3-Watch Thursday #1
Rolex 1018, Omega Atelier d’Excellence and Pocket Watches
Welcome to issue #1 of 3-Watch Thursday. I hope you’ve all had a good week so far!
All of the pieces I’ll share are from the past week, but if there’s something from further back that you think could go in next week’s 3-Watch Thursday, comment below or drop me a DM on @_oxwatch
Collector's Guide: Rolex Oyster Perpetual Reference 1018
Last week over on Strictly Vintage Watches, friend and collector Charlie Dunne published an excellent piece on the Rolex ref 1018, an Oyster Perpetual that is under the radar for most collectors, except seemingly in Japan.
I’ll admit, the 1018 was a watch I knew nothing about before, yet like most, I was familiar with 1016 and 1019. Charlie's research now puts this as the reference text for the 1018 in a similar way to a Hodinkee Reference Points piece.
But it doesn’t stop there.
What’s special about this article is the way that Charlie compares the 1018 with other watches close in reference number from the OP line and others. When I think of articles like these based on a single reference, such as Danny Milton’s In-Depth Everything You Need To Know About The Rolex Explorer Ref. 14270 (one of my favourites on Hodinkee), there tends to be a focus solely on the watches in that reference. I love how the 6614, the 1002, the 1013, the 1016, and the 1019 all feature under a section titled Comparable References.
This piece is something special.
Inside Omega’s Very Special Atelier d’Excellence
To many people, Omega mass produce luxury watches. This in itself is an oxymoron, but I think you get the sentiment. That’s why this video from Monochrome is interesting. Truly high-end watchmaking at Omega.
In what they introduce as the first time video cameras have been allowed inside Omega’s Atelier d’Excellence, I can only say it’s worth the wait.
The video features the 125th Anniversary Pocket Watch and the De Ville Tourbillon. They blend old and new to create incredible watches. The pocket watch uses original parts where possible to create the historic 19-Ligne calibre.
While Chris Hall noted in The Fourth Wheel last week that there is a bit of a lull at the moment as we hit the slow season, this video from Monochrome brightened my day.
I’d also like to give props to Monochrome for the video production.
Hats off.
They’ve produced a high-quality piece that gives insight into a part of Omega we haven’t seen before and left me wanting more.
Do People Still Care About Pocket Watches?
This article by ACM piqued my interest this week as they discuss collecting pocket watches and how it is subtly different to wristwatches. The reason is a discussion I once had with @mystery_shore.
At the time, I worked in a watch and clock shop, and we had just taken delivery of a clock owned by Marie Antoinette. This was exciting, but then I asked how much we’d paid.
~£10,000
Unbelievable to my mind, as if that was a watch with the same provenance, I’d expect hundreds of thousands.
In a similar way, pocket watches feel undervalued for what they are and represent.
This article shows us that there’s more out there than wristwatches and that the pocket watches we are more familiar with of the 20th century aren’t really that old in the grand scheme of pocket watches.
With watchmakers cutting their teeth working on pocket watches, through to the RM020 and Urwerk UR-1001, we are reminded that they are still relevant, even if an exercise in capability or fulfilling important clients’ wishes.
I particularly love one of the closing remarks made, about whether:
"It is possible that, having exhausted the possibilities of wristwatches, more and more collectors may turn to pocket watches as an adjacent interest."
Food for thought at least.
And that’s a wrap.
Thanks for reading this far. If you’re here please feel free to share and comment feedback/ideas for future editions of 3-Watch Thursday.
Thank you for the feature, Owen!
Most interesting. As a watch lover I still enjoy seeing and indeed using a pocket watch from time to time. Thanks for all the links too.