#TBT My Four Vintage Watches Tied To Specific Occasions And Activities

Morning watch selection is a ritual that is special and specific for every collector. Many variables get involved, starting with the number of watches in someone’s collection. One’s current mood, the weather, planned activities throughout the day, and matching with certain clothes may also come into play. Today, I will focus on random, usual, memorable, or important events and how they manage to overrule anything else when I choose my watches.

Over the years, I have developed a pattern — we could even call it a superstition in some cases — for determining which watch to wear to the specific event waiting ahead. Choosing the same watch for the same event or activity over the years has slowly led to the development of a little mantra that makes sense to no one but me. Whether serious or fun, layering memories with specific watches has become an ongoing and never-ending game that makes my life a bit more joyful.

The classy Angelus Chronodato for a business pitch

I turned this prototype of an elegant dress watch into my game-winning watch. I started the tradition years ago when I took it on a foreign business trip. I did well, so I took it to the next one and the one after that. Looking at its condition, it’s quite hard to believe it dates to 1942. Importantly, the Angelus Chronodato is a “world’s first” title holder as it became the first full-calendar chronograph.

My Chronodato traveled all around Europe. The trips I remember clearly were to Romania, Denmark, Hungary, Italy, the Czech Republic, and the Netherlands. By looking at the dial, you’d likely guess that the movement ticking underneath is pretty delicate. It took me years to land a steel Chronodato in such a condition, but I knew I didn’t want it to be a safe queen. I treat it gently, but I have no problem taking it anywhere, even in heavy rain. It’s my lucky watch, and if I have to make an important business or investor pitch, it often goes with me.

My Seiko A829-6029 Rotocall for unexpected business

Next, we go from fine mechanics to cheap quartz. I wear my Seiko Rotocall on the days when I am not sure what to expect. That means mostly weekend “muscle” days when I am moving stuff around, lurking in the garage, or have no clear idea what I will be working on. Contrary to the event related to the Chronodato, I wear the Seiko Rotocall for the most mundane days spent doing activities I typically don’t remember much.

I love the Seiko Rotocall because, no matter how ordinary it looks, it’s so original. Adjusting the watch’s functions with the rotating bezel is beyond cool. And it’s almost a rule that I take the Rotocall on days when I need to use some of its functions. Through the years, the Seiko Rotocall has created an image of a durable watch for any dirty day ahead. I know I can rely on it.

A glossy black Vulcain Cricket for farewells

I didn’t want to put it in the header, but I will say it as it is: I wear this Vulcain Cricket to funerals. The tradition started maybe five years ago when my good friend’s dad died on vacation while holding his granddaughter and smiling at the camera. Moments later, he dropped down onto the sand and never woke again. However sad it was, we all wanted to comfort ourselves by believing it was a nicer way of leaving this world.

When I was dressing for the funeral, I realized I didn’t have a watch. A black-dial watch was a natural choice. My eyes landed upon a watch I had worn just once or twice before. It is a special version of Vulcain Cricket with angled lugs. You don’t see this Vulcain Cricket version often at all. The dial is pure stunner, and even Eric Wind, the Vulcain Cricket master, believes it is original to that case style.

The lume dots are my favorite detail on this watch. That tiny detail catapults this otherwise typical Cricket track into the realm of playfulness, which would’ve suited my friend’s dad. He always had a slight smile on his face and sparkles in his eyes. He was huge but had a gentle touch and a friendly, warm character. That’s what gold reminds me of. I don’t like funerals; who does, right? But when I have to go to one, my glossy black-dial Vulcain Cricket is the watch I choose.

My Gallet Snow White for summer trips

We are boiling here in the center of Europe. It has been maybe two or three weeks now when the temperature goes quickly, easily, and far beyond 30°C. A rainshower or storm comes here and there just to fool us because we are boiling again before we realize there are any raindrops on the streets.

I have to say I handle hot weather well. I don’t want to say I enjoy it much, but I don’t mind. And if there is any watch I love to take out for such weather, it’s my Gallet Snow White. It’s a watch that changes like a Hulk once it sees the light. The pearl-white dial is a pure stunner, but the Sun’s rays turn it into a living organism.

I once took it on a late-summer trip with my wife to Venice, and I was stunned at how the watch could come alive in daylight. For me, this dial is a symbol of the enlightenment, energy, and life we all get from the sunlight. Since that moment, if I go on a summer trip, I choose this watch. And that doesn’t exclude sporting activities. I even wore it on my 40th birthday, when I decided to take a day off. We took a spontaneous trip by car, hiked up a hill, and ended the day with a drink in a gallery.

What watches have you connected to specific events or activities? Feel free to share them with us and other readers in the comments!