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State of the collection: 3 classic wristwatches that I bought in 2024
Summary
From a storied diver to a digital budget king and a vintage-style chronograph, here are three of my go-to watches of this year
If you follow horology YouTubers and especially watch Instagram, you’ll know that December is full of “state-of-the-collection" posts. While in the real world people get by with just one or two watches, for watch enthusiasts, their personal collection—whether one or dozens of watches—is an ever evolving beast.
In part, this is to do with the nature of such enthusiasm. With major brands launching dozens of different models every year, there are always new, fun watches to be experienced. And what better way to do so than to buy them? The money required is often raised by selling existing watches. As a result, collections tend to moult.There are exceptions to this, like watches with fond personal memories, or a hand-me-down from a parent or a grandparent.
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This year, I’ve made some additions to my collection as well: watches that I’d been eyeing for years, which happened to become available at just the right price and the right time. They have been relatively budget-friendly models too, and apart from looking great, tend to offer a ton of value.
Seiko SPB317
Let’s begin with the most expensive of the lot, the Seiko SPB317. This automatic diver, a re-issue of a famous 1968 dive watch, became a tool of choice for generations of recreational divers, scientists and soldiers. Seiko came out with this modern re-interpretation in early 2022, and I had been looking to add it to my collection since then. An opportunity came up earlier this year, and with the help of a healthy discount, I bought it.
The SPB317, nicknamed “The Slim Turtle" by the watch community, is a classic black-dial watch with a rotating timing bezel. Given its tool-watch characteristic, the stainless steel case is all brushed, while the bezel insert is classic aluminium. As an ISO-certified diver, the watch offers 200m of water resistance with a screw down crown, and excellent legibility thanks to the lume-filled hour markers and baton hands.
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The Slim Turtle is the ultimate everyday watch that you can take for any adventure, from snorkelling to mountaineering, to your office. It came with a rubber strap, but I wanted to elevate its looks further, something that I recently managed to do, by putting it on an all-brushed jubilee bracelet from the after-market bracelet and strap maker, Uncle Straps. To get a better sense of the importance of the model, I would liken it to the no-date Rolex Submariner, a forever-classic that forms the core of the brand’s offerings. With the SPB317, I’m glad to have fulfilled a long-standing collecting goal.
Casio F-91W
I love Casio. But then, who doesn’t? Despite being quartz watches, and largely digital at that, you will not find a single (real) watch enthusiast who will have anything but gushing praise for them. Much like Seiko, Casio has a huge line of watches, from analogue three-handers to classic digital watches, to the rugged, take-no-prisoners G-Shocks.
I own a fair few Casios, but the one that I bought earlier this year, for about the price of a burger meal, was the classic F-91W. This is the king of budget watches, and has held that position since it was first introduced in 1991. It’s a feature monster, with time, day, date, alarm function as well as a stopwatch. And though its water rating is what can be called “splash proof", in real life, it can survive anything, even a swim or a snorkelling session.
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If you were to look at this tiny watch and think, “only for the kids", think again. The F-91W, thanks to its ubiquity and accuracy, has been a staple in military forces around the world, as well in international espionage circles. In fact, the watch attained a degree of notoriety during America’s “War on Terror", because the F-91W digital module was being used by Al-Qaeda terrorists to create effective, homemade bombs. It isn’t the first time, nor probably the last, that members of terror organisations, as well as anti-terror forces, wore the same watch. Even in less hair-raising situations, this is a watch that can handle anything you throw at it, and will look damn good doing so.
Q Timex Chronograph
My final acquisition for the year was another watch that I’d been wanting to buy for about a couple of years. I have written about the Q Timex line before, and what a big success it has been. This has largely been due to the brand using its design chops to drop some great 1970s design cues into its lines of chronographs, GMTs and everyday watches.
It was the chronograph that captured my imagination, with its perfect recreation of classic panda-style dials (with three sub dials), paired with a robust quartz movement, excellent case finishing and bracelet. I went for the black dial version with cream sub dials for an “evil" Rolex Daytona look. It’s a stylish and useful watch that I would recommend, especially if you don’t want to splurge on mechanical chronographs.
So that’s been my picks for 2024. Write in and tell me about the watches you have enjoyed this year. Here’s wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Handwound is a column on watches and watchmaking.
