I have long realized that I own too many watches. A result of this condition is that none of my watches, my fragile vintage pieces, and my more robust modern ones, get enough wear. I sometimes don’t wear a watch for six months or more. That’s a bit silly, to me at least. So, what is one to do? Buy a new watch, of course.
I am not one to commemorate the birth of a child or a new promotion with a new watch. My brain doesn’t think that way. I did buy a vintage watch to celebrate a trial win last year. I was way too poor when I got married decades ago to buy anything. But in the near future I may just treat myself and I thought my ruminations were timed for the holidays, so here is what I am thinking about.
When I buy a vintage watch, it is often a random event. I see it and determine if it is worth the risk. I rarely have long term targets. The process with a new watch is more focused. It must be something that I believe I will wear frequently and purposely. I have a natural fear/guilt associated with spending too much money on myself, so this list is modest and affordable. Here is my short list:
Vero Smokey ‘64
Vero have really been attracting my attention for making watches outside of the mainstream. This is a classic field watch with all of the field watch specs (sapphire, screw down crown, etc.). It doesn’t have a hokey picture of Smokey on the dial. I would get bored with that. The NH38A movement is fine. It is not like I am going to be doing an calculations with it. It comes with a leather strap and a canvas NATO style strap. From the pictures the canvas strap looks stiffer than peak Ron Jeremy. ($490 US)
Nodus Sector Sport
Half of Nodus’ catalog interests me not at all. The other half has me on their website, if not once a week, once a month. Life is timing and if these Sector Sport models were released earlier, I would already have one. I love the flexibility of these watches. I would have no problem taking one of these on the trail or in a courtroom. The Marigold caught my eye, but is sold out. The Salmon is the most versatile. It has the basic specs of the Vero. Modern size (38mm case) and NH38 movement. ($475 US)
https://www.noduswatches.com/sector-sport/p/sector-sport-salmon
Marloe Coniston
With a case that measures 41mm Marloe has only partially gotten the message that “smaller” is “in”. They sell a Tay model at 35mm but that is clearly aimed at women. A little larger and that may make my list. I love the handsets and other little design elements of all of the Marloe models. They give you many strap options and all of the color combinations really pop. This is powered by the perfectly respectable Miyota 8N24. I expect Marloe to drop new models any day now. ($425 US)
Nezumi Tonnere
The only quartz model on this short list. Nezumi is a Swedish company that manufactures watches in Germany with Japanese movements. (Don’t we all love globalism, if we really think about it?) I love the vintage size case (38mm in a chronograph). I like the use of color, it aids legibility. The Seiko VK63 mecha-quartz movement is smoother than most for chronographs. It only has 50m of water resistance, but I am not swimming with it. Sure, it has some Heuer DNA in its design, but that is a good thing. ($425 US)
Excelsior Park EP95000
I already have a relaunched Nivada and like it, but I don’t want to have too many from one brand. How about the sister brand Excelsior Park? It has the vintage stylings that I like with the modern materials that will make it an everyday, or nearly an everyday piece. The case is under 40mm. It is a bit, a good bit, pricier. That is probably due to the Sellita 510 M BH B movement. But I am worth it, don’t you think? ($2,150 US)
Happy holiday shopping for yourself.
The Escapement Room 