Significant Watches

Eric and Charlie took the horse and buggy to Lancaster, PA for the NAWCC "National" convention last week, so they talk about their impressions of the event and the panel they sat on. Then, we ramble on a bit about collecting vintage Breitling chronographs, from the Premier to the Duograph. Next, our resident Chicagoan Tony talks about what he saw at WindUp Fair Chicago. Finally, we get to a few Significant announcements about this very Significant Podcast (we're going weekly!)

Show Notes:

The boys are back to discuss everything from Watches & Wonders: The good, the bad, and the bracelets. Then, Eric tells Tony what he got wrong and they agree to disagree until the next episode. Thanks for listening, and please leave us a review in your favorite podcast player!

Show Notes:

The Original Miami Beach Antique Show:

Charlie’s Articles

In Episode 27, the group discuss the forthcoming recent auction season, the Rolex Certified Pre-Owned program, the forthcoming Original Miami Beach Antique Show, what they are excited about going into 2023.

Marc Newson Opens Up About Ikepod, The Pathbreaking '90s Watch Brand That's Cool All Over Again

In Episode 26 of Significant Watches, the four co-hosts discuss review the Geneva auctions from the past week. Additionally, the group go through a Q&A session, and briefly revisit the upcoming Wright Auction "Once Upon A Time Watch Project" in support of The Brian LaViolette Scholarship Foundation being held on November 30th. Learn more below:

What Makes For A Million-Dollar Watch At Auction Today?

In episode 24, the horological homies assemble for a brief catch-up after the Dubai Horology Forum in New York, where Eric Wind spoke on the "Made in America" panel along with Aldis Hodge and Cara Barrett. Then, the homies give a brief preview of fall auctions before looking at a few recent results, most notably the sale of the Cartier Cheich for more than $1 million. Finally, we talk about the vintage Jaeger-LeCoultre lamp post clock, recently covered in an in-depth post on Strictly Vintage Watches. This is a short episode, but we promise we'll be back with longer shows as the auction season heats up! 

Show Notes:

In Episode 23 the gang discuss the forthcoming event Eric will be participating in at Dubai Watch Week NYC. The "Made in America" panel discussion will be moderated by Cara Barrett (HODINKEE alumna and Parchie founder) and also features actor and horologist Aldis Hodge. Additionally, Gabe’s latest IDF wristwatch is brought up followed by a discussion on Israeli Defense Force timepieces. Gabe would share his thoughts on the recent news of LVMH’s plans for revival of the Daniel Roth brand. Eric highlights the forthcoming charitable auction of ‘Pope Francis' Swatch, and The Brian LaViolette Scholarship Foundation. Also, the group discusses Owen Lawton’s recent article ‘How Rolex Became Rolex: The Oyster Case Story’.  

Register for the Dubai Watch Week NYC "Made in America" Panel below:

The Reverso:

In the Episode 20, the horological homies discussed the Windup Watch Fair in Chicago which was set to take place during July 15th - 17th. The episode evolves into a discussion of the latest watch releases including the Richard Mille x Ferrari, The Grönefeld 1941 Grönograaf, HYT, Greubel Forsey, and the Tudor Ranger.

Ten Major Trends And Takeaways From The Spring 2022 Watch Auction Season

In Episode 16, Eric Wind and Charlie Dunne speak with vintage watch expert and consultant to Breitling Fred Mandelbaum. The three discuss the public discovery of Scott Carpenter's Breitling Cosmonaute – the first Swiss wristwatch worn in space. Mandelbaum details his passion for Breitling’s rich heritage and his experience working with the manufacturer since his initial phone call with Georges Kern back in 2017. As Mandelbaum mentions, doing a great re-release is simply not enough. The watches he is most proud of seeing developed are in fact not the re-editions but such models like the Chronomat. Mandelbaum elaborates on Georges Kern and Breitling's decision to directly involve collectors and stakeholders such as Gregory Breitling as being a monumental part of the brand's storytelling. Wind, Mandelbaum, and Dunne all shared the same impression that Carpenter's Breitling had a special presence. Mandelbaum would share his thoughts on why Scott Carpenter's Breitling Cosmonaute miraculously remained unrestored, in that it was likely a result of both Carpenter and Gregory Breitling's understanding that the timepiece was an artifact that both had no right to change. In perhaps the most poetic fashion, Mandelbaum shares his definition of a watch collector that left both Wind and Dunne speechless.

The horology homies are back to discuss the Geneva watch auctions, including all of the Royal Oaks for sale, plus Rolex, Patek, and more. Before getting down to business though, Eric Wind treats us to storytime. Finally, we nerd out on vintage Patek and the luscious beauty of its warm “dore” dials.

Show Notes:

The horological homies are back, this week discussing an array of watches coming up for auction. Learn about which watches we find to be the most interesting. Additionally, the crew decides to expand upon the subject of earned watches in the form of employers, competition and personal watches they have received. 

The watch besties are back! We haven't been on mic since before MoonSwatch Madness swept the nation -- nay, the world -- so we talk about the Swatch x Omega MoonSwatch, and our favorite "Mission". Then, we dig into the releases from Tudor and Rolex at Watches & Wonders 2022 in Geneva. Oh, and three of the besties met up in Chicago at Wright Auction for a talk by the inimitable Eric Wind, so we recap the fun times that were had by all and a few secrets from Eric’s “Watch Collecting 101” presentation.

Show Notes:

We gossip about the most popular watch brands of 2021. Then we go deep on the new No. 2 Swiss watch brand, Cartier. We all love Cartier for different reasons, so we talk about what we love about it, the current state of the market, and where it's headed. We zoom in on one of the CPCP era's flagship models, the Cartier Monopoussoir, Cartier clocks, and more. Then, we dive into other watch news from the week, vibing on MB&F, more clocks, and Omega's 2022 novelties. 

Show Notes

Episode 10! In today's pod, we talk about a record-setting Rainbow Rolex Day-Date. Then, we take a look at some other auction results from the month of February, chatting Longines and Journe along the way. Finally, we look at the sale of Gerald Genta's original Royal Oak drawings before getting distracted by some very NSFW erotic watches, and then look forward to the month of March in watches. 

Show Notes

This episode is all about the three Cs of watches: Condition, condition, condition! We draw on our friendly neighborhood vintage expert, Eric Wind, to talk about what he looks at when evaluating a watch's condition. We also talk about how to value condition vs. provenance, our views on watch restoration, and whether there are any big "no-nos" when it comes to watch restoration that we just won't touch. 

Show Notes:

Significant Watches is back! First, we talk about our name change, then the crew chats about our recent experience at The Original Miami Beach Antique Show, which you can get a glimpse of over on Wind Vintage and Rescapement. Then we dive into the 2022 Audemars Piguet releases, and what is in the pipeline for the upcoming Royal Oak 50th anniversary in the auction world. See if Eric thinks the anniversary hype will have an effect on the market, or whether the Royal Oak is Too Big Too Fail and won’t fall victim to the same fatigue that has befallen other models on their anniversaries. Finally, we take on the hype head-on, talking the Tiffany Nautilus (ugh), and which watches might be impacted by a full-scale economic collapse.

Show Notes

We go deep on military watches. We start by giving an overview of military watches, then chat affordable military watches to collect, tips for collecting watches from the Israeli Defense Force (IDF), the UK's Royal Air Force (RAF), the Argentine FAP, French Marine Nationale, and others. Then, we talk our military watch 'grails.' Enjoy episode 7, and let us know which areas of collecting we should do deep dives on next!

Show Notes:

In Episode 6, we discuss the recent article 'The hunt for JP Morgan's million-dollar pocket watch' by Daniel Miller. The conversation transitions into the subject of missing watches, and which significant examples have stood out over the years. With the new year right around the corner, we look back at 2021 and revisit our favorite stories, watch purchases, lots at auction, while ending with our predictions for what 2022 will hold.

Show Notes:

0:00 JP Morgan’s lost pocket watch

5:15 Missing watches

22:45 Celebrity Memorabilia Auctions

24:00 Stories of the Year

Gabe and Tony talk attending the New York auctions, while Eric gives his perspective from sunny Palm Beach. We offer our final takes on the Tiffany & Co. Patek Nautilus, before moving on to Heuer, Rolex, Lange, and novelist Ralph Ellison's Omega Speedmaster.

Show Notes:

In Episode 4, we talk about that Tiffany Blue Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711, then zoom out to discuss retailer-signed watches and corporate-stamped watches, before letting Eric and Charlie nerd-out on coin watches from Patek, Audemars Piguet, and others. 

Show Notes: 

In our third episode, Gabriel Benador and Eric Wind discuss the anti-flipping policies, how of titanium is the contemporary watch metal, and the most significant lots coming up at New York Auction Week.

Show Notes:

In our second episode, Eric Wind and Gabriel Benador discuss the most significant lots from Geneva Auction Week: a WTF Omega Speedmaster, buckoo bucks Journe boxes, and everything else from the world of independent and vintage watches.   

Show Notes

Welcome to the first episode of Significant Lots: A Watch Collector Roundtable. This will be a new weekly podcast featuring a roundtable of 4 watch collectors, along with the occasional guest.

We’ll take a “collector’s perspective” on topics in watches, sharing our hot takes on modern moves and releases to coverage of the vintage market, auctions, and everything in between.

Every week you’ll hear from me, Tony. I write a newsletter about watches called Rescapement, as well as contributing to publications like A Collected Man and Hodinkee.