watches

17 Stories

Omega: Former Employees Behind $3M Fake Speedmaster

The iconic watchmaker alleges 'organized criminal activity'

(Newser) - According to iconic Swiss watchmaker Omega, a trio of former employees colluded in 2021 to auction a fake Speedmaster for a record-setting $3.4 million—and the buyer wasn't a well-heeled individual collector, but Omega itself. CNN reports that the Speedmaster model in question appeared to be a rare...

Pastor's Sermon Goes Viral for Eyebrow-Raising Guilt Trip

Carlton Funderburke berated congregation for not buying him Movado watch, among other items

(Newser) - It's not surprising to occasionally feel guilty in church. But one Missouri pastor's recent sermon has gone viral after he dressed down his congregants and told them he was "disgusted" with them for not buying luxury items for him. NBC News reports that the sermon delivered by...

Man Drops to Ground When Told What Watch Is Worth

A very happy Ben Clymer learns his $345 Rolex is now worth up to $700K

(Newser) - An Air Force veteran in North Dakota who spent a month's salary on a fancy watch while stationed in Thailand in the 1970s decided it was too nice to wear and kept it in its box. He was floored to find out that his Rolex Oyster Paul Newman Daytona...

Someone Just Paid $31M for This Wristwatch

The Patek Philippe auctioned by Christie's is the most expensive wristwatch ever sold

(Newser) - Someone is about to have a very well-adorned wrist. Christie's held its charity Only Watch auction in Geneva on Saturday to help raise money for research on Duchenne muscular dystrophy, an every-other-year event that features dozens of luxury timepieces, and a one-of-a-kind Patek Philippe earned the title of most...

Thief Uses Cigarette Ruse to Steal $830K Timepiece

Not a great thing to have on your wrist in Paris

(Newser) - A French thief made off with an $830,000 diamond-encrusted watch, simply by taking it from the owner's wrist. So say Paris police, who are no strangers to such crimes. Thieves are known to hang around luxury hotels and jewelry shops near the Champs-Elysées, hoping to snatch a...

A Baseball Player With Promise Took a Wrong Turn
A Baseball Player With
Promise Took a Wrong Turn
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

A Baseball Player With Promise Took a Wrong Turn

Inside the fall of Darrell Dent Jr.

(Newser) - It's a set-up so perfect it reads like fiction: A promising minor league baseball player who was so good at stealing the back of his card touted him as having a 77% success rate at stealing bases went on to become one of the masterminds of a ring of...

Her Spy Husband Was Executed by Syria. 50 Years Later, a Gift

Eli Cohen's wristwatch has been recovered by Israel's Mossad intelligence agency

(Newser) - A "special Mossad operation" has turned up what Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu calls "a memento from a great fighter": the wristwatch worn by spy Eli Cohen, hanged in Damascus in 1965 after years of infiltrating Syria's upper political, military, and business echelons and spilling secrets to Israel,...

A Wheelchair, a $37K Rolex, and Now a Plea Deal

That's just how Larry Johnson rolls; too bad the jewelry theft didn't pan out

(Newser) - It's not clear whether a watch thief was inspired by the word "roll" in "Rolex," but he didn't get away with his wheelchair scheme either way, pleading guilty Wednesday to charges of robbery, larceny, and assault, the AP reports. Per the Connecticut Post , Larry Johnson...

James Gandolfini's Rolex Taken as He Lay Dying: Prosecutors

Paramedic Claudio Bevilacqua, 43, is accused

(Newser) - A paramedic in Italy is accused of pilfering James Gandolfini's Rolex Submariner watch as the actor lay dying, NBC News reports. Prosecutors say Claudio Bevilacqua, 43, stole the $3,000 watch after the actor suffered a massive heart attack in June 2013—but it's not clear whether the...

Got $28K to Spare? This Star Wars Watch Is All Yours

New nerdy time piece has a Darth Vader theme

(Newser) - Finally, a way to tell if you're late for your daily Sith teleconference. This month, Los Angeles-based watchmaker Devon released its limited-edition Star Wars watch, based on Empire-centric designs like Darth Vader's helmet and the Death Star's control panels, Fast Company reports. According to the AV Club...

Guy Finds $35K Watch at Goodwill Store

Rare 1959 diving watch had $5.99 price tag

(Newser) - A Phoenix man who went into a Goodwill store looking for a used push-pull golf cart ended up leaving with a $35,000 watch—and getting change from $6 (it cost $5.99). Zach Norris, who became interested in vintage watches after inheriting one a few years ago, says he...

Android Wear: More Wearable Wearable Tech?

New OS set to open up smartwatch market

(Newser) - Wearable technology looks set to take a big leap forward with Google's new Android Wear system, a version of its mobile operating system designed specifically for wearable devices. Analysts say the move opens the door for a lot of wearable devices like smartwatches that, unlike Google Glass, the general...

Tick Tock: Apple Working on 'iWatch'
 Tick Tock: Apple 
 Working on 'iWatch' 
rumor mill

Tick Tock: Apple Working on 'iWatch'

Rumors about wristwatch-like device build up

(Newser) - Coming soon: an iPad you can wear on your wrist? Reports are piling up that Apple is working on what some are calling the "iWatch," a wristwatch that would perform functions similar to the iPhone and iPad. The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal first reported...

20 Things That Have Become Obsolete Since 2000

VHS tapes, 1-900 numbers, and more

(Newser) - Oh, 1999. A time when we used to drive all the way to the video store to rent a VHS tape. Those, along with VCRs, became obsolete this decade, officially dying, quipped the Washington Post, at the youthful age of 29 in 2005. The Huffington Post lists 19 other things...

Watchmaker's Anti-Fakery Technique Is So Money
Watchmaker's Anti-Fakery Technique Is So Money
GLOSSIES

Watchmaker's Anti-Fakery Technique Is So Money

Vacheron Constantin uses methods used to foil counterfeiters on new $50K line

(Newser) - A Swiss watchmaker has broken new ground in the effort to fight fakery, Portfolio reports, using techniques designed to foil currency counterfeiters on a new line of timepieces that run to $50,000. Vacheron Constantin uses laser engraving on tiny components, and coats dials with transparent film printed with tiny...

Accessory Faux Pas May Cost Theron $20M

Actress faces lawsuit over wristwatch

(Newser) - A federal lawsuit against Charlize Theron for breaching an endorsement contract will proceed, People reports. Raymond Weil is seeking the return of “substantial funds”—a reported $20 million—paid to the actress to wear its watches exclusively from 2005 to 2006. But Theron also had a deal with...

Online Buyers Want Blenders, Not Diamonds

Luxury takes a backseat to the practical this season

(Newser) - With a shaky economy causing consumers angst this holiday season, online e-tailers say shoppers are opting for functional over frivolous. E-sales of furniture and appliances have spiked more than 70%, while sales of jewelry, watches, and flowers have dropped, reports the New York Times. “It’s certainly counter to...

17 Stories