François-Paul Journe has described the Chronomètre Souverain as his personal favorite—the watch he wanted to make before any other. It entered the collection in 2005 and quickly became the brand's anchor reference. Seven years into production, the Boutique Edition framework gave Journe a vehicle to explore more expressive dial treatments,...

Likely a piece unique, this 28SC is amongst the most restrained pieces Kari Voutilainen has made. Typically, pieces such as the Vingt-8 sported a petite seconds with its own guilloché. The 28SC embraced a degree of sporting edge via centre seconds in its place. In addition, the classic teardrop lug...

There is no numeral like a Breguet numeral, and even Patek Philippe knows it. This is not a Saatchi, but well before. To commemorate the 2006 opening of the Geneva Salon, which coincided with the end of 3970 production, four special sets each with four metals were made and offered...

The ref. 101.035 'Darth' is one of the most successful references from the brand's earlier years, emblematic of Glashütte watchmaking in every way. Penned by a team of Blümlein, Meis, and Klaus, it is imposing. It was the first standard production Lange reference to be produced with an all-black dial (including...

When the 3940 began, it started at the top. Beyer, the world’s oldest independent retailer in business for 266 years, got the first 25 examples. They even got their name on the dial, over doré, individually numbered. Numbers 1 to 15 have a German dial, while 16 to 25 are...

Well before the Land-Dweller and even before the Oysterquartz, there was this: the 1530. Known colloquially as the ‘mechanical Oysterquartz’, this is in fact an entirely mechanical wristwatch. It is not the first integrated bracelet Rolex (either the Midas, Texano, or ref. 9083 depending on your definition), but it is...

This is the first 2523 made, the prototype. Thanks to records from scholar Brandon Thomas, who acquired original workshop notes from Cottier’s atelier, it’s known that this was marked down as a prototype. Likely made with two different interchangeable center dial styles as test, this example sported this unique guilloché...

The 5970R we know and love usually has a silver dial. Those who were lucky enough to be able to place a special order, though, could opt for this black. Only one other has come to auction, this will be the second. Patek Philippe have a long history of granting...

This is a Lange 1A, that’s not a typo. This is the very first limited production Lange, ref. 112.021 made in 100 examples in 1998. It sports a name which nods toward what was then a new manufacture building named 1A. It was also the very first Lange to sport...

This is a superwatch both physically and in terms of complications. Very few sports watches can split seconds. FP Journe introduced the Chronographe Monopoussoir Rattrapante in 2018, building off an experimental Split Seconds project for Only Watch which hammered at 1.15M CHF. By popular demand, FP Journe refined that calibre...

This is a piece unique black dial Lange 1 Tourbillon, about as beautiful and special a Lange 1 Tourbillon as has ever been made. It first sold in 2018 at Dr. Crott, then 119K EUR. This upcoming auction season, it’s back and ready to set a new record. This was...

Souscription Resonance is now mentioned in the same way collectors talk about 1526 and 2523. In the latter, tiny differences really matter. Souscriptions are largely a similar production. But this one isn’t, it’s two-tone. And two-tone in pink with platinum is the best sort of two-tone. All of these are...

Finds. With all that’s come since, it’s easy to overlook that this is unquestionably the original über-Lange. A moonshot project imagined but a few days after the Berlin wall fell, this was the watch was to prove to the Swiss that this ragtag German upstart should be taken seriously. Blümlein...

This, Audemars Piguet’s 1986 ref. 25636, is the first AP skeletonized perpetual calendar of any sort. It was released in 1986, a full two years ahead of the 36mm ref. 25668 skeleton in a circular case. It’s not the first-ever skeleton QP, VC’s 43032 was released in 1984. But it...

The very first Roger Smith (RWS) Series 3 is heading to auction. Introduced in 2015, the Series 3 was the start of the date complication with the established aesethic of the collection. It nods to the commissioned rectangular-cased Series 1 which also featured a retrograde date, but that Lange Arkade-like...

To most, the word Saatchi brings to mind an art gallery in London. To watch obsessives, Saatchi is a crowning adjective applied to Patek Philipps through the late neo-vintage era. On the 5070, the Saatchi very much marks the traditional king of chronographs returning to their throne. In 2015, Patek...

You only see complicated Rolex a handful of times in vintage Rolex. In essence, you get Padellone, 6062, 4413, and this: Jean Claude Killy. A complete calendar chronograph, this is as highly collected as you’ll ever see Rolex. Killy is what happens when Daytona just doesn’t push far enough, and...

The most modern machine at Haldimann is an optical microscope from the ’60s, certainly not a CNC. Haldimann’s workshop and entire operation is his home, a villa overlooking the river Aare in Thun that has a deliberately meditative vibe. His eponymous independent manufacture makes 20-30 watches per year, entirely in...