A 1019 Milgauss with non-lumionus dial is more than rare, it signifies something really rather special historically. It is said that science advances in irregular leaps and bounds rather than consistent steps. Perhaps not by coincidence, the same could be said about Rolex. This particular Milgauss, in my opinion, is...

Imagine looking at a coin and thinking, ‘I could fit a watch in that’. In the early part of the last century, Joseph Vergely did that. In fact, many did; the coin watch is something of a forgotten trend. Today, trends look like a new dance on TikTok, gluing yourself...

What is it about most modern Speedmasters that feels quite soulless? Is it the imitation of the vintage world which we so often praise? Or is it the Henry Ford circa 2090 production line that is capable of merely printing perfect watches ad infinitum? Or rather, is there not enough...

I’m fairly certain that in the late 70s, IWC and Porsche design did their collaborating in a bar or somewhere ample drink is served. How else do you get to the Ocean 2000, anodized black, and all the fantastic cool-guy aviation chronographs? Herodotus, a Greek historian, reported once that for...

Hardstone dials are all the rage these days. Day-Dates are synonymous with onyx, lapis, and jasper. But in the earliest days of the Day-Date, there weren’t stones. There were Stellas. And before there were Stellas, there were gilt pie-pans. An early Day-Date in white precious metal is just about the...

When you start to describe a 1463, you’re not talking about a watch. You’re talking about a cornerstone in the pantheon of great chronographs. One cannot discuss the greats of whisky without mentioning Islay and, similarly, one can’t talk about the greats of chronographs and not mention the 1463. If...

De Bethune make wildly technical alien spaceships, right? Well, not always. At least it didn’t start that way. The early years of De Bethune were different, pre tenuous Starry Varius puns. This simple restrained chronograph, yes still made by De Bethune, is a magnificently uncommon thing. These were the early...

What is a sports watch? One you can wear playing badminton? Or chess? A watch that can be swum with? No, the definition is up for debate. So here’s the broadest possible definition, a gold 2964. Even though it was actually worn by Gordon Gekko, there is no more Wolf...

It’s no secret that we’re big fans of the ‘Skinny’ Ingy here. It is the mark of all excellent watches that they have so few faults, the only thing left that anyone can criticize is the price. Well, you can’t even hold that against the 3506, not really. It’s the...

I always laugh a bit, quietly to myself, when first point of interest someone mentions about their watch is rarity. Rarity is great, market-marking even, but not interesting. FP Journe created Black Label, which I always thought was a Johnnie Walker for masochists, to reward their clients with something less...

The Space-Dweller universally elicits one reaction in person, ‘Hey, lovely 1016 Expl . . .WTAF?!’ It is equal parts mythical creature and fuel for debate at the nerdiest, arguably highest levels of vintage Rolex collecting. A larger handful of examples are known, probably fewer than 25, but that’s not definite....

There is nothing like the appeal of an honest, down-to-Earth, bare bones tool watch. I view the 1665 Sea-Dweller as a Red Sub turned up to 11. It’s a little more technical, a little more appealing to some for its lack of cyclops, and just a little more nuanced. The...

It’s rather easy to get the idea that many of the larger watchmakers, particularly those under a certain company which starts with ‘Richem’ and ends in ‘onte’, only care about the bottom line. But this Reverso exists to buck the trend. It exists to show that JLC still cares, can...

What is the most desirable 3940? Having recently extolled the virtues of the quintessential modern Patek Philippe QP, the natural question to follow is, well, which? Are you a white metal or gold type of person? Does the more proportional and minimalist balance of a first series dial appeal more,...

Lemon normally describes a defect, but in Paul Newmans it’s anything but, it’s seven figures to start. Blame the Italians. The 6262 and 6264 will be known to collectors as the transition reference Daytonas; the 6264 is quite uncommon in its own right. The pair of Cosmographs introduced the Valjoux...

The earliest years of the Submariner encompass many beautiful references. But only one is nicknamed the ‘King Sub’, ref. 6200. The 6200 is lore: an Explorer dial in its own case with the first 8mm Brevet ‘big crown’ and no depth rating on the dial. Not even a Submariner line...

Of all standard production Rolex models, white precious metal and a jasper dial has to be in the top five of outright rarity. You’ll see jasper in yellow gold with some frequency, a handful yearly popping up in the market. But in white precious metal, not gem set, fewer than...

Baignoire Allongée sounds incredibly sexy in French, but translates literally as long bathtub. The naming conventions at Cartier have always proven quite literal, but not all are equal. The first Baignoire-like case was created in 1912, a unique gift from Louis Cartier to Russian Grand Duchess Pavlovna. Note 1912 is...