The phrase “Grail Watch” gets thrown around quite often by watch collectors. It’s a name that calls back to the Holy Grail of Arthurian lore. The Holy Grail would grant the drinker healing powers, immortality, or some other mystical feat. It was greatly sought out by man, and we’ve adapted the phrase to mean something for wristwatches. However, that something is not exactly clear. In this article, I’ll explain what the phrase means to me, and how I’ve used it for collecting.
What “Grail Watch” Means to Me
In the Arthurian lore, there was a single Holy Grail. For watches, it means the same thing to me, except that Holy Grail is specific to each person. The watch is one that you seek out, and have desire to own above all other ones. I do not think that a watch is innately a Grail Watch, but rather gains that status based on the person who thinks that.
Much like the medieval lore, I do think that you can only have a singular Grail. I’ve seen people state that they are “buying their next Grail Watch”, or that they “own a few Grails”, but that makes no sense to me. If you have a Grail Watch in mind, there can only be that one. Now, it can certainly change over time, but you can’t buy your Grail, and then move onto the next Grail. We saw what happens when you try to have too many Grails…
For me, my Grail Watch has never changed. It was the one that I wanted when I got into the hobby, and now that I have it, it’s still that Grail.
My Grail Watch
It is the Omega SMP300. I’m a Bond nerd, and while that series exposed the watch to me, it’s not the only driving factor as to why I hold my opinions on it. I fell in love with the looks, the dimensions, and the simplicity of it.
The older SMP300s have a svelteness to them that a lot of newer dive watches just lack. It’s thin, handsome, and simple. The date complication was a must for me on a daily wear watch, and the timing bezel is handy for lots of tasks.
It’s not a perfect watch, but I knew that going into it. The bracelet sucks, as it has no taper and is hard to comfortably size to a wrist. I’ve generally worn it on rubber or nylon, which is fine by me. The one that I own is also nearly as old as I am, so I’ve got the vintage quirks to pair with it. That being said, it uses a fairly common movement, and servicing costs have been minimal so far.
Now, there’s always the question about Grail Watches. Where do you go once you have your Grail?
Life-Post Grail Watch
For many people, they think that once they get their Grail Watch, they’ll be done with watches. However, that’s seldom the case. For me, it certainly was not. However, I understand where the Grail Watch idea sits for me.
My Grail Watch is not my “best” watch. By that, I mean the highest quality, best made one. I pretty firmly think that my Planet Ocean is a better watch. It’s got better finishing, an easier to use bezel and crown, has a better bracelet, and looks more classic. However, I don’t get the same tingly feeling when I toss it on like I do with the SMP 300.
It’s like anything that we enjoy; there may be a better thing, but we just latch onto some things because they just speak to us in a way. Jaws is my favorite film, but I don’t think it’s the “best” movie that I’ve watched.
Aside from “best”, I like to experiment with watches. I also enjoy quartz, so I own a few of those. The point that I’m trying to get across is that your Grail Watch can live in harmony with your other watches. However, there can only ever be that one Grail Watch.
The Verdict
Like I said above, I bought my Grail Watch, and now that it’s in the collection, it’s still my Grail Watch. Some folks may have a “never meet your heroes” moment when encountering their Grail, but I certainly did not. While I’m an enthusiast, I could easily chop down to just the SMP 300 and still be content. Well, maybe the SMP 300 and a G-Shock…
What’s your Grail Watch?
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I think my grail watch is my Camy Club-Star, although I only realised that after many months of ownership. I have better, more expensive and dare I say prettier watches, but damn it, they just can’t compare. Nothing, no other material object can hold the same value as my little Camy. It absorbed many memories and it is, in essence, something of a good luck charm too. I’m emotionally attached. This mighty watch has outlived relationships, struggles, and so much more. It is as omnipresent as a watch can be. Any time I need an extra something, be it on a first date, a test, or if I’m just going through something, I turn to it.
It reminds me of my watchmaker/mentor who sold it to me originally. He sold a sixteen-year-old me, someone only just starting to become versed in watches, a new old stock watch with a hell of a story behind it. It was part of his father’s stock from his shop way back when, so I see it as a symbol of legacies and families. No matter where I travel, it’s an anchor to a small town and a man with a big heart.
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Well said Ryan! As collectors, I don’t think that we need to know what our Grail is when we start. For some (like me), I did, but for many others, it just kind of appears to them. Money really doesn’t play a part in what our Grail is, and for both of us, we own “nicer” and more expensive watches, but our Grail is still what it is.
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I believe in a grail watch as much as I do a “soul mate,” by which I mean not at all. However this is one of the few accounts of someone speaking on this topic where nothing foolish was said. The main thing I would add is my opinion that there must be a substantial barrier to acquisition to be a true grail, which precludes almost all current mass-produced watches. Of course one may dumbly stumble upon the grail watch with amazing luck, but ordering it online, one of many just like it, just doesn’t seem to fit the bill. Note that a certain brand’s “wait list” gambit provides this sense of effort and fortune to what is really just a crass purchase.
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I didn’t include the “chase” part of the Grail hunting, but it’s generally a part of that story. For my SMP, it was something that took me awhile to find the right one. I have a friend who speaks Japanese and is a watch nerd, and he helped me find a vendor in Japan with the right watch for me. I ended up working with them to get it to the US, which included dealing with US Customs, and working with a local courier to actually get the watch in hand.
Since then, the watch has been on many adventures. It probably has about 100 miles of hiking trips on it (like the one in my author profile picture), which included dunking it in rivers, creeks, and lakes that I’ve passed by. I’ve worn it for weightlifting and shooting, tossed it on the bracelet for a wedding (faux pas, but I digress), and have enjoyed it in daily living. It’s the only watch that I own that I could not forsee getting rid of at some point.
As for the waitlist, agreed. It’s less of a “journey”, and more like taking a ticket for the line at the deli. I’d rather have a vintage Rolex or Tudor anyway.
Thanks for the comment Oscar!
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I have issues with the term “grail”; I find it has been overused to the point where it is a lazy hyperbole. A grail should be unobtainable or elusive, it is the stuff of legend. Mine, when sticking to the template, is the Panerai Egiziano. The GPF-2/56 was developed for the Egyptian Navy in the ‘50s, whose divers the Gruppo Gamma had trained previously. The “Egiziano” had an Angelus 240 movement and an 8-day power reserve. Only 50 are known to have been made, and only a handful have made it to auction/market. This is the very definition of a grail watch to me.
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