Happy Friday, Ballers, and I hope everyone’s buckled in for what looks to be some excellent football (and, if you were lucky enough to catch the England v Mexico match, you’ve already seen some of the best ever).
Scorekeeping last week’s picks, the Million “Sherpa Cousin” sells on Sunday the 12th, the 18k Omega Constellation ref 2648 sold for €4218 all-in, the Sarpaneva x Moomin went for $8,800, and the Vacheron Constantin 4111 with the ‘washed’ dial sold for €100,000.
Strays
It feels like Seiko 6139s are a sort of necessary step in early collecting. They’re lovely vintage watches; there are lots of them out there, and, unless you’re hankering for a flawless Resist-dialed Pogue, they’re fairly reasonable. This week, Goodwill has a blue-dialed 6139-6005, and it’s not only in very good shape but also early in the model run, which you can tell from the ‘notch’ case (the small cutout for the crown) and the early Z bracelet.
Photo courtesy of Goodwill.
If you’re on the hunt for vintage steel-cased time-only beauties, this Jaeger-LeCoultre sure seems excellent, ditto this Favre-Leuba Daymatic, or this Movado with its bit of patina, and if those aren’t quite your tune, there’s this NOS Tissot, serviced in 2026, which, yes, is small (31mm), but I dare you to click that link and not get a little distracted by the watch’s pristine condition. Rossini’s auction on the 11th is chock-full of goodies, but the ones I kept returning to were this RAID edition Speedmaster (if this is the first time you’re hearing about a RAID Speedy, here’s more info) and this Rolex Oysterquartz Datejust ref 17014. Finally, please consider my inclusion of this Rolex 5504 Explorer as a PSA of sorts. Yes, it looks its age. Yes, some of the lume in the minute hand has fallen out. Also, very much yes, this watch, with some care, has years and years of timekeeping left to offer someone willing to bring it back to life.
Tudor Black Bay Pink for Inter Miami
No, this is not quite this pink watch from 2024, but it’s also not far off. To jog your memory, that pink Black Bay Chrono was released shortly after Tudor announced its partnership with Inter Miami, the David Beckham-owned MLS team (and of course Beckham himself is a Tudor ambassador). Technically not a limited edition, the Black Bay Chrono ‘Pink’ was never part of the catalog and was made, presumably, in fairly limited quantities (though, in fairness, there are currently 100 of them listed on Chrono24).
Photo courtesy of Loupe This.
This watch, however, is very much a limited edition, and the giveaway is there in the center of the dial, just south of the hand stack. That, for the uninitiated, is the logo for Inter Miami, and this specific watch is one of 50 made by Tudor for David Beckham, which watches were given to players (and a few employees) to celebrate Inter Miami having the best record in the MLS and winning the “Supporters Shield.” I hadn’t even known of this watch’s existence, and while I’m told there was some awareness of them in the broader collector community, they’re freakishly uncommon (if you Google enough, you can find one picture of one of these, which apparently sold on Chrono24, but that’s really it).
Photo courtesy of Loupe This.
Photo courtesy of Loupe This.
This watch is hard to get a handle on. It’s from the pre-39 Black Bay Chrono era, meaning the watch itself is a pretty substantial 41mm wide and 14.4mm thick. It looks to be in fantastic shape, with very little evidence of wear, and it comes on the then-new Jubilee-looking (or five-link) bracelet Tudor introduced with the Pink model. Unsurprisingly, this comes with its box and papers as well. So, just as a watch, it’s fairly cool.
But of course, this watch won’t sell and isn’t being covered here because of its horological hits: whoever’s buying this watch is excited about the Inter Miami connection. Consigned by an Inter Miami player, this watch connects you to Beckham and Messi, which, even in a non-World Cup year, is a huge deal. With an estimate of $10,000-20,000, this watch is being auctioned next week on Loupe This.
Jaeger 4ATM Ref. 13001
This chronograph feels like a grail-level watch for some Baller out there—and, if I’m honest, it was a grail watch for me for a long while. I’m not sure whether it was the time I got into watches or just a function of my own tastes and preferences, but 1960s sport chronographs were (and remain) one of my great weaknesses.
Image courtesy of Alexandre Landre.
This Jaeger—reference 13001, also called the 4ATM (for the rating etched on the caseback)—is a fairly uncommon watch, with supposedly only 100 examples made. The rarity, however, doesn’t really matter, or at least shouldn’t: I couldn’t begin to guess the number of Submariners ever made, but their rarity has zilch to do with how beloved and desired they are.
What makes this watch spectacular is much simpler: it looks badass. The stainless steel case is 40mm, and it’s another one of those cases that’s been used a bunch of times by many brands, and this one looks to be in fine shape. The pictures don’t make it clear if it’s been polished or just worn, but regardless, the bevels at the edges of the lugs are still visible. The huge panda dial’s mouth-wateringly pretty. The tachymeter ring looks like it’s bent, but I suspect a careful and sympathetic watchmaker can address it when the crazed crystal’s replaced. It’s got a bidirectional rotating bezel that looks excellent. All in all, it’s a very cool 1960s chrono.
Image courtesy of Alexandre Landre.
The few weird aspects of this watch—that it’s signed only “Jaeger” on the dial, and that the Valjoux 72 is unsigned on every version of this model I can find that’s come to market—mystify me. I’ve read that this is a Jaeger-LeCoultre made for the American market, but that doesn’t track: the tachymeter’s in kilometers, plus vintage JLCs made for the American market had movements signed LeCoultre. This isn’t to cast doubt on this watch—it’s shown up before, and its variations have been documented—but it’s still an oddball.
Alexandre Landre is selling this watch in their Watch Store auction on Saturday 18 July, and the estimate is €4,000-6,000.
Longines Ultra-Chron Ref. 7951-1
Longines released the Ultra-Chron in 1967 to celebrate the brand’s 100th anniversary, and the watches were notable for running at 36,000 vph, or 5 Hz (for reference, a 1967 cal 321 Speedmaster ran at 2.5 Hz, a Sub at 2.75 Hz; the Zenith El Primero ran at 5 Hz, but was a few years from the market when the Ultra-Chron was introduced). Please note that high-frequency watches are not inherently superior—they are, as Mr Baker wrote in 2021, simply part of the equation when considering a watch.
Image courtesy of The Saleroom.
This Longines Ultra-Chron ref. 7951-1, however, would be worth writing about even if it weren’t powered by a high-frequency movement (in this case, the cal. 431). Of note is that this particular Ultra-Chron is considered a jumbo at 37mm, and no, for those wondering, the watch is not missing a bezel. One of the most excellent things about the Ultra-Chrons from the late ’60s is how almost minimalist their cases are, pared back to a phenomenal extent. Check the pictures in the listing: the midcase is trim.
Image courtesy of The Saleroom.
And this one looks just wonderful, with a beautiful and clean gray dial, an unpolished case, and lume that’s aged nicely. No, the bracelet will win no awards. Also, no, the watch itself isn’t some pinnacle of timekeeping, nor is it so uncommon that it’ll infuriate a good watchmaker. What it is—like the Certina DS from a few weeks ago—is just a reminder that there are really, really great watches out there that are totally obtainable for reasonable prices and which will, I’d bet, make a wearer real happy every time he or she checks the time.
This Longines is being auctioned on the 14th by The Saleroom with an estimate of £150-250; at that price, it’s a crazy steal.
A Pair of Tudor Ranger 9050/0s
I’ve got a phenomenal soft spot for the vintage Tudor Ranger, and I swore a while ago I’d post one when it came up. Fortunately for all of us, there are actually two very, very nice ones available, and you really can’t go wrong with either of them.
The first Ranger is from Bazamu, a collector I presume lots of us are really familiar with (his watches have been featured in the Reference Points for both the Rolex GMT Master and the Daytona). Bazamu’s got a knack for uncovering fresh-to-market watches, and the Tudor Ranger he’s selling is seemingly no different.
Image courtesy of Bazamu.
Image courtesy of Bazamu.
Image courtesy of Bazamu.
This example has plenty to recommend it. The case looks fantastic and is clearly unpolished; the lume has aged excellently, and the watch comes on an unworn C & I rivet bracelet (dated 1976, presumably the watch’s age as well). The watch was serviced in 2025, which should give interested parties some relief. The only knock on the watch is a crack running through the lume on the seconds hand; if it were me, I’d get it stabilized, but that’s just me. Bazamu’s asking $12,500 or best offer for this 50-year-old beauty.
Image courtesy of Goldfinger’s Vintage.
The second Ranger is from Goldfinger’s Vintage, which also features an unpolished case, though the crystal has been replaced with a non-oyster example. The Goldfinger’s example comes on a period-correct Rolex bracelet (i.e., likely non-original, if that’s a huge deal to you), and presumably hasn’t been serviced, either. Goldfinger’s is asking $11,995 for their example.
Buyer Beware
Image courtesy of Interencheres.
This Omega is an absolute nofor any number of reasons, but the quickest is that there’s no lume on the dial or hands, yet the bottom of the dial is marked “Swiss T < 25”. Also, this Omega Cosmic is a redial. I feel like both of these are child’s play, their flaws totally obvious, and maybe I’m just including them here to prove I’m not being a slacker.
