3-Watch Thursday #39
Better late than never
Good afternoon team,
It’s not often that I say that, but in my busy week of socialising post thesis submission, I didn’t manage to sit down and write this in advance.
Fear not! I have been keeping an eye on the watch world and have a list of things I’d like to share so let’s dive straight in!
Australian Surfer Finds Rolex Submariner In The Pacific Ocean
Somehow I missed this in the mainstream watch media but caught it on Instagram reels.
The watch has been confirmed to be a genuine 5513 (I don’t know how really just looking at it) but it’s an exciting find reminding me of barn finds in the car world.
Hats off to Fratello for this piece detailing the story along with searching for other watches on the seafloor.
What Made The Royal Oak A Cultural Icon?
Please forgive me, it’s really hard not to recommend most new ACM articles for reading, but when I saw the posts on Instagram for this piece I knew I’d have to recommend it.
Delving into the 50-year history of such an iconic and culturally significant watch can’t have been an easy task for Raj Aditya Chaudhuri, yet this is an incredible and accurate piece of work that I’ll be sure to return to many more times in future (a lot like the Cartier CPCP article on ACM).
Quote of the Week
At their best, watches are a reflection of the design, culture, history, and people who made them and who collect them. My fear is that, right now, the watches that dominate conversations – not just infamous Frankenwatches, but also overpriced "hype" watches or whatever other money grab you want to single out – are doing exactly that: holding up a mirror, merely a reflection of the current culture from which they came.
In a week where the watch auction world is under more scrutiny than ever, this gem is from an analysis of the trends seen in recent years at auction thanks to Tony Traina.
It’s an excellent read including some takes from Roger Smith himself about the sale of Pocket Watch No. 2.
On the recent auction scrutiny, I remember sharing the work of Pereztroika in issue #33 and it seems to have taken off in recent weeks. I’m reminded of the quote:
Anybody is everybody in the watch community.
that I heard at Subdial.
Probably a quote to live by regardless whether it’s the watch community or not!
That’s all from me this week!
Hope you enjoyed this slightly shorter than usual newsletter and the new Quote of the Week section. Who knows when it might return next?
Have a great weekend when you get there,
Owen