Reviews

Yacht-Master in yellow gold. Some men consider this excessive. I consider those men to be men who cannot afford Yacht-Masters. There is a distinction between excess and correctness. This watch is not,…

The Batman GMT-Master II. Ceramic bezel in blue and black. Cerachrom, they call it - a name that suggests they consulted a linguist. I wear this when traveling to London for meetings. It is important …

The 5711/1A. Genta-designed integrated case in stainless steel. Blue dial with the horizontal grain. Discontinued, which of course only increases its desirability. I own one - two, actually - and I ha…

The President. Rolex Day-Date reference 1803 in yellow gold. This is the watch a man wears when he has decided that he is a man of consequence. I have three of these. The dial variations matter. The W…

The Datejust reference 1601 in stainless steel. Fluted white gold bezel. Oyster bracelet. Automatic caliber 1570 inside. My father wore a Datejust. His accountant now wears one, which is troubling, bu…

The Submariner reference 5513. Vintage. Matte dial. This is the correct Submariner - everyone at the office knows that, or ought to. Reese wore a modern Submariner last Tuesday and I noticed immediate…

One asks: what is added to a diving watch by placing diamonds around its bezel? Upon examination, nothing. The diamonds do not improve legibility, buoyancy, or accuracy. They are, in the classical sen…

Let us examine this Hublot. Its case bears the fingerprints of at least four materials: titanium, rubber, ceramic, gold. To what end? Does it measure time more accurately than the Casio F-91W, which c…

Simplicity in a modern era. Black dial, no wave, no marketing gimmick. This watch answers the question 'what should a modern dive watch be' the same way the 5513 answered it decades before. The answer…

The Tank Louis Cartier. Take the Normale, refine it further, and this is what you have. I ask myself: is refinement always improvement? In some cases - a proof, a sculpture, an argument - the answer i…

The Submariner in its purest form. What use is a diving watch? To measure time underwater. What does it require? A rotating bezel, luminous markers, a robust case. Anything else is decoration; and dec…

The Bauhaus principle, that form must follow function, is itself a philosophical position. If one accepts it fully, one arrives at this watch. If one rejects it fully, one arrives, I fear, at Hublot. …

This watch was made to accompany men to the moon. It succeeded in that mission. I ask: ought we to judge a tool by anything other than the completion of its purpose? The chronograph's purpose was fulf…

Consider: this watch, costing less than a philosophy textbook, tells time with perfect accuracy. It has no ornament, no pretension, no claim to being anything other than what it is. Ought we to consid…

The Explorer poses a simple question: what does a watch need? A dial, hands, numerals at the cardinal positions, and a case robust enough to accompany one on a genuine journey. In answering this quest…

In the Tangente we find the essence of the wristwatch made manifest. Numbers indicating the hours; hands indicating the position of those hours; a plate to hold both. What could be added that would no…

Platinum dive watch with diamonds on the bezel. Man. Look. If you're going 600 meters deep, you don't need diamonds. Diamonds don't help you dive. The diamonds are just there because someone decided t…

This is what I'm talking about, man. This aggression will not stand. Ceramic, titanium, rubber, whatever it is. This thing looks like something Karl Hungus would wear. Watches don't have to look like …

The vintage Datejust. Look, I'm not saying it's a bad watch. It's actually a good watch, man. But it belongs on a certain kind of dude - accountants, lawyers, guys who wear jackets to Ralph's - and I …

OK look, Grand Seiko is normally not my scene, man. Too fancy. But this dial? This Snowflake thing? Whatever, man. It's kinda beautiful. I saw one at some Japanese steakhouse and I sat there staring a…