There is a specific category of watch that it seems every microbrand must have in their portfolio: the vintage-inspired dive watch. Many of the most coveted vintage watches out there are mid-century divers such as the Rolex Submariner, the Omega Seamaster 300, and the Longines Super Compressor (now the Legend Diver), but good examples of these will go thousands of dollars at a minimum.
Watchmaking is full of gratuitous claims and overinflated marketing. One of the oldest is Rolex’s claim, still on their website today, that the Oyster Perpetual was the world’s first waterproof watch in 1926. These claims were the basis for Rolex’s reputation for reliability and ruggedness. While Rolex’s Oyster Perpetual was highly water resistant, it was not the first company to create a successful water-resistant design. That title belongs to Charles Depollier, who was fulfilling orders for the U.S. Army as early as 1919.
This is a new series in which I describe everything I dislike about watch collecting. They may or may not be hot takes. What I hope is that it generates discussion on the expansion of why we collect watches, and how that branches out into other aspects of our lives.
The grab-and-go quartz watch is a trope in this hobby. Similar to the line of thinking that “I have to have a chronograph, and a dive watch, and a dress watch,” the grab-and-go quartz is there to fill a niche, one which relegates the quartz watch to one of last resort. It’s a grudging admission of the functional superiority of the movement type, but doesn’t give it the dignity of something you would choose, if you had time.
In watch culture today, “tool watches” are those meant for physical activity; the gym, swimming, scaling Mount Everest, setting new freediving records – you know, the things we all do, all the time. In reality, every watch is a tool, regardless of its water resistance rating or its ability to survive a drop from a three-story building. Organizing human activity is a major logistical challenge, and many require timing and coordination, though the degree to which that’s true varies. Timing military operations to achieve maximum pressure on the objective needs a little bit more coordination than meeting with some friends for lunch across town (though that may depend on the friend group).
In 2022, Rado re-released the Over-Pole as a limited edition of 1,965 pieces. The diameter remains as svelte as the original at 37mm. The height of the case is 10.4mm, and the lug-to-lug is 43mm. The lug width is 19mm, and it has a water resistance rating of 100m, though it does not have a screw-down crown. The case is fully polished. Interestingly, Rado chose to use a manually-wound movement for this reissue, rather than the automatic movement an original Over-Pole would have used. The movement is known as the Rado R862, and is modified from a Powermatic 80 found in other Swatch group watches. It has 80 hours of power reserve, and the Nivachron hairspring to increase its anti-magnetic properties. The movement is well finished, and can be seen through the watch’s transparent caseback.
Atelier Wen first came on the scene in 2018 via Kickstarter, with its Odyssey and Hao models. Started by two Frenchmen, Robin Tallendier and Wilfried Buiron who met while studying abroad in China, and in collaboration with Chinese designers Li Ming Liang and Liu Yu Guan, they worked to develop a brand, and watches, that emphasized Chinese craftsmanship.
In early 2020, right before the pandemic struck, Raketa announced that they would be releasing a limited vintage reissue of one of their watches – the Polar. While Raketa already had a Polar model in stock, this one would be set apart by its complete adherence to the old design schematics from 1970.