Five Watch Core Collection (Photography Sunday)

It's been a little while since my last photography session. I hope I get more time in the days and weeks ahead. Today I wanted to do something a little different, and the five watch thing going around suited that perfectly!

Most of the photos I have seen have had the watches flat. I can't do that, and I don't have a uniform, suitable pipe or anything to wrap them around. This wasn't ideal, but it was interesting to try!

The closeups were a lot of fun though! Let's go through the watches one by one:

Vacheron Constantin Overseas

My favourite integrated bracelet sports watch in the world. Out of all sports watches I have seen, none have appealed to me as much as this does. I do intend to write another "Why I Own" article about this in the near future. The blue dial, the bracelet design, the maltese cross VC logo wherever you look. Absolutely stunning design. I acquired this in November, and still feel like I'm in the honeymoon phase.

A. Lange & Söhne Richard Lange Boutique Edition

My most prized watch. I wrote an extensive article about this recently, which you can find here. Classical, flawless, and actually rather unique. The attention to detail and how everything adds up with this watch is hard to describe with words. From having been rather indifferent to Lange, I am now a fanboy.

Jaeger LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Date

Just like with Lange, JLC didn't speak to me at first. I even went into a JLC boutique without getting hooked. Once I got this one on the wrist, however, I was sold. As with the Lange, there's an article up about why I bought this watch (click here to read about it). Highly underrated, and a piece that really opened my eyes to the importance of trying watches on your wrist before you make up your mind!

Omega Speedmaster "Moonwatch" Professional

While the three pieces above are my favourites, this is one I absolutely love for its versatility (some more thoughts on the matter can be found here). Whenever I'm unsure of what'll fit, or what I'm in the mood for, or I want a "safe watch you can't go wrong with", this is it! Every single time I put this watch on, I am stunned at how old the design is, and how well it holds up. I love the high contrast, the simplicity of the dial, and how the tachymeter frames everything perfectly.

Orient Mako "Panda" Chronograph

Panda designs are among my absolute favourites. While this isn't spot on what I would prefer, it's close enough and cheap enough to act as a placeholder for now. Orient have a lot of bargain watches, they provide a ton of value for your money. I know that this will likely leave my collection this year, and I know I'll miss having an Orient. I guess I'll have to look for another! This watch is my beater, anything from working in the garden to going to the beach: This is the one. I sometimes wear it when I just feel like having the panda aesthetic on my wrist as well.

---

Those of you who have followed my posts for a while might be surprised why the Navitimer and the Portofino aren't here. The short story of it is that they are more sentimental watches now, and I wear them less frequently than these (this goes especially for the IWC). I view these five as my core collection. I also do have some plans for this year, and I've actually bought a super cheap ($250) Norwegian kickstarter fun watch to try something out. It should arrive in a few days, and I'll be sure to get some photos up!

Long-term I have some aspirational watches that I hope I'll one day have the joy of owning. I have no idea how acquiring such pieces will affect my core collection. For now, I am just super happy with where I'm at 🙏 It's a priviledge and a joy, and I feel grateful that I get to share it with you all.