On this day (1st May) in 1978 he was the first man ever to reach the North Pole solo, he was met by his photographer Ira Block (credit for photos below) to document this feat.
Uemura wore a Seiko 6105-8110 on this expedition, a definitive Seiko watch. This particular Seiko watch is a special watch, often overlooked through instagram photos and owners suggest it needs to be held to understand the the magic of this watch. These watches have incredible build quality with exceptional finishing, easily on par with other hi-end divers of the same period, such as a Rolex Submariner or perhaps a Seamaster 300.
Naomi Uemura, wrote that he almost gave up twice during his 1978 North Pole trip. On the fourth day of his trek, a polar bear invaded his camp, ate his supplies, and poked his nose against the sleeping bag where Uemura lay. When the bear returned the next day, Uemura was ready and shot him dead.
Seiko make everything in-house. Not only was the movement in-house, Seiko even made their own oils, cases and crystals. Due to this durability not only did Naomi Uemura wear it but also so did US military servicemen during the the Vietnam war era.
On the 35th day of the the North Pole Expedition, Uemura hunkered down on an ice block with his malamutes dogs, there was the roar of breaking ice and the block cracked into several pieces. He and his dogs were stranded on a tossing island of ice. After a night of terror, Uemura found a 3-foot-wide ice bridge and raced to safety, Seiko and all.
This Seiko watch was initially intended as a tool watch, and was generally worn as such by Joe-Public not necessarily collectors, as such they were naturally beaten up and used as a general tool watch. The 6105 is powered by the robust Seiko caliber 6105B, a 17 jewel full rotor with an automatic winding mechanism.
Prices have now skyrocketed for the Seiko 6105-8100 post the initial $95.00 advert price, they can now found online on eBay between £1,500- £2,000.
Sadly Naomi Uemura died on on February 13, 1984, one day after his 43rd birthday, when he was descending Denali, an award named for him was created in Japan after his death.
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You may notice that the dial of her watch seems as if it is a dark red, to our knowledge there is no red dial version of this watch (however feel free to email us and put us wrong). We have discerned that actually this red glow is the reflection of Big Phillip's dashing red jacket.
We are not sure if she did indeed have this above version with diamond accents, or perhaps donned the one below, which to be fair looks a tad more Regal and less Yacht Club.......
]]>As a a double wrister (so to speak) he really does know how to keep his Dios hands full. He sports not one but TWO of his own limited edition Hublot Big Bang 'Diego Maradona' watches!
This watch is injected with some serious football wizardry: a special 45 minute 'football' sub dial developed for each half, his signature on the front, his classic celebration engraved on the back and at 3 o'clock Maradonas old Number 10 Shirt, to remind you of the good old days when he celebrated like this....
But lets not forget what you all really came here to see....
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This was from the outset a challenge watch, a challenge that was accepted and smashed by IWC Schaffhausen. Two Portuguese businessmen, Rodrigues and Texixeira thought it would be a nice little idea to put IWC to the test, they didn't believe a wrist watch could be produced that could be accurate and totally reliable to marine chronometer standards.
Undeterred by Rodrigues and Texixeira, IWC turned to a pocket watch movement, the only movement that could achieve the job back then, but it was a little large. The very first IWC Portuguese weighed in at a stonking 43mm, I know what you are thinking, nothing much by today's arguably ludicrous watch size standards, however back then with 33mm as the status quo this was a very big boy.
Unfortunately the Portuguese was undervalued and underappreciated and entered into years of dark decline, some thought that was the end of this historic watch. But a twist of fate saw the watch rise again But, luckily, a twist of fate happened at the beginning of the 1990s.
Kurt Klaus aka Einstein, a one of a kind IWC watchmaker retold that during a client meeting they noted that he was wearing an original Portuguese wristwatch reference 325. He explained that they all they gathered around him and his watch and stated "this is such a uniquely beautiful watch; we should make it again".
Plans were then put in place to bring back to life the Portuguese, developing an brand new line around this model from the past. Luckily the 125th anniversary of the Schaffhausen company was just around the corner in 1993, a opportune moment to show to the world the all new Portuguese in a limited edition run nicknamed the Jubilee.
The rest was thankfully a success and today we luckily still have the IWC Portuguese Chronograph, it is now considered a timeless classic by not just the watch world also wthin galaxies far away....
From Air Jordan's to Space Jam, he has dominated the basketball stratosphere. Here are just a few accolades to back this up: five MVP Awards, ten All-NBA First Team designations, nine All-Defensive First Team honors, fourteen NBA All-Star Game appearances and three All-Star Game MVP Awards!
In 2015, Jordan became the first billionaire NBA player in history as a result of the increase in value of NBA franchises.
As a former player, Michael Jordan obviously makes his way to a fair few games during the NBA-season. Perhaps the perfect occasion for sporting his watch of choice, a choice probably hard to make considering his collection ranges from Richard Mille, Rolex Daytonas, Pateks through to Urwerks.
Below you can see a Jaquet Droz Grand Seconde Ceramic, a 44mm large black ceramic limited edition of 88 pieces. The dial features the characteristic double circle of the two sub dials, resembling the figure of 8.
What a stunner! Easily our favorite pick from the watches he has donned at the sideline.
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Interestingly Donald Trump often made it clear during his campaign trail, that he thinks of himself as a natural heir to Ronald Reagan. So much so that he has reportedly begun to refer to Theresa May as “my Maggie”, a reference to the close relationship Reagan had with her.
Oh and it doesn't stop there, in 1999 Donald Trump bidded and won one of Ronald Reagan’s wrist watches during an extremely interesting auction of many other pieces of significance. The watch Trump won was Reagan's Colibri Quartz watch that sold for the final sum of $7,000.
Historically speaking presidents over the years have worn inexpensive watches; President Bill Clinton for example wore a Timex Ironman during his Presidency. The general consensus is that Donald Trump’s passion for the watch stems for his interest in the prior owner rather than the watch itself.
Whatever the reason, we are adamant he should of tried to buy Reagan's Datejust instead, however we are sure he won't (and shouldn't) be letting that one go anytime soon.
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