Rectangular Watches

I like rectangular watches. There. I said it. It took me decades to realize it but I’m a fan. I’ve been wearing this old Skagen for the past few day. I got it as a gift many years ago and it sat in a box. I know it’s a cheap fashion watch but the mesh band is comfortable and it tells time and looks nice in a shabby way. I put fresh battery in and I’ve worn it a couple times in the past year and enjoyed it. And this is the watch that made me consider my rectangular watch fetish.

The first rectangular watch that I remember buying was this Citizen quartz tank watch. Got it in the 80s or 90s and at that time I had no idea what a Tank was but I know I liked the design of the watch. And the black and faux gold caught my eye. This was when I was working in a corporate setting and it worked well with a suit or sport coat. I had another black/gold Citizen from the same era but it was given away.  But the Citizen tank stayed.

This past year (2023) was when my interest in watches developed again after not buying anything new for 10 or fifteen years (although I did get a few cheap watches as gifts during that period.) I was shopping for a Christmas gift (a Tissot for my wife) and found this Seiko Recraft model. I’m getting old and many of the styles I like are older styles so this Recraft fit right in to my wheelhouse. It was a Christmas gift to myself.

One day when thrift shopping I came across this 60’s era Hamilton. I loved the TV case and the small seconds on the dial. When I found out the model was named “The Gary” I had to get it. It came on a Speidel stretch band which also reminded me of my formative years in the 60s and 70s.

The Gary still worked but who knows how long it sat so I took it to the watchmaker for a service. He had a pretty interesting selection of pre-loved watches and I ended up falling for this Rotary Elite Automatic. It was a leap of faith because I really didn’t know much about Rotary. But I loved the style (rectangle again) with the two toned dial. The watchmaker gave it his seal of approval so it went home with me.

I’ve been going through closets and drawers trying to thin out the “stuff” that has accumulated over the decades. Selling musical instrument accessories and photo equipment has provided some mad money so I haven’t even added fresh cash for these recent watch expenses which feels nice and allowed some impulse purchases and watch service fees.

In one of my boxes in a junk drawer I found another watch. A Longines from the 1950s. Another rectangle. This must have been left by one of my parents or my in-laws but I had no recollection of this watch until a few days ago. I think it will go in for service when the Hamilton Gary is done…