Disclaimer: I don’t really recommend you buy either of these watches. I mean you certainly can, but whether or not you want to will rely on (1) how much a watch’s “originality” matters to you and (2) how much you love retro gaming. Normally I approach these weekly guides as serious advice on collectible, reasonably priced and interesting used and vintage watches, but when you stumble upon not one but two watches that pay tribute to two wonderful games in one week, well, you need to take that as a sign.
Customized luxury watches comprise something of a cottage industry, popularized by the likes of Bamford Watch Department and Project X, whose work ranges from blacked-out and heritage-inspired Rolexes to some truly wacky shit. Responses to these range from purists, whose monocles will fall into their champagne glasses upon seeing such blasphemy, to cult followers, who’d likely tell aforesaid purists to lighten the hell up. I’m probably somewhere in the middle, which is why I’m equally fascinated and flummoxed by these two watches.
Tudor Prince Oysterdate, Charmeleon Edition
I reached out to the seller of this vintage Tudor Prince and, apparently, the dial is original and was repainted by “an experienced local jeweler.” So, no, this wasn’t some corporate gift given to the Pokemon development team (though how cool would that be?), but likely a custom job for a very serious Pokemon fan. It’s also worth noting the hands here don’t appear to be original, you know, in case that might be a deal-breaker. But the biggest mystery of all remains: Why paint a Charmeleon instead of a Charizard? We likely will never know.
Omega Speedmaster ‘PacMoon’ by Moontime
This colorful Pac-Man tribute is the work of Moontime, an Italian-based watch customizer specializing in Speedmasters. According to Moontime, “Customizations are made by skilled goldsmiths that guarantee an excellent quality of materials and workmanship.” This “PacMoon” is a limited edition of ten watches and features enamel work on the stainless steel bezel.
