WOE Dispatch
A Question of Time: The Time Pencil Explosive F...
In intelligence operations, time matters. While our Dispatch articles traditionally focus on watches, today we look at another tool to measure time, the time pencil. It’s a short time fuze...
A Question of Time: The Time Pencil Explosive Fuze in World War II
In intelligence operations, time matters. While our Dispatch articles traditionally focus on watches, today we look at another tool to measure time, the time pencil. It’s a short time fuze detonator used for explosive charges in covert operations in World War II. We have profiled watches of the Glorious Amateurs...
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A Brief History Of The Dive Watch - How The Mil...
Benjamin Lowry - If you’re new here, you’ll want to go back and read part one (HERE) of this two-part series where we detail the history of the earliest diving-specific...
A Brief History Of The Dive Watch - How The Military Helped To Shape History’s Greatest Tool Watch (Part Two)
Benjamin Lowry - If you’re new here, you’ll want to go back and read part one (HERE) of this two-part series where we detail the history of the earliest diving-specific watches and their crucial links to military organizations including Italy’s Decima Flottiglia MAS, the US Navy’s Underwater Demolition Teams (UDT
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Moscow Rules: Watches of the Widow Spy
Spy Watches, Women and Espionage - At the height of the Cold War, a female CIA officer operated with impunity on the streets of Moscow, free from the ever-present KGB...
Moscow Rules: Watches of the Widow Spy
Spy Watches, Women and Espionage - At the height of the Cold War, a female CIA officer operated with impunity on the streets of Moscow, free from the ever-present KGB surveillance. But it all changed one warm summer night when she was ambushed while servicing a dead drop for a...
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Advice for Buying a Watch
The Watches of Espionage community can be broken down into two segments: professional watch nerds tired of the traditional watch media; and complete newbies, those initially attracted by Military and...
Advice for Buying a Watch
The Watches of Espionage community can be broken down into two segments: professional watch nerds tired of the traditional watch media; and complete newbies, those initially attracted by Military and Intelligence content but with little interest in watches. Over time, the latter group usually develops an interest in watches and...
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Watches of the Middle East and the Israeli - Pa...
The latest Israel-Hamas war began one month ago with the October 7 terrorist attacks. It’s another conflict that will have significant impacts on the future of the region and potentially...
Watches of the Middle East and the Israeli - Palestinian Conflict
The latest Israel-Hamas war began one month ago with the October 7 terrorist attacks. It’s another conflict that will have significant impacts on the future of the region and potentially the world. While the nature of a conflict changes over time, one constant is the presence of timepieces on the...
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What Watch Pairs With What Military Aircraft?
Honoring an age-old tradition of matching watches up with heavy-hitting machinery. At W.O.E., we cover all sorts of subjects relevant to our community, ranging from in-depth profiles of impactful Intelligence...
What Watch Pairs With What Military Aircraft?
Honoring an age-old tradition of matching watches up with heavy-hitting machinery. At W.O.E., we cover all sorts of subjects relevant to our community, ranging from in-depth profiles of impactful Intelligence Community and military practitioners to breaking down geopolitical conflicts through the lens of watches. Today, however, we figured we’d go...
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Esquire Profile: The Mysterious Story Behind 'W...
Watches of Espionage was recently profiled by Andrew Harrison for Esquire's "The Big Watch Book." The Mysterious Story Behind 'Watches of Espionage' The Instagram account and website has become a...
Esquire Profile: The Mysterious Story Behind 'Watches of Espionage' - W.O.E.
Watches of Espionage was recently profiled by Andrew Harrison for Esquire's "The Big Watch Book." The Mysterious Story Behind 'Watches of Espionage' The Instagram account and website has become a runaway hit by revealing the surprising links between luxury timepieces and spycraft. One detail remains classified. The identity of the...
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Israeli Spy Eli Cohen’s Eterna-Matic Centenaire...
By Toby Harnden The announcement in July 2018 of a successful “special Mossad operation” to recover a watch came more than 53 years after its owner had been publicly hanged...
Israeli Spy Eli Cohen’s Eterna-Matic Centenaire Recovered by Mossad
By Toby Harnden The announcement in July 2018 of a successful “special Mossad operation” to recover a watch came more than 53 years after its owner had been publicly hanged in Damascus, Syria. The Eterna-Matic Centenaire 61 had been purchased in Geneva in 1961 by a Syrian called Kamel Amin...
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DARPA’s Take on the Next Generation of Military...
How Has DARPA Imagined the Future of Wristwatches? The unquantifiable nature of watches is that these little mechanical objects can be imbued with stories of service, sacrifice, and relationships. When...
DARPA’s Take on the Next Generation of Military Watches
How Has DARPA Imagined the Future of Wristwatches? The unquantifiable nature of watches is that these little mechanical objects can be imbued with stories of service, sacrifice, and relationships. When W.O.E. covers watches, we often shy away from product reviews and instead look at the human element that makes watches...
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Double Wristing Stormin' Norman
No, General Schwarzkopf did not double wrist a Rolex and Seiko Despite What You’ve Read. Pictured is General H. Norman Schwarzkopf wearing two watches. Read any story on Schwarzkopf and...
Double Wristing Stormin' Norman
No, General Schwarzkopf did not double wrist a Rolex and Seiko Despite What You’ve Read. Pictured is General H. Norman Schwarzkopf wearing two watches. Read any story on Schwarzkopf and watches and you’ll learn that it’s a Rolex Day-Date and a Seiko diver. There’s just one problem–he didn’t wear a...
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The Dive Watch - How The Military Helped To Sha...
by Benjamin Lowry On a moonless night, gently rolling waves reflect only the faintest shimmer of starlight. Fully submerged well up the beach by way of a spring tide, a team...
The Dive Watch - How The Military Helped To Shape History’s Greatest Tool Watch
by Benjamin Lowry On a moonless night, gently rolling waves reflect only the faintest shimmer of starlight. Fully submerged well up the beach by way of a spring tide, a team of commandos peer down at their synchronized mechanical dive watches, counting down the seconds before their waterside assault will begin...
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SOG Seikos - Vietnam MACV-SOG Watches, Part II
Detailing the Lesser Known Fourth CISO-Issued “SOG Seiko” By Nick Ferrell - Watches of Espionage previously covered a trio of vintage Seiko dive watches worn by the U.S. Military’s ultra-secretive...
SOG Seikos - Vietnam MACV-SOG Watches, Part II
Detailing the Lesser Known Fourth CISO-Issued “SOG Seiko” By Nick Ferrell - Watches of Espionage previously covered a trio of vintage Seiko dive watches worn by the U.S. Military’s ultra-secretive Military Assistance Command, Vietnam – Studies and Observat
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U.S. Presidents and Timepieces, The Last 40 Years
The watches of the most powerful men in the world, the Commander in Chief
U.S. Presidents and Timepieces, The Last 40 Years
The watches of the most powerful men in the world, the Commander in Chief
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Covert Influence in Watch Media
A CIA Case Officer’s job is to steal secrets by recruiting and running assets - penetrations of a foreign government or hostile non-state actor. At the core of this trade...
Covert Influence in Watch Media
A CIA Case Officer’s job is to steal secrets by recruiting and running assets - penetrations of a foreign government or hostile non-state actor. At the core of this trade is manipulating an individual to report on his or her organization and spy on behalf of the US Government. A...
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Does Rolex Make Mistakes? The Motley 8 - Error ...
In Watch and Firearm Collecting, Details Matter I purchased a new Rolex GMT Master II “Batman” directly from an authorized Rolex dealer (“AD”). After photographing the watch in my studio,...
Does Rolex Make Mistakes? The Motley 8 - Error Batman Bezel
In Watch and Firearm Collecting, Details Matter I purchased a new Rolex GMT Master II “Batman” directly from an authorized Rolex dealer (“AD”). After photographing the watch in my studio, I was surprised to see a production error that I had never seen before. In the “8” in the “18”...
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CIA Officer’s Love Affair with the Arabic Seiko
As I type this Dispatch, I am on a transatlantic flight to London for a short visit, a mix of business and pleasure. As a former CIA Case Officer, separating...
CIA Officer’s Love Affair with the Arabic Seiko
As I type this Dispatch, I am on a transatlantic flight to London for a short visit, a mix of business and pleasure. As a former CIA Case Officer, separating the two can be difficult. In my W.O.E. travel pouch is my Rolex GMT Master II 16710. On my wrist...
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Ask Watches Of Espionage Anything, Part II
In this edition of the Dispatch, we answer some common questions we get about W.O.E., timepieces and the Intelligence Community at large. Many of these responses can even serve as...
Ask Watches Of Espionage Anything, Part II
In this edition of the Dispatch, we answer some common questions we get about W.O.E., timepieces and the Intelligence Community at large. Many of these responses can even serve as stand alone stories– and probably will at some point–but for now, here’s some additional insight on Watches of Espionage. If...
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Aviation “Unit Watches”: Bremont Military and S...
One of the most common questions we receive from active duty military, law enforcement and intelligence officers is how to organize a “unit watch.” We have previously profiled Tudor’s unit...
Aviation “Unit Watches”: Bremont Military and Special Projects Division
One of the most common questions we receive from active duty military, law enforcement and intelligence officers is how to organize a “unit watch.” We have previously profiled Tudor’s unit watch program and plan to cover all of the major players in this space. UK-based Bremont Watch Company has made...
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