I generally like to believe that present is better than the past was and that we can make the future better than today. Despite this, I fall for vintage watches over their modern counterparts frequently. Included in that, for the most part, are Sinn. I find something about 1990s Sinn...

You may have noticed, but Seiko/GS and hi-beat movements are kind of a thing. The pairing goes together like whisky and chocolate. I say that because the combination is both frequently enjoyed and quite subjectively enjoyed. Many collectors prefer Spring Drive or the uncomplicated SKX/Five flavour. Marmite is the word....

Early Ingenieurs are emblematic of IWC in design and substance. The German side of Switzerland has always prided itself in inventive problem-solving and militant (perhaps a poor choice of adjective) precision. This second generation 866 Ingenieur tethers these brand principles to a sort of bauhausian Mk XI design. What resulted...

Much has been said and written here about modern alarm complications, but it is worth noting that the alarm complication itself has a somewhat more humble origin in commercial diving. Vulcain’s naval pieces of the 1960s rung out some of the first mechanical alarm chimes. Since its introduction, a Swiss...

Posted recently on S. Song’s page for a seriously reasonable sum, this 1974 second generation Monte Carlo is a legend of design. Tudor have been of interest to collectors in a big way for the last three decades now and one glimpse at a piece like this proves why. The...

I get nervous every time a legendary design is re-issued. This is so much room to royally fuck up a classic watch when the proper amount of care is not given. Tag, I’m looking at you. There is one exception, however. There is one manufacture that has proven themselves time...

Before Instagram, before Hodinkee, and before the small case trend, there was the Royal Oak Offshore. While often ridiculed, there can be no denying that the Offshore was hugely influential to modern watch design. Although often avoided for its size, this Offshore is no Stallone Panerai. At just 38mm, I...

After just featuring the famous albino Silver Snoopy, a lovely and reasonable example of its older generation just surfaced. I feel fate has decided I should talk a lot about NASA this week. Although the more unique and valuable SIlver Snoopy tends to attract the braggadocios, this nuanced 3578.51.00 is...

In modern times, early-production Journes of any guise are far and few between. Despite being relatively recent by watchmaking standards (1999), FP Journe’s early watches have become modern classics. From 1999 and 2004, all FP Journes used brass movements. Since 2004, every piece Journe has introduced uses the now-signature gold....

Outside of Rolex and Patek, it is very rare for any single model to have the kind of depth and complexity that the Polerouter line offers. Designed by Gérald Genta with then-new technology and an endless variation of details, this Universal Genéve (UG) Sub has only gained commendation since release....

Despite what you may imagine, I don’t like to—and hardly ever do—give any bright lines of vintage buying advice. That’s on you. However, I was having a debate recently with a friend as to which vintage manufacture is most heavily underrated by the market at the moment. He holds that...

1969 was quite the year. Aside from Omega’s all-time greatest product placement, the Swiss were manufacturing some seriously attractive metal. There was the iconic Speedmaster, the 6263 Daytona, and the El Primero. Zenith’s chronograph did not receive attention in proportion to the impressiveness of its engineering in period. The El...

If you even remotely know your Speedmasters, there’s nothing I can say about this original Silver Snoopy that hasn’t already been said. The watch has been on a supersonic ascent to grail status over the last decade, increasing in collectability relentlessly. There are numerous ways of explaining its attraction; First,...

5513s are dime-a-dozen and that’s a good thing. Rolex’s production today is about equal the entirety of the rest of Switzerland, combined. Desire for vintage models is huge and the 5513 is a perfect Submariner to meet that demand. However, one of the best things about the 5513 generation is...

Summer is hot on our heels and there may be no better vintage diver to see you through it than this lemon drop. Attention for Certina has been growing steadily the last few years. Pieces are starting to surface in the market as increased demand attracts a higher valuation. Recently...

In the pantheon of great, under-appreciated Rolex models there are shrines to the Air-King, Thunderbird, PT Yachtmaster, 4113 Rattrapante, and many others. Amongst those storied names must surely stand this: the early Turn-O-Graph. Even if it were properly appreciated, though, most fair-weather collectors would probably mistake it for a Submariner...

Ask any serious collector: condition is everything. There’s something truly lovely about handling something a half century old whose exterior belies that time. Some collectors prize originality, some prize beauty, and some cannot do without either. Most show-stoppingly well-preserved Carreras are beginning to dissapear. The heat in their popularity and...

The 45 year-old Nautilus has never looked better. Genta, in his Nautilus and Royal Oak designs, defined a half-century of wristwear. It would not be hyperbole to declare the Nautilus in amongst the top three most important designs of the last century. This reference 3800 is a marginally more svelt...