The Three Watch Collection for $5,000: Reader Edition – Noel D.

Editor’s note: In this Three Watch Collection for $5,000, reader Noel D. gives us a succinct and meaningful trio of watches that cover a range of bases. While the bulk of it goes toward a single watch, the other two fill equally important roles in what they bring to the collection. I love the sentiment in this collection, and the sense of responsibility it brings in the process. We are shepherds of these things, after all. 

You can make your submission to the Three Watch Collection – Reader Edition by filling out the form right here.

If you’re going to have more than one watch, my feeling is that a collection should offer range and variety.  If it’s possible for three watches to represent something sporty and dressy, vintage and modern, flashy and rugged, then you’re getting the most out of your collection.  What I’ve tried to capture here is a wide range of options despite having only three pieces, and knowing that I’ll be wearing the Black Bay 58 about 80% of the time.

Black Bay Fifty Eight Navy Blue – $3,800

This is the perfect daily-wear watch.  A modern classic, but in a slightly different color way that means sometimes it flies under the radar and sometimes it gets noticed for being a little unique.  It wears formal on a bracelet, sporty on a rubber strap, rugged on nylon, and warm and cozy on brown Horween leather.  The specific tint of blue goes with any outfit and ads color without being loud.  Honestly, I can’t imagine a better one-watch collection.

1954 Longines Automatic, Gold-capped – $500 (but really, priceless)

When I was 10 years old, at my grandmother’s funeral, my grandfather gifted me his Longines automatic watch.  I placed it carefully in a jewelry box for twenty years.  Then, a few years ago I had it serviced, put it on a brown leather strap, and fell in love with the watch and the memory of my grandfather.  When I look at old photos, I see he is wearing it in every one.  My mother told me the story of how he bought the watch in 1954, on a trip with my grandmother to Italy, their ancestral homeland.  It was his prized possession, so much so that he even had it re-cased when a lug broke off the original case.  Now it is one of my most valuable memories.

Tissot PRX Quartz, 35mm, Emerald Dial – $400

Sometimes you want to wear something loud and fun.  And in this heyday of integrated bracelet steel sports watches, what better way to get the effect than with a reinterpreted 70s Tissot classic, at less than 1% of what you’d spend on a hype watch.  Because let’s be honest, the 70s were weird and this stuff isn’t going to stay in style forever.  So let’s have some fun with it now, but let’s not mortgage the house, right?  For the price, I’ve never seen a better bracelet or case finishing and the electric green sunray dial is striking.  It’s just a fun watch, and now that it’s offered at 35mm, it can fit any wrist, including mine.