3923A Patek Philippe Calatrava
Any vintage Patek Philippe in steel is something special. Where most manufactures create their most special offerings in precious metal, precious metals are the standard at Patek Philippe. When a reference is produced in steel, it’s always an occasion. But this steel Calatrava might not be as vintage as you think, it’s not a ref….
$801.12
Upvote
Green Japan Edition 270.8.54 Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Duoface
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, Japan always gets the best stuff. But it was even true two decades ago. The Reverso has been around since 1931. It’s seen many editions come and go, probably most notably in the rose gold ‘saga’, where many complications were crammed in this case. So many,…
$801.12
Upvote
Red Jasper Dial 1600/8 Rolex Datejust
It took a very particular person to buy a stone dial Datejust in 1972. You’re adding very significant premium to the base model, sort of the Cayman GT4 of the vintage Rolex range. You could’ve purchased a Day-Date for the premium, but you chose discretion on purpose. They’re rare for this reason alone. But this…
$801.12
Upvote
Piece Unique ‘Ovitz’ Patek Philippe 3940R
Prepare for some weapons-grade Patek Philippe nerdery. If you’re familiar with the 3940 on an intimate level, this will immediately feel a bit strange. There are Breguet numerals. The hands and dial are luminous. The certificate of origin shows a production date of 2014, which surely can’t be right for a 3940? This is level…
$801.12
Upvote
Birch Wood Dial 18039 Rolex Day-Date
Amongst the many great accolades Rolex hold, one of the most bizarre has to be convincing their clientele back in the four and five digit era that wood was a luxury material. Wood; you know, the stuff you burn to keep warm, that’s always decomposing slowly, that’s only valuable in tonnes. Granted, Rolex chose very…
$801.12
Upvote
25657BA Audemars Piguet Quantième Perpétuel
It is not an exaggeration to say that much of the fantastic complicated watchmaking at places like Patek, VC, Journe, RW Smith, or even Lange today owes their existence in large part to this watch and its progeny. This was the watch which, in the highest throes of the quartz crisis, first defied convention to…
$801.12
Upvote
‘Type 7’ Dial 3700 Patek Philippe Nautilus
There is one green dial Nautilus that excites me. And it wasn’t made in 2021. It wasn’t even made on purpose. Some of the most painstaking scholarship of the last decade was made by a collector who goes by ‘Mstanga’, who revealed that the first ever ref. 3700 Nautilus was made with seven distinct dial…
$801.12
Upvote
Lapis Dial 16618 Rolex Submariner
Stone dials are just for Day-Dates and Daytonas, right? Not exactly. The excess of the 90s led to the creation of two fantastically collectible ref. 16618 Submariners that ditched the tool watch Submariner remit in favor of the depth that comes from hardstone: one in onyx and one in this lapis. Yes, this is a…
$801.12
Upvote
1518 Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar Chronograph in Pink Gold
If you collect vintage long enough, you’ll hear an aphorism oft repeated, ‘All roads lead to Patek Philippe.’ Now, I would argue this is a bit reductive, personal tastes can lead elsewhere and there are exceptional collectors who specialize in other disciplines with equal scholarship. But if you’re the sort of person that studies mechanical…
$801.12
Upvote
Bloodstone Dial 18039 Rolex Day-Date
There is no more scarce standard production Day-Date than the jasper, or here Bloodstone, dial in white gold or platinum. Readers of Hairspring will know, in white precious metal, there are fewer than 10. Probably 9. Bloodstone is a jasper, just one with red veins, iron spots that gemologists—or ‘stoners’ as I like to call…
$801.12
Upvote