Posts by Erik Gustafson
Lapis Dial 1601/8 Rolex Datejust
Here’s a hot take to some: stone dials suit the Datejust even better than a Day-Date. If you’ve been into the more formal side of Rolex for any time at all, most roads lead to vintage Day-Date. But stone dials are the only place where a Datejust stands on equal footing with the Day-Date, spec…
Read MoreOman Khanjar 228235 Rolex Day-Date, Pink Gold
This is that mythical object, spoken about by many in secrecy but never actually seen: the interesting modern Rolex. After featuring the first modern Rolex in finds a few months ago, I received a handful of DMs inquiring, ‘Are there any other modern Rolex you like?’ Yes. The Le Mans, and this. It’s a 228235…
Read MoreMark 4 1665 Rolex ‘Double Red’ Sea-Dweller
The only way I can describe a Double Red Sea-Dweller is like a Single Red Sub that goes to 11. It’s just more of everything. Neither you nor I will ever have use for a helium escape valve. But this has something else because of it: an honesty. It’s serious about its job, in the…
Read MoreTropical Dial 6263 Rolex Daytona
There is nothing like a tropical manual Daytona. The ageing process which has so beautifully crafted these subdials is somehow even more proudly and vividly displayed when contrasted directly against a silvered-white sunburst panda dial. I’ve said this before, but I like to imagine tropical dials as God’s way of saying ‘Wear your damn watches’.…
Read MoreKikuchi Nakagawa Murakumo
Japanese independent watchmaking has blossomed in the last 5 years like few areas of watchmaking. From Norifumi Seki’s independent display watch to Asaoka’s gorgeous Tourbillon Noir, there’s a wealth of personality being expressed in metal. One, though, has recently enjoyed the brightest spotlight of all thanks to Ed Sheeran and John Mayer saying this is,…
Read More43032 Vacheron Constantin Skeleton Quantième Perpétuel, Platinum
The case could easily be made that the three ‘holy trinity’ neo-vintage perpetual calendars, the storied refs 5548, 43031, and 3940, are the most important complicated serially produced watches of the modern era, particularly the 5548 for bringing the category back. But that’s like saying David Gandy is handsome; duh. Around the time Patek was…
Read More‘Speedymoon’ 345.0809 Omega Speedmaster
Surely if any chronograph deserves a moonphase complication, it’s the Moonwatch. But, like all good things, it was only introduced in the 80s. This is the ref. 345.0809, better known by collectors as the Speedymoon. Not only does it bring the most romantic of complications to the party, but it adds a date, cool flanking…
Read More‘Semainier’ 47052 Vacheron Constantin Triple Calendar, White Gold
Pre-Richemont Vacheron Constantin can be accurately summed up by just the hands and dial of this ref. 47052. The hands are voluminous and domed, almost cylindrical with a mirror polish. That finishing takes time. And then there’s the dial: ‘Vieux Panier’ hand guilloché that almost resembles brushstrokes, applied Matese cross, hand-lettered months, and a solid…
Read More22560 Universal Genève A. Cairelli Split Seconds
Universal Genève are coming back. For true vintage lovers, they never left our thoughts. And throughout all these 70 years, one reference has always remained the apex. Elusive and extremely scarce, this is the 22560 A. Cairelli Split Seconds. This 44mm oversized chronograph is wafer thin, made for the Italian Air Force/MoD, and a classic…
Read More‘Piccolino’ 3055 Rolex Chronograph, Pink Gold
This is one of the great, ‘what might have been, had Rolex pursued a different path’ watches. It’s the 3055, better known as the Piccolino, and it has more in common with the Patek Philippe 130 than a 6265 Daytona. Piccolino means little ‘little one’, but it packs an outsized punch. It is an answer…
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