Three Watches Every Man Should Own

[AJMarcus]

Originally Posted by Cru Jones

GQ - LOL. Hmmmm.... All black Rado for dress (JJ is smiling?) and Nomos Zurich for beach (????).

:

[Lew Archer]

Well, I think we can call agree that a man cannot tell time by one watch alone...unless he has to.

For many years, I owned just two watches, both given to me by my father. He'd worn each of them for years. One is a dress watch, supposedly with a movement furnished by Cartier but under the marquee of the jewelry company Black, Starr and Frost (which certainly sounds elegant). And, the watch is elegant. The other watch was his Omega Speedmaster Professional. I stood by his side as a boy in the early '70s when he bought it and told me the story of the first watch worn on the moon.

Between those two watches, seen below, I felt prepared for just about any scenario.

For me, these are the two basic categories--

A watch that's elegant and a watch that's rugged. The former is suitable for anything requiring a suit (up to and including a dinner suit) and the latter is suitable for any adventure that might require an upgrade to your personal injury insurance policy.

Of course, that rugged watch might work just fine in elegant surroundings...the Submariner worn by Sean Connery in the opening sequences of Goldfinger, as he transitions from wet suit to dinner suit without a change of watch is an obvious example. That point was made in 1964, so it's hardly a new phenomenon. And, the well made elegant watch might just hold its own in rugged circumstances. Consider the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso, an elegant watch made ready for rugged use in by flipping the case, as originally used by polo playing British Army officers in India in the 1930s, according to JLC's website.

If one is into watches, or simply fastidious about having precisely the right timepiece for a given endeavor, then having two--or three, or more--watches is a happy circumstance. As to how many, and for what settings...that is entirely up to the individual, based on their interests and activities. There are so many possible "good choices" that a thread such as this can stretch on and on. And, for us who have discovered in a wristwatch a hobby, as well as a form of expression, not to mention a means to conveniently tell the time, that's part of the fun...just having the discussion.

As for the article, it's certainly been a nice way to get that discussion rolling.

Cheers!

[daOnlyBG]

Originally Posted by Maxy

Any Rolex will cover that 3 categories easily. Tool, dress or beach!

Agreed. My GMT can go with me anywhere.

Apparently that was the point behind it... lol

[Rafabond]

Daytona
Pepsi
Day-Date 36mm

[eco8gator]

Id keep it generic

Manual Wind 3 Register Chronograph
Sports Watch
Dress Watch

[M45]

I have a "dress watch" that is lower profile than my "tool watches" for the rare times I put on a suit. Last time I wore a suit I just jammed my sub under the cuff of my shirt, tho.

I'm in Norcal, so I have no idea what kind of douchebaggery a "beach/bar watch" is.

I really want do get a big DJ 41 SS as a dress watch for expert witness work but apparently Rolex is making THOSE hard to get and I'm sort of sick of the games.

[Krash]

Dress watches are no longer a requirement for a well rounded watch collection. Most corporate offices are casual now. We stopped wearing suits to work almost 10 years ago where I work.

Guys like me can wear a Sub to work with a pair of khakis, blue shirt and a sports coat.

I wear a suit maybe 2 or 3 times a year. Why would I buy a dress watch? A Sub is fine. A Datejust is fine too...

I do like that Nomos and Patek Pillipe Calatrava though. Both are very nice, but all I need is a Submariner and a Datejust.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[GolfJunkie]

I have a different take on this.

I live a very causal life style and have absolutely no need for a proper dress watch. For my life style a DJ or DD would be a dress watch by my standards.

Most days it's a diver, gmt or chrono with slacks and a polo. All my watches reflect my personality and style much more that what I "should have"

[Brian Page]

Originally Posted by Mystro

GQ magazine has not been a authority of men’s fashion in decades. It’s a pseudo political rag.

:t humbsup:

[Rado63]

Originally Posted by HogwldFLTR

Came across this GQ article and thought I'd share it. I generally shy away from "shoulds," however in this case I thought it was a bit interesting. Three categories of watches are Tool, Bar, and Dress. For me many of my Rolex fit into the first and perhaps the last categories. Really my Tudors and perhaps my Hamilton fit into the middle category. Curious how others line up and whether a Rolex (16013 of SkyD for example) can fit into the last category?

http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/watches-for-men

Thanks for sharing, Fun to read those articles. Since my collection has evolved over the years, I probably would say I always had a watch collection like that: Tool, Beach/Bar, Dress without knowing it was called that. Now I just own Rolex and you Know what, It's still the same, Tool, Bar/Beach, Dress.

[RyanJ]

Originally Posted by Wahlberg

Small difference (imho).

A beater is something like a Seiko SKX. Only costs 150-200 USD, if you lose it or something goes broken you'll repair it or just get a new one. A Rolex SUB/GMT (14060/16710 and the ones before those models, I think the new SUB and GMT are more luxury watches than real tool watches) is a tool watch but I'm positive most people are being careful with those and don't want to see it broken or lose it.

A beater can mean something different to each person. My Rolex Explorer is my "beater" watch.

[HogwldFLTR]

it's funny; this was originally started almost two year ago. I guess my watches still include all of the above although in truth I'd prefer to not consider any of my watches beaters. No sense in abusing them. Frankly nothing I wear really gets exposed to too much risk so I'm good!!!

[excelerater]

Originally Posted by Mystro

GQ magazine has not been a authority of men’s fashion in decades. It’s a pseudo political rag.

YUP,30 years ago it was worth a read
now its bird cage liner.