Meet the very, very start of the Explorer II. It’s not just a 1655, it’s the Mark 1. The seconds hand is straight with zero lollipop going on. The bezel has its numerals engraved just a little closer to the crystal than centered. The 1655 was produced from 1971 until...

The skeletonized 90s QPs are seriously significant things. Not just for the holy trinity, but for watches. They perfectly capture the attitude of post crisis optimism, Switzerland was back. And they weren’t going to let you forget it. The Royal Oak QP was born into that atmosphere, a direct descendent...

When a Minute Repeater isn't enough, why not add a Tourbillon and QP. That was the logic in 1993, when Philippe Stern determined to go very, very complicated as a means of showing the world Patek Philippe's unwavering dedication to complication. The thing is, repeaters hadn't been a part of...

Early Urban Jürgensen can easily go unnoticed, but really shouldn't. This, I suspect, because the brand has one of the most convoluted and difficult-to-follow histories of any. Here’s what’s relevant to this, their 90s Reference 1. The storied Danish pocket watch brand was acquired by a Peter Baumberger, an enterprising...

In 1983, Vacheron Constantin announced to the world their intentions to return to traditional, complicated mechanical watchmaking in the wake of the quartz crisis with the ref. 43031 Perpetual Calendar. Switzerland had been decimated, with watch industry employment falling from 90,000 to 28,000 and the number of dedicated watchmakers employed...

If I were Günter Blümlein and someone suggested that they were going to revise the Lange 1 by adding a tourbillon, I'd tell them to zieh leine and stop being obtuse. You can't improve upon the Lange 1, surely? Well, if time has taught us anything, it's to trust the slow...

Calling Simon Brette one to watch is like calling Joe Satriani a promising guitarist. Sure, but we’re kind of past that. And this is the first time that one is coming to auction. Brette is the conductor of an orchestra of many artists, each quite adept at their craft. The...

We’ve all gotten used to wild Laurent Ferrier Grand Sport Tourbillons, FPJ Sport Rattrapantes, or even RMs today, they’re all over. 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....

As if a TN Tourbillon Souverain weren’t special enough, François-Paul went and made 11 of these in 2019 and 2020. Two .45mm thin pieces of ruby heart are mounted on a rhodium-brass dial here, set against a 50% grey ruthenium inner dials. Stone dials are not new for FP Journe....

Genta didn’t just do the Royal Oak and Nautilus. He penned IWC’s original 1832 Ingenieur. And then he went clubbing. Literally. This is still contested today, but on the balance of evidence it is extremely likely that Genta also penned the Yacht Club II, Polo Club SL, and this. This...

Not all Daytona are created equal. Not even all 6262 Daytona are close to equal. Daytona is highly stratified based on how obsessed you’re willing to get with the dial. This 6262 comes from early in the production of the reference and features the tri-color dial often seen on 6239...

The Tank À Guichets is back and more vintage-leaning than ever. But this is not that watch. This is a CPCP Tank À Guichets. The Tank À Guichets has always been a limited release in Cartier, from first commission in 1928 until this 100 example run in 2004 over 90...

From 1941 until 1952, Patek Philippe made 210 of these. Almost all in yellow gold, a fraction are in this pink gold, and there’s one in steel. It’s the 1526, the very first serially produced Perpetual Calendar wristwatch from Patek. About 10 were made per year, which was all the...

The 25668 is the ultimate evolution of the 5548, produced from 1988 until 1993 to celebrate the resurgence of complicated mechanical watchmaking to Switzerland. 154 examples were made in 18k yellow gold. They're divided into two case types, an earlier extruded pusher and this later flat pusher. Arguably, this is the...

This is peak Philippe-Stern-era Patek Philippe. The 5004 is the watch that built so much reputation and rapport under the brand that Patek could afford to erode it for a generation or two. It is the modern classic, Ed Sheeran gets it (read Time lately?). To bring the brand onto...

This is a Zephyr, a watch which Rolex themselves once described in an ad as, ‘possibly the handsomest watch in the world.’ You can think of it as an Oyster Perpetual that got dressed up to go to the Opera. The Zephyr has a rather bizarre history that involves motorsport...

The phrase 'a workhorse', is a bit of a cliché these days. Well, this actually is one. Not because of how it was made, but because it truly worked for a living. It's a professional Submariner, not a 5513 sold in Miami to your local banker. It's a 5513 that...

What happens if you’re an independent watchmaker and you’ve sold your company to great success? What if you no longer have access to use your own name? Do you retire to the Maldives? Well, not in this instance. This says Jean Daniel Nicolas on the dial, but it is in...