As you may already know my wife gifted for my 30th birthday a Roamer Skeleton. It is a beautiful watch with mechanical movement. It is my first mechanical wristwatch given as a gift by my wonderful wife. She knows me all too well. A little less than a year later I managed to secure a dream job, which meant a watch needed to be purchased to signify the importance of this milestone. We have arrived at my Tudor Black Bay 54. So far all my watches showcased a specific moment in life – turning 30 years old, securing a dream job in a different country, and getting a Master’s degree. Yes, before the Roamer I had a Seiko Solar Quartz watch gifted by my parents as a graduation gift. Talking Watches anyone?
However, there are only so many significant events justifying a watch purchase. I want a collection. Luckily, this latest acquisition may be a turning point in my watch collector’s journey. As my wife gifted me a watch for my 30th birthday, it would be reasonable to expect me to do the same.
We were walking in Brussels at the Royal Gallery of Saint Hubert when my wife noticed a beautiful Seiko. It has a steel case, no numerals, and automatic movement with a date indicator. Furthermore, it is from Seiko’s Presage series thus the dial is beautifully crafted. When we first saw the watch we did not go into the store to try it. However, it did stick in my mind. A couple of months later we finally went into the store.
This new watch is slightly bigger than the old one. It has a diameter of 30.3mm with a lug-to-lug width of 37.0mm. The thickness is a reasonable 10.9mm perfectly fit for a small wrist. This larger diameter was a requirement when looking for her next timepiece. She wanted something bulkier, preferably with a date indicator, a seconds hand, and a stainless steel bracelet. I require that it must be automatic, with no batteries including solar. The caliber is 2R05 holding 21 jewels and a power reserve of approximately 40 hours. This is a Seiko Presage Cocktail Time model. To obtain the dazzling effect of the dial (SRE007) several layers of transparent coating were applied before it was polished flat. The dial changes color depending on the natural or artificial lighting.
It is beautiful both in person and in photos. The only question upon trying it on was to buy it now or wait until the end of the year. As you might expect, we immediately bought it. The presumed store owner asked whether she wanted to put the new watch into a box or have it on the wrist. Of course, she chose the latter. With that, it should have been it. However, I have always wanted to go into a watch store to buy a watch for my wife and to find something for myself. My luck would have it that I managed to do just that.
As the owner wearing a beautiful Audemars Piguet Royal Oak went to adjust the bracelet, I walked around the floor to see what other watches they had on display. There among various Seiko divers, chronographs, and classic time-only watches sat this beautiful sand-colored (SRPJ83) Seiko 5. On a NATO strap. A little side note here, the shop is also the official boutique for Raidillon watches. Hopefully, you will hear more about those in the future.
How many of you even know what NATO straps are? To be clear, it has nothing to do with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. However, it has its roots in the military. “The initial debut of the NATO strap was by the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) in 1973. Back then, there was only one version and it had a singular tone: admiralty grey. Nicknamed the G-10, British Special Forces were required to fill out a G-1098 form before being issued the strap” (NATO). The material of a NATO strap is usually nylon for its durability and flexibility. Since some armed service members like to wear watches across their uniform, they require a long strap and a mechanism to be properly secured. Exactly what a NATO strap offers with its added length, strong material, and steel or brass buckles. “Where the term “NATO” derives from is due to the alphanumeric code used in the British MoD to identify all standardized material items of supply. The code was called the NATO Stock Number (NSN)” (ibid). Nowadays, NATO straps appeal to a large community of watch enthusiasts beyond only service members. Now you know.
I have a Seiko 5 Sports model. It is 36 mm in diameter with a 44.4mm lug-to-lug. The stainless steel case houses a Seiko 4R36 caliber with 40 hours of power reserve and 24 jewels. The movement frequency is 21600 beats per hour. Also, did I mention that my new watch was once featured in a Hodinkee article? Yes, now I have. Immediately I noticed that the day and date indicators were not perfectly aligned. Considering the price it is a minor detail not worth buggering about. For me, it gives that little extra spice to this wonderful field watch. It is meant to be used and abused, and put into extreme situations. Like office meetings, for example. This is a watch I bought because I genuinely liked it. More often than not people do extensive research before pulling the trigger on a piece. They read all available articles, watch countless hours of YouTube videos, and, unfortunately, read comments in forums and Hodinkee-like websites. With this particular Seiko 5, I did not do any of that. You buy what you like. Probably this approach works for watches under a specific price range, but let’s not dwell on details now.
This beautiful, vintage-looking watch may have opened the Pandora box. Furthermore, it proved that my preference for the Black Bay 54 is no coincidence. I am really into smaller watches. I am looking at your Rolex Explorer I 36 mm. However, that specific Rolex is a time-only watch. My collection requires a chronograph. Stay tuned.
There you have it. My wonderful wife finally has an automatic watch. I now have a Seiko with an automatic movement. Moreover, we went into a watch store intending to try a watch. We walked out with two watches, with a wonderful story on how we acquired them and a desire to return because those 39 mm Raidillon chronographs looked stunning.
Keep collecting my friends. Photo credit goes to my one and only: Laurukaa, drop her a DM if you need photos for your project/company.
Kindly,
Olaaf
