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Jay Leno interviewed Jim Hull at the 2013 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion that takes place every summer at Laguna Seca Raceway. Jim Hull is the owner of a very rare 1935 Bugatti Type 57S. Rumor has it that this car was shown at the Paris auto show and after the show It was dismantled at the factory and laid in pieces until eventually put back together by Jim Hull and his team over an 8 year period. This is Jay Leno and Jim Hull standing in front of the 1935 Bugatti.

 

Jay Leno is wearing his Jaeger LeCoultre Master Grand Reveil Rose Gold Perpetual Calendar Alarm Moonphase watch. Jay Leno has also been seen wearing this on The Tonight Show. In the smaller picture in the upper left you will see that the gauges for the Bugatti are actually made by Jaeger. Long story short Jaeger and Jaeger LeCoultre are the same company. I will go into this in a later blog post.

 
 
This is the Jaeger LeCoultre Master Grand Reveil Perpetual Calendar Moon Phase Alarm watch in Rose Gold. To break down those features the perpetual calendar will display the day, date, month, year and leap year for the next 100 years without needing to be adjusted. The moon phase feature will show the phases of moon as they will be in the northern and southern hemisphere for the corresponding time and date as the watch is set to. The alarm feature actually has two choices, vibrate or chime. This means you can set the alarm to vibrate at a specific time or chime. I believe Jay Leno must like this watch like he likes his cars, very unique, very rare and super collectible.
 
 
 
Posted in Jaeger LeCoultre, Watches in Movies & TV by Kyle O'Connor.
At the Basel show in 2007 Rolex released the new GMT Master 2 (116710) with a some significant updates. The updates included the Ceramic bezel with platinum inlaid markings, larger Super Luminova markers, a green GMT hand, a slightly larger case, bracelet with solid links, the updated clasp system and the 3186 movement with the Parachrom hairspring. Basically the same concept as the previous GMT 16710 model, but with new and improved materials. However the 3186 GMT movement did not only come in the newer 116710 it actually made it into some of the last run of the (M serial) 16710 models. Yes, you read that correctly. There are a few (non disclosed amount) 16710 GMT Master 2 watches with the 3186 movement inside with the parachrom hairspring. And of course you will never know if the watch has the 3185 or the 3186 unless you open the back of the watch. I will talk more on this topic later in the post. This opens up the door for further discovery of another transitional change to the 16710 model. The "Error Dial" from approximately 2002 (Y serial) there has been sightings of the Error Dial. Take a look at the pictures below for the differences between the error and non error dial.
Above is a 16710 from 2004 (F Serial) with the "Error Dial" Notice after the lettering GMT-MASTER II the 2 is not a roman numeral 2 as it has been since the release of the 16710. It is what Rolex aficionados and collectors call "sticks."
This picture is of a 2002 Rolex GMT-MASTER II with the number 2 being the roman numeral style 2. The bezel color does not actually have any part in the error or non error dial as they have been spotted on the all 16710 watches with either the all black, black/red "Coke" and the black/blue "Pepsi" bezel inserts.
This is a close up photo of the GMT-MASTER 2 16710 "Error Dial" with the "Sticks" instead of the roman numeral 2. Also notice the "fatter" font type on the error dial.
This is a close up photo of the GMT-MASTER 2 16710 with the standard roman numeral 2 on the dial.
So why is the "Error Dial" called the error dial? Great question. From all of the research I have done I have not found a statement from Rolex that this was an actual error on their part. Since this dial was a transition towards the end of the 16710 model run, it would appear to be a subtle change to the dial printing. However it could turn out to be the "Patrizi" dial like the mid 1990's Rolex Daytona models. It will be interesting in the future to see if this will be a true sought after collector piece. At the moment if an error dial is on the market it does seem to bring a 10%-15% premium over the standard dials. If you do find a 16710 GMT-MASTER II with an "Error Dial" and the 3186 movement inside, be sure to contact me as I would be interested in hearing about it along with possibly acquiring the watch as well.
 
Posted in Rolex, Watch Reviews by Kyle O'Connor.

The Tag Heuer Targa Florio Edition has a great story behind not only the heritage but the structure and design of the watch. In the early 2000's Tag Heuer released three re-edition models to their collection. The Targa Florio, Heuer Monaco (blue and white dial) and the Calibre 36 version of the Heuer Monza were the watches released as apart of this series.

The Targa Florio was a famous open road endurance race that was held in the mountains of Sicily near Palermo in southern Italy from 1906 through 1977 when the race was cancelled due to safety concerns. The race was approximately 45 miles in length and ran through the open mountain roads. The race was founded by car and racing enthusiast Vincenzo Florio, the Targa (plate or shield) was one of the most important races held in the early 1900's as it came before most of the modern era racing organizations like the FIA, NASCAR or INDY.

The first Targa Florio (Ref. CX2110) is a 2 register chronograph Calibre 17 (ETA 2894-2) marking the constant running seconds hand on the right side of the dial and the 30 minute timing register on the left. It has a date window at the 6 o'clock position as well. The dial is a matte black finish with large luminesent arabic numerals.

Some of the other unique styling on the Targa Florio is the domed Acrylic (plastic) crystal and the double coined bezel, oversized crown and rectangle chronograph pushers. These features along with the dial layout are actually based on an earlier Heuer Flieger watch from the 1930's. Very interesting as a Flieger (German for pilot) watch would have been used as a pilots watch and this watch is dedicated to a endurance road race.
 
The large crown would have been perfect as the military pilots and crew would have been wearing gloves and goggles as the war plane cabins were not pressurized and some having open side windows for .50 calibre machine guns. Imagine trying to set the time on your watch or even read the time at 250 mph with gloves and goggles on.
 
The double row coined bezel is one of my favorite parts of the styling on this timepiece. It gives a certain elegance to what you would normally look at as a sporty watch. The coined bezel also ties in with the heavy grooves of the winding crown. I think the curved rectangle pushers go perfectly with the lines of the case. For the record this is my personal watch that I have been wearing for the last month and I absolutely love wearing it. The Targa Florio is a great dedication to horology and racing. And this is my personal watch and not for sale...:)
 
 
Posted in Tag Heuer, Watch Reviews by Kyle O'Connor.

Check out this Rolex watch video with models like the new 41mm Rose Gold President, the DeepSea Sea-Dweller and the GMT Master 2 Ceramic bezel.  OC Watch Company has many Rolex watches in stock at the watch store in Walnut Creek.

Posted in Rolex Watch Videos, Watch Videos by Kyle O'Connor.

This is a video of pre-owned Panerai models we have in stock at the watch store. Models like the PAM00305 Titanium Submersible to the PAM00297 Luminor Marina.

Check out our Panerai watch inventory in the Watches section of our website.

Posted in Panerai Watch Videos, Watch Videos by Kyle O'Connor.

This is a great video of some of our custom watch straps for Panerai and IWC models. Some of the watches in this video are the IWC IW3717 Pilot Day Date Chronograph and the Panerai PAM00087 Submersible.

You can also see a full selection of custom strap designs by going to our Custom Watch Strap section.

Posted in Watch Strap Videos, Watch Videos by Kyle O'Connor.

How much is your used or pre-owned watch worth? Good question. If you are looking to sell your used watch and would like to find the value of it there are a few items you should locate first. The first step is to locate all of the original packaging, documentation and any additional links, straps or tags that may have come with your watch when you purchased it. If you do not have these items any more it is not a problem, however these items play a part in the pre-owned value of your timepiece.

 

Trade In or Sell Your Used Watch

OC Watch Company will buy outright or accept your used watch as a trade in towards the purchase of a watch from our store. The value of your watch is dependent on the condition and current market value. We will provide you with an accurate evaluation of your watch's value upon viewing the watch and any accessories you may have for the watch.

Factors for determining the value of a watch are based on but not limited to the condition of the following:

  • Case
  • Crystal
  • Bezel
  • Bracelet
  • Strap
  • Movement
  • Original box and warranty certificate

While every watch is not always right for resale in our market, we have relationships with dealers throughout the country that can assist in the purchase of your watch.
If you have any further questions please contact us sales@ocwatchcompanywc.com

Watches We Buy

At OC Watch Company we buy watches from the following manufacturers:
A. Lange & Sohne
Audemars Piguet
Bell & Ross
Blancpain
Breitling
Breguet
Cartier
Chanel
Chopard
Corum
Franck Muller
F.P. Journe
Girard Perregaux
Hublot
IWC
Jaeger LeCoultre
Omega
Panerai
Patek Philippe
Rolex
Tag Heuer
Tudor
Ulysse Nardin
Vacheron Constantin
Zenith

And many others.

 
If you would like to fill out the watch trade in form please and receive a quote for your used watch. Please visit our BUY-SELL-TRADE page.
 
Posted in How To, Sell Your Watch by Kyle O'Connor.