In the wake of upsetting the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals, LeBron James and his Cleveland Cavaliers were honored with a parade in downtown Cleveland yesterday. The storylines here are plenty: in winning the championship, the Cavaliers not only staged an historic comeback from a three-games-to-one deficit to vanquish the team with the best regular-season record in NBA history, but they also brought the city of Cleveland a much-needed major sports championship after a 52-year drought. That's nice and all, but we here at HODINKEE couldn't help but notice what was on LeBron's wrist: what sure appears to be the now-discontinued 41 mm Rolex Day-Date II.

It’s probably safe to say that Allentown, Pennsylvania, isn’t the first (or second, or third) place that comes to mind when you think of the renowned Italian luxury brand Bulgari. But yet that’s where we found ourselves earlier this week to take a look at chairman Nicola Bulgari’s massive collection of vintage American automobiles, as well as many of the brand's latest timepieces – including the new ultra thin Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater. Click through for tons of photos.

One of the most interesting things about Rolex is the amount of time and energy the company puts into research and development – and moreover, R&D the fruits of which often never see the light of day, at least in the form in which they are originally patented. Fortunately for the curious, patents are a matter of public record, and if you're inclined, you can find fascinating examples in patent databases that give hints as to what the company spends its time researching, and even make some (at least semi-educated) guesses as to how information gleaned from basic research filters down to products that end up on consumer's wrists.

If you're in New York through this Friday, and you're interested in watches, you have a chance to experience three watches very rarely seen outside of very tight collector circles and outside of Japan: the Credor Repeater, Sonnerie, and Fugaku Tourbillon, the first tourbillon ever made by Seiko. Click on through for details, as well as an image gallery of some of these amazing timepieces.

As we all probably have noticed by now, a recent FTC determination directed Detroit-based Shinola to change the language of some of its marketing materials, labeling, and product design to remove or alter those aspects of their work which might give the impression that their products were Made In The USA when they were not.  A larger issue for watch enthusiasts, however, was raised as well: how does Made In The USA stack up against Swiss Made, and is the Made In The USA requirement unfairly restrictive – indeed, does it tend to stifle the nascent watchmaking industry in the United States?