Archive for August 2021
Value Proposition: Grand Seiko 6155-8000 Hi-Beat Special
I am not an expert in Grand Seiko yet even I am aware of and understand the extreme appeal of a VFA. However, a quick peruse of recent auction results will tell you that even the most shagged VFA is now a 50 grand proposition. Luckily for us peasants, the depth and breadth of GS’s…
Read MoreGilt, Fat-Font 1675 Rolex GMT-Master
This 1967 GMT features everything one could ask for in vintage Rolex aside from complete originality (for the more fastidious among us). Its gilt dial, tritium plots, and faded Pepsi bezel are enough to bring even millennials into the golden era of Pan-Am and Fidel Castro. The 1675 is possibly the most recognizable Rolex reference…
Read More1 of 250 IWC Big Pilot Perpetual Rose Gold Bucherer Edition
Once in a blue moon, one has to stare straight into the eye of discretion and say fuck it. For those outings, there is no piece which combines anachronism, flamboyance, or horological merit quite so effortlessly. It will even tell you when that blue moon is about to come. The evolution of the WWII pilot’s…
Read MoreExclamation Point Rolex 5508 Submariner
One of the purest Submariner references from the early days, the 5508 is an unfussy, unpretentious, un-adulterated-by-marketing tool. The 5508 was a diver with a job to accomplish, no more and no less. The original owner of this sub would’ve likely found our fascination with gilt, no crown guard, exclamation details infuriatingly pedantic. Nonetheless, if…
Read MoreStratos Flyback Rainbow Zenith El Primero
Reissues frequently run the risk of being trite or overly reductive and damaging the reputation of the original article. However, if there is one manufacture I trust to always nail a design update, it’s Zenith. They don’t replicate and they don’t get too flamboyant in their reissue efforts. More than almost any other modern watchmaker,…
Read MoreDeep-Blue Dialed Patek Philippe 3445 Calatrava in YG
The 3445 Calatrava was every bit as modern as it was gorgeous in 1961. This petite seconds three-hander was Patek’s first automatic watch with a date window. Watch collectors today tend to turn their noses up at any dial aperture. But this is different. The 3445’s date window was a first, a true innovation. If…
Read MoreFP Journe Octa Lune Brass Movement
Few manufactures have such a harsh delineation between early and latter models as the renown FP Journe. Sure, as an example Rolex produced early dials in gilt and transitioned to tritium, but that’s just a detail. Journe shifted the entire foundation of their movement from brass to gold after an estimated 2000 examples. All brass…
Read MoreAudemars Piguet 25643 Sun-Ray Tourbillon Automatique
Something very interesting was posted to AVW this morning. That is not to say their inventory is not interesting, there is almost always something very appetizing for a horological nerd whenever I check in. Perhaps one for the more eclectic among you, this ‘sun-ray’ dialed AP is the first self-wound tourbillon. A wild and original…
Read MoreVacheron Constantin 222 in Steel, Midsized
The oft-forgotten third musketeer in the original steel sports holy trinity, Vacheron’s 222 has seen increasing limelight in the wake of recent 5711 madness. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve wanted to shout ‘but what about the 222 or Overseas?!’ into the ether whilst reading those Nautilus and Royal Oak grey-market-value articles that…
Read MoreTudor 7965 Oyster Prince with Underline Dial
Rose dial Tudors are a soft spot for me, I admit. The history tethered to that logo in horology draws on one’s heartstrings. The early days of value-based watchmaking are something marvelous. Tudor’s Oyster-cased offering was used for the Greenland Expedition for just this reason: it was simple, unfussy, economical, and purposeful. This latter three-piece…
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