Current State Of The Collection
I don’t often do State Of The Collection posts as my collection is quite fluid and frequently subject to change. Because of these frequent changes I always feel that I could do one of these every month and there would be a change. Having said all that it feels like my collection is in a good place and other than one of the new Studio Underd0g Unoriginal series watches, specifically the Guacamole, I don’t have any plans for another addition to my collection. This isn’t to say that there won’t be any other additions in the very near future, nor that I won’t sell one of these, I just like the look of things right now.
So for this SOTC post, I’ve broken up my collection into different types of watches and included a short description of said watches and a little about them.
Vintage Collection
Like many watch enthusiasts I have an interest in watch history and vintage watches. My vintage collection is small consisting of an: Omega Memomatic, a mechanical alarm watch; my Seikomatic Weekdater a beautiful automatic with a day/date complication from 1965; and a Facit Small Seconds, a brand that was wiped out during the quartz crisis.
I got the Seikomatic from a well reviewed AD who had given the watch a full service, when I was on the hunt for a vintage Seiko and I loved the day/date display. The Seiko 5 was an impulse buy from Blocket (Sweden’s own eBay) I just liked the dial and it was cheap so I snapped it up. I like a small seconds complication and found the Facit when doing a bit of browsing; I discovered Facit were a widely available brand that was killed off during the quartz crisis and I liked having. Bit of history. The Omega Memomatic was another impulse buy; I was at my local AD to get an Unimatic that they’d sold out of, and while looking for an alternative I found this that was previously owned by the shop’s in house watchmaker, the watch just spoke to me and I decided to go for it.
Quartz Collection
After mentioning the quartz crisis I thought I’d show off my quartz collection.
First up is my Von Doren Runde Mark II, a present I got when traveling with my family and in laws to celebrate my father in law’s 70th. All the ladies got some nice jewelry and my father in law, brother in law and myself got different coloured Von Dorens, a watch I recommended as an inexpensive fun line of watches.
Next is my Edox Skydiver Chronograph. I’d been after a green dial chronograph for a while and thought this would be worth a try, not sure if this one’s staying, but I have it now.
Last up is another chronograph from US based microbrand Brew. Not a big coffee drinker I was nevertheless taken by the original design of this one.
Mechanical Chronographs
The Chronograph is without a doubt my favourite complication and as I’ve just showed my quartz chronos this seems like a great place to show off my mechanical chronographs:
Studio Underd0g Watermelon, I did previously have a Goofy Panda and I really enjoyed it, but I couldn’t stop thinking of the original SU the Watermelon a watch I originally didn’t get as I thought it was a bit out there for me. Glad I changed my mind as this is a lot of fun. I decided to sell the Panda when the SU Unoriginal lineup came out and I decided I wanted the Guacamole.
The Omega Speedmaster is possibly the most iconic watch line thanks to beating the Rolex Daytona into space. I’d been looking for a Chrono GMT and when I found this one being sold second hand I didn’t think twice and am really happy about that
I previously had the Sinn 103 chronograph and found it to be just a touch too large for my wrist, so I went with this and am really happy I did. In my opinion Sinn makes some of the best pilot watches in their price range and this 356.022, is a great example of that
Norqain Adventure Sport Chrono Day/Date might be my perfect watch. Dive watch fan? Check. Flyback chronograph? Check. Calendar complication? Check. Interesting blue dial? Double check.
GMT Collection
As well as being a flyback chronograph my Speedy Broad Arrow is also my only travel GMT. I tend to prefer a caller GMT as I like a quick set date and here are my current caller GMTs:
Sinn 105utc, that clean white dial and orange GMT features as well as the blasted case and matte black rotating bezel makes it a fantastic choice for tool watch enthusiasts.
Zodiac Super Sea Wolf World Time, this limited edition worldtimer was on my radar for a while and as a fan of dive watches in general, this felt like a no brainer when I found it for a reasonable price.
Raymond Weil Freelancer GMT Worldtimer, not generally a fan of bronze watches but this bronze and steel mix case and gradient green dial was my favourite purchase of 2023 and is still a favourite of mine.
Dive Watches
The chronograph may be my favourite complication, but my favourite watch style is divers and here are my dive watches that aren’t chronographs or GMTs:
Epoch Stockholm Deep Diver I came across this watch at the first Stockholm Time event hosted by Watches of Scandinavia and immediately loved it. Despite its bulk it was surprisingly comfortable on the bezel action felt and sounded amazing and I just loved all the little touches, my 40th birthday was a few months later and my wife kindly took me to Watches of Scandinavia and made this my birthday present.
The Tag Heuer Aquaracer was the first diver I really wanted and so was ecstatic when I finally got my hands on it, it’s interesting shape interesting dial is still a joy for me.
Clemence Photic Diver is the first microbrand watch I ever bought and was lucky enough to meet Tom the founder in my hometown of Edinburgh and was immediately taken by this gorgeous diver.
Christopher Ward C60 Sapphire I am a huge fan of Christopher Ward and I simply couldn’t resist this gorgeous blue dial diver.
Field and Pilot Watches
I tend to find that field and pilot watches are quite interchangeable and therefore I tend to lump them together. Here are my:
Formex Field Earth Blue, I love what Formex does and a titanium field watch, with it’s corrosive resistance and lightweight, makes it a no brainer for me as a field watch, combine that with this beautiful blue dial and I couldn’t resist.
Ollech & Wajs OW P-101. I can’t really explain why I love this watch as much as I do, but I can’t imagine selling it, the clean grey dial, unique minute hand, matte black friction bezel that can make it a travel watch all definitely help though.
Bremont Airco Mach 1 another British watch and my first pilot watch from the UK and it’s simple dial and trick tick Bremont case style with it’s mix of materials make this a truly gorgeous watch.
echo/neutra are slowly becoming a force in watch enthusiast circles and this gorgeous field watch is a great example of why, they do push the boundaries a bit and I am all for it.
GADA Selection
Go Anywhere Do Anything, Everyday, whatever you call a GADA watch, what goes into one depends on who's wearing the watch. I tend to keep it simple and go with watches of 40mm or less, 48mm lug to lug, 100m of water resistance good legibility and not too much on the dial, preferably a date complication but that's not essential. Here's my selection:
Alato Arvet, first saw this on watch crunch then in the 2024 Stockholm Time I was able to meet the owner and see the watch in the metal and was immediately sold. The guilloche pattern and unusual indices as well as the rotor seen through the sapphire display caseback make this watch unlike any other I’ve tried.
Zelos GT Heritage a fun summery watch from respected Singaporean microbrand Zelos is a fun comfortable watch with eye-catching looks.
125th Anniversary Certina DS80 Powermatic, the watch that got me into this hobby was this surprise 30th birthday present from my wife and still has pride of place in my collection.
Top Macro Shots
I’m not a great photographer but every now and then I take a macro shot I’m proud of and here are six of my favourites. The watches shown are my Epoch Stockholm Deep Diver, Raymond Weil Freelancer GMT Worldtimer, Studio Underd0g Watermelon, Tag Heuer Aquaracer, Zodiac Super Sea Wolf World Time and my Norqain Adventure Chrono Day/Date.
Lume Shots
My favourite lume shots featuring my Christopher Ward C60 Sapphire, Ollech & Wajs OW P-101, the two middle pics are my Alato Arvet, Zelos GT Heritage and Sinn 356.022