Watches

Raymond Weil 5768 (rectangular watch w/ black strap on the left): An echo of a Cartier Tank. Something about Cartier seemed too flashy so I’ve avoided indulging, but I just love the proportions of the Tank. As such this piece is true to the Tank’s size.

Casio A1000, Rag & Bone Collaboration (grey watch on the bottom): Gotta have a Casio in the collection. This piece stands out from the A1000 series with its sapphire crystal and “ion plated” bracelet and case.

Aquastar Model 60 Reissue (diver w/ black strap on the right): Aquastar, founded in the early 60s, was originally marketed as a brand that exclusively made professional grade dive watches. Much like Doxa, Aquastar went under and was recently revived by Rick Marei who was the impetus behind the reissue of the first model Aquastar ever produced, the Model 60.

Seiko SBQL001 (white dial w/ steel bracelet on the left): For such an unassuming and relatively affordable watch this piece packs quite some power under the hood. It’s powered by an HAQ (high accuracy quartz) movement that losses/gains up to 20 seconds per year. It also has a perpetual calendar date function that displays date and day accounting for all months of the year as well as leap years. It’s also got a neat function that temporarily lets you see the current month in the date window.

Smiths Everest PRS-25 (black dial w/ steel bracelet on the right): People like to say it was the Smiths PRS-25 that was actually the first watch worn on Everest and not the Rolex 1016, which I think may have been left at base camp (maybe it was the other way around? Idk perhaps one of you can correct me). While this may be true, Smiths now isn’t the same Smiths as before. The Smiths that produced this particular piece admittedly relies on stolen valor: some independent watchmaker(s) in the UK unofficially just slapped the then-defunct Smiths name on their watches and started producing a bunch of homages. That being said I certainly appreciate them for making affordable homages that are pretty true to size and design as this is probably my most worn watch.

Grand Seiko “First” J14070, Raised Logo (white dial w/ brown strap in the center): There’s so much to appreciate about Grand Seiko, from its philosophy of their Grammar of Design to their phenomenal attention to detail on case finishing. Personally I’ve always been captured by the design of the first watch they produced in the early 60s, the Grand Seiko J14070, as well as the subsequent reissues, SBGW253 and SBGW033. Of the three the J1470 undeniably has the most vintage charm with its historical cache, 14k gold plated case, and compact dimensions with its 35mm case width.