Category Archives: Vintage Watches

Watch Collector’s Notebook: Tudor by Rolex

Hans Wilsdorf's official Tudor announcementt

In any discussion, Tudor by Rolex must be mentioned as one of the highest quality, most diverse and most appealing brands in the vintage watch world, and one that often offers terrific bang for the buck. Tudor was officially created as Rolex’s junior brand in the post-WWII era as a way to fulfill founder Hans Wilsdorf’s desire to offer Rolex quality at a slightly lower price. They achieved this by outsourcing the movement production.

Ca. late 1940s/early 50s Ref. 951 "Bumper" Auto

Ca. late 1940s/early 50s Ref. 951 “Bumper” Automatic

Ref. 951"Bumper" Auto Movement (A. Schild 1250)

Ref. 951 “Bumper” Auto Movement (A. Schild 1250)

The first “official” Tudors were actually bumper automatics with A. Schild movements. But these did not really fit Wilsdorf’s dictum that the new subsidiary brand should share the full-rotor automatic “Perpetual” movement that Rolex pioneered and, I believe, still had many proprietary rights to even as late as the 1950s.  Therefore, Rolex commissioned outside movement manufacturer Fleurier (FEF) to build a bespoke version of their manual caliber 350 with an auto-rotor module added, thus creating the first exclusive Tudor calibers: 390 (non-date) and 395 (date). You will not find a 390 or 395 in any watch other than a Tudor, as FEF only sold this ebauche to Rolex under exclusive agreement. The debut of these movements marks the real launch of the Tudor “Rotor Self-Winding” Oyster-Princes. Initially patterned after pre-Explorer Oysters, they were also sent on expeditions as their progenitors had been so successfully, to build up their reputation as tough and durable watches for the man of action.

Early cal. 390 ref. 7909

Early cal. 390 ref. 7909

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Thoughts on the astounding results from Christie’s Rolex Daytona “Lesson One” Auction

Like many vintage Rolex enthusiasts, it’s taken me some time to fully digest the incredibly high results from Christie’s November 10th auction, “Rolex Daytona ‘Lesson One’: 50 exceptional examples of the world’s most celebrated chronograph wristwatch”, held in Geneva. When I say incredible, I mean it literally: the prices achieved by the majority of these Cosmographs really did defy belief. Some examples…

Right out of the chute, Lot 1’s lovely pump pusher 6239 with Underline and double-SWISS markings and slightly “Tropical” brown sub registers hammered for $296,250.

Lot 1, ref. 6239

Previously, I would have said that the estimate of $44-$88k was spot on with $88k being very ambitious.

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Something special: A Chocolate Rolex GMT-Master

Every once in a while, you come across a watch that really gets your juices flowing, just like when you started out and everything was new and fresh. A special piece is exciting to find in the wild and it’s one of the thrills of the hunt when you bag one. I should add here that I am often excited about a lot of different watches I come across because, well, I’m a shamelessly promiscuous watchaholic. But there are flings and then there are the love affairs that last. And for a guy like me who has always had a special place in his heart for the classic Rolex reference 1675 GMT-Master, this one really put a charge in me.

1675GMTChoco-8_edited-3

Do not adjust your monitor–that dial really is that brown. A deep, dark chocolate brown in fact. Now, we know that the early meters-first matte dials for the Red Submariners are famous for their tendency to turn a pleasing “Tropical” brown. But for whatever reason, we see this less on the first series of GMT matte dials. It’s not unheard of, of course, I’ve seen it a few times prior. But it definitely seems more unusual. And to find a dial like this one that is evenly toned and essentially flawless is really a rare thing…

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tomvox1’s watches for sale — November 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.

Elegant 1960s IWC caliber 8531 Automatic Date model with Double-signed Türler dial–Click here for the complete Timezone Sales Coner ad: SOLD

IWC cal. 8531 Türler Dial

IWC cal. 8531 Türler Dial

Rare Vintage 1930s Platinum Hamilton Rutledge–Click here for the complete Timezone Sales Corner Ad: SOLD

Hamilton Rutledge

Hamilton Rutledge

Vintage 1970s Aquadive 20 ATM Diver w/ Beautiful “Deep Blue” Dial–Click here for the complete Timezone Sales Corner ad: SOLD

Aquadive 20 ATM "Deep Blue" Diver

Aquadive 20 ATM “Deep Blue” Diver

 

Watch Collector’s Notebook: Chunky, funky Omega chronographs of the 70s

The great Swiss watch manufacturer Omega took the polar opposite approach to archrival Rolex’s conservatism during the turbulent 1960s and 70s. If Rolex was almost entirely unwilling to deviate from their main design concepts and stayed restrained in the face of the funky fashions sweeping the watch world, Omega was ready and willing to try a little bit of everything to capture the spirit of the times and the dollars, francs, pounds and yen of the trendsetters of that era. As characteristic of the 1970s as boot cut jeans and polyester leisure suits, Omega’s chunky and near Pop-art chronographs of this period make a retro statement like few other watches. They’re not to everybody’s taste to be sure but for those that enjoy wearing these colorful beasts there’s great fun to be had by taking a time trip to the past.

SpeedyMkIIWrst_edited-1

Jumping off from their enormously successful Speedmaster Professional (aka “The Moonwatch”), Omega decided to let their design team smoke a little of the good stuff and have some fun creating a new range of Speedmaster and Seamaster chronographs incorporating newly developed case shapes and calibers. At first designs like the Speedmaster Mark II & III had the traditional black dials/white hands like their predecessor but soon a veritable rainbow of colors was busting out all over. The newly launched manual wind caliber 861 and new automatic chrono caliber 1040, both Lemania-based, seemed to lend themselves to inventive case shapes and color schemes, as Omega chased fashion trends with massive tonneau cases and dispensed with conventional lugs altogether.

Omega cal. 861

Omega cal. 861 housed in “Anakin” case

Of course, as a proud supplier to NASA, Omega were also intent on expanding on their “Professional” line to be maximally useful to the aeronautic industry. Continue reading →

The Fascination of Vintage Rolex, Pt. II — Wearability

Perhaps the best part of collecting vintage watches is that you get to wear them. They can augment your look, make you feel like a million bucks and express your unique personal aesthetic. Whether you are a one watch kind of guy or a polygamous collector like yours truly, odds are you will find more personal expression in a vintage piece that you have had to learn about, hunt and capture than something you can just walk into a retail store and buy brand new. Not that there’s anything wrong with a new watch and for some the risks of a vintage piece may outweigh the rewards. But once you strap on an older watch that displays its subtle out-of-time qualities so attractively–its years of use, its patina, its wabi-sabi–I think you’ll see the attraction.

Gilt Explorer ref. 1016, ca. 1963 Gilt Explorer ref. 1016, ca. 1963

And, while I definitely wear all of my vintage watches, there is arguably no better vintage watch to wear on a daily basis than a Rolex Oyster. This may sound like snobbery but in fact what I’m talking about here is toughness and suitability to the demands of day-to-day activities and exertions. Continue reading →

Watch Collector’s Notebook: The Fascination of Vintage Rolex

Rolex is at once one of the most innovative companies and also one of the most deliberate. Because of Rolex’s conservative approach to changing their watches over the decades you can trace a straight line from the last of the plastic crystal Explorers in the 1980s, for example, back to the Oyster watches they produced in the 1940s. The designs are really quite similar even if some cosmetic things like the dimensions of the watches changed over time.

Speedking ref. 2280, ca. 1942

Speedking ref. 2280, ca. 1942

Explorer ref. 1016, ca. 1985

Explorer ref. 1016, ca. 1985

A Datejust from the 1950s looks relatively similar to a Datejust from the 60s, 70s or 80s.

Datejust re. 6605, ca. 1956

Datejust re. 6605, ca. 1956

Datejust re. 1603, ca. 1971

Datejust re. 1603, ca. 1971

And this creates a very comforting and satisfying continuity, the shared heritage of a Rolex Oyster’s ancestry always being present in the next iteration. But–and as a vintage collector this is what hooked me–despite the similarities, there are myriad very small differences. Learning about these subtle changes, sometimes as small as the font on a dial, is the fascinating part of Rolex collecting, as well as often being crucially important to the value and authenticity of a given example. Continue reading →

Watch Collector’s Notebook: So… why watches?

There are a lot of hobbies out there and a lot of collectibles. So how is it that one guy chooses comic books or baseball cards or Impressionist paintings and another guy chooses watches? Well, I can only speak for myself and my own obsession with wristwatches but I wouldn’t be surprised if all of those interests had a common source rooted in our childhood.

For me, the watch enchantment started when I was a kid and my dad and I would take long drives up to his house in Western New York (Upstate, as we always called it, the term Upstaters love to hate). Now this was a long drive in an old red Volvo so it took a bit over 5 hours on a good day. My parents being separated, these road trips had a special magic for me, to spend so much alone time with my dad while he steadily drove northward away from the City. And aside from our talking and catching up, he would invariably hand me his Omega chronograph, which I believe he had got working as an ad man on the brand’s account. It took me some years to remember it correctly but I finally realized it was this one:

SpeedyMkIITrit-2_edited-1

A Speedmaster Professional Mark II with exotic “Racing” dial. Continue reading →

Blog of the day– Jake’s Rolex World Magazine

If you want to get heavy into Rolex ephemera, pop culture and the wonderful personalities who wore Rolex throughout history, Jake’s Rolex World Magazine is a fine place to while away the hours. From the brand’s founder Hans Wilsdorf to the ultra cool ambassadors like James Bond, Jackie Stewart, Steve McQueen and (believe it or not) Martin Luther King, Jr., Jake has a passion for rooting out the many tales in Rolex’s storied history and the pivotal players who wore the watches. We’re not sure where he gets the time or the energy for such a massive amount of well done posts but our hat’s off to him–way to go, Jake, you’ve got a real cool blog!

Watch Collector’s Notebook: A golden dream

It won’t happen often but every once in a while as a watch collector you will run into something genuinely rare and special. I’ve been fortunate in my relatively brief years in the hobby to have more than my fair share of these moments. But the one watch that arguably stands out for pure Wow! factor is this early solid 18k gold reference 1680 Rolex Submariner:

1680-med-2Now there is nothing particularly uber-rare about an acrylic crystal “Nipple” dial gold Submariner, although they are not all that easy to come by. But what made this example really special and drew me to it is that the dial was meters-first, which is very uncommon in a Gold Sub. Rolex manufactured the Submariner line for 15 years before they decided to make a version in gold. (This despite the fact that they had always produced a GMT-Master in solid gold from the beginning of that reference in 1955. Who knows with Rolex?) But from it’s introduction at the Basel watch fair in 1954, the Submariner was only available in stainless steel. Also notable is that their dials had always had the proud depth rating with the metric measurement of 200 meters first. Furthermore, no Submariner had ever been produced with a date complication. But in 1969, Rolex was about to change all of these things.  Continue reading →