Some thoughts on my BB58

This morning I put the BB58 on for the first time in a while (my Sinn has been favoured recently due to a new Anachronist strap).

And a few things struck me about it that I think is worth mentioning. It may provoke people, but here goes:

It's not really a dedicated dive style watch. The bezel is too thin to be able to comfortably grip with wetsuit gloves. I would put it more in the sport watch category. It is also thinner than most of my other sport watches due to being a 3-hander.

In fact switching to a canvas, rubber or leather strap, it is very light and yet it still feels substantial. That's a clever trick to pull. And I think it works like that because the bezel is so thin and the flanks of the watch make up the bulk of the size of the watch, giving it a tougher profile.

It's also thin enough to hunker down on the wrist and doesn't obstruct sleeves or catch on door handles. It's light, and I like that. The little touches of gold on the hands and indexes, the subtle patina in the lume all soften the look of the watch so that it can be used in more formal occasions when paired with a black leather strap.

And finally the movement - very very consistent. Very reliable. Well within COSC. That gives you the feeling that you can depend on your watch. I can set mine ten seconds fast on Monday and I know that I won't be late for the rest of the week. There aren't many other mechanical watches in my collection that are better.

So what have I learned from the BB58 that we can take to watch designers for our future watches:

1 - Thinness, lightness and comfort are very important and shouldn't be ignored any more - even for dive watches

2 - Compromise is not a dirty word. Design crossovers and compromises can work as long as the overall aesthetic is good and the watch is still practical to wear.

The days of the eye-catching hockey puck are drawing to an end. And while some will mourn this, I won't. The Deepsea is an indulgence of a watch industry that needs to move with the times and get back to more realistic everyday uses. Watches are brilliant expressions of human engineering and artistry. The BB58 fits more people well. It looks great, its reliable and comfortable. Let's make our watches fit who we are - not ape what we think we should be.