Latest Review
Our 3 for $5k series is back this week with a new entry from Worn & Wound contributor Blake Z. Rong. Blake is a Brooklyn based writer and while his selections here focus on modern watches, they reflect his personal interest in vintage, time tested designs, but in a playful and spirited way. These are not vintage recreations, necessarily, but reinterpretations of classic ideas, sometimes with a lighthearted twist.
If I could cut my collection down to three watches, I figure that I could someday live the rest of my life a happy man, satisfied only by the essentials and with no horrible combination of discretionary spending and emotional attachment to finite objects to distract me. So far, that has not proven the case. But if a person only needs three watches to truly be fulfilled in any scenario, then here’s what I would do in an alternate realm: three modern watches from brands both known and worthy of being rediscovered, and versatile enough to carry you from the beach to the boardroom. What are watches if not helping us dream of these scenarios?
Citizen Promaster Fujitsubo Titanium – $1,025
The irony of wearing a titanium watch is that it is a tremendously difficult material to work with: not only does it stick to machining tools, according to Citizen, but its discarded shavings also have the tendency to catch fire. And when you’ve made a watch with it, it’s so lightweight that it can feel like you’re wearing a piece of plastic. But that didn’t stop Citizen, which released the world’s first titanium watch in 1970. Since then, the watchmaker has been honing and refining the process to create beautiful pieces. The Promaster Fujitsubo is not only lightweight but highly scratchproof, reinforcing the “go anywhere, do anything” cliche that watch nerds like me like to fantasize about — in this case, diving into shipwrecks, or at least jumping into a swimming pool.
Serica Ref. 8315-2 GMT Travel Chronometer – $2,463
This one’s a showstopper: a beautiful deep red and white GMT colorway that makes you forget about the “Pepsi” look, paired with the quirky “Anti Meridiem” and “Post Meridiem” text on its ceramic bezel. The French brand calls it “Desert Red,” and while it’s perhaps more of a burnt orange, or aping the Rolex “Root Beer” GMT, it’s certainly distinctive enough to lean into its Gallic roots. A COSC chronometer-certified Soprod Calibre C125 movement and an intricate stainless steel bracelet that’s woven, folded, and machined — basically the modern interpretation of a Bonklip bracelet — cap off the entire package.
Baltic Hermetique Summer – $636
I’m a sucker for anything with a 3-6-9 dial, only because a Rolex Explorer 1016 is sadly (still) out of my price range. Which is why I was so drawn toward the layout featured on Baltic’s Hermetique collection: especially because with this latest release, the brand leans into the trend of brightly-colored dials that run the gamut from pastels to neons (the slightly more expensive references with browns and blues paired with bronze cases are great as well).
The overall effect is one of experimentation: Baltic calls this 37mm-sized offering a field watch, but the similarly-sized field watches of yore never looked this colorful or fun, especially when paired with rubber straps that match their dials. The result elevates this third watch in my hypothetical $5k collection into something more fun and versatile as opposed to leaning into the dressier or more formal side of things, as it allows you to wear it in any situation and still have fun with it. (Listen: if someone in your proverbial beach-to-boardroom lifestyle looks down on you for wearing a bright orange watch, then don either of the other two aforementioned watches and flex on how adventurous you are.)
