Bring a Loupe The Aussie Edit - A Tropical Accutron Astronaut, A North Korean Omega & Two Divergent Neo-Vintage Icons

I highly recommend spending six months away from your watches to learn if you truly love them. I did just that, having landed back in Sydney last week after 6 months living in London, separated from most of my vintage watches. It turns out that absence really makes the heart grow fonder, and as the months ticked on, I found myself pining for certain watches and, quite surprisingly, forgetting about others.

When I was reunited with them, it was like rediscovering my watches for the first time, and I looked at them with fresh eyes and renewed appreciation. What does this have to do with this month's roundup of amazing watches on the market in Australia? Absolutely nothing, but if you aren’t currently in the mood to spend, then try putting a watch away for a while and see if your appreciation is renewed when you get reacquainted. If you are in the mood to spend, then you’ve come to the right place, so let's get stuck into it.

First up on the list of ‘watches I bet you didn’t know existed’: an Omega made in the 1970s for the North Korean regime. Like the Omani and Saudi Arabian signed Rolexes and Piagets, Omega watches that bear Kim Il-Sung’s signature were produced as gifts for high-ranking officials within the regime and foreign state officials, but are shrouded in even more mystery than their Middle Eastern brethren.

I should stress that very little solid information is known about these double-signed Omegas, though an extract from Omega has confirmed that the brand did produce these dials in-house for the regime in the 1970s, where the red dial printing of Kim Il-Sung’s signature replaces the Omega logo. The regime ordered a series of Omega references, including Constellations with date and day complications (featuring an unusual Korean day wheel), so this Genève ref. 166.0163 isn’t the best North Korean model Omega made. It was probably destined for a lower-ranking officer or foreign state official, yet any variant of a North Korean Omega comes up so unfathomably rarely in Australia that beggars can’t be choosers.

Dixon Watch Co have listed this example on eBay, and it's a little worse for wear. The bezel is a little grimy, the bracelet appears to be correct but has some surface rust spots, and the crystal is a little scratched, but all this is easily fixed with a quick clean. There’s also no service history indicated in the listing (I would inquire about this before buying), but the good news is the dial is nicely preserved, and I can’t spot any incorrect parts in it - this watch is all there. Compared to a garden-variety Genève of this reference, the price is bloody high at A$6,570 (open to offers), but this one is correctly priced in relation to more desirable Omega references with a Kim Il-Sung signature. Rarity commands a premium.

If you’ve read my article in Hodinkee Australia & New Zealand Vol. 1 about the Bulova Accutron Spaceview, you’ll know I have a certain fascination with Accutrons, and if there is one Accutron reference to own, it would definitely be the Astronaut. A popular watch with many of the Gemini and Apollo astronauts, it was the Accutron designed with a GMT hand for CIA airmen and issued to U2, A-12 and SR-71 Blackbird Spyplane pilots as their over-the-spacesuit watch capable of withstanding immense heat and high G-forces in the cockpit.

This example features a silver 2-line dial only produced between 1962 and 1964, and the M5 caseback code dates this example to 1964. The dial, whilst originally silver, has turned tropical, with the lacquer deteriorating to reveal a radiating line pattern. I think the dial looks amazing, and the condition across the entire watch looks to be very honest. The 24-hour bezel's lacquered numerals are in good nick, as is the case. It's fitted to a vintage three-link bracelet that, at first glance, looks like an Astronaut ‘bullet’ bracelet, though it isn’t correct for the watch, and the clasp isn’t signed; however, the end links do fit correctly.

Like the Omega, this Astronaut could do with a clean, but it’s a fantastic package, boasts unique patina and comes with its original box. It’s quite rare to find an Astronaut like this in Australia. It doesn’t have a service history, which can pose a challenge as Accutrons can be difficult to get repaired domestically, but it has been fitted with a new battery, and the seller tells me it’s keeping good time. It’s listed here as a private sale by seller and collector @chronevintage on Instagram, who is based in Sydney, and they’re asking A$1,400.

Whilst today, a triple calendar complication in a luxury sports watch is nothing revolutionary, in 1997, when AP released the Royal Oak Offshore Triple Calendar ref. 25807ST, it was downright unusual. The ref. 25807ST was slimmed down from the ref. 25721ST's beastly 42mm diameter down to 38mm, though with the retained Offshore design language and integrated bracelet, it wears larger than the dimensions would lead you to believe, meaning it’s aged beautifully and is an ideal size to wear today.

That ideal size, combined with a bracelet made by Gay Frères (right before being acquired by Rolex) and a tritium dial, puts this Offshore exactly at the neo-vintage point in watch history where vintage transitions to modern. It’s believed just 1,000 of these were produced, so they don’t hit the Australian market too frequently, and Vintage Watch Co. have this example listed for sale in their Strand Arcade boutique in Sydney for A$27,900. From a cursory glance at comparable watches listed online, it’s the most affordable I found. It’s in quite good condition and includes the original box plus a 2 year warranty from the dealer.

From one neo-vintage icon to another, let’s talk Calatrava. The ref. 96 is absolutely having a moment right now, and, as the watch that built the Calatrava reputation over its 40+ year production, it’s deserving of its time in the sun (and recent deep dive in John Nagayama’s incredible book). However, when ref. 96 production came to an end, we got its direct descendant, the ref. 3796, which was produced between 1982 and 1999.

Like the Royal Oak Offshore mentioned above, this neo-vintage Patek has a foot in both modern and vintage watch worlds. It’s delicately and traditionally sized at 31mm and features an old-school ‘sigma’-signed dial, giving a mid-century Patek feel on the wrist but with a contemporary movement, sapphire crystal and construction.

This example has a yellow gold case and is fitted with an ‘ivory’ (in colour, not material) dial that collectors tend to prefer over the silver or white dials due to its warm tones. Papers and booklets are included, though note the papers indicate the watch was born with a different dial colour, which points towards this ivory dial being a replacement one swapped in later in the watch's life - the price reflects this. Hourstance has it listed for sale in Sydney, fitted to a new Artisan Strap with the correct original gold Patek Philippe buckle. You can check it out here. POA.