The Tortue case essentially has three neo-vintage titans, of which Cartier owns two. The first is the Monopoussoir, one for CPCP. The second, Patek Philippe’s 5040, has always seemed a slight bit more beautiful and cohesive than the ref. 2646 CPCP QP. But for a minute repeater, there is no...

Finds. The rather unimaginatively nicknamed Big Triangle is something rather unusual in vintage tool divers. It’s a well-known, beautiful watch from a mainstream manufacture that isn’t unjustifiably stratospheric in price. It was produced widely, even after official production stopped (more on that later). But it’s a lyre lug, bakelite bezel,...

  Shortly after the debut of the 5402, Audemars Piguet became very experimental with the Royal Oak as a canvas. Aiming to bring the Royal Oak to the wider market, Audemars Piguet debuted the Day Date version of the Royal Oak, this ref. 5572. Note, that is a four-digit reference. AP...

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...

In 1947, this was the height of the Omega catalogue. Man hadn’t stepped on the moon, limited editions hadn’t been invented, and Ploprof was still just what you said when you sneezed. But post-war economic buzz was strong and this was Omega’s halo product. Known today as the Cosmic Complete...

This is a Pre-Daytona, the father of Cosmograph, but it’s way more interesting than it appears at first glance. This is the Pre-Daytona equivalent of a perfect Paul Newman: finding any 6238 with a black dial. For standard dials, the 6238 might hold the Rolex record for having the largest...

The new Carrera has become ungainly in age. The original Carrera was a minimalist’s chronograph made pure. And it’s not even that much more valuable. Jack Heuer was all about Bauhaus dials. Somewhat ironically, it then became the chronograph of motorsport. And that history is massive, even coming back with...

Meet the 1805. That’s right 1805, not 1806. This is one of those references that needs explaining, in fact often called a lost reference alongside the 1808, 1809, 1810, and others like the ‘King’ 1831. Any time the number of known examples of any given Rolex approaches single digits, it...

The 130 was the first ever serially produced Patek Philippe chronograph, the daddy of the Tasti Tondi and so much else we take for granted today. Made for an astonishing (almost) three decades from 1936-1964, there are a bewildering number of dials, calibres, and even case sizes: 130 production is...

In and amongst all the Lange 1s, blue dials hold a special place in collectors’ hearts. ‘Prussian’ blue holds special significance within German culture as it was discovered accidentally by a German painter and became the first ever chemically produced blue pigment. The Prussian King chose this color, framed in...

There is nothing like vintage Breguet to show how much more modern Breguet could be capable of. The 3230 is a chronograph, yes. But it’s also almost independent in spirit, having been made under the eye of Daniel Roth while still wet behind the ears. This is kind of like...

Zenith in 1969 was firing on more than all creative cylinders. They went up to 11, 12, and then 36,000. The cases went for pure revolution over evolution. Gay Frères invented a new, very summery, and very 70s bracelet with ventilation where links should be. And then there’s the watchmaking....

The 2960 Or Massif is a difficult enough hunt already in this market, but meet the black dial. This is an impossibly uncommon Santos. It’s probably one of fewer than five, fairly concretely. Certainly, only two are known. They very likely have ties to Oman origin, despite no khanjar on...

If you want a vintage Rolex with a moonphase, you have two options. One is the Padellone, ref. 8171. The second is this, the ref. 6062. The 6062 is one of the most desirable and collected things in all vintage Rolex, and for once it’s not hard to understand why....

Where the Royal Oak market has been shuffling its feet for the last year or two, the Royal Oak QP seems like it might be having a moment. It was, in 1984, category making. Sporting watch, high complication. That’s taken for granted, but it truly had never been done. In...

This is a somewhat mysterious chronograph with a remarkable ability to charm just about everybody. It’s a LeCoultre V72 but, no, it’s not an E335 like the last one we featured. It’s not even a US market, as most were. The case is not the usual 14k, for US import...

The 3417 Amagnetic is considered by many the most elegant tool watch ever made, a Calatrava-like peer which blurs the line between utilitarian purpose and the refinement of a formal dress watch. Well before the Nautilus, this was in its day the sole Patek Philippe reference to be made exclusively...

The 5959 is equal parts serious weapons-grade watchmaking with serious whimsy. Released in 2005, this was actually the very first fully in-house Patek Philippe chronograph. And they chose a split seconds monopusher, predating the 5170 by 4 years. More than that, CHR 27-525 PS was the thinnest split seconds calibre...