The Watch Appreciation Thread - Part two (Rolex, Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Jaeger LeCoultre,

[patrick_b]

The Le Mans Daytona is the one I’d love to own from 2023. Other than that, nothing new struck me as needing to buy.

 

[New Shoes1]

What then would be the point of going?

I don't know, it seems like the guys going for drinks and taking pictures of each other's watches and shoes are not that focused on the women in the bar anyways.

 

[am55]

Reflected the other day as one of the guys at dinner was excited about his new Calatrava. Unkempt beard+streetwear tech investment gym bro, as far from the ad copy as you can get. Classic gold Calatrava, the size and shape of a coin (was it the 6119? I don't think so, looked too small for 39mm, but it could have been, he is quite a large guy). Has the Patek market changed? Are the former customers of the Nautilus heading towards the rest of the portfolio? Will we see the same with Rolex shifting from SS models to things like the 1908? If this wasn't a one-off, I'm excited about the likely evolution from the main brands

 

[flipstah]

One of the biggest interesting piece for me this year was the Tag glassbox for sure.

Seiko Prospex GMT was also a nice release this year that I got one.

I’m all tapped out this year so maybe 2024 will be a better one!

 

[JamesInLondon]

I liked it (1986 is more than yesteryear). There's a place for this kind of stuff, and having visual/artistic complexity as well as technical is more interesting there than "stuff everything into a large box" which wins prizes:

View attachment 2083731

(and let's not look at the side view)

This, on the other hand, will not destroy your cuff, whilst immediately drawing some respect for what has been achieved from the sheer physics of it:

I consider the Ra automatic tourbillon from AP to be the most significant watch of the last 100 years, without trying it changed EVERYTHING in the watch world.

Disruptive Thinking

When two revolutionary watchmakers came together with a sprinkling of the latest technology, the result was the audacious AP Ra Automatic Tourbillon.

revolutionwatch.com

Full disclosure; the Ra and I have history - I have spent several days with the guy who built them, working on his biography and I have been trying to buy a white metal one for over a decade.

 

[JamesInLondon]

I feel like Seiko should be doing this kind of thing instead of slapping increasingly involved dials on movements that used to power Seiko 5s with a veneer of Japanese heritage fantasy barely concealing the thirst for international mid-market revenue.

I get the same feeling when a press release about a new dial inspired by some facet of Japanese regional nature drops into my inbox as I did when Hublot announced ambassadors and limited edition models with a similar frequency.

I don’t know what bores me more, another beach/sunset/waves/leaves inspired dial on the same Grand Seiko or a limited edition Hublot inspired by the youngest blind skateboard champion of Uraguay.

 

[NakedYoga]

Full disclosure; the Ra and I have history - I have spent several days with the guy who built them, working on his biography and I have been trying to buy a white metal one for over a decade.

Offer to sign a copy of his biography in exchange for the watch.

 

[Texasmade]

I get the same feeling when a press release about a new dial inspired by some facet of Japanese regional nature drops into my inbox as I did when Hublot announced ambassadors and limited edition models with a similar frequency.

I don’t know what bores me more, another beach/sunset/waves/leaves inspired dial on the same Grand Seiko or a limited edition Hublot inspired by the youngest blind skateboard champion of Uraguay.

Next new GS dial will be inspired by the pristine gl0ryh0le in their HQ bathrooms.

 

[9thsymph]

Reflected the other day as one of the guys at dinner was excited about his new Calatrava. Unkempt beard+streetwear tech investment gym bro, as far from the ad copy as you can get. Classic gold Calatrava, the size and shape of a coin (was it the 6119? I don't think so, looked too small for 39mm, but it could have been, he is quite a large guy). Has the Patek market changed? Are the former customers of the Nautilus heading towards the rest of the portfolio? Will we see the same with Rolex shifting from SS models to things like the 1908? If this wasn't a one-off, I'm excited about the likely evolution from the main brands

But perhaps it’s more depressing. Why are they heading to the rest of the portfolio? For example, maybe beardy tech bros are just satisfying their appetite for owning the brand (however they can manage), rather than shifting their aesthetics (ss sports -> elegant dress). Maybe I’m wrong.

In any case, I’m not looking forward to seeing some little tech brat wearing a bespoke cowboy shirt, trainers and a tank normale.

 

[am55]

I get the same feeling when a press release about a new dial inspired by some facet of Japanese regional nature drops into my inbox as I did when Hublot announced ambassadors and limited edition models with a similar frequency.

I don’t know what bores me more, another beach/sunset/waves/leaves inspired dial on the same Grand Seiko or a limited edition Hublot inspired by the youngest blind skateboard champion of Uraguay.

I don't care what others do in other "segments of the market". Happy for them if they find joy in "brand ambassadors" and 50mm x 20mm skeletonized diamond incrusted roulette wheels (AND I like what MB&F does, genuinely, qua modern art). I just wish there was still some kind of offering for those of us who like the playing with physics part.

There's many ways to destroy long term value in favour of the short. Borrow a lot, sell off assets and book some of it as profits, offshore/outsource most of your value proposition, fire expensive and hard to replace talent. But I think one of the most egregious is the destruction of long term brand momentum to surf a temporary hype. In banking you had Royal Bank of Scotland who were late to the MBS game and picked up the worst products, just in time for 2008. A short walk away, there's a cafe that still has QR codes on their door so you can pay in Bitcoin or Ethereum (of course they now refuse such payment methods, but it was all the rage in 2021). And for a watch company, it is the brand ambassador, the colorful dial, the addition of pointless complications in a thoughtless manner, whilst making cases bigger and fatter.

Look at something like this: https://seagull1963.com/product/swan-neck-regulator-seagull-1963-40mm-white-black-panda-sapphire/

400 euros and you get a chronograph movement, admittedly undecorated and pretty rough, but working and with 2 years warranty, in a classic panda dial configuration. 38mm x 13mm. For $9k you can get a Grand Seiko SBGC249 in 45.3mm × 15.8mm. Less wearable, blingier, possibly less reliable, but you get to look at polished parts. Or do you? Cos zaratsu finishing is no longer the default for GS, not since the international market expansion. But there is nothing in the market with the proportions of the AP 5548 or its Royal Oak descendants like the titanium RO PC from Feb 2023. I'd argue there's little inspiration or skill left in producing the GS chronos - but plenty of marketing budget for Monochrome, SJX, Hodinkee and their ilk.

 

[mebiuspower]

Exposing violent watch thieves and their young female 'spotters'

London gangs are recruiting young people to steal expensive watches off victims in the street.

www.bbc.com

 

[mebiuspower]

Hunting the Rolex Rippers

Journalist Tir Dhondy meets the gang members behind the rise in luxury watch theft.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Ebitdaddy]

$100k or less on an independent. What do you get? Must be openworked.

 

[am55]

Qin Gan Quarter Strike

 

[chocomallo]

I consider the Ra automatic tourbillon from AP to be the most significant watch of the last 100 years, without trying it changed EVERYTHING in the watch world.

Disruptive Thinking

When two revolutionary watchmakers came together with a sprinkling of the latest technology, the result was the audacious AP Ra Automatic Tourbillon.

revolutionwatch.com

Full disclosure; the Ra and I have history - I have spent several days with the guy who built them, working on his biography and I have been trying to buy a white metal one for over a decade.

More significant than the Oyster Perpetual case?