Market Watch(ing): Happy Independence Day?

Well, watching the Brexit votes come in was a bit of a roller coaster ride. Being an outsider, I won’t share my irrelevant feelings, but good luck to the Brits. Now, onto less important things: watches. This week, we’re down a man, and it looks like he was the glue, because our lineup is all over the place. We’ve got tri-tone Rolex, we’ve got pieced together vintage chronos, and even a quartz(!) diver. Prepare yourselves, it’s Market Watch(ing) time!

Isaac’s Picks

Rolex Day-Date Tridor

This first one is an interesting one. If you quickly scroll by, it looks like another Day-Date from the ’90s, but if you stop and take a look, it’s much more interesting than just that. Rolex’s Ref. 18239B was a variant of the standard Day-Date, produced in a case and bracelet configuration that the brand called “Tridor.” What this means is that the case was two-tone, and the bracelet was executed uniquely as tri-tone: white, yellow, and pink gold. Also of note is the Portuguese day wheel, which makes sense as the included original Rolex punched warranty papers are from a Portuguese AD.

$12,500

Jules Racine Profundus Diver

Although I don’t have too much experience with the wide range of vintage dive watches being collected today, I do enjoy a fun and uncommon vintage diver from time to time. There’s something compelling about knowing that the watch on your wrist was more than likely purchased solely to be used while actually diving, unlike how the majority of new dive watches are being worn today. The other day while browsing eBay, I came across this 40mm dive watch from Jules Racine, which is believed to date back to the 1970’s. While this piece is indeed powered by a quartz movement (cue the gossipy whispering), I do think that there are a number of pleasing details on this watch, like the scale positioned around the dial, and the way the red portion of the bezel has faded to a salmon colour.

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Editor’s note: *gossipy whispering*

Dean’s Picks

“The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again.” And here we are. Its time for me to pick a couple of watches again.

Arcadia Valjoux 22 Chronograph

First is a controversial pic. I have absolutely no idea if this watch is correct. Clearly the see through caseback is a modification, and Isaac thinks the bridge is replaced. Ya know, it might be, but the dial is clean looking and the case, while lightly polished, still has a lot of presence. Oh, and then there are those great looking flame lugs.  Now how do you assign a value to something like this? The watch sports a V22, so clearly a capable and worthwhile movement. It’s also had a full overhaul which is worth a few kopeks. Is $1,300 fair? I think its in the realm.

€1,200

Rolex Ceramic Daytona SITREP

Let me take this brief interlude to do a heat check on the white dial 116500 Daytona, which I have been lusting after somewhat tepidly these many weeks since they have hit the streets. Current grey dealer listings on the forums are bottoming out at $18k and change, so still a strong premium on those over the US list price + tax of about $13.5k all in. Black dial versions have hit the $15k mark and there still seems to be quite a bit more of those on the market. My feeling is that you will be able to get a black dial watch on the grey market by New Years for about face value.

Omega Cosmic Moonphase

Moving on, Private Eyes in Japan (not NYC), posted some interesting incoming watches on Instagram recently. One that caught my eye was a nice looking Omega cosmic. I’m a sucker for the triple date moonphase complication and the cosmic offers a nice price point to get into one of these iconic looking pieces. Unfortunately the vast majority of these sport refinished dials, or are in gold. One interesting thing to note about the watch that Private Eyes posted is that the dial markers and hands are applied in gold, while the watch case is in SS. While this isn’t always incorrect, its sometimes an indication of a dial and handset from a gold watch that was put into a SS case for whatever reason. I’m not enough of an expert on the cosmic to know if this set up is correct or not. While we are on the subject another easy tell that a watch is incorrect is if the dial is non-luminous while the hands have lume, or vice versa. I see that a lot too. Anyway, check them out on IG @private_eyes_co.

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Shane’s Picks

Wittnauer Geneve Diver

Wittnauer is one of those lesser known brands receiving a bit of a bump in value over the last year or so. Their big seller is the 242T, a Valjoux 72-powered chronograph that was in competition with the Speedmaster and Daytona for dibs on astronaut wrists. In fact, one just sold on eBay the other day for over $8,000(!). Well, this isn’t a 242T, but it’s pretty damn cool. What we have here is a Wittnauer Diver, and in addition to nice patina, it comes with a rarely seen signed mesh bracelet. The bracelet is great, but the selling point for me is the dial. It’s so reminiscent of the Railmaster and Seamaster dials of the late ’50s and early ’60s, that I can’t stop staring. At $550, this is one hell of a budget Seamaster.

$550

Sinn EZM2 3H Dial

This watch isn’t going to blow your minds, but EZM2’s with 3H dials don’t come around too often. I usually see them with luminova instead of tritium, so this one is a bit of a treat for Sinn fans. What’s more, that tritium dial has aged to a perfect creamy patina. The EZM1 chronograph is the one that fetches a good amount of money, so at $1,4o0, this is a great backup option. This example comes with box and papers, 3 straps, and for an additional $300, a brand new steel bracelet.

$1,400

Mondia Top Second

Chalk this one up in the weird/awesome category. Admittedly, I’ve never seen this before, but I was totally intrigued when I came across it. Let’s cut to the chase: why is it called a “Top Second”? That’s because of the aperture you see at the 6 o’clock position, which is showing as red in this picture. Once every two seconds, the aperture shows red, and then back to a dark grey. The point of this is to tell you the watch is ticking. Necessary? You be the judge. However, it’s crazy unique, and I’m loving it. The major bonus here is the fact the watch’s in NOS condition, down to the strap and buckle. For €400, you can’t go wrong here.

€400

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