The Rolex Oysterdate 6494 comes in a 34mm Oyster case which is 11mm thick with a modest lug-to-lug measurement of 43mm. The lugs are 19mm across. The 6494 came with a variety of dials, but most were variations on white paint, black lacquer, or honeycomb engraved models also in white or cream. All Rolex 6494s sport a roulette date wheel: black for odd numbers and red for the evens. Hands are dauphine with a blued second hand.
When I learned of Hemel Watches collaborating with Mathey-Tissot to produce a small run of TypeXX chronographs, I was greatly interested. This collaboration felt genuine to me because Hemel had long based much of its catalog on the historically significant Type20 and TypeXX chronographs, which were originally French mil-spec units for pilots.
Despite believing the subjective experience of watches is ultimately all we have, I am not one of those egalitarian folks who believes that because someone enjoys a watch it thus belongs in this world. Watch critics like that really aren’t critics at all. They practice what a colleague recently called reportage, as if by using the French word sucking up to advertisers for a living was somehow sophisticated.
Can falling deeply in love, like never before, with one watch cause us to fall out of love with our other watches?
Yema is a watch brand that grows on me a little more with every new release. Its designs range from the futuristic LED Kavinsky to the vintage-inspired Navygraph Marine Nationale. Yema’s designs are thoughtfully familiar while being unapologetically French. Yema has reached a point with enough unique design language that it’s unfair to classify the brand as a wishful homage. The latest iteration of Yems’a Superman 500 GMT is a welcome update to its catalog.
Walt Odets is legendary in the world of watch writing, having penned some of the most impactful watch criticism back before watch brands held sway over publications. In Walt’s second podcast with Allen, the two discuss Walt’s five personal favorite watches from his own collection. And they are stunners.
Where I once thought of my Seiko Speedtimer 6139 as the anomaly in my Rolex-centric collection, I’ve since started to see that it actually plays an important role somewhere near center stage. The 6139 has somehow managed to work its way through my tangle of collecting rules and straight onto my wrist with nearly the frequency of any other watch I own.
How Horology Helps is an ongoing column in support of what we deem to be the most important contributions to social, medical, environmental, and scientific efforts coming from the world of horology. A Personal Connection Back in 2002, I lost my great aunt Aroxie Bedrosian to breast cancer. She was a spinster, living alone in… Read more »
A unique and indispensable resource, our Iteration Trackers provide chronological information on all iterations of a specific watch model. Model Overview The Tudor Black Bay Chrono combines elements of the brand’s vintage Prince Date Chronograph with various versions of the Rolex Daytona Chronograph. Launched in 2017, the first Tudor Chronograph involved a movement produced in… Read more »
The Skinny 39mm Stainless steel 200 meters water resistance Released March 2022 Price when released – $3675 on leather or fabric, $4000 on bracelet Movement – MT5662 GMT, integrated GMT function with jumping hour and date, auto-winding, certified chronometer Precision – +2secs/day on our timegrapher How The GMT Pro Nails The Rolex 1655 Vibe Well… Read more »