Vintage ROCKS!

Indeed, vintage watches rock! There is no doubt about it. Whether you go for a Rolex pre-Daytona ref. 6248, Universal Geneve Polerouter or perhaps one of the many Omega Seamaster’s, a vintage watch has a charm of its own. This is perhaps even enhanced when this watch is not only from yesteryear but also fitted with diamonds, because what really rocks are vintage rocks! Here we have a couple of vintage watches, set with diamonds. Some are more vintage than others but all will you put proudly on your wrist.

Piaget’s connection to the Royal game of Polo can rival that of Jaeger-LeCoultre. Of course there is the famous Polo, but what to think about this 1995 Legende Lipizzan in special polo-edition? This watch was created in reference to the Lipizzan stallions, which most people know from the famous Spanish Riding School in Vienna, Austria. Even when you have nothing with horses, a Lipizzan stallion is bound to impress you. That can also be said from this watch. Straight, geometric lines combined with two different type of “lugs” create a unique look, that is even reinforced by the use of both yellow and white gold. The dial features two blue polo sticks, and the same amount of brilliant cut diamonds to represent the ball. A very tasteful detail. Under the hood is Piaget’s famed ultra slim caliber 9P2, a manual wind marvel. But then again, that is Piaget’s trademark, from the early 60′s down to more recent record breaking tourbillon’s! [Read more...]

Crime Just Might Pay for You at the Property Room

We all know the big boys of the watch auction world, Christie’s Sotheby’s and Antiquorum. But there’s more than one way to purchase a watch at auction and get a good deal. There’s a little known secret called the Property Room, an auction house that sells merchandise the police have seized from criminals or left unclaimed in the lost and found. You can benefit from the misdeeds of others without committing the crime and finding yourself in front of a judge in a nasty mood sentencing you to life in prison.

There’s the usual stuff you might expect like bicycles, furniture, power tools, coins and cars. This time, though, there’s a true gem hidden within the other stuff going up on the auction block. It’s a Patek Philippe 3970E, a perpetual calendar chronograph with the Calibre 27-70- Q manual wind with its black croc strap and rose gold deployant fully signed with hallmarks. We’re talking about a coveted $100,000 plus watch that’s been out of production since 2005. Unbelievable, right? [Read more...]

Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Contemporaine reference 81180 – Do we need more?

Sometimes high end watch making seems like an endless challenge of making watches as complicated as possible. Especially in the last decade we’ve run out of complications to combine, since everything has already been tried. So we come up with different ways of showing the time or speeding up hands to such an extent that probably in a year of two you can hear a loud bang from under the crystal of your watch, created by a hand that went through the sound barrier as soon as you engaged its chronograph.

True classics die hard, but sometimes a dash of current times can do even a classic good!

Stuff of dreams but about as necessary as sugar coated cherry on top of your apple sauce, since most occasions in life are perfectly served by a simple, elegant watch with two hands. One hand is inconvenient but three or more hands only add stress. [Read more...]

Gene Clark: Breguet-Style Tourbillon Made in America

I always like to go through Christie’s catalogue before the auction and find some intriguing watches that might otherwise get overlooked. One of the lots I have chosen for you is an amazing American watch by Gene Clark. I hear the warning bells going off. Who is Clark and how come I haven’t heard of him if he’s so great? And, are you sure an American can qualify as a superb watchmaker? This must be a joke, right? Actually, not.

Gene Clark exemplified American watchmaking at its best. We’re not talking E. Howard, Waltham and Elgin. That was kid’s stuff in comparison to Clark. He ranks up there with the likes of George Daniels [Read more...]

The MB&F HM3 Frog Goes to the Moon with Sarpaneva

We all know the crazy groundbreaking designs of MB&F, like the Legacy Machine 1,  HM4 Thunderbolt, the HM3 Rebel Yell and the HM3 Purple Frog. Every so often MB&F brings in another artiste to interpret one of the Machines. They’ve worked with Boucheron for the awesome JWLRYMACHINE, which was a wise choice. Now they’ve decided to take a decidedly Finnish approach by giving Stepan Sarpaneva a crack at the HM3 frog and came up with the MOONMACHINE.

Sarpaneva is no slouch in the talent department. He can find his way around a movement with the best of them. Consider that he worked alongside Kari Voutilainen, Vianney Halter and Christophe Claret, watchmakers known for their talent in high complications such as Claret’s 21 Blackjack.

Sarpaneva is known for his moody moon, the northern stars and constellations and the distinctive Korona case, characteristic elements in all his watches. All appear in the MOONMACHINE.

Here the hand-finished moons indicate the moonphase through a Korona-shaped opening. The swing of the winding rotor comprised of steel and 22K gold represents the star-filled sky, accomplished by a laser piercing, which allows light to reflect through the movement. [Read more...]

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