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?
The Patek Philippe Advanced Research Reference 5550P is a truly lovely perpetual calendar with some interesting technical twists.
GaryG was unable to attend the November 2022 Geneva watch auctions, but like many of his friends he followed online. Here he takes a look at the results from the “big three” auction houses – Phillips, Christie’s, and Sotheby’s – to discern some patterns and provide knowledgeable commentary.
Once in a while on the collector forums, a question is posed: is there anyone in the collector community who has never, ever, owned a Rolex? As a general rule, respondents to these queries tend to express disbelief that such a creature could possibly exist given the quality and ubiquity of the brand’s watches. Well, folks, GaryG is here to tell you that such people do exist, and that he is one of them. How could it be? And then what happened?
Recently, GaryG had the opportunity to handle, photograph, and wear a good friend’s Balancier Contemporain in white gold. His pal had long been a fan of the brand but had always been put off by the size of the watches. At 39.6 mm wide, though, the Contemporain is the most compact Greubel Forsey ever.