patrick_y
[PuristSPro Moderator]
33520
Buy something special. And buy something you will cherish for decades...
I was offered the Richard Mille a few years ago. Well, I shouldn't say "offered" since they weren't that hard to get back then. But I thought about it. I really liked it. But at the same time... I didn't know if I would like it decades from now. Decades from now, with a "dad bod" would it still look cool on me? Or would I just be another fat cat with an expensive watch. Kind of like a guy today in Las Vegas wearing a gigantic Ed Hardy T-shirt, Chrome Hearts Sunglasses, with a gigantic Frank Muller watch - about a decade or two out of date. And I realized, I wasn't certain I would still cherish the RM in the long run. So I saved my money. Probably ended up losing a lot of it in the stock market (probably should've bought that watch if that was the case). And today, I'm looking over my collection and I'm going, "I've got a lot of wonderful watches. But none of significant historical significance, they may be from a great famous brands, but they're still "run of the mill" and "mass produced" and not something museum worthy. Perhaps I should save up for a big piece of museum quality art someday." So that's my current thinking. I think I've found something.
Got to see the 222
Had the good luck to get invited to a gtg where a 222 was the main attraction What a watch. First thing you notice is the weight of the thing. The next is the smoothness of the bracelet. The many details of that watch. So cool. I had brought along another...
Very interesting twist of events or tastes….
Before this reissue releases, I never heard much or seen anything about the 222…and I read a lot of blogs. Is this the ugly duckling that suddenly becomes a swan? I mean, what changed? Media reviews? Hidden gem found? Thanks for sharing but….but…to each h...
I've seen the old 222.
And I actually like it. Although, my other family members don't like it. Then again. When I was a teenager in high school, I was shown the Nautilus in a static display and I thought it looked weird with ears. I wouldn't even bother trying it on and I said...
Buy something special. And buy something you will cherish for decades...
I was offered the Richard Mille a few years ago. Well, I shouldn't say "offered" since they weren't that hard to get back then. But I thought about it. I really liked it. But at the same time... I didn't know if I would like it decades from now. Decades f...
I've followed the reinvention of 222 with interest
but am of mixed feelings if I'd prefer the old or new. VC has done a good job keeping their reissues faithful to the originals. As long as creativity throughout the model range isn't lost; it seems a shame that AP with their deep history is mostly known f...
Agreed...
And Everyone seems crazy for a blue dial Overseas these days. Which is actually one of watches I completely don't care for in the Vacheron Constantin portfolio. I wished people would go for what they liked themselves. But even here, on this website, the e...
Hee hee, your rant
has some good points, uncomfortably so. Enthusiast forums, which began as a counter to the marketing hype, have mostly become part of it. Purists must fight for connoisseurship in the face of these trends!
Well said!
And on WatchProSite, we definitely have fewer of these questions posed by others to our readership base. Glad to see some people who genuinely love watches for the savoire faire behind them and not just for the social status symbol behind them. This is st...
Don't get me started on AP...
...it looks like they have abandoned the Jules Audemars and John Schaeffer lines...
I've always appreciated 'quirky' watches...
...and it's kind of natural for manufacturers to dig into their old catalog...
I think....
it's a very attractive proposition. Is it in my 'Top 5' VCs - no. But an original and appealing design nonetheless. Thank you for sharing these excellent pictures! Cheers, Filip
comparison with JLC cal 601
Aside from finishing, other differences you can see with the V&C is the added bridge, shock protection, and a jewel to the hammer pivot. Like similar alarm watches from Vulcain and Bulova, the strike was transferred to the case so they buzzed more than ch...
In the E 873, the movement is the Cal 916.
Here it is: The one you posted is manual winding, while the Cal 916 is automatic. Funnily, both of these 2 watches are very close aesthetically, but don't use the same movement at all. ...
Haha. Yes, that’s a watch.
I thought it would be fun to bring along another child of the 70ies.
Beautiful!
Bezel, bracelet, brushing--these's many elements, even some that don't begin with the letter "B," working together to a make truly special piece. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for your kind words and even more for your thoughts
Clearly the 222 makes us react. For me, it was not a ‘love at first sight’ moment. Not even love at second sight. I was impressed with the weight and many of the details and the finishing but it is not a watch I would fight for. That honor would - for me ...
How to think about Vacheron?
I like the 222, old and new, but it does leave me wondering how best to think about Vacheron. Why did they discontinue the 222 in the first place? I loved VC’s Traditionnelle line (87172, etc) and really wish it wasn’t being phased out without a natural r...
The Traditionnelle line is very much alive
It certainly is one of the most successful series in VC‘s range, and the classic case is the ideal platform to bring us new iterations, complicated or simple. I‘d be extremely surprised if there was no successor to the 82172 in the next few years.
What will always distinguish old from new 222
Is the movement. The original was built around a record setting movement which was 40% thinner than the current calibre 2455. Doesn’t make either a better watch, but the significance of being original and innovative grants the first version a status that ...
I wish more sports watches were made thin
These Gen 1s are are thin and a relative bargain, and you can see the 222 influence is strong. Later Overseas ruined that thinness. ...
thin was in
I too am attracted to thin watches and, informally at least, they were considered a complication in their own right. But not all thin movement designs were as successful as the 1003 and 1120. It was carried to extremes with the VC calibres 1160/1170 and r...
I love this piece. I only wish i have the budget for it.
Tried this at the boutique in June. Was mesmerized by it, especially the silky smooth bracelet. Oh well…. I dream on 😃