After a long winter, we’re finally beginning to see signs of spring here in the northeastern part of the United States. While it wouldn’t be unusual at all to get one or two additional big rounds of snow in March (or even April), this time of year the white stuff doesn’t hang around too long, and cold days are outnumbered by those where we’re teased by warmer weather to come. You know what I’m talking about. Those afternoons where it’s not quite warm enough to enjoy a patio cocktail with friends, but it’s close, and you can almost lose the jacket. It’s almost enough to have us reaching for the summer watches. We might decide to put one on a little early just for the hell of it, in an attempt to manifest the warm spring weather we all deserve after months of carefully negotiating icy sidewalks and the grim grayness of our cities covered in salt.
What is a summer watch? It’s a question we grapple with every year, usually when the weather begins to turn, and everything else we begin to wear gets lighter, airier, and brighter to match the season. Of course a watch doesn’t actually have a season the way a boot or a jacket does. Your wrist doesn’t have specific requirements related to temperature. A summer watch is just about capturing a vibe. If summer is about relaxation, vacation, indulgence, and warmth, the watches that most closely match that kind of attitude are not going to be, for example, found on alligator straps. They’ll hopefully have some color. And they absolutely have to look the part if you’re sitting on a beach, or at an outdoor bar, or anywhere near a pool.