Hey WC

Hello everyone from bright and sunny (and these days, rather rainy) Malaysia! Newcomer to WC and so thought it would be apt to share my life journey with watches as my first post. Also, I don’t have any watch nerds in my circle of friends, and this story would bore them silly. And probably you as well, so…sorry in advance 😂

1. My first watch I had was a blue Flik Flak with a whale on it. It was a birthday gift when I was 6 years old and I remembered loving it to bits. I have no idea where it is now and I’m pretty sure it’s somewhere in my parents’ house. Found pictures of the exact one here: https://vintageradar.com/products/eta-1992-flik-flak-watch-ocean-whale-wwf-1986-panda-flik-flak-watch . This definitely started off my love for watches.

No. 2 from my watch box pic below - Swatch Irony. Got this as a gift when I was 9 yrs old I think. This started my love for chronographs. Although back then I didn’t know it was called a “chronograph” and told everyone my watch has a stopwatch built-in 😄

I also had my first G-shock somewhere between here, but I have no idea where it is now 🙁

No. 3 - Daniel Wellington, lul. Haha hey don’t judge, but I think I was 18 at the time and it was starting to catch on, and I wanted one. Until shortly after, I saw everyone had it and it went back into the drawer.

No. 4 - TW Steel. Was a birthday gift from my partner back when I was 21 I think. Was in love with this. And this kickstarted my love for big bulky watches.

No. 5 - G Shock. Love of big bulky watches continues. Got this in Japan. But learned one big lesson: the importance of legibility. The stealth look that I loved made it impossible to read in some situations lol.

No. 6 - Pebble. One of the earliest of modern smartwatches. Got this from their Kickstarter campaign. This started my whole dive into the world of smartwatches and wearables.

(Not in pic) Shortly after, I was neck-deep in smartwatch waters. Had fitness bands, then Apple Watch Series 2, then Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2

No. 7 - Montblanc TimeWalker UTC. Hit a career milestone and thought I should treat myself with a mechanical watch. Fell in love with this instantly. My itch for chronographs was scratched. This was on my wrist constantly for 1+ years. However…

No. 8 - Apple Watch Series 4 came out. Smartwatch fever hit again. And that never left my wrist since 2018. Ever. Until…

Here I was, a decade and a half working in tech, and naturally having tech embedded in not just my work life but personal as well. Anything that could be “smart”, anything that could be automated, I’d bite.

But I was absolutely burnt out, partly by work but mostly by just digital noise. Notifications everywhere, every time. The digital connectivity I craved and strived for, was wearing me down. So I made the decision to ditch smartwatches and go back to my roots, so to speak. I decided to get reacquainted with my love for watches, albeit non-smart ones lol.

So I took the plunge…

No. 9 - Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Professional 3861. I got this 3 weeks ago. A rather big plunge I’d admit, but I absolutely LOVED the design of the watch, not very flashy but still sophisticated. Fantastic heritage, especially when I’m a bit of a space nerd. Super versatile enough to be a strap monster and worn on most types of occasions. And retrospectively, I have my Swatch Irony from my childhood to really thank for my continued love for chronos.

No. 10 - Gshock “Casioak” GA-B2100. This just arrived yesterday! Absolutely loving this piece, how it fits on the wrist, and it’s solar powered! This will be my travel watch (as I can be a rough traveler) or if I need to go to “seedier” areas for food or travel.

So now that I’m back to the watch world, the plan is to build up my collection and to rotate between the Omega, the Casioak, and the Montblanc. I’m also planning to send in my old Swatch Irony (❤️) to see if it can be serviced (one of the pushers is stuck).

Next goals:

• a good field watch (haven’t decided which yet)

• Zenith El Primero Chrono Original 38. That gorgeous tri-color dial on white has been giving me dirty dreams.

• Brietling Navitimer Chrono. I think I hate it. But I also think I love it. I cannot decide. 🤨

• A diver perhaps? I know the diver style is super popular but I can’t get used to the look of them yet. But the Longines Legend Diver’s super-compressor design is really growing on me.

So that’s my story folks. And this is my collection so far. There are some gems, there are some duds, but none of them are junk. Not even the non-functioning Pebble watch lol. They’ve all played a role in developing my tastes and preferences, and they’ve all served their own functions.

If you’ve reached the end here, thank you for your patience! This will probably be my only long-form post, and the rest will probably be just wrist shots or replies. But I’ll definitely be lurking around here :)