‘Chicchi di Mais’ 16570 Rolex Explorer II
If a watch-curious alien were to come down to Earth, you’d have a very hard time explaining why vintage watches are more appealing…
UAE Ministry of Defence 1675 Rolex GMT-Master
UAE dial Rolexes are about a desirable as it gets, in any context. But the vast majority of signatures are on Datejusts and…
Tropical, Gilt Dial 1675 Rolex GMT-Master
At a collector meetup last year, I encountered a very tan, thin, well-dressed Italian man. He had the kind of skin that let…
1807 Bark Finish, Havana Dial Rolex Day-Date
At the risk of being terribly passé, I’m about to quote myself. Sorry. In writing about about different 1803 a few months back,…
Comex 16610 Rolex Submariner
When Rolex turns to you for expertise, you’re doing something right. That was role of Comex in 1970, a French dive company that…
SAS 216570 Rolex Explorer II
It’s really not often that the rear of a watch without a display back is more captivating than dial-side. It’s all a bit…
‘State of Qatar’ 16014 Rolex Datejust
Trigger warning here, I’m about to assault an icon. I’ve always found the name Datejust a bit hilariously apologetic. It’s as if Hans…
Guilloché Dial 1802 Rolex Day-Date
The history of the Day-Date flows much like a river or family tree, there are tributaries branching every which way leading to exciting…
Meters First, Tropical Mk3 1680 Rolex Red Submariner
The path to learning is through making mistakes. Rolex are often said to never make mistakes. That’s not quite true. There’s the double…
Tiffany 16800 Rolex Submariner
Tiffany is not complicated. It’s a brand. It sells stuff. So why does everyone behave as if anything bearing the holy stamp is…
Spider Dial 16750 Rolex GMT-Master
Of all the varied types of ageing a watch may exhibit, what collectors call a spider dial must be the most contentious amongst…
Ghost Dial 1601 Rolex Datejust
The 1601 Datejust is precisely what someone who doesn’t know watches imagines when you say ‘a nice watch’. This is one unit of…
5513 Rolex Royal Navy Milsub
There’s something a bit bizarre about spending a quarter million on a military watch because it was once, ‘just a tool’. For example,…
