Watch Snob: A Worthy Seiko

Seiko

“Prius, Seiko, sci-fi — enough said. The man is clearly a flaming nerd.“

An Appropriate Upgrade

Dear Snob,

My father is turning 65 soon, and I have recently started searching for a new watch to give him on his birthday. My father is an architect and loves sci-fi movies/books, drives a Prius and has worn the same Seiko quartz watch for the last 20 years. He rarely wears a suit and is more business casual on a day-to-day basis. Most importantly, he is a very loving father who has always placed our family ahead of himself through many ups and downs in his career. I have done financially well enough to the point where I would really like to buy him a nice timepiece. I would, however, like to stay within the $10,000 range. I have been reading your articles and find them very enlightening and entertaining, so I would very greatly appreciate your recommendations on a new watch for my father. Thank you for your time.

Never mind buying him a timepiece; it sounds like you’re putting your father up for sainthood. Prius, Seiko, sci-fi — enough said. The man is clearly a flaming nerd. And while I would ordinarily recommend something with a slide rule, like a Breitling Navitimer, it doesn’t sound like your father would properly appreciate the macho-test-pilot image associated with the watch. Also, given his preference for quartz and a battery-powered car, a fully mechanical watch may not be the most fitting choice.

So, as much as it pains me to advise this, I am going to suggest you buy him another Seiko, but one worthy of some horological respect. The Spring Drive GMT, with the Calibre 9R inside, while not a purely mechanical watch, is also most definitely not a quartz. While some like to gush over the Spring Drive movement as being the greatest advancement in watchmaking, I’m not totally convinced. But this is a case where the Seiko name on the dial will appeal to your father’s no doubt Lutheran humility and his nostalgia for his old watch (please drive over that one with the Prius immediately), and its hybrid movement will appeal to the nerd in him.

Glashütte Original: The Watch Snob’s Take

Snob,

I find myself in need of your advice and can think of no other who might understand this predicament I’m in. About two years ago, after a long and careful consideration, I purchased a Glashütte Original Senator Navigator Panorama Date at a good price from a reputable luxury watch dealer.

The other day I went to set it and the entire stem pulled completely out of the case! I would have expected this watch to last several lifetimes if treated with care and serviced occasionally. I’ve only had it two years and babied it the whole time. I immediately sent it back to the dealer, who, much to its credit covered the repair, even though the watch was over a year out of warranty. That’s great news and all. It’s just now I’m just not so sure this watch will turn out to be what I had hoped. This G.O. Pilot is supposed to be the Real Deal! The original tool watch, so to speak. I would think it could take at least a minimal amount of abuse, much less the simple daily wear I subject it to. Now I’m in a quandary about whether I should sell the refurbished (but diminished in my eyes) watch when it returns from the watchmaker and just get a J. LeCoultre Reverso or something. Your opinion on this matter would be most appreciated.

The scales have been lifted from your eyes in more than one respect, young man. Part of the beauty of a well-made mechanical watch is that it is made by human hands and is a small, intricate machine. There will always be flaws, and machines can malfunction from time to time. Conversely, when the great majority of these magnificent mechanisms do work perfectly, it makes them all the more satisfying. Be happy that the company stands behind its product and will no doubt return it to you in a condition befitting the brand.

Secondly, cast aside your illusions that a Swatch Group homage to a 1940s-era Luftwaffe-issued timepiece is the “original tool watch.” The Glashütte Original Navigator is as close to the old Lange, IWC, Stowa, Wempe, and Laco Fliegers as a Gulfstream G450 is to a Spitfire. I can guarantee those “original tool watches” failed far more regularly than modern watches do, and probably in far more dire circumstances than yours did while you were winding it in your bathrobe.

Question From A Watch Knob

Hi Snob, 

What was on your Christmas list, Snob, and did you get what you wanted?

My Christmas wish was the same as it is every year: a doppelgänger who can answer all the inane questions from readers like you. Alas, Santa holds a grudge against the Snob — presumably for that comment I made about his red Swatch — and all I received was your silly question. Humbug.