The Watch and Dry Goods Co.

  Our second look at the vintage watch market and I really want to do something different. I want to stay close to home (the UK) and look at the small independent dealers. In these times if I can help in my tiny way to spread the word on these dealers I will. All of them have wonderfully curated pieces, they have a theme to their stock. They say 'Buy the Seller' and I could not agree more with this and these dealers are worth buying.  First up something from a great brand, Zenith (I'm wearing my vintage Zenith Defy as I write this) A MK1 Zenith S.58. Zenith's late 50s tool watch. In some ways this is Zenith's answer to the Rolex Submariner and the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms. But I feel it's closer to the Explorer or even the Enicar Seapearl 600 both being bezel-less adventure tool watches. This is a something that Zenith carried through into the later Defy.  My Zenith Defy. This model is sold through Vintage Watch Specialist and i...

  Two Enicar watches from Greg's collection Meet the collector.  In this regular feature I speak with some of most exciting people in the collecting community. I go deep into what drives their passion , be it for watches, cars or even photography. They all share that hunger for the hunt, to feel a hole, a need.  My choice is someone who has a unique collection. Someone that holds character above value, that’s passion for watches and what they represent, the stories they tell will make think about why we collect.  The featured collector is Greg Selch. Greg’s collection doesn’t follow the fads of the must haves, this is not someone collecting to impress, Selch is collecting to learn, to become a scholar.  So sit back with a coffee or something a little stronger and hear from of the communities most interesting collectors.  Aquastar Benthos Where is home?  I live in NYC, where I was born in 1966. I have a house that I built with friends in M...

  The Baltic Aquascaphe : Dive Time The Baltic Aquascaphe : Photo Baltic What is in a name? There are some names that conjure up an image that typifies the object in question. The Ford Mustang, The Supermarine Spitfire and The Baltic Aquascaphe. It brings to mind an early diver in the deep dark waters of  a dangerous sea, a tool in the hands of a diver with years of experience, a diver that is fearless. A name can fabricate a history, it can make an object in some way iconic. But then a name can be elevated by what is represents. John Lennon without John Lennon would just be a man from Liverpool.  Baltic is a French microbrand that has become a darling of the watch collecting world. An appreciation that is not undeserved. Since their kickstarter launch in 2017 they have produced some beautiful and price conscious watches. The microbrand landscape is a crowed space. The growth of social media in the watch wor...

  Future Proof: The Omega Megaquartz 32 Christmas Day 1969 a day that changed the watch industry. On that day Seiko released their first (and the worlds) quartz watch. The Astron was a time only quartz watch in a beautiful gold case that was truly of it's time. Seiko reported an accuracy +/- 5 per month and a price tag of ¥ 450,000, which at the time was massive amount of money for a watch. But it sold very well and is now a very collectable piece.  Photo: Seiko It was not long before R&D enabled much cheaper quartz watches to be produced. In the collecting world this period is generally considered the 'Quartz Crisis'. But clearly this is a matter of perspective, one man's crisis is another man's revolution. For the first time a better then COSC accurate watch was available for all, it was truly democratic. To the thousands of new opportunities outside of Euro...

Watch Picking   A regular look at vintage watches in the market that offer that something special.  Our first watch and first ever pick is from the great folks at Craft + Tailored in Los Angeles California. This is a simply stunning 1966 Rolex Explorer 1016 with a Tropical Gilt dial to die for. Photo: Craft + Tailored What   a watch to have as our first. The 1016 is a classic sports watch with a rich history. It has a purity of design, no date window, no timing bezel to muddy the waters. There is something both rugged and elegant about an Explorer, it's a gentleman in tweed climbing the Matterhorn, stopping at the summit to enjoy a sip of single malt. The Rolex Explorer finds its roots in the Oyster Perpetual tested by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay on their accent to the summit of Everest (I believe Hillary wore a Smiths at the summit itself) The Explorer found itself on the wrist of S...

  The Making of a Legend The Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight Black Gareth Munden © There are times when a brand producers something that becomes legendary, The Converse Chuck Taylor All Star, The Levis 501 or the Rolex Submariner. A product that becomes an icon that spans generations. Rolex unveiled a watch that could lay the claim to being THE Dive Watch in 1953 the Submariner Ref. 6204. A no date three hand watch in a waterproof case and with a timing bezel. Many years and Iterations later the Rolex Sub is still the go to Dive Watch. Maybe now moving away from its original origins as a tool and into the realm of a luxury product, more likely seem on the wrist of Broker than an Adventurer.  Up steps Tudor.  Rolex founder Hans Wilsdorf formed Tudor in 1926. As a kind diffusion range to its bigger brother Rolex. Using many of the same parts, including the famous oyster cases and bracelets. But instead of their COSC movements Rolex used off the shelf Swiss movements f...