On a lazy Sunday watching the Blue Jays on TV. I am still amazed by how great this little watch is. It is unpretentious and not trying to be anything more than it is. Still great value if you are in the market for a basic field watch.
First Baltany and it does not disappoint. The polishing is excellent as is the fit and finish. The matte black dial manages to remain understated while still seeming rich in the sunlight. The crystal is magical.
Don’t tell my wife, but I will definitely be buying another Baltany.
I am in my 50s now. For years now I have been grooming my son to have the same appreciation for watches that I have. I want him to enjoy the experience through his adult life as much as I have through mine. It has not always been an easy process. He is just 20 years old now, and as such his taste is dictated by the social media he has ingested over the years and his peer group. He loves brands like Gucci, Supreme, and Versace and believes them to be the pinnacle of luxury. Such is the way with today’s kids. While the source of the influence has changed from when I was his age, the process has not. We are a product of what we consume both literally and figuratively.
For his post-secondary school graduation, I wanted to gift him a watch that would have special significance to him. I found it to be a real struggle to overcome my own prejudices and bias in order to ensure he got a watch that his tastes would appreciate. It was harder than it sounds and, in the end, I needed to consult with his girlfriend to finally land on the correct piece for him. To my eyes the gold-plated Invicta chrono with a diamond encrusted bezel is God awful, but to him it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. I am aware it’s a terrible knock off of a Rolex that was itself tacky and cliché the day it was made and that I paid far too much for what it’s actually worth, but for my son it was the ultimate. He wears it damn near everywhere despite my warnings about the cost to repair such a watch.
As with all of you, my own tastes are dictated by my personal life and experiences. I have developed pretty serious OCD in my later years and that will often make or break a style, dial color, band texture, layout, or sound of any watch that makes it into my collection. As such my son’s watch collection is now largely populated by watches I have either outgrown or upon wearing found something that I could not tolerate, however minimal that issue might have been. While my son leans toward the bling of today's celebrity, I look for simplicity and order. I am easily overwhelmed by a complicated dial or movement. Strangely, I am also easily mesmerized by dial patterns and even skeleton movements. So far there is no “perfect” watch for me, just many different and varying degrees of appreciation.
The discovery of modern Chinese watches has actually been a godsend for me. It has meant that I can experience watch collecting as I used to without the financial burden that can often come with it. I am currently running an experiment whereby I look for a style I want to add to my collection by first exploring a Chinese market purchase and wearing it on my wrist to a store to see if I actually DO want that Seiko, Citizen or what have you. To my surprise, several of the Chinese watches are still here. Not only did I not find the planned Seiko or Citizen compelling enough to complete the transition, I actually found myself preferring the Chinese watch I already had. None more so than the simple Militado ML05. Despite my best efforts, it remains in my collection. Not only that, it has become one of my go-to watches for daily use. Not because the Hamilton Khaki I had planned to replace it with wasn’t better in every way. It was just not better enough to overcome what the ML05 already did so well. Which was be everything I needed it to be without triggering something in my OCD to find fault with it. That’s not to say that tomorrow won’t be different. That is the nature of OCD and ADHD.
Recently I have been entertaining the idea of my son and I having matching watches. For no other reason really than to symbolize the bond we have over a shared love of this hobby. But as you have read, our tastes align like two parallel lines. Which is to say they don't often intersect. Thus, deciding on a single watch has been hilariously complicated. I began months ago without telling him by simply sending him random images of watches I though looked nice which he in turn hated. He then returned the favor and sent me random images of watches all of which were terrible. As you can imagine, my 20 year old son produced a comical parade of gauche and gaudy watches many made by unknown companies from the far reaches of the world that nobody has ever heard of. The ones I had heard of were either way out of my spending bracket or flashy beyond anything I could ever be seen in public wearing. Clearly this was going to be more difficult than I had anticipated.
Over time his suggestions were each politely overturned by me for one reason or another (usually my brain). My suggestions of "check out this cool watch" met the same fate at his hands. But slowly, carefully, and without him knowing we negotiated our way to a result. This week I told him what I was doing. The watch we had negotiated to is a brand I’ve never owned. Frankly I never would because it’s what we in the community think of as a "Fashion Watch". You know, biases and such. None the less, its aesthetically neutral enough for me and “cool” enough for him that we can both agree to wear it. It runs a Japanese solar Epson As01 movement according to the website and is a reasonable 41mm case diameter which I appreciate. Some of my son’s recommendations would have given a DVD a run for its money. I give you the MVMT Field 2 Solar.
They arrive next week marking the next phase of our father and son watch journey.
I am in my 50s now. For years now I have been grooming my son to have the same appreciation for watches that I have. I want him to enjoy the experience through his adult life as much as I have through mine. It has not always been an easy process. He is just 20 years old now, and as such his taste is dictated by the social media he has ingested over the years and his peer group. He loves brands like Gucci, Supreme, and Versace and believes them to be the pinnacle of luxury. Such is the way with today’s kids. While the source of the influence has changed from when I was his age, the process has not. We are a product of what we consume both literally and figuratively.
For his post-secondary school graduation, I wanted to gift him a watch that would have special significance to him. I found it to be a real struggle to overcome my own prejudices and bias in order to ensure he got a watch that his tastes would appreciate. It was harder than it sounds and, in the end, I needed to consult with his girlfriend to finally land on the correct piece for him. To my eyes the gold-plated Invicta chrono with a diamond encrusted bezel is God awful, but to him it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. I am aware it’s a terrible knock off of a Rolex that was itself tacky and cliché the day it was made and that I paid far too much for what it’s actually worth, but for my son it was the ultimate. He wears it damn near everywhere despite my warnings about the cost to repair such a watch.
As with all of you, my own tastes are dictated by my personal life and experiences. I have developed pretty serious OCD in my later years and that will often make or break a style, dial color, band texture, layout, or sound of any watch that makes it into my collection. As such my son’s watch collection is now largely populated by watches I have either outgrown or upon wearing found something that I could not tolerate, however minimal that issue might have been. While my son leans toward the bling of today's celebrity, I look for simplicity and order. I am easily overwhelmed by a complicated dial or movement. Strangely, I am also easily mesmerized by dial patterns and even skeleton movements. So far there is no “perfect” watch for me, just many different and varying degrees of appreciation.
The discovery of modern Chinese watches has actually been a godsend for me. It has meant that I can experience watch collecting as I used to without the financial burden that can often come with it. I am currently running an experiment whereby I look for a style I want to add to my collection by first exploring a Chinese market purchase and wearing it on my wrist to a store to see if I actually DO want that Seiko, Citizen or what have you. To my surprise, several of the Chinese watches are still here. Not only did I not find the planned Seiko or Citizen compelling enough to complete the transition, I actually found myself preferring the Chinese watch I already had. None more so than the simple Militado ML05. Despite my best efforts, it remains in my collection. Not only that, it has become one of my go-to watches for daily use. Not because the Hamilton Khaki I had planned to replace it with wasn’t better in every way. It was just not better enough to overcome what the ML05 already did so well. Which was be everything I needed it to be without triggering something in my OCD to find fault with it. That’s not to say that tomorrow won’t be different. That is the nature of OCD and ADHD.
Recently I have been entertaining the idea of my son and I having matching watches. For no other reason really than to symbolize the bond we have over a shared love of this hobby. But as you have read, our tastes align like two parallel lines. Which is to say they don't often intersect. Thus, deciding on a single watch has been hilariously complicated. I began months ago without telling him by simply sending him random images of watches I though looked nice which he in turn hated. He then returned the favor and sent me random images of watches all of which were terrible. As you can imagine, my 20 year old son produced a comical parade of gauche and gaudy watches many made by unknown companies from the far reaches of the world that nobody has ever heard of. The ones I had heard of were either way out of my spending bracket or flashy beyond anything I could ever be seen in public wearing. Clearly this was going to be more difficult than I had anticipated.
Over time his suggestions were each politely overturned by me for one reason or another (usually my brain). My suggestions of "check out this cool watch" met the same fate at his hands. But slowly, carefully, and without him knowing we negotiated our way to a result. This week I told him what I was doing. The watch we had negotiated to is a brand I’ve never owned. Frankly I never would because it’s what we in the community think of as a "Fashion Watch". You know, biases and such. None the less, its aesthetically neutral enough for me and “cool” enough for him that we can both agree to wear it. It runs a Japanese solar Epson As01 movement according to the website and is a reasonable 41mm case diameter which I appreciate. Some of my son’s recommendations would have given a DVD a run for its money. I give you the MVMT Field 2 Solar.
They arrive next week marking the next phase of our father and son watch journey.
Hope every Canadian has a safe and joyful day with a watch on their wrist!
My first Seiko has arrived to join the growing collection. Really looking forward to making the comparison to my Chinese purchases and swapping some different straps. Overall it’s a great looking watch for a modest price.
Today’s watch on wrist is a Militado ML05. 38mm feels a hair too small to me. Swapped out the rigid nato strap it came with for a softer leather strap for now.
So, I am in the market for a few new watches this year to add to my growing collection. I am specifically looking for each of the following:
1. Dive Watch
2. Cocktail Watch
3. Sport Watch / PRX
I know for certain at least one of these watches will be a Seiko as I don’t own one yet. All will be at minimum Citizen/Bulova/Seiko quality. All that being said, I do LOVE microbrands. Especially those who take a watch style and make it their own rather than just copying someone else’s work. However, much has been said of the Chinese market. And this got me thinking. We know that Chinese watchmakers are capable of making quality products. Heck, they manufacture for many of the popular brands already. And brands like Sea-Gull for example make many well-built and designed watches that can come at a premium price. If I am going to get Seiko quality watch, I will just get a Seiko. I wanted to know if the “lower” Chinese brands can produce anything of quality in comparison. So, I ordered this: Watchdives WD1980 (day/date Ronda 517). My plan is to take this with me on my wrist when I shop for a dive watch this year. I want to use it both to compare to popular brands, but also to rate the WD1980 itself.
I am genuinely looking forward to doing this. I know we tend look down on Chinese watches as China is often the source of many poor-quality fakes and copies. This experiment will be of great interest to me as my OCD dictates what I find attractive and largely pushes me towards what I end up buying and wearing. And don't worry, if I don't end up keeping the Watchdives it will go to my son's growing collection. Thanks for reading!
Daily driver. Looking for strap suggestions
I’m thinking maybe a Seiko next. But there are so many micro brands that tempt me as well.
