The 5 That Stayed ("Core 5")
Howdy. New here. First post. Here goes...
Core 5 collection of An Errand Boy Sent By Grocery Clerks To Collect A Bill:
2022 Cartier Tank SolarBeat Large
2019 Rolex reference 116000 Oyster Perpetual 36mm White (NOT silver) dial vartiant
2008 Seiko SKX013 with modded aftermarket bezel insert
2004 Seiko SKX007J
2019 Seiko SLA033
Aside from 2 family heirloom watches from great grandfathers that are in a safety deposit box, these are the only watches I feel obligated to possess. There have been over 70 predecessors in the collection over the past decade including 5-digit Rolex, vintage & modern Omegas, vintage & modern Tudors, vintage & modern Cartier, Grand Seiko, Credor, Sinn, a TON of Gallets, Citizen, many other Seikos and more.
These watches are what have remained. With the exception of the OP36, all were purchased second hand, at very favorable prices. I cannot quite put it in words, but my personal disposition and preferences favors a condensed unit count and (relatively) minimized exposure of sum of dollars sunk (not invested) into watches at once. While all of these watches have their own specific use case to be (below), I see them all as "everyday-worthy" enough to the extend I've worn them all both casual, business, and formal occasions.
The SolarBeat large is new newest acquisition. I really enjoy effortless casual-but elevated look this gives when in a polo shirt. It is super light and I forget it is on my wrist very quickly. There has been fuss/discussion lately about production scalability and serviceability issues with the SolarBeat, many boutiques pushing the standard quartz models to parties inquiring about the SolarBeat. The controversy, mystery, and frustration drew me in even more. So far, mine works great with no issues. The delug strap was a game changer, although because of my larger wrist, I had to punch a new hole in at the very tip of the strap... will probably get something custom in the future.
The OP36 is my forever, one-and-done watch. Everything else can, and probably will fade away. This one will stay. I run, swim, snorkel, visit construction sites, have keystroke warrior marathon sessions, etc in this watches. It never is out of place. Many classify an OP36 as an everyday or dress watch, but it is really a sport watch first and foremost, that just happens to be everyday wearable and happens to look good when dressy. It is also completely unfussy. No one pays attention to it, because it is almost a platonic manifestation of a watch. I've never felt uncomfortable in any situation wearing this. Separately, I'm a sucker for a good white dial and I really don't like the sunburst gradient style dials found on most OPs. The fact that this is white, not sunburst, and was only briefly made between 2018 - part of 2020 makes me secretly like it even more.
The SKX013 with the modified bezel is actually the piece in the remaining 5 collection that I've owned the longest. It's also the only one, excluding engraving, that I've modified. I like the Pepsi bezel look of the SKX009 & 015 but I don't like the blue dial that goes with it. This one I purchase through some website that was only questionably secure. The material felt really cheap, but after nearly a decade of regular wear, it has faded to an interesting color. Of all the watches I have, this one actually gets the most attention/conpliments/intrigue from non-watch enthusiast in the wild. Lately, the watch has mostly been reserved for occasions when I am working on the house or doing other construction projects. All of my renovations have been completed with this on wrist.
The SKX007 was strictly a vibe-only purchase. Over the years, I've purchased multiple SKXs including x3 009's, x2 011's, x2 013's, and a 0015. Despite enjoying all of them, I have never owned the OG, widely loved and praised 007. It was my time. I was very fortunate enough to come across this one from 2004 that was in great condition that I picked up from the original owner for nearly just a song. I don't wear it often, but when I do, the vibes are strong.
The SLA033 was a watch I fell in love with when it came out in 2019. Seiko had made a strong push upstream in the past few years, but at the time, a $4250 Seiko diver was ludicrous (still is(?)) and some were even selling 2nd hand above retail. Deployed disciplined muscle memory strategy of delaying gratification, waited 2.5 years... many new releases and people fell out of love/forgot this model. Purchased for under $2k from a gentleman in UK, after shipping and taxes, got this watch for nearly 50% of retail. What I like most about this is the faithfulness to the original larger sized 6105. Unless I am mistaken, this was the first reissue since discontinuation in the late 70's(?). There have been many subsequent releases of this platform since, but this one, to my knowledge, is the only one with (1) a no ugly Prospex logo, (2) no 4:30 date, (3) an 8L series movement (unfinished GS movement), and (4) a serious, non-trendy dial color and finish, and (5) true to the original case shape and size. While I like the increased favor, praise, and interest for the "Willard" amongst the community, I think Seiko got it right with their debut reissue of this watch. While not a super frequent diver, I've worn this watch on the Seiko corrugated dive strap whilst performing several open watch ocean scuba diving trips. I've also worn it on some decent hiking and mountaineering trips. Both those are the highlight reel moments. I usually wear this when working out. Because of it's 45mm case diameter, it probably gets worn the least out of all my core 5, but I still will wear it to the office every once and a while to force some stylistuc juxtaposition into my week. Life's too short to color in between the lines.
As much as I admire all of these, I realize and fully am aware that I will likely continue to whittle down the collection until I (probably) just land with the OP36. But life is interesting and things can change... while I feel zero pressure or temptation to purchase any incremental watches right now, anything can happen.
My only honest hope is that overtime, my enjoyment and contentment of whatever watch is on my wrist only increases whilst simultaneously decreasing the % of mindshare earmarked towards thinking about the prospect of future purchases.
I wanted a mission, and for my sins they gave me one.
The core 5; the only 5.
The horror... the horror...
What is you're ideal # of watches? Is the number above or below your current watch count? What are your thoughts on parting ways with previous grail pieces once you've had them for a while and realize they don't fully scratch the itch? (For me, the 5-digit SeaDweller, a Ceramic SM300, and a Gallet Yatching represent obtained grails of the past that have come and gone).
self-proclaimed king of unnecessarily long comments. recovering watch glutton who has bought and sold >75 watches over a decade to eventually whittle the collection down to just a few. i still love co...
Loving the inclusion of two very different and very special SKXs.
The Cartier Tank is beautiful 😍
Great collection, great vibes!
I've bought and sold >70 over past decade. At peak, which was around 2016/2017, I had >30 watches at once. Of this current snapshot of 5, I've had the SKX013 (almost 10 years) and the OP36 (5 years) the longest, the remaining x3 I've purchased in the past 3 years. Watches I've owned for the longest period of time that I've since parted way with include: Omega SM300, Gallet Yatching, and a Marathon GSAR which I failed to mention in original post. The fewer watches I own, the more I feel like I own them and NOT the other way around.
Love that white dial OP
I love your cellection, I also have a deep connection with Seiko divers. How do you like the Cartier Tank? I have been considering one for a little while now.
The OP is a timeless classic. Long after the fashion of 40mm watches is forgotten it will still be an icon. 😍
Great collection! All legacy pieces that will still be just as desirable in 50 years. Bravo
Welcome, great collection! I want to get my collection to look something like this one day. I don’t know how I’ll ever do with just five or how I will ever choose the watches but maybe I’ll figure it out at some point. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
I love your cellection, I also have a deep connection with Seiko divers. How do you like the Cartier Tank? I have been considering one for a little while now.
Thank you! Regarding the tank: like you, I was somewhere on the tank-curious to tank-smitten spectrum for sometime.
The process I engaged:
"Do I like just like the IDEA of the Tank or will I not like a smaller, rectangular watch on my wrist day in and day out?"
I answered this not only by going into boutiques countless times and trying the watch on (can be helpful but also deceptive, there is an unshakable bias towards being in the moment and pulling the trigger), but I also sought out and purchased a very low barrier to entry rectangular watch of similar dimensions. For me, it was one of the many offerings in the Seiko "Essential" collection... there are plenty more options to pursue. But it was a $100 sunk expense into the question of "do I REALLY like this"?
If found myself really enjoying this inexpensive, arguably inferior quality $100 Seiko quartz rectangle tank and very joyfully wearing it for bouts of multiple days and weeks straight while some other killer watches sat dormant in the watch box... plus I love buying these surrogate watches because they make GREAT gifts to non-watch enthusiast friends who end up wearing it as their one watch, which is cool in its own respect.
That's when I knew it was more than appreciation of the IDEA of the Cartier Tank.
The biggest debate for me thereafter was whether to get the XL Tank Must Automatic or the Large Tank Must Quartz or Large SolarBeat. My wrist is just over 8" in circumference, but despite this, the XL auto felt too large for my preferences. That's not a proclamation that my conclusion on this topic should be adopted by everyone else, but I strongly encourage those new to rectangular watches to really dial into the dimensions, because they translate way differently than how we veterans of traditional circular watches are used to.
When a chance came to pickup the Solarbeat for what I thought was a very reasonable price, I moved on it.
Long answer to a simple question, but that's how I cautiously navigated my approach to the tank and, thus far, I've been over the moon for this watch! Still very much in the honeymoon phase... have not had it in my possession for >1 year yet.
If I had a friend who was tank-curious or tank-smitten, I'd direct him to a $100 surrogate and advise him to try to wear it for a month straight to see if he really enjoyed it.
Nice collection
Thank you! Regarding the tank: like you, I was somewhere on the tank-curious to tank-smitten spectrum for sometime.
The process I engaged:
"Do I like just like the IDEA of the Tank or will I not like a smaller, rectangular watch on my wrist day in and day out?"
I answered this not only by going into boutiques countless times and trying the watch on (can be helpful but also deceptive, there is an unshakable bias towards being in the moment and pulling the trigger), but I also sought out and purchased a very low barrier to entry rectangular watch of similar dimensions. For me, it was one of the many offerings in the Seiko "Essential" collection... there are plenty more options to pursue. But it was a $100 sunk expense into the question of "do I REALLY like this"?
If found myself really enjoying this inexpensive, arguably inferior quality $100 Seiko quartz rectangle tank and very joyfully wearing it for bouts of multiple days and weeks straight while some other killer watches sat dormant in the watch box... plus I love buying these surrogate watches because they make GREAT gifts to non-watch enthusiast friends who end up wearing it as their one watch, which is cool in its own respect.
That's when I knew it was more than appreciation of the IDEA of the Cartier Tank.
The biggest debate for me thereafter was whether to get the XL Tank Must Automatic or the Large Tank Must Quartz or Large SolarBeat. My wrist is just over 8" in circumference, but despite this, the XL auto felt too large for my preferences. That's not a proclamation that my conclusion on this topic should be adopted by everyone else, but I strongly encourage those new to rectangular watches to really dial into the dimensions, because they translate way differently than how we veterans of traditional circular watches are used to.
When a chance came to pickup the Solarbeat for what I thought was a very reasonable price, I moved on it.
Long answer to a simple question, but that's how I cautiously navigated my approach to the tank and, thus far, I've been over the moon for this watch! Still very much in the honeymoon phase... have not had it in my possession for >1 year yet.
If I had a friend who was tank-curious or tank-smitten, I'd direct him to a $100 surrogate and advise him to try to wear it for a month straight to see if he really enjoyed it.
Wow, you have a gift for explaining your watch journey. That was a great answer, I appreciate the advice. As soon as I read “Seiko Tank”I understood your reasoning for buying one, that is a great strategy and I will take the advice. Headed now to eBay to pick one up, Thanks again!
Like you, I've had many watches throughout the years, including Cartier, several Rolex, Heuer (without TAG), and, the one I miss most, my Breitling Navitimer 809 Cosmonaute, bought for $1,100 from eBay.
I'm approaching retirement now, at which time I will move to Mexico, and I'm experiencing a shift from luxury watches to more practical ones. I just can't imagine me as an old Gringo flashing a Cartier or Rolex in small town Mexico. It wouldn't be appropriate for the same reason I wouldn't wear one to the local soup kitchen or thrift store, and it might be outright foolish, asking for trouble.
So here's my current state of things:
Luxury Category:
1) Pre-V Panerai 5218, a luxury watch in disguise, stainless steel, no date, manual wind, ETA-based, on the stock black leather strap. I'll wear it when going out to dinner or to a special occasion.
2) Rolex Deapsea blue, Ref. 126660. Love the watch, but for the aforementioned reasons I will most likely sell it.
Beater Category:
3) G-Shock DW-5040 Square.
4) G-Shock GWG-1000 1A3 Mudmaster. A monster of a watch, bigger than even my Zlatoust 191 ChS that I sold because it was simply too much, even for my almost 8-1/2" wrist. However, the Mudmaster's shape makes it very wearable.
Daily Category:
5) Seiko Flightmaster 411. Reminds me of my Breitling Navitimer and a great, affordable alternative. Most likely a keeper forever.
Thinking about adding a Bulova Lunar Pilot to the mix, or a big Marathon, or even a monocoque Seiko Tuna (600 or 1000m).
These 5 are awesome, I've been looking into getting a #cartier in my collection for some time now and I think the solar beat may be the one
Great collection, some real classics there. Lots of variety between them also, so all occasions covered. The strap on the Tank compliments it really well 🔥🔥
Like you, I've had many watches throughout the years, including Cartier, several Rolex, Heuer (without TAG), and, the one I miss most, my Breitling Navitimer 809 Cosmonaute, bought for $1,100 from eBay.
I'm approaching retirement now, at which time I will move to Mexico, and I'm experiencing a shift from luxury watches to more practical ones. I just can't imagine me as an old Gringo flashing a Cartier or Rolex in small town Mexico. It wouldn't be appropriate for the same reason I wouldn't wear one to the local soup kitchen or thrift store, and it might be outright foolish, asking for trouble.
So here's my current state of things:
Luxury Category:
1) Pre-V Panerai 5218, a luxury watch in disguise, stainless steel, no date, manual wind, ETA-based, on the stock black leather strap. I'll wear it when going out to dinner or to a special occasion.
2) Rolex Deapsea blue, Ref. 126660. Love the watch, but for the aforementioned reasons I will most likely sell it.
Beater Category:
3) G-Shock DW-5040 Square.
4) G-Shock GWG-1000 1A3 Mudmaster. A monster of a watch, bigger than even my Zlatoust 191 ChS that I sold because it was simply too much, even for my almost 8-1/2" wrist. However, the Mudmaster's shape makes it very wearable.
Daily Category:
5) Seiko Flightmaster 411. Reminds me of my Breitling Navitimer and a great, affordable alternative. Most likely a keeper forever.
Thinking about adding a Bulova Lunar Pilot to the mix, or a big Marathon, or even a monocoque Seiko Tuna (600 or 1000m).
I can certainly appreciate the reasons for the transition. If I were in a similar boat and staring down the barrel of a prudent and peaceful retirement south of the border, my collection would definitely shift into something different. I think you are onto something with the options you are considering - my brain also immediately went to special Seiko diver and Marathon. I'd probably seek a sterile dial option from Marathon. Perhaps their sterile dial steel Navigator with no date. Keep us posted on how it goes!
I love this collection, my favorites are the #cartier & the SKX