Posts Tagged ‘Chronograph’
2762 Cartier CPCP Tortue Monopoussoir
The Monopoussoir is dead, long live the Monopoussoir. Yes, there’s a new Monopoussoir around but CPCP will always be a more significant moment in Cartier’s long and storied ascent out of the treacherous 1980s. There is just so much to this watch, culturally and tangibly. And I don’t even think one necessarily needs the sole…
Read MoreTechnicum Neuchâtelois Ecole D’Horlogerie Triple Calendar Chronograph
This Triple Calendar Chronograph is not a Rolex, Heuer, Girard Perregaux, or Zodiac; it has no brand, the generic label. It was the ultimate pride and joy of a budding watchmaker in the mid-late 1960s. This dial reads Technicum La Chaux-de-Fonds, short for Technicum Neuchâtelois. This was, at the time, the preeminent horological school. The…
Read MoreBlack Guilloché Dial 47101 Vacheron Constantin Les Historiques Chronograph
In the world of 90s Holy Trinity chronographs, I don’t think you can argue that VC had the sexiest case. The 5070 is lovely, but not this voluptuous. It’s thoughtful enough to not be retro, yet a bastion of traditional watchmaking technique. It might just be the most elegant evening dress the 2310 has ever…
Read More‘Piccolino’ 3055 Rolex Chronograph, Pink Gold
This is one of the great, ‘what might have been, had Rolex pursued a different path’ watches. It’s the 3055, better known as the Piccolino, and it has more in common with the Patek Philippe 130 than a 6265 Daytona. Piccolino means little ‘little one’, but it packs an outsized punch. It is an answer…
Read More‘Monoblocco’ 3525 Rolex Chronograph
If you love your Daytona, you should know its grandfather. This is the ref. 3525, not the first Rolex chronograph, but likely the first Oyster-cased Rolex chronograph. It goes by ‘Monoblocco’, ‘Barilotto’, and ‘Prisoner of War’ all as nicknames. The first two are easy to explain, the third I’ll get to in a second. Barilotto…
Read More2447NST Heuer Carrera Second Execution
There is no objective reason early Carreras should not be held in exactly the same esteem as manual pump pusher Daytonas. But that’s particularly the case for this, the 2447NST. NST here denotes a black dial with tachymetre, which really completes the minimal Carrera aesthetic by tying in Heuer’s motorsport history more literally. It’s properly…
Read More‘Small Daytona’ Dial 6240 Rolex Cosmograph
The 6240 is, arguably, the most important Cosmograph reference not to be hyped. It would not be a stretch to say that all screw-down Daytonas exist because of this reference’s lineage. Production numbers of the 6240 were exceedingly small at fewer than 2000 examples, as is the frequency of conversation surrounding it today. Two years after…
Read More1579 ‘Spider Lug’ Patek Philippe Chronograph
Lug design counts for at least half of the way a watch wears, its importance cannot be overstated. Assuming a case is reasonably proportioned, which is a tall order for some brands, the lug makes or breaks it. In car design, brands carefully construct a wheel & tire package with a balanced harmony of width,…
Read MoreDubai Edition 79360N Tudor Black Bay Chronograph for Seddiqi
If you’re still of the belief that Tudor is a stepping stone, or for those who simply can’t yet afford a Rolex, you’re living in 1973. This is a Tudor that will cost you two Batgirl GMTs, or four at retail. No, Tudor today fulfill the role that Rolex did decades ago: dependable watches made…
Read MoreDB12 De Bethune Chronograph
De Bethune make wildly technical alien spaceships, right? Well, not always. At least it didn’t start that way. The early years of De Bethune were different, pre tenuous Starry Varius puns. This simple restrained chronograph, yes still made by De Bethune, is a magnificently uncommon thing. These were the early years of the manufacture, when…
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