Going vintage: the Jaeger-LeCoultre Futurematic on the author’s wrist

Vintage Watch Restoration: Should You Or Not? A Guide To The Oft-Controversial World Of Making Things Worse By Trying To Make Them Better – Reprise

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Deciding whether or not to restore a vintage watch is a tough decision to make. The internet is awash with tales of watches butchered by an incompetent independent watchmaker or, worse still, the brand itself. Even more confusing is deciding which options offered should be accepted. Refinish the case? Change the hands? Replace the crystal? Here is some help for you.

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Longines Heritage Military (photo courtesy Dr. Magnus Bosse)

Fauxtina: A Faux Vintage Faux Pas – Reprise

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Ashton likes vintage watches so much that his prized possession is a 1978 Rolex Submariner Reference 1680. Why does he love this watch so much? Not because it looks like it’s from 1978, but because is from 1978. So, he asks, is the current vintage trend something we should all be wholeheartedly embracing?

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Rolex Submariner Ref 14060

The Golden Age Of Rolex Movements Part I: Sowing The Seeds Of Greatness

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If you want to love Rolex, but you love mechanical movements more than you love watch brands themselves, rejoice: Tim Mosso thinks that we are living in the halcyon days of Rolex movement innovation and shares a few well-illustrated technical and movement highlights right here.

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Aging, perhaps gracefully: dial of the Vacheron & Constantin Reference 4560

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

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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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Breguet Tradition Automatique Seconde Rétrograde 7097 and Deconstructed Abraham-Louis Breguet Souscription Pocket Watch

Breguet Tradition Automatique Seconde Rétrograde 7097 And Abraham-Louis Breguet Souscription Pocket Watch Deconstructions: What The Naked Watchmaker Didn’t Reveal

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The Breguet Tradition collection, as exemplified here by the Tradition Automatique Seconde Rétrograde 7097, does just what it says on the label: provide tradition. And it does that very well as Ian Skellern illustrates in a comparison with an original 200-year-old Abraham-Louis Breguet Souscription pocket watch.

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Cartier Ceinture

Cartier Ceinture: Largely Ignored, Often Overlooked, And Usually Underestimated

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The Cartier Ceinture was named after its case, which is shaped like a belt’s buckle (‘ceinture’ is the French word for belt). This Cartier watch with a very interesting square case featuring corners that appear to be “cut” and an unusual crown to be found nowhere else in the collection is a hidden gem on the market for vintage watches. George Cramer explains why.

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Parting shot: Patek Philippe Reference 3940P-027

Why I Bought it: Patek Philippe Reference 3940P-027 Vintage Collection

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November 2018 marked a personal horological high point for GaryG, as he both served on the jury of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève and took delivery of an “unobtainable” watch, the Patek Philippe Reference 3940P-027. Gary shares his reasons for buying this rare watch with us here.

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Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin (left) and Piaget Altiplano

Ultra-Thin Head To Head: Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Vs. Piaget Altiplano

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It might seem an unlikely comparison as the age difference between the Piaget Altiplano and the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin in this article spans more than four decades, yet as Martin Green explains these two ultra thins have a lot more in common than you might think.

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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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Zenith El Primero circa 1969 on the wrist

Exceptional Movements In History: Zenith El Primero

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Loved the world over by collectors and watch brands alike, the Zenith El Primero has been keeping the world on time since 1969. And Rolex choosing to use the movement was high praise for Zenith indeed. The El Primero is still considered an exceptional chronograph to this day, watchmaker Aston Tracy explains why.

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