Alessandro Ciani Luxury Vintage Concept

I know this may sound odd to most, but in the early days of collecting vintage watches, the Rolex Prince ranked at the highest places in the must have list of every aspiring collector. Introduced in 1928, it was known as the doctor’s watch due to the separate small seconds dial that made it easier for physicians to count the pulsations while feeling a patient’s wrist. The Prince was one of the first mind blogging marketing successes for Rolex, quickly becoming an icon of el...egance, style and accuracy. I have chased many of them over the years, but it took a lifelong career to finally land a platinum example that truly checks all the boxes. It’s also the only one I have ever seen with the signature Prince in the upper right corner of the dial. Looking at it, I kind of get why this watch has been every collector’s dream for so many years! Strap by @attilaaszodi. . . . . . . . . . #vintagewatches #patekphilippe #patek #1518 #chronograph #alexciani #rarevintage #classicwatches #classicwatch #rolexlover #giltdial #audemarspiguet #vintagerolexpassion #vintagerolexmania #vintagerolex #losangeles #beijing #hongkong #italianfashion #tagheur # #watchcollector #rolexwatches l#rolexexplorer #rolexsubmariner #rolexdaytona #rolex #predaytona #luxurycars #luxury @ Calabasas Cold Creek Trail See more

As I keep an eye on the latest news from the watch design and technology world, it strikes me of how things have changed rapidly over a relatively short period of time. When this Patek Philippe ref 565 with Breguet numerals was originally sold in 1945, it was at the extreme end of what a tool/sports watch available on that market would look like. It was also the most affordable new Patek Philippe wristwatch money could buy. My dad, now in his mid eighties, was eleven years ol...d, that same year. I look at this watch today and, first of all, find it pretty elegant to be a tool, a professional instrument meant to endure intense distress rather than the finest fashion accessory for the distinguished gentleman ; secondarily, I have to admit that its looks are so simple compared to the comparatively ultra sophisticated watches of our days, that if I didn’t know what I do about watches, I would have guessed this could have been around in the days of my great grandfather, rather than my dad’s. But in spite of its apparent simplicity, this Calatrava still delivers a sense of impeccable craftsmanship and innate elegance: I wonder if this same magic that I barely find in most contemporary watches will be instead just as palpable to the watch nerd of 2095 . . . . . . . . . #vintagewatches #patekphilippe #patek #1518 #chronograph #alexciani #rarevintage #classicwatches #classicwatch #rolexlover #giltdial #audemarspiguet #vintagerolexpassion #vintagerolexmania #vintagerolex #losangeles #beijing #hongkong #italianfashion #tagheur # #watchcollector #rolexwatches l#rolexexplorer #rolexsubmariner #rolexdaytona #rolex #predaytona #luxurycars #luxury @ The Bed Sheet Club See more

This great photo was taken in Tokyo, Japan, back in 2018 by @method_photographer during one of our vintage watch events around the globe. In front of me at the table, the one and only @emilio_colonna, always on my side on these - sometimes a bit crazy - raids. Looking at this image I feel inspired to keep working hard and grateful for the once unimaginable opportunities my passion has brought into my life: travel the world, meet incredible people, appreciate and absorb differ...ent cultures and, ultimately, own - albeit for a brief period of time - some of the most beautiful watches ever made. If there is any advise I can give the kids who are starting to look into their own future today, it’s this: always be curious, teachable; don’t give up to the fear of not being good enough: follow your passions, whether it is to build you career or the lifelong side interest that will never fail to make you happy. . . . . . . . . . #vintagewatches #patekphilippe #patek #1518 #chronograph #alexciani #rarevintage #classicwatches #classicwatch #rolexlover #giltdial #audemarspiguet #vintagerolexpassion #vintagerolexmania #vintagerolex #losangeles #beijing #hongkong #italianfashion #tagheur # #watchcollector #rolexwatches l#rolexexplorer #rolexsubmariner #rolexdaytona #rolex #predaytona #luxurycars #luxury @ Tokyo Ginza See more

I don’t know that it’s even possible to be envious of an unanimated object, but I do, every now and then, remain baffled by how some watches I run into are actually older than me and look so much younger! Perfect example, this stainless steel, pcg Rolex Submariner ref 5512 with chapter ring, four line, glossy gilt dial from 1961: this guy’s been around longer than I have, and yet look at it... . . . .... . . . . . #vintagewatches #patekphilippe #patek #1518 #chronograph #alexciani #rarevintage #classicwatches #classicwatch #rolexlover #giltdial #audemarspiguet #vintagerolexpassion #vintagerolexmania #vintagerolex #losangeles #beijing #hongkong #italianfashion #tagheur # #watchcollector #rolexwatches l#rolexexplorer #rolexsubmariner #rolexdaytona #rolex #predaytona #luxurycars #luxury See more

When talking vintage watches, I often refer to the fascination the idea of the stories they carry has on me. Other people’s lives, important moments, passions, victories, losses, loves...and so on, and on: all things that build up in a single object’s energy. Buying back this transitional, glossy black gilt dial Rolex pre-Daytona ref 6238 from 1963, it struck me how, after decades in vintage watches, myself and many special friends have become THE story of some of these watch...es. The youth, the friendship, the emotions, the life I shared with the wonderful person who owned this watch for the last twenty years are just moments permanently buried in the past, but still vibrate in the glare of the metal, the shiny gloss of the dial. It’s so intense, it sends shivers down my spine. . . . . . . . . . #vintagewatches #patekphilippe #patek #1518 #chronograph #alexciani #rarevintage #classicwatches #classicwatch #rolexlover #giltdial #audemarspiguet #vintagerolexpassion #vintagerolexmania #vintagerolex #losangeles #beijing #hongkong #italianfashion #tagheur # #watchcollector #rolexwatches l#rolexexplorer #rolexsubmariner @ Vatican Museums - Musei Vaticani See more

I am looking forward to the publication of the upcoming book by Wulf Schüetz of @rareandine on the Rolex Milgauss. Probably the most esoteric Rolex sports model, with an intriguing history and prototype-like production pattern. The numbers and details Wulf has gathered on this super rare bird - 496 examples only of the common ref 6541, let alone the ultra rare ref 6543 - are so surprising, they will make all of us look at this oddball in a different light. Can’t say anythi...ng more on this watch without being a spoiler! Wearing my 1958 ref 6541 on my way to London! . . . . . . . . . #vintagewatches #patekphilippe #patek #1518 #chronograph #alexciani #rarevintage #classicwatches #classicwatch #rolexlover #dogs #audemarspiguet #vintagerolexpassion #vintagerolexmania #vintagerolex #losangeles #beijing #hongkong #italianfashion #tagheur # #watchcollector #rolexwatches l#rolexexplorer #rolexsubmariner #rolexdaytona #rolex #luxuries #luxurycars #luxury See more

The ref 2526 was one of 14 models that featured the first ever self-winding movement by Patek Philippe, the celebrated calibre 12-600"AT. Of all the first automatic Patek Philippe watches, this model is probably the most iconic, thanks to its distinctive oven fired enamel dial by Donze Cadrans, that makes it a true classic in its department. 2350 examples circa in yellow gold were made between 1953 and the end of its production in 1960, most of which with this kind of dial, m...ade in three different batches: a MKI, with the enamel visibly forming dimples in correspondence of the applied markers and the aperture for the hands; a MKII, with the enamel showing dimples only around the apertures, but perfectly smooth under the hour markers; a MKIII, perfectly smooth with no visible dimples at all. Here is a freshly caught example with MKII dial originally retailed by Serpico y Laino in Caracas, Venezuela. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . #patekphilippe #patek #patekcollector #patekphilippewatches #patekphilippecollecting #watch #watches #watchporn #watchcollection #wristwatch #wristshot #wristwatches #wristporn #vintage #vintagestyle #vintagewatch #vintagewatches #vintagewatchestyle #luxury #luxuryvintage #vintageluxury #alexciani #rarevintage #classicwatches #classicwatch #rolex #losangeles #hongkong #watchcollector @ Caracas, D.F., Venezuela See more

I am looking forward to the publication of the upcoming book by Wulf Schüetz of @rareandfine on the Rolex Milgauss. Probably the most esoteric of all Rolex sports models, with an intriguing history and prototype-like production pattern. The numbers and details Wulf has gathered on this super rare bird - 496 examples only of the common ref 6541, let alone the ultra rare ref 6543 - are so surprising, they will make all of us look at this oddball in a different light. Can’t s...ay anything more on this watch without being a spoiler! Here are both references - a 6543 from 1956 and a 6541 from 1958 - photographed in my studio today. . . . . . . . . . #vintagewatches #patekphilippe #patek #1518 #chronograph #alexciani #rarevintage #classicwatches #classicwatch #rolexlover #dogs #audemarspiguet #vintagerolexpassion #vintagerolexmania #vintagerolex #losangeles #beijing #hongkong #italianfashion #tagheur # #watchcollector #rolexwatches l#rolexexplorer #rolexsubmariner #rolexdaytona #rolex #luxuries #luxurycars #luxury @ Bridge to Nowhere See more

With a fixed 24 hour bezel, the Rolex Explorer II orange hand was introduced in 1971 - here’s a beautiful early example from the first batch - as a tool watch for speleologists who could use this feature to tell day from night in the darkness of earth’s underground caves. French speleologist Jean-François Pernette wore one in his Journey to the End of the World documentary; Jean-Claude Killy wore one while skiing the slopes of Sun Valley, Idaho, in 1977; one was on the wr...ist of vulcanologist Haroun Tazieff while observing the eruption of the Niragongo. To further test this extraordinary watch, I took it to the dog park tonight, where once again it didn’t fail to prove its outstanding reliability. . . . . . . . . . #vintagewatches #patekphilippe #patek #1518 #chronograph #alexciani #rarevintage #classicwatches #classicwatch #rolexlover #dogs #audemarspiguet #vintagerolexpassion #vintagerolexmania #vintagerolex #losangeles #beijing #hongkong #italianfashion #tagheur # #watchcollector #rolexwatches l#rolexexplorer #rolexsubmariner #rolexdaytona #rolex #luxuries #luxurycars #luxury @ Thousand Oaks Dog Park

I have to admit that addiction plays a major role in the vintage watch game. You would imagine it’s just my job, maybe one I like at that. But there is a lot more to it. What I put myself through this week just to own this late 1957 Rolex Submariner ref 6536-1 from the second batch of production (the first one sported the celebrated red depth dial and a no-hash insert) is too embarrassing to confess; and the price I gave, along with the payment terms I suggested myself, jus...t to put it into a friend’s collection rather than flip it to a dealer, is an insult to the concept of business tout court. Yet, today has been a glorious one, for me. . . . . . . . . . #vintagewatches #patekphilippe #patek #1518 #chronograph #alexciani #rarevintage #classicwatches #classicwatch #rolexlover #audemars #audemarspiguet #vintagerolexpassion #vintagerolexmania #vintagerolex #losangeles #beijing #hongkong #italianfashion #tagheur # #watchcollector #rolexwatches l#rolexexplorer #rolexsubmariner #rolexdaytona #rolex #luxuries #luxurycars #luxury @ Evergreen, Colorado See more

Happy 4th, everyone. For this year’s red, white and blue photo I took a shortcut and thought of this striking Rolex GMT-Master ref 1675 from 1977 (I know, I don’t bother setting the right date. ...). Pants, stitching and shoes fit perfectly in, too. Right colors and fireworks in one shot! . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . #alexciani #rarevintage #classicwatches #classicwatch #july4th #rolexlover #rolexrestoration #audemars #audemarspiguet #vintagerolexpassion #GMTMaster #vintagerolexmania #vintagerolex #losangeles #beijing #hongkong #italianfashion #tagheur # #watchcollector #rolexwatches #longines #rolexexplorer #rolexsubmariner #rolexdaytona #rolex #luxuries #attilaaszodi #luxurycars #luxury See more

I have been to Montevideo, Uruguay, maybe fifteen years ago. I was impressed by the former splendor of the old city, still visible through the filter of an overwhelming decadence: many old buildings appeared abandoned, most of them up for sale. At the same time, the whole city looked orderly, clean, safe. Some of the world’s most incredible watches were sold in that magic city, until politics and economy started to change the face of South America’s society in the mid 1900s. ...Someone in Montevideo, on a sunny day of 1942, bought himself this incredible Longines chronograph ref 4974 tre tacche with radium dial... it fits so perfectly in the picture I still carry in my memory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . #alexciani #rarevintage #classicwatches #classicwatch #milgauss #rolexlover #rolexrestoration #audemars #audemarspiguet #vintagerolexpassion #GMTMaster #vintagerolexmania #vintagerolex #losangeles #beijing #hongkong #italianfashion #tagheur # #watchcollector #rolexwatches #longines #rolexexplorer #rolexsubmariner #rolexdaytona #rolex #luxuries #attilaaszodi #luxurycars #luxury See more

Had to shoot this gorgeous Rolex GMT-Master pointed crown guards ref 1675 with chapter ring, underline dial from 1963. For people born in that year like myself, who want to wear a birthday watch, this fancy comes with an added cost! Copy and paste from my last post, it’s now common knowledge that Rolex used to underline dials around 1963 to transition from SWISS only dials, that were made luminescent with radium and occasionally other experimental materials, to the T SWIS...S T and SWISS-T<25 dials fired up exclusive with tritium that followed production until the end of the century. When you see a Rolex with an underline dial, you can affirm with confidence that its case number will fall between the high 800,000s and the 1 million figure. A barely visible feature that makes a significant item in figuring the cost f these watches... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . #alexciani #rarevintage #classicwatches #classicwatch #milgauss #rolexlover #rolexrestoration #audemars #audemarspiguet #vintagerolexpassion #GMTMaster #vintagerolexmania #vintagerolex #losangeles #beijing #hongkong #italianfashion #tagheur # #watchcollector #rolexwatches #rolexero #rolexexplorer #rolexsubmariner #rolexdaytona #rolex #luxuries #underline #luxurycars #luxury See more