Analog/Shift: The new best way to find quality vintage watches!

If you are looking for a new watch, buy an Autodromo. But if you are seeking a cool vintage timepiece, I highly recommend you check out Analog shift!  They have just launched a new site, featuring really top notch examples of some very desirable vintage hardware.  And if you want something they don't currently have in stock, they can hunt one down for you. The guys there are passionate about watches and classic cars, and will definitely speak your language.  Plus they know their stuff and are very honest and straightforward to deal with. Make sure you have a look at the Olive Green PVD Heuer Lemania Chrono! DO WANT!

Riding Shotgun: Alpine Renault A110

I recently had the good fortune to make friends with a fellow named Phil.  He's not the typical NYC exotic car owner, who cruises around in a chrome Aventador. No, Phil is a man of discerning taste and disarming friendliness who was kind enough to chauffeur me around in his various toys one recent morning.  I took a lot of photos, so I thought I'd post them car by car.Phil's boyish enthusiasm for his cars is contagious, so by the time we arrived at his garage, a nondescript building on the West Bank of the Hudson River, we were giddily debating which car to drive first. It had to be the A110. I have watched a lot of footage of these cars in action, and seen one a long time ago when i was in High School.  But to behold the diminutive French rally car in person once again was like finally meeting an old pen pal.  I knew everything about it, but had no idea what to say...We carefully pulled out of the garage. Sadly the streets of Jersey City are not terribly interesting nor welcoming to midcentury fiberglass sports cars, so we had to zip from stoplight to stoplight, making a terrific amount of noise but not getting anywhere too fast.  The car has a magnificent and raucous exhaust note that I found intoxicating, and considering the engine's small displacement, the car was quite eager to get up and go.  The chrome-ringed Veglia Borletti instruments and diamond quilted upholstery are pretty much the epitome of 1960s sporting feel. And above your head you can reach up and touch the thin fiberglass shell, with its delicate foam headliner.  I don't think there is a cooler interior out there, honestly. We drew plenty of looks as we motored through the barrio, with plenty of smiles and thumbs up. Yet no one could be quite sure of what they were seeing!Sadly, we didn't have enough time to really see what the car can do in terms of handling, but even based on my limited time in the car, there is no doubt that on a twisty forest road upstate, the A110 would be pure magic.

Click HERE for the rest of the images!

Stay tuned for the next installment: the Lancia Stratos

Vallelunga Chronograph in the Garage

Photos by Amaury Laparra, courtesy of Officine Autodromo

Objects of Desire: Schedoni Fitted Luggage

Fitted luggage has always been a hallmark of travelling in style going way back to the time of the horse and carriage.  Starting in the early 1980s, Ferrari began to offer their own sets of fitted luggage to their customers, created in partnership with Modenese leathergoods maker Schedoni.  The results were some truly beautiful handmade luggage that slid snugly into the often challenging storage compartments of Maranello's creations.  Starting with the Ferrari 308, each successive new model has had a custom set of luggage as an option. Most of them came in a beautiful shade of tobacco-colored leather with elegant brass fittings.  My personal favorite is the nearly round suitcase designed to fill out the spare tire well of the F40!  This partnership between Schedoni and Ferrari continues to this day. Entire sets of this luggage, as well as individual pieces can be found on ebay from time to time.

Jim Clark and his Breitling Top Time

Much has been made lately in the vintage Heuer collecting community lately about the "Jo Siffert Autavia" and the "Derek Bell Autavia" or the "McQueen Monaco."  These particular models are climbing precipitously in value of late,  but I think it's funny how no one in the vintage Breitling community seems that obsessed with the fact that legendary Jim Clark not only wore a Breitling Top Time, but actually appeared in ads for it, sporting a handsome white leather racing strap, no less!

The Top Time is part of the same generation as the Omega Speedmaster, the Heuer Carrera, and the Rolex Daytona, but unlike the other three watches it is far less known, was produced for a much shorter time period, and as a result today's values are considerably lower.  Top Times are relatively affordable for a vintage racing chronograph. They change hands between 900 to 2,000 USD depending on the condition and style.Clark wore a black 3-subregister watch like the one above, but the 2 subdial watch with silver dial may be even more handsome.  I would put the relative obscurity of these watches down to the fact that the modern Breitling company has focused completely on Aviation, with its Navitimer watch as the core of its brand, basically throwing out all association with motorsport.  Meanwhile TAG Heuer assaults us with images on a regular basis of Steve McQueen and his Monaco watch, and Rolex and Omega still make the Daytona and Speedmaster, respectively.  Frankly, I like it this way. With vintage Heuer prices basically having crossed into "stupid territory" of late, I like the idea of a Top Time more and more. And frankly, I never understood why people go so crazy over a watch worn by Jo Siffert, or even the young Derek Bell.  Neither of these men -with due respect to Bell's later Le Mans accomplishments- can hold a candle to Clark's towering abilities. Wearing the watch he wore would for me have far more emotional resonance!

I think the point I would like to make the most here is how this example emphasizes what sheep so many watch collectors are, and how the marketing efforts of the present-day watch company can have such a big impact on the perceived value of vintage watches.  If Breitling were to re-issue the top time, and make a big campaign about Clark wearing it (after all, he is the greatest driver of his era hands down) it's a foregone conclusion that collectors would suddenly go ape for a vintage "Jim Clark Top Time."  But thankfully that will never happen, especially since Breitling still thinks John Travolta is cool, and continues to slide into an abyss of bad taste and oversized, blingy schlock.  Bad news for Breitling, but good news for the independent-minded collector!