If I had to choose one watch from my collection for endurance and serviceability, this Seiko Divers would be the watch. It’s been with me in multiple environments- in deserts, in forests, in saltwater and freshwater, and in the cold of both the Korean DMZ and Alaska. I was also wearing it in 1986 when I broke my leg on the worst airborne jump of my military career. My ankle required some metal implants to repair it, but the watch was hardly scratched.
Today, its roughest mission is to the gym.
It’s a quartz watch, and the second hand begins to mark off two-seconds intervals when the battery needs changing. It’s waterproof to 200 meters or approximately 656 feet (which means it can go places I can’t go); and has a unidirectional rotating bezel, with the first twenty minutes highlighted in bright red. The day-date is at the three o’clock position, and the day can be set in either English or Spanish. The crown, located at the 4 o'clock position, has a very efficient curving crown guard.
I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve replaced the flat rubber bracelet, and despite its age, the luminous hands and markers are still visible in low lighting. I have had the jeweler offer to switch out the scratched bezel, but I like the memories the scratches represent. Remarkably, the crystal is unscratched.
Today, Seiko offers many versions of this watch in both quartz and mechanical models. Despite the fact that some watch aficionados look down upon them, I highly recommend them. They’re durable, inexpensive and don’t have to be babied. (I actually had a case of 5.56 ammunition dropped on mine once, without damage.)
Seiko's most recent technical accomplishment was the development of a space watch for billionaire Richard Garriott that was worn during a space walk outside the International Space Station.
And while strolling down memory lane, here’s the oldest watch in my collection. It’s the Timex I wore in Army Basic Training right out of high school. I remember I bought it with the intention of it being a disposable watch; but miraculously it’s still with me. It not only survived several Army schools, but it also outlived several so-called G-Shock watches and an untold number of GI issue field watches. Today, I still use it while clearing and burning brush or doing outside work. I think every true watch enthusiast has at least one Timex in his collection.
This last photo is of my father’s last field watch, which I inherited after he passed away recently. During my Army career, he developed a fondness for OD Green field watches. As a result I would always buy him a new field watch for Christmas from the PX. When I left the service, the tradition continued and I would always include a field watch with his Christmas packages when he needed a replacement. He loved to putter and work outside and was very hard on his watches. This Orvis version of the GI watch was the last field watch he owned. Prior to end-of-year, I need to clean it up and replace the strap which is very worn due to dad’s continual outdoor use.
Update: Below is my father's Orvis field watch after I cleaned it up and placed a new NATO Nylon Strap on it.
John P.
If you're into watches, check out my other watch related blog posts:
1 comment:
That's the watch my Dad always wore when I was growing up. I've always loved it!
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