Posts Tagged ‘Skeleton’
25563BA Audemars Piguet Skeleton Chronograph
This is a really exceptional and understudied little corner of Audemars Piguet history. It is the reference 25563, simply called the Skeleton Chronograph. Just 67 pieces were manufactured across all metals. It was never a part of the main catalogue but made available to order for select clients, much like the skeletonized QP ref. 25558/25668.…
Read More43032 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 More25558BA Audemars Piguet Quantième Perpétuel Openwork
Despite the fact that they’ve almost entirely forgotten about it in favor of things like Spider-Man Royal Oaks, strange permutations of the Code 11.59 that nobody asked for, and stroking John Mayer’s ego, Audemars Piguet saved complicated mechanical watchmaking in 1978 with the reference 5548. This is the 25558, the first openwork (skeletonized) model of…
Read MoreSkeleton 3355 Breguet Classique Tourbillon, Platinum
Breguet around Daniel Roth was something else. This is a 3355, which might sound a lot like 3350 if you know your Breguet. Roth worked closely with Lemania for three years to develop this one-second tourbillon, which debuted in 1989. In fact, after Roth branched out on his own, this movement served as the ébauche…
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 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 More43032P Vacheron Constantin Skeleton Perpetual Calendar
Emma Watson once famously advocated for modesty as the ultimate expression of sexiness. Here’s the quote: ‘What’s sexy about saying, ‘I’m here with my boobs out and a short skirt, have a look at everything I’ve got?’ My idea of sexy is that less is more. The less you reveal the more people can wonder.’…
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…
Read More2147 Daniel Roth Lemania Skeleton Chronograph
For being one of the most influential independent watchmakers to have ever walked the Earth, Daniel Roth is today not a part of the discourse in the way that Journe, Voutilainen, MB&F, or even Akrivia are. This, I suspect, is because Roth is not easily understood immediately; Roth requires study. There are multiple eras of…
Read More