The original Ingenieur has not been bettered. Released in the same year as the 3700 Nautilus, it is the overlooked third Genta album of the 1970s integrated steel sports splashdown. But unlike the 5402 or 3700, this was at its (iron) core an antimagnetic watch. And so it’s not really...

Sylvain Pinaud is one of the more recent guard of independent watchmaking, one can be easily forgiven if the name is unfamiliar. His work is of a very high bar, both in being design led but with masterful quality. Pinaud’s story differs from many of the more recent independents in...

The Octa Chronographe is a short-lived, rather thoughtful chronograph made from just 2001 to 2008, when it was replaced by the Centigraphe. Across all 7 years, it is estimated that the total number of examples made is just 313 examples. It straddles the transition from brass to pink gold movements...

Why is it that transitional references are always criminally overlooked? Often, they’re some of the most interesting . . .and that’s definitely the case here. This is the ref. 165.014. To all intents and purposes, it’s a slightly updated 2913 yet still in the 2913 straight lug case. In many...

The more one studies watchmaking, the more they come to respect Greubel Forsey. Now, I’m choosing my words carefully there, because respect is a very different thing to lust. Many of Greubel’s cases are imposing, not elegant. Their finishing is celebrated at full scale, never hidden. It’s a bit like...

This was, to all intents and purposes, the first and last time Rolex experimented with complication. If you want a Rolex with a calendar, you’re looking at a 6062 which came after this with an Oyster case, a Killy, or this 8171. The 8171 is known as the ‘Padellone’ (literally...

Ah, Bart Simpson. For all the sexy nicknames that go along with the watches we love such as Nina Rindt, Padellone, Tasti Tondi, Newman, and all the rest, Bart Simpson is bit jaunty. But it’s actually a very significant dial in a lot of ways. These are the final years...

One of the ten Dufour Dualities ever made has surfaced and you can’t expect us not to point this out. What’s interesting here is that it’s on the market at all, but more on that later. While renown primarily for his superhuman finishing ability, Philippe Dufour first built his name...

Little did we realize when our newsletter editor wrote ‘A Brief Guide to Patek Philippe’s 1563 Split-Seconds’ in an edition a few months back, one of the three known would be coming to auction later that year. It turns out, that’s the reality we live in. The 1563 is a...

It’s from Glashütte, so they won’t call it a Havana dial. But, make no mistake, that’s what this is. The 380.044 is a very interesting, somewhat unusual modern Saxonia. It has its imperfections and charms, . . .we’ll get there. But it was part of a revamp of the Saxonia...

Pre-Richemont JLC was unstoppable. Then CEO Henry-John Belmont, French designer Janek Deleskiewicz, and new recruit Günter Blümlein (of later Lange fame) wanted to take the Reverso and elevate it considerably. Using the model’s 60th anniversary as a bit of an excuse, the team then set about a decade long celebration...

Here’s just about the most controversial Rolex around today. It goes by Obsidian, a volcanic glass, and for recent years it has been hyped as one of the rarest stone dials made. But is it? That’s not an easy question to answer. The last few years have seen stone dial...

We’ve all gotten used to wild Laurent Ferrier Grand Sport Tourbillons, FPJ Sport Rattrapantes, or even RMs, but this was the first time high complication met sporting ambition. It is impossible to overstate the significance of reference 5554, the Royal Oak QP, first debuted in 1984. Collectors and enthusiasts know,...

The Milgauss has always been the forgotten stepchild of the four-digit professional world, cast aside for the family-favorite Sub or Daytona who bathe in attention. Now, it’s gone entirely, at least for now. But it’s quietly excellent, austere, and massively handsome. While the refs. 6541 and 6543 are setting record...

Many ask what the ultimate 90s QP really is. Many will say a Beyer or Saatchi 3940. The VC equivalent of ultra-desirable, low volume is the 43032 Skeleton, preferably with blue subdials. The Audemars Piguet equivalent is this. Audemars Piguet saved complicated mechanical watchmaking in 1978 with the reference 5548....

If you look closely, you’ll see this doesn’t say ‘Superlative Chronometer Officially Certified’. Instead, it says ‘Superlativer Chronometer Amtlich Geprüft’. Now, it means the exactly same thing. But strictly speaking, this makes no sense. It’s half-English, half-German; a Christoph Waltz of Day-Dates. But why isn’t it all German? It reminds...

If the trend this year has been all about a push toward shaped or design-led cases, and it has been, it’s worth considering where that thought originated. Or, at least look at some early examples. While we were all fascinated with vintage tool watches through the 2010s, Cartier were still...

There is no Royal Oak more of the 80s and yet still attractive today than the 25572, known more commonly as ‘The Owl’. Not all Day Dates come in Oyster cases. Shortly after the 5402 graced the world with its presence, AP experimented with a few variations on the theme....