Best Super NEWS Watches
A Limited Selection Of HODINKEE Straps And Accessories Now Available
Everything in this picture is for sale at shop.hodinkee.com (except the watches)It's been just a few months since we announced our e-shop full of hand-made straps and accessories.? Since then, we've sold out twice (with some time between), and we've received dozens of emails, tweets and post asking when we'd be getting more in.? Well, we got more in.?There is a limited supply, as always, and if you happen to miss something you're looking for on shop.hodinkee.com, remember that our friends at Freemans Sporting Club in the west village carry our straps, too.?Have at it, exlusively at the HODINKEE Shop. Seen Above: Rolex Submariner 5512 on Light Brown Suede / Omega ...
Found: Elvis Presley's Omega Constellation For Sale Next Week At Antiquorum
An original Omega Constellation with a black "sniper" dial in pink gold is a pretty rare bird, but what about one owned by Mr. Elbow Parsely (ne Elvis Presley)?? That is exactly what you see above, and this early Constellation with calendar from 1960 is sure to attract a lot of attention when it comes up for sale next week in New York via Antiquorum's June sale.?This watch was worn by Elvis for many years, and was then passed on to his longtime friend and confidant Charlie Hodge, who himself is a known musician who played both with Presley, Roy Rogers, and is a member of the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame.? The watch remained in the hands of the Hodge family for years and this watch will come w...
Event Recap: The HODINKEE Pop-Up Shop In San Francisco With Taylor Stitch
We spent our memorial day in San Francisco, with 200 of our closest friends (aka, you).? You see, we moved our wares into the awesome Mission showroom of Taylor Stitch in San Francisco for our second pop-up shop, and our first ever on the west coast.? Along with both Ben and Blake came over 50 hand-selected vintage watches, some of which we showed you in our preview of the event here.?The response to our presence in San Fran was overwhelming, and not only did we sell 25 really special watches (including some super mint Pepsi-GMT's, a killer no-crown guard 5508 Submariner, an Abercrombie & Fitch Solunar Chronograph, the very first Rolex Oyster watch ever from the 1930s, and a super nice W...
In-Depth: Your Vintage Seiko Chronograph Buying Guide
Editor's Note: Today, Felix kicks off a new series of posts aimed at highlighting the best "value" in mechanical wristwatches. Our goal with HODINKEE from Day 1 has not been to discuss and show you expensive watches, just watches that are genuinely worth the prices for which they sell. Often times, we feel it is worth spending a little more to get a finely finished movement from a reputable brand, but it doesn't always have to be this way. In this first post, Felix will run us through the important vintage Seiko chronographs of the 1970s, why they are important, and what to look for when buying them. This is a post you are going to love. Click through for the full story. ...
Sammy Davis Jr.'s Heuer Monaco Found (Again), This Time In The Hands Of Its Owner
In May of 2010, we showed you a Heuer Monaco that was actually owned and worn by none other than Mr. Sammy Davis Jr.? The watch community at large didn't know Davis wore a Monaco, and this celebrity provenance was just another chapter in the incredible Monaco monologue.? The watch ended up selling at Antiquorum for $21,600.Just today, the man who bought the Sammy Davis Monaco surfaced on On The Dash, the world's leading Heuer forum, to tell the story of his watch.? Turns out, the thing didn't even work when he bought it.? Click here for a cool story about a cool watch, and a rare look at what can happen to an important watch after it is sold in a very public way....
Hands-On: With The Audemars Piguet Openworked Extra-Thin Royal Oak Tourbillon (Pics + Pricing)
2012 was a big year for Audemars Piguet - and if you were one of the 175 people who joined us in celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Royal Oak in NY, you know how seriously they are taking it.This year's SIHH saw several big(ish) announcements - the introduction of the 15400 Royal Oak at 41mm, the new vintage-inpsired dial on the Jumbo, the intro of a super cool ultra-thin tourbillon, and even a ceramic Offshore diver - but the most impressive watch of the 2012 AP SIHH collection, we've yet to show you in detail. We are talking about the Audemars Piguet Openworked Extra-Thin Royal Oak Tourbillon. It is just sick. Made of ...
A Sneak Peek At This Weekend's HODINKEE Pop-Up Store In San Francisco With Taylor Stitch
Just a small sampling of vintage watches avaialble at the HODINKEE Pop-Up store taking place this weekend at Taylor Stitch (383 Valencia) in San Francisco.Click for detailsToday marks the launch of our second ever Pop-Up store, and our first on the left (best?) coast.? We listened to your feedback from December's NY Pop-Up sale, and we think this one is going to blow you away.?This time we've enlisted a few more friends to help supply us with the absolute best in vintage watches, ranging from the classics (we'll have a few no-date Subs, as seen above) to cult watches like a vintage IWC Ingenieur and Omega Bullhead chrono, to a veritable British Military issued mono-pusher chrono from Lemania...
This year, Tudor continued to impress, well, everybody, with two excellent new introductions at BaselWorld.? The more widely discussed of the two watches is the Heritage Black Bay, a mish-mash of a few historical references from the Tudor dive watch catalog in a retro case with three different (all superb) strap/bracelet options.? But, the other new dive watch from Tudor, the Pelagos, is just as, if not more interesting.? We showed you the specs on the titanium, 500meter Pelagos here, but now it's time we showed you the hands-on pics.? Consider the Pelagos the SeaDweller to the the Heritage Black Bay's Submariner, though that ana...
A Dive Watch That Benefits The Ocean: The Girard-Perregaux Sea Hawk II Big Blue Limited Edition
Girard-Perregaux is extending its charity-inspired romp through the color pallet with a new edition of its Sea Hawk II dive watch. Not long ago, we told you about the Green Auction version and today we learned of the Big Blue which is perhaps a more fitting color choice for a diver. The watch will be introduced at the World Oceans Day event at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City on June 5th, in conjunction with the screening of a Susan Rockefeller documentary called, Mission of Mermaids.If youre a regular reader of HODINKEE, youre already familiar with the Sea Hawk II Pro, a watch we took diving, and the recent Green Auction edition. The Big Blue edition is mechanically identic...
In-Depth: The HODINKEE Guide To Buying Watches On eBay
(Last December, we published this article by Eric Wind C now a part of the team at Christie's New York C on buying watches on eBay. His observations are as relevant now as ever, and he gave us some of the best advice we'd seen on how to get your feet wet in vintage watches without taking a bath. We publish it today, a year later, for your reading pleasure. CEd.) ? Its one of my most closely guarded secrets: how to buy a great vintage watch on eBay. Its the secret sauce of my weekly Whats Selling Where columns and today I am unveiling the recipe for you. Did I just overhype this? Probably, but here it goes anyways.Wisdo...
Hands-On: With The Panerai Tuttonero Luminor 1950 3 Days GMT Automatic Ceramica (PAM00438)
While we've shown you some of our favorite pieces from Panerai at SIHH 2012 (including this badass ceramic tourbillon, the very first watch in a new case style, and two special edition Radiomirs) there was one piece noticeably absent piece from our coverage, a watch that seems to have re-energized some dormant Panerisiti with its black on black on black ceramic look.? We are, of course, talking about the The Panerai Tuttonero Luminor 1950 3 Days GMT Automatic Ceramic, or just the Tuttonero.? Even if you have a mild interest in Panerai, this is one you'll want to see. The Tuttonero (PAM00438) is sized at 44mm in a classic Lumi...
Weekend Report: Sailing The Volvo Ocean Race With IWC
Raising a 1,800 square foot mainsail is an exhausting task, even if you have five other guys helping out. Doing so on a sultry Miami afternoon after a hearty breakfast didnt help matters. This past weekend, a few journalists, retailers and one lucky contest winner got to see what its like to sail on an ocean racing yacht, including what it takes to hoist and trim sails and man the tiller, all the while avoiding losing a finger in a winch or tripping over a rope and falling overboard.The sailing experience, which was fun despite the hazards and hard work, helped us appreciate what the crews participating in the Volvo Ocean Race go through 24 hours a day, seven days a week for nine months. A...
In-Depth: The Watches Of Mad Men (Season Five), Courtesy Of The Man Who Sourced Them
Few television shows have been as loudly or consistently praised for the quality and authenticity of its costumes, sets and props as AMCs Mad Men. Now in its fifth season, the show continues to go to great efforts to source appropriate accessories to showcase a hyper real version of New York in 1966.This obsession with historically accurate physical culture extends to the wrists of the characters, and for years watch fans have eagerly paused DVDs on partially blurred wristshots of Don Draper and his co-workers. The ability to accurately identify a watch from 50 paces (or a blurred screengrab) is a highly prized skill among watch fans. James Enloe, founder of Watches In Movies (the premier w...
Prototype Zenith El Primero Bought By Zenith For 37,500 CHF At Christie's
Of all the stunning lots in this week's Christie's sale in Geneva, one that particularly caught our eye, and the eye of some serious watch collectors, was a mythical prototype Zenith El Primero. This watch was one of 25 prototypes, of which an unknown number survive to this day. Turns out that interest in the watch ran beyond the typical collector, with Zenith themselves getting right in the thick of bidding.?Housed in the same relatively large case as the reference A386 (a.k.a. the "tricolor"), the prototype differs in that a serial number was not engraved on the caseback and the side of the case was modified to add pushers for day and month adjustments. Essentially, the movements in these ...
Upcoming Christie's Auction Will Put Not One, But Eight Harry Winston Opus Watches On The Block
On Wednesday, May 30th Christie's will be holding their Important Watches auction in Hong Kong. Many rare watches will be making an appearance from the likes of Patek Philippe, Rolex and Audemars Piguet. Included among them will be Harry Winston's Opus watches, and not just one or two, but eight of them. Opus 1 thru 7, along with 9 will all hit the block that Wednesday evening, providing collectors a chance at two thirds of the entire Opus collection.The Harry Winston Opus series of watches are the brain child of Max Busser, the MB of MB&F and one time Managing Director of Harry Winston Rare Timepieces. Busser, seeing the potential of bringing the best independent watchmakers into the fo...
HODINKEE Teams Up With Taylor Stitch For San Francisco Pop Up Shop
Last year, we participated in a pop up flea with a multitude of other brands, giving readers a chance to buy some of the watches you see on our site everyday. If you went you also got to meet our head man, Ben Clymer, a thrill for anyone. The sale was a hit for our east coast fans, so we've decided to have another, this time on the other coast. Starting May 25th, HODINKEE will be teaming up with our friends at Taylor Stitch to host our second pop up shop in the great city by the bay. That Friday through Sunday you can swing into Taylor Stitch's shop in San Francisco's Mission district, where you'll find an appropriate selection of fine vintage watches from the likes of Rolex, Omega, Breitlin...
VIDEO: The Henry Graves & Pete Fullerton Collection At Sotheby's
One of the finest individual collections of Patek Philippe timepieces will be making their way to a Sotheby's auction in New York this coming June. The collection was put together by Henry Graves Jr, and we gave you a peek at a few of the lots last month. Today we've got a video explaining a few of the gems you'll see hit the block in June, courtesy of our man, John Reardon and our friends at Life+Times. Read their full story right here and enjoy the video below....
Up Close With The TAG Heuer Monaco V4 Titanium
In 2004, TAG Heuer introduced us to a concept-turn-to-reality watch, the Monaco V4. The watch kind of kicked off TAG's run at innovative concepts such as the Pendulum and Mikrograph over the next 8 years. It wasn't until 2009 that we saw a production model of the V4, a watch favoring belt systems over gear trains. The V4 has seen a few variations through its life cycle, the latest of which is the Titanium model, showing off a bevy of materials to great effect, a rich black case and dial. The V4 Titanium was introduced last summer, but at this years Basel we got a chance to appreciate the watch up close.The original V4 was built with a platinum case, the only real color contrast came from blu...
Antiquorum Sells Isser Harel's 5512 Submariner For Big Money
Earlier we took a close look at Bob Barth's Submariner, a watch that will command top dollar ($150,000) due to its spectacular provenance. This past weekend, a different Submariner sold at an Antiquorum auction that also has a pretty interesting history, and it sold for nearly a quarter million dollars. The watch's past owner was not a diver or movie star, rather it was Israel's most powerful man in the 50's and 60's, Isser Harel. What's more, the watch was estimated to sell between $20,000 and 30,000. So what led to the astronomic price it ended up selling for??Isser Harel was director of the Mossad from 1952 until 1963, a rather tumultuous decade for the young State of Israel. Shortly afte...
In-Depth: Bob Barth's Historic SEALAB Rolex Submariner, For Sale
There are a few sports watches that, if they came up for sale would surely create unprecedented buzz among collectors and no doubt fetch high prices, such as a Moon-worn Omega Speedmaster, Siffert’s Heuer Autavia or Newman’s own Daytona. HODINKEE has learned about one of the most important Rolex Submariners to come available and we’re featuring it here today in an exclusive first look. In the mid-1960s, while newspaper headlines were focused on the daring exploits of men pushing boundaries in outer space, a lesser-known feat of exploration was going on in an equally hostile environment hundreds of feet under the sea. The U.S. Navy was undertaking p...