Sometimes with watches it’s like it is with pets: you don’t choose them, they choose you. When Martin Green strapped on this vintage Rolex Day-Date quite by accident, everything fell into place for him. Here he explains how and why he bought it.
If you would’ve told Quentin R. Bufogle six months ago that he’d pass on a Breguet Type XX in favor of an Omega, he might’ve thought you were crazy. What changed his mind? Granted that in terms of sheer aesthetics, it ticks all the right boxes for him. But there’s much more to it.
Quentin Bufogle has never worshipped at the “Green ‘n’ Gold” Rolex altar. But the Rolex Air-King reference 116900 has always been his favorite stainless steel 40 mm Rolex and here he explains why he bought one.
Every day Koen Simon looks out for special watches, and a couple months ago he noticed an IWC on an online marketplace that looked rather odd because of three things: the shape of the case, the dial, and a “Türler” signature. So he investigated the history of this beautiful watch and now shares his rather personal love story with it here.
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?
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 and in this updated version of the article debunks one theory behind the dial symbol.
The 23 vintage LIP watches in this article are not for sale: they were made for friends and are based on wristwatches from the late 40s and early 50s from the LIP brand. Thomas Brechtel shares this story of passion.
This Breguet souscription pocket watch number 1836 was created just after the French Revolution in 1796 and was sold in 1807 for £600. A testament to the quality of the movement’s design and the skill of its watchmaker, after more than 200 years it still runs impeccably today, which makes it the perfect role model for Breguet’s modern Tradition line.
Like a proper gentleman, Hollywood legend Clark Gable paired wristwatches to go with his outfits both on and off screen. Gable had a gold Rolex Oyster Perpetual Reference 6011 and also wore a Patek Philippe Reference 1526 Perpetual Calendar, prominently seen in ‘Soldier of Fortune’ as Nick Gould highlights here.
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.