A great book that explains the basic parts of a watch
355034
A great book that explains the basic parts of a watch. I am very interested in watches and definitely got more excited and wanted to try to build my own watch or at least customize one after reading this book. Why I don't give it a 5 is because there are only a few websites referred to, where you can buy parts from and those weren't very easy to navigate. I don't know if there aren't any better or if the author just don't know about better ones / got a deal with those websites. Anyway, if you want to learn the basics about watches, I think it was worth every penny, I read it form cover to cover.
3443741
This is the Go-to book if you are interested in Glashutte made watches,  Meis has written several books on this subject and this is the super set of all of them.

Lot of photos and details.  This is a book for people who love these watches.

It covers most of the Glashutte makers and devotes a separate volume to Lange.

The only quibble I have is that he attributes some Columbus watches to Assmann which does not seem to be so.
2609946
While it doesn't include any precious metals or stones (well there are a few tiny diamonds), it's a very attractive watch.  The fit and finish are appropriate for the price, and it looks lovely on my wife's wrist.  It's a tad bit busy with the various textures and tones, you can decide for yourself via the pics (looks better in person but the overall look can be seen in the pics.

In terms of function, this watch is in many ways a commodity.  Off the shelf quartz movement, poor instructions, and overall accuracy you expect of a quartz.  I could say the same for 100 different watches (well probably a thousand or more).  That being said no excuses for the poor manual.  The good news is that it works as you'd expect.  The accuracy seems to be within a handful of seconds a month (good enough to only need to fiddle with it when doing the daylight savings thing).

4 stars for the manual and more than anything, for the numerous other options out there.
2460195
This toolkit seems to have every tool you would ever need to work on a watch. I especially like the manual that comes with it as I have no idea how to even change a watch battery. I did have trouble using the tool to pry the back off the watch. The tool was too thick to lift the back off, but the vendor just sent an email about how some water-resistant watches are made to be difficult and gave me some ideas to try. The kit arrived quickly and is very compact making for easy carry or storage.
1444805
I bought this book along with several others to learn about basic clock repair to maintain and repair my small collection of mechanical clocks. The organization of topics is very logical, first starting with clock troubleshooting. His first chapter does assume a working knowledge of clock part terminology that,at times, leaves the novice lost. More pictures of his discussion points would have been helpful here. However,follow-on chapters on the various components of the clock movement and their repair is excellent. I would suggest anyone just starting to learn clock repair read Steven G. Conover's "Clock Repair Basics" prior to reading this handbook. This will provide much needed basic terminology with pictures/diagrams to help learn the parts breakdown. Laurie Penman's handbook is a good buy to add knowledge and repair processes. His repair techniques involve more hand tool useage than many repairers do, allowing the novice to obtain basic repair tools to address many of the minor adjustments and repairs to clock movements. His chapter on tools clearly outlines the uses for the more expensive and elaborate tools: lathe; depthening tool and bushing tool; thus giving the novice a better understanding of repair limitations without additional tool investment.
4702289
It's a great basic watch that tells you the time and date.  When the battery dies (I leave it in my flight bag for a backup to my regular watch), it will function for a day with an hour in the sunlight, or for several weeks when left for a full day in direct sunlight.  The bezel is not indexed (rotates freely, no clicks or significant resistance) which renders it less useful for timing than those of higher end watches, but I can find no other functional fault with the watch.
1021878
As a casual collector of unique lower-end priced watches, I purchased this wear for a bit with a set of certain suits. The watch arrived well packaged and complete with a simple "how to wind a manual watch" type of instructions. The watch feels durable, solid and well constructed. The back plate is clear which affords a nice view into the gear section of the watch. The face is vibrant and the hands are thick enough to easily read. The numeric are vibrant and has the same color / tone as the watch's body. (in the gold / brown leather version) The genuine leather band is acceptable and the buckle is good. Be mindful before ordering as this is a manual wind / no battery watch. And if you don't wind it often the time will need to be reset upon each wear.
3981063
This set was produced in India.  It came packaged in a plastic "set-case" with slots that does not really hold the tools or close all that well.  The tools' paint chips off.  But putting aesthetics aside this kit really works well.  I would buy it again.  It contains everything I need to change watch batteries and do what little repair of my watches that I know I can do.  My guess is the tools may not last a lifetime but I am finding that they do the job and have already saved me the cost through do-it-myself watch battery replacements alone.  Using it has given my old watches a whole new life, so I recommend them.  One suggestion:  there are no instructions so make sure you intuitively know how to use tools to work on mechanical things.  You will not find this set teaches you anything about opening much less repairing your watch or replacing its battery.  But if you know your way around anything mechanical, and know the first two rules to do-it-yourself  home repair are have the right tools and prepare before you fix, this is a good basic starter kit with all the essential if not "elite quality" tools.
3435667
The book presents all the elements in the D300s in an organized and understandable manner.  The best feature of is the improved clarity of the color images over those in the B&W user guide that came with the camera.  It is a good read and straightforward.  All the functionality in the camera is well covered, with sufficient recommendations and tips to facilitate a start with this camera.

The only drawback to the book is the number of pages spent on lens and flashes that are generally more completely covered in other dedicated books.

Still it is a very good book and I would buy it again or recommend to a friend.
2760087
I bought this book after I got lost reading Practical Watch Repairing. This book really is good for beginners. While you can get lost in the technical explanations, the book really does approach repair from a beginner's level. Hell, the book starts with a history of time keeping...starting with the rotation and orbit of the earth. So this book really does start from the beginning.

I like this book also because it has a LOT of well drawn diagrams with lots of descriptions. You can know the main parts of a watch by looking at two diagrams and have it memorized in twenty minutes. With the help of memorizing those diagrams and understanding them, I have actually successfully theorized and did a couple of easy/simple fixes on eBay purchases that weren't running based on the item descriptions!

The book has large print which is nice and everything is explained in a easily comprehensible fashion. The Practical Watch Repairing book was definitely more difficult to comprehend.

Get this book, it's a good one.
1011321
great watch that gives you lots of features  Just have to learn all the features.
3868330
Really nice looking watch. The only thing I was not aware was thickness (13 mm), but after a couple of days wearing it, I'm getting used to it.
They should include at least one picture to appreciate thickness.

But I gave it four stars because of owner's manual. Manual is no good. It is a small general guide for all watches, not even a specific manual for mechanical automatic watches. This is my first mechanical watch, so I was expecting some good advice for my nice watch.
3734786
Glad I bought it, it has been of great use to me. The book is very informative, and the kit has been so handy since my father and I have a small collection of watches. Very satisfied with the purchase!
3041699
This book is tremendous value, with great pictures of the fine watch brands current ranges. Potential buyers should not expect too much in the way of detailed technical information however. If you treat it as a  reasonably comprehensive, non-biased catalogue for some fine Swiss watch  brands, you won't go far wrong.
4077852
This book contains virtually anything anyone would ever want to know about the Illinois Watch Company, as well as a lot of things you had no idea you may have wanted to know. Every known model is described in obsessive detail, with a great many beautiful full-color photographs and period advertisements.

My only complaint is that it's sometimes difficult to find exactly some specific piece of information you might be looking for, given the volume and the frequently-confusing way Illinois categorized their models. And that it's a real shame this isn't available digitally.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book to any Illinois watch collector, or enthusiast of vintage watches in general.
1966919
Fantastic watch. Provides more information than I really do need. I love the functions, the world time zones, stopwatch, and timer. I have no idea when or where I'll use these function, but I realy like having them as options.
1501758
This is a great book for watchmaking students (and watchmakers that may need reference a specific repair). We use it in school and it is very easy to read and work from. The instructions are clear, and Fried shows different ways of doing the same thing.

I wouldn't recommend it for a watch enthusiast unless you have knowledge of watchmaking.