The Skinny Extending Seiko’s Heritage (Not Regurgitating It) I’m done with Seiko’s reissued dive watches. They’re never just like the original, the large Prospex logo announces that fact, and I’ve just grown bored with the whole enterprise. Seiko was always a forward-looking brand, and I think advanced design and technology celebrates Seiko’s heritage more than… Read more »
The Skinny Hard Core, No Riffs It’s 2022, and we are living through an horological renaissance. A proliferation of iterations has flooded the marketplace with monthly, even weekly, releases from nearly every brand, with the result being new watch announcements every day. Largely based on “novel colorways” that “remind us of nature” or “inspire us… Read more »
This guide is a one-stop reference for Vacheron Constantin’s serially-produced, large-format, round, time-only wristwatch movements of the 20th century. As such, this guide should help the collector of vintage Vacheron Constantin dress watches which were, to use the era’s lingo, intended for gentlemen. The Era of Serial Production With Jaeger-LeCoultre Well into the 1920s, Vacheron… Read more »
The Skinny Dive Watches as History Lessons Jacob Hatzidimitriou wants us to know about the history of Greek diving, and he uses his watch brand, Ianos, to teach us. Specifically, Hatzidimitriou takes sponge diving as his subject, a harvesting practice that dates back millennia in Greece. With Ianos’ first dive watch, the Abyssos, we learned… Read more »
Half curiosity, half collector’s resource, I bought these “dealer cards” on eBay in 2021. I thought they’d be both lovely and useful for others once digitized. These cards present the watches roughly life size, the cards uncannily similar in size and shape to an iPhone. Vacheron Constantin sent these to dealers so that they could… Read more »
Allen speaks with Michael Benavente of Bulova and Colin de Tonnac of Semper & Adhuc about the history of Bulova as a mechanical watchmaker. There’s a lot to learn here. For example, did you know that Bulova once employed more Swiss mechanical watchmakers than any other brand, including the Swiss ones? Michael provides historical perspective… Read more »
The Skinny Marine Nationale Watches The Marine Nationale (MN) is the French Navy, which includes a diverse and international array of legendary SCUBA squads. Watches made for the MN divers are highly collectible, and a few of those watches have been reissued over the past decade. Tudor seems to steal the spotlight for vintage Marine… Read more »
The Skinny 37.5mm x 13mm 50m water resistance Sellita SW510 M BH a hand-wound chronograph movement $1999 Midwestern Avant Gardism There aren’t many new independent watch brands that truly take advantage of their freedom to design creatively. Among those I include Brew Watches in New York, Ianos in Greece, Sō Labs in Chicago, and now… Read more »
The Skinny 39mm Titanium case and bracelet 100m water resistance Oris in-house calbire 400 3900 CHF (~$4,170) A New Category for Oris With the ProPilot X Calibre 400, Oris has entered the crowded and competitive arena of the Swiss luxury sports watch. The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, the Vacheron Constantin Overseas, and the Patek Philippe… Read more »
Why Are Vintage Vacheron Constantin Dress Watches Undervalued? Because Vacheron Constantin never had a smash hit dress watch. But why didn’t Vacheron Constantin have a hit, and why do so many collectors focus on hit watches? Fewer Hits Than The Grateful Dead Consider early wrist watch icons like the Cartier Tank or the Patek Philippe Calatrava,… Read more »