Category Archives: Guy Style

Watch Collector’s Notebook — For most new watches, there’s no need to pay retail

With the massive 2014 Swiss watch fair “Baselworld” just completed and all those hot new models being released, it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement and yield to temptation by forking over your hard-earned dough as soon as those beauties become available later this year. And if there’s another watch out there that you’ve been jonesing to own for a while now, you might also be considering going to the brand’s boutique store or authorized dealer and ponying up for it there. But the truth is that for most models (unless money is no object), there’s no real reason to pay full retail for the watch of your dreams. For example, you might consider buying from so-called “gray market” sellers who will offer small discounts over MSRP. But very often they will deliberately leave out such desirable pieces of the new watch package as certain authenticating paperwork and, worse yet, some will even file off serial numbers because these watches have literally gone out the back door of an authorized dealer. Far better in my opinion to do your hunting among like-minded enthusiasts through one of the very high quality and high volume Sales Corners hosted by the major watch forums on the Net. With a little due diligence and patience, you can usually save a significant percentage by buying a pre-owned example from another collector rather than paying dealer prices. Just as with a newish but pre-owned automobile, the prior owner will have taken some of the depreciation out of the price equation, leaving you with a lot more bang for your buck.

One of the largest watch discussion sites in the world, Timezone.com also has an excellent Sales Corner

One of the largest watch discussion sites in the world, Timezone.com also has an excellent Sales Corner

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Watch Collector’s Notebook — Benrus Sky Chief

On the theory that you can never have enough cool vintage chronographs, here is another little gem that I have known and loved, the Benrus “Sky Chief”. Produced in the post WWII-era by the New York-based Benrus Watch Company and marketed with its evocative name to the aviation-mad public of the late 40s and 1950s, as well as the increased purchasing power of the Western world’s newly beefed up air forces and transatlantic airlines, the Sky Chief is a classic pilot’s chronograph by design.

SkyChief-1 copy

In its most common iteration, it has 3-registers for constant seconds, minute recorder and 12-hour recorder, the latter complication being a somewhat new development for a mass-produced wristwatch that came to be the standard for most fine chronographs going forward. The usual engine found under the hood was a Venus 178 well before it was adopted by Breitling for their Navitimers in the mid-50s. And a bit later, perhaps because Breitling sucked up almost all Venus production, Benrus used the ubiquitous Valjoux 71/ & 72 column wheel chrono ebauches that would go on to serve the watch industry for so many years. Different alphanumeric codes were engraved on the bridges to indicate which caliber was being used and none of these movements had shock protection at this early date.

Sky Chief with Venus movement

Sky Chief with Venus movement

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The Allure of Military Watches — Dodane Type 21

Aviator’s chronographs are among the most attractive of vintage military watches, as they tend to come in larger cases and have distinctive dial configurations for easy reading during missions. And hey, who doesn’t like a chronograph, right? Among the most storied pilot’s chronos are the Type XX and Type XXI, originally designed by Breguet in the 1950s for the French naval and air forces. Today, issued versions of those original watches, which Breguet produced in very limited numbers despite over a decade of manufacture, are among the most highly prized MilWatches out there and can routinely fetch $20k or more.

Early Breguet Type XX (Image from the excellent ablogtowatch.com)

But the “Type 20” and “Type 21” designations were more of a military specification than a proprietary one, so Breguet was not the only manufacturer to produce these watches for the French armed forces. Which is a good thing for the collector because the “off brands” that were supplied are just about as attractive and can be found in the $2500-3500 range give or take, a helluva lot easier on the wallet. Among the other suppliers (or at least producers) of “Type” aviator cronographs were Auricoste, Vixa and Dodane (Mathey-Tissot also produced what is essentially a Breguet clone but these are both super scarce and damn expensive in their own right). Click here for an excellent overview of French Military Type chronographs hosted over at FinerTimes.com.

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Since I am the proud owner of a Dodane Type 21, I figure I’ll show it off and go into detail on this model in particular, although it is no better or worse a choice than any of the others in its price range. First off, one of the things that makes a Type 20 or 21 is a flyback feature added to the chronograph mechanism. Continue reading →

The Original Explorer II — Rolex’s Funky Disco-era Classic

Early 1972 1655 Explorer II (non-luminous "baton" sweep seconds)

Early-version 1972 1655 Explorer II with characteristic dial, non-luminous “baton” sweep seconds and Mk II bezel

One of the most iconic vintage Rolexes out there doesn’t even look like a conventional Rolex. Sure, it’s got the classic 3-piece Oyster case — screw-down crown and back, pressure fit bezel — but the 1970s reference 1655 Explorer II shares very little else with its forebears. Most distinctly, the dial and hands are completely atypical for Rolex designs of that or any other era. Often fondly referred to as the “Disco Ball” by certain wags in England, the dial has an abundance of luminous “check” markers as opposed to the standard dots and bars on most Rolex Sports models such as Submariner and GMT, or the classic semi-Arabics layout of its predecessor, the Explorer.

Explorer ref. 1016, ca. 1985

Classic Explorer ref. 1016 — a distant family resemblance at best

So aside from the somewhat standard if oversize triangle at “12” the dial is an absolutely unique departure for Rolex. Upon closer inspection it is clear that the inner sequence of luminous checks corresponds to 12-hour time while the outer sequence is calibrated to the non-numbered odd-hour hashes of the fixed engraved 24-hour bezel.

Original Explorer II caving ad in French from Jake’s Rolex World Blog

It turns out that the original conception for the Explorer II was as a watch for spelunkers (!), with the highly luminous Big Orange 24-hour hand alerting the intrepid cavers as to whether it was day or night outside. Continue reading →

The Gender Style Gap: Don’t be that guy

At a certain point in a man’s life, most likely as the big 3-0 begins to loom on the horizon, he should probably come to the realization that he can no longer get away with always dressing as if he were back in college on a couch watching football at the frat. This is especially true when escorting his lady for a night on the town or even to the movies. If you are looking like this…

Nice look, K-Fed.

And your lady is looking like this…

Ooh la la, Malin!

You are courting an irreparable style gap and you better reconsider your threads. Y’see when a woman goes to all that effort to make herself lovely, she is going to expect a little effort in return. Particularly as she gets a little older (and you do, too) she is going to start looking around and seeing all sorts of well-dressed and successful gents and wonder why it is you look like a refugee from ‘N Sync circa 2000.

You’ve come a long way, Mr. Timberlake.

It’s a matter of basic respect. When I see a couple out on a date and the woman is dressed nicely and the guy has got on sweats and a backward ball cap I think Wow, dude, make a little effort, as well as That is never going to last. Think about the conceit it takes to believe that you have to put zero effort into your appearance and your lady is still going to find you attractive over the long haul. Put simply, that sort of laziness may fly in your 20s but it rapidly loses its charms as you get older.

But fear not. It’s really not very hard to get yourself looking good without going the “full dandy”. Continue reading →

tomvox1′s watches for sale — January Selection

MFL is proud to present links to tomvox1’s ads for vintage watches. These are sales posts you might otherwise have to search the web for or miss entirely before they are already sold. These watches are eclectic, cover a wide range of price points and offer the discerning gentleman the opportunity to acquire quality vintage timepieces that are guaranteed to be authentic and add penache & elan to a man’s wrist & wardrobe.  Most of all, they are backed by one of the world’s foremost collectors and always certain to be accurately and lovingly described down to the last detail. Simply put, you can buy a watch from some other random seller on the Internet with a lot of vague claims and small pictures or you can buy a tomvox1 watch and know exactly what you’re getting before you make the leap.

Vintage 1961 Omega Gold Cap Constellation w/semi-Arabics Pie Pan Dial, cal. 551 — Click here for complete Timezone Sales Corner ad: SOLD

Rare Vintage 1950s Solid Gold LeCoultre Calendar Disc in SQUARE Case — Click here for complete Timezone Sales Corner: SOLD

BIG SALE! Vintage 1920s Solid 14k White Gold Hamilton TONNEAU w/Beautiful Dial — Click here for complete Timezone Sales Corner ad: SOLD

Cars we want — Jaguar F-type

At long last, Jaguar’s fabled E-type gets a successor: The stunning and sleek new F-type roadster.

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The F-type is available with 3 levels of power plant, all of them exhilarating: a “standard” Supercharged V6 with 340 horsepower, an “S” version of the same engine that bumps the power up to 380 HP and the big daddy 5-liter V8 “R” version, which maxes out at a powerful 495 HP and is “restricted” to a blazingly fast 186mph.

jaguar-f-type-2

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What We’re Wearing – Heritage Boots by Red Wings

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Above: # 9013 Beckman Boot

Red Wings are a long established American shoe company, probably best known for their tough work boots. Started in 1905 in Red Wing, MN by a local shoe store owner named Charles Beckman, the company has gone on to thrive ever since, and has really become a very iconic American brand. My memories of seeing them growing up are mostly associated with guys who made their livings buildings houses, or working in the forests, or something similar. To me, Red Wings have always been the ultimate no-nonsense boots. But beyond their utilitarian roots, Red Wings have always had a very cool sense of style about them, going back decades. The coolest of the cool from throughout their long history have been collected together in their Heritage line, and that’s what we’re wearing.

The Heritage boots differ pretty greatly from Red Wings modern collection, in looks and construction. First of all, the Heritage boots are really just the timeless classics that Red Wings has made for decades. So while one half of the company tries out new materials and looks, the Heritage line sticks with what they know works. In an age where it seems every company is constantly throwing the baby out with the bathwater, and fixing things that weren’t broken to begin with, this is a really refreshing and welcome approach. In keeping with this ethos, Red Wings does it all themselves, from providing the leather form their own tannery, to building everything in the same town the company started in over a century ago. More than that, these boots and shoes are actually still manually made on machines that go back a hundred years in some cases. The company boasts that even today they have third and fourth generation shoe-makers working in their factory, working on the same machines their parents and grandparents did. Again, in an age where people often change jobs as frequently as they change their socks, this is pretty cool.

Building boots at the factory in Red Wing, MN…

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tomvox1’s watches for sale — December Selection

MFL is proud to present links to tomvox1’s ads for vintage watches. These are sales posts you might otherwise have to search the web for or miss entirely before they are sold. These watches are eclectic, cover a wide range of price points and offer the discerning gentleman the opportunity to acquire quality vintage timepieces that are guaranteed to be authentic and add penache & elan to a man’s wrist & wardrobe.  Most of all, they are backed by one of the world’s foremost collectors and always certain to be accurately and lovingly described down to the last detail. Simply put, you can buy a watch from some other random seller on the Internet with a lot of vague claims and small pictures or you can buy a tomvox1 watch and know exactly what you’re getting before you make the leap.

Vintage Rolex ref. 1655 Explorer II Straight Hand Freccione — Click here for complete Vintage Rolex Market ad: SOLD

Vintage Rolex ref. 3696 Pink Gold/SS Tropical Bubbleback w/BLACK Dial — Click here for complete Vintage Rolex Market ad: SOLD

Vintage 1950s Omega cal. 355 Bumper Automatic Calendar w/ TÜRLER Dial — Click here for complete Timezone Sales Corner ad: SOLD

What We’re Wearing – Doyle Mueser / Against Nature

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Above Image Courtesy: Against Nature Copyright 2013

The second profile in a series on my triumvirate of top notch New York City tailors to bring to your attention is Doyle Mueser, a small but very stylish label founded and run by Amber Doyle and Jake Mueser. Ms. Doyle and Mr. Mueser bring a very young and cool sensibility into their tailoring, woven into a foundation based on the traditional English tailoring of Savile Row. They maintain two shops in NYC. Doyle Mueser, located in the West Village, and Against Nature on the Lower East Side. I visited them at the Against Nature store recently, where I snapped a few pictures of their shop.

Doyle Mueser 3

Ms. Doyle & Mr. Mueser in their workshop

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