Collectors Edition - Issue 02

COLLECTORS NOVEMBER 2019

ISSUE 02

EDITION

DAYTONA DREAMS A timepiece that was simply born to race THE OMEGA SPEEDMASTER From 0 to 25,000mph in a decade!

HANDPICKED TIMEPIECES The perfect gift

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Welcome to this month’s edition Hello again and welcome to this month’s issue of ‘Collector’s Edition’. You’ll quickly notice there is a theme to this month and I make no apologies for the emphasis on motorsport, as recently I’ve been lucky enough to come across a few outstanding pieces that hark back to the romantic era of racing and represent seminal moments in horological history. These watches not only speak of a bygone age, they also illustrate how timeless some designs have been over the decades and I’m thrilled to be able to share these pieces with you.

At the same time I’m also acutely aware that for a great many collectors there is tremendous opportunity to be had in those pieces that are yet to find their true market value. So this month I’ve focused our new arrivals section on a number of watches that I believe offer great value in the future, whilst also providing a huge amount of enjoyment now.

As always your feedback is both welcome and instructive so if there is anything you’d like to contribute to future editions or if you have any requests for features I’d love to hear from you.

T I M EL E S S S TO R I E S

Daytona Dreams

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Imagine, for a moment, you are driving across the Halifax River down the Speedway Boulevard on a hot July afternoon in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Behind you the sun is casting long shadows over your shoulder across the mottled glass river beneath and ahead of you stretches an endless blue sky, bleeding into a picture-perfect ocean.

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In this dream world you would be at the

A timepiece that was simply born

Everything about this watch screams

wheel of a Ferrari 365GTB4 Daytona

to race. Introduced in 1963, the

motor racing. You wear it and you’re a

(for perfect synergy and assuming the

Cosmograph Daytona was, from the

racer at heart.

half a million-pound price tag hadn’t

outset, tied irrevocably to the iconic

put you off). It’s idling engine at cruise,

location whose name it bore. Ironically

belying the 174mph top speed and 0-60

Ferarri themselves have always been

in 5.5 seconds punch it can deliver

reluctant to use the monica “daytona’

when required.

on their 365 GTB4 model, but for our

You make a right turn onto Atlantic Avenue and rest your arm out of the

purposes, we are all about Daytona right now.

window to take in the view of the

What a watch, what a car and what a

ocean as it melts into the perfect sand

location. Of course, what this all says, is

of the beach itself. To the right of you

that you simply don’t come by the name

the imposing massive of the Daytona

easily. Iconic is a word bandied around

International Speedway stand shines

all too readily, but if you have the blood

in the late afternoon sunshine. It’s only

of a racer in you then Daytona is a name

now you notice the same golden light

that should leave you ever so slightly

glancing off the face of your casually

misty eyed.

adorned wristwatch and you realise, with a warm feeling of nostalgia, that life will struggle to get any better than this moment.

And Rolex chose a watch to adorn that name that was a perfect complement to the refinement of mid-century chic and styling. Even now, more than 50 years

Of course, you have to be the kind

after Its launch in 1963, this watch

of person who finds their passion in

remains the definition of motor sport

driving one of the most famous cars in

style and sophistication.

history and it doesn’t do any harm if you love your watches too. Because in this instance the watch, of course, is the legendary Rolex Daytona.

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COLLECTORS EDITION • ISSUE 02

One of the most collectable Daytonas, Rolex Daytona 16520 “Patrizzi” Zenith

From

the

tachymetric

scale

and

it’s three counters and pushers, to the chronograph function allowing precise time lapse measurement, this is perhaps the ultimate timing tool for the speed enthusiast.

Its bezel offers accurate measurement of up to 400 units per hour expressed in either mile or kilometres. I don’t know how that helps to be honest, but I trust it’s important. What I do know is that looking at this watch at any time of the day and I’m transported back in time.

T I M EL E S S S TO R I E S

Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona completes the Le Mans 1973

My own personal favourite is the Patrizzi Daytona. A watch from the mid 90’s which, in case you were wondering, got its unique nom de plume from the famous auctioneer Patrizzi who first discovered the irregular colouring on a very low number of Daytona dials. It was actually a fault in the manufacturing process, something to do with the silver content in Zapon (I know, me neither!). But the result was a stunning transformation of the sub dial colour into a beautiful bronze colour.

In my view, the very best colouration of any Daytona.

The featured Daytona comes equipped

nature invading the precision of this

at Daytona beach in 1935 setting a

with the highly prized Zenith cal

masterpiece from Rolex that just

mark of 276 mph doing so, a Rolex

4030 automatic movement, which

appeals hugely to me. A little like the

Oyster was his watch of choice (he

Rolex modified from the el primero

quirk of nature that gave Daytona

later wrote to Rolex commending

calibre movement. Yet, it’s the dial that

its uniquely compacted sands that

the

lends this piece it’s stand out feature,

offered motor racing lovers the chance

Whilst the warm Florida sunshine

guaranteed to look beautiful in the late

to quicken their hearts more than a

might not have been uppermost in his

afternoon sunshine of Daytona Beach!

century ago in the face of all common

mind that day, it marked the start of

sense and their own mortality.

partnership in speed, history and time,

I love the accidents of history that add value to the provenance of

When

British

driver

Malcolm

watches. There is something about

Campbell broke the land speed record

durability

of

their

watches).

that has remained unbroken over the decades since.

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Incredible Watches The ultimate collection What is the perfect collection? It’s simple really. It’s the one that makes you happiest. Often the obsession with the holy host of dive, aviator, dress and motorsport can leave you thinking your collection isn’t complete.

Likewise it’s a common mistake to assume if it doesn’t command a 5 figure fee for insurance then somehow you’ve sold yourself short. Nonsense of course. Some of the finest collections are those that have been assembled with…well…genuine love.

Often that’s more to do with the history of a piece - less about the time it tells and more about the story it reveals.

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T I M EL E S S S TO R I E S

The Omega Speedmaster The drivers watch from 0 to 25,000mph in a decade!

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COLLECTORS EDITION • ISSUE 02

T I M EL E S S S TO R I E S

I’ve never been asked to go to the moon. In fact I’ve never even been asked to go into space. I realise these two facts might not surprise you. I imagine either endeavour would be a challenge, not least to the people who would be tasked with getting me there in the first place.

However, despite neither NASA, nor the European Space Agency, seeing fit to call upon my unique skills, if asked, I know which watch I’d wear. There really is only one choice and those of you who know me or have spent any time on my site will know how much affection I have for this iconic, historic, unrivalled watch - the Omega Speedmaster.

Like everyone else, you’ll probably know it as the ‘Moonwatch’. It’s understandable given the fame it acquired as the watch officially “certified for space flight” following a final, gruelling three-way battle with Longines and Rolex.

After all, you don’t go to the moon and then not shout about it. I’m given to understand Neil Armstrong had a passion for farming and teaching in later life and musical theatre in his youth.

Hands up those who knew that about the first man to step on the moon’s surface.

Thought not - No, you go to the moon even once and that’s what they put on your Wikipedia page.

Except, that’s not really why I’d have chosen the Speedmaster. I love this

watch and would have chosen it for lots of reasons, but it wouldn’t simply be because it was the one all my fellow astronauts adorned. I have my own reasons.

Its looks, construction, supreme quality and timing versatility makes it the definitive 1950’s/60’s racing timepiece.

That how I first saw it, first appreciated it and first recognised it as perhaps my own personal favourite. And one glance around my collection will tell you how much I love this watch.

Back in 1957, the year of its birth, it was part of the “Professional” collection, alongside the Seamaster 300 and the Railmaster. The ‘Speedy’ was introduced as a racing and sports timepiece with its 1/5th of a second chronograph, reflecting Omega’s position as the official timekeeper for the Olympic Games.

As well as never having been asked to go to the moon (or even in space), I’ve also never been asked to name a watch.

Another remarkable oversight I’m sure you’ll agree. But interestingly enough, my passion for this astonishing watch was ignited not by tales of space travels, but by the reputation it held first as the The name ‘Speed’ was chosen because driver’s watch. (personally I might have of the tachymeter ring that encircles gone with Time-master, which probably the dial (this was illustrates I’m as ill actually a worldIt is an utterly, and qualified to name premiere at the time watches as I am to ironically, timeless as the Speedmaster drive spaceships). watch from a bygone was the very first chronograph to Speedmaster was a era of adventure, risk take the tachymeter name given to this and pure adrenaline away from the dial watch not for the 6 and to have it on a miles per second it travelled at to escape bezel outside the crystal). the earth’s gravity (25,000mph!), but because of its heritage as a pure motorsport watch. To me that’s what it first was and it is still the quintessential track watch.

The rest of the name follows Omega’s convention: ‘Master’ was used for the professionally oriented watches, such

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as the Seamaster (diving tool) and the Railmaster (antimagnetic tool for engineers). Yet however it came on its name, Omega had given birth to a classic.

So how do we judge a classic? For me it has to both hark to its origins and reflect everything of the period it was first conceived (a big tick here for the Speedmaster is the ultimate in midcentury retro chic in my view) But in doing so a classic must also have relevance today and carry a timeless appeal that is reflected in the light revisional touches this watch has endured over the decades. (I’m looking at you too Rolex!) A brand new Omega Speedmaster Professional would be as recognisable to a racing driver in the late fifties as it is to the collector investing in a 2019 moon landing anniversary re-issue. It is an utterly, and ironically, timeless watch from a bygone era of adventure, exploration, risk and pure adrenaline.

From the original 1957 Speedmaster CK2915 through the legendary ST105.012 ‘Moonwatch’, these pieces are, and should be, the very heartbeat of a collection. A true collector breaks down into those who own a Speedmaster and those who are going to own one someday.

It’s that important a watch. And oh, is it a beautiful thing to behold! Something that is often overlooked.

The timeless design of the case itself which began as a 37.5mm (huge for its time) and has only crept up in the intervening years by a few mm, pays homage to it’s motorsport heritage. The three iconic sub dials, ever present with tiny detail changes over the decades, have been mimicked by many but never bettered in my opinion.

The baton hands combine utility and aesthetic in a way that proves you can actually have the best of both worlds and the multiple functions of the watch bely the simplicity of design and balance that make this icon instantly identifiable amongst any collection.

A Speedmaster will always jump out and so it should. In my view it occupies a place in the pantheon of watches for a whole raft of reasons. Yes it heralded a number of firsts from the de facto leader in sports timing in the 50’s. Yes it went to the moon and came back safely having played it’s part. But for me, this is the watch I wear on a bright morning, on an empty, as I drop down a gear and look at that utterly beautiful face just daring me to speed and adventure.

1971 Omega Speedmaster Professional Moon watch SEE THIS WATCH

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