NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Randal Baker drowned early Sunday morning while on vacation with his family in the Bahamas. The event occurred just after an incident between the 32-year old accountant and the tour guide for Sunny Fun Day Underwater Tours.
“I don’t understand. I told Mr. Baker that it was time to surface,” Ramon, their tour guide explained “But he just kept looking at his watch and saying something about ISO standards and asking me if my Apple Watch was ISO COSC.” Ramon paused and then added in confusion “I wasn’t wearing an Apple Watch. I don’t know why he thought I was.”
Mr. Baker’s wife recalled how much her husband was looking forward to this vacation.
“I would wake up some nights and he’d be next to me on his phone, looking up different diver watches and reading reviews. ‘I need to make sure I can find something that will hold up to our dive.’
‘Honey,’ I’d tell him, ‘the Sunny Fun Day Underwater Tour website says it’s only 15 ft, won’t your Oris be fine?’
‘The Diver 65?! Are you crazy – it’s only 10 ATM!’ Eventually he bought a [redacted], calling it his ‘adventure’ watch'”
However, while readjusting his chest mounted GoPro underwater, experts determined that the bezel had just enough play to cost Randal his life.
The Sunny Dive Tour team was monitoring their dive time on a cellphone from the boat and keeping in radio contact with each other. But Mr. Baker had been monitoring the dive time on his newly acquired ‘Adventure Watch’ – the [redacted]. After the bezel play had occurred, there was a one to two minute discrepancy between the two monitored dive times.
Despite pleas and protests to resurface from the 15ft shallow dive, his last recorded words were to the effect that COSC ISO and the Watchfam wouldn’t let him down.
Co-Founder and Senior Editor
Kaz has been collecting watches since 2015, but he’s been fascinated by product design, the Collector’s psychology, and brand marketing his whole life. While sharing the same strong fondness for all things horologically-affordable as Mike (his TBWS partner in crime), Kaz’s collection niche is also focused on vintage Soviet watches as well as watches that feature a unique, but well-designed quirk or visual hook.