The Three Watch Collection for $5,000: Reader Edition – Rasmus

Editor’s Note: In this edition of The Three Watch Collection for $5,000, reader Rasmus curates a cinematic trio of classics that encompass all manner of use cases. Bonus points for the Speed reference in the 5600 selection! Send us your 3 watch selection by using this link for a chance at publication!

Remember the Terminator? I’d be willing to bet a spring bar that you shed a tear at the end of the sequel, when Arnold-the-terminator goes out with his thumb in the air. Of course, I may be the exception, and might be considered the strange one for straight up crying to an action flick, but the fact remains. Machines CAN create emotions, and watches are machines that SHOULD create emotions. With that, I’ve picked 3 watches that together come in below the 5 k mark, and that transport us to another time and place where we’re all cats. There’ll also be a fair number of pop-culture references, as you may already have noticed.

Cartier Tank Solo Small – $2,800

Sometimes you just want to be JFK on a boat, or Jackie most about anywhere. For all those times (and they’re quite many) the Cartier Tank is the perfect watch that pulls you out of the mundane chores you happen to be doing and transports you to a world of your choosing. It’s a neat trick for a simple two hander to pull off, and that’s before we mention the size and details. You see, this one’s just a tad bigger than the new Must (in the small size), with a harder look due in no small part to the straight, almost aggressive, lugs. Which makes it look more like its namesake, and has it fit like a Tank should fit. 

Oh, and it’s a quartz, so you can still tell the time even if you adhere to the Warhol principle and think that winding a Tank is kind of gauche. 

G-shock DW5600c – $100

If you always wanted to have a reason to scream “Pop quiz, hotshot” out of the blue, here’s your chance. The DW5600c was, as you may know, featured in the 1994 movie Speed; an absolute classic where Dennis Hopper utters these winged words to an ever-so cool Keanu Reeves. Who happens to be sporting a DW5600c as he saves the day with a lot of help from Sandra B.

Good examples can still be found on the cheap, which is mind-boggling to me as they’re as shockproof as the next G-Shock, with the added bonus of being a screw-back with an historical importance that almost rivals the Speedmaster (before you start hammering your keyboard, note that this is an exaggeration for dramatic effect). Which probably makes it the best value-prop ever.

Nomos Club Campus Future orange – $1,500

It may come as a shock, but there are times when you don’t want to be Jackie Kennedy and don’t have to save the world with the best beater money can buy. For those (somehow rare) times, you need something completely different. Something that you can wear on a paradise island where the sun always shines and your watch needs to pair with a Mai Thai rather than a tie. Here, the orange Club Campus is a perfect companion, and that will go with a dinner jacket but also survive if you happen to drop it into the aforementioned Mai Thai.