Weekly Wind Down | Sales Highlights including watches from Rolex & Patek Philippe

We waited a while for this, and it’s finally arrived! The Yacht-Master is now available in titanium and it looks like a perfect match. Eagle-eyed enthusiasts first spotted a prototype on the wrist of British sailor Ben Ainslie several years ago, leading to much speculation about what Rolex was planning for the Yacht-Master range.  This was finally laid to rest with the announcement of the Yacht-Master in ‘RLX’ titanium at Watches & Wonders 2023. 

This is a bold move for Rolex. Just a few years ago, the idea of the brand launching titanium watches was nothing more than a pipe dream. Within the space of just a few years, we’ve seen the introduction of the Deepsea Challenge and now the Yacht-Master in this lightweight material. The question everyone is asking now is ‘When are we getting a titanium Submariner?’ Recently sold on Watch Collecting for £26,950. 

With so much attention focused on the Nautilus and Aquanaut, it’s nice to see Patek Philippe bring a bit of colour and sporty  flare to its more traditionally-styled Calatrava range. Introduced last year, the reference 6007G was launched in three different variants, all with bright coloured accents. 

This release builds on the commemorative Ref. 6007A-001, which was created in conjunction with the opening of the brand’s new manufacture building. They offer the same embossed “carbon” patterned dial and lume-filled markers, but introduce white gold cases and some much-needed coloured accents. This is an exciting new direction for the brand, and the Calatrava collection. Recently sold on Watch Collecting for £23,000. 

It is purported by some that only around 25,000 Rolex Oysterquartz watches were ever made by ‘The Crown’. The Oysterquartz was launched during an era where quartz movements were a luxury innovation, expensive and accurate and still the future. 

An era-defining design, Rolex sharpened the case and bracelet to more angular profiles for its Oysterquartz models.  The integrated bracelet flows seamlessly with the case, and in this example, is finished in two-tone with a blue sunray dial.

Internally, the calibre 5055 quartz movement powering the watch took Rolex five years to develop back in the 70s. By 2001, the era of Rolex quartz ended but the Oysterquartz has since become a valued collectors’ piece. It also represents an interesting value proposition in the world of vintage Rolex  Recently sold on Watch Collecting for £3,600.