Posts Tagged ‘Chronograph’
01.0210.415 ‘Surf’ Zenith El Primero
The El Primero story is lore, not only for its extreme ambition in engineering but equally that the world almost lost the calibre through the quartz crisis. Thank god for Charles Vermot, the watchmaker who disobeyed Zenith’s head office instructions to sell off all things to do with mechanical watchmaking, hiding away the plans, spares,…
Read More‘Pre-Carrera’ Heuer Triple Calendar Chronograph in Yellow Gold
I adore a watch with a story, and an 18k Heuer triple calendar from the 1950s sold originally to Brazil satisfies that criteria with full marks. If you’re in the market for a triple calendar, there are many with character: you could sell the house for a Jean-Claude Killy, invest a house and you child’s…
Read More5237 Breguet Classique Chronograph in WG
In 1970, the Chaumet brothers were hired to bring Breguet back to their former glory. One of the longest running and most historically significant manufactures of all time (ever heard of the Breguet hairspring or overcoil?), Breguet was to be made the high-end name in Switzerland once again by new investment. The brothers hired a…
Read MoreFrancois Borgel Movado M95 in 18K YG
The M95 is a chronograph to tell the world you know precisely what you’re up to. Immense history, detail, and charm contained within a single chronograph that, for the most part, the watch public remain nearly oblivious toward. This is certainly one of those watches which, if spotted on the street or in a random…
Read More2447NST Heuer Carrera Second Execution
This may very well be the most killer iteration of all those very killer early Carreras. Reverse panda, three register, inner tachymetre scale. What this unpretentious chronograph has lost in minimalism, it makes up for in being true to form: motorsport heritage. A racing chronograph without a tachymetre scale is like GT3 without a wing…
Read MoreBlancpain Air Command Flyback
Common lore of the mythical Blancpain Air Command goes something like this: after Blancpain’s success with the US Navy Fifty Fathoms through Allen Tornek, the manufacture made just a few (estimates range from 8-12) flyback chronograph prototypes in the hopes of attracting Air Force contracts. Nothing really came of that effort aside from a just…
Read MoreBlue 7169 Tudor Monte Carlo
As @kingflum pointed out to me recently, value is a relative metric. In many regards, it can only be considered subjective. Many collectors love the 7159 (steel bezel) and 7149 (bakelite bezel) Monte Carlos for their fixed bezel designs, doubling down on classic chronograph style. The 7169 has always lagged behind the market ever so…
Read More49002 Vacheron Constantin Les Historiques Chronograph in PT
Obscured, understated, and extremely rare, the 49002 was released toward the start of VC’s Les Historiques range. Much like Cartier’s CPCP or even Zenith’s Revival line, the collection aimed to revisit the best of their immense past with exceptional modern watchmaking technique. So why has no one heard of the 49002? Well, just 700 examples…
Read More110.233 Heuer Cortina
While Heuers with Autavia, Carrera, and Monaco on the dial tend to dominate industry attention, the manufacture has an almost bewildering history of obscure and interesting low-production references. The Cortina is one model at the apex of that category, though substantially less famous than the Skipper, Seafarer, or even Solunagraph. Despite Heuer’s motorsport pedigree, the…
Read MoreFranck Muller 7000CC Tuxedo Dial
While Franck Muller is known as the ‘master of complications’, it is his single complication watches which have stood the test of time. While I think most, myself included, admire the extreme creativity on display in some of his more eccentrically vivacious offerings, there is a distinction drawn between admiration and the want to engage…
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