Collector’s library · Identification

The reference number is the model. It is not the watch.

A listing gives you a reference like 116234-0090 and a name that may or may not be accurate. Before that becomes a Maker, Model, Reference no. and Category on your own record, it is worth knowing what a reference number actually promises — and what it does not.

Where to look one up

WatchBase is a free, searchable catalogue of watch references by brand — over 40,000 watches and 3,500 calibers at the time this was checked. A reference lookup there typically returns the family name, the caliber, case dimensions, lug width, water resistance, dial and hand details, and whether the piece was a limited edition. That maps directly onto several of the app's own fields: Category, Reference no., the case and dial group, and Movement & Complications.

Watch Vault Archive does not keep a database of watches, and does not look one up for you — it makes no network requests of any kind, so nothing on your record is ever auto-filled or cross-checked automatically. A lookup is something you do once, in a browser, before you type the result in by hand.

What a reference number does not tell you

A catalogue entry describes the model as the manufacturer specified it. It cannot tell you whether the specific watch in front of you still has its original dial, whether a part has been swapped, or whether the reference on the case back matches the reference on the papers — and a mismatch between those two is exactly the kind of detail worth noticing before you record the piece as original. Production years given by a catalogue are for the reference as a whole; a specific example can only be dated with more certainty from its own papers, an extract from the manufacturer, or a full service record.

Once you know what the reference should look like, checking amplitude, lift angle or a certification claim against it is a separate step — covered in where to verify a watch's specifications.