The 25657OR was made in 362 examples in pink gold, between 1982 and 1993. This is the golden era of neo-vintage AP and they’re quite under-sung. For whatever reasons (likely because 1821 examples exist, AP made a few), they’ve relatively accessible and easy to come by today despite being one...

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...

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...

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...

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...

There are probably far fewer than 10 of these: an Audemars Piguet ref. 25661 in platinum with a mother of pearl dial. Within the long march of the QP which brought back complicated watchmaking to Switzerland (famously developed in secret), the 25661 was first to feature a display caseback—which here...

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...

Audemars Piguet remained independently owned through the tumultuous 1990s and 2000s (still are), led by Georges-Henri Meylan and later Philippe Merk, where many of their peers were gobbled up in acquisitions. The former spearheaded the highly contemporary Royal Oak QP Skeleton. First came the ref. 25636, followed by this 25829....

Vacheron Constantin’s Mercator is a time-only quite unlike any other. Released in 1994, it sought to honor the 400th anniversary of Gerardus Mercator who created map projection—the basis of all modern cartography. He was also, notably, a calligrapher and engraver: both of which inspired the overall basis for this ref....

In the world of 90s Holy Trinity chronographs, I don’t think you can make an argument against VC having the sexiest case. The 5070 is lovely, but not this voluptuous. It’s thoughtful enough to not be retro, yet a bastion of traditional watchmaking technique. It might just be the most...

The 6241 is a fundamentally interesting Daytona reference, in production for just three years from 1966 until 1969. Introduced concurrently to the 6240 with its relatively ground-breaking screw down pushers and acrylic bezel, this was effectively a 6239 updated to include an acrylic bezel for customers who preferred the classic...

In the world of Zenith Daytona, nearly all collectors concur that the most desirable out there have one thing: a floating Cosmograph line. The first of anything in vintage Rolex tends to be a bit different, not just because it was the first but because Rolex were still figuring things...

There is little in all of vintage chronographs which has as much history and value in one overlooked place as the BA 145.022-69. Better known as the first gold Speedmaster, it intersects with actual space history much more significantly than just about anything else post moon landing. The pale gold...

Still today, there is nothing quite like the original 222. This is the original, vintage ref. 44018 222 ‘Jumbo’ in steel. Vacheron Constantin’s answer to the Royal Oak and Nautilus arrived in 1977 with the 222, created to celebrate the brand’s 222nd anniversary. The third and final member of the...

The 1675 is all things to all (traveling) men. There are a bewildering number of variants and this is one you won’t see often. Limited to a serial range of approximately 4.1-5.4M, this is the radial dial. During this tiny bit of production, the (marginally smaller) tritium plots moved closer...

The 3970's earliest two series are beginning to be considered true vintage, which is having profound effects. But this isn’t a 3970. It’s a 3971, a reference created before the standardization of selling both a solid and sapphire caseback with each 3970. The 3971 was a screwdown, sapphire-backed, equivalent of...