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Grail Watch

The search for the grail is the search for illumination

1970 Breitling Datora 592: My Fixer-Upper

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This is a web site about grails: Watches people spend their lives looking for. Approximately zero people will spend their lives looking for a beat up, common, 1970’s Breitling like this Datora 592. But I bought it, and I thought it might be interesting to my readers to know why and what I’m doing next.

1975 Girard Perregaux Casquette LED

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Some grails are special because of their association with history (see my piece on the “Scuderia Ferrari” Zenith, for example), while others are just plain odd. This is the latter. The Girard Perregaux Casquette (Ref. 9931) is a mid-1970’s LED quartz watch with innovations throughout. It’s just too bad the quartz revolution ended with a whimper instead of this kind of excitement!

1950 Zenith “Scuderia Ferrari” Chronograph

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Sometimes when browsing watches one stumbles upon something that seems seriously out of place. Such was the case when I spotted a Scuderia Ferrari-branded Zenith Chronograph in the listings for tomorrow’s Chrono24/Auctionata auction: Sure, there are Ferrari-branded watches today, but this one dates to “around 1950” and has a yellow logo!

Seiko SARB065 “Cocktail Time Cool” – The Ultimate Attainable Grail?

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Can a “grail” be attainable? Sure! It just depends on how much money you have and how hard you’re willing to work for it. And some grails aren’t limited in production, just in availability. It’s awfully hard to find a Nomos or an Arnold & Son in a store, and Seiko Credor are unavailable in most markets.

Seiko Credor Signo GMT GCBZ995

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It used to be that Grand Seiko was the one and only grail for watch lovers looking for a new, reliable, and above-all Japanese timepiece. But now that Grand Seiko (and Ananta) are available worldwide, attention has turned to Seiko’s other Japanese-only brands, including Credor. And when it comes to attainable Credor grails, few can match the unique combination of features found in this Seiko Credo Signo GMT, ref. GCBZ995.

Pick One: Three Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox Alarm Watches

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The Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox is a true classic: A novel watch that sold well when it first appeared and lasted for decades after, continuing even today. Although not the first alarm wristwatch, the Memovox came on the market in 1951 and became the first ever automatic watch with an alarm function in 1956. Jaeger-LeCoultre upped the ante with a high-beat version in the 1960’s and 1970’s, and has continued offering this useful complication in today’s Master Memovox and related models.

The First Spring Drive Automatic, 2005 Seiko SNR003

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Today, we present a 2005 Seiko Spring Drive, model SNR003. It might not look like much, but this was one of the most important watches of the last decade and shocked the high-end watch world on its debut. It’s pricey at $2,400 (especially since it’s not even a Grand Seiko) but I imagine a knowing collector would be happy to pay this much. Read on for the reason!

1972 Rolex Double Red Sea Dweller (DRSD) Mark II

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It’s rare to find a watch that is universally desirable and pricey yet still common. Such is the case with the Rolex “Double Red” Sea Dweller, a proper tool watch, investment, and status symbol. Even more unusual, this watch comes from the 1970’s, the era of the collapse of the Swiss watch industry and many truly horrible designs. Yet it is so iconic, so sought-after, and so recognizable that prices continue to vault upwards!