At the beginning of 2023 there were four Seikos and one Timex in my watch collection. I start this year with five and three.
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The Timexes are handsome and, being quartz, keep perfect time. I wear them often. It’s the Seikos, though, that shine. Mechanical works of art, each of them, and every day I wear one is a special day … starting with the sacred ritual of winding and setting.
Will I get another watch (or two) this year? Most likely. One of my purchases in 2023 was a Chinese-made homage, an Omega Speedmaster lookalike with a Seiko movement. The same company makes a Rolex Submariner homage and I have one set aside on my Amazon wish list.
There’s a difference, at least to my mind, between homages and fakes. A fake Rolex will say Rolex on the dial. An homage, while designed to look like a Rolex or an Omega, will wear its own brand. It’s not trying to fool anyone. And when it comes to round-dial analog watches, there’s only so much you can do by way of design … most watches are homages, in one way or another, to watches that came before.
Whatever I add to the collection will be, for want of a better word, basic. I have three chronographs and two GMTs already, and that’s enough. I’d like to get a watch with a plain 12-hour dial and no other complications, but it’s hard to find one without at least a date window. I’d also like to find a straight mechanical watch, one that has to be hand-wound … they still make ’em, but they’re not cheap.
Oh, and we need new shingles on the roof, so additional watch purchases will have to take the back seat. Which is fine. God knows, when it comes to choosing what to wear on my wrist any given day, I have a great selection to pick from, and if I get bored with any particular one I can always put a different band on it!
When I post watch photos on Instagram, I always include the hashtag #bigseikolittledick. I’ve been doing it for a couple of years now. So far no one else has used it, so I guess it’s my brand now. Which is what all the cool kids on Instagram have, right? Brands?
Stay fresh, cheese bags!