At Enoksen, we believe that every man should own five different watches before he can call himself a true collector. You could argue that a man can never have enough watches, you can also argue that one carefully chosen watch will be his friend for life. And you can argue everything in between.
Our thesis is that five watches will cut it, but it all depends on your lifestyle, your interest in fashion, your hobbies and what you do for a living.
So why have more than one? Owning a truly well-crafted watch, manufactured with the best parts and assembled in the right location has never been easier or more affordable. Furthermore, watch collecting is a hobby for many. It is enjoyable to buy a watch and learn every little detail about it. Some say that collecting watches is a bit like getting tattoos. Once you get started it seems hard to stop again.
If you consider some of the greatest and most desirable watches from the past one hundred years, they all seem to fall into one of our five categories. There are watches for diving, for driving, for flying, for dressing up and then there is the unsung hero which is none of the above: the everyday watch - a watch that does everything well, and something that remains relevant and appealing years after you have bought it.
Diver
If you ask a watch enthusiast what he would pick if he could only ever buy one watch, there is a fair chance that he would ask for a Rolex Submariner. Why? Because it is a great looking and highly recognisable watch, which will appreciate over time. It is also a diver’s watch, which was groundbreaking when launched back in the 50s. Despite its age, it is just as sought after today as it was then, and gentle evolution has managed to keep it relevant 60 years on. New or vintage, you are never wrong with a Submariner in steel.
So this is a good place for your watch collection journey to begin. Get the best diver’s watch you can afford. Look for features like water resistance to at least 300 meters, sapphire crystal, a unidirectional bezel to help time your dives, and great lumen (it is pretty dark down there).
Aviator
With the diver’s watch in place, you can start looking to the skies for inspiration. Since man first took flight in 1903, a wristwatch has followed him in his endeavours to go higher, further and faster – even into space. This has been an infinite source of inspiration for watch companies across the globe, whether driven by strictly defined customer requirements, or just a matter of creating a feature-rich timepiece for the sake of it. The drama, the history and the achievements that are deeply embedded in some of the great aviator’s watches are truly the stuff that dreams are made of.
Just think about the Cartier Santos, the IWC Flieger Chronograph, the Breitling Navitimer or the Omega Speedmaster Moon Watch. The latter is a strictly functional chronograph built to withstand conditions no one actually knew anything about beforehand.
Or take the sheer number of purpose-built watches made for military use, the tools that would allow pilots to time their missions correctly and make those do-or-die decisions that would change the course of history.
An aviator’s watch is an absolute necessity in any watch collection, with or without chronograph complications. The definition of an aviator’s watch is not as clear as is the case with the diver’s watches: It all depends on the era and the assignment for which it was created. A WWII watch which did nothing more than tell time; a watch created for transatlantic flights showing multiple time zones; a highly advanced instrument capable of measuring altitude, speed, and distances. Regardless of what takes your fancy, you need a representative from this fascinating universe in your watch collection.
Driver
Now that you are equipped to both dive and to fly, it is time to examine the fascinating world of watches designed for motorsport. Whether you like to have a solid handle on your lap times on track days, or you simply like the look of a chronograph capable of measuring speed, a good driver’s watch is, we believe, essential for your collection. As is the case with diving, watchmakers have drawn inspiration from the unique functional requirements of the activity. For motorsport the need to know lap times accurately (a driver’s watch is defined by its stopwatch) has attracted the usual suspects. Brands like Chopard, Zenith, Omega, Tag Heuer, Breitling and Rolex all have a proud history of making watches for driving. Perhaps the most desirable – and again this is debatable – is the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona. It was originally conceived as Rolex’s bid to create a watch for the Apollo space program. However, when Omega won the shootout in space, the Daytona instead won on the racetracks of the 1960s, and it has ruled supreme ever since. In fact, a Daytona given to Paul Newman by his wife recently fetched $17.8m at auction (Forbes, 2017). Not bad for a watch made of steel and purchased for less than $500 when new.
Dress
As the name suggests this is a watch for special occasions, perhaps only a handful of events over the course of a lifetime. This is the watch that you put on your wrist on days when your other watches simply won’t do. Discretion is the watchword here. The dress watch is designed to compliment your black tie, not dominate it. Often a man’s dress watch is inherited from his father or his grandfather and has both history and sentimental value in spades (Fashion Beans, 2016). The Omega Seamaster below is a great example of a watch, which has passed from father to son. It is from 1959 and measures just 34mm excluding the crown.
Until recently, a man’s watch was not much bigger than 36mm wide, and the dress watch is no exception. It is small, perhaps even discrete, and it has a very simple design. Probably made of gold, white or yellow, it is usually fitted with a mesh bracelet or black leather strap. It normally has an automatic or manual movement and it should be slim enough to sit comfortably under the cuff.
Everyday
What is an everyday watch? At Enoksen we define it as a watch which does everything well. A watch for the office, for sports, for holidays and everything in between. Perhaps even with a feature or two that makes your life easier and which is linked to what you do. It could be that it displays an additional time zone to make your world travels easier or it might have a 24-hour hand for those whose job demands precise tracking of time.
The everyday watch shows who you are and what you stand for but it never upstages you. It is your go-to watch and it is probably the watch you use the most. Therefore getting it right is essential. Go for longevity, classic features, and a good size. You can always make noise with your diver, your driver or your aviator so don’t do it with your everyday watch. If you want examples of what we are talking about, just take a look at the new Omega Railmaster or the classic Rolex Explorer.
Our mission at Enoksen is to create watches that stand for exceptional quality and great design, fitting the purpose of every occasion. With the release of our Diver and Fly ranges, we continue to create beautiful watches that every man needs for every occasion.
Be sure to keep a close eye on our new product launches throughout the summer.