Vintage
Some may have noticed a paraphrase of a controversial Hip Hop song. Probably as controversial in the microcosm of watchmaking as the patina. Yesterday I had the great chance to meet a great Purist. I knew he was wearing his 5513 and so I came with two special watches for this meeting. A JLC Tribute
Some may have noticed a paraphrase of a controversial Hip Hop song.
Probably as controversial in the microcosm of watchmaking as the patina.
Yesterday I had the great chance to meet a great Purist. I knew he was wearing his 5513 and so I came with two special watches for this meeting.
A JLC Tribute to Polaris produced in 2009, and a 2010 Rolex Submariner C.
He, therefore, had this very very very beautiful 5513 in a state of competition. My knowledge in vintage is near the absolute 0, but I can recognize what is beautiful and this watch with its patina is beautiful. She is from 1984 ... just like me by the way.
Why did I bring these two watches ... let's begin with the Tribute to Polaris. It's a tribute to a model released in 1968. Time having done its work, the indexes have deteriorated and now these models have a beautiful patina much sought after by collectors.
Jaeger Lecoultre, aware of the attraction of his fans for this, had a very marketing/collector driven policies and brought back this model with a false patina.
Let's go back to Rolex so I think the only letmotiv is the excellent and the reliability without much consideration for the past/collectioneur.
The Submariner is as emblematic to Rolex as the Polaris is to Jaeger Lecoultre.
Rolex does not like vintage and here and there you can read models that have gone through the official spa and whose time stamps have been replaced by spare pieces.
My Submariner will never have a patina, the dial, hands, indexes, the bezel will be the same in 35 years, this is a pity. Because I loved the patina of the 5513 of my friend.
Your thoughts
your 116610 will develop patina, just a different type of patina. There is more to Patina than lume discoloration. Thanks for the photos, three great time pieces!
But I like patina. For me, fake patina is when you work on the tritium or radium to get another color than the one naturally obtained by the impact of years passing and some other natural factors. Real patina is sumptuous, captivating, charming. You are on a slippery slope, my friend, as it seems obvious you are knocking at the door of vintage universe. Best, Nicolas
I've not been privileged enough to see real lume patina in the metal but based on photos - i don't have a problem with off white or cream printing, since virtually all new mechanical watches are essentially homages. (perhaps it's more striking in real life and the differences are more apparent to the connoisseur?)
...naturally are biaised. The 116610 and Tribute to Polaris are really cool watches and are surely perfect on your wrist, but as for me I lean towards the 5513 without a doubt. But you know it my friend I donโt need to mention it ๐. Thanks for the interesting comparative pics even if the comparison was even better live... ๐
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