I don’t really understand flex culture, in watches or any other discipline. But surely, if you wanted to show Jake Paul that the sole thing worse than a fake Richard Mille is a real one (I jest), this is the ultimate flex: a watch which tells the world it’s owner...

How many truly water resistant GMT Chronographs from the 60s can you think of? My guess is one, although there are a few others. The C or compressor case Autavia is possibly most useful 60s Heuer and it’s not difficult to image the lifestyle it was made for. This GMT...

Despite the name ‘Platinum Jubilee’, this is not a platinum watch. No, it’s steel, and it’s far, far cooler than that. In celebration of Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee, marking the first British Monarch to give 70 years service, a small run of 300 Black Bays were made. But not...

This may come as a surprise, but Patek’s annual calendar calibres actually requires a greater number of components than their perpetuals: 324 for the annual base calibre vs 280 for the perpetual. This 5035, the world’s first annual calendar complication, was intended to help bridge the gap between a Calatrava...

If you didn’t know, the original Fifty Fathoms was developed in collaboration with the French Combat Diving School, a tool needed for the most elite units of the French Navy (later Commando Hubert). Captain Robert Maloubier, who was previously a British Special Operations secret agent during WWII (and had an...

It seems like a simple idea: take 12 and, instead of aligning it to the top of a watch, align it to the point at which your eye naturally rests when a watch is on your wrist. But the effect is profound. This play on true north brings with it...

I’m calling it now; this is the sickest Royal Oak I’ve stumbled across this year. Not only is it one of my favorite iterations, ‘The Owl’, a dual-register Day Date. Not only is it a cream dial, beautifully ageing over time. It’s Tiffany-signed. Any one of these bullet points is...

Something as unassuming as a little circled T on a dial can belie a whole lot of significance. To the untrained eye, this is a vintage Seamaster like any other. To you and I, it’s an elusive, fixed springbar, thoroughbred mil-spec diver. No one will mug you for it in...

Cartier have a long and storied history of quietly creating limited unique variants for particularly loyal VIP groups, markets, or even singular collectors. These watches are not usually clocked by the mainstream watch media and only surface years after release here, in forums, blogs, or in person meetups. Such was...

This unassuming Tudor combines the very best of two iconic chronographs: the practicality of a Big Block sprinkled with the the magic that was the flamboyant Monte Carlo dial. This is an automatic 7750, but with a dial very reminiscent of the 7100 series Monte Carlos. Alongside the standard production...

A circle within a stop-sign within an elongated hexagon, the Yacht Club II is an acquired taste. I’ve previously described it as Genta-designed (likely, actually no one seems to know for certain) and Germanically-gorgeous, but this one in particular will ruffle some feathers. This is the quartz Yacht Club II....

This is the next Patrizzi. It’s not often I get to say that, so let me elaborate. Osvaldo Patrizzi was first to clock a change in some 16520 Zenith Daytona dials, where subdial rings would turn a taupe golden tan with sun exposure. Watch collectors adore a good defect. We...

If you’re into Heuer or the vast watch-motorsport crossover, you’ll probably know the name Siffert, given to a certain ref. 1163T with a panda dial and blue accents . . .but you may not know why you should care. It’s often said that the stars which burn twice as bright...

The majority of quotes, particularly on social media, I find meaningless and unapplicable. One which has repeated with me through life, though, comes from Brooker T Washington: ‘The best way to lift one’s self up is to help some one else.’ Evidently, Cartier thought so too. Because despite what this...

It’s not often a vintage watch is so well-preserved that you could easily mistake it for its reissue. That’s exactly the case here. Despite what the exterior looks like, this watch was made in 1958 and is testament to JLC’s insane quality. But it’s also a model that strikes core...

I don’t know anything about Al Naboodah, an Emirati family holdings group. But I do know they’re doing alright fiscally, because if you’re not you don’t get to order a small run of 50 Royal Oaks with your brand logo colors around a few indices. On the surface, this is...

For every mission that rockets up to the ISS, NASA appoints one Flight Surgeon. This role is given to an MD and requires the oversight of health care or any medical issues that arise, known as the ‘personal doctor to the astronauts’. To be able to credibly call yourself a...

When John Reardon states that ‘for the price, there is arguably no other watch that encapsulates all that defines Patek Philippe’, you listen. In gross understatement, the man knows Patek Philippe. Further, when nearly every notable collector starts referring to the 3940 as Patek’s quintessential calendar, you know we are...