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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFratello’s 2023 #TBT recap featured eleven watches, not ten. Tomas Rosputinsky presented them as a personal editorial selection, not a ranked list or buying guide. Its appeal is the range: unusual date displays, unconventional chronographs, experimental time reading and distinctive case designs.
What the #TBT recap actually covers
Published on December 28, 2023, Fratello’s year-end recap gathers watches featured in its #TBT vintage-watch series during that year. Rosputinsky wrote that he wanted a list of the 10 best vintage watches featured in 2023, then acknowledged that he had included eleven. The “top” framing is therefore the author’s editorial judgment; the recap does not establish an objective ranking or compare market values. Read the Fratello recap.
The eleven watches, and what makes each notable
The lineup is easiest to understand by its variety of mechanisms, displays and design ideas. The details below describe Rosputinsky’s account in the recap, rather than independent assessments of the individual watches.
Unusual cases and ways to show the time
- Breitling Colt Military PVD ref. 80180. Rosputinsky singled out its black PVD finish, chipped case, large luminous numerals and appeal as a potential daily wearer. His comments describe the example featured, not every watch with this reference.
- Derby Swissonic. This unusual design displays the time with rotating discs. Rosputinsky described it as fragile and said it was introduced at the 1974 Basel Fair.
- Medana Special Calendar. Its day and date are printed on a rotating crystal, which the wearer manually aligns, according to the recap.
- St. Blaise Alertic Key-Watch. Rosputinsky highlighted a patented joint and imagined the watch accompanying a classic car as a miniature flat car key.
- Tian Harlan’s Chromachron. Twelve colored sectors represent the hours, while a cutout in a rotating black disc indicates the time. The result is a color-based display rather than a conventional set of hands.
Date displays and chronographs with a twist
- Perfecta Big Date. Rosputinsky described a date mechanism whose discs rotate and overlap. He compared it cautiously with Venus big-date movements but said he could not identify the movement.
- Gallet Big Date Chronograph. The recap recounts Rosputinsky’s discovery of evidence in a 1958 merchandise catalog that Gallet big-date dials existed. That is the author’s account of the discovery, not a broader claim about production numbers.
- Nicolet chronograph without pushers. Rosputinsky said the featured watch uses a Landeron 251 and that its crown controls start, stop and reset. The recap’s description should not be taken as an independent mechanical inspection.
- Telefoot. Rosputinsky described a central hand that makes one revolution per hour, with a crown pusher to reset it, and dial markings for timing football matches and calls. His claims about the example’s condition and uniqueness are his observations.
- Breitling AVI 765 “Lucy Digital.” Its 15-minute counter is styled like a date display. Rosputinsky gave the featured watch’s diameter as 40 mm.
- Heuer Autavia 2446M with a round typeface. Rosputinsky described this as a version he had long wanted and said he investigated its story with Jeff Stein of OnTheDash.
How to read the selection
The watches are connected less by a shared specification than by their capacity to surprise: the recap moves from color-coded time and rotating discs to unconventional chronograph controls and a key-like case concept. Rosputinsky’s comments also touch on condition and wearability, but those remarks concern particular examples and do not amount to a consistent evaluation across all eleven.
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- For display ideas: the Chromachron, Derby Swissonic and Medana Special Calendar show different departures from a standard hand-and-index dial.
- For unconventional chronograph operation or timing: the Nicolet and Telefoot stand out in the author’s descriptions.
- For distinctive case or dial character: the Colt Military PVD, Alertic Key-Watch and round-typeface Autavia offer different kinds of visual interest.
- For date-focused designs: the Perfecta and Gallet entries show two different big-date stories in the recap.
What the recap does not establish
This is a 2023 editorial retrospective, not a current market survey. It supplies no consistent price comparison or basis for investment advice, and it does not verify present-day availability, authenticity, condition across the models, or the rarity of the watches as a whole. Treat rarity, originality, ownership, performance and condition statements as Rosputinsky’s observations unless checked against reliable documentation for a specific watch.
The recap establishes that a Breitling Colt Military PVD ref. 80180 appeared in the series; it does not show that the author’s example, or any matching watch, is currently for sale. Anyone considering a vintage listing should independently verify the exact reference, condition, seller’s claims and authenticity.
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