Vintage 1950s Vacheron Constantin Reference 6087 chronograph

Vintage Watch Snobbery AKA How I Met Your Mother – Reprise

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Standing before his eyes was the most perfect of God’s creatures, a wonderful mix of Audrey Hepburn and Penelope Cruz. What Makes Me Tick thought his heart had skipped a beat, and he heard the chimes of every single minute repeater Patek Philippe had ever created – all chiming at exactly the same time! Six months later the gentle creature and he were married. This extraordinary story reflects the marvelous world of vintage watches: finding the rare bird, linking it to a story, and never letting it go.

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The Grail Of Attic Finds: Reunited With The First Watch I Ever Owned, A West End Watch Co Sowar Prima

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Colin Alexander Smith is reunited with his first watch and discovers an intriguing watch manufacturer that has been producing mechanical watches in Switzerland continuously since 1886.

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Missing link: look above the numbers 30 and 31 of this Vacheron & Constantin Reference 4560 triple calendar

Why I Bought It: Vacheron & Constantin Reference 4560 Triple Calendar – Reprise

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Oh, those Geneva auctions! While GaryG’s intention is usually to browse the rare pieces on offer, gain an education from his auction-house friends and escape unscathed, it seems that more often than not there is a piece that puts him into bidding mode. And sometimes that piece is entirely unanticipated as was the case of the Vacheron & Constantin Reference 4560 triple calendar that he stumbled across at the Sotheby’s preview. Here is why he bought it.

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Watches And Guitars: Longines vs. Gibson, And John Mayer’s Take On ‘Relicing’

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Colin Alexander Smith highlights the fact that both electric guitars and watches share the timeless debate over whether to restore an item showing its age or to preserve it “as is.” And John Mayer is mixed up in both; but how?

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Ikepod Megapode

Ikepod Megapode: Marc Newson’s Smartest Watch (And Perhaps My Smartest Rolex Trade) – Reprise

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Ikepod launched in 1994 so co-founder and designer Marc Newson could create his own playground, which is exactly what he did. And there is no better example of his joyful design than the Ikepod Megapode launched in 1999.

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Gerontohorologyphobia: A Young Man’s Fear Of Being Seen Wearing An Old Man’s Watch

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Colin was wearing a steel watch with blue dial when the receptionist at the trading company he was working for, a chirpy lass straight out of the BBC’s ‘Eastenders’ soap opera, looked down disdainfully and said, “I hate watches with blue dials. They remind me of old men in pubs.” What happened after that can only be described as a case of gerontohorologyphobia: fear of inadvertently wearing an old man’s watch.

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Khanjar And Qaboos Rolexes: Are They The Vintage Watch Industry’s Blood Diamonds?

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Increasing demand for timepieces, especially Rolexes, with the Omani emblem is understandable given the high quality, good condition, demonstrable provenance, and rarity of most of these watches, combined with the fact that they had often been presented to their first owners in the 1970s by Sultan Qaboos in person as a token of gratitude for services rendered. Colin Alexander Smith takes a very close look at the meaning behind these rare timepieces.

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Dial Restoration: Aesthetics Or Functionality? And How To Decide

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Most will agree that re-painting a dial is a big no-no. Vintage pieces with re-painted dials can be had for a steal as they are difficult to shift and mostly unwanted. But not all dial restorations are created equal, and we do encounter varying degrees of “upgrades.” Some of these upgrades are purposeful deception, while others are not. Here is what one watchmaker feels about the subject.

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Swatch Tresor Magique

Swatch Tresor Magique: The Watch Harry Potter Would Have Worn

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The Swatch Tresor Magique might have a platinum case, but it looks like something Harry Potter would have appreciated wearing while attending classes at Hogwarts. However, there is more that is even notable about this watch, which Martin Green divulges here.

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Movement side of Valjoux 7750

Valjoux 7750: The World’s Greatest Chronograph Movement By Far (By Popularity And Numbers) – Reprise

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As Martin Green became ever more impressed by the performance of the Valjoux 7750 chronograph movement, he also found himself ever-enamored by its little quirks and the variety of watches it has been tapped to power. Here Martin outlines the history of this classic automatic chronograph movement.

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