Only a few days ago Tudor unveiled the Heritage Black Bay Black, a dive watch that’s closest to the vintage Submariners that inspired it. But the one of a kind Heritage Black Bay One is even better. Modelled on the Submariner reference 7923 of 1954, the Black Bay One (reference 7923/001) is a unique piece created for charity auction Only Watch, with tweaks that will make it the most expensive modern day Tudor timepiece ever once it goes under the hammer on November 7.

Tudor has had a good run with its vintage-inspired Black Bay dive watches, now numbering three models including the original in red, as well as the Black Bay Blue. They combine affordability with an easily digestible look that’s a blend of elements from vintage Tudor Submariners. The Black Bay One was conceived with the very same formula, but using elements found on no other Tudor watch.

The Black Bay One has a unique model reference 7923/001

The dial is the most obvious difference. It has a glossy finish, instead of the matte surface on the ordinary model. And the depth rating is in red – the only Tudor with this – and something reminiscent of vintage Rolex dive watches.

Like the vintage reference 7923, the Black Bay One has pencil-shaped hands, along with a seconds hand that features a disc at its tip, nicknamed the “lollipop” seconds. All the hands are gold-plated to match the gilt dial, with the lettering, logo and minute track printed in gold paint.

The aluminium bezel insert is black with a red triangle at 12 o’clock, featuring only five minute markings, lacking the hashmarks for the first 15-minutes that’s standard on modern Tudor dive watches. And the final unique feature is straight end links of the bracelet. This is also found on the Heritage Ranger, but unique amongst dive watches.

What the Black Bay One does share with the standard Black Bay is the stainless steel case. It’s 41mm in diameter, with a beautiful, broad polished bevel along the edge of the lug. Inside is the ETA 2824, also standard on all Black Bay models.

Sold with a custom made wooden presentation box as well as spare NATO-style canvas strap woven in an old school manner, the Black Bay One is lot 30 in Only Watch 2015 (e-catalogue here), set to go under the hammer on November 7 in Geneva. It carries an estimate of SFr3500 to Sfr4500, which will likely be exceeded five to ten fold.

Corum celebrates the 50th year of the Coin Watch with a pair of limited edition watches made from coins struck in 2014: the American Gold Eagle and American Silver Eagle.

Created in 1964 and introduced at Baselworld a year later, the novelty of the Corum Coin Watch was its construction – a coin was sliced in two to form the case of the watch, with the movement sandwiched in-between. To mark the 50 years since its introduction, Corum has introduced a pair of limited edition Coin Watches. The 50th anniversary Coin Watches use mint, uncirculated coins struck in 2014, exactly 50 years later than the coins used in the original Coin Watches that featured coins struck in 1964. Corum has also used vintage coins for its Coin Watches, for instance the enamelled Indian Head watch introduced earlier in 2015. The more unusual of the pair is the Coin Watch made from an American Silver Eagle coin. Measuring 43mm in diameter (the coin itself is 40.6mm), it’s the largest Coin Watch ever made. This gives it a size that suits contemporary tastes, in contrast to typically smaller Coin Watches.

Made from the largest denomination American Gold Eagle coin with a face value of US$50, the second limited edition is a more traditional 36mm in diameter. 

Both editions have a diamond on top of the crown and are equipped with a self-winding ETA 2892 movement. The Silver Eagle Coin Watch is water-resistant to 10m, while the Gold Eagle is rated to 30m.

Both editions of the Coin Watch 50th Anniversary are limited to 100 pieces each. They are available individually, or as a set with matching serial numbers. The Coin Watch Gold Eagle is priced at SFr23,000, while the Silver Eagle is SFr12,400. In Singapore the retail prices are S$33,400 and S$18,000 respectively.

A pocket watch that can be converted into a desk clock, the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Spider Pocket Time Instrument is equipped with the Quatuor movement with four oscillators.

Featuring the same RD101 movement that was introduced in the Excalibur Quatuor in 2013, the Excalibur Spider Pocket Time Instrument is a titanium pocket watch regulated by four balance wheels. Roger Dubuis‘ latest creation can be carried in a vest pocket with the accompanying titanium chain, or used as a clock, suspended from a large, open-worked desk stand. The  Excalibur Spider Pocket Time Instrument is the second pocket watch Roger Dubuis has introduced this year, after the one of a kind Hommage Millésime. Unlike the Hommage Millésime that was powered by a restored 19th century movement, the Excalibur Spider pocket watch is a thoroughly modern creation, with the RD101 movement inside.

The key characteristic of the RD101 is its four balance wheels, operating in pairs. Each pair of oscillators is linked by a differential that averages out the rate of the two. That is then further averaged out a second time, producing superior timekeeping in all positions. That’s because each balance wheel is inclined, with one compensating for any gravitational errors in another, according to Roger Dubuis.

A balance wheel reflected on the mirror-polished interior

Though it has no complications per se, the RD101 is a complex beast, comprising some 590 parts, a count comparable to that of a movement featuring a minute repeater, perpetual calendar and tourbillon. Similar to all other Roger Dubuis movements, the RD101 is hallmarked with the Poinçon de Genève, a seal of quality overseen by the government of Geneva.

While the movement is exactly the same as in the Quatuor wristwatch, its alignment is rotated 90 degrees for the 12 o’clock crown. This means the face of the Excalibur Spider pocket watch is symmetrical, with the power reserve display at six o’clock.

That symmetry is echoed on the back, with the twin barrels visible at 6 and 12 o’clock, along with winding click springs that mirror each other.

The 60mm case is a combination of titanium in a natural finish and contrasting black-coating. And as is typical of the Excalibur Spider line, the bow of the pocket watch has been skeletonised, along with the chapter ring of the dial. Limited to 28 pieces, the Excalibur Spider Pocket Time Instrument is priced at S$680,000 including 7% tax, equivalent to US$491,000.