An Evening with Rolex

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

I recently enjoyed a private dinner with Rolex & around 12 other guests at their new 32 St James building in London, truly beautiful premises which they have sympathetically refurbished to provide a perfect setting for small informal client & collector events.

The dinner was followed by a private viewing of the new Rolex DEEPSEA SEA-DWELLER CHALLENGER and one of the original vintage Rolex DEEPSEA SPECIALS. I won't go into too much detail as there are always more questions than answers, but will share a few images of the evening just to put you in the mood.


The original Rolex DEEPSEA SEA-DWELLER CHALLENGER 39370FT / 12000M


Image of the Rolex DEEPSEA SPECIAL presented above the actual watch in the Display
Another Image of the Rolex DEEPSEA SPECIAL presented above the actual watch in the Display
actual Vintage Rolex DEEPSEA SPECIAL
The Case & Lugs are of interest
actual Vintage Rolex DEEPSEA SPECIAL
Interesting to note that the fact the actual watch on display did not have an underline was lost on our hosts
Do you have an original vintage Rolex, Patek Philippe, Omega or Blancpain watch you are looking to sell, value or just share your story? Please contact Daniel Bourn via sales@vintage-db.com or tel. +44 7977 469 568.

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Goyard Watch Boxes

Monday, February 18, 2013

Although the trip to Paris was nothing short of a disaster due to the theft of 4 vintage Rolex. I did manage to collect my latest order of Goyard watches boxes.
For anyone not familiar with Goyard (www.Goyard.fr)  they were established in 1792, and are the oldest Parisian trunk maker's still in business. The company has been passed down from generation to generation under the successive names of Martin, Morel and finally Goyard.
As any watch collector will know, finding the perfect watch box to store your prized possessions is not any easy task. Goyard in my opinion offer the best solution of any luxury trunk maker. Combing style and heritage with perfect dimensions and sufficiently secure casing for most storage & travel requirements, There are just enough design/colour combinations to keep each box interesting. Available in 4 different sizes containing either 4,6,8 and 12 watch rolls.
Anyone wishing to order one (delivery is circa 3 months) should contact the delightful Joseph Albanese at Goyard 233, rue Saint Honoré 75001 Paris T +33 1 42 60 57 04 









Do you have an original vintage Rolex, Patek Philippe, Omega or Blancpain watch you are looking to sell, value or just share your story? Please contact Daniel Bourn via sales@vintage-db.com or tel. +44 7977 469 568.

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Vintage Rolex Stolen in Paris

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Unfortunately at 19.00 on Saturday 16th February, 4 vintage Rolex watches were stolen from me at Gare de Lyon station in Paris.

If anyone has any information or is offered the watches, please contact me
via telephone on +44 7977 469 568 or email sales@vintage-db.com

 A reward is offered for their safe return.

 Model references & serials as follow
  • Rolex 6263 Daytona with 2 colour White Paul Newman Dial. Serial 3,645,876 
  • Rolex 6536-1 Submariner with 4 Line Gilt Dial & Red Triangle Bezel. Serial 399,718 
  • Rolex 16610 Submariner with Tiffany & Co Dial. Serial X456,213 
  • Rolex 5512 Submariner 2 Line Gilt Outer Track. Serial 764,291

Do you have an original vintage Rolex, Patek Philippe, Omega or Blancpain watch you are looking to sell, value or just share your story? Please contact Daniel Bourn via sales@vintage-db.com or tel. +44 7977 469 568.

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Patek Philippe Nautilus 3700/1 Oman

Monday, June 18, 2012


The recent Geneva Auctions included the following Lot (315) from Christies


The watch attracted much interest and was finally acquired by Vintage-DB for 81k CHF, 30k above the original estimate, not particularly surprising if you consider the Lot Notes advised that "In depth research results in the discovery that this reference 3700/1 is the only known example of a stainless steel Nautilus model made to the special order for the Royal Household of the Sultanate of Oman." This statement is actually not quite correct, as we were aware of another other example, although this made the lot more interesting.

We previously presented via the Vintage-DB Blog, information on the special order vintage Rolex watches issued by Sultan Qaboos Bin Sa'id to the British Military (Rolex ref. 1665 Oman Khanjar & Qaboos Sea-Dwellers) in the 1970s, of particular interest in this instance are the Rolex Red 'Oman Khanjar & Qaboos Sea-Dwellers which are found in a consecutive numbered batch of 80-90 watches. This is unusual as most serials are issued in a random order & not assigned to a specific model,  indicating a dedicated special order to Qaboos.

We can now be quite sure that not only did Qaboos commission a special order Patek Philippe Nautilus 3700/1 with Oman Khanjar dial, but as with the Red 'Oman Khanjar & Qaboos' Sea-Dwellers, the discovery of a 2nd Patek Philippe 3700/1 with Oman Khanjar dial (pictured below) indicates that the watch sold by Christies forms part of what is also a small consecutive serial batch of the iconic Genta designed Patek Philippe Nautilus 3700/1. Incredibly the 2 watches that have surfaced have consecutive serial numbers 536.200 and 536.201 (536.201 is the Christies watch), movement numbers are just 1 digit apart 1.304.952 and 1.304.954 and the Patek Philippe Archive Extracts advises that both watches were sold  on 31st July 1978.

PATEK PHILIPPE - NAUTILUS - 3700/1 - OMAN KHANJAR - Serial. 536.200 - Movement 1.304.952
PATEK PHILIPPE - NAUTILUS - 3700/1 - OMAN KHANJAR - Serial. 536.200 - Movement 1.304.952
PATEK PHILIPPE - NAUTILUS - 3700/1 - OMAN KHANJAR - Serial. 536.201 - Movement 1.304.954
PATEK PHILIPPE - NAUTILUS - 3700/1 - OMAN KHANJAR - Serial. 536.201 - Movement 1.304.954

PATEK PHILIPPE - NAUTILUS - 3700/1 - OMAN KHANJAR - Serial. 536.200 & 536.201
Further research indicates the possible existence of a 3rd + 4th watch with serial numbers which enables us to estimate a consecutive numbered batch of approximately 20 examples.

Given the interest, demand and ever increasing values of the genuine Oman issued Rolex watches, a special order Patek Philippe with the Oman Khanjar dial crest is important to both vintage Rolex & Patek Philippe collectors and increases the interest, understanding and significance of the 1970s Qaboos era watches.

Do you have an original vintage Rolex, Patek Philippe, Omega or Blancpain watch you are looking to sell, value or just share your story? Please contact Daniel Bourn via sales@vintage-db.com or tel. +44 7977 469 568.

 © Copyright  Daniel Bourn www.vintage-db.com

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IMPORTANT WATCHES - Geneva May 2012

Saturday, May 12, 2012

This weekend sees the first of the 2012 'Important Watch' auctions held bi-annually in Geneva, Switzerland (May & November).

More than 1250 lots will be auctioned over 3 days with public viewings held from Friday to Sunday, & the auction schedule as follows :-
  • Antiquorum - May 13, 2012 at the Grand Hotel Kempinski
  • Christies - May 14, 2012 at the 4 Seasons, Hotel Des Bergues
  • Sothebys - May 15, 2012 at 13 Quai Du Mont Blanc
The November 2011 Geneva auctions saw a record of $50 million achieved by the 3 auction houses over 3 days, with an incredible $29 million coming on the final day in a 9 hour stint by Aurel Bacs of Christies who advised ‘they had never seen such intense buying activity’. 

Highlights of the November 2011 auctions included:-

Vintage Rolex ref.8382 in 18k Yellow fold with Cloisonne Dial feat. Neptune - REALISED 609,000 CHF

Vintage Patek Philippe ref. 3448 in 18k Rose Gold - REALISED 2,099,000CHF

Vintage Rolex Submariner ref. 5513 from the 007 Movie Live & Let Die - REALISED 219,000 CHF

Whether the total sales record will be surpassed again this time remains to be seen, as despite the number of lots available, there is not quite the same apparent quality in volume of available this time in my opinion. Not particularly surprising given that the demand for investment grade vintage watches from established & new collectors in the last year (especially vintage Patek Philippe & Rolex) has been quite exceptional & is maybe now creating a shortage of vintage watches at the higher end.

From the viewings made to date, here are a few of my personal favourites, all again from Christies who are currently leading the way in terms of quality.

Vintage Rolex ref. 8171 Padellone in Steel

Vintage Rolex ref. 971 Prince in Platinum

Vintage Patek Philippe ref. 3448/6 in 18k White Gold

The weekend also provides a great opportunity to catch up with collectors & dealers from around the world & view some of the rarest watches that are held in private collections.

Stayed tuned for further updates on the Vintage-DB blog over the next few days, and results of the important lots starting with Antiquorum on Sunday via http://twitter.com/#!/VintageDB

Do you have an original vintage Rolex, Patek Philippe, Omega or Blancpain watch you are looking to sell, value or just share your story? Please contact Daniel Bourn via sales@vintage-db.com or tel. +44 7977 469 568.

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Chrono Fever.....

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Watches always seem to appear in batches...inspired by my good friends Philipp Stahl (http://rolexpassionreport.com/) & Bernhard Bulang's (http://100percent-rolex.blogspot.com/) recent Chrono meeting in Maastricht, i made a little effort myself to gather a few new vintage chronographs,  great quality of course, but with some extra details to keep things interesting.

6239/6238 Cosmograph - Serial 923xxx - Mk1 Crème Double Swiss Dial with Underline


6238 Chronograph - Serial 1.2xx.xxx -  RARE Transitional Silver Sunburst Dial with Scale in Blue 


6239 Daytona - Serial 1.4xx.xxx - 3 Colour Black Paul Newman Dial

  
6239 Daytona - Serial 2.xxx.xxx - Black Dial with Silver Gilt Script + RARE Light Blue Daytona


6262 Daytona - Serial 6.xxx.xxx -  Silver Sunburst Big Red Daytona Dial


 © Copyright  Daniel Bourn www.vintage-db.com

Do you have an original vintage Rolex, Patek Philippe, Omega or Blancpain watch you are looking to sell, value or just share your story? Please contact Daniel Bourn via sales@vintage-db.com or tel. +44 7977 469 568.

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