
Crown & Caliber Blog
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Watch reviews, news, history and stories. Also covers articles on watch brands, types and styles, collections and price guides.
Crown & Caliber is an exclusively online marketplace for pre-owned luxury watches, dedicated to taking the fear and skepticism out the watch buying & selling process.
Crown & Caliber Blog
11M ago
Originally Published On Hodinkee.com
By Danny Milton
Sometimes you know a thing is coming and it still manages to surprise you. Such is the case with the latest in the MoonSwatch lineage. Swatch has spent the better part of the past couple of months teasing a Snoopy-themed variation of the model and today, it came through. This is the MoonSwatch Mission to the Moonphase.
This all-white colorway features a white dial, white case, and white velcro strap. It has all the fixings of a normal MoonSwatch until you peer at the upper right sub-register which is where you’ll find the familiar Snoop ..read more
Crown & Caliber Blog
1y ago
A Beginner’s Guide To The GMT Bezel
By: James Stacey
As something of a nerd for travel watches, I can’t help but obsess over the myriad permutations that exist within the basic concept of a watch that shows the time in two (or more) places. I am also routinely surprised by how often I cross paths with someone who doesn’t know how to get the full functionality from their travel watch. Predictably, this happens most commonly with the most common form of the travel watch, the GMT.
Largely popularized by the Rolex GMT-Master and GMT-Master II models, a standard GMT can come in a few flav ..read more
Crown & Caliber Blog
1y ago
In Depth: Taking A Journey Through Time With The Rolex ‘Hulk’ Submariner Ref. 116610LV
By: Danny Milton
For every watch enthusiast or watch lover, there are always two points in time worth remembering. The first point is when you were a normal functioning human being who just so happened to have an intellectual or emotional curiosity in watches. Maybe you wore the same Timex or G-Shock every day, maybe there was an heirloom Rolex, Omega, Cartier, Hamilton, Tissot, or Seiko in your life that meant a lot to you. Perhaps you cherished that watch and figured you knew a thing or two about these ho ..read more
Crown & Caliber Blog
1y ago
The New H. Moser & Cie. Streamliner Perpetual Calendar Is No Mess, No Logos, No Indices, Just A Great Looking Watch
By: Mark Kauzlarich
Looks like smoked salmon is back on the menu, boys.
Not long after the discontinuation of Moser’s Smoked Salmon Streamliner from last year, the tropical-brown griffé dial is back in a new perpetual calendar from the brand. But if you were worried that the dial would be marred by finicky and unsightly indices or even a logo, you don’t know the direction Moser has been heading of late.
This is Moser’s Perpetual Calendar Concept, which means ..read more
Crown & Caliber Blog
1y ago
How Hamilton Made A Watch For ‘Dune Part: 2’ And Turned It Into Two Illuminating Limited Editions
By Danny Milton; Photos By Kasia Milton
When news broke that Dune: Part Two would be exiting the 2023 release calendar, it goes without saying that there was a desert-sized wave – nay, a sandstorm – of disappointment throughout the moviegoing world. Taking the glass-half-full approach, it’s not as if this year hasn’t been one of the all-time release cycles in recent memory. It’s the year that gave us Barbieheimer after all – and Hamilton went hard in the vintage paint w ..read more
Crown & Caliber Blog
1y ago
The Value Proposition: Five Significant Undervalued Watches Of The ’80s
Phillips’ esteemed Head of Watches in New York answers the one big question: So, what should you buy?
Originally published by Paul Boutros on Hodinkee, March 5th 2021
As someone who both grew up during the 1980s and fell in love with watches back then, I was excited to see the ’80s Week theme appear on HODINKEE. It reminded me of an email I received from Ben Clymer back in 2019, where he asked some friends for our thoughts on watches we believed should be worth more than they are. As I thought through my answer, several p ..read more
Crown & Caliber Blog
1y ago
Buying, Selling, & Collecting The Audacious Design Of 1970s Patek
The ’70s gave way to experimental design across the board. Was Patek Philippe the clear victor of ingenuity?
Originally published by Malaika Crawford on Hodinkee, August 11th 2023
There is no period as visually defined as the 1970s – at least in my mind. It was a benchmark decade for all things experimental, wavy, and technicolored.
But beyond the cliched veneer of polyester leisure suits and platform shoes, sunken living rooms, and Cher in Bob Mackie outfits (FYI, I am spiritually guided by ’70s Cher, so this on ..read more
Crown & Caliber Blog
1y ago
The Value Proposition: The Most Affordable Vintage Rolex Is Worth Your Time
The Oyster 6426 – still the most straightforward Rolex around.
Originally published by Anthony Traina on Hodinkee, October 14th, 2022
Don’t you long for the days of John Mayer telling you about five vintage Rolex watches you can buy for under $8,000, including stalwarts like the refs. Explorer 1016, GMT-Master 1675, or Submariner 5513? The bread-and-butter of vintage Rolex collecting, all for under five figures? Simpler times.
Nowadays, a decent 1016 costs roughly the same as a used Toyota Corolla – I’ll ta ..read more
Crown & Caliber Blog
1y ago
Six Things To Know Before You Start Collecting The Cartier Tank Basculante
It’s just so flipping fun.
Originally published by Anthony Traina on Hodinkee, September 6th 2023
Of the Tank and its many forms, the model we now call the Tank Basculante is probably the most fun. Pull the face out, and a complicated “cabriolet” system is revealed, allowing you to flip the face upside down to reveal the caseback. Commercial production of the Basculante began in 1932, shortly after the introduction of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso (you can find Tank “Reversos” too). It’s a different way of reversing ..read more
Crown & Caliber Blog
1y ago
In-Depth: The Long And Increasingly Complicated Story Of The Reference Number
From 2447 to CBS2210.FC6534 – why reference numbers keep getting longer.
Two four four seven. When Heuer released the first Carrera in 1963, it gave its new racing chronograph an easy-to-remember four-digit reference number. The Carrera 2447 joined good company on the market, finding competition with the four-digit Omega Speedmaster 2998 (simplified – we’ll get to that) and Rolex Daytona 6239.
Fast forward to this year: TAG Heuer introduced the new Carrera “Glassbox,” reference number CBS2210.FC6534. That’s 13 ..read more