There is an entire sphere of watchmaking I enjoy deeply which falls under the heading ‘forgotten-could-have-been-greats’. The requirements are as follows: the watch must have been initially innovative or mould-breaking, succeeded by worse iterations or killed off, and is now only appreciated by a select few. In that lies the...

The watch-unique patination vintage provides is occasionally just perfect. Tropical watches from Italy are not particularly trustworthy and half the world’s ghost bezels are now in fact bleached, not sunned. Honest wear is a rare thing in the modern watch world. That’s just why I adore the Speedmaster I share...

When one thinks 1940s wristwatches, dedicated big pilots, telemetre scales, and Compaxes race to mind. There was, however, a more celebrated side to watchmaking that continued through hardship. Not every movement was intended to be a tool. Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, and Audemars Piguet made extremely refined chronographs in the...

When you see a Rolex with square pushers and a push-back case design, you know things are getting interesting. Last round, I presented a non-sigma Cosmograph that everyone will be familiar with. Today I’m pushing that lineage: meet Grandad. The Rolex antimagnetic chronograph preceeded the 1955 6234, a watch most...

Sandoz is not a name you frequent until you reach the dark dusty corner of a Redbar meetup. At some point, perhaps five years into your journey, you’ll come across one. I remember very specifically the first model I ever saw, a Monsoon very similar to the piece we see...

Independent manufacturers don’t come much more independent than a single Austrian husband and wife duo. Richard Habring was trained in the 1980s through Karlstein an der Thaya and was something of a prodigy, presenting a self-designed minute tourbillon in an incline movement by graduation. After meeting Maria and jointly deciding...

Today we’re getting a little nerdy within steel sport Rolex. 6263s can be found in a wide range of configurations, even for an early sport Rolex reference. Of those that don’t have Daytona in above above the 6 o’clock subdial, most are what are called ‘sigma’ dials. Sigmas either side...

I will eye a period ladder bracelet on a Zenith with same the kind of enthusiasm most guys reserve for the rear of Emily Ratajkowski. Spotting one in the wild is probably also a rarer occurrence in Los Angeles. The A384 and even A386 were largely overshadowed by the other...

I adore when the market allows me to present something a bit left-of-center and eclectic watches don’t come much more elegant that this 1970s ultra-thin, mechanical Piaget. In the period where quartz was ruining the foundations of Switzerland, Piaget doubled-down by creating an ultra-thin, highly-finished, caliber 9P. Despite their massive...

Finding anything built in 1940 but still in operation today is a rarity. Finding a wristwatch built in 1940 that is functioning perfectly demonstrates a level of dedication to longevity and quality that shames my iPhone. A large part of the charm in mechanical wristwatches, in my view, is their...

Let us begin with obvious: the story surround the Crash name is almost certainly invented marketing. For the unaware, there is legend that a client of Jean-Jacques Cartier brought in a Baignoire that had been damaged in an automobile accident. The oddly damaged and burned watch sparked inspiration for this...

Something about early generation Seamaster 300s is just a cut above its period competition. I don’t mean this in any objective way; most customers in period probably would’ve preferred a Sub on wrist for the recognition. I mean this in terms of simple, unfussy, vintage dive charm. There is not...

An 1163 Autavia with a panda dial and blue accents should just be an 1163. Thanks to some very intriguing history, it is not. Heuer were among the very first houses to attempt the automatic chronograph. That Caliber II is not what we have today. Today, we have a simple...

Comex is a sacred grail to those who worship at the altar of flat fours and frog feet. Coming across a strong (or more importantly genuine) example within any generation is an accomplishment. When watch people call a double red 1665 rare, they are kind of correct. They are rare...

It is possible for something to be expensive and massively undervalued. Much in the way that collectors have recently begun to acknowledge the exceptional watchmaking in early CPCP pieces, a subculture is forming around LUC. Chopard may be mostly known for sponsoring the Mille Miglia (now a cocaine and Instagram...

Hit F5 because it’s time for something a bit refreshing. Sometimes we have to remember that it’s okay to just love a watch for no reason whatsoever. It doesn’t have to be particularly rare, valuable, or mechanically genius to be attractive. One can just like an object for what it...

Attempting to get an an allocation for a limited release Kurono piece is a bit like attempting to qualify for the Tour de France: one could spend their entire life preparing and still wind up empty-handed and sobbing. Thankfully, the secondhand market has a way of making these rare Pokémon...

The perpetual calendar chronograph is a haute complication that Patek Philippe has perfected to such an extent as to become synonymous with the entire category. This 3970 succeeded the 2499 in the mid 80s and dominated the category for its production length. This post-quartz period was time when few complicated...