Archive for June 2021
Early Double-Signed Era Grand Seiko SBGR003
There’s something very majestic about Grand Seiko’s double-signed era. After the SBGR305 introduced GS-only signature dials, independence was solidified. Before that, times were more uncertain. There is a certain lack of confidence or perhaps humility that the double signature implies. A large Seiko at 12 is stealth. If you know watches, you’ll clock the lower…
Read MoreAudemars Piguet Quantieme Perpetual 25657 BA
AP’s first Perpetual Quantieme, the 5548, was conceived in secrecy during the height of Switzerland’s quartz crisis. At the time, the marque was struggling and contemplating leaning more on quartz for future models. Three senior watchmakers within AP (Michel Rochat, Daniel Golay, and Wilfred Berney) developed an ultra-thin perpetual calendar movement that would become an…
Read MoreSinn 103 B ST TY Steel Bezel
I generally like to believe that present is better than the past was and that we can make the future better than today. Despite this, I fall for vintage watches over their modern counterparts frequently. Included in that, for the most part, are Sinn. I find something about 1990s Sinn desperately attractive. The tool aesthetic,…
Read More1968 Seiko Lord Marvel 5740-8020
You may have noticed, but Seiko/GS and hi-beat movements are kind of a thing. The pairing goes together like whisky and chocolate. I say that because the combination is both frequently enjoyed and quite subjectively enjoyed. Many collectors prefer Spring Drive or the uncomplicated SKX/Five flavour. Marmite is the word. But if you do happen…
Read MoreValue Proposition: Silver Sigma IWC 866A Ingenieur
Early Ingenieurs are emblematic of IWC in design and substance. The German side of Switzerland has always prided itself in inventive problem-solving and militant (perhaps a poor choice of adjective) precision. This second generation 866 Ingenieur tethers these brand principles to a sort of bauhausian Mk XI design. What resulted is a quite iconic, useful,…
Read MoreVulcain Cricket Nautical S2321A
Much has been said and written here about modern alarm complications, but it is worth noting that the alarm complication itself has a somewhat more humble origin in commercial diving. Vulcain’s naval pieces of the 1960s rung out some of the first mechanical alarm chimes. Since its introduction, a Swiss benefactor not associated with Vulcain…
Read MoreTudor 7159 Monte Carlo: the Quintessential Summer Watch
Posted recently on S. Song’s page for a seriously reasonable sum, this 1974 second generation Monte Carlo is a legend of design. Tudor have been of interest to collectors in a big way for the last three decades now and one glimpse at a piece like this proves why. The extremely distinctive dial, markers, and…
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