TThis may very well be the most killer iteration of all those very killer early Carreras. Reverse panda, three register, inner tachymetre scale. What this unpretentious chronograph has lost in minimalism, it makes up for in being true to form: motorsport heritage. A racing chronograph without a tachymetre scale is...

I (and probably many others) had a collector tell me once, ‘. . .just buy the sub.’ In the previous decade those would have been wise words to adhere to, almost poetic in their truth. The world which we now inhabit, I think it is safe to say, is a...

There are not many watches which can be said to truly be daily-wearable grand complications. Fewer still which execute this trick so nonchalantly. Let’s be honest, since ~2018 the Royal Oak has become a category unto itself, one with . . .associations (by which I mean baggage). However, this pinnacle...

We’re back in the realm of Wilsdorf details again, but for good reason. I’ve covered a majority of the Cosmograph and Daytona’s evolution through the market’s flux. The 6240 is a rare bird I have never had the pleasure to cover. I would venture to suppose it is, arguably, the...

This is a watch which, I think it’s fair to say, we’d all been hoping for for some time. Grand Seiko’s SBGW line is mainly comprised of elegant three-handers. Their restraint and simplicity is the line’s strength. However, up until last year, the only dials available were whites, blues, and...

In the pantheon of great watch calibres, many actual experts far more learned than myself have placed Omega’s 321 (and all Lemania 2310 ébauches) in the top spot. It has literally been to the moon, sustained some of Patek’s most complicated efforts, and been cased in many of the most...

Not all symptoms of modern watch collecting are as lamentable as the AD situation or Nautilus hype would suggest. One marked advancement, to my sensibility, has been the return to svelte proportion. Now, this in no way meant to be domineering. Buy what you like and what you feel expresses...

It is simply not possible for any mere mortal to out-cool Eric Clapton; eternally influential guitar genius, CBE, friend of all the rock greats, and, perhaps most relevant to today, a dedicated watch enthusiast. Clapton has not just been a watch collector since fame and fortune, no. Clapton has been...

There are many watches whose technical merit is beyond reproach, but whose design may fall subjectively. Equally, there are watches whose design and technical merits both fall a bit flat (how is the 11.59 doing these days anyway?). However, it is the rare watch whose design and technical merits are,...

Last week, I gave a discourse on my appreciation for IWC’s water-resistant offerings in featuring an early Yacht Club. In that text, I linked to some of the less recognized dive offerings from their back catalogue. Now, in my immense power as technocrat here, I can tell what readers click...

Few watches will ever experience the fame that the Daytona has gathered in its recent decades. Perhaps the Few watches will ever experience the fame that the Daytona has gathered in its recent decades. Perhaps the Nautilus and Royal Oak have seen similar ascensions, but that’s all I can think...

Seiko’s back catalogue offers an almost bewildering array of models, variants, and even manufactures. Blurred family lines between Grand Seiko, Orient, Prospex, 5, now-defunct Lordmatic, and even Credor offer little clarification to the nascent watch collector. To be blunt, the work one has to put in to understand Seiko’s diverse...

The 1680 was not Rolex’s first Sub with a red line of text (that was probably the 6536/8), but it was the most widely-distributed watch to do so. It was definitively Rolex’s first Sub to introduce a date complication to the Sub line, which was distinct amongst its competitors. Ever...

If you can’t tell by this point, I like 1675s quite a lot. I could nod toward the charm, immense history, or the fact that I regret letting one go a few years back in equal measure as cause. The thing is though, I don’t have to justify it. Everyone...

Unimatic were once famously described as ‘an Italian kid educated at the Bauhaus.’ Build the Bauhaus next to Silverstone or Monza and you’d wind up with something akin to this: the uncompromisingly restrained, motorsport-adjacent, Valjoux 72 Carrera. Now I will admit, the three-sub 2447 is perhaps not quite as minimal...

CPCP was an incredible undertaking and era of Cartier but, for me, two stand above the rest. Cartier’s Tank and Tortue Monopoussoirs represented the best of then-contemporary independent watchmaking, unrepresented. Let me explain. Think of the Monopoussoirs as a hipster’s 90s independent, with some of the greatest modern names contributing...

There is a particular friction I feel when I see 3700 Nautilus regularly trading hands above 200K. You see, I am a firm believer that one should purchase only what speaks to their soul. Rational watch purchasing is no way to live. Furthermore, I understand the appeal of the Nautilus...

The humble three-register chronograph: executed by many, yet perfected by few. I am not claiming that the 222101 is a perfect watch, within Universal that’s probably something we call Nina. Outside of Universal, we call it Daytona or Speedmaster. However, I am saying that outside of this triumvirate, it is...