AFTERPAD

With Waldan International Oscar drew on reliable supplied movements including the El Primeros he'd secured years earlier and cased them up in heavy gold and platinum for what amounted to a reasonable value proposition even in 1990s dollars. "In the '90s and even into the very very early 2000s a Waldan with an link El Primero in a yellow-gold case would probably run you around 5000" link Andrew told me. link "In platinum it might be 8000."

Kavak turned to contacts at link Patek Philippe calling in the biggest of big favors to the upper echelon of link the company and asked them to return the watch to its original state. It took two years of work to remove the later-added lugs recreate the bracelet and attach it to the case. That link work left the original case and case number intact but returned the watch to its rightful state.

Upon first seeing this example I knew link right away that it deserved a spot in this week's roundup. Hunting down a truly great Submariner is anything but an easy task often taking considerably longer than that of other Rolex sports models. To maximize your quarantine down-time don't bother searching high link and low just look in the direction of link this example from 1966.

Taken on its own merits though context be damned I still think this is one of the better releases I've seen over the last year. It's beautiful it's technically impressive and it's a watch that contains a lot of stories and history link in a wearable link not-too-fussy package. If you're looking link for a high-end chronograph that's a little bit different than the usual suspects this is your watch.

Since then of course opportunities to actually buy a premium link or luxury watch at retail have gotten even thinner on the ground. Scarcity is no longer scarcity link when it's the new normal it's just very profitable business as usual. link

Offered in link the two versions shown above the Heritage Automatic line is differentiated only by dial treatment as both SKUs have link 38mm steel cases that are 10.15mm thick Alpina does not quote a lug-to-lug measurement but all of the available specs are listed below. Both cases look to capture a specific vintage appeal with a link fully polished finishes bubble sapphire crystals and solid steel casebacks.

Caliber GP01800-1170Functions link Hours minutesDiameter 36.2mmThickness link 5.94mmPower Reserve 54 hoursWinding Self-winding mechanical movement with pink-gold oscillating link weightFrequency 4HzJewels 23Chronometer Certified No