An informal group of Northern California watch collectors, all owners of at least one Kari Voutilainen watch, met for lunch. One of the members of the group nonchalantly mentioned, “I’ve been talking with Kari about something . . .” It was a set of bespoke Kari Voutilainen Masterpiece Chronograph II models. GaryG’s response two seconds later: “I’m in!”
This is the story of GaryG’s pursuit, and eventual capture, of a classic vintage watch: a Type 20 “big eye” flyback chronograph manufactured by Mathey-Tissot.
In GaryG’s 30 years of “serious” participation in the watch hobby, he has met few, if any, more interesting individuals than William Massena Rohr, founder and leader of Massena Lab, and Luca Soprana, an independent complications specialist. Here, Gary reviews (and photographs) the Old School watch collaboration between Soprana and Massena Lab.
When GaryG recently took a good look at the current state of his watch collection, he was surprised by the large proportion of dark-dialed pieces in the mix. He has enjoyed – and photographed – each of three of these watches a great deal, but it isn’t until recently that he pulled them together in one place for side-by-side shooting and direct comparison. The results (and the watches) are simply stunning.
Ask and ye shall receive, dear readers! Well, within reason. Quill & Pad reader and frequent commenter Greg has been after GaryG for a while to write a piece on his Vacheron Constantin Overseas Deep Stream Chronograph, most recently in response to Gary’s article on three “keepers” from his collection that don’t get a lot of wrist time. Gary didn’t include the Deep Stream on that list as it is a quite frequent wearer for him, but now its time in the spotlight has come.
Cars and watches, watches and cars: they do seem to go together! Scratch almost any watch lover and you’re going to find a car lover just under the surface. GaryG talks with his pal “Enzo” in this interesting discussion about the similarities and dissimilarities of car and watch collecting.
GaryG’s thoughts have turned to one major system that is always there, but generally hidden from sight: the movement. Here are a few of his favorites and why. And in the philosophy of putting my money where my mouth is, these movements have appeared in one or more watches that he has owned personally.
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?
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.