A Little Bit About My Watch Obsession

I recently celebrated my 35th birthday. I wanted to give myself a nice gift. I wanted something that I deemed a 100% luxury item. Something that would just make me feel good for no reason. I wanted a watch.

A little backstory here. I can remember being in fifth grade, maybe ten years old, and being with my Dad when he bought his first Seiko. It was a memorable moment for me, even though I realize now that it wasn't like making the leap into a Rolex, or Omega purchase. He was really proud of that watch. It looked great. I remember him changing out the strap to better suit the watch and make it a bit classier. It was great to see him in that light.

Things are a bit different now. I realize that watches, especially in this day and age, are basically man-jewelry. We all carry really accurate timepieces that are constantly updating all the time: our phones. All the better in my mind. The watch purchase would be totally unnecessary and frivolous. I of course first looked at Seikos, because I am kind of a dork when it comes to tradition. I will always try to create a lineage in everything. It's like building heritage around you all the time. Kind of lame, but that's another story...

I've noticed Seiko watches on wrists for years. I have shopped for them on and off when I had an opportunity to try them on. I never had a good excuse to pull the trigger on one though. So this is how men work, right? We make an excuse. Now that I had one, I started looking in earnest. It was like cracking open Pandora's box. I am intensely anal about making any purchase over a couple hundred dollars. I want the best of the best in my price range, and because of the power of the internet, I am under the belief that the deal of the century is there if you are willing to dig deep enough. So I started searching.

As you would expect there are Seiko models that are available everywhere for just about the same price. There are nice watches here, no doubt. I simply wasn't seeing the kind of exclusivity I was seeking. There had to be more, and believe me there is. I had no idea that there existed this world of watch fanatics out there in the electronic mist. I guess I'm not all that shocked. You can search anything and there's a community of people out there that are so stoked to be connected with each other... Banana-eaters.com, Teapotcozyknitters.org, Weaselhunters.net, ad infinitum. The beauty of the internet lurks in these corners. So I am Alice, and down the rabbit-hole I go. Honestly, it has been a blast.

Originally, I was interested in the "Kinetic" series of watches, because after all, renewable energy is my gig. I didn't really know how this system worked at first, but it sounded really good. The back and fourth of your wrist throughout the day charges a small capacitor, which in turn runs the movement. That is, without a doubt, a very cool technology. But that's just it. The Kinetic system is a push into the future of what is fast becoming an "obsolete necessity." In an effort to continue to make watch sales in an environment that is less dependent on them, watches are stacking more and more functions (chronographs, altimeters, barometers, etc.) or are becoming more "bling," for a lack of a better expression. The middle ground is faltering. Or is it?

Deeper into the rabbit-hole.

I really cracked it open when I discovered, quite by accident, this page about the history of one particular Seiko model, which has never been available in the US. It was called the "Alpinist," and has been produced since the early sixties. The hook was in my mouth. There was no picture of this watch at the beginning of the article, only a beautiful Japanese print of a snowy landscape and mountains. Apparently, Japan has a rich history in mountaineering. As much so as Europe and the United States. The watch was designed especially for these intrepid souls who venture into the hills to conquer peaks and ultimately themselves: the Yamaotoko, the mountain-men. Or something like that. I totally fell victim to the romantic marketing, even though I was not the intended target. I have done a lot more climbing on rock than trudging up snow slopes, but I felt like this was about as close as I was going to get to a watch designed especially for climbers. And it was steeped in Japanese watchmaking tradition. Hook firmly set.

http://www.gmtplusnine.com/2009/02/14/the-alpinist-%E2%80%93-the-summit-of-seiko-branding/

As you can possibly imagine, these things aren't available in the checkout line at your local Target. They are relatively hard to come by. They can only be purchased from stores in the far east, and you have to wade through the dealers to find a reputable one. And then there's the price. A good two to three hundred dollars more than the locally available models. So what. I am not a rich man, but I'm not a poor man either. I liked the idea of purchasing something unnecessary from Japan. But I wasn't ready to wire the cash. There have been a few other speed bumps to slow me down on this purchase.

Pardon me, as I wax poetic... I wanted to look into the watch thing a little more if I was going to drop the mad coin on a piece of man-bling. What does "automatic" really mean? What's the real difference in movements? What are "jewels," and why does it matter if there are 21 or 23 or 25? I had a lot of questions. Enter Watchuseek. What a great site. Finding this was like adding a new room to the ManCave. I have a link to the site on this page, so I won't bore you with details that you can surely check out on your own. Besides, answering those questions was what I found really fun and interesting about the forums. The big deal, horologically speaking (you like that?), is the quality and artistry of design that goes into the build of a good watch, not to mention the precision of it's timekeeping ability. I was learning all kinds of stuff. And it made sense. If you are going to buy something like this, shouldn't it reflect your values in some way, however abstract?

I am not a luddite at all. I really dig the iPhone, fancy cars and haute-technology in all of it's forms. Having said that, I also have the heritage and tradition thing to contend with. There is beauty to me in the history of watchmaking. It was at one time, a cutting-edge science. Wearing a well designed and thoughtful mechanical watch seems to pay respect to this field of engineering that was made obsolete by the advent of the quartz movement and the computer chip. Even with my rudimentary knowledge of the subject, I can say without question that I would not want to own a quartz watch at this point.

So, this is the beginning of this saga. I have not purchased the Alpinist. Yet. It is still, after a month or so of research into all kinds of different brands, movements, styles, etc. is the one that I'm smitten with. I can see how a guy could slip into an unhealthy compulsion with purchasing watches. These dudes are out there in droves. I can't see myself in this group. For one, I don't have the cash for it if I am to continue to ride bikes and learn to ski, and have other expensive pusuits. But I am excited to have unearthed a new science that I can appreciate from my couch... with a finely crafted malted adult beverage in my hand.