No more dive watches
I bought an Orient Mako the other day and it concluded some thoughts I had been having for some time. It wasn’t only the size of the watch which is admittedly too big for most people (45mm) or the orange bezel which is admittedly too colourful for most people, but the overall aesthetic and the way it felt on my wrist.
I have owned many dive watches over the years and they have always been my preferred style; an Oris Diver’s 65, Tudor Black Bay Heritage, Black Bay 58, GMT, a couple of Longines divers, many Seikos and Citizens, and so on and on…
Despite having a fairly normal 7.25” wrist I have tended to wear bigger watches and the thought of wearing something less than 40mm sounded crazy to me. Over time, however, my tastes changed and I realised that I am meant to be wearing the watch and that the watch should not be wearing me.
It dawned on me that I do not need flashes of colour on a watch for it to stand out and that it doesn’t need to stand out at all. It does not need to be a statement piece and it need not say anything, it just needs to suit me and to fit in with who and what I am.
If you wear a pin-stripe suit the suit is what people see. They see a big suit worn by a ‘little’ man who needs to make a statement through his clothing. If you wear a well tailored suit that suits the way you look and which simply looks elegant they will see the man.
The same applies to watches; do you need a bezel to time the dives you do not do? Do you need a big watch to make your arms look smaller? Do you need a watch from a brand that people know is expensive to pretend that you have more money that you actually have?
No to all of the above. Find a watch that suits you and that is comfortable and elegant. Besides timekeeping, that is what a watch should be and so few people get that.