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...

You may be forgiven for imagining that the Tortue was Cartier’s only design to receive that spectacular THA ébauche monopusher chronograph during the CPCP years. It is not so, but the second Monopoussoir, a Tank, is vanishingly rare by comparison at just 200 examples . . .ever. There are many...

The joys of Rolex Day-Date collecting are in many ways like the joys of mild alcoholism. In both, the satisfaction is to be found in minor variation. With any Day-Date, you are getting what is in essence the same functional capability, proportion, and design. But the details vary endlessly in...

With one glance at the El Primero Sub Sea, you get the feeling this is the sort of watch Zenith couldn’t create today. Not because LVMH don’t have the technical ability, far from it. But because there are committees, cohesive brand strategy, and focus groups. I adore Zenith and belive...

If the 3536 were a person, it would be a Michael Fassbender type. I know you think I’m talking nonsense, hear me out: like-able in a slightly bold and brash way, fastidious in attention to detail, broadly capable, not overly fussy, lightweight (that one’s a bit literal), cool yet not...

Recent re-editions of the Breguet’s XX, Breitling AVI, Heuer/Sinn’s 3H Bundeswehr, and Zenith’s A. Cairelli have brought increased attention to vintage Air Force chronographs. But there’s one that often goes forgotten, simply because the manufacture no longer exists to capitalize on that reissue dough. Leonidas merged with Heuer in 1962....

There’s something inherently worthwhile about going absurdly above and beyond a required goal. Maniacal focus to the extent of vastly overachieving has a kind of merit all its own. It’s why Roger Federer didn’t just win Wimbledon once, it’s why the door of a Mercedes S-Class from the 80s shuts...