M.S. program as well as 18 months of jet pilot training in the F-100 Super Sabre supersonic fighter and A-37B Dragonfly subsonic light attack aircraft, Covey received orders to the Air Force’s 8th Special Operations Squadron (8th SOS). Following the Tet Offensive, the conflict in Vietnam continued to escalate. Covey knew he would be going to war. USAF A-37 Dragonfly, aka “Super Tweet” subsonic light attack jet (Photo Credit: Ken Hammond) After arriving at Bien Hoa AFB in South Vietnam, Covey primarily flew A-37B close-air support (CAS) sorties in support of the Cambodian Government against Khmer Rouge forces operating on the Ho Chi Minh trail. During his first tour, Covey purchased a Seiko 6139, the first automatic chronograph released only two years prior in 1969 alongside other pioneering automatic chronographs from brands like Heuer, Breitling, and Hamilton.  A Seiko 6139 “Cevert” similar to the one Covey purchased at a PX during his first deployment to Vietnam. (Photo Credit: DC Vintage Watches) When asked why he selected the watch — a blue-dialed Seiko 6139-6002 “Cevert” — he noted it was, “...an oversized watch that made it not only functional, but very distinctive.” He labeled the 6139 a go-to among fellow combat pilots during both Vietnam tours, because “It was wholly up to the pilots to pick what watches best served them.”  Covey, front row center wearing his 1971 Seiko 6139-6002 chronograph, poses with his 8th Special Operations Squadron, Bien Hoa Air Force Base, South Vietnam, 1971 (Photo Credit: Colonel Richard Covey) Also issued to the Japan Air Self-Defense Force in the 1970s, the 6139’s appeal wasn’t limited to military pilots, finding favor with French auto racing legend François Cevert (the source of the blue-dialed 6139’s “Cevert” nickname), Tetsu Ikuzawa, one of Japan’s most successful racing drivers, and even Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason.  A 1972 Seiko 6139-6002 chronograph and a Japanese Air Self-Defense Force-issued 1973 Seiko 6139-7012, w/official JASDF engravings on case back, alongside a NASA STS-26 flight patch (Photo Credit: DC Vintage Watches) In 1973, Covey arrived in Vietnam for his second deployment, this time with the storied 74th Tactical Fighter Squadron, flying CAS missions with the A-7D light attack jet. The Colonel noted this mission — which involved operating outside of Vietnam against Soviet and Chinese-supported allies in support of friendly governments — was held close to the chest and pilots were ordered not to speak about their missions.  USAAF A-7D Corsair light attack jets over Southeast Asia (Photo Credit: USAF) In total, Covey flew 339 combat missions, the majority being pre-planned strikes informed by all-source intelligence, including intel gathered by the highly secretive Military Assistance Command, Vietnam – Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG) that has its own prominent Seiko associations. Coincidentally, SOG operator and former Dispatch subject Michael “Magnet” O’Byrne and Covey, both of whom used Seiko watches, had overlapping tours, with a high likelihood some of Covey’s missions were informed by O’Byrne’s SOG team—small world.  Covey (standing) wearing his Seiko 6139-6002 at Bien Hoa AFB in South Vietnam alongside an A-37D Dragonfly. (Photo Credit: Colonel Richard Covey) Following his second tour in Vietnam, Covey, who still wore his 6139 every time he climbed into a cockpit, became a test pilot, flying F-4 Phantoms, A-7Ds, and F-15s until 1979 when he achieved his lifelong dream of joining NASA to become an astronaut.  NASA, Riding Explosions, & More Watches   Colonel Covey wearing his 1971 Seiko 6139-6002 chronograph, NASA flight line at the Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, 1978 (Photo Credit: NASA) After years of intensive training, Covey was assigned to his first space mission in 1985, serving as the pilot of Space Shuttle Discovery on Space Mission STS-51-I, tasked with deploying three communications satellites over seven days in space. Over 15 years including combat in Vietnam, flying as a test pilot, astronaut training, and his first space mission, Covey continued to reach for his Seiko 6139 — “I never took it off during that time.” This is all more impressive considering Covey was also the owner of an Omega Speedmaster Professional issued to him by NASA.  Intriguing, Covey’s Seiko 6139 had competition on his first space mission, with the astronaut also wearing a quartz-powered 1980s Seiko A829-6019, a watch he said was widely favored by numerous NASA astronauts at the time. One watch was for Houston time, the other for Mission Elapsed Time (MET). When I asked where his Omega was, Covey quipped astronauts of the day favored Seiko over other watches due to the exceptional capabilities offered by the venerable Japanese brand. As was the case with Air Force fighter pilots in Vietnam, astronauts were free to choose watches that best served the unique requirements of their mission. A 1970s Seiko 6139-6002 on a news article celebrating the successful 1988 Discovery STS-26 space mission. Covey is to the immediate right of VPOTUS George Bush. (Photo Credit: DC Vintage Watch)  Covey’s second space mission came in 1988 as the pilot of STS-26, again flying aboard the Discovery to deploy a TDRS-3 NASA space communications satellite. A somber mission crewed by space flight veterans, STS-26 was the first space flight following the Challenger disaster, an event that hit particularly close to home for Covey who served as the CAPCOM  – the astronaut on Earth who communicates with crew members in their spacecraft – for the astronauts who perished in the accident.  The crew of NASA’s STS-26 space mission, Colonel Covey front right wearing his 1980’s Seiko A289-6019, October 1988 (Photo Credit: NASA) Promoted to commander, Covey undertook two more space missions, STS-38 and STS-61, with some 16 days aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis (1990) and the Endeavour (1993). STS-38 caught my eye, given its classified payload for the Department of Defense. Aviation Week reported the mission was suspected of having launched an electronics intelligence (ELINT) satellite headed for geosynchronous orbit to monitor the Desert Shield and Desert Storm conflicts. Some speculated a second satellite was also deployed, with a stealthier mission to covertly inspect other nation's geostationary satellites (Covey – “no comment”). In 2004, NBC published more details about the second bird, seemingly confirming its secretive mission.  Actor Ed Harris playing NASA Flight Director Gene Kranz in the film Apollo 13, wearing a 1970s Seiko 6139 - this dial variant hadn’t debuted during the film’s timeline (Photo Credit: Universal Pictures) Were Apollo 13 (1995) film producers aware of Covey’s Seiko 6139? Ed Harris, as Flight Director Gene Kranz, wore one like Covey’s in the film. Who knows? After I joked the dark blue Seiko 6139 should be called “The Covey,” he noted he was aware of the gold-dialed Seiko 6139-6005 worn by astronaut Colonel William Pogue, aka “The Pogue” (also purchased at a PX) during his 1973 Skylab 4 space mission. Vintage advertisements for the Seiko 6139 and A829 favored by Covey and other astronauts. (Photo Credit: Seiko) While the Seiko 6139 accompanied Covey for his first space mission, his Seiko A829 served as his primary watch for all four of his space flights. (with his NASA-issued Omega Speedmaster as backup to his Seiko - the horror). Following his final space mission in 1993, Covey retired from the USAF and NASA in 1994 to work in several senior defense sector positions, ultimately retiring in 2010. Throughout Covey’s USAF and NASA career, he would be awarded dozens of medals, foremost being the DoD Distinguished Service Medal, five USAF Distinguished Flying Crosses (four in Vietnam with the A-37 Dragonfly, one for the classified STS-38 space mission), and the National Intelligence Medal of Achievement for STS-38. During his career, Covey flew over 5,700 hours in 30 airframes and traveled 4,433,772 miles in 163 orbits of the Earth over nearly 27 days. Today, the retired Colonel’s everyday watch is an Omega Speedmaster Professional X-33 gifted to Covey by Omega when it debuted in 1998.  Colonel Covey receives the United States National Intelligence Medal of Achievement for his contributions to NASA’s classified STS-38 space mission. (Photo Credit: Colonel Richard Covey) But where are Covey’s space-flown watches Seiko watches today? Unfortunately, his Seiko A829 and NASA-issued Omega Speedmaster were stolen during a 1990’s break-in along with a two-tone Rolex Datejust. I also asked where his dark blue Seiko 6139 was now. “It wasn’t lost in the break-in, and I am certain I have it somewhere… My curiosity will lead me to look hard for it.” A few weeks later, Covey reached out to me, “Look what I found! If you hadn’t reminded me, I would not have remembered this is a space-flown watch.”  Colonel Covey’s February 1971 Seiko 6139-6002 chronograph, w/original “presidential” stainless-steel Seiko bracelet. (Photo Credit: Colonel Richard Covey) Despite the attention often falling on Omega where space travel is concerned, Covey’s story again illustrates the permeating influence of Seiko among military, intelligence professionals, and even astronauts. With an incredible career as a pilot as well as serving as a NASA astronaut and even making his mark on the world of espionage, Colonel Covey embodies the “Use Your Tools” ethos while reminding us that not every been-there-done-that watch has to cost an arm and a leg.  If you enjoyed this article, please consider signing up for our weekly free newsletter for further updates HERE. READ NEXT: "Let's Roll" - A Hero's Rolex Frozen In Time - September 11, 2001 About The Author: Nick Ferrell is a vintage watch dealer and founder of Los Angeles-based DC Vintage Watches and the Sycamore watch line. He is a former U.S. diplomat and intelligence community member, and previously served on the National Security Council. When not obsessing over watches, he is an avid reader of, well, everything. DCVW’s Instagram account is @DCVintageWatches.

Picking More Reasonable Timepieces For History's Most Famous Secret Agent When it comes to Watches of Espionage, James Bond is the elephant in the room. While there is a significant gap between real-world intelligence operations and Hollywood's depiction, Ian Fleming’s character has had an indelible impact on our community’s watch culture. We know several real “spies” who purchased an Omega or Rolex because of the Bond connection. Even before the legendary films, 007 was already closely linked to the world of horology. Fleming, the legendary author behind Bond, even went so far as to name names, calling out a “Rolex Oyster Perpetual” in his 1954 novel, Live and Let Die while unfortunately failing to identify a specific model. Likely inspired by Fleming’s reference 1016 Explorer, many regard the James Bond of the literary world as an Explorer man as well. However, 1962’s Dr. No, the secret agent’s first foray into film, would forever alter Bond’s history with Rolex, with Sean Connery serving up a full-screen wrist shot of a Submariner reference 6538. Beyond a few abbreviated sojourns into other brands including Breitling, Seiko, and Hamilton, the Bond of film was primarily a Rolex guy until 1995’s GoldenEye where Irish actor Pierce Brosnan famously wore an Omega Seamaster Professional, a seismic shift for watch enthusiasts. In the Dispatch, we’ve argued for tradition in favor of The Crown in the past with an excellent counter-argument coming from Caleb Daniels in favor of Omega, which remains Bond’s chosen brand. It’s a fun debate, but what watch would a former British SpecOps turned “Secret Agent” really wear? Bond’s Rolex Submariner 6538 in Dr. No and the OMEGA Seamaster Professional in GoldenEye are both icons, but what if they’re not the right picks?  Taking a step back, there’s a good chance a real “secret agent" using their license to kill on MI6’s behalf wouldn’t wear a luxury watch at all. With the most up-to-date Rolex Submariner Date reference 126610 coming in at $10,250 (assuming you can get one) and Omega’s 007 Edition No Time To Die Seamaster priced right at ten grand US, the biggest issue here is probably cost taking into account Bond’s role as a civil servant. Add to that the ostentatious nature of these heavily-branded luxury watches for a guy who would probably prefer a low profile, and some other timepieces just might be better suited to Bond’s profession. In addition, we'd argue our Bond would also favor British watchmaking brands, with more great options than ever before coming from the UK. In this Dispatch, we’ll share our picks for which watch we think our more reasonable 007 would wear. CWC SBS Diver Issue Price: $750  Given Bond’s insurmountable Britishness, we would argue it makes sense to look at brands with strong ties to the Empire as well as the Ministry of Defense (MOD). The obvious choice is a brand with a strong following in the W.O.E. community, CWC or Cabot Watch Company, which was founded in 1972 for no reason other than supplying the MOD. For maritime specialist units including the Royal Marines and Special Boat Service, CWC has long supplied the SBS Diver Issue, a PVD-coated descendant of the original Royal Navy Diver’s watch that succeeded the Rolex Military Submariner in 1980. We know several former British SBS members who still have, and wear, their issued SBS, making this a logical watch for Bond. Robert 'Bob' Hawkins (1961-2023) was a legend in the Mine Warfare Clearance Diving community. Like Bond, Hawkins was a Commander in the Royal Navy and is seen here wearing the CWC SBS Diver Issue. With 300 meters of water resistance, the utility offered by day and date functions, and excellent legibility, the SBS Diver Issue is an excellent option for the modern British secret agent whether he’s doing some Thunderball-style diving combat or simply keeping a lower profile. Fixed lug bars mean Bond is stuck with pull-through straps, but for a secret agent who inspired a namesake nylon strap color scheme, it shouldn’t be a problem.  Vertex M100A Price: $2,625  For a more old-school look that also leans into the literary Bond who many argue wore a Rolex Explorer, we have the Vertex M100A. Dating back to 1912, Vertex is another brand closely associated with the Ministry of Defense, having produced watches for the British military as early as the First World War. Of the twelve manufacturers of the legendary “Dirty Dozen” watches produced for the Allied war effort in World War II, Vertex was the only British option, with the modern M100A calling back to that history with its core design while making room for more modern watchmaking standards and specifications. But what does James Bond have to do with a WWII field watch, you may ask? (Photo Credit: WatchGecko) Thunderball aside, the vast majority of Bond’s adventures both tactical and otherwise have taken place in the dry, and we might argue some of the key elements of a perfect Bond watch would be—even more than water resistance—legibility, durability, and the timeless style so often associated with Bond’s on-screen portrayals. Compared to something like the aforementioned blacked-out CWC, the Vertex would also be a lot easier to wear with a tux.  Elliot Brown Holton Professional Price: $541 Where the CWC SBS celebrates its history of issue to the Special Boat Service in both name and marketing, the Holton Professional from Elliot Brown takes a more subtle approach to its special operations associations. Founded in 2013, the founding principle of Elliot Brown’s collection is durability, with many of the watches finding favor within the British Military. Based in Poole, the elite Special Boat Service approached Elliot Brown in 2015 to help design a watch for the unit to issue. The result was the Holton Professional, a watch that has earned an NSN or Nato Stock Number making it available for official issue to military forces. Coming from another British brand, and with a quartz movement, hardened stainless steel bezel, and C3 Super-LumiNova, the Holton also presents a solid option for someone like Bond who is likely to be harder on his watches than most. For deep nerds, Bond has an entirely imagined special operations background, meaning Commander Bond may have either been issued the Holton Professional or purchased a special version as part of a smaller unit-specific order. Bremont S302 Price $4,200  Currently the subject of some well-deserved controversy regarding a recent rebranding effort, Bremont is still among our top picks for James Bond. Despite its foundations in aviation, Bremont also boasts an impressive array of diving-oriented watches under the Supermarine name. For a more luxurious option compared to some of the other watches we’ve highlighted, we select the S302 for Bond, a watch that combines 300 meters of water resistance with the useful addition of a GMT function. Where some of our choices thus far are more utilitarian and even tactical, Bremont manages to straddle the line, feeling just almost as at home with a suit from Savile Row as it does with a wetsuit, no mean feat. The S302’s GMT is particularly appropriate as well. As we discussed in our Dispatch unpacking Zulu Time, having a second timezone at a glance provides tremendous upside for an asset coordinating with a broader multi-agency effort. Besides, Bremont is one of the few companies that has actually made a unit watch for the British Secret Intelligence Service.  Christopher Ward C60 Trident Pro 300 Price: $1,095 Long scolded as a microbrand rehashing established designs, Christopher Ward has stepped up massively in recent years and is another brand with a strong following in the W.O.E. community, at an affordable price point. For a government employee like James Bond, the price of the C60 Trident Pro, one of Christopher Ward’s marquee dive watches, is fair. Add to that the watch’s solid water resistance and legible dial format and we have another under-the-radar pick for Bond. Adding an element of legitimacy, Christopher Ward has been quietly collaborating with numerous military units in recent years. Despite solid finishing for the price range, the Trident isn’t ostentatious and doesn’t advertise to prying eyes or invite further scrutiny. Bamford London GMT Price: $1,500  Better known for Bamford Watch Department’s watch customizations and collaborations with established watchmakers from the luxury tier, George Bamford also produces a more attainable line of wholly designed watches under the Bamford London moniker. Assuming our modern Bond was a man of more avant-garde styling who rubbed shoulders with Eton graduates, something like the Bamford London GMT could make a lot of sense.  Available in a wide array of dial colors, Bamford’s GMT is housed within a reasonable 40mm case complete with an internal rotating GMT bezel that obviates the risk of accidentally changing the secondary timezone on display. For the $1,500 asking price, Bond also gets an excellent bracelet, 100 meters of water resistance, as well as a sub-12mm case height that should work as well with a tuxedo as it would with a woolen commando sweater.  Arken Alterum Price: $750  A true microbrand at this stage, Arken presents a wild card choice for Bond. Housed within a scratch-resistant titanium case, the Alterum, the second watch from the brand, fuses GMT functionality with 200 meters of water resistance and a design format that is a lot further afield than many of our previous choices. Admittedly, the Alterum dial serves up a lot of information including the second time zone, managed by a GMT hand, as well as a date sub-register and an intriguing day/night indicator executed with a pair of apertures on the dial’s lower half. Despite the additional complexity, the overall effect is clean, subtle, and the kind of thing Bond could easily wear in virtually any environment without anyone asking too many questions.  Final Thoughts For the diehard Rolex and Omega James Bond fanboys, the picks in this Dispatch may be blasphemous. We invite you to submit your counterarguments in the comments. In any counterpoints, it's important to remember that for intelligence professionals like Bond, watches are, first and foremost, a tool. While there is a significant watch luxury watch culture in espionage, it’s not so hard to imagine a real-life James Bond might benefit from a watch that won’t get him mugged by some scooter-riding London street toughs. As for Bond's strap of choice, we'd argue 007 would do his best work with a Five Eye (FVEY). -- If you enjoyed this article, please consider signing up for our weekly free newsletter for further updates HERE. Read Next: Does Rolex Make Mistakes? The Motley 8 - Error Batman Bezel

Crossing The Atlantic In A DC-3 To Commemorate The 80th Anniversary Of Operation Overlord  Watches intended for pilots represent one of the most compelling categories in the arena of tool watches, only matched in enthusiast appeal by watches designed for diving. Pilots are, for lack of a better term, cool. And in the realm of flying, it’s difficult to imagine a cooler undertaking than piloting 1940s aircraft over the Atlantic to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day. This is the mission of the D-Day Squadron, an intrepid group of enthusiasts, crew, and commercial and general aviation pilots tasked with flying vintage Douglas C-47s and DC-3s back to Normandy where they changed the course of history eight decades ago. As we have often described, pilots have a close relationship with timepieces, and in this Dispatch we’ll take a closer look at the watches these pilots wore while hand-wheeling 80-year-old aircraft across the Atlantic, battling arctic cold with no autopilot and only marginal heating systems. Despite the desperate need for sponsorship dollars to keep these vintage aircraft in operational condition, no watch brand jumped at the opportunity in this case, meaning the watches were a direct result of the preferences, personal choices, and stories of the pilots. As a professional photographer and amateur watch enthusiast, I was honored by the opportunity to ride along and document the journey, the watches, and more importantly, the stories behind them.  To the readers of W.O.E., it may not come as a surprise that the most common brand on the wrists of these pilots was Breitling. No matter how you slice it, flying 80-plus-year-old radial-engined airplanes across the Atlantic is sketchy—the good kind of sketchy. That said, smartwatches were also a common sight, and many pilots had opted not to wear a watch at all, but we’re not here to talk about them.  Breitling Emergency One of the pilots on C-47 Placid Lassie wore an orange-dialed Breitling Emergency with the brand’s Co-Pilot module, essentially a miniature digital watch integrated into the bracelet and capable of tracking UTC and flight time while also providing another chronograph. Pilots love redundancies. Frequently flying older aircraft, the pilot appreciated the utility of the Emergency, knowing that, as long as he could activate the watch’s signal in the event of a crash, his body would be found and returned to his family. His Emergency was one of the first sold in the US, something the pilot was proud of, representing his 20-year connection to Breitling that all started with a B1.  Hamilton Khaki Aviation Pilot Pioneer The youngest pilot on the crossing was flying with his father, the D-Day Squadron chief pilot. The son wore a newly acquired watch, a Hamilton Khaki Aviation Pilot Pioneer he picked up because he was tired of changing the batteries on his former quartz Timex. After initially deciding against what was for him an expensive mechanical watch, the young pilot ultimately decided to pull the trigger to commemorate a series of events: getting his type rating as a C-47 co-pilot, his first solo flight in a Twin Beach, and of course, the transatlantic crossing side-by-side with his father for D-Day 80. Omega Speedmaster Another pilot onboard D-Day veteran Placid Lassie was wearing an Omega Speedmaster he plans to give to his son one day. After losing a watch in the gym, he spent an entire year deciding which watch to get as a replacement. When his son was born, he decided it was time for something significant: “I like to buy one nice thing and keep that.” Influenced by the Speedy’s history in rally racing, the watch’s celebrated role in the Apollo missions, and its broader significance in aviation, he selected the Omega Speedmaster, purchasing a brand new example with the goal of adding his own patina over the years before gifting the watch to his son. The veteran pilot said he wears the watch for literally everything he does, including all of his travels, flying airplanes old and new (Douglas C-47s, Boeing 737s, and the North American T-6, a WWII Trainer), swimming in the ocean, sailing, and more. With only one service to date, he said the watch gets excellent marks for reliability. Before parting, he mentioned, “I’d love to have a Rolex, but I don’t know if it is for me.” Timex Expedition Chronograph  The loadmaster for C-47 Placid Lassie wore a simple Timex Chronograph. He admitted to not knowing too much about watches but picked this one because of its military look and the way the olive-drab color scheme matched the aircraft he helps care for.  Breitling Aviator 8 Curtiss Warhawk P-40 & Other Assorted Breitling Models  Purchased only three weeks before the crossing, the Douglas A-26 Invader Million Airess was late to the party, bringing with it the highest concentration of interesting watches I experienced during the trip. An owner of many luxury watches, he chose his most meaningful for the flight, a serial number 3 Breitling Aviator 8 Curtiss Warhawk P-40 that was also the first example sold in the United States. The watch commemorated a friend, the late Ollie Crawford who flew Curtiss P-40s during the war. A longtime friend of the brand, Crawford, who passed in 2019, was prominently featured in Breitling marketing over the years.  The pilot and owner described himself as a bit of a Breitling fan, even going as far as securing watches for the entire crew to wear for the historic flight including a modern Avenger, a Colt Skyracer, and two iterations of the Emergency. As previously mentioned, the Emergency models take on an even more significant role on a transatlantic flight done the old-school way.  Vaer C5 Tactical Field Solar  When asked about his all-black field watch, a Spirit of Douglas co-pilot said he simply wanted a dependable watch requiring no maintenance, eventually selecting an inexpensive solar-charging Vaer C5 for the crossing. After some prying, he also shared the story of his most meaningful watch, a 1975 Omega Speedmaster gifted to him by his grandfather after completing flight training. Remaining the source of great meaning many years later, the old Speedy served as a sign of approval after his grandfather initially criticized his decision to become a pilot. For fear of damaging such a significant family heirloom, he elected not to bring the Speedmaster along for the transatlantic journey.  Breitling Navitimer  One of the watches most concretely linked to aviation, it was no surprise to see a Breitling Navitimer on the wrist of one of the pilots of the UK-based C-47 Drag-em-oot. Also the owner of one of the Navitimers that went around the world onboard a DC-3 for a publicity stunt some years back, this is one he typically wears, making it the watch on his wrist for this historic event.  Praesidus C-47 D-Day  Another watch story from the trip that is worth telling but unrelated to the aircraft crossing is that of the Praesidus C-47 D-Day, a field watch with a dial made from the doors of a vintage C-47 present on D-Day. The watches were gifted to D-Day veterans present for the 80th-anniversary ceremony. The veterans seemed to appreciate them. If you enjoyed this article, please consider signing up for our weekly free newsletter for further updates HERE. READ NEXT: Covert Influence in Watch Media About the Author: René is an aviation photographer and writer from Germany focusing on vintage aircraft and warbirds. He has followed the W.O.E. blog from the very beginning with a keen interest in tool watches. All photos are credited to @romeolimaphoto. 

Materials, History, Fit, & Which Strap Is Right For You One of the most common ways for members of our community to customize their watches is with a new strap that is, in either material or design, more appropriate for austere conditions. Over the past couple of years, we have grown our strap collection to include more refined options made from domestically sourced leather and more attainable choices designed to excel in the most extreme scenarios. We are often asked what is the best strap for a given use case, and in this Dispatch, we’ll provide an overview of our strap collection including some pros and cons, historical and design background, and recommendations based on some of the questions we are most commonly asked. As always, everything we make is developed for the quiet professional, someone who appreciates the history of Intelligence and Special Operations and honors those who came before us. W.O.E. Fabric Straps Closely associated with military watches, pull-through fabric watch straps trace their origins to the mid-century when they were utilized by American and British armed forces, with the most popular format tracing dating back to 1973 and a British Military design known as the G10. Commonly issued to the British Ministry of Defense, the G10 also cemented the formula for the majority of nylon watch straps to follow. In starting our collection of fabric watch straps, we partnered with veteran-owned and UK-based Zulu Alpha Straps to create the most premium fabric straps possible which are also manufactured in Great Britain. Then, to provide a more attainable alternative that also conforms to the obsessive quality standards of our community, we designed the Five Eye nylon strap that we believe is the best on the market for the price. Five Eye Nylon Watch Strap - $35-38 Named after the intelligence-sharing alliance of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States, the Five Eye (FVEY) Nylon Watch Strap is our modern take on the iconic British Military G10 design from 1973. This collection is more attainable compared to our Zulu Alpha collaborations while still providing a premium wearing experience and unrivaled durability for a watch of this style. The Five Eye is built from a custom matte woven material with a reinforced stitched tip and is complete with our custom stainless steel hardware. We didn’t reinvent the wheel but did take the original design to the next level with modern materials, manufacturing standards, and colors tailored to the unique needs of our community. To suit a wider variety of watches, we offer solid colors, striped variants, and Five Eye straps with black-coated PVD hardware, all in 20 and 22-mm sizes that will fit wrists from 6.25 to 9 IN (15.9 to 22.9 CM). Of note, like all “affordable” nylon straps, these are produced in Asia. Cons: With almost four hundred five-star reviews, the Five Eye doesn’t have a lot of cons, but like any nylon strap, the look isn’t elegant or refined and wouldn’t be a great pairing for dressier watches. ORDER HERE Glomar Explorer - Hook And Loop Watch Strap - $47 Modeled off traditional hook-and-loop dive watch straps, the Glomar Explorer is a premium single-pass adjustable adventure strap for those who use their watches as tools. We set out to create a premium “hook and loop” watch strap, something that many consider an oxymoron. After many iterations over a six-month period and extensive testing, we finally came up with the design of the Glomar Explorer. We developed an ultra-thin custom matte weave nylon construction, a custom 316L stainless steel engraved buckle, and a strap keeper to ensure the watch remains secure on your wrist. The Glomar Explorer is available in two lengths, Short (for wrists between 5.5 to 6.5 IN/14 to 16.5 CM) and Standard (for wrists between 6.5 to 8.5 IN/16.5 to 21.5 CM), and in two colors: black and admiralty grey with olive green coming soon. The strap name is derived from USNS Hughes Glomar Explorer, a deep-sea drillship platform that was used by the CIA to recover a Soviet submarine K-129 in the Pacific Ocean in 1974. To be clear, this is not your grandpa’s Walmart hook and loop strap. Cons: With a casual and utilitarian look, a hook and loop strap simply isn’t going to be for everyone. Sizing will also be an issue for some as the wearing experience will depend on the lug length of the watch in question, wrist size, and how tightly the strap is worn.  ORDER HERE Single Pass Zulu Alpha Strap 4.0 - $145 It’s crazy to think we’re on the fourth iteration of our collaboration with Zulu Alpha, one of the world’s premier makers of fabric straps and a supplier of other webbing items to the British Ministry of Defense (MOD). Back in 2022, we started with the 1.0, with each subsequent variant incorporating color changes and small upgrades inspired by the community. Our Single Pass Zulu Alpha 4.0 is the culmination of everything we’ve learned working with Zulu Alpha and direct feedback from end users. Completely constructed in Great Britain, the 4.0 is 11.8 IN (30 CM) long, 1.2mm thick, and complete with a uniquely adhered patch with the W.O.E. Spearhead logo. Secured by way of an over-engineered stainless steel buckle that is also available with a PVD finish, the 4.0 is available in both 20 and 22-mm widths and will fit the vast majority of adult wrists. If you’re looking for the most premium, capable, and durable fabric strap on the market, this is it, full stop. Cons: Every aspect of our Zulu Alpha straps is ultra-premium, produced entirely in the UK, and designed without compromise. The price reflects our no-holds-barred approach to a fabric watch strap for the most extreme conditions. ORDER HERE USA Five Eye - Third Option Foundation - $40 While it’s otherwise the same as our standard Five Eye Straps, our USA Third Option Foundation Fundraiser offers the most eye-catching visual format in our entire collection with a subtle play on the red, white, and blue color scheme. Benefitting CIA paramilitary officers and their families, $20 (50%) of every USA Five Eye sale goes directly to Third Option Foundation. Just as at home sipping PBR in your local dive bar as it is sailing the Cape on your dad’s catamaran, the USA Stripe Five Eye is the undisputed strap of summer. Available in both 20 and 22mm, the USA Five Eye can also be purchased with PVD hardware, a look works a lot better than we thought it would. Cons: Celebrating freedom and donating to charity aren’t for everyone.  This strap is a limited edition. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. ORDER HERE W.O.E Leather Straps While there is a lot of virtue signaling and overstated marketing language associated with goods that are “Made in America”, supporting small businesses in the United States is in line with our core beliefs as a community. This is especially true when it comes to leather goods. There is no shortage of reasonably high-quality leather straps imported from Asia, but we believe the finest leather straps come from right here in the USA or, in some cases, Europe.  With that in mind, our collection of leather straps is entirely produced by hand in small batches from the finest quality materials in the United States or Europe, with each strap demonstrating subtle differences and the ability to patina over time for a custom look and feel. Like all leather straps, these are not your best options for use in or around water but do provide a durable and handsome pairing for field watches, vintage divers on desk duty, or any other refined watch in your collection. Jedburgh Leather Watch Strap - $115 Named after the Jedburgh teams of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), “The Jedburgh” was W.O.E’s first leather strap, handmade in the USA with American-made English bridle leather. Available to fit 20 and 22-mm lugs, the Jedburgh is complete with a subtle W.O.E. Spearhead stamp at the tip, white hand stitching throughout, and a buckle available in either polished stainless steel or black-coated PVD. The Jedburgh is designed to break in for a comfortable custom fit that is best for wrists between 5.75 to 7.5 IN (14.6 to 19.1 CM). For a refined look, the Jedburgh also tapers 4 millimeters from the lugs to the buckle, meaning the buckle measures 16mm on the 20mm strap and 18mm for the 22mm variant. Cons: Tapering from 20 to 16mm and shorter than some of our straps, the Jedburgh is not the best choice for larger wrists or heavier watches. While we’ve seen some of you guys push the envelope, the Jedburgh is also not the best option for extreme use i.e. jumping out of airplanes. ORDER HERE Horween Leather and Canvas Strap - $185 Produced in the United States in extremely limited quantities, our Leather and Canvas Strap pairs Horween leather tanned in Chicago with repurposed camouflage canvas from surplus military uniforms. These robust straps were designed by W.O.E. in collaboration with Greg Stevens Design, one of the best in the custom leather strap business, and manufactured by hand in Utah. Available in 20 and 22-mm widths, the Leather and Canvas strap is thicker than the Jedburgh and does not taper, making this strap an excellent choice for heavier watches while being designed to fit wrist sizes between 6.25 to 7.75 IN (15.9 to 19.7 CM). Given our use of repurposed military uniforms, this strap also offers a wide range of variation in terms of the actual color and condition of the canvas material. Complete with a signed stainless steel buckle, the Leather and Canvas Strap is a more rugged leather option ideally suited for larger watches and larger wrists. Cons: Manufactured without taper and with a less subtle look compared to many of our straps, our Leather and Canvas Strap is unapologetically extreme and therefore not for everyone. ORDER HERE Leather Single Pass Zulu - $92 Our newest leather strap, the Leather Single Pass Zulu is intended to serve as a bridge between our leather strap collection and the legendary nylon pull-through straps long favored by military members and divers. Manufactured in the United States from a single layer of premium cowhide measuring 1.4mm thick, the Leather Single Pass Zulu also provides a “pull up” effect meaning the leather lightens when stretched or creased, creating a custom finish unique to your wearing experience. In comparison to many nylon pull-through straps, the tail on our Single Pass Zulu is shorter, and the hardware is closer together, designed for wrists up to 7.5 IN (19.1 CM). With hand stitching and more rugged leather material, the Single Pass Zulu is our most casual leather strap, pairing well with utilitarian tool watches.  Cons: Despite being modeled after nylon straps designed for diving, this leather strap is not intended for in-water use. Wearing leather straps on dive watches is a controversial topic, anyway.  ORDER HERE Final Thoughts:  While we believe there is a strap in our collection that will work for virtually any watch or scenario, like choosing a new watch, strap selection is highly individual and personal. There is no one-size-fits-all solution and like with any tool, we encourage you to experiment and find out what works best for you. Subsequent iterations of our straps will always be informed by your feedback. Be sure to let us know what you think.  View our entire strap collection HERE.

As a CIA Case Officer, one of my go-to watches was an IWC Mark XVII. It’s a great and versatile watch that can fit in with a suit and tie at a diplomatic function in Europe or jeans and a dirty t-shirt in the African bush. Notably, IWC also has a strong squadron watch program and a significant following in the aviation community around the world.  To document a first-hand perspective, we asked Nic Barnes, an Australian military pilot, to write a Dispatch on the history of the brand and his experience using IWC watches as a military aviator. This piece is co-written with Henry Black, a previous W.O.E. contributor and full-time journalist based in Australia. As always, this content is not sponsored and the views and perspectives are of the authors. At W.O.E., we are brand agnostic but do support any brand that supports our community. Precision In Flight: IWC’s Historical & Enduring Bond With Military Aviation IWC’s Special Pilot’s Watch Ref. IW436. (Photo Credit: IWC) International Watch Company (IWC) Schaffhausen is a watchmaker steeped in history. Their modern line of luxury tool watches are direct descendants of the company’s military aviation watches of the mid-20th Century.  IWC Schaffhausen’s history with pilot’s watches predates World War II. In 1936, the company was owned by Ernst Homberger who had two sons that were keen amateur pilots. The boys helped to produce the Special Pilot’s Watch (Ref. IW436) using their flying experience to dictate the specifications and requirements of the timepiece. The design established the foundational DNA for IWC’s future pilot’s watches with an emphasis on legibility and durability that would in time lead to two distinct watch families - the ‘Big Pilot’ and ‘Mark’ series. Watches Of War During WWII, the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) identified a requirement to replace the aging Army Trade Pattern (ATP) watches that had adorned the wrists of their troops since 1939. These new timepieces needed to be waterproof, shockproof, and highly accurate with a black dial, legible Arabic numerals, and the ability to read the watch at night. Twelve Swiss watchmakers took on the task of manufacturing these W.W.W. (‘Wrist Watch Waterproof’) specification watches. As one of the 12 makers, IWC provided an estimated 5,000 – 6,000 ‘Dirty Dozen’ timepieces to the MoD. The design would later evolve into the IWC Mark 11 – introduced after the war in the late 1940s.  IWC’s W.W.W. is one of the rarer ‘Dirty Dozen’ watches in circulation today. (Photo Credit: Watch-Site x Steltman Watches) Interestingly, while IWC was supplying W.W.W. watches to Commonwealth forces, it was concurrently supplying the German Luftwaffe (Air Force) with ‘B-Uhr’ timepieces. These onion-crowned watches were over 50mm in size and featured sword hands along with a prominent triangle and paired dots marking the 12 o’clock position. Much of the design DNA in today’s IWC Pilot’s line-up can be seen in these oversized pilot’s watches for the Luftwaffe with IWC’s modern Big Pilot’s watches drawing their aesthetics directly from the Luftwaffe B-Uhrs. Of note, IWC supplied watches to both the Axis and the Allies during WWII. IWC produced approximately 1,000 B-Uhr models for the Luftwaffe (Photo Credit: SJX) War Reaches Schaffhausen WWII did not leave IWC’s hometown of Schaffhausen unscathed. In April 1944 a disorientated U.S. Air Force bomber group of 15 B-24 Liberators mistook the Swiss town for a German target. Dropping as many as 371 high explosive bombs and incendiary munitions on the town, the resulting carnage killed 40 people (including members of author Henry’s own family) and caused widespread damage. One bomb dropped through the roof of the IWC factory but luckily did not explode.  A B-24 Liberator of the 392nd Bomb Group that accidentally bombed Schaffhausen in 1944. (Photo Credit: United States Army Air Force) Interestingly, declassified correspondence from November 1944 gives further insight into such incidents. Director of Office of Strategic Services (OSS), William J. Donovan describes to Commander of the United States Army Air Forces, General Henry H. Arnold that the accidental American bombing of Swiss towns was deeply disturbing the Chief of Staff of the Swiss Army and increasing ‘the difficulty in obtaining Swiss cooperation in our present task of penetrating Germany’. Mark 11 – A New Standard in Military Aviation Timepieces After the war, IWC introduced their navigator's wristwatch Mk.11 - Stores Ref. 6B/346 (Mark 11), taking the basic principles of the tough tool watch that was the W.W.W. and upping the ante. The Mark 11 removed the sub-seconds and utilized an IWC Calibre 89 manual wind movement with a central seconds. It featured a Faraday cage to resist magnetic interference and proved to be immensely capable as a timepiece for military aviators. These watches were issued to Commonwealth Air Forces, including the Royal Air Forces of Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, the South African Air Force, and the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC). IWC Mark 11 for the Royal Australian Air Force circa 1957 (Photo Credit: IWC) Neo-Classic IWC Military-Inspired Models The design of the Mark 11 (which was in production from 1949-1953 with a second iteration for the civilian market from 1973-1984) went on to influence the ‘Mark’ timepieces that followed, specifically the Mark XII (introduced in 1994) and Mark XV (introduced in 1999). These subsequent iterations utilized a similar handset design including the iconic ‘block’ hour hand and classical sizing – the Mark XII was 36mm, and the Mark XV was 38mm. The Mark XII used a Jaeger Le-Coultre calibre while the Mark XV used a heavily modified ETA 2892-A2. The Mark XV was the last of the Mark series to feature the ‘block’ hour hand (Photo Credit: Henry Black) The Mark XVI represented a turning point in IWC’s modern pilot designs – one that has continued to the current Mark XX. While retaining their commitment to solid specifications, the numeral font, dotted triangle marker at 12, and use of flieger sword hands have far more in common with the Luftwaffe B-Uhr watches than the MoD Mark 11s that share the Mark name. This flieger design is reflected across other modern IWC pilots including the Big Pilot and Pilot Chronograph, unfortunately leaving the original Mark 11 with no aesthetic successor in the brand’s current catalogue. IWC Pilot’s Watch Automatic Edition ‘RAAF’ (Photo Credit: @timepoor) Modern Military Connections In 2007, IWC entered a commercial relationship with the US Navy, becoming an official licensee and beginning their line of TOP GUN watches. Featuring the logo of the 1980s hit movie of the same name, the series of watches became a stable of IWC’s offerings with licensing fees directly funding morale, welfare, and recreation programs for US sailors, retirees, and their families. TOPGUN & Other "Unit Watches" The IWC Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Edition 'SFTI' features the school’s patch on the dial (Photo Credit: @h.m.uhren) This prepared the foundation of a more organic relationship – IWC’s foray into custom squadron watches. Having seen watches from the TOP GUN line, pilots from the United States Navy Fighter Weapons School (the real TOPGUN) reached out to IWC to investigate the feasibility of making their own piece for the Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor (SFTI) program. The result was the 2018 release of the IWC’s first custom military piece – the Edition ‘SFTI’ in both a Pilot’s Watch Mark XVIII and a Pilot’s Watch Chronograph. These exclusive watches continue to be made today but can only be purchased by TOPGUN graduates. The IWC Pilot’s Watch Automatic Edition 'SFTI' worn by Monica Barbaro on the set of Top Gun: Maverick  (Photo Credit: Paramount) The SFTI connection paid dividends for IWC when filming began for Top Gun: Maverick. The film crew noticed the Navy pilots wearing their custom IWCs and, in pursuit of authenticity, ended up being introduced by the pilots to IWC CEO Chris Grainger-Herr, resulting in almost every character in the film wearing IWCs.  Since the first SFTI watches, exclusive squadron collaborations have continued at a small scale and considered pace. This means IWC is very particular about the projects the brand approves, with limited production slots available. Falling under the Richemont group, IWC is generally hesitant to publicly elaborate on their military collaborations although Watches and Wonders 2022 marked a departure from this discretion. The IWC booth featured an exhibit of the brand’s military projects to date – with a total of 18 on display IWC Pilot’s Watch Chronograph ‘APACHE AH-64E’ (Photo Credit: @chrisgraingerherr) While predominantly working with US Navy fighter squadrons, other military editions were shown including watches for Swiss Air Force Staffel 11, French Aeronavale, No. 663 Squadron Army Air Corps (British AH-64 Apache attack helicopters), and a very special homage to the IWC Mark 11 issued to Royal Australian Air Force aircrew in the 1950s. Notably, all known custom military projects have strict and tangible ties to professional military aviation. IWC Big Pilot’s Watch ‘TYPHOON DRIVER’ (Photo Credit: @blackseries_driver) The Future of Aviation Horology  Beyond atmospheric flight, IWC was recently involved with the Inspiration4 private space program. Commanded by the billionaire owner of the world’s largest private air force, Jared Isaacman (under usual W.O.E. criteria you’d expect him to be a Breitling guy), Each of the four astronauts of this first all-civilian mission to orbit wore a custom Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Edition ‘Inspiration4’. After the mission each watch was auctioned, raising a total of $405,000 USD for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis. Collaborations with Isaacman’s space endeavors are forecast to continue with the launch of the Polaris Dawn mission later this year. This mission is scheduled to include the first private spacewalk and result in another auction of new special edition IWCs to be worn during the flight.  The IWC Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Edition ‘Inspiration4’ (Image credit: IWC) Final Thoughts While the role of wristwatches in aviation has changed over the last century, IWC’s commitment to aviation ‘use-your-tools’ wristwatches remains. From the humble beginnings of IWC’s Special Pilot’s Watch in 1936 to their custom pieces for private space exploration, IWC has firmly and legitimately positioned itself as a brand for professional aviators, synonymous with the frank design purpose of the pilot’s watch. IWC Pilot’s Chronograph ‘Death Rattlers’ (Photo Credit: @wingwatches) Their commitment to legibility, durability, and continuous technical improvement, along with their lasting ties to military aviation resonates with the W.O.E. community, creating unique watches to be cherished and used by generations to come. If you enjoyed this article, please consider signing up for our weekly free newsletter for further updates HERE. Read Next: Watches Of The War In Ukraine   About The Authors: Nic is an Australian military pilot who has been a follower of W.O.E. since the early days. He has a particular interest in custom military watch projects having designed and produced timepieces with multiple brands Henry is a journalist based in Australia who writes about watches in his spare time. He’s worked around the world including in conflict zones. He’s passionate about watches and how the hobby brings people together. Cover Photo Credit: IWC Pilot’s Watch Automatic Edition ‘AÉRONAVALE’ (Photo Credit: @etienne_b___r)