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...

When a Minute Repeater isn't enough, why not add a Tourbillon and QP. That was the logic in 1993, when Philippe Stern determined to go very, very complicated as a means of showing the world Patek Philippe's unwavering dedication to complication. The thing is, repeaters hadn't been a part of...

Early Urban Jürgensen can easily go unnoticed, but really shouldn't. This, I suspect, because the brand has one of the most convoluted and difficult-to-follow histories of any. Here’s what’s relevant to this, their 90s Reference 1. The storied Danish pocket watch brand was acquired by a Peter Baumberger, an enterprising...

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...

If I were Günter Blümlein and someone suggested that they were going to revise the Lange 1 by adding a tourbillon, I'd tell them to zieh leine and stop being obtuse. You can't improve upon the Lange 1, surely? Well, if time has taught us anything, it's to trust the slow...