The 6240 is, arguably, the most important Cosmograph reference not to be hyped. It would not be a stretch to say that all screw-down Daytonas exist because of this reference’s lineage. Production numbers of the 6240 were exceedingly small at fewer than 2000 examples, as is the frequency of conversation...

Lug design counts for at least half of the way a watch wears, its importance cannot be overstated. Assuming a case is reasonably proportioned, which is a tall order for some brands, the lug makes or breaks it. In car design, brands carefully construct a wheel & tire package with...

Nothing on Earth says ‘F-you money’ like a gold Sub. In much the same way that an S-Class wafts past in total opulence, the 1680/8 wears with similar imperious grandeur. Except this particular example, it’s a bit different. One of the primary joys of vintage is that two watches, which...

What happens when you take a Reverso and force it to listen to Take Me Home Tonight by Eddie Money (what a jam) on loop for a year? You wind up at one of the great oddities of the 80s. This is the ref. 186.0013, arguably the height of Omega’s...

There aren’t a huge number of Submariners post-white gold surrounds that possess the quality we vintage lovers so carelessly label as soul, but this certainly is one. In fact, it’s probably the most characterful Sub that’s still tough as nails. This is a ref. 16800, a sweet spot for many...

The interest of Day-Date collecting lies in nuance. All Day-Dates share a similar proportion, functionality, and design. But the details can vary so wildly as to leave a completely different impression: lapis dials, gem setting, retailer signatures, claw indices, or Florentine finishing are all so distinct that they may as...

If you’re still of the belief that Tudor is a stepping stone, or for those who simply can’t yet afford a Rolex, you’re living in 1973. This is a Tudor that will cost you two Batgirl GMTs, or four at retail. No, Tudor today fulfill the role that Rolex did...

The Tortue Monopoussoir is easily one of the most desirable collected Cartiers of the CPCP years, with some of the greatest modern names contributing to its THA-ébauche calibre before it was cool to do your own thing. A young FP Journe, Denis Flageollet (now De Bethune), and Vianney Halter all...

The Speedmaster has no shortage of nuance. Its ardent supporters will not let you forget. But arguably, the clearest delineation in the pre-moon time, when this was just a chronograph aimed at racing, was its lugs. Straight lugs became lyre lugs directly after this, the 105.003 better known as the...

Any vintage Patek Philippe in steel is something special. Where most manufactures create their most special offerings in precious metal, precious metals are the standard at Patek Philippe. When a reference is produced in steel, it’s always an occasion. But this steel Calatrava might not be as vintage as you...

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, Japan always gets the best stuff. But it was even true two decades ago. The Reverso has been around since 1931. It’s seen many editions come and go, probably most notably in the rose gold ‘saga’, where many complications were crammed...

It took a very particular person to buy a stone dial Datejust in 1972. You’re adding very significant premium to the base model, sort of the Cayman GT4 of the vintage Rolex range. You could’ve purchased a Day-Date for the premium, but you chose discretion on purpose. They’re rare for...

Prepare for some weapons-grade Patek Philippe nerdery. If you’re familiar with the 3940 on an intimate level, this will immediately feel a bit strange. There are Breguet numerals. The hands and dial are luminous. The certificate of origin shows a production date of 2014, which surely can’t be right for...

Amongst the many great accolades Rolex hold, one of the most bizarre has to be convincing their clientele back in the four and five digit era that wood was a luxury material. Wood; you know, the stuff you burn to keep warm, that’s always decomposing slowly, that’s only valuable in...

It is not an exaggeration to say that much of the fantastic complicated watchmaking at places like Patek, VC, Journe, RW Smith, or even Lange today owes their existence in large part to this watch and its progeny. This was the watch which, in the highest throes of the quartz...

There is one green dial Nautilus that excites me. And it wasn’t made in 2021. It wasn’t even made on purpose. Some of the most painstaking scholarship of the last decade was made by a collector who goes by ‘Mstanga’, who revealed that the first ever ref. 3700 Nautilus was...

Stone dials are just for Day-Dates and Daytonas, right? Not exactly. The excess of the 90s led to the creation of two fantastically collectible ref. 16618 Submariners that ditched the tool watch Submariner remit in favor of the depth that comes from hardstone: one in onyx and one in this...

If you collect vintage long enough, you’ll hear an aphorism oft repeated, ‘All roads lead to Patek Philippe.’ Now, I would argue this is a bit reductive, personal tastes can lead elsewhere and there are exceptional collectors who specialize in other disciplines with equal scholarship. But if you’re the sort...