Posts by Erik Gustafson
3970EG Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar Chronograph
With all the headlines this week, it seems to me worth taking a moment to contemplate the glory days of the Patek Philippe we all fell in love with. Last time I wrote about a 3970, I began, ‘If an alien was beamed down to Earth, or Mark Zuckerberg asked you (which amounts to the…
Read MoreFourth Series 2499 Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar Chronograph
If you had to choose just one Patek Philippe of recent history to represent what we love about the brand, or perhaps what the brand used to be, it would have to be either a 5004, 3970, 3940, or, indeed, 2499. These are the height of the brand’s ability in serialized complication, ingenious solutions, finishing,…
Read More‘Italian Albino’ 3593.20 Omega Speedmaster
We cannot approve of casual use of the phrase ‘the white dial Speedmaster’ here at Hairspring. The recent lacquer dial, for all the attention, was not the first. Nor was the Canopus. In fact, it goes way back to a watch called the Stafford, more on that later. But, prior to the Canopus, Alaska series,…
Read MoreComex 16800 Rolex Submariner
In retrospect, the 16800 was one of the last great Rolex tool watches; push just a little bit further, and we’re into Hermés-ified luxury territory. The 16800 presided over a flash of production which is a bit of a sweet spot for Rolex heads: sapphire crystal and a tritium dial before white gold surrounds. To…
Read MoreOman Khanjar Dial 19018 Rolex Oysterquartz
The Oysterquartz is more adored today than it ever has been historically. However, if you’re looking for the one Oysterquartz that encapsulates late-70s opulence, this has to be it. The halo product Day-Date version of the Oysterquartz, ref. 19018. It was given its own interpretation of the President bracelet, still integrated. But this is a…
Read MoreDB16 De Bethune Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar
It is universally understood that De Bethune make spaceships for the wrist. Except, they haven’t always. In fact, the first decade was largely extremely classical with Roman or Breguet-like numerals, pomme or feuille hands, and remarkably normal cases. Collectors are starting to talk about early De Bethune with the kind of hard-line separation that Journe…
Read MoreGrey Ghost Dial 1803 Rolex Day-Date, Pink Gold
This looks like your average common or garden 1803 Day-Date at a glance, but it really isn’t. First, it’s in pink gold. No one knows exactly the fraction, but we know pink gold was but a fraction of overall production (something like 1 in every 100 examples or less). Pink was a slow seller, so…
Read More2447SN Heuer Carrera
The early Carrera has always been every bit the watch a 6239 Daytona or 105.012 Speedmaster is (perhaps just a hair less to the Speedy for the 321). However, it’s always been the odd one out, a sort of third-musketeer. Yet, in quality of design and fulfilling its role as a racing chronograph, the Carrera…
Read MoreSalmon Dial NSO Cartier Crash
If ever a special order Cartier client got it right, this salmon white gold NSO Crash is it. This is traditionally Swiss aesthetic spice on a deeply French dish in London. If you love watches, I promise that should make sense. The salmon dial craze of 2020 has come and past. As someone who quite…
Read MoreOnyx Dial 16018 Rolex Datejust
Onyx might not look like this in nature, but it does in Datejust. And that’s enough. Stone dials have had a rough time of late, but the OGs are as index-less and lovely as they’ve ever been. Normally, I would always slightly preference a Day-Date, everything else being equal. But in stone dials, Datejusts really…
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