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Old 22 July 2009, 06:36 AM   #1
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Icon20 The TRF 10 watches of historical significance

I want to compile a list a 10 wristwatches that really made their footprint in history. I have a few contenders and shall name one example: the Omega Speedmaster Professional that was chosen as standard issue for the Apollo astronauts. You can name any 10 watches that YOU find are to be placed in this hall of fame. I hope for many contributions and if necessary will make a poll to establish the watches that are worthy of this honour.

Rules:

  • The wristwatches in question must be, or have been, available to the general public.
  • Just one wristwatch from a certain brand.
Fire away!
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Old 22 July 2009, 06:50 AM   #2
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The Rolex GMT for it's rich history.
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Old 22 July 2009, 06:52 AM   #3
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The Rolex GMT for it's rich history.
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And the other 9?
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Old 22 July 2009, 06:53 AM   #4
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A. Lange & Sohne - Lange 1
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak
Patek Philippe Calatrava
Cartier Tank
Jaeger LeCoultre Reverso
Rolex Submariner Date
Omega Speedmaster
Hublot Big Bang
Ulysse Nardin Freak
Blancpain Fifty Fathoms
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Old 22 July 2009, 07:31 AM   #5
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Cartier Tank as worn by JFK.
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Old 22 July 2009, 07:32 AM   #6
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Howard's list looks about right to me.
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Old 22 July 2009, 08:06 AM   #7
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And the other 9?
You mean there are 9 others????
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Old 22 July 2009, 09:29 AM   #8
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Omega Speedmaster
Rolex Submariner
Jaeger LeCoultre Reverso
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak
Patek Philippe Calatrava
Cartier Tank
Blancpain Fifty Fathoms
Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Extra Plate
Swatch Watch (Not a fan but it DEFINITELY made its footprint in history)
IWC Portuguese

I only like a few of those, but I tried to be objective!
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Old 22 July 2009, 11:59 PM   #9
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Quote:
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A. Lange & Sohne - Lange 1
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak
Patek Philippe Calatrava
Cartier Tank
Jaeger LeCoultre Reverso
Rolex Submariner Date
Omega Speedmaster
Hublot Big Bang
Ulysse Nardin Freak
Blancpain Fifty Fathoms
Right on for me!
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Old 23 July 2009, 02:31 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by boa2 View Post
A. Lange & Sohne - Lange 1
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak
Patek Philippe Calatrava
Cartier Tank
Jaeger LeCoultre Reverso
Rolex Submariner Date
Omega Speedmaster
Hublot Big Bang
Ulysse Nardin Freak
Blancpain Fifty Fathoms

I would not pick the Calatrava for Patek. It is the Patek which sold the most copies but in that case we should take the datejust for Rolex.
And I agree when you take the submariner ;-)

Patek ... imo not a specific reference but any chronograpgh or chronograph perpetual. And don't forget their worldtimers ... and what about the Nautilus ... darn difficult, this brand has imo to much to offer ;-)
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Old 23 July 2009, 02:44 AM   #11
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I would not pick the Calatrava for Patek. It is the Patek which sold the most copies but in that case we should take the datejust for Rolex.
And I agree when you take the submariner ;-)

Patek ... imo not a specific reference but any chronograpgh or chronograph perpetual. And don't forget their worldtimers ... and what about the Nautilus ... darn difficult, this brand has imo to much to offer ;-)
Patek does have a lot to offer, for sure. I do think it's most iconic, influential designs would be the Calatrava or the Nautilus. My suspicion is that most Patek collectors would say Calatrava, only because of 1) its mass appeal; and 2) the Nautilus is quite polarizing.

Their chronographs and perpetuals are magnificent, as are the world timers, but they are almost always limited editions in a design that changes every few years. I can't say that any have, as a design category, stamped their footprint in history.
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Old 23 July 2009, 04:06 AM   #12
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Because I'm a difficult person by nature I would like to know the historical significance of say, the Hublot Big Bang. This is just an example. Has it been to the moon? To the top of the Mount Everest? Or 'round the Pope's wrist? That's what I meant by 'historical significance'. The Hamilton Pulsar, 'The Time Computer', was the world's first commercially available LED watch. Now that I find significant!
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Old 23 July 2009, 04:30 AM   #13
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Because I'm a difficult person by nature I would like to know the historical significance of say, the Hublot Big Bang. This is just an example. Has it been to the moon? To the top of the Mount Everest? Or 'round the Pope's wrist? That's what I meant by 'historical significance'. The Hamilton Pulsar, 'The Time Computer', was the world's first commercially available LED watch. Now that I find significant!
No, but neither have the Lange 1, the PP Calatrava, etc.

I think the Big Bang's historical significance will need to be measured over time. It is after all a watch that was released only 4 years ago. However, in that short span, a company whose biggest market was Spain gambled on one model only, and was then sold last year for nearly half a billion dollars. Hublot was the first to mate a rubber strap with a gold watch, and the Big Bang brings this design phenomenon to a pinnacle in a specific genre of watch...one that has been mimicked by quite a few other companies.

I think some of its more colorful/adventurous versions of the Big Bang may not stand the test of time, but the ceramic/SS or the Ice Bang (for example) will IMO hold up as representative of a milestone in watchmaking.
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Old 24 July 2009, 05:41 AM   #14
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I see that this thread is petering out. And with not enough respondents it is hard to make a representative list. And this is a bump!
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Old 24 July 2009, 06:39 AM   #15
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footprint in history:picture.jpg
the most accurate wristwatch (self-contained time keeping) ever. +/- 3 secs per year. 1975.
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Old 24 July 2009, 06:48 AM   #16
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footprint in history:Attachment 77848
the most accurate wristwatch (self-contained time keeping) ever. +/- 3 secs per year. 1975.
That's what I mean! You've got the picture. Now can you name some others? I'm aiming at 10 (ten) watches
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Old 24 July 2009, 08:03 AM   #17
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rolex datejust (the epitomy of rolex)
omega speedmaster (no need for explanation...)
jlc reverso (exquisite although i prefer the master compressor range)
pp calatrava (nuff said)
breitling navitimer (this MUST be included)
ap royal oak (not offshore)
a panerai luminor (have history, will be a classic in the future, no question)

can i also say..........................

explorer
sub
gmt

(all have enough significance to be counted into any top ten but i realise one is rarely so enthusiastic as to put more than one rolex in)
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Old 24 July 2009, 10:49 AM   #18
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for rolex, rather than pick a particular model, i would vote for the oyster perpetual line as a whole. rolex introduced the oyster perpetual in 1931.
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Old 24 July 2009, 11:06 AM   #19
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Why this one of course the first ever calculator watch





LOLLOL
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Old 24 July 2009, 02:31 PM   #20
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Here's my list based on Historical Relevance and Innovation:

Breguet Tradition
Rolex Oyster
Omega Speedmaster
Patek Calatrava
Breitling Professional Emergency
Casio G-Shock
Timex Ironman
Movado Museum
Swatch
Concord Delirium
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Old 26 July 2009, 06:04 PM   #21
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Sigh, not many takers
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Old 26 July 2009, 06:23 PM   #22
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Sorry for the late reply, got logged off...And sorry, I broke all your rules. I just couldn't keep some of them out! In defense of so many Rolex choices, they really are the father of modern day wristwatches. They set the standard so many years ago that all others continue to follow to this day.

  1. Marine Chronometer: John Harrison. The father of modern mechanical watches has to be mentioned.
  2. Rolex: The first Rolex Oyster wristwatch. Tested in the water and on the battlefield. Post WWI, made wearing a wristwatch cool for guys, started the whole wristwatch trend that continues to this day for men around the world.
  3. Rolex: Datejust. Where it all came together for Rolex...Chromometer, Self-Winding, Oyster/waterproof case, Date with magnification lens (easy to see, most common wristwatch complication today).
  4. Rolex: Submariner. Dr. No, James Bond & Sean Connery! First mass-produced, quality dive watch...still in production to day after over 50 years in continuous prodution.
  5. Speedmaster Moonwatch, caliber Lemania 321. It went to the moon, beat out several other chronographs to be "flight qualified" by NASA.
  6. Heuer & Breitling: Monaco & Chonomatic. First Automatic Chronographs on the market. Standard feature today in most chronograph watches.
  7. Zenith: El Primero. Highly accurate, 36,000 bph! Accurate to 1/10 second!
  8. Rolex: Cosmograph Daytona, 4130 caliber. Grail status, high resale values, beauty in its simplicity...less parts that do more functions. Iconic modern day watch.
  9. Patek: Perpetual Calender. High resale values, often setting records at auctions.
  10. Breguet: Tourbillon. With all the attention in recent years to Tourbillons...credit to Breguet for starting it all.
  11. Rolex: Day-Date aka "The President". A status symbol. Communicates that you "have arrived". Symbol for success by many, an aspiriational watch. Very well known by the general public.
  12. SWATCH watch or "second watch". Who'd have known that this company would eventually own almost all of the Swiss Watch industry???!!! They were crucial in saving Swiss watches during the Quartz crises. All WIS' thank them. Brian/iwantagmt is credited for this idea.
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Old 26 July 2009, 09:56 PM   #23
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I agree with a lot of Davidson's list but heres some stuff to add to it:

1.Cartier Santos : the first real men's wrist watch

2.Patek ladie's watch: The first real wrist watch (cuz the earlier one's were only worn by women).

3.The Accutron tuning-fork watch (predecessor to the quartz watches)

4.The only Rolex I would call truly historic is the first water-resitant Oyster watches, bringing this great techonolog, innovation and thought to watchmaking.

5.the Blancpain LIP fifty fathoms, for being what it is :)

6.the Breguet Tourbillons or minute repeaters or La Tradition, shock-resist para-chute mechanism watches, for their innovativeness.

7.Zenith El-Primero or Heuer-Breitling chronos cuz one of them was the first chrono, thats truly historic :)

8.Harwood watches, the first automatic winding watch, made in collaboration with Fortis.

9.the Hamilton khaki Hand-wound military watches for WWI or WWII, only as a historic representative of the world war military issue watches of Omega, Longines and the other purely military brands, that changed the face of watches cuz its the military issue tradition,also contributed to by Rolex, that actually made watches 'masculine' :D

10. And yes a complete historic list must include Swatch :)

Now I know my list is very old-school and lists the very old watches but thats what being 'Historic' is all about :D

I know this is by no means a complete list...many historic steps have contributed to the great timepieces that we are enjoying today...and you must observe guys that many steps that we take for granted may actually have been gigantic leaps at their time, the common example being a Helio-Centric earth, so I think we can never make a complete list of only ten historic watches, but its a good fun thing nonetheless :)

Many people here have listed very modern watches...that is valid too but only if it really carries a historic thing about it...say for example Blancpain's Karussel (or however it is written) is the first watch to be displayed at a Museum of Modern Art, thats some achievement and only that, it is the first wrist-watch to have that pocket watch complication, designed by vincent calabrese..I think now THAT is adding to history.

I think we should go by theme or complication for such a list as this, as I have gone by in making my list...hope this helped.

Really nice initiative Frans

regards,
Asad Abbas Awan
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Old 27 July 2009, 04:11 AM   #24
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great last 2 posts.

i'll offer up the tissot astrolon for your consideration.
astrolon2.jpg

http://watchismo.blogspot.com/2006/1...-complete.html

http://members.iinet.net.au/~fotoplo...ot/tissot.html

http://www.timezone.com/library/archives/archives0085
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Old 27 July 2009, 04:18 AM   #25
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Thanks guys, we are getting there!
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Old 27 July 2009, 05:20 AM   #26
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Oh wow Cody...what a thing you've brought to the table...thank you so much ...amazing knowledge there...the timezone article has changed my whole opinion of swatch...and more importantly, Tissot :)..I love my Tissot, quite sadly not the Astrolon, even more now, shared here out of context but for all's viewing pleasure
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Old 28 July 2009, 06:27 AM   #27
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Breaking out of my comfort zone ...

... this is, I guess, a matter of personal input and supporting argument for the calls we're making, right?
  • Rolex Explorer (line). Everest, iconic sports watch with broad, perpetuating (no pun intended appeal), and, wait for it Ian Fleming choice / original James Bond watch.
  • Hamilton Pulsar. Commercial LED, widely recognized, worn by President Gerald R. Ford, and introduced Roger Moore as James Bond.
  • Ball railroad pocketwatch. Established standards, safety, and industrialized a nation.
  • Omega Speedmaster. Moon watch; perpetuating appeal (particularly given, in my experience, it enjoys a popularity inversely proportationate to its actual functional use.
  • Seiko quartz (especially LCD). Raised the bar on accuracy, brought it to everyman; nearly destroyed, and arguably re-defined Swiss watchmaking industry.
These are always timekeepers that get my attention when reading, irrespective of any call for a list. So that in and of itself would be why I've listed them here.
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Old 28 July 2009, 08:03 AM   #28
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Don't forget the poljot/sekonda strela, first watch worn in open space by Alexei Leonov in 1962. Looks great even now, sort of a Russian Speedmaster pro
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Old 28 July 2009, 08:06 AM   #29
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... great thread by the way!

I'll also give another vote for the bulova/accutron tuning fork watch and Zenith El primero chronograph.
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Old 28 July 2009, 04:18 PM   #30
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Quote:
Originally Posted by delldeaton View Post
... this is, I guess, a matter of personal input and supporting argument for the calls we're making, right?
  • Rolex Explorer (line). Everest, iconic sports watch with broad, perpetuating (no pun intended appeal), and, wait for it Ian Fleming choice / original James Bond watch.
  • Hamilton Pulsar. Commercial LED, widely recognized, worn by President Gerald R. Ford, and introduced Roger Moore as James Bond.
  • Ball railroad pocketwatch. Established standards, safety, and industrialized a nation.
  • Omega Speedmaster. Moon watch; perpetuating appeal (particularly given, in my experience, it enjoys a popularity inversely proportationate to its actual functional use.
  • Seiko quartz (especially LCD). Raised the bar on accuracy, brought it to everyman; nearly destroyed, and arguably re-defined Swiss watchmaking industry.
These are always timekeepers that get my attention when reading, irrespective of any call for a list. So that in and of itself would be why I've listed them here.
Great list Dell. Your research, attention to detail and general grasp of any given subject, makes me look forward to reading your posts.
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