Mixing Money And Watches: A Collector’s Lament On The Current State Of Our Hobby

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Once upon a time, it was possible to have an entire discussion about watches without once addressing the prospects of the price of a given watch growing or shrinking over time. Those were the days! As soon as public health constraints allow there will be a flood of gatherings where collectors catch up, swap tales, and speculate on the future. GaryG just wishes that money wasn’t going to be a prime topic of those discussions.

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Why I Bought It (Despite The Strap And Buckle): Grand Seiko Blue Snowflake Reference SBGA407 – Reprise

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After a week on the wrist, Chris Malburg had some issues with Grand Seiko’s Blue Snowflake Reference SBGA407. Even so, he pulled the trigger. Here Chris explains how he fixed those issues and why it just might deserve a place in your collection too.

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Form follows function: Omega Seamaster “Ploprof” 600m

A Contemporary Watch Collector Goes Vintage With Omega, Patek Philippe And Jaeger-LeCoultre – Reprise

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To my longtime friends in the watch hobby, and perhaps to regular readers here as well, the mention of my name may conjure up a number of connotations: patron of the independents, fan of A. Lange & Söhne, admirer of Patek Philippe grand complications, and longtime customer of Jaeger-LeCoultre, among other characterizations more or less favorable. But vintage?

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In A Royal Oak And Nautilus World, Why I Love The Vacheron Constantin Overseas Deep Stream Chronograph

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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.

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Corum Bubble Vintage

Why I Bought It: The Corum Bubble Vintage – Reprise

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Ian has a fairly narrow frame of reference when it comes to buying watches for himself: his taste runs to independents, in-house movements, and superlative hand-finishing. So why on earth did he buy a Corum Bubble, which is from a big (for him) brand and outfitted with an ETA 2892 movement with an industrial finish? And it’s huge!

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Long-Term Keepers: Three Watches I Can’t Bear To Sell

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If GaryG wants to buy a watch of any significance it requires that he sells one or more other pieces. The bad news is that all of the watches he doesn’t really love were sold off a long time ago! As a result, the discipline of asking, “What watch in his current collection do I love less than this potential new purchase? has become tougher and tougher. Here he shares three watches that he feels are long term-keepers and why.

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Why I Bought It: A. Lange & Söhne Odysseus (A Photofest!) – Reprise

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If you’re at all a Lange enthusiast like GaryG, you’ll likely understand the most compelling reason for buying the Odysseus is that it’s an A. Lange & Söhne watch you can wear every day.

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Why I Bought It (The Day Before It Was Discontinued): Rolex Oyster Perpetual 39 With White Dial Reference 114300

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After years of consideration, Bhanu Chopra took the plunge and bought both a Rolex Oyster Perpetual 39 mm and a Submariner Reference 114060. And less than 24 hours after finally taking ownership of them, Rolex discontinued both watches! Here he shares the story of how it all went down. Spoiler alert: he couldn’t be happier!

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Omega Aqua Terra Annual Calendar

Annual Calendars Are Goldilocks Complications: Not Too Hot, Not Too Cold, Just Right

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Sometimes perpetual calendars are too complicated but a simple calendar just doesn’t cut it anymore because nearly half the months have less than 31 days, making it five adjustments a year too many for some. But don’t fret, there is a middle ground between the most basic calendar watches and complex perpetual calendars: the annual calendar automatically adjusts for each month with 30 or 31 days, meaning just one adjustment per year for the owner in February. Here’s a brief history of the complication.

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Patek Philippe Ref. 5950A-001

Behind The Lens: Patek Philippe Ref. 5950A-001 Split-Seconds Chronograph – Reprise

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Given GaryG’s musings on these pages about the relative roles of rarity and complication in driving the value of a watch, he thinks it appropriate to dedicate this “Behind the Lens” entry to a piece that is both complicated and limited in production: Patek Philippe’s Reference 5950A. What’s so special about this watch? Well, first of all it’s a split-seconds chronograph. What else?

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