10 Things I Love to See on a Watch.

Alvin
4 days ago
5 min read

Updated: 2 days ago

This is a post I've thought about writing umpteen times, yes, umpteen, but never got around to it. Now, having gotten back into the swing of things that tick and tock returning with a vengeance, I have been inspired by recent angles. What better time to write this one then, when I'm feeling the love, let's not waste the moment. There will be some seeming contradiction here cos what I like to see on a dress watch isn't what I like to see on a diver, variety baby, it's the spice of the watch life!

1 - A Logo at 12

This is probably my fave thing on a dial. I think this is not only a great way to balance a dial but a statement of intent from the brand, like, 'we are high and mighty!'. It has to be right up there, not underneath an hour marker, under the track/minute markers - that's ok. Weirdly, I don't think I have any watches that meet this criteria, shocking. Naturally, Rolex wear the crown in this department, it looks great, and the 3,6,9 dial with a crown at 12, is the winningest of formula's.

2 - Seconds Hand

You might think this is an obvious one, but a lot of quartz peices don't have second hands. I always wondered if this started due to shame, due to them not wanting to showcase the quartz tick-tock (as opposed to the sweep of an automatic/mechanical - back in the days). I guess there is an elegance to a 'still' dial, but I think only dress watches really do that, and they can get away with it. I want to see signs of life, and if there's a flourish involved then all the better - a lolliop or pop of colour. How about a lightning strike in orange with a logo at 12, how about that then! The Milgauss does it best...

Rolex Milgauss // img: europeanwatch.com

3 - Short Lugs

This is a given me for me, and my skinny wristed brethren I'm sure. When you have a beautiful 40mm watch and a lug to lug of 43mm, this is perfectly proportioned for me.

The best example of a large watch with short lugs in my collection is the Cartier Ronde (Cartier get this right on many other pieces too). The worst example is the Nomos Club Campus, a 36mm watch with a 47mm l2l, this is insanity Herr Nomos, tis madness I tell you.

4 - Hands that are the Right Size

The dial of a watch is an intricate ballet of moving pieces. They have to be balanced and well measured or things can easily look out of place. The hands of the Omega CK801 never sat right with me, they were just too big and didn't sit well on the dial. Some minute/hour hands look right when they touch the minute/hour markers, others don't. I think Seiko have this down on most of their pieces. The Alpinist nails this, cathedral style hands but minutes is on point, as is the hours - it doesn't impinge or encroach.

5 - A Signed Crown

Oh it's the simple things in life people, there is nothing more annoying to me than seeing a beautiful watch, considering parting with my hard earned thousands and then seeing that flat, empty, shiny nonsense on the side. I guess it does depend on the size of the crown but still come on. You've gotta sign that crown, dammit man or woman! Unless there's a jewel stuck on the end, we can allow that.

6 - Colour on the dial

I don't mean a coloured dial, though I enjoy those too. I mean splashes and dashes and dots. By on the dial I mean, hands, text, subdials or markers - the right bit on the right watch makes all the difference - pop, pop (Community (TV show), anyone)! Ball watches win this, with their balls out approach, and my Maison Celadon (below right) is also very excellent at this, even though it doesn't have a seconds hand!!

7 - Text on the dial

This is a controversial one, some people don't want an essay on their dial, but I enjoy reading. Actually, I'm not sure why I like it. It's just an aesthetic that pleases me, I think it's just variety and balance. On a diver, sports or GMT piece, you want to see something interesting and engaging, well I do anyway. Maybe I want to show off the credentials of the piece. Either way, I like it, and the fact the Tudor Black Bay Pro here doesn't a line of writing in yellow, to match the GMT hand, is a bloody outrage.

8 - Tourbillon

Oh yes sir, I do enjoy an mechanical whirlwind on my dial, oooweee yes I do. It's one of my favourite things, it's one of the reasons I wish I was rich I would be a certified storm chaser. They are marvellous little machines, and the best seconds hand you can get. And when they are in the central part of the dial, they are just perfect. One of my top three watches ever is the Omega Central Tourbillon, it's a masterpiece. For value the Chronoswiss Regulateur (below) is amazing, there's one on Chrono24 right now, for £5,813 - insane.

9 - Enamel dials

I love the clean, clinical finish of a plain, white enamel dial as much as I love the crazy colourful artworks of a cloisonné (different colours separated buy thin wire) finish. Maison Celadon knock this out of the park, their dials are beautiful. This is art, people, and when a firm like Vacheron get involved you get intricacy inside and out - spectacular. Not to forget the Chinese offering, the Sugess enamel dial with a tourbillon no less, of which I had the pleasure of handling and owning for a moment - outside was fine, inside was not good in this case - pun intended. I will try again one day...

10 - Paris

This is quite specific, and the only one of the all the 10 that I am yet to experience, because it's an expensive as shit thing to see on the dial in the guise that I want it. I have a Tudor that features French language day-date function, it's called the Glamour, I hate that, so I call it the Parisian. But will I ever see the Paris I long to see under yonder Cartier, housed in a precious metal case. I don't know. It seems a million miles away at the moment, but I'll be god damned if this renewed horological vigour doesn't see me at least try. The Cartier Paris Collection Privée is something I bang on about, and I can't get enough of it tbh. The pieces are always beautiful, whether simple or complicated, they are somehow consistently spectacular and mesmerising, like boobs...

THE END

That's my top 10 then, the one I left out was gold - I think that deserves its own post, it's a fascinating and complicated subject. To recap then;

A Logo at 12 o'clock
A Seconds Hand
Short Lugs
Hands that are the Right Size
A Signed Crown
Colour on the Dial
Text on the Dial
Tourbillon
Enamel Dial
Paris...

As I was writing this, I wondered if there was a watch that fulfilled more than 5 of these together, with the added constraint of being 38mm or under, that makes it tricky af. There are Cartier Paris CP pieces that meet 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, and 10, which is pretty good. But they'll never have signed crown because of the cabochon/jewel or a logo at 12. How about my favourite 36mm beauty, the Rolex Oyster Perpetual 116000, it hits on 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7. Now that's pretty good! I should probably put my money where my mouth is, probably...