Vintage Watches: A 1960 Patek Philippe Retailed By Beyer, A 1976 Rolex 'Double Red' Sea-Dweller, And A 1960s Heuer Autavia

Questions? Send us a note, or let us know in the comments. Want to sell your vintage watch through the HODINKEE Shop? Click here . Want to sell your pre-owned watch? Click here . This Week's Vintage Watches Sure, you may have heard about the Ever Given's misfortunes in the Suez Canal, but did you know that the Moon helped the ship regain its freedom? Let us explain. Of the 12 to 13 full Moons in any – *cough* ever *cough* – given year, only six create a tide that's high enough to make an impact like the one seen earlier this week at the Suez Canal. Reports state that if the Ever Given was still stuck after the full Moon passed, the cargo carrier was going to pull the plug and begin the process of unloading container by container. 1981 Rolex Air-King Ref. 5500 With Winn-Dixie Dial 1960s Wittnauer Scuba-Matic Ref. 8007 Super Compressor 1950s Gübelin Ipso-Vox Alarm Wristwatch By Jaeger-LeCoultre 1954 Rolex Oyster Perpetual Ref. 6580 'Waffle Dial' In Two Tone 1950s Omega Seamaster Calendar Ref. 2849-10 SC 1970s Universal Genève Polerouter Ref. 869114/07 'University Of New Mexico' 1940s Racine By Gallet In Francois Borgel Case 1976 Rolex Cellini Ref. 4133 1970s Jules Jurgensen Chronograph 1970s Girard-Perregaux Chronograph Ref. 4210 1950s Zenith Caliber 143-6 Chronograph In 18k Pink Gold 1960s Enicar Ultrasonic With Crosshair Dial In 18K Yellow Gold Time is opportunity. And with a truly special vintage watch on your wrist, it's hard not to be more aware of the time and maybe – just maybe – even the opportunity it can create. The Rolex Oyster Perpetual "Waffle Dial," the pink-gold Zenith chronograph, the Gübelin alarm watch (built by Jaeger-LeCoultre!), and the Omega Seamaster, along with the rest in this week's vintage selection, are certainly worth staring at. We think that's a pretty good bar to set. "Will this watch beg me to constantly stare at it on my wrist?" If we find the answer to be yes, you can expect to find it in the HODINKEE Shop . 1960 Patek Philippe Ref. 2598 Retailed By Beyer With Box and Papers By Saori Omura I believe when it comes to vintage watches, it's all about serendipity; there's only one of that exact piece that exists in the world. And this Patek Philippe was meant to be listed this morning. It's confirmed by an Extract from the Patek Philippe Archives that the original date of sale was March 31, 1960 – exactly 61 years ago today. We didn't plan it that way, but it came to us by some unknown force in the universe. The watch may have come to us by happenstance, but the aesthetics of this classic Calatrava are very much intentional; every element and every proportion is fully considered. Starting from the case – while it measures 33mm across, the narrow downturned bezel and the faceted lugs create an illusion of a more prominent presence on your wrist. It has a silvered dial, which has aged beautifully into a creamy champagne color that seamlessly blends together with the yellow-gold case, all of which also contributes to the watch appearing larger than its listed size. The applied baton markers and the svelte baton hands maximize the reserve on the dial. The subsidiary seconds at six o'clock adds to the Calatrava dial design elements. Personally, what I love most about this watch is the raised enamel signature – you simply don't see it done like this anymore. It's a very subtle feature but quintessentially vintage Patek Philippe, subliminally adding extra depth to the dial. Last but not least, the icing on the cake is that the dial is signed by Beyer Chronometrie, the legendary Zurich retailer on Bahnhofstrasse. Beyer has enjoyed a longstanding working relationship with Patek Philippe, dating all the way back to the 1840s – now that's loyalty! One detail that made us gravitate toward this watch was the original red presentation box with the gold Calatrava cross on the top, plus the older execution of Patek Philippe's Certificate of Origin. The certificate has the appearance of aged parchment paper or a page from an old book. The decorated letter "N" of "Nous" even looks like it could serve as the introduction to a fairytale! Not only that, but it also comes with the original envelope with the corresponding movement number of the watch. When you see vintage box and papers like these, you can't help but feel the history right in your hands. This full-set Patek Philippe is available in all its glory over in the HODINKEE Shop . 1976 Rolex Sea-Dweller Ref. 1665 'Double Red' By Brandon Frazin What can I say about the Double Red Sea-Dweller, aka the DRSD? The DRSD has been a grail of mine for quite a while, and after spending some time with the example we're offering today, it has just made my itch even worse. Being a Submariner guy, I naturally gravitate toward Sea-Dwellers in general; the thicker case, the deeper depth rating, and the helium escape valve just do it for me – not to mention those two small lines of red text. It's funny to think about this watch's capabilities, and how I wouldn't really use it for anything but desk diving. Sitting here, staring at this gorgeous watch, I realize that I've seen more Paul Newman Daytonas than DRSD's over the years I've worked in this crazy watch world. That's how rare a DRSD is; you just don't see too many coming up for sale, and finding one that's aged like this one is not very common. From the nearly perfect pumpkin-colored lume to the well-preserved bezel insert, this thing was clearly taken care of over the years. Many of these watches were really used for diving, so it's getting harder and harder to find clean, original examples. Back in my auction days, I had one come up for sale from the original owner. He really used it hard, and when he consigned the watch, he told me he picked it because he wanted the best dive watch. That has always stuck with me and just adds to my affinity for Rolex. Another thing I love about the DRSD is that it's kind of an "if you know, you know" watch. From far away, it may look like a standard Submariner; you need to have a trained eye and know something about vintage Sea-Dwellers to fully get it. I've said it before, and I'm sure I'll say it again: It's all about the details when it comes to vintage Rolex, and this DRSD is a great example of exactly that. To get the full story on this DRSD, head over to the Shop . 1960s Heuer Autavia Ref. 2446C By Rich Fordon I'm a completist by nature. When I stumble upon something I'm interested in, my immediate response is to dream about getting every variant of said thing. Recently, for example, I bought a late 1980s Swatch, and all of the sudden, I was wondering where I would store, in my one-bedroom Manhattan apartment, the presumably hundreds of vintage Swatch watches that were to come. Somehow, I do a good job of mentally (and financially) pulling myself back in. I still have just the one '80s Swatch – at least for now. It wasn't until Talking Watches with Jeff Stein that I understood, became interested in, and craved the Heuer Autavia. Seeing Jeff's table and watch roll full of so many little variants of this flagship Heuer chronograph, like the screw-back "all lume" dial, "flat V" and "pointed V" automatic Autavias, and "Orange Boy " ref. 1163, satisfied my completist tendencies. When this ref. 2446C Autavia arrived in the office, I was reminded of all those little details and the many different variants that floored me back in 2016 when watching that episode of Talking Watches. This particular variant combines two of my favorite details of early manual-wind Autavias, with a "Rindt"-style dial and an EPSA compressor-style case. The "Rindt" dial epitomizes the Autavia as the watch of choice for race car drivers, named after Formula One champion Jochen Rindt, who selected a screw-back ref. 2446 with a similar dial layout for his personal watch, on and off the track . On the other hand, the EPSA compressor case shows Heuer's commitment to offering the best possible sport watch in one of the brand's flagship products. The compressor technology used here was cutting edge in the 1960s. Condition-wise, this example is really stunning. Take in all of this Autavia's details over in the Shop right now.The boat is no longer stuck. What better way to celebrate than with a vintage watch?