Results for Rolex Day-Date

In-Depth: A Collector's Guide To The Vintage Rolex Submariner 5513

The most classic of Submariners, and why now's a good time to pay attention to this beloved reference.

Serica’s Parade is the Brand’s Most Ambitious Watch to Date

Nearly a year ago I sat in on a conference call with some colleagues and members of the Serica team, who outlined their upcoming slate of 2024 releases. They were particularly excited about a new watch they weren’t yet ready to show us that would debut toward the end of the year, a watch they claimed was a significant departure for them in terms of style, shape, and what enthusiasts have come to expect from Serica over the last five years. While not an anniversary piece, per se, they framed this release as one that celebrates the brand and their unique perspective on the watch world, and now, finally, having seen the new Reference 1174 Parade, their excitement makes a lot of sense. This is an ambitious release, and should go a long way in expanding what the community might expect from Serica going forward.  Serica has built their brand on designing purpose built but elegant tool watches in the style of classics from the midcentury period made by Rolex and countless other historic brands. Their watches tend to have a very clear vintage influence without being too on the nose – they never mimic or borrow completely from any specific classic watch. The same holds true for their first watch in a more formal vernacular. The Parade jumps in the shaped case arms race with a dramatic oval, stepped case in what the brand calls a “Stadium” footprint: straight sides, but with soft, curved corners that suggest both roundness and length simultaneously.  The watch might immedi...

Auction: Space-Flown Watches From a Rolex GMT-Master to Omega Speedmasters

Ahead of the international watch auction season that kicks off in a few weeks, Boston-based RR Auction has opened an online auction that will interest those hunting especially rare, space-flown watches. Simply titled Space, the auction is focused primarily on space memorabilia, and includes three space-flown wristwatches that warrant a closer look, including a French astronaut’s Speedmaster that spent almost six hours in space. Known for its sales focused on historical memorabilia, particularly those relating to space exploration, RR Auction has notched up several notable watch sales in the past, including a Bulova chronograph worn on the Moon that sold for almost US$1.6 million in 2015. We round up highlights from the upcoming sale, which closes October 24, 2024. The catalogue and bidding are available online. Lot 6286 – Rolex GMT-Master II flown on Apollo 14 by Edgar Mitchell  First up is the Rolex GMT-Master II ref. 1675 worn by astronaut Edgar Mitchell on the Apollo 14 mission that landed on the Moon in February 1971. Enhancing its appeal, the watch has tangible provenance: actually be seen in archival footage recording prior to take-off and in onboard footage taken during the mission. While the GMT-Master II was not uncommon among astronauts of that period – it was conceived as a watch for pilots after all – few actually made it to space. This example is only the second lunar Rolex to be sold publicly, after Ron Evans’s GMT-Master II worn on Apollo 17, whic...

Introducing – The Stargazer, Konstantin Chaykin’s Most Complicated Watch To Date

Konstantin Chaykin’s work as an independent watchmaker is probably mostly known by his ever-growing collection of Wristmons. This series of watches, starting out with the playful Joker watch in 2017 but getting more and more creative and complex plays into the Pareidolia effect. This is the tendency for people to see faces or other patterns […]

Christopher Ward Introduces the Twelve X, One of their Most Ambitious Watches To Date

To say Christopher Ward has come a long way in the last 20 years would be a significant understatement. Their direct-to-consumer model and their maximum 3X mark-up has quite literally made them heroes among independent micro-brands. In fact, you can easily argue that they have thoroughly outgrown the micro-brand moniker, having been responsible for plenty of genuine innovations in the affordable sector. The hits just kept on coming, especially over the last decade. In 2014 Christopher Ward launched their very first commercially viable mechanical movement. This was a 50-year first from a British watch company and it ruffled quite a few feathers. One indignant CEO of a large Swiss luxury watch brand approached them and said, “What gives you the license to do that?”. Clearly, they were on the right track. Since then, they have dramatically refined their case finishing (via their “light catcher” cases), reinvented the compressor dive watch, improved their bracelets, and added alternative case sizes to many references for a variety of wrists. However, nothing could have prepared us for the release of the immensely popular Bel Canto in November of 2022. A piece that quite literally flipped the watch world upside down. How do you follow something like that? Leave it to Christopher Ward to figure it out, and properly figure it out they did. Just at the peak of integrated bracelet sport watch mania, they threw their hat in the ring with The Twelve. Available in multiple siz...

Hands-On: Sure, Nobody Asked For A (Nearly) Solid-Gold Rolex Deepsea. Yes, It's Ridiculous. But I Sure Ain't Mad They Made One.

It's nearly 320 grams of gold (and some titanium), it has a blue lacquer dial, and I desperately, desperately want to go diving with it.

Introducing: Rolex Adds A Platinum Model To Its Dressy Perpetual 1908 Collection

A textured dial and platinum case add some intrigue to the Crown's newest collection.

Shop Spotlight: Grab Your TV Dinners – Mido Debuts A New Limited Edition Multifort Big Date With A 3D Dial Inspired By Retro Television Sets

Limited to 999 pieces, you can now get yours in the Hodinkee Shop.

In-Depth: Swiss High Court Rules On Lawsuit Between Rolex And Customizer Artisans de Geneve

In a precedent-setting case, the Swiss Supreme Court says that Artisans de Geneve's personalization business can continue – but it's complicated. The lawsuit also raises a bigger question: Who can customize?

10 Affordable Alternatives to Iconic Watches like the Rolex Submariner and Omega Moonwatch: The Lightweight Heavyweights!

A few brands and watches stand high above the rest. They are known to almost everyone and have become icons. Watches of this stature are not cheap, however, there are alternatives out there that are as compelling in their own right for a fraction of the price. 

Watch Spotting: From Christian McCaffrey's Rolex To George Kittle's Casio, The Watches Of Super Bowl LVIII

Brock Purdy and his Tudor didn't win the game, but there were a lot of other watches to check out (and a massive clock during Usher's Halftime Show performance).

Christopher Ward’s C1 Moonphase is their Most Ambitious Version of this Complication to Date, with a Gorgeous Aventurine Dial

Christopher Ward has been on a hot streak over the last year, with the introductions of the Bel Canto and the Twelve collection raising their profile with enthusiasts who veer toward the avant-garde and a style of sleek sports watch that’s in fashion at the moment. These watches have been met with a certain degree of, “Oh, I didn’t know Christopher Ward could do that…” by crops of skeptics who have since been won over. But the fact is, Christopher Ward has been upending expectations and redefining what the brand could be for years. For many in the collector community, a watch that really signified the brand branching out was the C1 Moonglow, which Zach Weiss reviewed here in 2019. A combination of an intricately layered dial design execution and liberal applications of lume in an inherently playful complication was a sign that Christopher Ward had even more ambitious ideas they were willing to play with, and now they’ve introduced a long awaited follow-up to the Moonglow, the C1 Moonphase. Christopher Ward describes this watch as their most ambitious moonphase to date, and it feels very much a part of this newer crop of Christopher Wards that really push the envelope in terms of design, reaching toward ideas that have typically been associated with haute horlogerie in the past. The C1 Moonphase features an aventurine dial, a material often associated with the moonphase complication because of its resemblance to the night sky. Aventurine is essentially glass tha...

Are You Coming to the Largest Windup Watch Fair to Date? Our Lead Sponsors are Bringing the Goods!

If you’ve already come to a Windup Watch Fair in the past, plan to be pleasantly surprised when we open the doors on October 20th through the 22nd in NYC. If you haven’t been to one before, you’re going to be blown away by the sheer scope of the fair we’ve built out this year. As a reminder, here are the key event details: The Altman Building on 18th Street between 6th and 7th avenues (135 W 18th St) Friday, October 20: 12PM – 6PM Saturday, October 21: 12PM – 6PM Sunday, October 22: 12PM – 5PM Free and open to the public We have over 80 brands showcasing their watches and goods on two floors! This includes a handful of never-before-seen-in-the-metal watches and the introduction of “EDC Alley” to NYC, which was successfully piloted in both San Francisco and Chicago earlier this year. But look no further than our five Lead Sponsors to find some new releases that are sure to make any watch enthusiast jump for joy. Our Lead Sponsors Bulova Since its inception in 1875, Bulova has been synonymous with quality, precision, and innovation in the world of timekeeping. With a rich heritage and a commitment to exceptional craftsmanship, Bulova continues to create watches that blend classic elegance with cutting-edge technology. From the iconic Archive Series to the celebrated CURV and proprietary Precisionist movement, Bulova remains a symbol of excellence in the art of watchmaking. Be sure to check out their collection of classic field watches which will be paired w...

Geneva Watch Days 2023: The De Bethune DB28XP Kind of Blue

Pre-Owned Picks: A Rolex GMT Master Ref. 16700, An Omega ‘Tintin’ Speedmaster, And An All Black Must de Cartier

Plus an A. Lange & Söhne full of hidden complications and a tribute to the early JLC Reverso.

Oris Adds Some Bling to the Aquis: Hands-On with the New Aquis Date Diamonds

At this point, I think we all have a fairly solid understanding of the appeal of a gold watch. The heft, the rarity, and the luster of gold all appeal to our reptile brains in ways that are almost innate. Zach Weiss broke it down here back in 2021, and in the nearly two years since that article was conceived, we’ve only grown more gold-curious as a team. But as much as we talk about a growing appreciation for gold, there’s another tangentially related segment of watchmaking that doesn’t get nearly the same level of attention, at least from enthusiasts. But a new watch from Oris made me rethink my relationship to these watches.  No, I’m not talking about watches with Muppet-clad date displays. I’m talking about diamonds, an entirely different level of opulence. In a modern context, watches that have been set with diamonds most frequently fall into one of two categories: watches marketed exclusively toward women, or the completely iced out custom jobs that you sometimes see on red carpets, music videos, and in New York City’s diamond district. With the new Aquis Date Diamonds, Oris is asking us to rethink the stone by incorporating them into a watch that’s truly sporty, and also by making them accessible.  Oris goes about this by using lab-grown, as opposed to mined, diamonds. Lab-grown diamonds have increased in popularity in recent years as manufacturing techniques have gotten better and better, delivering stones that are identical optically and chemically ...

Vacheron Constantin Adds a Retrograde Date Complication to the Overseas Collection

Last year’s big release from Vacheron Constantin, the reintroduction of the legendary 222, sparked all kinds of speculation that we’d get another variant of that sports watch at this year’s Watches & Wonders. Maybe one in steel? Or with new complications? As it turns out, we didn’t get a 222 of any kind this year, but VC paid respect to its contemporary integrated bracelet sports watch, a watch whose lineage can be traced back directly to the 222, by adding a complication that is deeply tied to the brand’s identity, a retrograde date display. It’s a first for the Overseas collection, which is itself kind of surprising. It’s one of those watches you can’t quite believe didn’t exist before now, and now that it’s here, it feels that much more well integrated with the rest of the collection.  The new Overseas Moon Phase Retrograde Date features the same 41mm steel case profile that the brand has been using since the collection was relaunched in 2016. The Overseas, while pre-dating the hysteria for integrated bracelet sports watches by many years (the line was introduced in 1996) was part of a later group of integrated bracelet watches to really catch fire with collectors in the recent boom, following the Royal Oak and Nautilus, but ahead of watches like the newer Alpine Eagle from Chopard. It has a character that is distinct from its competitors, and is uniquely Vacheron, dominated by a complex notched bezel and less intense case geometry. The Overseas, mo...

Watch Spotting: Steph Curry Wears A Rolex Deepsea Sea-Dweller To The White House To Celebrate The 2022 NBA Title

From a ceremony with President Biden and Vice President Harris to a special press briefing, the watch toured the nation's capital.

How I'd Spend $100K: First, I’d (Predictably) Buy A Vintage Rolex And A Speedmaster. Then Go Quartz, Dressy, And Gold.

After locking down the essentials, I'd spend on undervalued dress watches from Cartier, Breguet, and Lange.

How I'd Spend $100K: First, I’d Buy A Patek. Then A Rolex. But I’d Save Some Money For The Bunny

how to spend 100k on a watch collection according to one watch writer

One To Watch: Why This Dapper Englishman Left His Gig At Rolex To Relaunch His Family Business, Fears Watches

The story is almost too good to be believed. But Nicholas Bowman-Scargill brought a forgotten family legacy roaring back to life.

Dispatch: Inside Rolex: We Visit HQ To Learn How Their New Watch Can Go Deeper Than The Deepest Ocean

The Deepsea Challenge can go 11,000 meters and beyond. Not an easy thing to test for, especially in landlocked Switzerland.

The Conversation: We Respond To Your Comments On Ikepod, Oris, And That ‘Lefty’ Rolex

From destros to design we're chatting it up this weekend.

Buying, Selling, & Collecting: A Father's Day Shopping Guide For Every Type Of Dad

Just like watches, father figures come in all shapes, sizes, and budgets. Here's what we'd buy for our eight favorite *loosely serious* paternal archetypes.

Vintage Watches: It's Rolex Vs. Rolex In Today's Sport Watch Throwdown

HODINKEE Staff: Submariner or GMT-Master? Check out what they had to say, below.

My Wife Won't Let Me Wear Her 36mm Rolex Oyster Perpetual

But man, have I tried to get this one on my wrist.

Watch Of The Week: The Rolex That Lived Up To Seven Years of Anticipation

I wanted it. I saved for it. And I was a nervous wreck that it'd be a disappointment.

Buying, Selling, & Collecting: The Rolex Batman: To Sell Or Not To Sell?

I bought my GMT-Master II to wear it. Then it skyrocketed in value, and set off an existential debate.

In-Depth: Everything You Need To Know About The Rolex Explorer Ref. 14270

And some things you don't.

Sunday Rewind: Why Isn't Rolex Considered One Of 'The Big Three?'

"Holy Quadrinity" just doesn't roll off the tongue in quite the same way...