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If you’ve found your way to this page, the likelihood that you have a watch on your wrist, or are looking for a new one to put there is extremely high. For those of us in this unique niche, watches hold a special place of interest and importance for us. Which watch you choose to wear says a lot about you, and how you view yourself. Perhaps you want to exude style and confidence like Don Draper, and opt for a timeless mid-century Omega. Or maybe you’re feeling like a daredevil, and opt for a racing chronograph from the 1970’s. Whichever you choose - your personal collection of watches soon becomes an extension of yourself. However, at some point in every watch collectors journey, a certain question arises: “Can I wear this watch in ____ scenario?
Dress watches running errands or playing sports? Dive watches with a suit? The fear of committing an horological faux pas is something of a boy-scout badge in watch collecting. While it suffices to say there’s no “wrong” way to wear a watch and you should wear your watch in whatever way makes you happiest, I figured it might be nice to share some examples from my own life. I’d like to offer that, with a little bit of mindfulness, your beloved watch collection is more than capable in the right circumstances and you shouldn’t be afraid to wear them and love them.
When I’m not ogling the movements of vintage watches, or talking to watch enthusiasts in our storefront, my other line of work is - believe it or not - a professional opera singer. This pursuit has taken up the majority of my life, two degrees, hundreds of thousands of hours, and millions of pages of music learned. For months out of the year, I’m on the road moving from gig to gig. This non-traditional career path is, in some ways, a good testing ground for my watch collection. The variety of places I’ve lived and the specific needs my schedule throws at me require a somewhat versatile collection. During staging rehearsals for example, you’re in the rehearsal room learning to put the show on its feet. Often times, staging can get quite physical. There are fight scenes, physical comedy, passionate romance, and other situations where a watch could get caught on clothing or a set piece, or potentially thrown across the floor. In staging, my natural choice is a sport watch. Watches like my Seiko Monster are often on my wrist when staging the most physical of moments. As an extra bonus, the timing bezel also helps to monitor how much time is left on our breaks!
Staging a piece is just part of the musical lifestyle however, as concerts and donor events are quite common on my calendar. For these events, it’s time to break out something a little slimmer than a diver.
When occasion calls for it, I love to wear my handful of slimmer, dressier pieces. The one I wear most often for my classical music endeavors is my Nomos Club Campus. I find the precise lines, slim profile and fun California dial to be perfect for most of my requirements. Accurate and well-made, but doesn’t take itself too seriously. I also have a vintage Seiko Lord Matic that I wear on occasion as well. While the Nomos is a modern piece and holds up well, I’ve been particularly surprised with the Lord Matic. The Seiko has been keeping time to just a few seconds a day with regular wear during these events. Many collectors wonder about the sustainability of wearing vintage watches on a day-to-day basis. In my personal experience, a little bit of mindfulness goes a long way. Being cautious of avoiding impacts and moisture are the primary things I think of while wearing my vintage pieces, and so far that seems to be doing the trick. I’ve even started wearing my Seiko 6139 for some easier concert gigs. If you’ve got vintage watches you want to wear more often, fear not. They’re made to be worn after all.
Now to the fun stuff. For as much as I try keeping my dress and vintage pieces clean and well-kept, my modern sports watches are often neglected in that way. Watches, specifically sports watches, are made to be worn and used. Ridden hard and put away wet, as a friend would say. Nothing quite raises my ire like someone wearing a capable dive watch who won’t even take it swimming. All of my dive watches have been worn on a dive at some point or another. Several of them have been covered in sand and snow, worn at high altitude glacial lakes, or been scorched in the desert. These watches are made to be tools used in extreme scenarios, and it is my philosophy they should be used as such.
However - as rough and tumble I can be with my watches, this doesn’t mean I treat my watches in an absent-minded way. Vintage watches are wiped down and put in a soft watch roll when not being worn, dive watches are rinsed with fresh water, bezels spun, and set out to dry after a day of diving. Like every tool, if you take care of it, it will take care of you. Material values aside, your collection has sentimental value, and the more you care for your watches the longer you’ll be able to enjoy them.
If nothing else, I hope my musings here just go to show that it is entirely possible to enjoy and use a varied watch collection. From vintage watches from the 1970s, to robust modern dive watches, each one of the pieces in my watch box has been worn in a variety of situations. Each watch I add to my collection speaks to some part of my history or personality in some way, and to not wear and enjoy them would be a shame.
My ever faithful Doxa
Which watches from your collection have the most miles on your wrist? Is there a situation where you’ve found your watch to be out of place, or surprisingly appropriate? We’d love to hear stories from our collecting community. If you’d like to share some memories about your favorite watches, reach out to us at info@thewatchpreserve to share your stories!
