This isn’t a Day-Date, it’s a dial from a very different place and time in Rolex. It’s Eastern Arabic Hindi, it’s tropical chocolate, and it’s wrapped in pink gold. This is an 1803, same as any other. Except the dial certainly spent some degree of time in the desert, it...

Last year, Cartier's cult classic Tortue Monopoussoir received a breath of new life. Privé has revisited the beloved 90s chronograph devised from THA and the minds of a young Journe, Halter, and Flageollet. Although the shape goes back much further to 1912, surprisingly the second case shape Cartier made after the...

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. The watch featured, effectively,...

The 14k gold 6265 is a unique artifact of a time and place. It was born out of gold old fashion import duty dodging, as the US at the time had different rates depending on the gold alloy. More than that, though, and not often discussed, the gold variants of...

Production of the Langematik Perpetual is no more, removed from the catalogue in 2024. This is a reference 310.026, produced from 2014-2017, one of the most representative of its breed. It was expensive and difficult to manufacture, from the Zero-Reset seconds to the multi-mass rotor and its beautiful finishing. It...

The 6263 is the final manual Daytona, alongside its steel bezel counterpart the 6265. While not the first Daytona and not the first to have screw-down pushers, it was the first reference to fully cement the use of both with the Rolex Oyster Cosmograph or ROC signature. It also introduced...

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 were released in 1984. But it...

The Space-Compax is a paradoxically space-age and art deco, a quirky, highly unusual, and eccentric design. However, it’s the mystery that usually most draws enthusiasts in. The real question is: why was this watch made, designed, and marketed the way it was? Many suggest the name was chosen in a...

Despite the hype cycles, the Nautilus is a very significant and enduring design. It changed the gravity of the brand in the modern era. After being asked by Patek Philippe to design a sports watch to rival the new Royal Oak, Genta designed this porthole-shaped on a napkin while at...

In 1995, Audemars Piguet turned 120. AP looked into their catalogue, deciding the most prestigious and representative piece they could use to celebrate the occasion. This is the ref. 25810OR, a 120-example run of the RO QP. It’s like a 25686, only pink on pink, with a week pointer, and...

Well before the Daytona, even before WWII, the 13ZN was the beautiful chronograph calibre made and by some margin. Longines dominated chronographs in the transition from pocket watches to wristwatches, going back to this watch’s predecessor the 13.33Z. However, the 13.33Z was largely a monopusher. Modifications were made but still...

If the Ellipse case is not for you, the good news is that some of Roth’s best-ever work occurred outside of it—both in Breguet and JDN. This is a 3355, which might sound a lot like 3350 if you know your Breguet. Roth worked closely with Lemania for three years...

It was a question, less than a decade ago, if the highest ability of A. Lange & Söhne could ever seriously challenge the apex complicated models of the Swiss. The comparison is useless, the two manufactures approach watchmaking with such distinct philosophies. But, if there were any remaining doubt, surely...

While the 1675 is effectively a perfect watch, the yellow gold 1675/8 can be even more perfect. Since the earliest days of the 6542, the GMT-Master has embraced gold. While there were Pre-Daytonas which already existed, it is one of the earliest Rolex sport watches to embrace precious metal. However,...

This is the most interesting variant of a not-very-currently-popular Royal Oak. Yes, it’s an Offshore. Yes, Genta would’ve hated it. While it might easily be mistaken for ‘The Beast’, it’s actually the very first Royal Oak Offshore QP. AP manufactured fewer than 50 of these, ref. 25854ST, in 1997. It...

When a young Philippe Dufour loves your watch so much that he saves up to buy one, later calling it the ‘finest chronograph ever made’, you know you’re doing something right. However, Dufour couldn’t afford the platinum in period. So, he saved up and bought the ref. 403.031 in pink...

Early Urban Jürgensen has been one of the better kept secrets of independents for a few years, at least till this year. This, I suspect, because the brand has one of the most convoluted and difficult-to-follow histories of any. The beauty, though, is easily understood. This is their 90s QP,...

You might fairly be asking yourself what Hairspring doing highlighting a 116710LN. Well, it’s nothing like most Rolexes. This is the ‘Sea King’ 116710LN, one of the last ‘unit watches’ (the term watch journalist Watches of Espionage has fairly coined for this interesting niche of Rolex & Tudor history) Rolex...