HODINKEE has covered watch nicknames, and we even ran a poll to find the H community’s favorite – spoiler alert, “Pepsi” won; kind of obvious, don’t you think? Whether we like it or not, nicknames are just part of the world of watches we’re talking about. From “Batman” to “John Mayer” and “Paul Newman,” some are implied, coming from color or material, while others refer to that famous wearer, ahem, reference, model, or dial variant. This week’s selection of vintage watches at the H Shop is full of nicknames, at least among the highlights.

Nicknames like “Pepsi” and “Root Beer” don’t seem to raise many eyebrows, but “John Mayer” always elicits a few rolled eyes (or comments) from the land of marketing fatigue. Our “Burlwood” Day-Date would fall into the former category, as it is often confused for the official Rolex designation. In primary sources such as advertisements, the Crown refers to these wooden dials as “birch”, “walnut”, etc., but never as “cypress” as you will find most sellers referring to them today. It is a simple fact that sometimes it is much easier to say that this UG is a “Clapton” than to spit out to a crowd that your buy replica watches is a 1960s Universal Genève Tri-Compax reference number 88101/02. Our nickname collection is completed by the TAG Heuer Carrera “Red Tachy” – last, but certainly not least, forgotten. Check out the entire collection of vintage watches in the HODINKEE store right here.

To start off the week, I wanted to give a message to the Rolex accessories design team. If anyone from the design team is reading this, or anyone who is reading knows someone there, can we unite and bring back the interesting display boxes? Many collectors are unaware of and fascinated by vintage display boxes and other accessories.

Notable “interesting” dial variants in this reference also include black onyx, tiger’s eye, green malachite, and blue lapis lazuli, to name a few. They are all beautiful in their own right, and what makes them special is that each dial looks a little different due to the nature of the material. This uniqueness is even stronger in this variant of the wooden dial, as the wood grain resembles a fingerprint. In most cases, the colors and swirling patterns of the wood grain are much more pronounced than in the “stone” dial variety. Some wood dials tend to be darker in color, a brownish red, while others are a slightly lighter brown, like the one you see here. I’m particularly fascinated by this particular dial because it has the perfect shade of brown that blends so well with the gold elements of the best swiss replica watches. Overall, it feels seamless, from the yellow gold case to the wooden dial to the yellow gold band. The single-scale design of the date keeps my fingers from developing calluses from turning the crown so many times.

To top it all off, the watch comes with a special presentation box and the original guarantee, which is the icing on the cake. As I mentioned above, I wish Rolex would also make whimsical display boxes like this one, which has a belt buckle-like design with a crown on the buckle. Note to buyers. Keep in mind that the buckle is decorative, not functional, as everyone I know who tries to open the box undoes the buckle first!