"Watch & Act!" Auction Item – Lot 11: The ceramic Bausele pilot's watch with a difference
The Bausele Pilot Automatic All Black features an unusual and eye-catching dial layout. The dial has been rotated, moving the 12 from where it normally sits to what is traditionally the two o’clock position. Built with the modern aviator in mind, it is a functional choice, allowing the time to be easily read without removing the hand from the controls. Taking a closer look at the dial, the hour markers are red numerals that have been applied onto carbon fibre discs. The hands and hour markers are lumed, making the watch easy to read. The altimeter-style date window is both useful, and adds a splash of white to an otherwise black dial. The standout feature of this watch is the 44mm matte black ceramic case, a remarkable inclusion for the money that houses the reliable SW200 Sellita automatic movement, visible through a clear caseback. On the wrist, the Bausele Pilot Automatic All Black is comfortable due to the lightweight ceramic and supple kangaroo leather strap. This watch is generously donated by the founder of Bausele, Christophe Hoppe. What we like about it Andrew – A ceramic case at this price point, with the added value of a story that will…
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As is always the way on Australia Day weekends, I went to an endless succession of parties and barbecues. These shindigs are a great opportunity to go watch spotting and I was fortunate to stumble across a few exciting timepieces that had one thing in common — they were all vintage. So without further ado, here are my top three spots from the weekend: Ash’s Tudor Oyster Prince Ash only recently started getting into watches, but her appetite for vintage timepieces has grown rapidly in the last six months, and now you’ll find her on most weekends scouring markets, garage sales and op-shops for her next antiquated fix. This Australia Day, she chose to wear her early ’60s Tudor Oyster Prince. A gorgeous gold-capped number with a complementing champagne dial, Ash says that she was fortunate enough to pick this one up at Camberwell Market for a steal. It’s not an absolute minter but, as she explains, “It’s just for the weekends, and I like that it’s not perfect, because I can wear it out on days like today and not worry about clattering it on something like a door jam.” A very nice vintage piece indeed that gives off…
In the world of Seiko diving watches, the collection of watches known as Prospex is actually a contraction of ‘Professional Specifications’, a reference to the very high standards that the watches are manufactured to. As a result, all watches in the collection are remarkably robust, water resistant and built with ultimate functionality in mind. In the Seiko Prospex SPB101J1, we are offered a stainless steel sports watch that’s not only water resistant to 200 metres, but also has workhorse automatic movement and an impressive build quality for the price point. The black bezel and dial create a high contrast canvas against the bright white hands and hour markers, which are also filled with glowing Lumibrite for low-light environments. The Seiko Prospex SPB101J1 is fitted to a comfortable stainless steel bracelet, which integrates smoothly into the watch case, and features a three-fold clasp to firmly secure the watch to the wrist. What we like about it Andrew – What can you say about this modern classic that we haven’t already said many times over? A quintessential alpha dive watch, this Prospex will complement any collection, even one that has multiple dive watches in it. Nick – I’m personally a huge fan…
This Oris jazz watch is an homage to the Australian jazz musician James Morrison. It features a gradient ‘dégradé’ blue dial and a caseback engraved with the Academy of Music logo, with contrasting Arabic numerals marking the hours. The golden seconds hand counterbalance is shaped like a trumpet hook, inspired by James’ favourite instrument. This watch – engraved #2 of 1234 – is the first numbered edition available for purchase, with #1 going to the museum as a matter of course. This watch is generously donated by Oris, with the enthusiastic support of the man himself, James Morrison. What we like about it Andrew – The first numbered model of James Morrison’s Limited Edition (#2 of 1234) available to buy, this handsome watch does everything right as a restrained dress watch that is kind of blue. Will be great to hack with lots of strap combinations, too. Nick – A beautiful blue dial, punctuated by gold hour markers and hands, and a link to one of the greatest Australian musicians of all time — what more could you want? James – This would be a great-looking dress watch in its own right thanks to its 38mm case size and gorgeous…
Last year, fans were delighted with the release of the DOXA SUB 200 T.Graph, a steel cushion-cased chronograph with an iconic DOXA orange dial. Based on a historical reference from 1969, the SUB 200 T.Graph is part of the brand’s revitalisation over recent years, which included the release of the same chronograph, except in solid gold rather than steel. What is particularly interesting with the release of both the stainless steel and gold examples is that DOXA has chosen to furnish them with vintage manual-winding Valjoux 7734 movements. Preserved by the brand for decades, before being restored and updated to include a 45-hour power reserve, the Valjoux 7734 is a charming nod to the long legacy the brand has built for well over a century. WatchTime magazine recently took a closer look at the DOXA SUB 200 T.Graph, and the whisking of contemporary and classic elements to produce the diving chronograph. You can read the full article right here.
This unique piece, with a custom Australian-themed caseback and unique dial, has been conceived and created from scratch by the brilliant minds driving Zenith’s groundbreaking new era. It combines the slate grey dial of the brand new ‘Rescue’ series of Pilots, with a bronze case to dramatic effect. The blood-red crossed axe motif on the dial is another reminder of both its uniqueness and its mission. It is engraved with the words ‘Australian Rescue Edition – Unique Piece’ on the caseback. This watch is generously donated by Zenith. This Piece Unique watch from Zenith is based on the Pilot Type 20 Rescue released in January of 2020, with a charming slate grey-toned sunray-patterned dial; however, there are a number of differences. The 45mm watch is uniquely cased in a warm-toned bronze and features a unique “Australian Rescue Edition” caseback with a Canadair CL-415 water bomber flying over rolling hills and a backdrop of the Australian flag. This pilot’s watch pays homage to the aviation watches from the middle of the 20th century, including period-correct design cues, such as bold luminous Arabic numerals and hallmark cathedral-style hands. The large onion crown is designed to be fully functional for pilots while wearing…
This watch comes with a moving personal story. The first of a run of 200 ‘Mark 1′ models that are keenly being awaited by their future owners, it was actually a present from Sydney watchmaker Nicholas Hacko to his wife: “It is a very special watch for her, and she is parting with it in both sadness and joy that the money will go to a good cause.” The watch is in mint condition with a new kangaroo strap fitted. The Mark 1 is assembled from the components of 11 part manufacturers who make components based on Hacko’s design drawings. Once components are received, the MK1 will be completely assembled in the Nicholas Hacko Castlereagh Street workshop. Accordingly, the dial is proudly signed “Assembled in Australia”. The caseback is also signed ’67 Castlereagh St’ — a proud statement of the place where your watch was born and took its first breath. Again, each MK1 will be completely assembled by Nicholas Hacko, leaving only minor tasks to assistants (strap and buckle installation, water resistance testing, timekeeping checking, packaging, etc). The Nicholas Hacko Mark 1 is a Limited Edition production of 200 pieces, with this being the first piece from the production…
If you’re just getting in to watches, you don’t have to spend a lot to have a diverse and interesting collection to choose from. Here are some of the best affordable watches, that will still turn heads among your watch friends. Swatch Sistem51 You could easily argue that any Swatch on this list would be a good shout (with the possible exception of the curiously priced Flymagic), but the Sistem51 takes the crown because it is not just a great model from a world-famous, incredibly credible brand, but also because it is mechanically interesting. It is pretty darn hard to get any kind of technical conversation starter at around $300, with the best of the rest capable of dividing aesthetic opinion. With an automatic movement, optically dazzling “mystery rotor” and a raft of colourful, engaging styles, the Sistem51 collection is hard to beat. Q Timex Reissue 38mm Reissues tend to go one of two ways. They are either a massive success or a crashing failure. Chalk this one up in the former column. Here, Timex has nailed the design. Employing enough restraint to let the original style speak to a modern audience was a smart move. This update benefits from…
Editor’s note: Oftentimes, it seems as though the annual calendar complication is all too easily overlooked in the horological hierarchy of complications. GMTs, Chronographs – these are the most popular sorts of watches at the moment. But the annual calendar shouldn’t be discounted … because it’s wonderful. A while ago, we went HANDS-ON with Longines’ Master Collection Annual Calendar, and these were our initial impressions: There are few things I love more than a watch that surprises me. It’s something that doesn’t happen near enough for my liking, but it happened with this Longines. It was in the Longines booth at Baselworld, the first day of the fair. Trays and trays of watches had just been laid out in front of us and we were working out what to photograph and focus on. The new Legend Divers, obviously; cool new V.H.P. variants, a really sexy blue and gold Record. Then, the brand representative thrust something from the Master Collection into my hand. Steel, 40mm case, day-date display. Sure, it was nice, but a novelty? Not so much. I made polite sounds of appreciation and handed it back. No, she said, look again. And I did. I noticed the dial text first — ‘annual calendar’…
Double-signed dials are the perfect example of how the details of a watch are sometimes the most interesting, revealing not just where a watch might have been sold, but opening up a window into the past to expose key relationships and macroeconomic trends that affected how the business of selling watches was done. Double-signed dials that show both the name of the watch brand and the retailer who sold the watch have increased in recent popularity, with auction house Phillips curating a special sale “Double Signed” which sold both vintage and modern watches that featured double signatures (including important Zurich retailer Beyer). One of the most popular dial signatures, and a signature that is still being produced on dials, is “Tiffany & Co”. Patek Philippe continue to co-brand dials with the American retailer after their partnership was formed in 1847. Rolex also produced Tiffany & Co dials till the early 1990s, making a few of the incredibly popular professional Rolex models even more desirable. But why has their popularity increased so much in recent years? In part, it is the rarity of these pieces, as there are a very limited number of manufacturer-retailer relationships that still produce double-signed dials, and vintage…