Who would have thought that the seminal sports watch designs of the 1970s would create such a seismic uproar a full half century later? But what is irrefutable is that watches like the Royal Oak created in 1972, the Nautilus created in 1976 — both designed by Gérald Genta — and now the reference 222, genetic forefather of the Vacheron Constantin Overseas, launched in 1977 and designed by Jörg Hysek, have become the most sought-after timepieces of today.
The first two watches are each selling at a 100-thousand-dollar premium, such is the craze around them, and for the first time ever, the Overseas is out of stock and trading at a premium on the secondary market. This has compelled savvy collectors to search elsewhere for their integrated bracelet sports chic watch, pushing watches like Moser’s Streamliner, Czapek’s Antarctique and even Laurent Ferrier’s Grand Sport — if only it came without a tourbillon — directly into the crosshairs of the smartest watch snipers. A case in point was my friend Robert-Jan Broer’s collaboration with Czapek, which resulted in him selling 50 Fratello special edition Antarctique Passage de Drake watches in 39 minutes. His story behind this was one of the most amusing anecdotes of recent memory. He said, “I was so nervous about the launch I couldn’t sleep all night. Then in the morning, we launched the watch, and I saw a few pieces transact. I couldn’t help
