Deep Dive on Watches

Maybe it started when my friend Colin mentioned that Zodiac watches were on sale at Ross department stores because the company was going bankrupt. Or maybe it was when, for some unknown reason, I re-watched Van Neistat’s Marathon GSAR promotional video. But I started wearing my Seiko SKX again and started perusing diver watches again.

I’m annoyed that my SKX is losing time: something like 30sec/day. And no watch snob would think it is cool. But it feels so good on the wrist and I love the functional legibility. I grow to be more and more annoyed with it, and take it to the watchsmith for tuning. It’ll be gone for 3weeks.

They’re all so expensive now, all these watches I’m interested in. So what’s another hundred or thousand dollars for a watch? If I’m really going to like it? And I’m having a child soon: shouldn’t I have something to commemorate that?

I start opening dozens of tabs, watching videos, reading histories, paying attention on the street. I don’t even want the really expensive ones. I just want something functional and unique and respectable. For me, that means something like:

• an automatic watch
• with a COSC-certified movement (+/-4 sec/day) or something close to that
• that is ISO-certified for diving (waterproof and durable)
• that is flashier than a basic blue or black silver block

After spending hours diving into options and reviews, I step away and feel like all this is incredibly wasteful - of my time, for now, and possibly of my money. But then I repeat it the next morning. Over the holidays, I have time to waste, so it and I are wasted.

After days of deep research, here’s my short list:

The Mido Ocean Star 600 is too big. I’ve seen it in person. But it’s a COSC-certified chronometer and only (ha!) $2k.

The Ocean Star GMT is functionally very cool but after I see it in person it’s also too large. And the GMT hand is too distracting. But I love the timer bezel on a GMT movement! It’s also under $2k, so that’s cool.

The Certina Super PH 500M has a ton of history (in the early sub-ocean terrestrial experiments by the US) but the dial looks cheap to me. And the PH 1000M seems reliable and cool but I just think that the dial is too small compared to the whole body. I don’t need that much bezel. Both of these are ~$1k.

I could get another Seiko, but why? Don’t I already have that look, in the SKX? The Marinemaster is big and worthwhile, but it just looks basic to me? And $2.9k seems expensive.

Or what about a Seiko Prospex SPB143? Too plain? It’s only $1.2k, but what am I spending it on? Something with less of a color pop than I want.

Ok, for color pop, we look to Doxa. I love the orange. I love the simple date complication. I love the big minutes hand. I love the purely functional bezel. I love the specs (size, COSC) of the Doxa SUB 300 Professional, but I hate the domed crystal. The 300T looks to be the look I want, but will it be meaningfully more accurate than I already have? (And, it’s still $2.2k…)

Or maybe we look back at those Zodiacs? They have a Super Sea Wolf that’s COSC-certified and only(!) $1.5k. And it’s a good size. But isn’t the company going ut of business? And that bezel is almost non-functional. Nope.

Then I consider this in the mirror. I’m now watching Tom Sachs videos and feeling like spending money is ridiculous. Maybe I should make something meaningful. And I bet my SKX will be keeping much better time once I get it back in a couple weeks. But I feel I should write all this down now to get it out of my head for the next time the consumerist wave takes me out to sea.

But while we’re dreaming of glamorous waste, here are some others that caught my eye:

• The BR-03 Black Matte from Bell & Ross is probably too big and definitely not a good value but damn it looks cool.
• Some bright limited-edition Casio G-Shock Frogman (like the Borneo or the Poison Dart) would be cool for probably, like, a day.
• An Omega Seamaster (300 or Aqua Terra) would be a legacy thing to have and wear and would make me feel like Fox Mulder but is more money than I’d ever want to spend on my wrist.