Posts Tagged ‘Quantieme Perpetual’
43032 Vacheron Constantin Skeleton Quantième Perpétuel, Platinum
The case could easily be made that the three ‘holy trinity’ neo-vintage perpetual calendars, the storied refs 5548, 43031, and 3940, are the most important complicated serially produced watches of the modern era, particularly the 5548 for bringing the category back. But that’s like saying David Gandy is handsome; duh. Around the time Patek was…
Read More43032 Vacheron Constantin Skeleton Quantième Perpétuel
The case could easily be made that the three ‘holy trinity’ neo-vintage perpetual calendars, the storied refs 5548, 43031, and 3940, are the most important complicated serially produced watches of the modern era, particularly the 5548 for bringing the category back. But that’s like saying David Gandy is handsome; duh. What isn’t discussed as often…
Read MoreOpenwork 25668BA Audemars Piguet Quantième Perpétuel
We all know the three neo-vintage QPs that brought watchmaking back from the dead, but the pair of openwork or skeletonized references from AP and VC have always stood a bit apart, out of the spotlight. They’re not just less often seen, they’re divisive. Perhaps they skirt too close to the edge or horological pornography…
Read More25686BA Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Quantième Perpétuel
Some watches command premiums for reasons I find quite tricky to describe. The number of digits in Daniel Roth’s new price list under LVMH, for example, seems to have been defined by a roulette wheel. This is a strategy, I assume, borrowed from Biver. But others command a premium because they deserve to. Roger Smiths…
Read More43032 Vacheron Constantin Skeleton Quantième Perpétuel
In Lord of The Rings, the nine rings given to mortal men created Wraiths, Mordor’s most loyal servants. They roamed the lands ushering in Sauron’s reign, ending other ruler’s power. But in horology, the neo-vintage era had five emissaries to usher in the apocalypse of Japan’s quartz domination. Yes, there are five. Most discuss only…
Read MoreTuscan Dial 25657PT Audemars Piguet Quantième Perpétual
For all the ads featuring one old, bearded, and extremely white man in a tiny Swiss village laboring away well into the evening, alone, that Richemont would have you believe, true handcraft is, in many mainstream watch brands, surprisingly uncommon. Remember when you used to believe Rolex was made by hand? Ah, to be young…
Read MoreMother of Pearl Dial 25554BA Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Quantième Perpétuel
I don’t know what a Royal Oak means any more, and I’m pretty sure you don’t either. Back in the 70s when lapels were wide enough to create lift at speed and you could actually say ‘rad’, it was one thing. A Royal Oak told the world steel could be luxury, mechanical watches were the…
Read More25668PT Audemars Piguet Quantième Perpétual Openwork
The 90s are in. I’m not a judge of fashion, or indeed style. But I did hear someone say hella in my grocery store self-checkout last week and thought I’d entered some Doctor Who time-based joke. But I hadn’t. Nowhere is this more true than watches, where the 90s and early 2000s are just entering…
Read MoreTuscan Dial 258205SP Audemars Piguet Royal Oak QP
There are a lot of criticisms one could lobby at the Royal Oak compan . . .errr, I mean Audemars Piguet. However, the more deeply I investigate interesting edge cases of the Royal Oak, the more I respect their resolve. See, the Royal Oak hasn’t remained one thing. AP have clung to its inherent appeal,…
Read More‘Openwork’ 25668BA Audemars Piguet Quantieme Perpetual
Why spend hundreds of hours whittling away at each individual component a perpetual calendar movement until just the necessary structures are left? Openworking, or skeletonization, yields no performance benefit. You even wind up with less gold. But the resulting calibre is so breathtaking to look at that an openwork 25668 will often sell between double…
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