WOE Dispatch

W.O.E. Collaboration With Tactile Turn

W.O.E. Collaboration With Tactile Turn

Pen, Flashlight, Knife, Watch - The Essentials “If you didn’t write it down, it didn't happen” is a common saying in the intelligence business.  In a digital era, there is...

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W.O.E. Collaboration With Tactile Turn

Pen, Flashlight, Knife, Watch - The Essentials “If you didn’t write it down, it didn't happen” is a common saying in the intelligence business.  In a digital era, there is something satisfying about staying old school, and a custom pen, built to last a lifetime, is a must. Custom Tactile Turn...

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CIA paramilitary officers watches of espionage spy watch

Inside The Watch Culture Of CIA Paramilitary Of...

A Watch Given To A CIA Paramilitary Officer After a successful joint operation in the late 2010s, a European intelligence service presented a CIA Paramilitary Officer with a gift, a...

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Inside The Watch Culture Of CIA Paramilitary Officers

A Watch Given To A CIA Paramilitary Officer After a successful joint operation in the late 2010s, a European intelligence service presented a CIA Paramilitary Officer with a gift, a U-Boat timepiece to commemorate operational success. Like most accomplishments in the world of espionage, the ceremony (if you can call...

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Living In Zulu Time - Why GMT Watches Are Important to Special Operations & Intelligence Officers

Living In Zulu Time - Why GMT Watches Are Impor...

Tracking Multiple Time Zones In Austere Circumstances By J.R. Seeger, former CIA SIS Greenwich Mean Time or “GMT” is an internationally accepted timing standard by which all other time zones...

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Living In Zulu Time - Why GMT Watches Are Important to Special Operations & Intelligence Officers

Tracking Multiple Time Zones In Austere Circumstances By J.R. Seeger, former CIA SIS Greenwich Mean Time or “GMT” is an internationally accepted timing standard by which all other time zones are defined. A GMT watch tracks one or two additional time zones by way of a fourth hand, a bezel...

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Dear Panerai, Stop Putting the Navy SEAL Trident On Watches

Dear Panerai, Stop Putting the Navy SEAL Triden...

An Open Letter to Panerai, From Watches of Espionage In 2022, Panerai released the limited-edition “Navy SEALs collection” available intended for purchase by the public, and not exclusively Navy SEALs. ...

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Dear Panerai, Stop Putting the Navy SEAL Trident On Watches

An Open Letter to Panerai, From Watches of Espionage In 2022, Panerai released the limited-edition “Navy SEALs collection” available intended for purchase by the public, and not exclusively Navy SEALs.  The watches are operator-chic , complete with a Navy SEAL Trident on the dial or caseback and a “Time to...

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The Great Escape: Rolex & WWII POWs

The Great Escape: Rolex & WWII POWs

Allied Prisoners of War and Rolex Watch Co., a story of hope in the midst of a grim world conflict. As the war between Axis and Allied forces raged on,...

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The Great Escape: Rolex & WWII POWs

Allied Prisoners of War and Rolex Watch Co., a story of hope in the midst of a grim world conflict. As the war between Axis and Allied forces raged on, Hans Wilsdorf, the founder of the watch company named Montres Rolex SA, had a brilliant notion: Why not let these...

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The W.O.E. Tudor PVD Pelagos FXD

The W.O.E. Tudor PVD Pelagos FXD

Customizing my dream watch, the W.O.E. PVD Pelagos FXD - When Tudor released the Black Pelagos FXD last year, I instantly knew I wanted one to land in my collection....

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The W.O.E. Tudor PVD Pelagos FXD

Customizing my dream watch, the W.O.E. PVD Pelagos FXD - When Tudor released the Black Pelagos FXD last year, I instantly knew I wanted one to land in my collection.

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Watches & Wheels: Pairing Military Vehicles with Timepieces

Watches & Wheels: Pairing Military Vehicles wit...

Round Two of honoring the age-old tradition of matching watches up with heavy-hitting machinery. We’ve done it once before–paired watches with military aircraft–and now we’re doing it again. Except this...

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Watches & Wheels: Pairing Military Vehicles with Timepieces

Round Two of honoring the age-old tradition of matching watches up with heavy-hitting machinery. We’ve done it once before–paired watches with military aircraft–and now we’re doing it again. Except this time, we’re trading wings and rotors for wheels and tracks. These watch pairings explore the world of military vehicles.  There’s...

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A Mystery Death in Oslo, an Intelligence Op Gone Wrong?

A Mystery Death in Oslo, an Intelligence Op Gon...

An unidentified woman was found dead in a luxury Oslo hotel.  Was “Jennifer Fairgate” an assassin, spy or a troubled woman looking to disappear? Her timepiece is a clue to...

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A Mystery Death in Oslo, an Intelligence Op Gone Wrong?

An unidentified woman was found dead in a luxury Oslo hotel.  Was “Jennifer Fairgate” an assassin, spy or a troubled woman looking to disappear? Her timepiece is a clue to solving a complex puzzle that reads like a Hollywood thriller. 3 June 1995, Oslo Plaza Hotel, Room 2805 The woman’s...

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CIA Timepiece Analysis: President Putin and Tucker Carlson

CIA Timepiece Analysis: President Putin and Tuc...

Last week, former Fox News talk show host Tucker Carlson interviewed former KGB officer and current Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.  While much of the coverage surrounded the controversy...

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CIA Timepiece Analysis: President Putin and Tucker Carlson

Last week, former Fox News talk show host Tucker Carlson interviewed former KGB officer and current Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.  While much of the coverage surrounded the controversy of Tucker himself, we will focus on what we know best: the watches present at the meeting in the Kremlin. ...

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South African Issued Tudor Submariners - Making Time Podcast

South African Issued Tudor Submariners - Making...

Our good friends Darren and Ross Povey from Tudor Collector discussed the history of military issued Tudor Submariners on the most recent episode of “Making Time” podcast.  We plan to...

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South African Issued Tudor Submariners - Making Time Podcast

Our good friends Darren and Ross Povey from Tudor Collector discussed the history of military issued Tudor Submariners on the most recent episode of “Making Time” podcast.  We plan to do a complete W.O.E. Dispatch on South African MilSubs in the future but this is a great opportunity to learn...

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Ask Watches Of Espionage Anything, Part III

Ask Watches Of Espionage Anything, Part III

In this edition of the Dispatch, we’ll answer some common questions we get about W.O.E., timepieces and the Intelligence Community at large. Many of these responses can – and probably...

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Ask Watches Of Espionage Anything, Part III

In this edition of the Dispatch, we’ll answer some common questions we get about W.O.E., timepieces and the Intelligence Community at large. Many of these responses can – and probably will at some point–serve as stand alone stories, but for now, here’s some additional insight on Watches of Espionage. If...

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The Real Spy Gadget Watches of the CIA, KGB, MIT and German Intelligence

The Real Spy Gadget Watches of the CIA, KGB, MI...

The Real Spy (Gadget) Watches of the CIA, Soviet KGB, Turkish MIT and German Intelligence While Hollywood's depiction of lasers, knockout gas, and grappling hooks disguised as Rolex Submariners and...

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The Real Spy Gadget Watches of the CIA, KGB, MIT and German Intelligence

The Real Spy (Gadget) Watches of the CIA, Soviet KGB, Turkish MIT and German Intelligence While Hollywood's depiction of lasers, knockout gas, and grappling hooks disguised as Rolex Submariners and Omega Seamasters is entertaining, it’s largely all a fantastical product of a screenwriter's imagination.  In fact, at CIA I was...

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Sangin Instruments - The Marine Owned “Raider Rolex”

Sangin Instruments - The Marine Owned “Raider R...

Sangin Instruments - The Marine Owned “Raider Rolex” I first heard of Sangin Instruments during TDY travel to a WarZone while at CIA.  At the time I was responsible for...

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Sangin Instruments - The Marine Owned “Raider Rolex”

Sangin Instruments - The Marine Owned “Raider Rolex” I first heard of Sangin Instruments during TDY travel to a WarZone while at CIA.  At the time I was responsible for a counterterrorism Covert Action program in the Middle East and I was traveling to visit the program on a flight...

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Omega's Modern Unit Watch Program - Frogmen, SEALs and the Secret Service

Omega's Modern Unit Watch Program - Frogmen, SE...

Omega has a long history of producing watches for the military, most notably the classic Seamaster 300 made for the British Royal Navy.  Today the company is continuing that history...

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Omega's Modern Unit Watch Program - Frogmen, SEALs and the Secret Service

Omega has a long history of producing watches for the military, most notably the classic Seamaster 300 made for the British Royal Navy.  Today the company is continuing that history with special production “unit watches,” and appears to have standardized its program, offering a unique Seamaster Diver 300M solely to...

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Watches as Tools of Money Laundering and Illicit Finance

Watches as Tools of Money Laundering and Illici...

Luxury timepieces are one of the most effective mediums to move illicit funds around the globe and a tool to integrate those ill-gotten gains into the financial system.  Transnational criminal...

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Watches as Tools of Money Laundering and Illicit Finance

Luxury timepieces are one of the most effective mediums to move illicit funds around the globe and a tool to integrate those ill-gotten gains into the financial system.  Transnational criminal networks, terrorists, narcotraffickers and corrupt politicians have used watches to launder money as a part of global illicit finance. The...

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Top Dispatch Articles of 2023 - Watches of Espionage

Top Dispatch Articles of 2023 - Watches of Espi...

Top Dispatch Articles of 2023 - Watches of Espionage  As 2023 comes to a close, we take a look at the top Dispatch articles from the year.  Thank you for...

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Top Dispatch Articles of 2023 - Watches of Espionage

Top Dispatch Articles of 2023 - Watches of Espionage  As 2023 comes to a close, we take a look at the top Dispatch articles from the year.  Thank you for all of your support, we look forward to a great year in 2024. -W.O.E. 10. Hollywood Watches of Espionage Mercenaries,...

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Tactical Watches & Christmas Films - Die Hard, Lethal Weapon & Home Alone

Tactical Watches & Christmas Films - Die Hard, ...

Movie Watches To Watch For This Christmas Season: Watches of Espionage Edition Like we’ve always said here at W.O.E., tradition matters. It’s what builds culture and forms the pillars of...

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Tactical Watches & Christmas Films - Die Hard, Lethal Weapon & Home Alone

Movie Watches To Watch For This Christmas Season: Watches of Espionage Edition Like we’ve always said here at W.O.E., tradition matters. It’s what builds culture and forms the pillars of our community. And during the Holiday season, tradition means appreciating the cinematic masterpiece that is Die Hard. As usual, we’ll...

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W.O.E. 2023 Holiday Gift Guide

W.O.E. 2023 Holiday Gift Guide

In preparation for the holidays, we provide the W.O.E. stamp of approval on the following products.   We have closed up “shop” for the year but will be back next year...

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W.O.E. 2023 Holiday Gift Guide

In preparation for the holidays, we provide the W.O.E. stamp of approval on the following products.   We have closed up “shop” for the year but will be back next year with some exciting tools for our community.  Please sign up for “Notify Me When Available” for anything that interests you. ...

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