I encountered Konstantin Chaykin’s Joker, whose “face” is literally just that with two googly eyes showing the hours and minutes with their respective pupils and a lolling red tongue displaying the phase of the moon. I was transfixed and moments later I placed my order. Find out why right here!
In this edition of ‘Behind the Lens,’ GaryG pays tribute to the introduction of the A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 on October 24, 1994. He brings us stunning images of two very special variants of the classic watch: the rare Cellini limited edition, of which only 25 were made for the New York City retailer, and the even rarer stainless steel Lange 1, which was not a limited edition per se, but certainly a (very) limited sort-of production watch.
In keeping with longstanding tradition, on Saturday evening our Northern California collector group held its annual pre-SIHH dinner with independent watchmaking legend Kari Voutilainen for a sneak peek at what the watchmaker will have on exhibit at the 2018 fair. Enjoy this short preview.
A good friend of mine owns a cream-dialed Reference 2526, and I’d often admired it over the years but hadn’t really understood the role that the 2526 plays in Patek Philippe’s history until talking with him and other watch pals and doing some late-night online research. Read on to learn why I bought this special “Gobbi Milano” edition from 1954 on an exciting spur of a moment.
Over the twenty-odd years he’s been buying “serious” watches, GaryG has purchased more pieces bearing the Jaeger-LeCoultre brand name than any other, by far. Within the Jaeger-LeCoultre pantheon, one watch sub-group stands out for him: the Reverso. Between his wife and he, they’ve bought a total of seven Reverso models. Given that, why add another? In this instance, the Reverso Tribute to 1931?
When collectors gather anywhere and talk about their collections, recent purchases, and executed or potential sales, there’s a term that comes up more often than not: “getting hurt.” Here GaryG provides a master class in how not to get hurt in the world of watch collecting.
During a visit to the Big Apple, GaryG had the chance to meet Analog/Shift’s founder, James Lamdin, and was pleased to sit down with him for a talk and borrow a couple of watches to take home and photograph.
One of the high points of my visits to Baselworld each of the past few years has been the opportunity to tour the display of new introductions from Patek Philippe. Concluding our visit in March 2017, our host asked each of us to name our favorite new Patek Philippe piece, and for me the answer was obvious: the stunning Reference 5170P that had me standing slack-jawed in front of its display case long after the rest of the group had moved on to the other new pieces. Here’s why . . .
On the weekend of November 11, 2017, it was once again time for Only Watch, the charity auction to fund muscular dystrophy research conducted under the sponsorship of His Serene Highness Albert II of Monaco. And, as in 2015, I was fortunate to be invited to join the Stern family and Patek Philippe team for the events of the weekend.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past several months, you are well aware that on October 26, 2017 Phillips conducted an auction in New York City at which the Paul Newman Rolex Daytona owned by Mr. Newman himself was sold for more than $17.5 million, a record price for a wristwatch of any kind. I was fortunate to attend the auction and its attendant events: there was much more to see and some lessons to take away, about both the current state of the vintage market and bidding at auction.