Not too long ago, I noticed ‘Cult Watches, the world’s enduring classics’ in a window of a book store in The Hague. It is a book by Michael Balfour, whom I think is also responsible for more horological titles.

I flipped through the pages and looking at the pictures and stories of all-time classics (Speedmaster, Submariner, Navitimer, Nautilus, Royal Oak, Tank and so on..) I was immediately interested. However, asking 50 euros (almost 75 USD at this moment) was a turn-off. It is no reference like the Pattrizi books or Mondani books on Rolex, or the Saga book on Omega by Marco Richon. This ‘Cult Watches’ book is a nice-to-read book and I am not paying 50 euros for those 🙂

Anyway, when I got home, I checked Amazon for this book and immediately clicked ‘Buy’ when I saw the price. 33 USD, which is quite interesting for us Europeans with the current currency rate. Including shipping costs, it cost me only half the price they asked for the book in the book store. And that was no mistake either, because later on I noticed the book for the same price (50 euro) in another store.

Amazon delivered quickly, which they always do when something is in stock, and after I quickly unwrapped the book and made myself a nice cappuccino. The book covers all the famous brands which have watches that could be categorized as ‘classic’ or ‘cult’ watch.

Brands like Audemars Piguet (Royal Oak), Breguet (Type XX), Cartier (Tank), Hamilton (Electric), Jaeger-LeCoultre (Reverso), Omega (Speedmaster), Patek Philippe (Calatrava & Nautilus), Rolex (Submariner & Daytona), Tag Heuer (Monaco) and Universal Gen?ɬ®ve (Tri-Compax) are included, amongst other brands and watch models of course. The superb photographs give much detail on the watches. All texts are well written and cover a bit of the brand history as well as detailed information on the models itself.

For this price of 32,97 USD or about 27 Euro (including shipping) this book is a must-have with respect to the bookshelf of every watch enthusiast! It can also be used as a coffeetable book of course, if our S.O. allows you to that is.. 🙂

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