Mall Trips, Small Diameter Omegas, and Musings on Fatherhood: An Unconventional Father’s Day “Letter”

I’m sure it comes as a surprise to absolutely no one that my interest in watches was largely influenced by my father. Among my fondest childhood memories are our visits to AD’s and boutiques at the mall. Seeing the smile form across his face when a shiny 40mm steel watch caught his eye was always a joy to behold. I felt included in the experience, my under-formed opinions genuinely appreciated. 

“What do you think, Deco?” 

“I like it, Pai. It’s your style and it isn’t too busy.” 

His purchases were celebratory in nature and explorative in both style and function as he learned more about horology and himself. The businessman’s dress watch, the motorist’s chronograph, each new watch became yet another tool to express himself, and began to sow the seeds of my own unique tastes. 

I vaguely remember him gifting me a translucent grey Baby-G digital watch as a child. As always, I read the instruction manual cover to cover, learning how to set the time and alarm function. I was thrilled by the fact that I could wear it in the pool, just like his Tissot T-Touch. I must have lost it at some point, as I didn’t wear a watch for several years after that until I was gifted a quartz Tissot chronograph with a sporty carbon-fiber dial and red accents.

The lessons my father imparted with those gifts, and his own relationship with watches, are as important to me now as ever; be punctual, put effort into your appearance, and have fun with what’s on your wrist.

My dad’s watch box, hidden away in the closet, felt like a treasure chest. He typically wears the same watch for a handful of days before reaching for another. The changing of the guard would offer me an opportunity to view his collection in full, ask him to re-tell the stories of their acquisitions, and opine on a pairing with his outfit for the day. 

In college, as my own tastes were developing and I started to consume online watch media, I introduced him to sites like Hodinkee. A voracious reader his whole life, my dad dove deep, learning more about the brands he’d always appreciated, the technological advancements driving the world of affordable luxury timepieces, and making purchases of his own on their online store. I gave him my springbar tool and taught him how to change his own straps. It’s still an amazing feeling to be able to teach him something and give back, even in the tiniest of ways.

When I’d visit home from LA we’d take a pilgrimage to Miami’s Design District, whose concentration of watch AD’s and boutiques is unique and enviable. Unlike those mall visits in childhood, we both were armed with a deeper knowledge and appreciation for the timepieces on display. 

“You ask really smart questions, Deco. It feels like you know more than the salesperson sometimes!” he’d remark, quite generously I might add. 

To this day, he and I have very different taste in watches. Where I’m conservative, vintage-inspired, and restricted by wrist real estate to sub-40mm pieces, he’s more experimental, willing to play with larger case sizes, bright rubber straps, colored dial accents, and complications like GMT’s and world timers. I still enjoy looking at his watch box together, visiting watch retailers, and forwarding him online articles from time to time. I can't confidently talk to him about football or Formula 1, his other two passions, so I cherish our conversations about watches.

I was so excited to show him the watch I purchased to celebrate the confluence of accomplishments that punctuated 2018, namely my open heart surgery, graduation from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (where we both attended), and the beginning of my career in the analog photography products industry. Not that I needed his approval, but I’ll freely admit that I was chuffed to know that he appreciated its role in developing my own personal style. I’ve written more about that Omega Speedmaster reference here: https://www.watchcrunch.com/Anachronistic.Life/posts/pulsations-scale-chronograph-for-a-cyborg-39235

Speaking of small diameter Omegas, I remember there being one watch in his collection that I began to craft a deep appreciation for a few years ago. He purchased it soon after our family had moved to the United Arab Emirates, and the warranty card was charmingly written in both English and Arabic. I have the faintest memories of him wearing it, and it somehow sailed under my radar for ages until I looked at it with a fresh set of eyes. 

The watch, a 36mm white dial Omega Seamaster automatic, bears many of the hallmarks of its transitional status between the Brosnan Bond era Seamaster Professional and the later Aqua Terra series. A crisp white dial with a charming wave motif, applied polished hour markers, skeletonized hands, and a non-tapering cuff-style multi-link bracelet. Among a sea of 40mm+ chronographs, divers, and pilot’s watches with black or blue dials, it couldn’t be more different from the rest of my dad’s roster. 

When I asked to try it on, I was immediately smitten. If ever there were a watch I was excited to one day inherit, this was it. I wouldn’t at all be surprised if it inspired the selection of my white dial Speedmaster. Once again, following in my father’s footsteps, while carving my own way. Two or three years after that, he surprised me with it as a Christmas gift. I associate it deeply with the summer. Visits to Florida in June to celebrate his birthday and Father’s Day. White sand beaches, shorts, Sperry docksiders, and caipirinhas. While I still don’t share my dad’s appreciation for rubber straps, I am planning on picking up a sporty-casual, blue-with-white-accents Erika’s Originals Marine Nationale strap for the Seamaster. 

My dad and I bear as many similarities as we do differences. “Same same but different,” as we often joke with one another. I’ll always appreciate the fact that watches were our first shared interest, and will continue to draw us closer together. In my head I see visions of him helping me with the strap of my future wedding watch, a Cartier Tank Basculante, as my hands shake; gingerly transferring to his arms my first child, whose hand will be dwarfed by the Casio World Timer I’ll be using to keep the rest of my Brazilian extended family abreast of the birth. There are quite a few poets in the Domingues family, and if the above is the extent of my poetic ability, I'm satisfied.

As I type this on the eve of Father’s Day, I find comfort in the shared knowledge that meandering, contemplative essays exploring the ever-evolving nature of our relationship are how I express my love and appreciation for my father, rather than saccharin Hallmark cards or WhatsApp messages full of heart emoji’s. More valuable than any watch, the greatest gift on Earth is the time we get to spend with our loved ones. I can’t wait to see him and talk watches in a couple of weeks. Te amo, Pai. Happy Father’s Day.