A sheep dressed like a doctor is examining a Seiko watch with a stethoscope. The doctor is joyous; apparently, they were able to repair the watch. There are a number of other animals standing around the watch. They are also celebrating.

Tess’ watch collection

My father’s love of watches rubbed off on me as a child, and I’ve never shaken the bug. My collection is pretty eclectic, but I’m fond of it. Elsewhere on the internet: I’m a member of 49 Crowns, a San Francisco Bay Area watch club. I’m on WatchCrunch, a social media site for watch geeks. jae and I used to post about watches as on cohost (RIP).

Watches ()

Baltic

I love Baltic’s retro-meets-modern aesthetic, and their build quality is hard to beat at their price.

A wrist shot of a stainless steel dive watch. It has a navy blue sunburst dial, a navy blue bezel insert, and faux patina indicies, hands, and bezel markings. It’s on a navy blue tropic rubber strap.
Baltic Aquascaphe in blue gilt

After eyeing them online for months and months, I picked up a blue gilt Aquascaphe Classic at the 2022 San Francisco WindUp Watch Fair. I originally bought it on their blue tropic rubber strap, though I later picked up their beads of rice bracelet for it too. (You can see the bracelet below, on my MR01.) I most often wear it on an Hermès single tour I pilfered from my Apple Watch.

A stainless steel watch on a beads of rice bracelet. The dial is salmon-colored, with Breguet numerals. There’s a subdial at 7:30 with the running seconds hand.
Baltic MR01 with a salmon dial

I’ve also got a salmon-dial MR01 which I posted about on cohost. I love its applied Breguet numerals, dial texture, and overall thinness. A great dress watch that you can dress down as well. I also picked up one of their straight beads of rice bracelets for it.

Bertucci

A field watch on an olive-green nylon strap. The crown is at 4:00. The dial is cream-colored, with very legible black arabics at the hours.
Bertucci field watch

I have a Bertucci field watch that for the life of me I can’t find on their website. (The caseback claims it’s an A-2S DX3.) It’s the first field watch I ever bought. I picked it up in the mid-aughts, pre-transition, and rarely wear it these days. It’s in great condition if you’re in the market for a rugged and reliable quartz field watch with fixed lugs.

Bulova

A mint-green watch with a blue-green rubber strap is on somebody’s wrist. It has a brown dial with a wave pattern on it. There’s a dive-style bezel with silver and green elements.
Bulova Snorkel — Sea Turtle

Bulova’s decided to get into the "MoonSwatch" game with a hybrid ceramic version of its Oceanographer line of dive watches. The colorway that spoke to me is the Sea Turtle: it’s got a sea-foam green case, a brown dial, and a darker green strap and bezel segment. A fun piece for summer.

Cartier

A stainless steel, rectangular dress watch. The dial is white, with black Roman numerals for hour markers. The hands are blued. It’s on a double tour black leather strap.
Cartier Tank Must

I gave myself a small Tank Must on leather for a promotion I got at work. A few months later I also picked up the bracelet for it (which you can see here), as well as a double tour strap from ABP. The Tank is, quite simply, the most iconic ladies dress watch, but it’s so much more than a dress watch! It dresses up and down so well. I love pairing it with a T-shirt, jeans, and sneakers just as much as I enjoy wearing it to formal occasions.

Casio

A gold-tone digital watch with a black face surrounding the positive display. Behind the watch is a computer keyboard.
A159WGEA-1VT

It’s hard to go wrong with a teeny tiny gold Casio, and my A159WGEA-1VT fits the bill perfectly. A wonderfully nostalgic piece.

A silver-tone digital watch with a black face surrounding the positive display.
A171WE-1A

Speaking of teeny-tiny Casios, I also have this rounder, silver-colored A171WE-1A. Love the 80s vibe of both of these.

A steel-tone digital watch with a complex, faceted display. In the upper left, there’s an analog time display. In the upper right, a world map with the current time zone highlighted. At the bottom, a digital readout of the current time.
AE-1200WHD-1AV

I also have an AE1200 World Time, AKA the Casio “Royale.” It makes a great budget travel watch.

Citizen

A steel sports watch with a bright yellow face. Simple stick hour markers and hands. There’s a cyclops at 3:00 to help read the date complication.
NJ0150-81Z

I have a Citizen “Tsuyosa” integrated bracelet sports watch—specifically, the NJ0150-81Z, the one with the yellow dial. I’ve also got a leather strap with color-matched contrast stitching for it. At its price point I think it’s just about the nicest looking Genta-inspired retro-70s sports watch on the market. Its only rivals are the three different Zenshin models Citizen recently released.

A steel dive watch on a bright blue rubber strap. The dial and bezel are navy blue.
EO2028-06L

This is the EO2028-06L, one of the 37mm Promaster dive watches. I assumed I would never get a Citizen dive watch—they’re usually way too big for me—but when this dropped I couldn’t resist. Though pictured here on the bright rubber strap it came on, it spends most of the year on an Islander bracelet I’ve got for it.

Direnzo

A steel sports watch. It has a baby blue dial and it’s on a matching baby blue rubber strap. There’s a date complication at 6:00.
DRZ 04 Mondial

I’ve a light blue DRZ 04 Mondial. It really stands out among the crowd of microbrands jumping on both the Genta-esque integrated bracelet steel sports watch and Tiffany dial trends. I’ve got both a bracelet and a strap for it. I love the curvature of the chapter ring—it gives the whole dial this really compelling bowl shape. I wrote up a short review on cohost.

Erebus

Helloooooo!

A steel watch is center frame, with a bold red dial with white hands and indices, a black, rotating, dive-time bezel, and an H-link bracelet.
red-dialed Erebus Origin 41 on a flat-link bracelet

I love how much this dial pops. The bracelet is very comfortable, and the on-the-fly size-adjust feature of the clasp is great. It also came with two very comfortable FKM rubber straps and a decent NATO.

A steel watch is center frame, with a bright pink dial with white hands and indices, an aluminum, rotating, dive-time bezel, and an H-link bracelet.
pink-dialed Erebus Origin 38 on a curved-link bracelet

This is the most vibrant pink dial I’ve ever seen. Very similar to my other Origin, but this size suits my wrist a bit better, I think.

A shiny watch with a purple fumé dial is worn on the wrist of somebody in a purple sweatshirt.
Erebus Ascent

When the Ascent dropped I picked up two—an aventurine for my dad and the (since discontinued) purple fumé for me.

G-Shock

I have way too many G-Shocks.

A yellow plastic digital watch with a black dial surrounding a positive display.
DW-5600REC-9

The "First Yellow" color used for my DW-5600 and my CasiOak is a color I strongly associate with my youth. I had a Sony Sports Walkman in this exact color. Besides the nostalgia factor, yellow is one of my favorite colors and it’s a great color for an accent piece like this square.

A black plastic digital watch with a black dial surrounding a positive display.
GW-M5610U-1

This is my GW-M5610U-1. The simple black square is the watch that has flown in space more often than any watch other than the Omega Speedmaster. It’s inseperable in my mind from the Shuttle program. Growing up, I was (and still am) a complete and utter space nerd, and I really enjoy wearing this tangible connection to the NASA of my youth. (For my other space watch, see my rotocall below.)

A mint green plastic digital watch with a positive display.
GMD-S5600BA-3

I have two JDM GMD-S5600BAs. This one, the GMD-S5600BA-3, is a mint green.

A lavender plastic digital watch with a positive display.
GMD-S5600BA-6

While this one, the GMD-S5600BA-6, is lavender in color. They both feature positive displays.

A black plastic digital watch with a black dial. There are four positive displays: three circular displays in a row at the top, and a date and time readout at the bottom. Below the dial is a large black button with a G in the middle.
GW-6900-1

I have two tri-graphs. The first is a GW-6900. It’s solar powered and automatically sets itself from an atomic time radio signal.

A black plastic digital watch with a black dial. The text on the bezel, dial, and strap is in green and purple. There are four positive displays: three circular displays in a row at the top, and a date and time readout at the bottom. Below the dial is a large black button with a purple G in the middle.
DW-6900FS

And my other tri-graph is this Neon Genesis Evangelion-themed limited edition DW-6900FS.

A yellow plastic analog/digital watch on a matching yellow plastic strap. The display is a dark gray, with a sunburst effect. The hour markers and hands are white.
GA-B2100C-9A

I have a yellow ani-digi "CasiOak" in the GA-B2100 line.

A white plastic analog/digital watch on a matching strap. The dial and indicies are also white, while the hands are silver.
GMA-P2100-7A

I also have a little white CasiOak from the new GMA-P2100 line.

A turquoise plastic analog/digital watch. The display is black. The hour markers, hands, and several other elements on the dial have parts in the same turquoise as the case and band.
GA-B001G-2A

The other ani-digi in my collection is a turquoise piece from the GA-B001 line.

Grand Seiko

A champagne-dial four-hand dress watch. The case, indicies, and hands are high polish steel. There’s a fourth hand, blued, with an arrow tip, that’s about as long as the hour hand. It points to an inner, 24-hour track. There’s a date complication at 3:00. The watch is on a brown leather strap.

After lusting after the thing for way too long, I picked up an SBGM221 while visiting Japan in 2023. It’s exquisite in every detail. I honestly don’t know what else to say about it. It’s perfect. While it’s pictured here on the brown leather strap it came on, I usually wear it on blue sailcloth.

Hamilton

Someone in a yellow hoodie and khaki green pants is wearing a steel watch. The case finish is bead-blasted. The dial is stark white, with black arabics at each hour. The hands have a faux patina lume applied. The watch is on a gray nylon strap with a lighter gray centerline.
38mm Khaki Field Mechanical

I have a white dial Khaki Field Mechanical 38mm that I picked up from a fellow 49 Crowns member. This is probably the best major-brand Swiss watch at this price point. The simple, monochromatic dial and classic military design help this watch look good on just about any strap you throw it on. In this photo I have it on an MN strap from Erika’s Originals.

The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum

A gold-colored watch is being worn on a black leather strap. The watch has a blue dial, which features JFK’s presidential seal on it. The bezel is silver in color, and features a mixture of Roman numerals and stick indicies.
Presidential Seal Wrist Watch

My mom gave this to my dad many years ago, and they passed it along to me last Christmas. It’s a reminder that not all American presidents have been enormous pieces of shit.

Merci

A simple watch on a black strap. It has a black dial, with white Arabic numerals as hour markers. The seconds hand is red.
Merci LMM-01

The LMM-01, famously worn by French President Macron, is a simple, down-to-earth mechaquartz field watch. It’s a no-nonsense daily wearer that looks good on many straps.

Mühle Glashütte

A modern-looking watch with a cream-colored dial and a gray rubber strap. The dial has triangles at 12, 3, 6, and 9 in the same gray as the strap. The seconds hand and the tick mark at the 49 second mark are in orange.
Mühle Glashütte S.A.R. Rescue-Timer
49 Crowns Limited Edition

The story of the S.A.R. Rescue-Timer is a fascinating one—Mühle and Deutsche Gesellschaft zur Rettung Schiffbrüchiger, the German Maritime Search and Rescue Service, worked together to develop a tool capable of standing up to the rigors of Baltic operations. Adam worked with them for over three years to craft this unique, 49-piece variant on it for 49 Crowns, our Bay Area watch club. I have number 16. My favorite detail is the orange 49 second marker.

Nodus

A steel sports watch is on somebody’s wrist. The watch has a pink, textured dial with wedge-shaped indicies cut out of it. There’s a matching pink bezel.
Nodus Unity - Blossom Pink

I first saw the Nodus Unity at the WindUp Watch Fair in 2023, and it bounced around in my head for a whole year. I decided, on my way to the 2024 edition of the fair, to pick one up if I saw one, but Nodus weren’t there! Fortunately, they are on the Internet.

Omega

see the Swatch section below for info about my MoonSwatch.

A vintage Omega watch on a pink sailcloth strap. The watch has a cushion case, with simple stick indicies and hands on a sparkly silver dial. Theres a day-date complication at 3:00.
Omega Seamaster Cosmic 166.036

My mother went on a trip to Switzerland in the late 60s. Before she went she asked her father for help picking out a gift for her brother. He immediately described in rather precise detail the exact watch to get him: the Seamaster Cosmic ref. 166.036. She ended up buying two of them: one for her brother as planned, and one for her dad as well. I inherited my grandfather’s when he passed in the 80s.

Orient

A simple, high-polish, steel dress watch with a champagne dial. The watch has blue hands and a date complication at 3:00. It’s on a navy blue leather strap.
RA-AC0M04Y10B

The Bambino makes an excellent dress watch at a very affordable price point, but they’ve always been too big for my liking. With the recent release of a 38mm line, I finally picked one up—the RA-AC0M04Y10B, with a champagne dial and blue hands. A very pretty dress watch you don’t ever have to stress about.

RZE

A metal watch with yellow details is on a yellow strap. The large display is digital, and very legible.
UTD-8000

The UTD-8000 is such a fun, modern-yet-retro take on the digital watch. It’s got this chunky, masc energy but, being made of titanium, it’s much lighter on-wrist than it looks like it ought to be. I also have the matching titanium bracelet.

Seagull

A champagne-dial steel chronograph on a red leather strap. The watch has blue hour and minute hands, and blue hands on each of the two sub-dials at 3:00 and 9:00. The center chrono hand is red. Gold arabics are at the even hours, while arrow indicies are at the odds.
Seagull 1963

I love my 38mm Seagull 1963 though I’m pretty sure it’s a clone and not the legitimate one (if any can even be called that). It’s a beautiful chronograph with an interesting history that I got at a great price. The ST1901 movement is a real pleasure to look at through the exhibition caseback.

Seestern

A steel dress watch on a navy blue leather strap. The case is high polish and has lyre lugs. The face is baby blue in color with vertical brushing throughout. Simple stick indicies mark the hours except for at 3:00, where there’s a date complication. The hour and minute hands are silver swords, while the needle seconds hand is blue.
Seestern GS Homage

Like with other AliExpress brands, what Seestern lacks in originality they (at least somewhat) make up for in quality-per-dollar. Their Grand Seiko homage has a decent-looking 62GS-esque case with an NH35 inside. I wrote a bit about it on WatchCrunch.

Seiko

A steel watch with a white dial. There’s a steel bezel with 24-hour markings around the watch’s crystal. The dial is marked like a traditional field watch. There’s an orange GMT hand which tracks a second time zone, and there’s a date complication at 3. The watch is on a dark gray NATO strap.

When I was in Japan in April 2024 I had every intention of picking up one of these JDM Seiko 5 GMT field watches, but all of the stores I went to were sold out of it. So I used Buyee to pick it up after I got home. This is my only 4R34/NH34-powered caller-style GMT.

A steel dress watch on a steel H-link bracelet. The dial has a complex, geometric pattern with radial symmetry. The dial is navy blue at the outer edge. It gets lighter as you move toward the center. There’s a color-matched date complication at 3:00.

I have one piece from the "Cocktail Time" line of Presage dress watches: SRPJ13 "The Aviation". I love it, but for one detail—I dearly wish it had drilled lugs. I’ve never managed to remove the bracelet, though I’ve tried several times. I think this would look fantastic on a strap.

A large pilot’s watch on a brown leather strap. The watch has a champagne colored dial, simple stick hands, and large arabics at all of the hours except for 3:00, where it has a date complication. The aluminum bezel and the champagne chapter ring have slide rule markings, enabling the wearer to do a number of calculations.

I have two Prospex tool watches. The first is a Sky Aviator Pilot SRPB59. You don’t see many pilot watches that pair a clean, legible dial with a slide rule bezel. And at 44.7mm across, this is just about the biggest non-G-Shock I can get away with on my dainty wrist.

A steel, cushion-case dive watch on a pink rubber strap. The dial is white and the bezel insert is black. Stick indicies mark the hours, and there’s a circular date complication at 4:30. The tip of the seconds hand has one lumed section and one red section, resembling a stop light.

The second is an SPB313 "Slim Turtle" I bought at Topper. I absolutely love the cushion case of Seiko’s turtle divers, but until the slim turtle came out in 2022, they were all just too big for me. This is probably the single watch I wear the most often.

A steel digital watch on a black rubber strap. The positive digitial display is divided in two. The upper half displays the day and date, while the lower half displays the time. An octagonal rotating bezel surrounds the black dial. Each side of the bezel is labeled with a function. The upper right bezel segment is organge; the rest of the bezel segments are black. The bezel has a red rubber strip along the edge for easier gripping.

I have a vintage A829-6040 "Rotocall" which I adore. Like the black square, these watches flew on many Shuttle missions, including on the wrist of Sally Ride, the first lesbian (and first American woman) in space. Its unusual bezel is how you switch modes.

Serica

A black dial field watch. The hours are indicated with both 12- and 24-hour markings. The hour hand has a broad arrow tip, reminiscent of Omega watches from the 1950s. The steel case features a number of brushed and polished surfaces. It’s on a vintage-inspired bonklip bracelet.
Serica 4512 WMB

The discontinued 4512 field watch from Serica is a love letter to mid-century military watches with a thoroughly modern sensibility. I’ve got the one with the WMB dial. I love the broad arrow hour hand, the vertical brushing on the bezel, and its Goldilocks size. This thing is a total strap monster, just like my Khaki Field Mechanical. You can put it on anything. Though you may not want to—it comes on a Bonklip bracelet from Joseph Bonnie that’s as comfortable as it is light and airy. It perfectly matches the vintage-inspired aesthetic of the watch itself.

Swatch

A transparent, ’jelly’ style quartz watch with red, blue, and yellow hands. In addition to the case and strap, the dial is also transparent, so the movement is visible.
SO28K100 Clearly Gent

Much like Casio, Swatches primarily occupy a nostalgic place in my collection. I have a Clearly Gent, their recent re-issue of arguably the most iconic Swatch of all time and the one that screams the 80s to me in the loudest, clearest voice.

A wrist shot of a small plastic watch. It’s white, blue, and brown, and has several images of a woman, each in the style of ancient Greek art.
Swatch Lady Sappho LV101

For Christmas 2023 Eryn’s mom Betsy gave me this purple, brown, and white NOS Swatch Lady Sappho LV101 from the early 90s. I love it.

A baby blue watch on a pink perlon strap. The watch case and dial are baby blue, while the tachymeter bezel is white. The watch has three sub registers at 2:00, 6:00, and 10:00.
SO33L100 Mission to Uranus

Six months after unsuccessfully waiting in line on launch day, I managed to time a visit to Swatch’s Union Square boutique just right and picked up one of the Omega × Swatch Bioceramic MoonSwatches—specifically, the Mission to Uranus. It’s a great, casual summer piece in such a fun colorway.

TAG Heuer

A wrist shot of a small, plastic watch. It’s got a pink case and dial, and a gray bezel and strap.
My vintage Formula 1 360.508

TAG introduced this fun, colorful line of fiberglass quartz watches right after acquiring Heuer in the late 80s. Mine is reference 360.508, a pink and gray ladies’ model from 1987 that sports a pre-merger Heuer crown. At some point the collection took a real luxury turn; the modern Formula 1 chronograph doesn’t feel playful and approachable like the original lineup. I dig the new Solargraph that revisits the classic’s design language.

Timex

A simple field watch on a black fabric strap. The face is dark gray, with faux patina hour markers. White arabics are in 12–3–6–9 formation, and the hour hand has a broad arrow tip.
Standard 40mm Fabric Strap Watch

I have the rather generically-named Standard 40mm Fabric Strap Watch. The dial design and broad arrow hour hand are quite reminiscent of one of my favorite Omegas, the Railmaster ’57—though unlike a Railmaster, this one will only set you back $79. I posted a review of it on WatchCrunch.

A steel dress watch on a steel bracelet. The face is baby blue, with steel Breguet numerals as hour markers.
TW2V62600 Timex × Cara Barrett

The Timex × Cara Barrett collaboration is a fun everyday watch with a pretty baby blue dial, well-executed Breguet numerals, and classic proportions. The cabochon on the crown is a lovely touch.

A cushion-case watch is on a mesh bracelet. The dial of the watch is a subtle sunburst, a bit pink in the middle, fading to white at the edge, with a honeycomb pattern on it. The hands are green.
TW2W54200 Timex × Worn & Wound WW75 22

A year or two ago the folks at Worn & Wound collaborated with Timex on the WW75 Limited Edition. In 2023 they released two new colorways, the Timex × Worn & Wound WW75 v2. I picked up the one with the pink dial. It’s a very subtle pink, appearing almost white in some lighting, but consistenly photographing less pink than it actually looks to the eye. I love its cushion case & vintage sizing that works on any wrist.

A steel dress watch on a steel bracelet. The face is baby blue, with steel Breguet numerals as hour markers.
TW2Y48000 Timex Intrepid × Dimepiece

I got myself a Timex Intrepid × Dimepiece for my birthday in 2025. It’s a fun reboot of a 90s classic, at a much more reasonable 36 mm. I love the warmth of the cream dial and the little splashes of purple Brynn sprinkled around.

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