This is an edition of the newsletter Box + Papers, Cam Wolf’s weekly deep dive into the world of watches. Sign up here.
Let’s all take our brains out for a rinse and float down a lazy river of spectacular watches. This feels like the right time for the return of the always 100% correct Watch Instagram Power Rankings. The rules of the game are simple: I’ve been squirreling away the most fascinating and best-looking watches on Instagram since the last edition in July. Now we meet again to hopefully discover a few new brands and obsessions and maybe even share some news. I’m starting off by cheating!
STORY TIME!!!!
Bonus: @pieceunique_’s Patek Philippe Nautilus ref. 3800 with legendary provenance
If this watch had been in @pieceunique_’s possession I would have put it first—by, like, a lot. But the sacred order of the power rankings dictates you can’t climb to the top of the ladder by simply posting someone else’s images. Still, this watch is so fascinating I wanted to bring it to your attention. Here we have a Patek Philippe Nautilus—undoubtedly the brand’s most sought-after model over the past few years—that once belonged to a massive celebrity.
Or, at least, someone hugely famous to anyone who can explain what a mainspring does. That would be George Daniels, widely considered the greatest watchmaker of the last century, who made a few adjustments to this fan-favorite piece himself. According to @pieceunique_, Patek executive Alan Banbery approached Daniels in 1979 after he saw the watchmaker’s coaxial escapement. This was one of Daniels’s signature inventions—an improvement on the traditional escapement, which manages how energy is pushed through a movement, lasting longer without servicing and keeping better time.
Banbery brought Daniels in to work on some pocket watches, but the pair pivoted to wristwatches. Daniels ended up having to make his movement even thinner to fit it inside the Nautilus; eventually he was able to produce three prototypes. Daniels wore this Nautilus for 12 years. As for his coaxial escapement? Omega started using it in 1999 in a limited-edition De Ville and it is now inside nearly all of the manufacturer’s pieces. Okay, on to the proper rankings!
:3
13. @little.old.watches’ Schiaparelli
