Ahhh, that famous line in an intense scene between Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins in the marvellous movie Silence of the Lambs sparked an idea..read carefully. I thought of those who have stupendous collections of very beautiful, desirable and significant timepieces. Those who "have it all" so to speak, and are still searching. And also those who have "arrived" for various reasons. Satisfied with what they possess, may it be one watch, a few, or hundreds. I'm in the later category. I've arrived due to a radical change in lifestyle. No more time to hunt and gather and wearing precious timepieces at work is out. So my little collection is tailor made for this, yet......"coveting what we see..." I'm asking to those who fit in the above categories, which one timepiece (only one), do you covet? Why? Aesthetics, historical value, engineering, lust...Here's my entry. Obviously, if yours is the same, please add to my limited knowledge. I speak from the heart below. The Jaeger LeCoultre diving-alarm wristwatch form the 60s. Polaris! I know this will never come my way but it's the stuff of my watch dreams. (Photos from internet) The aesthetics Firstly, it's a sports watch. I've owned many a dress watch but sports watches are my thing. A vintage sports watch that clocks in at 42 mm ticks one box. The black dial and design of the inner bezel and markers just sing to me. Oh, and those cross hatched crowns, all three of them, pure rugged beauty in my eyes. Engineering Like many here, the Super compressor case design is extra cool and has proven itself somewhat effective as a bona fide diver since it was patented in 1956 ( https://www.gearpatrol.com/watches/a55774/super-compressor-dive-watch/ ). Sleek and somewhat slimmer than the traditional divers, they make for a more versatile wearing diving watch. Quite elegant in fact. I could certainly wear this watch with pride.....all the time! The funky and cool alarm feature in a dive watch? With date and inner rotating bezel? These features bring this watch to another level of uniqueness. The outer perforated case back design is also one of the features that attracts me. The 17-jewel, calibre K825 "bumper" automatic movement is a thing of beauty and engineering. Without going into much details, there are plenty of reviews about this movements and it's ancestors going back to the 40s. Simply a marvel of a movement made beautiful by JLC. Some detractors might say, what's the point on all this in a diving watch? True, but....like the manual wind Daytonas with Oyster cases, they might cause heart palpitations.At least to some of us. Historical value The lineage of the Polaris goes back the the design of the über rare Deep Sea alarm diver in 1959. It is obviously the grand daddy of the many Super Compressor dive watches we see today, but the Polaris is in a world of its own. Utilitarian to a point. Luxurious to a point. Historically, it's genes are undisputed. So? Hopefully others will come and add their one coveted watch to this thread. Cheers!
I think it has to be this one for me. The aesthetics of watches are really what I like. The mechanics and history are an added bonus. I like the fact that it is green and not blue, white or black. Even if I sold every watch I had I would still be short by a long way. I am happy with what I have but if I ever win the lottery, a fair chunk of change will be spent on one of these. If seiko or casio made this watch and it did not cost a fortune I would still want it, it has nothing to do with it being a Patek watch. (Photo taken from the internet)
At a watch magazine event in London 2014 I fell in love with x2 watches.... one of them is mine now... but one still haunts me. Not my style, not my price range...but ……. A golden watch and a golden ratio - technically and aesthetically it seemed perfection...and still haunts me a bit....
One of these. Ever since I had my first lunch with @Diabolik (his BTW), I’ve been covetous. However as Mrs S has expressed displeasure with the collection in context of my recent retirement from corporate life, and the price of these has skyrocketed, its not gonna happen.
I have always coveted the Patek Philippe reference 1415 World Time timepiece, but, it will always be out of my reach. After reading the Phillips Auction house description, it explains best why I covet this stunning work of art. "Each brand can bring forth at least one watch model which, either due to its stylistic language or to some specific and/or unusual complication, can be considered the embodiment of the philosophy of the company. When it comes to Patek Philippe, in the eyes of the collectors the world time complication - especially when associated with a cloisonné dial - is indisputably one of the “hallmarks” of the brand. This is not because Patek Philippe has some sort of monopoly on this complication; on the contrary, many contemporary and vintage timepieces sport the feature. However, no world time watch of any other brand has ever evoked such strong feelings in the collecting community: while the current production enameled world time pieces are virtually unobtainable unless the collector is more than well known to the company, vintage timepieces are considered absolute endgame wristwatches, among the highest pinnacles achievable in the field. "The reasons behind such an endless fascination of the community with Patek Philippe world time pieces are most probably multiple, and definitely arguable but what is certain is that it all began in the 1940s, with the commercialization of the present reference 1415. Patek Philippe has since then almost continuously offered a world or travel time (another complication developed by Cottier for Patek Philippe) in its catalogues. In the early years of the twentieth century, telecommunications - pioneered in the 1800s with the telegraph and later the telephone - became a truly widespread occurrence, permeating the fabric of society on every level. Long distance communications became available (the first coast-to-coast phone call having been made in 1915) and with them the necessity of knowing with accuracy the time in every part of the world. Answering to this need, watchmaker Louis Cottier created the concentric rings system that would become the standard for world time watches. After experimenting on a few prototypes (such as a world time chronograph and a rectangular world time wristwatch), Patek Philippe decided to launch a serially produced model, the reference 1415. Created in yellow gold, pink gold, and one known example in platinum, the overall production for the model is a highly restricted 115 pieces in total. Of these, only a tiny minority was blessed with stunning cloisonné dials representing either the map of the world, or - much less commonly - the map of Eurasia. By filling with enamel powder of various colors compartments (cloisons) created with gold wires, enamel masters managed to achieve dials of incredible chromatic range, astounding brilliance, and mesmerizing depth. In fact, vintage cloisonné dials are considered by purists superior in translucency and overall aesthetic impact to modern creations. Furthermore, not only it is one of the 115 examples of this reference made but even more appealing is the fact that it is one of the extremely scarce cloisonné dial variations. While most of the known cloisonné reference 1415 feature a world map, only two pieces, including this one, are known with the map of Eurasia (the other being one number apart: 964’809). Furthermore, it features a bezel engraved with the cities in French, much more rare than the version in English. It is interesting to note how the bezel reports Paris and London on the same time zone. While France adopted Central European time in July 1940, for many years it was expected to revert back, and so many watchmakers kept it within the London time zone for years." Sold for approximately 1,100,000 in 2018 Source: https://www.phillips.com/detail/patek-philippe/CH080118/268
Funny - you picked mine. The JL Deep Sea Alarm (U.S.version) would be it for me. Pricing prohibits ever acquiring, but just a gorgeous, rugged and classy piece! Would need to be on original bracelet too! (Pic via Google from AnalogShift) For those unaware, there was also a European version (pic via Google from Sotheby’s)
Should read "no wonder you picked mine" I still haven't given up on starting a new career as a cat burglar in NJ
It's all those beauties on their original bracelets that have me ordering a lock picking kit on amazon
