Watches in the Wild (Winter Has Come, Volume 21)

Disclaimer: Some days call for a big watch.  Roadster Chrono on Alligator.

This is the twenty first in a semi-regular digest of cool watches I happened to see this week.

Past posts in this series have been hashtagged to #watchesinthewild and you can click through for part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4 , part 5,  part 6, part 7,  part 8,  part 9, part 10, part 11, part 12, part 13, part 14, part 15, part 16,  part 17, part 18, part 19 and part 20.

As always, my general policy is that I never ask for wrist shots (because approaching strangers and distant acquaintances to talk about watches is already weird enough) so all pictures below are sourced from the internet. People are mostly cool, I try not to annoy them.

Here in Northern California, we have replaced endless rain with sunny and cold days.  Winter is here.

https://youtu.be/p3vPu95EqNA

Let it not go overlooked, of course, that this a major improvement.  I like sun, even cold sun, more than rain.  But despite the exceptional fashion example of WW2 pilots, folks here seem to not want to wear their watches strapped to the outside of their jackets. A pity, largely because this has had predictable results on my watch spotting.  

So a shorter one today....but some more unusual spots as well: divers both classic and unusual, a nearly perfect affordable dress watch, and a classic stalked among baked goods.

Enjoy!

Seiko Prospex Tuna SBBN051 (35th Anniversary Quartz edition)

Seen on the wrist of an investment banker during a pitch meeting.  To you sir, I congratulate you for your incredibly differentiated watch choices because your wrist is the last place I'd ever expect to see a Quartz Tuna in all it's 49m x 49mm x 17mm goodness.

I honestly wished I'd raised my hand to talk to him about it because there's a serious watch nerd right there no doubt.  Bankers are generally very cliche in their wrist wear.  Analysts wear Submariners. Associates wear GMT Masters.  VPs wear Daytonas or if they're near promotion Royal Oaks.  Only do MDs and above have the right to differentiated wrist wear.  There are NO exceptions (except for, you know, the exceptions).

Now admittedly, this is an awfully fancy quartz watch.  The 7C46 is one of those super hardened, super reliable, super durable Seiko quartzes, designed for crazy saturation diving.  It's not quite as pretty as the Grand Seiko 9F quartzes to look at, but I think it might be just as technically impressive to given how rugged it is.

The Tuna, to me, is the ultimate Marmite watch.  It's an odd shape that wears well because of the lug less design.  But ultimately, you either crave that tool-tastic, blasted grey titanium finish or you don't.

And me?  What are you nuts? It looks too much like a hockey puck on the wrist.  Which doesn't mean that I'm right or that you shouldn't own this watch. I just don't care for that toolish aesthetic at all.

But regardless, it's cool as heck and I know my own kind (for my Linnaeans out there, homo sapiens horologensis) when I see one.  And, our banker friend is well prepared to pitch Sealab on their forthcoming IPO on the Challenger Seamount.

Tissot Visodate Day-Date in Fume Blue (powermatic 80 version)  

Seen at the playground on a vintage two stitch leather strap.  No conversation as he was deeply in conversation with another person.

This is the 2021 version with the gorgeous fume blue dial, applied Tissot logo, and slightly larger proportions (42mm instead of 40mm).  One of the things I love about Tissot is their tremendous commitment to beautiful and excellent watch design while also pushing to keep things on the affordable end (for watches).  For a brand of Tissot's heritage, this reluctance to move upmarket and keep prices relatively in line is unusual (I am looking at you Longines/Oris/Seiko).

And the Visodate is a fantastic 50s throwback, with dauphin hands, a simple and classic high polish case shape, and a lovely day date display.  It's well proportioned and slim (12mm height).  The fume blue dial punches against watches 3x the price. The Visodate has even a bit of interesting history of its own being one of the first mass produced watches with an instantaneous date jumping complication at midnight.  I think this watch is fabulous in almost all respects

Almost.

Tissot, I don't mind you making a 42mm version.  Bigger guys need watches too.  But for the love of the Holy Trinity, just make a 38mm version of this watch.  The 42mm with the long straight lugs makes this such an odd sizing for a modern dress watch.  Some watch reviewers have misguidedly attempted to defend this size expansion and talk about how this amps up the sportiness of the package.   This is an indefensibly silly take.

There is no sportiness here!  It's a 30M WR dress watch that might as well be sealed with paper mache!  Hell even Orient got the memo and look how great the new smaller Bambinos are!

This is on the cusp of being a watch enthusiast super hit like the PRX.  So so close.  

Rolex Submariner Two tone in black (ceramic)

Seen on the wrist of a black belt martial artist walking down the street in full karate gi.  Listed as much for the absurdity of the circumstances of the spotting as for the notability of the watch itself.

I've talked about the two tone submariner many times before but I love this watch enoughtl aht I don't mind repeating myself.  I think Rolex is at its best when it doesn't take itself too seriously and embraces the its dark side as a luxury watch brand.

One of the little incongruities of the watch hobby is the collective outrage at the difficulty of obtaining a Rolex sports watch at the states retail price.  Interestingly, other hype watch.makers (like AP or Patek or VC) have equally long wait lists but no where near the same level of righteous fury. I have often wondered why.

I suspect some of this is brand recognition of course.  Rolex is the most recognized watch brand (probably!) in the world so the number of annoyed people is higher.

But I actually think there's a much more fundamental issue.

Compared to other watch makers who build their brands more as pure luxury items or objects of beauty,  Rolex's entire brand is built on the idea this is the perfect watch for people who do things.  People who play sports or climb mountains or fly airplanes.

We can get behind the idea of not being royalty or hyper wealthy (because for most of us that's just not how the cards play out) but we can all get behind the idea of doing something!  And it must be incredibly annoying to decide that you are going to do something and then be told by Rolex that, in fact, you can't.

The problem is, Rolex doesn't serve the purpose of a sports watch anymore.  The watches cost too much and they're too annoying to obtain even if you could afford an accidental loss while "doing something.". The inevitable result is that most Rolexes will increasingly live the lives of safe queens or desk divers or dress watches.  

It is for this reason that find that I almost universally like the two tone versions of Rolex sport watch models more than the stainless steel versions.  They feel more honest about who they are (luxury items vs tool watches).

And for those of you who long for that old Rolex feeling (quality, reliability, sportiness, toolishness, AND availability), you have a ready replacement.  Just buy a Tudor instead.

Lorier Neptune 

Seen at the butcher country at my local high end grocer.  I did a double take when I saw this watch the first time.  There's something about the black dial, gilt markers of this that triggers "Black Bay 58" in my brain but I couldn't compute the handset.

So my brain went to "modded Black Bay 58" and being the moron that I am, I asked about what motivated him to mod his bb58.  I don't blame him for looking at me like I had suddenly grown an extra head.  We got over it though and had a lovely discussion about the merits of acrylic crystals and microbrands in general.

And the Neptune leans super hard into those skin diver roots.  If I were to choose one aspect of this watch that I absolutely adored, it would have to be that anchor and dauphine handset (superior to the Tudor Snowflake if you ask me).   I appreciate how specific the vision of the founders is and how classically beautiful the watches are. 

I even like the Lorier logo!  The triple chevrons are a bit of military and a bit of heraldry and feel like the 1950s brand Lorier is trying to be.  

It seems a shame that I've never had it on wrist. Perhaps that's a project for the next Windup Watch Fair. I will leave it to other crunchers to offer their views on how it wears (@Jewbaka  , @Fiatjeepdriver , @oakenlander , and @marioap  among others ) but I am intrigued.

Cartier Santos de Cartier ADLC Black on Black

Seen in a department store where I was buying my brother in law a non watch related gift (I know right?  I'm the worst).    I stalked this watch among racks of discounted premium panettone leftover from the Christmas and New Year holiday.  

As befitting a man of taste and refinement, the gentleman in question bought no fewer than three boxes, because panettone is great every day of the year.  I did mention "Nice watch" to him (while I picked up a box of my own) but didn't get more than a thanks and a quick exit.

I have often admired @Rolexahoma  's blacked out Santos.  From the Cartier boutique, I know this watch fits on my wrist beautifully. I do wear a lot of dark colors and a blacked out watch dressy GADA watch fits completely with my aesthetic.  I even favor dark faced dials.  The Santos is one of the great watches and the blacked out version is probably my favorite.

So why don't I own it already?  My wife thinks it's unconscionably ugly and I am unable to endure her constant teasing about it for fear that it will shine a brighter light on the rest of my collecting hobby.  Like the gremlin that I am, I must protect the rest of the preciouses even at the cost of not owning an amazing watch.

This particular desire will go unsated.

What cool watches did you see this week?