Journal

Notes from the bench

Christian writes about the pieces, the people and the ateliers behind them.

Close view of the Rolex GMT-Master dial with Serpico y Laino signature, gilt hands and red and blue bezel
Collecting · Rolex 6542 Serpico y Laino A Rolex 6542 GMT-Master with the ultra-rare Serpico y Laino retailer signature, a dial turning nicely tropical and the original S&L Acero caseback.
Close view of the grey dial of a Patek Philippe 3429 in white gold, with applied indices and Patek Philippe Genève signature
Collecting · Patek Philippe – the gravé and émaillé technique All early Patek Philippe dials were made by Cadran Stern and mostly finished in the demanding gravé main and émaillé technique.
Patek Philippe 605 HU pocket watch, gold case with world time dial and 24-hour city ring
Collecting · Patek Philippe 605 HU Heures Universelle with certificate and box A Patek Philippe reference 605 HU world time pocket watch with its certificat d’origine, original box and instruction sheet.
Yellow gold Rolex Datejust with a blue-green malachite dial, fluted bezel and gold bracelet
Watch Collector · A selection from the collection, November 2018 A selection of vintage pieces at Watch Collector in late 2018, including a Patek Philippe 3429, a Rolex 1680 Red Submariner and a Doxa Killy.
Rolex 6239 Daytona with a white dial, black sub-dials and red lettering in a steel case
Watch Collector · Vintage selection, May 2018 A snapshot of the vintage selection in May 2018: Rolex chronographs and sports models, a Patek Philippe 570 and four fine dress watches.
Haldimann H2 flying tourbillon with a white dial, Roman numerals and two visible escapements
Collecting · Haldimann H2 – flying tourbillon with résonance and remontoir The Haldimann H2 flying tourbillon has two escapements in résonance, with a remontoir mounted on one of the escapement wheels.
Rolex Explorer II 1655 Freccione with black dial, orange hand and steel bracelet
Collecting · Rolex 1655 Freccione MK2 with its original bracelet A Rolex 1655 Freccione from 1978 with unpolished case, nicely aged dial and its original dated bracelet.
Benzinger by Zanella prototype, dial painted with a yellow and blue landscape
Novelties · Benzinger by Zanella – the first prototype The first prototype of Benzinger by Zanella, a project in which each watch carries an original oil painting by Léon Zanella and a Benzinger movement.
Steel Rolex 6239 Cosmograph on a bracelet with a black dial and white sub-dials, seen from the front
Collecting · Rolex 6239 Newman three-colour black dial in perfect condition A Rolex 6239 Newman with black dial in perfect condition, the counterpart to the white-dial Newman, which is not for sale.
Rolex 6239 Daytona with white dial and black sub-dials next to its caseback on a green mat
Collecting · Rolex 6239 with three-colour white dial A Rolex 6239 Daytona with the white three-colour dial, photographed on the bench, in the condition that is hard to find.
Steel Rolex 6239 Cosmograph on a wrist, black dial with white sub-dials and Units per Hour tachymeter bezel
Collecting · Rolex 6239 double Swiss underline – full spec A full-spec Rolex 6239 Daytona with 275 bezel, 6238 caseback, ROW import mark and an early serial, 92310X, in sublime condition.
Gilt movement of a pocket chronometer by John Arnold with tourbillon and an engraved dedication to Breguet’s homage
Collecting · The first tourbillon by Abraham-Louis Breguet Breguet’s first finished tourbillon, set in an early chronometer by John Arnold and given in 1808 to Arnold’s son, John Roger Arnold.