Deep dives on specific watches and movements
Collecting Swiss watches for twenty years taught me to appreciate Seiko. This might seem paradoxical — why would exposure to the best of Geneva and Biel lead toward Japan? The answer involves understanding what different watchmaking traditions offer. Value Beyond Price Seikos Grand Seiko division produces finishing that rivals Swiss pieces costing multiples more. The […]
When collectors discuss mid-century Swiss watchmaking, names like Patek Philippe, Rolex, and Omega dominate. Universal Geneve rarely enters the conversation despite producing some of the periods most innovative and beautiful timepieces. The Golden Era From the 1930s through the 1960s, Universal Geneve competed at the highest levels. Their Compax and Tri-Compax chronographs rivaled anything from […]
The watch industry spent the 2000s and 2010s in an arms race toward ever-larger cases. Forty-two millimeters became the new normal. Dive watches pushed to 44mm. Even dress watches crept toward 40mm. Somewhere along the way, the classic proportions that defined mid-century horology were forgotten. I have watches ranging from 34mm to 42mm in my […]
Certain watch movements transcend their technical specifications to achieve legendary status. The Rolex 3135. The Omega 321. And for vintage chronograph enthusiasts, the Valjoux 72. Produced from the 1940s through the early 1970s, the Valjoux 72 powered some of the most collectible chronographs ever made: the Rolex Daytona 6263, Heuer Carrera 2447, and Universal Geneve […]