The peace brought about in the interim between WWI and WWII yielded many fruitful inventions. The ballpoint pen, nylon, chocolate chips, and helicopters were all first debuted in the early 30s. For watch addicts, however, one invention stands above the rest: Lecoultre’s original Reverso. First created (this contentious but go...

Much like Heuer had Leonidas, Enicar (in their early Mk1 Sherpa Graph days) had Desotos. There aren’t many of these kicking around, but Desotos were Enicar’s generic-label Valjoux 72. The case is straight 40mm EPSA Sherpa Graph from the Enicar factory and the many of the Valjouxs were even signed...

Cool Hunting, a notable online design media publication, released a collaboration last year with Nomos. You will be familiar with Nomos for their ultra-modern, design focussed, and value-based Glashütte style. However, you may not be familiar with Nomos’s limited editions. They don’t tend to do many. Omega, the Germans are...

I am not an expert in Grand Seiko yet even I am aware of and understand the extreme appeal of a VFA. However, a quick peruse of recent auction results will tell you that even the most shagged VFA is now a 50 grand proposition. Luckily for us peasants, the...

This 1967 GMT features everything one could ask for in vintage Rolex aside from complete originality (for the more fastidious among us). Its gilt dial, tritium plots, and faded Pepsi bezel are enough to bring even millennials into the golden era of Pan-Am and Fidel Castro. The 1675 is possibly...

Once in a blue moon, one has to stare straight into the eye of discretion and say fuck it. For those outings, there is no piece which combines anachronism, flamboyance, or horological merit quite so effortlessly. It will even tell you when that blue moon is about to come. The...

One of the purest Submariner references from the early days, the 5508 is an unfussy, unpretentious, un-adulterated-by-marketing tool. The 5508 was a diver with a job to accomplish, no more and no less. The original owner of this sub would’ve likely found our fascination with gilt, no crown guard, exclamation...

Reissues frequently run the risk of being trite or overly reductive and damaging the reputation of the original article. However, if there is one manufacture I trust to always nail a design update, it’s Zenith. They don’t replicate and they don’t get too flamboyant in their reissue efforts. More than...

The 3445 Calatrava was every bit as modern as it was gorgeous in 1961. This petite seconds three-hander was Patek’s first automatic watch with a date window. Watch collectors today tend to turn their noses up at any dial aperture. But this is different. The 3445’s date window was a...

Few manufactures have such a harsh delineation between early and latter models as the renown FP Journe. Sure, as an example Rolex produced early dials in gilt and transitioned to tritium, but that’s just a detail. Journe shifted the entire foundation of their movement from brass to gold after an...

Something very interesting was posted to AVW this morning. That is not to say their inventory is not interesting, there is almost always something very appetizing for a horological nerd whenever I check in. Perhaps one for the more eclectic among you, this ‘sun-ray’ dialed AP is the first self-wound...

Rose dial Tudors are a soft spot for me, I admit. The history tethered to that logo in horology draws on one’s heartstrings. The early days of value-based watchmaking are something marvelous. Tudor’s Oyster-cased offering was used for the Greenland Expedition for just this reason: it was simple, unfussy, economical,...

Back when science was sexy, Bulova challenged all of Switzerland with a tuning fork and some satellite-tech based advertising. Decades of R&D were poured into this project to ensure its durability and accuracy. Despite this, the original Accutron debuted in 1960 didn’t enjoy a particularly long-lived success, folding in the...

With the recent vintage value explosion of mainstream manufactures such as Rolex and Patek, collectors are increasingly peering into the more dimly lit corners of collecting for attainable and interesting watches. Enicar is one of those dark corners that, when observed closely, you find to actually be a hallway with...

In the late 1960s, chronographs were a thing of purpose. The general public did not enjoy a screw-down pusher. However, increasingly, people had need to time specific intervals with precision. The egg-timer variety of alarm complication was growing in popularity and JLC saw fit to bring it to the people’s...

I abhor even mentioning the watch market predictions. Sapphire crystals do not double as crystal balls and even the dark arts of auction witchcraft can’t push valuations massively. At a push, I may hint that I consider vintage Movado to currently present very strong value. However, today I’ll make an...

The simple shift of tone from black to brown is enough to do strange things to my soul. This early Sea-Dweller was born of necessity for saturation diving work in collaboration with Comex. The reference see before you dates to the very start of that collaboration (patent pending backs predate...

When one goes deep into Universal, peers beyond the Polerouter, and creeps past the Clapton, other beautiful references await as reward. Among them, the debonair, thin, manual-winder that is the Monodate. With its face bearing a striking resemblance to the PP Calatrava, the 21319 is an extremely restrained dress piece....