Why the perfect 4 watches are...
One watch roll to rule them all! (Part 1)
On my Instagram (@cove_wacthes) there’s an ongoing series for beginner watch collectors, which asks the following:
“What is the perfect collection size for a non-watch person?”
And covered the number and type of watches that would make an ideal collection, in the end it was decided that the maximum number of watches an average person need is 4, a dress watch, a vacation watch, an everyday watch, and a beater, all of them with basic recommendation lists at the tail end of the post.
Now in an expansion of this list, I want to simply “say my piece” and go into depth, on which specific watches can successfully satisfy the criteria I’ve been laying down for the past weeks on Instagram, I’ll also include an honourable mentions at the end, just in case.
This will be a 3-part series, which will end as it began, the 2 watch collection.
Let’s begin then.
Disclaimer: All prices discussed here are as of the time of writing and publication.
The Dress Watch
Baltic MR-01
Photo courtesy of Baltic Watches
IIn my opinion, your dress watch, shouldn’t cost more than 1200 USD if you aren’t going to business meetings, dress events, black-tie or white-tie events all the time, additionally given that you aren’t attending them all that often, a quartz watch might not be the best option, as the battery might be almost or completely drained when you pick it up, although it might still be valid.
Enter the Baltic MR-01, a simply beautifully designed watch with Patek Calatrava and Vacheron 1921 looks, Breguet numerals, off-center small seconds and a gorgeous micro-rotor movement that as soon as you wind it and put it on your wrist will keep on ticking until the end of your event and onwards.
The MR-01 is not lacking in the variety department, as it comes in 4 colours (salmon, silver, blue, black), hesalite (acrylic) crystal, less than 10 mm of thickness, and 36mm in diameter; therefore, it will suit many wrists and slip under most cuffs, personally I’d go for the silver version.
Remember, this is a dress watch, so the MR-01 only has 30 meters of water resistance, but if you need to knowingly swim with this watch out of the blue, I think you have bigger things on your plate to deal with first.
Finally, the MR-01 comes at around 600 USD, and you can find them even cheaper if you look around in the pre-owned market, thus achieving the rule we laid at the beginning.
Honourable Mention: Second Hour Memoir, around 385 USD, small seconds quartz, easy to maintain and acquire, the classic square watch shape, and unbeatable in price-quality ratio.
The Vacation Watch
Lorier Hydra III
Photo courtesy of Hodinkee and Lorier Watches
Laid back, rugged, tough, yet elegant, this is the soul of the vacation watch, something for the snorkel or scuba diver, the streets of the Caribbean or the Mediterranean, the pool party, safari, your next espionage mission, or a nice weekend with your significant other or your friends.
Here lies the Lorier Hydra III, its description on the inspiration tab on the Lorier website for this watch reads:
There is an undeniable romance when a dive watch is used for its intended purpose, an instrument rather than an ornament.
The Hydra is the embodiment of this spirit: handsome, yet boldly utilitarian.
Looking at it is evident why, you have the mid-century looks, typical of Loriers design, 200m of water resistance, hesalite crystal, and a handsome blue dial.
Additionally, you have a flyers GMT for when you’re changing time zones on-the-go, traveling or have family/friends abroad; a dive bezel for timing your dives, cooking or an impromptu 3rd time zone; a date at 6 o’ clock, add to this a very readable dial, and you have yourself the whole package.
Keep it on the bracelet, ready for evrything; NATO strap, ready for action; sailcloth, casual night; rubber, trail ready; this watch is a strap monster.
My only critique is the height of 14mm, but a 200m diver with a GMT movement under 10mm would be quite an affordable watchmaking achievement.
The Hydra III comes at 600 USD, and the guys at Lorier also include a pouch, Polywatch for the crystal and a strap changing tool, quite the bargain!
Lastly, if you want something more action hero oriented, it has an all-black PVD coated version called the Zulu that comes at the same price.
Honourable mention: Serica 5303 COSC, 1635 USD, dual-purpose bezel, anti-magnetic, COSC certified, sapphire crystal, elegant, and mid-century looks that would make Omega and Rolex jealous.
The Everyday Watch
Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Professional
Photo Courtesy of OMEGA SA.
This is your companion and silent witness, this watch will be with you most of the time, thus spending a bit more money on it is justified, not to impress anyone, but for yourself, mind you if your everyday is a Timex Easy Reader and it makes you as happy as a solid gold hyper watch GO FOR IT, as always this is for yourself, and YOUR particular lifestyle.
To me, the embodiment of this type of watch is my grail, the Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Professional.
I could write an entire thesis about this watch, but in a nutshell, this is the perfect everyday watch because of its incredible history, legibility, literal timeless design, useful complication and amazing specifications.
A “thin” manually wound 12h chrono that is 14 mm, 50m of water resistance, hesalite crystal (although you could also go for the sapphire version), comfortable bracelet, the choice of either white or black dial and perfect sizing of 42mm in diameter.
Like the previously mentioned Lorier, any strap or bracelet here will work. Leather, formal; steel, all-rounder; rubber, vacation-ready; NATO, casual.
Add to that the history, first watch worn on the moon, only EVA qualified watch by NASA (as of June 2024), pivotal on the Apollo 11 and 13 missions, used by many military forces and the Chrono of Michael Schumacker.
You really cannot go wrong with the speedy.
Pricing is tricky with this one as the 3861 hesalite version is 6300 USD and even more expensive on sapphire, here I’d argue to go for pre-owned or secondary market as there you can get amazing examples for 3000 USD onwards.
Honourable mention: Sinn 356 Pilot, 2000 USD, german design and engineering, pilot pedigree, 100m water eesistance, versatile, day-date indicator.
The Beater Watch
Casio G-Shock GD 350
Photo Courtesy of Nippon Argentina and G-Shock
The beater watch lives and dies on the word rugged, in this Casio and its G-Shock line, is simply unbeaten.
To me, the GD 350 is the ideal G-Shock, as it has all, or at least most of the functions anyone can need, the rugged looks, appropriate dimensiaons, some extra features you usually don’t find in G-Shocks at this price range, and all of this for under 100 USD.
Function-wise we have a vibration alarm, 5 alarms, world time, auto light, timer, lap timer and 200m of water resistance, you can use it for the trail, the olympic pool, the gym, bike racing, gardening, spec ops missions, fishing, you name it, you will be covered.
Of course, this is a beater, it will stick out like a sore thumb on a wedding, or the meeting room, its versatility lies in the tasks it can perform, not in the roles it can hold.
The GD-350 is for when your watch needs to take the punishment you will put it and yourself through, not high tea with the royals.
As previously stated, this watch comes around and under 100 USD depending on the seller, but the best I could find was at 83 USD at Amazon.
Honourable mention: Casio AE-1200 “The Royale”, under 50 USD, versatile (if in “steel”) version), reliable, complications galore, 100m WR, affordable.
Honourable mentions
These four watches represntg the embodiement of their categories perfectly, they can basically do it all and do it well, and its honourable mention counterparts can and will hold their wight when described through the lenses we laid.
I need to be honest with you, I don’t own any of the main ones yet, nor the majority of the honourable mentions, thesception being the Casio, but this is on purpose as I look forward to own and experience all of them, as these will be an amazing and valuable part of the watch collecting journey, and in the case of the Speedy cornerstones of the collection.
In the following post I’ll choose three watches from my collection to form the ultimate 3 watch collection, and please share your picks in the comments, and if possible please tell me why!