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Wlcutter
·It's rare that I get this excited about a watch that I'd want to share much about it, but this one's too exciting.
A few years ago now, at an NAWCC gathering in Auburn, IN, I happened on a gentleman selling a steel 146.017. I'd known about the watches, but figured I'd never find one. I bought it without any hesitation, and told myself I'd never ever sell it.
Of course, I sold it. I wore it for a year and mostly loved it, but at the time the size bugged me. Also, strangely, I got bothered by the fact that it didn't have a bezel; it felt unfinished somehow.
I regretted selling it after awhile; it's one of 3 watches I've sold that I've really missed after letting go of. So I looked; they don't come up often, and are frequently in pretty ratty shape. There was a gorgeous steel one that sold in January that I was the underbidder on, but, since then, aside from the listings on Chrono24, there wasn't much (an ebay sale in July flew under my radar, frustratingly).
Then, in the most recent Antiquorum sale in HK, there it was: not just a steel 146.017, but one with what seemed to be a black dial. I bid as soon as I could, and watched for the next 9 days, presuming I'd be outbid. Fantastically, I wasn't, and the watch arrived today.
As other threads have noted (this one's the most comprehensive I can find), this model came in a few variations: steel with silver dial, steel with black dial, and gold capped. There's a much less common blue dial, which looks very similar to the Speedy soleil dials.
I'd hoped, looking at the pictures, that, maybe, the watch I'd been bidding on was one of the elusive blue dials, and am pleased as can be to report that it is, indeed, one of the blue dials. I imagine I'll get tired occasionally of the size, and I'm still not crazy about the lack of bezel, but this one's unlikely to go anywhere.
Anyway, attached are some pictures, and big thanks to OF for the ongoing scholarship.
A few years ago now, at an NAWCC gathering in Auburn, IN, I happened on a gentleman selling a steel 146.017. I'd known about the watches, but figured I'd never find one. I bought it without any hesitation, and told myself I'd never ever sell it.
Of course, I sold it. I wore it for a year and mostly loved it, but at the time the size bugged me. Also, strangely, I got bothered by the fact that it didn't have a bezel; it felt unfinished somehow.
I regretted selling it after awhile; it's one of 3 watches I've sold that I've really missed after letting go of. So I looked; they don't come up often, and are frequently in pretty ratty shape. There was a gorgeous steel one that sold in January that I was the underbidder on, but, since then, aside from the listings on Chrono24, there wasn't much (an ebay sale in July flew under my radar, frustratingly).
Then, in the most recent Antiquorum sale in HK, there it was: not just a steel 146.017, but one with what seemed to be a black dial. I bid as soon as I could, and watched for the next 9 days, presuming I'd be outbid. Fantastically, I wasn't, and the watch arrived today.
As other threads have noted (this one's the most comprehensive I can find), this model came in a few variations: steel with silver dial, steel with black dial, and gold capped. There's a much less common blue dial, which looks very similar to the Speedy soleil dials.
I'd hoped, looking at the pictures, that, maybe, the watch I'd been bidding on was one of the elusive blue dials, and am pleased as can be to report that it is, indeed, one of the blue dials. I imagine I'll get tired occasionally of the size, and I'm still not crazy about the lack of bezel, but this one's unlikely to go anywhere.
Anyway, attached are some pictures, and big thanks to OF for the ongoing scholarship.
