Middle Eastern dials are not all equal. They’re all fantastically interesting, from UAE Armed Forces Datejusts to Oman Day-Dates or even Syrian Explorer IIs, all of these watches call back to a time in Rolex when the brand was more personable and willing to go more than the extra mile...

The Ellipse case might just be one of the most timeless shapes the 1970s produced, the age of the Jet Set and turmoil simultaneously. This ref. 3738 is one of the longest-lived references in Patek Philippe, arguably the height of Ellipse. It spanned 1984 until around 2009 and four main...

This Triple Calendar Chronograph is not a Rolex, Heuer, Girard Perregaux, or Zodiac; it has no brand: generic label. It was the ultimate pride and joy of a budding watchmaker in the mid-late 1960s. This dial reads Technicum Le Locle which was, at the time, the preeminent horological school. The...

Enamel dials, grand feu or cloisonné, are a dying art. There are only a handful of manufactures who still craft them. In Vintage Patek Philippe, it’s usually just the signature and tracks in hard, engraved enamel. The 2526 is one of just a handful of references to sport an entirely...

Meet the very, very start of the Explorer II. It’s not just a 1655, it’s the Mark 1. The seconds hand is straight with zero lollipop going on. The bezel has its numerals engraved just a little closer to the crystal than centered. The 1655 was produced from 1971 until...

The skeletonized 90s QPs are seriously significant things. Not just for the holy trinity, but for watches. They perfectly capture the attitude of post crisis optimism, Switzerland was back. And they weren’t going to let you forget it. The Royal Oak QP was born into that atmosphere, a direct descendent...