In 1983, Vacheron Constantin announced to the world their intentions to return to traditional, complicated mechanical watchmaking in the wake of the quartz crisis with the ref. 43031 Perpetual Calendar. Switzerland had been decimated, with watch industry employment falling from 90,000 to 28,000 and the number of dedicated watchmakers employed...

To most, the word Saatchi brings to mind an art gallery in London or a man named Charles. To watch obsessives, Saatchi is a crowning adjective applied to Patek Philipps through the neo-vintage era. On the 5070, the Saatchi very much marks the traditional king of chronographs returning to their...

The transitional 16550 marked the start of the Explorer II as a dual-time zone watch. In one instant, the hour hand was able to jump and the GMT-Master II had a credible rival. Further, it also introduced a massive fault we’ve all come to adore: the cream dial. Early 16550s...

Despite sharing a strong family resemblance, this Observatoire is not a Vingt-8. It’s what came before, in tiny numbers, powered by a thoroughly reworked and beautifully-finished Peseux 260 before Kari’s own calibre 28 was ready. There's a huge degree of variance in early Kari and it's really beginning to pick...

Sincere Singapore have had many incredibly beautiful and unique small runs made for their clients, from guilloché Lange to LF and, yes, FP Journe. While this looks like a black label, it’s actually one of just 10 made with black mother of pearl. Yes, this is actually mother of pearl...

A 3940 doing its best Tortue impression, the 5040 is a ridiculously beautiful value today. But there are more variants than most realize. It’s not just a J with Breguet numerals, this is platinum—solid caseback only just like the 3940. Except this black Arabic dial with dot indices is unlike...