Bring a Loupe: An Early And Tropical El Primero, George Clooney’s Seamaster Aqua Terra, And A Boucheron
Happy Friday and welcome back to Bring A Loupe! This week’s edition is more standard than last’s. After taking a week to preview the wide breadth of watches available in Geneva at four major auction houses, we’re back with more niche picks from eBay, smaller local auction houses, and all across the web. Good news for those who enjoy following the mostly spectator sport of major watch auctions, I’ll be back soon to recap the results last weekend. And expect an equally enthralling BAL edition previewing the New York auctions in early December.
Before all of that, let’s reverse course two weeks to recap some results from our last “standard’ edition of BAL. The Rolex Explorer ref. 6610 with RAF provenance ended up hammering for £14,600 (before fees) – a fairly strong price for the reference. Our Rolex Zephyr over on LoupeThis sold for $5,225. For dealer watches, the “geezer” Audemars Piguet has been marked as “reserved” by Mike Nouveau and the Cartier “Mid-Size” Cintrée from the 1970s has sold on MentaWatches.com. I actually ran into the Cartier while in Geneva and the buyer was very happy with his recent purchase.
Alright, let’s get into this week’s picks!
1970 Zenith El Primero Ref. A384 With Tropical Dial
Considering the historical importance of these early Zenith El Primero references, I have found the pricing to be extremely attractive over the last few years. Among the movements developed in the 1960s and introduced in 1969, all via a race to create the first automatic chronograph – the El Primero caliber is the most aesthetically beautiful and technically advanced. Not only did Zenith create an automatic chronograph movement, but it also threw in a little high frequency, 36,000 vph sauce to top it all off. I’ve been enamored with the El Primero since I first saw it. When I think of vintage chronograph calibers, my mind goes to the Longines 13ZN for manual winding and to the El Primero for automatic – those are the icons.
Is a technically impressive and horologically important movement not really your thing? That’s fine too, these early El Primeros are flat out gorgeous watches – even if you don’t remove the caseback. When I glance at a great vintage watch, I want it to be abundantly clear which era it was designed and produced. This is why I am a lover of gilt-dialed Rolex sport models. Yes, the overall look hasn’t change all too much in almost 100 years, but if it has a gilt dial, you can feel that it was made in the 1950s or 1960s. This first batch of El Primero references, starting with the A381 and including the A384, are so obviously from the era of the 1970s yet have a timeless appeal. That’s the magic line to walk and these do it so, so well.
The A384 is typically a panda-dialed chronograph with a white base dial and black sub-registers. As you can see here, there is a batch of dials within the A384 that tend to turn a beautiful tropical brown. If you’re curious how this watch started its life, take a look at the modern A384 Revival – stark black on white. Something within the paint mix leads to this color change, I have seen too many examples that are similar to believe they all baked in the sun the same way. But these watches are not common by any means. In total, Zenith produced only 2,600 of these back in the early 1970s.
The look is great and condition here is nearly bulletproof. The uniquely shaped case shows all the right finishing and sharp edges, something I always look for on these. Obviously, the dial is incredible as is the lume patina throughout. The cherry on top is the Zenith-signed Gay Frères laddar bracelet with correct ZKM endlinks – this accessory is very hard to go out and buy if you wanted to.
The seller, Arthur at Shuck The Oyster in Germany is offering this Zenith A384 for €17,990. Check it out right here.
George Clooney’s Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra 150M In Red Gold On Bracelet
Thanks to a friendly Bring A Loupe tipster, I was alerted to a strange eBay auction for a modern Omega photographed on the wrist of Hollywood A-lister George Clooney. While my yellow flags went up, by the time I clicked through and saw the listing, my concerns were quickly alleviated. The watch is up for auction to support Homes For Our Troops, Inc. – a charity geared towards building and donating specially adapted custom homes nationwide for severely injured post-9/11 Veterans, to enable them to rebuild their lives.
It’s all for a good cause and, honestly, I found the lead photo quite entertaining. There aren’t many opportunities to put a George Clooney selfie wristshot on Hodinkee and today, I am capturing my chance. The watch is a reference 231.50.42.21.06.002 Aqua Terra 150M 41.5mm in Red Gold on a Red Gold Omega bracelet – the original retail price would have been $39,000.
Home For Our Troops has put this Omega with movie star provenance up for auction on eBay ending Thursday, November 21, at 1:39 PM ET. At the time of publishing, bidding was at $18,200. Get all of the details right here.
1960s Boucheron Tank In Yellow Gold With Omega Caliber
I’ll be the first to admit, I have an extreme soft spot for vintage Boucheron watches. I have previously gone deep here on Hodinkee but to recap in the context of this watch, Boucheron was producing wristwatches in Paris from the 1940s to the 1960s that seriously rivaled their neighbors at Cartier. The look is a bit different, sure. Boucheron tended to prefer an overall “metallic” and monotone look using precious metals whereas Cartier is typically associated with a stark white dial and bold black dial printing. In terms of build quality and handmade charm, Boucheron cases are on the same level as EJ-made Cartier of the period yet the brand is almost entirely disrespected by the market.
This one, for sale via a smaller auction house in London’s Mayfair, caught my eye as it is not one of the more “popular” Boucheron models from this era, the Reflet and Carrée. In fact, I follow most Boucherons posted for sale on the Internet and have yet to see another example exactly like this one. So yeah, it may look quite standard in its rectangular, Tank-esque shape but the watch is actually quite rare. If a vintage Boucheron has an unpolished caseback, where I can clearly see the hand engravings, I immediately want to buy it. The Omega logo there indicates the use of an Omega movement inside the Boucheron-made case – this was typical of the higher-priced options of the time.
This Boucheron is lot 481 of Noonans Mayfair Jewellery, Watches, Silver and Objects of Vertu auction on Tuesday, November 26, at 7 AM EST. The pre-sale estimate is £600 to £800. Click here for the full listing.
1970s Heuer Autavia Ref. 73463 ‘Siffert Colors’
Early this week, I attended TAG Heuer’s 2024 Collector’s Summit – expect a ton of vintage Heuer photos in an article soon. Is that affecting this pick for BAL? Yes. Is this also a great example of an under-the-radar vintage Heuer? Also, yes.
The ref. 73463 Autavia features the tonneau-shaped case of the first automatic caliber 11 Autavias but with a manually-wound movement. So, what you get is the exact same look as something like a ref. 1163 Autavia “Siffert” but for less than half the price. The true Siffert Autavia is legendary, gaining its nickname from Swiss driver Jo Siffert, who wore the model in 1969 – but there is a premium associated with that history. The ref. 73463 has the same dial motif and the same case plus, you get to wind the movement every morning, who doesn’t love doing that?
For sale at an auction house in London, this example has an overall clean look with a full case and fairly even patina to the lume on the dial and hands. There is a slight dark spot in the minute hand but it shouldn’t take away from the watch too much.
This Heuer Autavia is lot 79 of Lyon & Turnbull’s London Watches auction on Thursday, November 21, at 9 AM EST. The pre-sale estimate is £4,000 to £6,000. Check it out right here.
1980s Favre-Leuba For BMW
I’ll be very honest. I don’t know much about this model and have never seen one before, let alone with a BMW logo on the dial. If you happen to be an expert on 1980s Favre-Leubas, feel free to jump in the comments and tell me why this one might not be good but, to my eye, I am liking what I am seeing. The dial printing looks right to me and the BMW logo is the version that brand would have been using in the 1980s.
The watch itself is quite interesting with a half-cushion half-ellipse shape, a wave brushed dial, and an ETA movement inside. The seller notes that this Favre-Leuba “was sourced from a lot of new old stock pieces from a collector’s estate in Switzerland” and that claim somewhat checks out. There are a few scratches on the caseback which can happen in a drawer or something and the original strap does look unworn. This is a lot of fun for under $700.
The seller, Astiegan Watches in Switzerland, is asking $689 for this Favre-Leuba co-signed by BMW. Check it out right here.
Buyer Beware: 1950s Movado M95 Chronograph ‘Tiffany & Co.’
This same watch came up for sale last year with a Movado signature. Now, it is back on the market with no Movado on the dial and a way-too-modern Tiffany & Co. in its place. Just don’t buy it.
Hodinkee