Posts by Erik Gustafson
Black Galvanic Dial 6238 Rolex ‘Pre-Daytona’ Chronograph
This is a Pre-Daytona, but it’s way more interesting than it appears at first glance. This is the Pre-Daytona equivalent of a perfect Paul Newman: finding any 6238 with a black dial. For standard dials, the 6238 might hold the Rolex record for having the largest discrepancy between dial colors. The vast, vast majority of…
Read MoreTransitional Matte Dial 16750 Rolex GMT-Master
Welcome one, welcome all to the start of the quickset date. I know the 1675 is as incredible a recipe of vintage charm, practical complication, and bright color as exists in vintage Rolex. But, if we’re all honest, it’s really annoying to set the date on. The early 16750 marked the first new GMT-Master reference…
Read MoreWalser Wald Dial 591 Patek Philippe Chronograph, Pink Gold
It doesn’t appear this way, but this ref. 591 predates WWII. By one year. While the rest of the world was on fire, Switzerland was busy making this. Nonetheless, it’s entirely timeless and rather special in more than one way. First, it’s pink on pink, the ultimate. Second, its pulsations scale dial. Third, it’s signed…
Read More2526 Patek Philippe Calatrava, White Gold
The first time I handled a 2526, its owner said to me simultaneously, ‘it’s just a lovely, lovely watch and nothing superfluous.’ He was right. It is a gorgeous grand feu enamel dial with three hands and one of the most advanced, refined automatic calibres of the last century. Enamel dials, grand feu or cloisonné, are…
Read More2447 NST Heuer Carrera Second Execution
This 2447 NST is every millimeter the chronograph that a 6239 Daytona is, a motorsport thoroughbred which is critically too little esteemed. The NST is about as collected as the Carrera gets, a truly rare bird in this condition. It’s in the article on thee Heuer website, On the Dash, where Jeff Stein placed it…
Read More‘Big Red’ 6263 Rolex Daytona
If you ask anyone to close their eyes and picture a manual Daytona, this is probably what comes to mind. Despite PNs, early pump pushers, and even the JPS, this is the variant that defines an entire era of Daytona production. The Oyster pusher, white dial, acrylic bezel, Big Red dial look is quintessential manual…
Read MoreBrown Guilloché Dial Voutilainen Observatoire
Despite sharing a strong family resemblance, this Observatoire is not a Vingt-8. It’s what came before, in tiny numbers, powered by a quite modified and ridiculously-beautifully-finished Peseux 260 before Kari’s own calibre 28 was ready. There were fewer than 50 examples of the Observatoire made before the Vingt-8 took over the throne. It was so…
Read More‘Oval O’ Dial 2998-1 Omega Speedmaster
The 2998-1 is a one of the last great values in watches. It is, arguably, every bit or more the chronograph a 6234 is. The straight lug case is also a beautiful, completely separate and thing to what came after. Perhaps most of all desirable of all, though, for the very earliest references, we see…
Read More5970P Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar Chronograph
The 5970 is aging with same sort of dignity the 3970 is currently enjoying. In due time, this pair might come to represent as great a complication as Patek Philippe have ever created. You’ve heard it before and you’ll hear it again, this is the last of the Lemania ébauches; 5270 that followed axed that…
Read MoreLang & Heyne König Albert Von Sachsen
Lang & Heyne, not to be conflated with Lange, are quite unlike anything in the independent world. Taking inspiration and terrior from Dresden, Mirko Heyne and Marco Lang slowly built an audience for German watchmaking that is of equal quality to anything Glashútte but entirely distinct, though much of that was accomplished with hire Jens…
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