Reference Files
The Journal
Notes from
the safe.
Reference files, buying guides and quiet market notes written from the desk that buys, checks and sells these watches every week.
Featured | Reference Files
The GMT-Master II, reference by reference
Pepsi, Batman, Bruce Wayne, Sprite, Root Beer - which bezel, which bracelet, and what actually matters when choosing between them.
July 2026 | 7 min read
Read the piece
Buying Guides
Box and papers: what a full set is really worth
Card, box, booklets, hang tag - which parts move the number, which parts are theatre, and when box-only is perfectly fine. July 2026 | 5 min read
House Notes
POA, explained - and why serious dealers use it
Price on application is not a game. It is how discretion, fast-moving stock and fair numbers coexist at this end of the market. July 2026 | 4 min read
Buying Guides
Trading up: how part exchange actually works
One conversation, one number, one visit. What we look at, what you should bring, and how settlement happens the same day. June 2026 | 5 min read
Market Notes
Steel sports in 2026: a quiet market, read closely
Waitlists have thawed, premiums have settled - and the right examples are still moving quickly. What we are seeing at the desk. June 2026 | 6 min read
Reference Files
The left-handed Rolex: on the Sprite
A crown on the wrong side, a green-and-black bezel, and the strangest instant classic of the modern catalogue. June 2026 | 4 min read
House Notes
Why we sell by appointment, not from a shopfront
No window display, no walk-ins, no pressure. The case for appointment-only rooms in Kent and Canary Wharf. May 2026 | 4 min readFrom the articles
