The Watch Hardcover – Illustrated, October 1, 2006

When I bought this book, I was looking to replace a quartz watch that had given up the ghost. "The Watch" tantalized me with beautiful photos, profiles of the major marques, recommendations for some reasonably affordable, distinctive and extremely well made watches. Then it pointed me to the key web sites for the watch addicted, and it was all over for me. That was half a dozen somewhat expensive mechanical watches ago, and by now I've got my own favorite "manufactures," many other watch books and a watch jones that is barely under control.For the beginner, the book is a great place to start and get a very useful overview. For the watch afficionado, it is a wonderful little volume to return to from time to time and thumb through at your leisure to see old favorites, get a bit of history, see what Mr. Stone and some of the other contributors recommend and whether your taste runs along the same lines or not. There are also some interesting profiles of collectors, who tell how they got started and how their watch passion has evolved.Definitely a book to own.

Well written, nice photos, and lots of useful information (history, glossary, and collecting / buying tips). Fifty bands are covered and undoubtedly some interesting ones are missing but given the number of wristwatch brands available, I don't feel it's reasonable to expect much more in one volume. One reviewer states that this book is nothing more than advertisements. This is simply not true as evidenced by some comments that are clearly critical of a specific brand.This book will make an excellent addition to any wristwatch lover's library.If you're looking for a book to cover many more brands, especially the more obscure, and you don't mind what clearly IS advertising, then try "2010 Wristwatch Annual" It covers what seems to be an endless number of brands with very nice photos, brand history, technical information and list prices. It also has some educational information which is quite useful to collectors and watch buyers in general,

I ordered the Watch thinking it was a real watch. I will in future be extremely careful, if at all I do order online.I realise now that this is a book not a real watch however Amazon send me daily offers of merchandise of all descriptions.It's probably too much of a nuisance to return the book from Sydney Australia.Give me retail anytime!Michael

As is common on Amazon, I stumbled on this page, but the book is not new to me. A few years ago I begain to collec watches. Like many, I did research. Besides magazines and the Internet I looked for books to help me understand and appreciate the different brands and their history. The Watch was one of the first books on watches I purchased and it remains one of my favorites. It had just enough history of watches and technical detail so that I wanted to learn more. The images were well-photographed and appropriate for the brands, although I didn't know that at the time. The author wrote well and has added enough social context and personal stories to gave a flavor of the watch world that I was entering. From time-to-time I pull it out again for a concise description of a brand, why it is important and where it might be going.

While I haven't read through the book from cover to cover, it is a nice overview and background of major luxury and forward-thinking watch manufacturers and brands. The content is interesting, including a history and evolution of the companies discussed, and there's a nice selection of watch pictures. My only complaint about the book does not actually concern the content or pictures themselves, but rather the relatively lackluster print quality. I wanted this book as a coffee table piece; while it fulfills its mission, the print production quality is somewhat sub par for this type of book; it could use some varnish and higher quality production techniques in my opinion, like a high end book. Still, informative and good enough that I'd recommend it to watch lovers.

This is one of the coolest coffee table books I own. I am a beginner watch collector and I cannot keep my hands off this book! The pictures are georgeous and quality of content is stunning. Gene Stone knows his watches and it shows with this book, very well researched although sometimes on the opinionated side, but as he mentions in this book, watch enthusiasts are like that. The book lacks nothing, although I wish he reviewed more brands, however, 50 is quite a bit and beggars can't be choosers I suppose... Plus you get this at a fantastic price through Amazon (cover price is $45, but reading this book you can see why it's expensive). Would recommend to anybody who is into watches, or at the very least a coffee table book that people will pick up and paw through simply because its unique and very well made.