Jaeger LeCoultre Reverso Shadow
The Break-Up Watch

The best thing to do when getting out of a relationship is to buy a new watch!

Today I found the perfect distraction. Yet another piece of fine Swiss horology - one that will be light years more reliable than any woman will ever be! I found the perfect target in my local vintage shop - a Reverso Grande Taille 'Shadow'.

I'm wearing it on a black ostrich strap given to me by the shop, just waiting now to get a JLC buckle from my AD, as I'm not a fan of the bracelet - it feels flimsy, and I might as well keep it in good condition in case I ever sell it which is more likely than not, given my frivolous nature sometimes.

Having just parted with my Ultra Thin Reverso not long ago, I had been somewhat missing the whole Reverso wrist presence and the 'Shadow' was a perfect candidate to be a break-up watch - it is the essence of telling the time without any complications, date or automatic rotor. It is even devoid of a sweeping seconds, not even a small one to ruin the harmony of the sinister two-tone grey/black dial. Very symbolic of the break-up: time still keeps on ticking despite the lack of certain parts.

A. Lange & Sohne 1815 Platinum

The Grail Watch

So I thought I'd share my Grail Acquisition Tale. Having had this thing strapped to my wrist mostly every day for the last 3 weeks, it's time to do a write up.

The seller was a vendor in Belgium who's catalogue consisted mainly of what I can only describe as 'grail-esque', especially in my humble price range. We're talking Journes, Pateks, Perpetuals and such lovely timepieces of that ilk. Sitting on my laptop with very little actual money, I knew that I had to chop in a piece or two from my collection, otherwise there would be no going to the ball.

Having turned down a previous part-ex offer due to the unsuitability of my watch (a full white gold Breguet Type XX), I was already uncertain as to whether anything I had would be that suitable for trade - I could only really part with my Glashutte Panodate in platinum, and I know this is not an easy watch to sell. Having already had email contact with the seller before, I decided that sending some really good pictures of the watch to him would be a good start.

I sent the mail on Monday morning and received no reply all week. Friday came and I thought I'd give him a call to find out exactly where I stood, expecting him to say that my watch was not suitable - but then I'd at least have closure. To my surprise, he sounded half interested and asked me to take more pictures of the box and papers. I explained that there is no box, but I'd be happy to give him my SwissKubik winder that the watch was sitting in. I had received a significant discount when I bought the Glashutte due to lack of box, so I was able to buy the winder and was always prepared to give the next owner the winder in lieu of the original box.

The offer I received back was exactly what I wanted - no need to haggle. This is extremely strange in my experience of dealing with watch dealing sharks, as I usually have to haggle a LOT, only to arrive somewhere slightly north of my target price. For me, when a price is good, I don't haggle for the sake of it, I try and jump on it as fast as my legs can carry me! I then asked if I could chop in another watch to cover the difference, I had an IWC Mark 16 which I know to be extremely easy to sell, and, to no surprise, he accepted. Perfect!

Just before I left for the 2 hour road trip to Belgium from Amsterdam, I packed up all of my watches in their boxes and made sure I had all the accessories and papers. Upon closer inspection, the Glashutte had a few scratches on the case which I had not previously noticed. In his mail, the seller had stated 'I assume your watch has no dings or scratces on it' - then I noticed what could be deemed a very small ding! Having dealt with some really sharky dealers who pull out microscopes, fake websites and all sorts, I wondered whether this would pose a problem. The dilemma was whether to call and inform him of this before setting off, risking possibly losing the deal, or to head off and deal with any issues at the time. I'm a great talker, and a bit of a risk taker so I decided to say nothing and take my chances! :D

I arrived exactly on time, as I love to be. The place was a vintage Porsche showroom somewhere in the vast Belgian countryside. Above the showroom was an area for Luxury watches - the perfect place to display them. We did the usual introductions and I tactically bought out the Glashutte first - he picked it up, turned it straight over to the movement side and we began discussing the finer points of german watchmaking - a great distraction to the scratch and ding on the dial side that possibly stood in the way of my first Lange! Whilst fondling the Glashutte, I started slowly displaying all the smaller accessories - extra strap, winder, papers etc.. this was an even better distraction, and he started to put the watch down as I bought the IWC out. The IWC was in perfect condition, so the distraction tactics slowed down as he went through the papers and accessories.

Finally, he opened up a custom made cabinet, which I dropped in a nicely timed sincere compliment for. I couldn't really have given half a toss about it, but I was still in distraction-talk mode, and flattery will get you everywhere I find ;) After I'd admired the engineering of the cabinet to the fullest, he bought out my future baby - boxed and with papers.. to my pleasant surprise, even a service paper from 2008 meaning I would not have to service the thing for at least the immediate future - something I did expect to have to do on a watch from 2000. Double bonus!

The whole deal went down faster than buying cigarettes at the petrol station. When I jumped back into the car, my driver was like - 'is that it?' and I was just like 'DRIVE DRIVE DRIVE, let's get out of here as fast as we can!!'. I couldn't actually believe how swiftly and easily the exchange was done, and how the price was so spot on.

I can safely say that it has definitely made me a better person and improved my life. The 1815 is quite a slim and smart dress watch, which has made me totally smarten up my very casual appearance. Having been through the big watch fad, which I think is starting to die, I could always get away with a casual appearance, and didn't mind because it kind of suits the character of a big luxury sports watch.

This is the first 'grail' watch I have ever acquired, and I must say it is everything it's cracked up to be and more :). Although being entry-level Lange, the craftmanship and attention to detail are far superior to any timepiece I've seen out in the wild. It kind of changes the way I even look at watches - the sizing is perfect for these austere times, well and truly signalling in my mind the end of the big watch era. At least for now, the collection seems complete, and thinking about that at night helps me sleep :D.

Pictures to come!

IWC Mark XVI Pilot's Watch

The Ultimate Tool Watch

IWC have just launched their new Pilot range at the SIHH last month. The most simple piece, the Mark XVII supersedes the outgoing Mark XVI. Perfect time for me to pick up the outgoing XVI for myself as I like to buy watches that have been discontinued so I know there was a cut-off point for production. I won't kid myself though, this is far from being a limited watch.

'Ultimate Tool Watch' is quite a claim, and I guess before any reviewing happens we'll have to start here. The best way would be for me to bullet point all the essential tool watch qualities and how the Mark XVI ticks the box on every single one of them:

* Waterproof
* Shock protection
* Bracelet
* Robust movement
* Easy, cheap & fast servicing

Being anti-magnetic also helps in this genre, but not essential. The modified ETA 2892-A2 which powers the watch is a perfect choice IMHO, especially since it addresses the last two bullet points shown above. A lot of people are put off by the lack of refinement in the movement, but on a tool watch, I favour dependable long-term reliability over horological beauty. In any case, the movement is wrapped in a soft iron Faraday cage, so its workings will never be seen by most owners.

The Mark XVI is an evolutionary update from its Mark XV predecessor which was 1mm smaller in diameter, had a slightly different dial and had the date wheel with black numbers on white as opposed to the subtler white numbers on black used on the Mark XVI. Superluminova is present at 12, 3, 6 and 9 - I would argue that all the markers should have been lumed, but I am rarely looking at the time in pitch black. The date complication is extremely subtle, with the background in black and numbers in white, it really blends in with the matt black dial.

The bracelet is arguably one of the best in the industry. It is 20mm wide throughout (with no taper), and has the patented IWC link system on every single link, allowing for very precise bracelet sizing (particularly handy for small wrists), and can be done with the provided tools or even two toothpicks. The clasp has a beautiful hand finished circular graining which can only be seen when the clasp is open. I can really see why the bracelet option costs about a grand more than the strap version.

I later purchased a brown croc strap with rivets - the one from the 'Son' watch from the 'Father & Son' pilot watch collection. It basically looks like a mini big-pilot strap, and it totally changes the feel of the watch - it has vintage features, presented in a modern way. The strap is thick and robust - it looks like it could probably outlive me.

Not only do I think this is the Ultimate Tool Watch, I also believe it is the Ultimate Pilot's Watch. It has all the classic B-Uhr features (especially on this rivet strap) and delivers them under the IWC badge, which is the only 'real' watch company still making essentially the same Pilot's Watch.