Hello Newman!
You knew it was going to happen one day, certainly after the idiocy we've seen with recent show-stoppers like the womanizing-country-abanding Bao Dai 6062, or the so-subtle-no-one-would-ever-know-its-a-Patek-under-a-sweater 130, that the ultimate vintage watch that people with far more money than brains will jerk each other off over, would be found.
Regardless of industry, companies that make products are always trying to create that perfect product that can translate not only to great sales, but that can actually become an icon.
In computers, think of the iPhone. The first true Smartphone and it literally changed how every single human who has ever held a mobile phone sees mobile telephony forever.
In the automotive world, think of what it must have been like when in the early 70’s Ferrari introduced the 308 GTB. In an era where most cars were the size of small boats, here comes this sleek, wedge inspired design that literally sliced through the air standing still. It defined Ferrari for a new generation and defined what an exotic sports car is supposed to be, having influenced hundreds of designs afterward.
When it comes to the watch collecting world, specifically the Rolex watch collecting world, the fabled 'underline' has been a mystery.
A Submariner or Daytona or Explorer with an underline on its dial is worth easily 1000% more than a non-underline version.
There is absolutely no difference between the watches other than the tiny bit of faded paint, but its value is, as mentioned, very different.
Turns out it was all an elaborate April Fools' Joke by some Rolex collector! - let's call him Bubba to protect his identity.
It was easy for Bubba to make 'underline' Rolex dials since no one expects them to be pristine and they can't be authenticated by Rolex. So a faded underline would do.
An interesting subject in collecting vintage watches for me has always been those so called "dead" watch brands that made chronographs pre-1970's.
Once the quartz crisis took hold, only a few managed to actually survive, and the majority of those were bought by the Swatch Group or other large conglomerates.
The rest, all gone (unless their names alone have been revived for some marketing reason).
Names like Nicolet, Gigadnet, Wakmann, Cyma, Gallet, Zodiac, etc. There were literally hundreds of these brand names that popup up pre-1970s. Some were owned by bigger brands, for example, Wakmann, which belongs to Breitling. This brand was used to assemble watches in the USA to avoid certain taxes when the watches entered assembled.
Today, a convenient summary!
I think the following summary, in chart form should be a lot of fun. And as you will see, it makes it real easy to visualize alternative combinations. I.e., if you prefer the Calatrava to the Reverso, cool. In your personal chart/list, you could just swap them, and it'd still make sense...
