Posts Tagged ‘Tropical Dial’
Tropical Service Dial 6542 Rolex GMT-Master
I must admit to slightly enjoying antagonizing purists here; a closed mind is boring. This is a service dial, and that’s always less desirable, right? Well, not quite. The 6542 GMT-Master was created with radium dials and was famously recalled for its radioactivity. If one came in for service over the next decade, Rolex would…
Read MoreTropical Mk2 Dial 1163 Heuer Autavia GMT
For all their motorsport ties and Ryan Gosling ad nonsense today, Heuer sure knew how to do a travel watch. And travel does suit the motorsport lifestyle, more than a simple chronograph. This Autavia would’ve been perfectly suited to time laps at Silverstone, fly to Monte Carlo, and time again while not loosing track of…
Read MoreTropical Sigma Dial 3700 Patek Philippe Nautilus
This 3700’s dial is the only I’ve ever seen which is outrageous enough to make up for the fact that its case has ears. Now, far be it from me to criticize Genta’s pen and what today is an institution. But broadly speaking, I find every watch enthusiast is either a Nautilus or a Royal…
Read MoreTropical 6265 Rolex Daytona
Tropical doesn’t always mean caramel. I find a lot of visual delight in the shade where dials are just starting to move off black, it’s subtlety. You’ll be used to seeing tropical subdials on the white dial 6265, often wildly so. But the black dials can also go brown, it’s just often not as dramatic…
Read MoreTropical 7928 Tudor Submariner
Five years ago, I attended a small dinner with a group of collectors. They chose an exceptional restaurant, I attired appropriately. There, I was lightly chided, by a man in red trousers I will add, for wearing a 16808 with a suit. Now, I’d never claim to be an authority in anything remotely sartorial. But…
Read MoreTropical 4100BA Audemars Piguet Royal Oak
Technically speaking, this is a blue dial. If you order an extract of archive from AP, it will tell you it’s a blue Stern-made petit tapisserie. Except it isn’t, is it? This is blue in the same way that David Bowie dressed reserved: maybe in the early years, but by Ashes to Ashes he wore…
Read MoreTropical ‘Meters First’ Mk2 1680 Rolex ‘Red’ Submariner
Contrary to what it may seem here, I dislike spending money on anything but watches and a decent dinner out. It’s why I’ve owned the same pair of Wolverine boots for seven years. My car is about a decade old and I won’t replace it until children become a thing, which will hopefully be never,…
Read MoreTropical 1016 Rolex Explorer
No watch is more fit for purpose than a 1016. That purpose is adventure, it has been from the very start. So when you come across an example whose dial has clearly been used well and hard, well, this may be the reference’s ultimate expression. It’s kind of like seeing a Le Mans winning Porsche…
Read MoreTropical, Pulsations ‘Ed White’ 105.003-65 Omega Speedmaster
We all know 90% dark chocolate is best. Anything less is for children. Anything more is for people who want to prove to you how much they like chocolate, it’s overpowering. This, I know, is the same reductive argument than anyone driving more slowly than you must be an idiot and anyone driving faster than…
Read MoreTropical ‘Ed White’ 105.003-65 Omega Speedmaster
The Speedmaster is a perfectly executed chronograph with one of the most storied narrative arcs of any watch. But it’s a bit clinical in its precision. Utilitarian. Often, even a bit cold. I think through all the 861 Speedmasters of the early 90s with Luminova and solid backs. Each is an excellent watch. But I…
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