As Christmas approaches, I am reminded that I have only been wearing automatic watches for just over a year now. Overall, I am very happy with my automatics. They have been reliable, accurate, and look different from your typical quartz watches. All of my watches I wear in pretty much even rotation, I was wearing my first yesterday:
Over the year, the accuracy has gotten better, from about +20 seconds a day to less than +5 seconds a day. It is a great day to day watch, light, accurate and does not get caught up on long sleeves. It was a gift from Tiffany.
I have gone from zero to 7 automatics in one year. So, lets take a trip down memory lane and see what else I have acquired in the last year. The first was the miliary 5 you see above. Next came my Orange Bullet:
This is my first and still my only true diver. It has always remained one of my favorites. It is bold, solid, and incredibly well made. Whenever I know I will be getting wet, this is the watch to wear. Always been pretty accurate, never was fast enough for me to notice. Next came my blue 5:
A nice, semi casual watch. Fairly light with good accuracy and great lume for a non diver’s watch. I bought this one and don’t reget it an instant. Next came my first PVD watch:
A surprisingly dressy watch. It is an elegant, understated watch. It does go well with casual or dress clothing. The plating has held up perfectly. It is a Japan made Seiko 5, and the accuracy has been excellent, as dead on as I have seen with a mechanical watch. Soon thereafter came my Pepsi:
A dressy, yet practical watch. Seiko’s only submarier homage, along with it’s all black bezel brother. The lume is very good and I have worn this to high end watch stores looking at Rolexes and have been stunned how good the quality is on this little Seiko. It is currently not on the stock bracelet, which is about the only disappointing thing about this watch. The presidential bracelet from my Orange Bullet looks great on it. Next is my ‘Speedmaster”:
My Speedmaster homage. A nice looking watch. Maybe if I make it big I will buy the real deal. I wish it was labeled Alpha instead of Omega, whom I am sure who originally made this watch. The accuracy was terrible from factory -45 seconds/day!. I had to fiddle with it until now it is at about +3 seconds a day! I wear this one when I don’t want to risk any of my other mechanical watches. Finally is my most recent acquisition, my full lume faced Seiko 5:
A sweet looking watch. Solid, well made on a great bracelet. Almost too nice of a bracelet, since it is solid links. It is my first 7S36. I now have it on a NATO nylon strap, which gives it a great look. Winding efficiency is crazy good. Wearing it for 5 hours will keep it wound for 2 days!
So, there you have it, from nothing to seven mechanical watches in a year. They have been good to me so far and I enjoy wearing them all. All Seiko’s are worn about equally. The Speedmaster a little less than others and I seem to wear the green military and the Orange Bullet more than others, but not too much. I really don’t have a favorite. They all are very different from each other and I try to coordinate with what I am wearing. A little vain? Yes, but what other jewelery can a man get away with? It is not the cheapest hobby, but it is more satisfying and cheaper than drinking or smoking, that’s for sure.
So what is ahead? I am trying to round out the color gamut:
I like this little brown guy. Nice bracelet that can be swapped for leather, if needed. Cheap too.
Bold, yellow and unique. My only concern is how legible the hands are against the yellow face.
The Seiko Alpinist. My grail watch. At over $400, I think it will stay a grail a while.
With the craptastic economy, I am hesitant to add too much more to my collection until things start to look up again. For now, I am happy with what I have, so I will stick to just band swaps to satisfy my watch urges.
