Andy Green
This month was an interesting one as far as spotting goes, including an unexpected Rolex Submariner, a rare vintage Tudor, an obscure Heuer chronograph, and a very special limited edition Autavia amongst others. Let's get cracking.David Chalmers' personal TAG Heuer x Calibre 11 Autavia #11/100.In case you missed it, this month Time+Tide hosted an Autavia Collectors' Lunch, here in Melbourne. Guest speaker David Chalmers, of Calibre 11, is an authority on TAG Heuer ( and Heuer) and had recently collaborated with TAG Heuer on a very limited Autavia Jo Siffert' piece. David joined a select group of Heuer enthusiasts to share industry insights and war stories. As he shared the recent success of his first ever watch sale, I couldn't help but notice he'd kept number 11 for himself.Damian's 1970s Vintage Heuer Chronosplit.As we enjoyed David's presentation, I couldn't help but notice the guest next to me was wearing a very unusual vintage Heuer. So unusual, in fact, I'd never seen one in person before! It turned out that Damian was sporting a vintage Heuer Chronosplit, which was released in the 1970s. They actually have a pretty fascinating and important history, which David's well documented over on his site. Damian's a pretty big Heuer guy and often finds himself trawling the internet for good buys. His most recent purchase a vintage Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date (reference 15000), with a killer smoky grey dial.Marcus's 1971 Rolex Submariner 5513.Further down the table, another guest, Marcus, had brought along a vintage Rolex Submariner (reference 5513) in remarkable condition, which he treated as a beater. Fitted appropriately with a dirty bond' NATO, Marcus had picked this watch up over a decade ago, for cents on the dollar. This has always been the watch he beat around the place and never flinched when it struck a doorknob. He was pleasantly surprised upon learning current market prices, and just how nice his example was!A beautiful vintage Tudor Submariner Snowflake' reference 9411.Those who know me well, know I'm a sucker for a vintage Tudor, especially a Submariner. Even more so, I love seeing them out in the wild. This piece belongs to a passionate Melbourne collector, who enjoys buying what he likes, and collects pieces for himself. He did note that of late, he's caught the vintage bug a bug he thought he'd never catch. This piece marks the second vintage Tudor in his collection, a collection that is slowly shifting from modern to vintage. Interestingly, though, the next piece he's chasing is modern a white dial' Omega Speedmaster.Cole's Tudor Black Bay GMT.Later in the month, another Tudor appeared. This time, the recently released Black Bay GMT one of the hottest releases of 2018. This example belonged to Kiwi collector Cole, who was in Melbourne to collect a grail piece, which he'd mistakenly previously caught and let go, and has been chasing ever since. When the opportunity came up, Cole snapped up this Tudor GMT as after all, who'd say no?Cole's Unimatic Uno U1-DW White Dial.He also had a rather interesting piece, from Italian brand Unimatic. Unimatic have developed somewhat of a cult following amongst collectors, primarily known for their clean and contrasting designs, and limited runs. Unimatic is an interesting brand to spot, as they offer compelling value and a distinctive design at an affordable price.That's it! Til next timeAG
25.08.18