1991 Cartier Paris Crash

The Crash is that sole watch whose trajectory best encapsulates the last two decades of watch collecting as a whole. In the year 2000, very few would be able to describe the differences between a London and Paris Crash. Today, anyone who’s aware of Loupe This has that covered. It has blasted from relative obscurity…

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Cartier Privé Asymetrique in Platinum

It seems like a simple idea: take 12 and, instead of aligning it to the top of a watch, align it to the point at which your eye naturally rests when a watch is on your wrist. But the effect is profound. This play on true north brings with it just enough interruption to expectation…

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‘Paris Platinum’ Cartier Crash

Walking around any major city with a truly exceptional watch on wrist is a bit like walking down the street holding a Van Gogh above your head. Without wishing to be ostentatious, in many respects you are doing someone a very slight favor by adding a degree of culture to an otherwise very ordinary day (for…

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SBGW033 Grand Seiko 130th Anniversary ‘First’

SBGW033-Grand-Seiko-130th-Anniversary-First

It is not difficult to understand the timeless appeal of a well-executed dress watch. When complication is removed, effort in finishing is allowed to be a watch’s main focus. Total simplicity, finished to an absurd standard. I believe this appeal is, in large part, responsible for the recent astronomic rise in Chronomètre Bleu values of…

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2508 Patek Philippe Calatrava

2508-Patek-Philippe-Calatrava

Very little can truly be described as timeless. A Patek Calatrava deserves that laudable adjective like little else. The 2508, produced between 1951 and 1960, is a high point of the Calatrava lineage for many. It debuted a larger 35mm case manufactured by Taubert & Fils (later known as Borgel) which echoed the design elements…

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Cartier CPCP 1575 Santos Dumont

Cartier-CPCP-Santos-Dumont

A bastion of utility with elegant design in the modern era, the Santos Dumont is what a pilot’s watch looks like when dressed to the nines. The ‘Dumont’ here is important, a deliberate naming choice made by Cartier to reference the full name of Louis Cartier’s pilot friend who, in 1904, needed a wristwatch instead…

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3864 Longines Sei Tacche

Longines-Sei-Tacche-3864

Through the post WWII era, Longines’ engineering, quality, and design were nearly unrivaled. This era gave us the 13ZN, 12.68Z fly-back, 6630 ‘Swiss Air’, 3592 Type A-7, ‘Tasti a Spillo’, and many other. Among this innovative era were a series of extremely handsome calatrava-styled pieces with restrained aesthetics. The most famed of these are known…

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Cartier CPCP Tank Louis in Platinum

Cartier-CPCP-Tank-Louis-in-Platinum

Where exquisite design meets considered watchmaking, great things happen. This is perhaps no more evident than Cartier’s 1998 Paris Collection Privee (CPCP) era. The collection aimed to resurrect greats from their past like the Cintrée, Santos, Tortue, and Tank à Vis with masterful mechanical movements. It is often forgotten that their most enduring design of time, the Louis Cartier…

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5495 Blancpain Villeret Perpetual in Platinum

5495-Blancpain-Villeret-Perpetual-Platinum

Of all complications, the perpetual calendar might just be the watchmaker’s darling. By that, I mean the essence of what a certain brand or effort represents is often very well captured by their perpetual calendar offering. The complication requires immense skill not just mechanically, but in how to arrange such a wealth of information. I’m…

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