The Fratello Watch List — Lex’s Pre-Owned Favorites From Jaeger-LeCoultre, Panerai, And Rolex

Are you looking to close out the year with a bang? If so, you’d better do that with a banger of a watch that, for some reason, never found its way to your wrist. Missed opportunities are a thing of the not-so-distant past, so on my hit list are three of my favorite pre-owned watches. There’s the Jaeger-LeCoultre Grande Reverso 8 Days Power Reserve, an XL Radiomir 1940, and a Rolex that’s dearly missed from the current lineup, the Turn-O-Graph.

From the early 2000s comes the Jaeger-LeCoultre Grande Reverso 8 Days Power Reserve (ref. 240.8.14), of which 11 are currently available on Chrono24 for €6K–8K. This steel watch measures 46.5mm long by 29.2mm wide, and at 12.2mm thick, it’s on the funky and chunky side.

Images: Swiss Watch Expo

My favorite pre-owned watches include a Jaeger-LeCoultre Grande Reverso 8 Days Power Reserve

The back side of this particular Reverso shows a porthole through which the power reserve, in days, is indicated digitally. It looks stunning and different, which is what I like about this watch. It has a twist, albeit not one you will see that often, but since the Reverso 8 Days Power Reserve is a hand-wound model, you will see it enough to appreciate it. A non-automatic mechanical movement brings you closer to a watch because it requires direct interaction. Thanks to this hand-wound Reverso’s digital power reserve indicator, the interaction becomes an even more pleasant chore.

Images: Swiss Watch Expo

The other quirk I appreciate from this particular Reverso is the off-center sub-seconds register. It looks disruptive without being too obnoxious. Both quirky features are powered by the JLC in-house caliber 874 from the Eight Days family. The 210-part, 25-jewel movement uses two barrels and runs at 28,800vph.

My XL pre-owned choice: Panerai Radiomir 1940 3 Days Marina Militare Acciaio PAM00587

The Panerai Radiomir 1940 3 Days Marina Militare Acciaio PAM00587 is also quirky but much more of a megalomaniac. The Radiomir 1940 is no longer in the Panerai catalog, which is a shame. I’ve always liked the transitional case, which has the elegance of the Radiomir cushion-shaped case but does away with the wire lugs, which I find look a bit too flimsy. Instead, it has the much more solid, chunkier lugs of the Luminor, but it eschews the characteristic crown protector, which I find a bit too visually impactful.

The 2014 PAM00587, of which I found 14 examples on Chrono24, is a 47mm steel dive watch that is water resistant to 100 meters. The first is an impressive number, but the second one is not; I realize that, but I can live with that. I can handle the size because I won’t wear it daily, and I will never dive deeper than 100 meters.

This watch’s functional, simple looks are very appealing. The black dial is sober and subtle with only large, linear indexes and Arabic numerals at the cardinal points. Readability is great in every possible lighting condition thanks to the dial’s large size and the sandwich construction consisting of superimposed discs with Super-LumiNova between them, visible through the openings in the shape of indexes and numerals. The absence of the brand name is also a nice touch. It’s historically correct, like using cambered Plexiglass over the dial instead of a sapphire crystal. Well, the crystal was made of polymethyl acrylate in the past, but let’s not nitpick too much. The slender hands in a warm rose gold color also strike a chord with my nostalgic nature.

Big watch, big machine

The case-filling, in-house P.3000 caliber is visible through the sapphire crystal on the back. The two barrels of the hand-wound, 3Hz movement get you a healthy three-day power reserve. Although you don’t see much action, it is still an impressive-looking movement. You will, however, see the oscillation of the Glucydur balance wheel between the wide satin-finished and blue-engraved bridges that cover almost everything. The large and robust 161-part movement also has a neat and delicate trick up its sleeve. The time-adjustment mechanism allows you to adjust the hour hand independently of the minute hand in jumps of one hour at a time.

The Radiomir 1940 3 Days Marina Militare Acciaio PAM00587 was a 2014 special edition of 1,000 watches that each came on a dark brown calf leather strap with ecru stitching, a hot-stamped “OP” logo, and a trapezoidal 22mm polished pin buckle. When buying this watch at an AD, it came with a spare Plexiglass crystal. Ten years ago, the sticker price of the PAM00587 was €9,400, but the examples in Europe right now are selling for between €7,650 and €9,890.

Image: Bob’s Watches

The chic and “tooly” Rolex Datejust Turn-O-Graph 116264 is another pre-owned favorite

The 36 × 11.7mm case dimensions are chic, but the origins are “tooly.” The Rolex Turn-O-Graph ref. 6202 debuted in 1953 as the first Rolex watch with a rotating timing bezel. But perhaps because it looked a lot like the Submariner, Rolex altered the design and introduced the Datejust Turn-O-Graph ref. 6309 the following year. The watch then became known as the Thunderbird after members of the U.S. Air Force’s Thunderbird aerobatic squadron started wearing it, which led to the introduction of the ref. 6609 in the late ’50s. The bezel was intended to assist pilots in measuring time increments while in the sky. The Datejust Turn-O-Graph ref. 116264 I desire is a modern take on the classic Thunderbird. The 904L steel case is topped by an 18K white gold fluted rotating bezel with five- and 10-minute markings.

There are three dial colors available — black, white, and blue. I’d go for the white version because it works best with the red central seconds hand and date wheel. The combination of the red hand and the radiant blue dial looks too bright and colorful, straying too far from the watch’s tooly origins. The version with a black dial is a bit too bland for my taste, though. I also feel that the white dial is more in line with what a pilot doing loops and barrel rolls for a living would wear.

Image: Second Movement

The last generation

The broad-lugged case works best with the Oyster bracelet because it underlines its functional heritage. And although I will probably never use the rotating 60-minute bezel to measure elapsed time, I do like the instrumental side of this gold-topped timepiece. The 116264 that I have my eyes on came out in 2000 and became the last generation of the Turn-O-Graph. In 2011, Rolex decided to discontinue the watch, and until now, it has never had a successor. I fear the Turn-O-Graph, just like the Milgauss, has gone the way of the dodo. That also makes the Turn-O-Graph more desirable.

Image: Second Movement

Inside the Turn-O-Graph 116264 beats the caliber 3135 that debuted in 1988. This 4Hz movement was in use for over 20 years and proved itself to be one of the best movements Rolex ever created.

I found 176 Turn-O-Graph 116264 models on Chrono24 in all three dial colors. Now I just need to find out if I’m willing to pay around €6.5K–8K for it. Would you? And what do you think of my other two pre-owned favorites? Let me know in the comments.