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 by corporate jockeying. The former spearheaded this highly contemporary Royal Oak QP Skeleton, a continuation of the first 25636. This daring...

A white gold Queen Midas with a coral dial is a rare and fantastic enough sight in its own right. But this example has an Oman khanjar at 6. In all my time in watches, I’ve only ever seen two of these. One popped up randomly in yellow gold at...

Lemon normally describes a defect, yet in Paul Newmans it’s anything but, it’s seven figures to start. The 6262 and 6264 will be known to collectors as the transition reference Daytonas; either is relatively uncommon in its own right, desired by collectors. This is particularly the case for the Paul...

If one were to discuss greatly overlooked complicated Patek Philippe, the 3450 is definitely in that category. The 3450 could be described as transitional, launched in 1981 and taking over from the first self-winding QP ref. 3448, it was quickly succeeded by Philippe Stern’s inimitable 3940 in 1985. Effectively, it...

One of the most revered vintage chronographs Heuer ever made, the manual, screw-back Autavia is at the height of many collector’s Heuer lists. With a tri-subdial Valjoux 72 layout, rotating luminous bezel, and 39mm case, it’s a Daytona of the people. And it’s properly proportioned, thin—even a bit contemporary. It’s...

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...

Antimagnetic or scientist’s watches are a long overlooked, often beautiful collecting category. A trend during the mid-century, when science was the way forward, these were usually a halfway-stop between a dress/three-handed and tool watch aesthetic. Patek Philippe had the Amag, Rolex had the Milgauss, Omega had the Railmaster. Yet, one...

The transitional 16550 marked the start of the Explorer II as a dual-time zone watch. In one instant, the hour hand was able to jump and the GMT-Master II had a credible rival. Further, it also introduced a massive fault we’ve all come to adore: the cream dial. Early 16550s...

The Heuer ‘Siffert’, or properly the Autavia ref. 1163, arrived in 1969 as Heuer’s answer to a new era of automatic chronographs. The reference family shows up in Heuer catalogues a touch earlier, the watershed years when the brand debuted its automatic Calibre 11/12 Autavias alongside other iconic models like...

A 3940 doing its best Tortue impression, the 5040 is a ridiculously beautiful value today. But there are more variants than most realize. It’s not just a J with Breguet numerals, this is platinum—solid caseback only just like the 3940. Except this black Arabic dial with dot indices is unlike...

We love Pre-Daytona here, and 6238 is probably the most universally adored Rolex chronograph made. There are the critically lauded and quite rare black dial variants, the lesser known but quite rare and lovely gunmetal grey dials, and then silver. Silver is normally perceived as the most accessible and most...

The 3940 and indeed 3970 started at their very best. This smaller subdial with its 90 degreee signifies a far smaller, more hand-made production at the very start of serial production complication. To those paying close attention, this era (Philippe Stern’s) is really having a moment. 3940, 3970, and 5004:...

The 1675 is the defining travel watch of its generation. It’s the defining travel watch for many generations after. And gilt dials define many of the ultimate examples. Although the gilt 1675 evolved through numerous dials and even crown guards, the later generations have a subtle charm that makes one...

The Second Series 3970 occupies and entirely different mindshare than but five years ago. It is, quite obviously, ascending to become seriously collected, desired, and studied. But the platinum, well, it’s been described aptly by Ben Clymer as a, ‘kind of mini platinum 2499’. And he’s right, except there’s nothing...

Developed just after the initial World Timers by Louis Cottier, the ref. 2597 is a damn cool ‘Travel Time’ from 1956, the very start of the jet age. The reference can be thought of as a 570 Calatrava with a little je ne sais quoi complication, or a gentleman’s GMT-Master. The...

This is a 18038, but unlike most 18038 it’s a lapis dial. Absent any indices, with apertures framed in yellow gold, this is one of the ultimate yellow gold Day-Date specs. Lapis was and remains one of the most notoriously difficult materials to machine. There is a widely stated figure...

Well before the 222, Overseas, or even Nautilus, there was this. It’s called the Royal Chronometer, but better known by ref. 2215. Introduced in 1975, it was replaced by the 222 just 2 years later in 1977.  Perhaps Genta spent less time looking at portholes and more time referencing the...

Silver print, sigma, and steel bezel is a great recipe for a subtle four-digit Daytona. This is one of the great mid-70s minimal 6265 looks. In vintage Rolex, it’s usually not as much about the dial as it is condition and life it has lived. This one has all of...