Pre-Owned Picks An Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 'Jumbo' 15202ST, A F.P. Journe Octa Automatique Réserve, And Three OMEGA Olympic Limited Editions Watches we love,

HODINKEE Pre-Owned is a living, breathing beast. Since February 18 of this year, we've gotten our feet wet in the space. Every two weeks on Thursday (with the exception of the disruption that was the UNIMATIC H Series Limited Edition), a curated selection of pre-loved watches has hit the HODINKEE Shop. We have been happy to move nearly 100 timepieces to their next home. This is only the start.

Over the next few months we'll be populating our Pre-Owned page with watches more often, even outside of the classic HODINKEE-style drops. Watch this space if you're still in search of that next piece, or even if you're just browsing, kicking some tires – that's totally fine too.

This week's selection is the widest we have ever offered, so let's get into it. We have procured Audemars Piguet Royal Oaks in the past, but never the Royal Oak – that changes today with this ref. 15202, the "Jumbo." Sticking to the original proportions and non-quick-set date charm, the jumbo offers something completely unique. Maybe F.P. Journe is more to your taste? The Octa Automatique Réserve 40mm in platinum we have in stock offers the classic look of the brand in a recently discontinued model. The best of the rest is nothing to scoff at, including a Patek Philippe Aquanaut ref. 5066, an IWC Pilot Doppelchronograph, a Rolex Explorer ref. 14270, and three OMEGA Olympics limited editions, among many, many more.

The full collection is up for your consideration and viewing pleasure over in the HODINKEE Shop. Scroll on for the full story on a few favorites from the team.

Happy Olympic eve! After far too long waiting and wondering, the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics are finally ready to kick off tomorrow, Friday, July 23, 2021. For all of us at HODINKEE, that means a special spotlight on OMEGA, the long-term Official Timekeeper of the Olympic Games. We have a number of special stories set to run over the next two weeks that will delve deeper into the brand's historic sporting partnership with the Olympics, but first, we have watches. That's right, we've rounded up a small selection of three pre-owned OMEGA watches that were released for the 2016 and – yup – the 2020 Summer Olympics that are starting in less than 24 hours.

In 2018, OMEGA released a collection of five Speedmaster Professionals, with five different dial colors, representing each of the Olympic rings. Limited to 2,020 pieces, the "Blue Ring" example we have today is simply attractive – Olympic association or not.

A little more off the beaten path, OMEGA released a limited edition Speedmaster Mark II in 2014 to commemorate the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games. This is my personal favorite OMEGA × Olympic watch. It takes the funky and off-beat '70s aesthetic that the Mark II reissue (also released in 2014) excelled at, and adds in just a touch of esoteric Olympic spirit. Here, that takes the form of the sub-dial rings, each register is surrounded by an actual 18k yellow gold, 925 silver, or bronze ring.

Finally, we have another 2016 limited edition release by OMEGA for the Rio de Janeiro Games. A highly limited release of just 188 pieces, cased in 18k yellow gold, this chronograph falls under the company's historic "Museum Specialities" banner. The dial aesthetic is clearly influenced by early 20th century timekeepers used during the Olympics, but inside beats a modern manual wind, co-axial escapement equipped movement, the caliber 3203.

At the Tokyo Olympics, once again, as has been the case since 1932, OMEGA will be trusted as the official timekeeper. The brand has been celebrating this partnership since the 1956 Melbourne Olympics with limited edition watches, scattered throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. You can explore three of those past releases right here.

The last time we featured an AP Royal Oak I told you it was just built different. I told you about Ben Clymer's explanation that it's "the realest of the real when it comes to high-end sports watches." I told you that there is just something about this watch that does it for me. That all stands. However, I was talking about a thoroughly modern and updated Royal Oak that go-round, the ref. 15500. There is nothing wrong with that watch, it is outstanding in so many ways. But, that watch is not the OG – what we have today, however, is.

Even if you're not a reference person, the 15202 has a ring to it, making it just a bit easier to remember. If you're going to remember a couple of reference numbers, this one would be up there. The watch that was designed by Gérald Genta in 1971 and introduced the idea of a luxury sports watch to the world in '72 is presented here by the brand nearly 50 years later in as close to its original form as possible. Dimensions are largely unchanged from that 1972 iteration; the dial is blue and features a tapisserie finish as well.

AP's current head honcho, CEO Francois Bennahmias, confirmed in March that the 15202 will be replaced within the brand's catalog in 2022. As Audemars Piguet celebrates the 50th anniversary of the original Royal Oak, a refresh is set to hit the model, or so says Francois.

With the state of the pre-owned market, the 15202 is alongside Patek Philippe's Nautilus ref. 5711 in terms of high-priced controversy. No matter where you stand on that discussion, what we have here is a watch that is ready to ship today, full box and papers, and backed by the HODINKEE guarantee as authentic. Hit the Shop to check it out.

It's been long enough that HODINKEE Pre-Owned has gone without an F.P. Journe, and today we're excited to say that we're offering our first from the independent house on the site. There's something so completely considered about the watches that come from master watchmaker Francois-Paul Journe, and this Octa Automatique Réserve is no different.

The iconic design language of each and every watch that comes out of the company's Geneva atelier is unmistakable – from the soft lugs that hug close to the wrist, to the subtle knurling of the crown and the straps that seamlessly integrate into the case. Discontinued in 2018, this Octa Automatique Réserve 40mm has a big date, a small seconds sub-dial, and a power reserve indicator to highlight the running autonomy of self-winding caliber 1300-3. Set onto a gorgeous silver guilloché dial with Journe's iconic typeface, the steel blued hands are simply the cherry on top. With a platinum case, the Octa Automatique flies under the radar when you want it to, but radiates an unmistakable energy the moment it peeks from under a cuff.