I always enjoy other people’s SOTC posts, and now that we’re all stuck inside waiting for the dreaded bat-flu to sort it’s self out I thought I would post my first and maybe last SOTC. I have always tried to buy watches I like, I wear most of these watches regularly, and every one is personal to me and has a story behind it. This post will include comments, anecdotes and musings from myself as to each of the watches which are my own opinions and not really intended as reviews as such. You are more than welcome to read these, agree, disagree or in fact just ignore them completely - it really doesn’t matter to me. I am no photographer so be prepared for rough and ready snaps. This will be a long post, so grab a cuppa if you are planning to read it, and in no particular order, here goes....
My old G shock.
I’ll try and start at the beginning if I may. I bought this watch new from H Samuel in my local town centre many moons ago (around 1998ish I recon) along with a titanium Seiko, the Seiko being my “best” watch and this one being for work, which at the time was driving all over the country fixing industrial refrigeration equipment. The Seiko is long gone - I gave that to my brother who’s wife decided to smash it up with a hammer when me and him buggered off to drive round North Africa for a few weeks (that’s another story) but I still have the G Shock. Just a single battery change in all that time, and it still gets used whenever I have anything in the way of proper work to do.
Seiko Monster.
Here is a watch which should need no introduction really. About 7 years back I got a job more local to home. The wife had just given up work to look after the children and I needed a way to get to the office on the cheap. Enter the Honda C90 which I rode to work (50 mile round trip) day in day out rain or shine for 4 years. One day I came off the thing having slipped on some diesel and it suddenly occurred to me that wearing my GMT Master whilst sliding across tarmac on my face probably wasn’t such a good idea. By this point, I was quite into this forum and in terms of a tough as old boots cheap and cheerful mechanical diver I don’t think anything does it better. I love the fact that it isn’t an “Homage” type watch, and I could list the features (lume, screw down crown, divers extension, bracelet etc) but you probably already know those. The timekeeping isn’t the best, but still pound for pound one of the best value watches about if you can deal with the looks. Now a days I still wear this on beach holidays and on the odd occasion when I jump on the C90 - yes, I still have that as well! I suppose this watch also marks my getting into the forums and becoming more of a watch geek. You’ll notice that some of the paint is missing from the bezel. It all just fell off during a snorkelling holiday in the Red Sea, which I’m told is particularly salty, so not sure if that had anything to do with it.
CWC G10.
I can remember back to around about 1992 when I was in the army cadets looking at this watch in what was then the Silvermans catalogue (the internet hadn’t really been invented properly back then) lustfully and desperate to own one. There was a slight issue with the price though, £99 at the time, which was to a 13 year old growing up on a rough council estate earning £7.40 a week from a paper round was an unimaginable amount of money to spend on anything let alone a watch. But that urge to own one never really left me. Fast forward to 3 years ago and a friend of mine - and fellow watch lover - turned up at my house quite unexpectedly with this little watch in a box which he had bought for me as a thank you for supporting him through a messy divorce. I’d obviously told him about that Silvermans catalogue and my love of this watch at some point and I was deeply touched to receive it. Doesn’t get that much wear unfortunately, but when it does, it goes wonderfully with a short sleeve shirt and a pair of combat shorts. Probably my first ever “grail watch”!
The Sea Dweller.
I can’t remember exactly when I bought this watch, but I do know why. Quite simply put, as an engineer I am still really impressed that something as small and functional as this can withstand such immense pressure. Yes, I know that Rolex makes them bigger and able to go deeper these days, but I do like that fact that with this watch in particular, Rolex resisted the urge to go big and bulky and kept as far as they could to the proportions of the Submariner. I think I’ve only worn this watch 3 or 4 times. Then I had it serviced and tucked it into the safe as a gift for my son in years to come. Come to think of it, I’m not actually that attached to it as a time keeper per se, it’s just more of something I like owning as a piece of engineering.
Datejust.
Quite a recent purchase for me, but over the years I’d tried on quite a few different Datejusts. it’s a watch I really wanted to love but somehow had never quite hit the mark for reasons which I couldn’t really put a finger on. I did have a 1603 for a while, but I wasn’t that keen on the pie pan dial, the plexi crystal, the rattly folded link bracelet or the lack of quickset date. This one came up for sale on SC and I just couldn’t resist the tapestry dial, it really does add something to the watch that I think just makes it that little more interesting. This is pretty much a daily wearer for me at the moment. It’s an absolute classic and I think I finally “get” the Datejust now. It really does suit any situation and tends to fly under the radar a little compared to the big sports watches. I also like the size of the thing. In fact most of my other watches feel like bricks compared to this.
GMT 16710.
I will confess right away that I have a soft spot for the Rolex GMT.
This is a watch I am very much in love with being the first “proper” watch I ever bought. I must have been maybe 11 or 12 when I saw a magazine article about Lord so-and-so. Part of the article was a double page photo shoot of whoever this bloke was, standing in front of his massive house, his beautiful wife draped over him and dangling from his wrist was a blue and red Rolex. I think I said to myself there and then that one day I would own that watch myself. Pretty much unthinkable now, but many years later (2001 to be exact) I saw it brand new in an AD shop window, walked in and just bought it. No waiting lists or arse kissing required. At the time I had just finished my apprenticeship and left the job I was in, in search of one paying more money. Somehow I ended up in Crawley shopping that day with my brother and I found myself with £550 to my name, in the Rolex shop putting every penny down as a deposit with the rest on interest free credit - my brother acting as a guarantor as I was effectively jobless. My dad hit the roof when I got home. In the space of a day I had quit my job, spent every penny I had and convinced my brother to guarantee the payments for me. I wore this watch every day in rotation with the above mentioned G Shock for years and worked like a dog to pay it off sweeping the floor at a local garage and doing cash in hand refrigerator repairs in pubs at the weekends. I still love it and it still feels special to me when I wear it.
GMT 16753 - Rootbeer.
I’ve never been much of a flipper, but as I got into watches a little bit more I started to try out a few other brands and see what I liked. Initially I bought a Speedmaster, which became a Monaco, which became a Black Bay, which became this Rootbeer after I was offered it in a trade. This is a full set, birth year watch for me and in my opinion an incredibly cool watch (I am one of the most uncool people in the world by the way, so that’s no measure what so ever)!! My wife hates it, says it makes me look like a 70s pimp, which I agree with, and it’s exactly why I love it. The lacquer is just starting to go around the edge of the dial and it glints bright red in the sunshine. It seems to change when I look at it from different angles and in different lights and that’s makes it really interesting to wear. I have paired it down a little with the leather strap and Rolex buckle which just makes it a little less blingy than the bi colour jubilee and a bit more wearable
GMTc.
I really did fancy a black bezeled GMT master and following a tip off from a member on this forum I bought this from an AD down in Eastbourne. This modern version of the GMT master really does seem to deal with the niggles which I could have with the older 16710, namely the bracelet and clasp really are in a different league and the triplock crown is a joy to use. This watch has a real feeling of solidity to it. This said, it is also quite a bit more bulky than the the older GMT and I’m still 50/50 on the polished centre links. I also love the green GMT hand, but on the whole I really have struggled to bond with this watch and if any of them go in the near future, it will be this one. I haven’t worn it for a while now, but I may give it another few months on the wrist and see how I feel about it.
1675.
There isn’t much to say about this watch really. Only that I love GMTs, I saw this at a really good price, I had some spare cash and so I bought it. I remember that at the time there was a petrol tanker driver strike going on, petrol was “rationed” and the seller asked to meet me half way in a car park in Crawley to complete the sale. Due to having no fuel in the car, I got the train there early, on my own with an envelope stuffed with cash and found a cafe with a good vantage point of the car park. I was 50/50 as to whether or not I was going to get turned over, and having never handled a 1675 I was 50/50 as to whether or not the watch was going to be genuine. The seller turned out to be a lovely chap, and the next day I was up at St James Square with the watch booked in for a full service. Everything checked out well and it is a lovely watch. The aged lume really does add something. You could say that I took a bit of a risk on this one, both with the watch and my personal safety. I was still in my 20s back then, had no kids and times were a little more care free. With hindsight, I’m not sure I’d put myself in that position again.
Cartier Pasha.
When my grandfather passed away some years ago now I happened to be working in a junior management position at Selfridges. I was left a small inheritance which I pretty much straight away spent on this watch - sold to me at a fairly hefty discount. I was living and working in London and I just remember looking down the tube carriage one morning and seeing Oyster and Jubilee bracelets all the way. I wanted something different and this fitted the bill very nicely. I will confess that I’m not as in love with this watch as I once was. It is big, bulky, blingy, uncomfortable and a scratch magnet, but I does hold immense sentimental value. I wore this watch on my wedding day and my 40th birthday. I don’t wear it very much, mainly only for special occasions, but every time I do put it on it reminds me of my grandfather.
Jaeger LeCoultre WWW.
I’ve posted about this watch a couple of times on this forum. Having spent many hours looking at the Omega WWWs in the window of Austin Kaye (they always seemed to have at least 3 or 4 all the time 10 or so years back) and with my love of the G10 I bought this from a charity shop over a year ago now knowing roughly what it was, but otherwise unchecked and thinking that the case back was incorrect. From the research I’ve managed to get through this far, this seems to be an Australian issue WWW (there are a few tell tale pointers). I have had the crystal and crown replaced for the correct parts at a great price by a very lovely chap called John Senior and now as far as I know the watch is completely correct. I have very much enjoyed putting the time and effort into finding the correct parts (impossible without this forum) and researching all the anomalies around the Aussie issue watch when compared to the British issued version. In a way, this reignited my passion for watches a little which had gone off the boil following my disappointment and disillusionment at not being able to get my hands on a steel Pepsi GMTc. I love the way it looks and feels on the wrist and I also love the fact that no one really knows the significance of this watch apart from us geeks - to most people it’s just a scruffy old watch which looks a bit small on me. If watches could talk I would love to hear the stories this one could tell. In my opinion, it’s a very special thing for a functional object which has obviously had a very hard life to be doing just as good a job now as it was when it was issued all those years ago.
Casio F91w (gold).
Ok, so it’s not actually an F91w but this is a very recent acquisition - a gift for my 40th birthday from the same chap who gave me the G10. I suppose I have something of a fascination for an object engineered down to its simplest, and most value driven form for the masses. Take the Honda C90 for example, no more complicated than a lawn mower but it’s done more to mobilise entire populations than any other vehicle can claim to have done (with the exception of the VW beetle perhaps) and I think it’s the same with this watch to a certain extent. Cheap, simple, rugged and made to be as such. I also like the cult status of this watch and the fact that it gets noticed all the time - more so than any of my other watches. I have been wearing this quite a lot since it arrived.
Apple Watch.
Yep, over to the dark side. Having dodged my company medical for 6 years I decided that turning 40 I’d go for a check up. Pretty (cough) comprehensive it was too, and after being referred to a cardiologist and following a couple of scans, I was told that I had a condition called “athletic heart syndrome” meaning I had to cut back on my exercise regime or risk significant heart damage. I bought this watch mainly for the heart monitoring and fitness functions. Love them or hate them, smart watches are here to stay and for their size are utterly amazing pieces of technology. (And, don’t tell anyone, I really do love the walkie talkie function because it makes me feel like James Bond....)
Navitimer.
This is a recent purchase (well, a few months ago now). I have always admired the Navitimer. I suppose the engineer in me liked the fact that something so small could be so functional. If I was ever going to own one though, it would be an 806. Modern Breitling watches just seem to do nothing for me and so when LTF Tony (a true gent by the way) put this up for sale on SC I had to have it, and a beautiful example it is at that. I’m still not sure if it’s for me though. Having worn it a few times now, it feels a little too nice for me, a bit pristine, and I’ve never been one to treat anything I’ve owned that well. I’d also like to point out that it is utterly useless for anything other than telling the time - and even that is a challenge given how cluttered the dial is. But look at it though.... utterly beautiful.
Seamaster
This little watch was actually what you might call a gift. Many moons ago I was working at the National Gallery as a building services engineer. Part of my job was to change every lamp, in every room, every year. And there were thousands upon thousands of them. For some reason unknown to me the gallery scientific department stipulated that only Osram lamps could be used, and at the time Osram were doing a promotion whereby every £100 spent earned you a token. 4 tokens got you a case of beer, 40 tokens got you a telly.... you get the idea. At the end of the period, I added up all my tokens and I had enough for this watch. It became a daily wearer for many years until my wife gave up work following the birth of my second child and commandeered it. She is allergic to pretty much all metals and so it gets worn, used and abused on a Phoenix NATO. She really does treat it badly but it keeps on ticking. It’s been back to Omega a few times for battery changes and servicing and I’m pretty sure she loves it more than me. I still consider it my watch - though on long term loan and I think the size is just right. I have owned the larger 42mm version, but it’s just wasn’t for me due to the size.
And there you have it. If you’ve made it to the end of this post you must be even more bored of sitting around at home than I am!! And what is next??? Well I really have no idea what so ever. When I bought my first GMT master all those years ago, I’d always thought that the Rolex Day Date in white gold (yes.... I know there is a beauty on SC at the moment) would be my “exit” watch - the one that you get when you retire and wear as an only watch. Nowadays I rather think that at some point I’d like to own a Patek 3940 in rose gold, but at the same time my Mrs is badgering me for a 911 so the watches might have to go on hold for a while!!
I hope you enjoyed the post, and I hope you all stay safe in these rather strange times.
PM22.
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