Posts by Erik Gustafson
25654ST Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Quantième Perpétuel
We’ve all gotten used to wild Laurent Ferrier Grand Sport Tourbillons, FPJ Sport Rattrapantes, or even RMs, but this was the first time high complication met sporting ambition. It is impossible to overstate the significance of reference 5554, the Royal Oak QP, first debuted in 1984. Collectors and enthusiasts know, but everyone else has forgotten.…
Read MoreBlack Dial 1019 Rolex Milgauss
The Milgauss has always been the forgotten stepchild of the four-digit professional world, cast aside for the family-favorite Sub or Daytona who bathe in attention. Now, it’s gone entirely, at least for now. But it’s quietly excellent, austere, and massively handsome. While the refs. 6541 and 6543 are setting record highs at auction (up to 2.5M),…
Read More25558BA Audemars Piguet Quantième Perpétuel Openwork
Many ask what the ultimate 90s QP really is. Many will say a Beyer or Saatchi 3940. The VC equivalent of ultra-desirable, low volume is the 43032 Skeleton, preferably with blue subdials. The Audemars Piguet equivalent is this. Audemars Piguet saved complicated mechanical watchmaking in 1978 with the reference 5548. This is the 25558, the…
Read More‘Amtlich Geprüft’ Dial 1803 Rolex Day-Date
If you look closely, you’ll see this doesn’t say ‘Superlative Chronometer Officially Certified’. Instead, it says ‘Superlativer Chronometer Amtlich Geprüft’. Now, it means the exactly same thing. But strictly speaking, this makes no sense. It’s half-English, half-German; a Christoph Waltz of Day-Dates. But why isn’t it all German? It reminds of strange Pre-Daytona chronographs where…
Read MoreEastern Arabic Dial NSO Cartier Tank Asymetrique, Platinum
If the trend this year has been all about a push toward shaped or design-led cases, and it has been, it’s worth considering where that thought originated. Or, at least look at some early examples. While we were all fascinated with vintage tool watches through the 2010s, Cartier were still pushing the literal edges of…
Read More‘The Owl’ 25572BA Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Day Date
There is no Royal Oak more of the 80s and yet still attractive today than the 25572, known more commonly as ‘The Owl’. Not all Day Dates come in Oyster cases. Shortly after the 5402 graced the world with its presence, AP experimented with a few variations on the theme. Out of this early/mid 80s…
Read MoreEnamel Dial Laurent Ferrier Galet Traveller
That blue, that’s enamel. And while just about any natural escapement, micro-rotor Laurent Ferrier is something to behold, this sector dial with contrasting enamel is a knockout. If you can cast you minds way back to 2017, this was one of the earliest and best looking Hodinkee collaborations. They made just 15, all in titanium.…
Read More5100 Rolex ‘Texano’
We all tend to view Rolex as a monolith, confident and entirely incapable of a misstep. Well no, not always. The quartz revolution was the last event to place Rolex truly on the back foot. And this was Rolex’s first shot across the bow back to Japan. It is the ref. 5100, better known as…
Read More‘Vampire’ Ruby Omega Speedmaster Canopus White Gold
No, you haven’t had a stroke. No, this isn’t aftermarket. And yes, that’s a Speedmaster. Meet the Omega equivalent of an off-catalogue application piece. Long time viewers here will know, we don’t talk about much in gem-set. Usually, it’s not that interesting. But this is different. This is a watch that’s still very poorly understood…
Read MoreGilt Dial 1675 Rolex GMT-Master
Immediately after the wild success of the 6542, Rolex’s GMT-Master really entered its own. The dial wasn’t going to kill you with radium, the bezel wasn’t going to shatter by coughing on it, and crown guards had entered the chat. The 1675 is undoubtedly one of the great pillars of vintage sport Rolex. But the gilt…
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