Fletch13
Q: How did you get into watch collecting?
I got frustrated with a Suunto smart watch that had a number of features but kept dying. Every time I sent it in for repairs it was gone for months… So, I started researching watches and found out that there were mechanical watches out there that didn’t need a battery! I started with a SKX007 and wore it everyday from 2016-2019. Next came an Oris Pro Pilot, and a year later, in 2020 an Explorer 214270 MK2 which I wore everyday until late 2023 when I got a Submariner 14060 M 2 liner. I’ve recently purchased a Tudor BB58 and that’s my go to watch these days. I’ve always been a one watch guy. When I buy one, I sell the one I had before. So, I’ll likely sell my Sub in the coming months. For some reason I still don’t want to own more than one watch at a time, I think it’s mostly due to loyalty and a somewhat minimalist approach to life in general. But even though I’m a one watch guy (with a slowly rotating collection), I’m crazy about watches and consume more watch content than would be considered sane and healthy by the general population.
Q: What was the first watch you ever owned?
SKX007!
Q: Do you have a watch with a particularly interesting story behind it?
Yes and no… from time to time I think about watches and the stories they have because of the life I’ve lived wearing them. My style of collecting generally involves selling watches that have shared some great life moments with me. Not too long ago I sold my Explorer 214270 MK2 because I’d recently bought a Submariner 14060M. That Explorer and I had done some wild things together. We’d spent weeks in the backcountry, run multiple ultra marathons, including the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc which was a lifetime aspiration. What I’m discovering is that I can be grateful for those experiences and memories but also live new adventures with another watch that will have different stories to tell. Over the past months my Sub and I hiked around Mt. Rainier with one of my sons, ran a 100 mile ultra in the Arizona desert and traveled to India and Nepal. I’ve bonded with it no question, but I’ll probably sell it, and like my Explorer, pass it on to someone else with gratitude. And, as a final thought, both my Explorer and my Sub had previous owners. I enjoy wondering what kinds of stories they gathered before they came to me… stories I’ll never know. I’ve started a new chapter with my BB58. It’s the first watch I’ve bought brand new and that’s a different feeling and exciting in a different way.
Q: What is one piece of advice you have for someone just getting into watches?
This is commonly offered advice, but I’d say don’t settle for a watch that isn’t the watch you really want. Get a cool G Shock (or something similarly affordable) and then save until you’re ready to get the watch that’s really caught your attention. If it takes months, a year, two years… it will be worth the wait.
Q: What brands have been getting your attention lately?
Rolex always gets my attention (boring!) because I’m crazy about tool watches and I care about accuracy and durability. I know a G Shock checks both of those boxes better than Rolex, but for me, mechanical is where it’s at. The watch only works because I’m moving and being on the move, especially in the mountains, is what I love. So, I’m mostly curious about Rolex. Having said that, I’ve been obsessed with Tudor lately…
Q: What is your grail watch and why?
I’m not sure. Nothing I’ve seen is perfect in every way. Maybe the Aquanaut is close, but I don’t know if it fits my personality and style as well as my Sub. Whatever I own I’ll be wearing hard. Mountain biking, trail running, climbing & etc.. I’m not sure if a Patek is up for that. Actually… why don’t people talk about accuracy (+/- ? sec/day) when it comes to high horology? Is it assumed they’re highly accurate? Anyway, right now I can’t imagine myself ever spending what an Aquanaut costs, and if I did I’d want to be sure it’s ready for the life it’s going to have to live with me!