Posts by Erik Gustafson
Fumé Dial 110.313 Heuer Silverstone
Some watches seem removed from time, perennially elegant, like the 3940, 1463, 5513, or any other arrangement of four digits from Patek or Rolex that you care to mention. Others lean into their era and attach themselves to it violently, like tap dancing on the Titanic until the trends change and it sinks. The Silverstone…
Read More6036 Rolex ‘Jean-Claude Killy’ Datocompax, Pink Gold
There’s Rolex, and then there’s complicated Rolex. The latter, we’ve only seen a handful of times and it’s pretty much all vintage. You could make an argument for the Sky-Dweller, but I wouldn’t want to. No, full calendar and split seconds Rolex emerged in the 50s and disappeared as quickly as they came, now extremely…
Read More‘Havana’ Dial 1601 Rolex Datejust
Not all Datejust are created equal. This will become immediately apparent if you check out Monaco Legends 2021 result for a red jasper white gold 1601, which hammered at 186K US. Many think of the Datejust as that two-tone thing you have to buy for your significant other to get a GMT. This does immense…
Read More‘Monoblocco’ 3525 Rolex Chronograph
If you love your Daytona, you should know its grandfather. This is the ref. 3525, not the first Rolex chronograph, but likely the first Oyster-cased Rolex chronograph. It goes by ‘Monoblocco’, ‘Barilotto’, and ‘Prisoner of War’ all as nicknames. The first two are easy to explain, the third I’ll get to in a second. Barilotto…
Read MoreCharles Frodsham Double Impulse Chronometer
It’s not often discussed in these terms, but in the very early days of watchmaking, before even pocket watches were commonplace, the Swiss looked toward the English as the more established regional watchmaking industry. It was only after John Calvin banned things like dancing and the wearing of jewelry that the Swiss turned their focus…
Read More‘Yves Klein’ Dial 25820ST Audemars Piguet Royal Oak QP
There is something fantastic about pairing high complication with vibrant color. Somehow, complication and the effort required to create it tends to bring about the serious side of aesthetics and design, almost as a way of saying ‘you should take this seriously’. This is the other philosophy. Most collectors tend to prefer pre-leap year indication…
Read More3693.50 Omega Speedmaster ‘150th Anniversary of Omega’
This isn’t a new Watches & Wonders release and it’s unrelated to Omega’s Trilogy set, apart from being heavily 2915-inspired. This is from 1998 and is one of very few Omega limited editions from that time which is actually limited, at just 150 examples. 150, rather significantly, for the 150th Anniversary of Omega. This was…
Read MoreRexhep Rexhepi Chronomètre Contemporain RRCC1
Rexhep is arguably the most discussed independent of the last few years. The questions are twofold: the why and the how of the furor. I believe they’re both founded in excellent watchmaking. Perhaps we were all a bit primed after the stratospheric explosion in the likes of Dufour, Smith, and Journe to be looking out…
Read More‘Plum Dial’ 5065 Patek Philippe Aquanaut
With no hyperbole whatsoever, this is probably the most desirable Aquanaut in the world. It’s a 5065, the first 38mm ‘jumbo’ reference, one of a handful (and that might be too generous) to exist with what is called a ‘Plum’ dial. It may even just be two examples, yet to be determined. This was a…
Read MoreFP Journe Chronomètre Souverain Boutique Edition
If one Googles ‘FP Journe Chronomètre’, it will autocomplete Bleu. But the time-only Souverain extends well outside Google’s tastes. It is quite unusual that in the lesser complicated Journe, it’s the non-guilloché Bleu that everybody knows. When, if you can enjoy a reserve, you get a guilloché dial as well. In most all other brand…
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