Archive for September 2022
Lapis Lazuli 18038 Rolex Day-Date
If you thought the Day-Date couldn’t get more glamorous, you were wrong. Sure, Rolex’s Day-Date has played host to many an exotic dial. But even among the coveted stella, missoni, rubellite, wood burl, and aventurine dials, many consider the depth of lapis lazuli blue the most desirable. Moreover, this Lapis Lazuli is one without ornamentation, completely…
Read MoreKAF-Issued 73663 Heuer Autavia
When you think military-issued pieces, you probably think Milsub for the Royal Navy, MN Tudors, Type XX chronographs, or the Dirty Dozen. You likely do not imagine Heuers for the Kenyan Air Force. And yet, they exist. Functionally-funky vintage cool does not come much stronger than the KAF-issued 73663. The Autavia was, as I’m sure…
Read More3740 IWC Mecha-Quartz Fliegerchronograph
For neo-vintage collectors, this somewhat polarizing fliegerchronograph has few equivalents. It’s an IWC that hits all the pleasure receptors where modern watches often can’t: swathes of tritium, 36mm case, restrained dial with extreme legibility, and an early reference with acrylic crystal. Sure, it’s not all perfect; 4:30-date haters will, no doubt, not remain silent in the…
Read More‘Panama Canal’ 16610 Rolex Submariner
It’s often said that modern Rolex do not produce limited run dial signatures. This is mostly true, those efforts get diverted through Tudor more often than not these days. However, the era where Rolex would allow a foreign entity to sign 6 ended later than you may think. To commemorate the transfer of the Panama…
Read More5495 Blancpain Villeret Perpetual in Platinum
Of all complications, the perpetual calendar might just be the watchmaker’s darling. By that, I mean the essence of what a certain brand or effort represents is often very well captured by their perpetual calendar offering. The complication requires immense skill not just mechanically, but in how to arrange such a wealth of information. I’m…
Read MoreMk1 9420/0 Tudor Big Block Monte Carlo
This unassuming Tudor combines the very best of two iconic chronographs: the practicality of a Big Block sprinkled with the the magic that was the flamboyant Monte Carlo dial. This is an automatic 7750, but with a dial very reminiscent of the 7100 series Monte Carlos. Alongside the standard production 9420/0, Tudor also produced what…
Read More168.017 Linen Dial Omega Constellation Date
I have, many times, cited mid-century Omega Constellations as a fantastic entry point to vintage and outsized value proposition today. This Constellation falls into a different category: something of an apex reference. What started as a humble bridge between sport and dress models in 1952 had, by the mid 60s, become something far more extravagant.…
Read More1960s Cartier Paris Tank Obus
What happens when you take one of the most famous watch designs of all time and alter it? 9 times out of 10, it’s a monstrosity. The Tank Obus is that 1 time out of 10 where the magic is not lost, only altered. Created in 1923, the Obus has been made only in extremely…
Read More‘Silver Script’ 3647N Heuer Carrera
There’s nothing like an obscure, meaningless detail to get watch enthusiasts researching. Early Carreras and early Daytonas share more than just a column-wheel Valjoux 72 heartbeat. We’re talking same hour markers, milled subdials, and subdial numerals. See, the earliest Carreras had dials manufactured by Singer—the very same of Rolex fame. And these Singer dials came…
Read More1 of 200 Salmon Guilloché Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Art Deco
In all its ninety years in widely varying production, it’s easy to overlook a great Reverso reference. This grail-to-me, the Art Deco, has largely faded into the background of watch collecting attention. Or perhaps, having pre-dated Instagram as a limited edition in production from 1992 to 2002, it was never there in the first place. As…
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