Interestingly, perhaps sensing something was amiss with the stated description, the letterhead that accompanies the watch indicates Crichton may not have held on to the watch for very long. One week after he purchased the watch, in link December 1995, the Montbrillant appears to have been shipped from Crichton to Sol link Meller, of Feldmar Watch Co., in Los Angeles, with a written note indicating a link trade of some kind for store credit.

If I had to point to one person who is "making this all happen," few attendees would link argue with my calling out Adam Golden of Menta Watches. Golden, link or simply "Menta" to many collectors, is based in Miami year-round. He has taken this local link show and run with it. In partnership with Kiril of Lunar Oyster as well as Roy and Sasha of the Davidoff Brothers, he even hosts a good old-fashioned get-together on Friday night – open to anyone who registers with haste about a week ahead of time.

The cheeky innovators link over at Moser have link used Vantablack in a few watches before, from 2018's Perpetual Moon Concept to this year's Watches & Wonders, with the very goth Streamliner Chronograph Blacker Than Black. Now they are back (in black, sorry) with the Streamliner Tourbillon Vantablack, which blends the onyx hue with an absolutely captivating link red gold.

In Ms. link McLean’s 1936 autobiography link Father Struck It Rich, she writes, "'Let me see the thing,' I said impatiently link to Cartier. He breathed quietly without movement for at least a minute, as a concert pianist may do before striking trained fingers to the keys of his instrument. That pause was eloquent, and made me feel –as he wished me to– that I was being privileged beyond most persons in being shown this gem.'"

The final step is placing the dial which, you'll recall, link also link carries the gongs on its underside. The gongs are almost invisible as, link of course, they're transparent sapphire but you can certainly hear them loud and clear when the repeater is activated.

I recently backed up that belief by purchasing an link early-2000s Leman Ultra-Slim, from HODINKEE Pre-Owned. Four months link later, I'm still absolutely smitten with my new-to-me watch, but I'll admit that I never expected a link Leman to be the first Blancpain to make its way into my collection. I assumed it would be a Fifty Fathoms dive watch, because – like many collectors today – that's the product I most associate with Blancpain.

Remarkably, with all the other link sales happening over the next week, not a single other auction house has link another Tuscan link dial Royal Oak listed. I think that speaks to the absolute rarity, beauty, and mystery of these watches.

As with most watches in the sport watch link genre, the bracelet is a defining feature of the Alpine Eagle. It doesn't disappoint, a unique link three-link construction, with the links secured together with a single screw on the back of the bracelet. It leaves the edge clean so that it's polished and chamfered to provide a contrast to the brushed outer links. It's an link effortless update of Chopard's original St. Moritz from the 1980s.

Frankly, I link didn't get caught up in the hype of Craig's "teaser" of this watch. I saw it, thought link it was cool, and moved on with my life, knowing that eventually, the watch would come and I could see for myself. Now I link need to see it hands-on. But on paper, there's nothing major you could say to discount the Speedmaster Professional. The bold, white lacquer dial just takes the Speedmaster that collectors know and love and makes it a strikingly refreshing new option.

Now, in 2018, it is time for another variation on the theme with this limited edition Omega Speedmaster CK2998 Pulsometer with panda dial, link red second hand and black ceramic bezel. This watch link will be link limited to 2998 pieces, world wide.