One of the great advantages of belonging to the relatively close-knit community of watch collectors is having the opportunity to see and photograph a lot of great watches. Here GaryG takes on the formidable F.P. Journe Tourbillon Souverain with his mighty camera and collecting knowledge.
There aren’t that many rules that GaryG applies to watch collecting, but one rule that he has found critically important is that it’s crucial to handle a watch before buying it. This story however is about how Gary completely violated that rule and nonetheless came away happy with a watch that few people would have guessed he would buy: the 2020-launched Oyster Perpetual 41 from Rolex with a bright turquoise blue dial.
For watch lovers, the name “Paul Newman” is associated first and foremost with Rolex, and in particular with a subset of that brand’s Daytona watches with specific dial characteristics, including a recessed outer seconds track and subdials that feature block-shaped hashmarks and Art Deco-style Arabic numerals. But what does this nickname mean for these references on the vintage market? And what does GaryG think about it?
From the torrent of really well done watch photos appearing on Instagram and other media these days, it appears as though lots of watch enthusiasts have been spending at least some of their time in COVID-19-induced shutdowns polishing their macro photography and wrist shooting. And GaryG is among them. Here he shares a few of the thousands of photos he has taken recently using a new-to-him flash style.
It’s that time again! As in prior years, GaryG is in the process of moving his 2022 photos into backup storage, and before they go into the vault he has scanned through them and picked out his personal favorites from the past 12 months to share with us here. Enjoy!
This is the story of a daily-wear watch, the Tsunami by Japanese independent watchmaker Hajime Asaoka. It’s not a “beater” as it’s too beautifully made for that description, and some folks justifiably take offense at characterizing a five-figure expenditure in those terms. But it is a watch that GaryG suspects that he will be wearing a lot and in a variety of settings.
From the time GaryG revealed that he’d added a Patek Philippe Reference 5170P chronograph to his collection, he has frequently been asked two questions: how does it compare to his Patek Philippe Reference 5370P split-seconds chronograph and how does it compare to Patek Philippe’s prior flagship chronograph, the platinum-encased Reference 5070P? Find out here!
If you follow the world of independent watchmaking, by now you’ve almost certainly heard of watchmaker Rexhep Rexhepi and his Akrivia watches. Since arriving on the scene in 2012 with its first tourbillon-based watch, Akrivia has continued to delight. But is this independent bound for glory? GaryG predicts the future.
One of the reasons that GaryG bought a C By Romain Gauthier Titanium Edition Two is that it fits his shifting lifestyle and watch-wearing habits; as more and more of his time is spent in casual clothing and running various errands, it’s great to have a piece that has a true sporting character yet still packs the punch of a top indie creation.
GaryG had the opportunity to borrow a Rolex GMT-Master II BLRO Meteorite from a long-time friend to photograph and wear. This watch’s main event is the dial, a thin slice of metallic meteorite whose crystalline structure reflects the slow cooling process that took place as the meteor hurtled through space. Here he tries a variety of photographic techniques to learn which works best on the dial’s unique structures. Which are your favorites?