Bovet Chronograph from 1940s

Bovet, a top watch brand from Switzerland, has an inexplicable bond with China. As early as 1822 (during the reign of Emperor Daoguang of the Qing Dynasty), Edouard Bovet, the founder of Bovet, began selling expensive high-end Western clocks and watches to the princes and nobles of the Qing court, and Bovet soon became the favorite watch brand of China's wealthy.

The painted art favored by the royal family and aristocrats of the Qing Dynasty has always been deeply loved by the Chinese people both in ancient times and in today's society. In the early 19th century, Bovet came to China from Switzerland and founded a watch brand called "Bovet" in Guangzhou in 1822. It became a household name in Switzerland at the time and was deeply loved by the royal family and nobles of the Qing Dynasty. Li Hongzhang, a minister of the Qing Dynasty, was a fan of Bovet.

This is a vintage Bovet Chronograph from 1940s. It has the highly sought after salmon dial. The watch is powered by a rare Bovet Landeron 51 cam-driven lateral clutch movement. 

Vintage Chinese Worldtime watch

New old stock vintage Chinese World Time watch. The watches in the past had many details, such as special lugs, watches with only one minute hand and second hand, no hour hand, world dial and ancient time.

It also has the traditional Chinese way of reading time in 時辰

There is an added Day & Night indicators 

Rolex ref 6298 pre Explorer

This is a new old stock dial for the Rolex Pre Explorer ref 6298. The dial has been seating under the cupboard of an old watch makers for a log time. I have bought a Rolex 6298 when I was working in Bangkok several years ago in 2017. Unfortunately, the watch dial has been reconditioned in the past and it has taken me 8 years to find a new old stock dial for replacement. Finding a dial is like finding a needle in a haystack where lucky is key. 

As a precursor to the iconic Explorer line, the Rolex Reference 6298 was in essence a prototype watch that was used "on the field" by actual explorers doing actual expeditions and mountain climbing. It is often known as Big Bubblebacks or Ovettones owing to the 36mm case size and with 20mm lugs. These were watches that we can place at the pivotal beginnings of the Rolex "Sports" watch  - what followed were ever more slender movements and consequently flatter cases, but there is no denying that without these early Everest-era Pre-Explorer watches, the now iconic sports models such as the Rolex ref 6610, ref 1016 would never have come to be. 

Even though it is using the semi bubbleback movements, the prices of these are often more then double of that of the Rolex ref 6084/85 which are 34mmin diameter. It’s important to remember that these watches were produced in the 1950s when the average size of a gent’s wristwatch was 32mm. At 36mm the Ovettone’s were big watches and due to the large rounded case back wore high and proud on the wrist! I am so glad that I can finally find a new old stock dial to replace the reconditioned one.

Saturday, March 18, 2017

Rolex 6298 Pre Explorer (Semi Bubbleback)

I love the Rolex Explorer model. Over the last weekend, I was lucky to have found a Rolex reference 6298. This model is known by collectors (along with its slightly older sibling the 6098) as the Everest Explorer or Pre-Explorer. These watches were the prototype watches used by explorers in the early 1950s that led to the development of the Explorer line.

This model is also known as Big Semi ‘Bubblebacks’ or ‘Ovettones’. These large case watches (36mm)  have a real presence on the wrist and are truly versatile and appealing. The normal bubbleback model size is 33 mm and other semil bubbleback 6084/5 is size 34 mm.

In 1952, the Rolex semi Bubbleback came in models 6098 and 6150 and became the prototypes of the Explorer. The watches had white dials and leaf-shaped hands. In 1953, they became the 6298 and 6350, displaying the famous 3-6-9 Arabic dial which is typical of Explorers. Later, the Mercedes hands were also added. After the Everest expedition of 1953, the name Explorer was inscribed on the dials of the 6350. The watch was made to be especially strong and able to withstand extreme temperatures, as a dangerous mountain climbing adventure would require. 

According to Collecting Rolex Wristwatches by Patrizzi, this model 6298 had a production run of less than 1,000 and one wonders how many is still around after so many years? As mentioned, this model was taken on the Everest Expedition in 1953, that was highly promoted by Rolex in magazine ads to show how rugged this watch was

In 1959, Rolex replaced the Explorer 6150 with the 6610, which had a more flattened back than the previous model and has the current 3,6,9, black dial look. Then in 1963, this model was in turn replaced by the 1016. The 1016 was more water resistant than the 6610 and also had a new movement, the Cal. 1560. The 1016 stayed in production for 26 years, in which time it evolved quite a bit from having gilt dial to matt dial and eventually became the 14270, the Explorer in 1971. The history of Rolex Explorer II ref 1655, 16550, like that of the Explorer, are laden with stories of adventure seekers using the Explorer II during their journeys. The Rolex Explorer always bring joy to me...

Seagull Moonphase watch with Méliès sci-fi classic “A Trip to the Moon".

Moon phase watches are very common, but it is a little difficult to see moon phase watches that dare to play with abstract art! 

The design elements of the Seagull 819.32.3023 are taken from the world's first science fiction film  Méliès sci-fi classic “A Trip to the Moon.”  The watch was inspired by the classic scene of written, directed and acted by French director George Merrill in 1902, 

The story originated from two science fiction novels in the 19th and early 20th centuries. In the absurdity and wit, you can feel the brave and optimistic spirit of people at that time. A group of astronomers flew to the moon on a cannonball and hit Uncle Moon's right eye. After getting off the spaceship, they met a group of moon people who would be destroyed by umbrellas. After a fierce battle, the astronomers returned to Earth by cannonball spacecraft, fell into the sea, and explored the underwater world by the way. It's really heaven and earth, walking around all the curious places of human beings. The smiley moon phase of this watch alternates with the image of the moon phase of the right eye hit by a cannonball every month, which is very interesting. 

Therefore, this big calendar Moonphase watch from Seagull is actually a little different. Although it is a watch produced by Seagull, it can't be found in the official Seagull exclusive store! It’s a special order by a watch Retailer “Fatty Kong” . The greatest irony is that a China watch company producing a Moonphase watch using abstract art from the West.

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