What's Selling Here - November 1, 2024

By Charlie Dunne

Rolex Black Tapestry Dial Day-Date Reference 18038 w/ Van Cleef & Arpels Signed Bracelet Unpolished

The Rolex Day-Date was introduced in 1956 and was the first watch to display the date, as well as the fully-spelled-out day of the week. The watch has a rare black tapestry dial. The watch appears to have been retailed at Van Cleef & Arpels as the bracelet is signed with the Van Cleef & Arpels inventory code, but we checked with Van Cleef through our local store in Palm Beach and they were not sure.

We believe the 18K-gold case and bracelet are unpolished, but it appears the case back has been lightly polished (possibly to remove a case back engraving). It measures 36mm in diameter (43mm lug-to-lug). This particular example dates to circa 1985 with a 8.8M serial.

The watch does not come with box and papers. We do not know the service history, but it is running well. It recently passed a water resistance test of 3 bar.

Patek Philippe Nautilus Reference 3800/1A w/ Certificate of Origin and Service Box

This Patek Philippe Nautilus is great reference 3800/1 in stainless steel. The watch dates to circa 1988. The case has been lightly polished, but is strong. It measures 37mm in diameter (39mm in length). The dial is beautiful, and features original lume in the hour markers and hands. It is powered by an automatic movement.

The watch comes with a service box. It does come with a Certificate of Origin. We do not know the service history, but it is running well.

Rolex IBM Silver Datejust 16030 Unpolished

I absolutely love steel Rolex Datejusts. I recently wrote about them in our blog ‘Don't Sleep On This: The Simple Vintage Rolex Datejust In Steel’. I’m constantly amazed by the quality and differentiations of the dials that Rolex used in vintage Datejusts over the decades. I have found the Rolex Datejust to be one of the most versatile watches a person can have and the simplicity in this silver-dial reference 16030 is so beautiful. The watch dates to 1984 and features a 8.3M serial. The case measures 36mm in diameter and is paired on a 78360 Rolex Oyster bracelet and 558 end links.

The watch is in excellent condition. The caseback features the former owner’s name engraved with his employer’s (IBM) logo. It was received by the employee on December 28, 1984.

We believe the case is unpolished. It does not come with box and papers. We do not know the service history, but it is running well. The watch recently passed a water resistance test of 3 bar.

LeCoultre Polaris II Reference E 870 Unpolished

Along with the Atmos clock and Reversos, Jaeger-LeCoultre’s advancements in alarm timepieces throughout the 20th century are certainly one of the most iconic genres from the Le Sentier manufacturer. This Polaris II E 870 is a super funky and cool alarm-dive watch. It dates to the 1970s and you can tell this off first impression. The reference’s “E” stands for Etanche, which indicates the case is a water-resistant model. The pastel blue bezel insert and dial make the Polaris II one of the most unique looking watches. It is such a futuristic design and fun watch to admire on the wrist. It is paired on an NSA bracelet from the period. This is a similar style bracelet it would have been sold on, but instead signed JLC. They were also sold on Tropic straps.

The case measures 43mm in diameter and 49mm lug to lug. We believe the case is unpolished. The luminous material on the dial and hands are super attractive with a slight amount of loss in the hour markers. The watch is powered by the calibre 911, a high-beat automatic alarm wristwatch to incorporate the calendar complication.

The watch does not come with box or papers. We do not know the service history, but it is running well and keeping good time.

OMEGA Ed White Speedmaster Reference 105.003-63 W/ Extract & Booklet

The Omega Speedmaster was introduced in 1957, initially created for drivers in automotive racing. However, it would reach iconic status by eventually reaching spaceflight qualification by NASA amongst several of the highest grade chronographs of its era.

This is an awesome reference 105.003, also referred to as the “Ed White” as it was famously worn by the astronaut. The watch dates to circa 1963. It is powered by the iconic calibre 321, which was recently re-released and garnered great reception and excitement from a large portion of watch collectors. The case is lightly polished. The dimensions are 38.5mm in diameter (or 48mm lug-to-lug) with a lug width of 19mm. The bezel features the dot over 90. The crown is original.

To learn more about the Omega Speedmaster, you can watch ‘Reference Points: Understanding The Entire Lineage Of The Omega Speedmaster’ video I made with Ben Clymer in 2015 (and corresponding article).

The watch comes with papers / booklet and Extract from the Archives confirming it was produced on August 10, 1964 and shipped to Venezuela. It is unusual the papers have a date reflected earlier than the production date on the Extract, so I cannot speak to their validity.

Rolex Radial Dial Date Reference 1503 In 18K Yellow Gold

This Rolex Date reference 1503 is a super cool watch with a radial dial. It might get overlooked, but the hour markers on these dials are super interesting and attractive. The 18k yellow-gold case has been polished. It measures 34mm in diameter. The 3.31M serial number dates this watch to circa 1973.

The watch does not come with box and papers. We do not know the service history, but it is running well. It just passed a water resistance test of 3 bar.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox Reference E 855 W/ Papers

Along with the Atmos clocks, Jaeger-LeCoultre’s advancements in alarm timepieces throughout the 20th century are certainly one of the most iconic genres from the Le Sentier manufacturer. Perhaps the quintessential Memovox is the reference E 855 from the 1960s. The reference’s “E” stands for Etanche, which indicates the case is a water-resistant model.

The watch is powered by the calibre 825, the first automatic alarm wristwatch to incorporate the calendar complication. The movement is a bumper-automatic, which means it does not rotate a full 360 degrees. Instead, the oscillating weight will bounce back and forth between two spring sides within the movement.

This example dates to circa 1967. The dial and hands feature tritium lume. The case is lightly polished, but very nice. The watch does not come with box. It does come with papers. We do not know the service history, but it is running well and keeping good time.

To learn more about this model, read Charlie Dunne’s Collector's Guide: Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox Reference E 855.

OMEGA Speedmaster Professional Reference 145.022-69 ST Unpolished

This OMEGA Speedmaster Professional Reference 145.022-69 is super cool example. The dial is very attractive. We believe the case is unpolished, but the case back appears to have been polished. It measures at 42mm. It is powered by a manual wind movement (Caliber 861 made by Lemania). The crown appears to be replaced. The crystal appears to be a signed original.

To learn more about the Omega Speedmaster, see the ‘Reference Points: Understanding The Omega Speedmaster’ article and corresponding video.

The watch does not come with box but not papers. We do not know the service history, but it is running well.

Abercrombie & Fitch Shipmate Unpolished

I absolutely love vintage Abercrombie & Fitch wristwatches. They are very interesting timepieces which are not easily found in this condition. This Shipmate dates to the 1950s. It is powered by an automatic Adolph Schlid movement. The case measures 35mm in diameter and 42mm lug to lug. We believe the case is unpolished. It features a beautiful dial with incredible folded and arrow hour markers.

The watch does not come with box or papers. We do not know the service history, but it is running well and keeping good time.

Jaeger-LeCoultre "Baby Geo" Unpolished

It is super fun to find great vintage Jaeger-LeCoultre watches, particularly time-only models. The manufacturer had many time-only models, yet we don’t find many in steel that are examples we would love to own. This is one of them! It is a water-resistant model with a screw back case. The watch dates to the late 1950s. The case measures 34mm in diameter and 42mm lug to lug. We believe the case is unpolished. It features a cool dial layout similar to the “Geophysic 1958”. When the watch came in, Eric proclaimed this watch with a new nickname “The Baby Geo”, which we have had fun with.

It features a super cool case back engraving commemorating 40 years of employment at C.S. Milne & Co. Ltd.

The watch does not come with box or papers. The watch was just serviced and is running well and keeping good time!

Chopard Reference 1040 Retailed by Tiffany & Co. 41mm Yellow Gold Dress Watch Unpolished

This Chopard automatic dress watch is incredibly cool. The yellow gold case measures approximately 41mm in diameter and wears incredible on the wrist. The dial is signed and retailed by Tiffany & Co. It is paired on what appears to be the original strap and buckle. It features a Universal automatic micro rotor movement.

We do not know the service history, but it is running well. It does not include the original papers or box.