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Photo by Muffy Aldrich
The Modern Guide to The Thing Before Preppy
Muffy Aldrich
Editor, Salt Water New England - The Modern Guide to The Thing Before Preppy, since 2010. From a 12th Generation New Englander.
- Original Photographs.
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At some point, a watch was gifted, be it through business, graduation, etc. That watch will be worn and passed down, worn and passed down until the day comes when it is relegated to a desk drawer. If you or your ancestor worked or studied hard, the watch could have great value (then and now) but the true value is in the memory. I never understood those who pay the price of a vehicle for a watch. 90% of the time I don’t wear one and 100% of the time I don’t need to worry about the time.
ReplyDeleteYou have company. If you don’t wear a watch you get pretty good at estimating time. I usually guess within 10-15 minutes correctly. Clocks are everywhere in New York City; East Side, West Side, all around the town. I lived there 30 years and never felt I needed my own watch.
DeleteIf you are in Africa as a State Department employee or an humanitarian aid worker you field a lot of questions and hear a lot of comments about the life in the USA. One I’ve never forgotten, “you have watches, we have time.”
DeleteBecause the first adult watch I was given as a teenager was an Elgin Sportman with a Speidel Twist-a-Flex band, I have kept to using that type of band on all watches I have worn. The Elgin was stolen in a house robbery nearly 40 years ago, and now I wear a quartz-driven analog Timex (with none of that damn date business). But it has the flexible band that I prefer over all others. Honi soit qui mal y pense....
ReplyDeleteRolex submariner or gmt master. Those are my childhood memories from the late 70s early 80s. Just the coolest.
ReplyDeleteI have a Rolex Oyster Perpetual and a Jaeger LeCoultre Reverso, but I do not wear them as much as I do my Withings medical-grade watch and fitness and sleep tracker. Who knew?!
ReplyDeleteI have never tired of my enjoyment of a fine timepiece. I have worn my Rolex, Breitling, Omega, IWC, and Tag Heuer watches for as long as I can remember. And always will!
ReplyDeleteI can't wear a smart watch at work and wouldn't be inclined to even if I could. Even though luxury watches fly in the face of Yankee thrift, they remain my one true vice. My current collection is a Timex Ironman "OG" 8 Lap, a Baltic MR01 w/ salmon dial and brown croc strap, a Cartier Tank Large Solarbeat, and a current generation Rolex GMT Master II "Pepsi" that I wear almost every day.
ReplyDeleteI really like my Victorinox field watch. Grandfather had one and gave it to me. They don’t last quite as long as a Rolex, so I had to buy another one about 10 years ago Terrific watch for $500. A nice balance between a Timex and a Rolex
ReplyDeleteTimex Expedition with striped NATO band, dark face, white numerals, stainless steel case; sort of my signature.
ReplyDeleteI collect watches; I enjoy wearing them. about 50/50 between automatic and quartz movements (some solar quartz, might need to change the rechargeable battery in a few decades). Many are dive watches, some are field watches or 'sports watches' (no dive bezel but enough water resistance to handle life near the water), a few pilot watches, a few watches that are more dressy or 'nice-casual.' I also wear a fitness device on the right to track steps, sleep, workouts, and so on.
ReplyDeleteStraps depend on the watch for me. Nothing wrong with a good bracelet. Some dive watches get moved to a rubber dive strap for the summer. I like quality leather straps, but I tend to hike in the rain and be in and around the water a lot, we live near a large river, so leather is either confined to dress watches that never see the water or occasionally on a field or pilot watch. There are some leather straps with a rubber core - these hybrids are fine in the water. google 'hirsch james strap' to see what I mean. I've trended away from many fabric straps but love straps with a little elasticity and the ability to fine-tune the fit with a slider - google 'watch steward straps' and 'erika's originals straps' for a sense of these.
Ahem. This is too tantalizing for me to ignore. Although I am tied to the mast, the siren song of this topic is too much to bear. So, here is the Prep Truth, and as Biggie says, 'if you don't know, now you know'. There is only one true prep watch. It is a Timex purchased at a drug store sometime prior to leaving for prep school. This watch may be worn with whatever fake leather strap it came with, or its "stainless steel" band or with a grosgrain ribbon strap purchased in Town one summer. Every other time instrument is vulgar, that is, if it costs more than $65 it is showing off and True Prep never shows off. Indeed, it is the essence of True Prep to understate, to walk the fine line between correct and reverse snobbery. If I were to wear a watch other than my Timex from 1969, my sons and wife would unquestionably dial 991 in fear for my health. So, comment and fixate all you may, my dear Muffians, but what you read above is the only word, the final word, on watches.
ReplyDeleteGot it right, Ferd. My Timex isn't ca. 1969, but I've had it for ~15 years. Good enough for me, and it cost well under $65!
DeleteCould not agree more with Ferd. Then again, I fell off the wagon when Uncke Sam sent me on a few trips wearing a uniform. The Submariner on a black nylon strap seemed a better choice. Still wear it but, Ferd is right.
DeleteI must admit I was on the verge of being sucked in and buying an expensive watch. I’m happy I resisted the urge. I got on Amazon and ordered a new $40 timex to replace the one I dropped and broke last week.
DeleteGlad I backed away from the edge and came to my senses.
God, what a pretentious comment.
DeleteI love things that last. I have the gold GP pocket watch I inherited from my great grandfather. It is dropped into the pocket of a dinner jacket or a golf bag, times when a wrist watch just feels wrong. I use the simple Rolex oyster I was given in 1967, along with nylon straps acquired shortly thereafter, most of the time. When I am dressed up a bit, the very simple Roman numerals Chopard my wife gave me in the late 1970s is just the ticket. It currently has a plain stitched edge black leather band. When that wears out, I'll probably shift back to dark brown alligator. I rarely have my smart phone on me. So even though I am quite good at estimating the time, a watch is a useful thing.
ReplyDeleteGeoffrey Chaucer ("The Canterbury Tales") said, "time and tide wait for no man," and if you're near the water, your watch should absolutely tell you both the time and tide. Many watches do this, but the most simple and elegant solution is the "King Tide" watch from Hook & Gaff: The second hand does NOT show seconds, but it does show the tide - up for high, down for low, etc. It's simple and elegant, and whether you're fishing, boating, walking along the shore, or driving over a bridge and wonder which way the current is running, with just a glance, BOOM, you'll know both the time and tide! When you look at your watch, make sure you've got Chaucer across her:
ReplyDeletehttps://hookandgaff.com/collections/sportfisher/products/king-tide-watch-white-dial
I enjoyed reading Ferd's comments, he sounds like a true devotee of TOPH as well as its disappointing follow on True Prep. I too used to change the grosgrain bands frequently, not every day, on my Timex tank, but ageing and concerns of health gave way to my newest wrist piece a FIT VII. Counting my steps is quickly becoming an obsession.
ReplyDeleteMy manual wind L.L. Bean field watch from 1979, from back when they were made by Hamilton, is still running fine. Ribbon band replaced a few times over the years. My other is a Japan Mov't Swiss Army clone with a twistoflex band I got for $5.00 at a tag sale. All it needed was a new battery. Keeps good time.
ReplyDeleteThe nice thing about Timex' NATO straps is you can clean them -- in baking soda or some such. They'll keep.
ReplyDeleteYou know, Timex's Indiglo feature really does compare favorably with Edison's invention of the light bulb - both were giant steps in finally allowing nyctalopia suffering humanity to see in the dark.
ReplyDeleteMy Rouchefoucauld is the thinnest water-resistant watch in the world. Singularly unique, sculptured in design, hand-crafted in Switzerland, and water resistant to three atmospheres. It tells time simultaneously in Monte Carlo, Beverly Hills, London, Paris, Rome, and Gstaad!
ReplyDeleteGreat - but does it tell time simultaneously in Detroit, Newark, and Gary, Indiana? Thanks.
DeleteNot sure about that, but in Philadelphia it's worth fifty bucks.
DeleteMan, that watch is so hot it burns my fingers.
DeleteTimex weekender (men's larger face) always.
ReplyDeleteI don't get Rolex. It's what they give away for salesman of the month or the million dollar roundtable.
ReplyDeleteTo each his own. While you might associate Rolex with salesman of the year, there are many (myself included) who still associate the brand with adventurers like Jacques Cousteau and Ed Viesturs, soldiers like Charles Beckwith and Billy Waugh, and God knows how many world leaders. It’s an odd brand insofar as it is beloved by both nouveau riche and diehard enthusiasts alike.
DeleteMy Rolex.Submariner, 50th Anniversary “Kermit” is my constant companion.
ReplyDeleteI too like the practicality of NATO straps because they can be cleaned easily. I wear a lot of sunscreen so I clean them in soapy water. While I'm not a vegan by any means (pescatarian), I prefer not to use too many leather products if there's another good option.
ReplyDelete