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Clickbait question aside, I have no evidence that A Collected Man sold the the Sultan of Brunei’s Philippe Dufour Grande et Petite Sonnerie rose gold wristwatch to someone trying to launder money. Evade taxes. Subsidize criminal activity. I have every reason to believe a fabulously wealthy collector bought the Philippe Dufour watch to have and to hold, from yesterday forth. Someone for whom $7.6m is pocket change. Also true . . .
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“Why would Bentley need a watch partner?” commentator Sammy Toledo asks underneath yesterday’s post Breitling Bentley Partnership RIP. “If you can afford a Bentley, you should be able to afford one of those watches whose maker would never deign to co-brand, right?” Right! As a Bentley owner, I own a few tasty timepieces and precisely no Breitling Bentley watches. Looking at the selection at chrono24.com, I can see no reason to indulge. But Mr. Toledo’s comment raises some interesting questions about co-branded watches . . .
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Once upon a time, the watch industry based its competitiveness on technological prowess. Innovations in accuracy, reliability, shock resistance, water resistance, etc. elevated brands to the top of the sales charts. Those days are gone. While enthusiasts may dwell on small details, when you take the ten thousand foot view modern mechanical watches are pretty much of a muchness. What matters now? New watch heritage! Luke Benedictus at timeandtidewatches.com nails it . . .
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Check out the caseback on the Seiko Presage Studio Ghibli Castle in The Sky. What is that? A crude, barely discernible depiction of the movie’s floating castle obscuring Seiko’s not-at-all-glamorous caliber 6R31 automatic movement. The Brits have an expression for this sort of thing; a dog’s breakfast. Seiko is hardly the only watchmaker guilty of a sticker-based creative caseback fail . . .
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When we left off in Part 2 last week month, it was unknown whether I’d seriously damaged the Rotate Watches “make it yourself” movement. Good news: nope, it’s fine. Bad news: I’m still SOL. Minimal progress and another impasse! Nonetheless, this all took gobs of time and effort. Gather round to hear of my foibles. If you’re not careful, you may learn something before it’s done . . .
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