Editor’s note: This 3 watch collection for $5,000 is brought to us by reader RG Peredo. We love this collection for its unwillingness to compromise on quality in the service of one “main” piece. The three watches are varied, useful, and ultimately timeless.
You can make your submission to the Three Watch Collection – Reader Edition by filling out the form right here.
Choosing three watches is difficult, so many great options. If you take away the hype of market value on certain watches and which watches become popular, and have a higher demand I believe these three watches would serve anyone well. We all have a different way we approach watches and if I had to start over again and had $5,000 for a three watch collection, this is how I would start. I chose these three watches because I believe they offer a lot of value, but they also cover lots of bases. These three watches are flexible. I didn’t want to choose a $4,000 watch and two watches to accentuate that “main” watch, I wanted to choose three watches which would stand on their own individually, but also create a collection which would allow growth or just be the only three you’d “need.” By the way, there’s some money left over from the budget, enough for some straps to make these three watches even cooler.
This Seiko is a proper tool watch. It’s 44mm, it’s tough, it can withstand up to 200m in the water and looks great. The stainless steel case is robust, but not garish. Take it off the bracelet and throw it on a NATO and you’re set up for a daily wearer that has a date function and a timing bezel, both which we all should finally agree are useful! The black dial and black bezel make it easy to wear with anything and it just looks good! It’s also a Seiko and at this price point you really can’t get much better or cooler diver than a Seiko. The 6R15 Seiko movement has a respectable 50 hours of power reserve and of course hacking seconds, and antimagnetic, something I don’t think about often, but I appreciate when it’s part of the package. The Prospex SPB077 has a cool vintage Seiko design with all the trappings of a true tool watch and looks great, what’s not to like?
One of my biggest pet peeves with chronographs is that they are typically too thick for my liking. I understand that to keep prices down you need to use a modular movement, but 15-16mm thick cases are just not what I want in a chronograph. This beautiful Tissot is 39.5mm in diameter and ONLY 11.9mm thick! That’s incredible for this price point, or any for that matter. It uses an ETA 2894-2, so it’s reliable and easy to have serviced, plus it has a date to boot, which again, I know I should hate, but I do find very useful. I will admit the 4:30 date is usually hit or miss with most, but I do not mind. I have owned a few Heuer chronographs with this date implementation and I dig it, it’s quirky and there is a long history of this placement on a dial. I love chronographs, but 30 minute counters? I need more than a 30 minute timer in my life. Bi-compax designs are cool, but a 12 hour counter is functionally better for me, and you get that with this Tissot.
This watch is very elegant, as its namesake underlines it’s a design from the 40’s. This piece I should mention, has a hesalite crystal, which makes perfect sense for the styling of the watch. It’s debatably a “dress chrono” if you will, so you can have a watch that can be used in different situations in your repertoire. I would wear this with a suit no problem, with a tux probably not, but I almost never wear a tux. This is a great under the radar watch from a brand we all know but I think sometimes falls through the cracks. So to recap, 12 hour chronograph counter, 1940’s revival design, Hesalite crystal, slim and well proportioned stainless steel case, serviceable ETA movement, 42 hour power reserve and 100m water resistance offer serious value in a watch.
We have a no frills tool watch, a dressy chronograph and now my third choice, a remake of a perfect watch, in my humble opinion, the Longines ref: 5774, which is a 33mm watch designed for the French Navy. This watch is spartan, clean, easy to read, and has real history behind it. It’s a simple design that has lasted the test of time, no pun intended. The Longines Military MN has an ecru colored dial and simple, bold Arabic numerals, it’s housed in a 38.5mm case, all of which add up to a watch that’s easy to wear, and supremely legible. It has a 62 hour power reserve, no date function which keeps the dial clean, and now you have a piece you can wear when you want a cool, vintage watch that you can get wet (30m water resistance) and don’t have to be gentle with. I would probably wear this watch the most out of the three watches I chose, only because it’s a great looking simple three handed watch. This Longines is classic and rugged, it’s everything I’d want in an everyday watch. It’s simple, but far from boring.
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