I was prompted to write here after a conversation recently between myself and a collector during which I briefly mentioned I don’t wear mechanical watches whereupon he straight out correctly guessed that I must probably just wear a G-Shock.
Over the years a few people have noticed the fact that although being a watchmaker I somehow don’t wear an expensive mechanical watch, or even a cheap mechanical watch..or a vintage, I like some vintage pieces but I also like to know what time it is now and again too. Typically however I don’t think about premium brand watches anymore.
Through my mid to late twenties I really did, but that was before I became a watchmaker. So what changed? Was it knowing the brands get these pieces out the door effectively for about sixpence? Was it simply by learning about these mechanical marvels that all the mystique evaporated? Was it the increasing bitterness I felt toward these brands in their treatment of independent watchmakers and customers that finally did it? Or was I just now old and jaded and simply too tight-fisted to want to spend anything like that on a wristwatch when it could be spent on a new machine or tools for the workshop.
Returning to my old G-Shock. It began one day about 8 years ago, while perusing eBay I saw the used condition G-shock in the photos (Ref:
GW-M5600BC) and instantly fell in love with its retro 80’s looks, so I snuck in with a cheeky last second bid of £25 and she was mine !…and has rarely been off my wrist in all that time. I think I like that it’s pretty unassuming, it’s utterly classless, ( some may say tasteless) but rather like my old Land Rover Defender, you could be anybody at all with this – nobody would try to guess if you were a supermarket middle manager or a fighter pilot as they might do with other brands.
In a perfection obsessed profession like watchmaking, this watch of all the watches I could have chosen from is the perfect watch for me. Obviously it’s shockproof and lightweight, so perfect for when I’m thrashing around the drum kit in my spare time. It’s solar powered and keeps perfect time by receiving a time signal every morning so I never have to concern myself with changing batteries or the date, or take interest in its timekeeping performance from one week to the next. It also being a pre-owned watch means I don’t care about keeping it pristine -as can be seen by the photos! .. and finally being waterproof there are no hassles when it needs a good scrubbing.
An observation others have made is the strange fact that I’m not alone in my choice, a lot of watchmakers/horologists seem to wear crappy old watches. But let us be clear, the G-Shock is no ‘crap watch’. It’s a triumph of technical design and material science thanks to G-Shock inventor Kikuo Ibe’s clear determination, rigorous prototyping and testing. The result being a product simply fulfilling the role required of it with nearly four decades of proven reliability on the wrists of all who have chosen them.
This- however isn’t a love letter to all G-Shocks -seriously though have you seen some of those monstrosities?! This is more just my own thoughts and relationships with wristwatches, and that learning that what often looks great in swanky catalogues or on the wrists of others may just be an annoyance -or look just plain wrong on me.
I really believe all watches are to be worn, given the opportunity to acquire those signs of wear, it’s those that mean that it’s yours and not just being kept in mint condition for the next guy.
All watchmakers would want their watches to be fulfilling their destiny of performing the primary role they were designed and manufactured meticulously to do so. Not just worn on very rare occasions – but more to be a permanent companion, reliable and comfortable, and yes with a few dents, chips and scratches that show you are just living your life with your watch, rather like our fathers and grandfathers did, rather than keeping it like a precious and rare museum artefact- ready at a moments notice to photograph for Instagram …again.
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