A watch to survive Jurassic Park
A watch 66 million years in the making
Dinosaurs, a fascination many of us have had in childhood, and for some have extended to our adult lives, helping us inform our career paths and even hobbies.
Last Thursday was my birthday, and as such my brother gave me a Lego Jurassic World set, in this case, a T. rex skull. While building the set the thought popped into my head of which watches could survive the harsh environments of Isla Nublar and Sorna, especially if the former had a breakout and chaos reigns supreme.
Mind you I would be lying if I did not tell you that I’ve also had this idea before, way back in 2021 to be precise, and with only one watch in particular, but that’s a story for later in this article.
Before we proceed, as with many of these lists there will be some considerations:
No G-Shock, Timex Iron Man, Breitling Emergency, or Tissot T-Touch that would be “cheating” given their capabilities of orientation, in-situ rescue and purpose-built toughness, would simply make this list those four watches., plus a Momentum UDT and a Seiko Alpinist.
No ratcheting bezel, as the dinosaurs, hunters, or other extinct or extant creatures will certainly hear you, thus giving away your position, and handing a free lunch to a non-avian dinosaur.
100m WR minimum as on the Jurassic islands the conditions will be humid, have to deal with plenty of rivers and of course the beach, the only exception to this being if the manufacturer states “true” 30 m/50m WR.
I’m taking Jurassic Park 1-3 and Jurassic World as canon, as they´re the ones that are on a proper “isolated island” scenario, as Rebirth and Fallen Kingdom transport the dinosaurs to the mainland in a massive fashion, thus truncating the whole exercise.
Without further ado, hold on to your butts.
Hamilton Khaki Field Chrono Automatic
The moment I saw it, I knew this was a watch to survive the jungle or the field.
The looks, the complication, convenience, legibility, the toughness, it’s just a beast for these conditions.
The utility of a chronograph in a survival situation is key, especially in jungle scenarios, if you know enough tricks it can work as a pulsometer for general well-being or emergency health situations; the lightning trick (count the seconds after you see it strike) can prove useful to avoid/prepare for storms, especially in a tropical island; calculation of the height of a fall; among other convenient applications.
But it can also be useful as a compass if we use the chronograph hand as the waypoint to mark north, an important tool for trekking.
With its 100m water resistance, it can withstand the humidity of the jungle or a swim in the mosasaur aquarium; an automatic caliber that assures the watch will always be charged and ready to time whatever you need.
Finally, the bead-blasted finishing of the watch can also ensure that no clever raptors or mercenaries will be able to spot you.
Breitling Airwolf
Let’s face it, as far as operations go, Jurassic Park is a pretty sketchy one, and wherever sketchy things happen a Breitling is usually involved.
An ana-digi beast with a compass bezel, second timezone, alarm, chronograph and timer, all within a chunky case that can actually withstand 50m water resistance, at least according to Breitling, this watch may even withstand an Allosaurus bite or a Dilophosaurus spit.
The functions of the watch, as well as its looks, are some of the reasons I chose it, but the main one is its friction compass bezel, which also doubles as an internal slide rule bezel.
When you need to trek back to the visitor center or need to do some quick calculations to restore the power to the park, this watch might prove very useful.
If I must recommend a specific version, go for the Raven edition as the blacked-out bezel and rubber strap, will certainly help to mask any unwanted light signatures from the watch.
Timex Titanium Expedition Automatic 41mm
Sometimes all you need is something simple and light, as well as something that will not break the bank if lost, here steps America’s foremost affordable watch manufacturer, Timex.
Simply put, in harsh environments the simplest watch you have is usually the best, especially when the watch is made out of titanium, has a 200m WR, has a robust Miyota movement and, according to Timex, the watch is shockproof, a useful feature to have when in a bumpy Jeep ride escaping a Hadrosaur stampede.
Again, the finishing and material will certainly mask any unwanted light signatures.
Additionally, as far as a navigation tool, any watch can work as a compass if used correctly, especially a three-hander, although the lack of an easy-to-set waypoint, either by the bezel or another complication, might hinder repeated navigation efforts.
Either way, this watch will certainly hold its own in the rivers of Isla Nublar, or in the Redwood forests of Isla Sorna.
Sangin Instruments Overlord
Sometimes the best watches for a job, come from the most unexpected places, Sangin instruments is a US-based microbrand founded by a veteran Marine that is focused on making purpose-built military watches.
The Overlord is their take on the classic A-11/ORD American design with a GMT twist to coordinate operations between armies, this is a sleek 100m WR everyday quartz GMT that could work very well either in the field, a paleontological dig, or in the office.
Apart from its looks and wanting to showcase a smaller brand, I chose this watch due to its main complication, the GMT, as the GMT hand can work as an important tool in wayfinding.
An example of this could be helping you navigate an expansive sauropod paddock by aligning your hour hand with the sun, finding the midpoint between it and the 12h index, set your GMT hand smack dab in the middle of the opposite direction between those two, and bingo! you´ll have a very good approximation of north.
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If you ask me which one I’ll use, it would be the Hamilton as it had my eye, especially in this consideration ever since it was released way back in 2021, plus its looks and price point make it an easy choice for a very analog character like Alan Grant.
This list came out of a passion I had since I was a child, which is clearly dinosaurs.
Jurassic Park is my favorite movie of all time and every new rewatch leaves me with something new, from the dangers of playing God, passing through the eternal dilemma of can vs. should, and even leaving a bit of space for hope with the famous phrase:
Life uh… finds a way.
— Ian Malcolm
Without this movie there wouldn’t be a watch nerd writing this, as without JP, there wouldn’t be an interest in science, which would’ve never led me into engineering, which led me to the Apollo program, and then to the Speedmaster, kickstarting this whole obsession.
So I owe a lot to this movie and a fortuitous visit to the NMNH in DC when I was 5.
Lastly, as I was writing this list, the realization came to me that a lot of this list is just following the ethos laid down by Watches of Espionage of “Use your tools”, yes in this case in a sci-fi scenario, but many of the applications of all of these pieces, as well as their “generic” equivalents (Chronos, GMT, field watches in general), are used in real life, by park rangers, hikers, explorers, soldiers, you name it, thus making this an interesting list regarding tool watch for odd situations.
I hope you enjoyed today’s read, has any movie meant to you as much as Jurassic Park means to me? Which watch would you pick to survive Jurassic Park? What’s your favorite dinosaur? mine’s T. rex. Please let me know in the comments.
As always…
Discontinued, but this is my vote: Citizen Eco-Drive Promaster Altichron, ref BN4026-09F.