1 of 10 ‘London Edition’ Urban Jürgensen Big 8

Urban-Jürgensen-Big-8-London-Edition

The subtlety of one color can make a watch. I feel, perhaps too strongly, that British racing green may in fact be the classiest hue to ever exist, full stop. This isn’t some childish James Bond Aston fascination or anglophilic pandering, no. On its own merits, the precise deep green with just a hint of…

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Cal. 853 Pellaton IWC Calatrava in Yellow Gold

Cal-853-IWC-Calatrava-1962

Watches from IWC which predate their major sports lines are a bit under the radar today. This simple three-hander proves the point. Exquisite 35mm proportions, a restrained dial, vintage IWC script signature, alpha hands, competent automatic calibre . . .I could go on. Yet, little ink has been spilled on behalf of this period in…

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3796G Patek Philippe Calatrava

3796-Patek-Philippe-Calatrava-White-Gold

Patek Philippe’s Calatrava is the final word in understated elegance, a pinnacle of three-handers. Since the ref. 96 of 1932, the Calatrava has always underpinned Patek’s entire collection. This 3796 carried the flag from 1982 until 1999. In doing so, it maintained the classic 30.5mm (or 31, depending on who you ask) case proportion but…

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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 Tank À Guichets in Rose Gold

Cartier-CPCP-Tank-à-Guichets

If you’re going to opt for the classic Cartier, a Tank, you might as well opt for the variant that looks like its namesake. The Tank À Guichets is perhaps the watch which, in Cartier’s entire range of offerings, stands farthest away from the limelight. This has shifted slightly in the last year or so,…

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168.019 Linen Dial Omega Constellation Day-Date

Omega-Constellation-Day-Date-168.019-Linen-Dial

I have, many times, cited mid-century Omega Constellations as a fantastic entry point to vintage and outsized value proposition today. This Constellation falls into a different category: something of an apex reference. What started as a humble bridge between sport and dress models in 1952 had, by the mid 60s, become something far more extravagant.…

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150th Anniversary Cartier Tank Basculante

150th-Anniversary-Cartier-Tank-Basculante

Of all the innumerable iterations of the Tank, the Basculante (literally translates as tilting) is perhaps Cartier’s most spellbinding. This particular Basculante is a mechanique, released after the CPCP iteration and powered by the F. Piguet, gold, hand-wound calibre 610 in 1997 as part of the ‘I Love Cartier’ collection commemorating the manufacture’s 150th. If…

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16/1860/2 Chopard LUC

16/1860/2-Chopard-LUC

It is possible for something to be expensive and massively undervalued. Much in the way that a multitude of collectors have only recently begun to acknowledge the exceptional watchmaking in early CPCP pieces or early Datographs, a subculture is forming around LUC. Chopard may be mostly known for the Alpine Eagle and sponsoring niche motorsport…

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Cartier CPCP Tank Louis in PT

Cartier-CPCP-Tank-Louis-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…

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