The Daily Beater

Choice can sometimes be a burden when you have a drawer full of watches, so every enthusiast has a watch or two that you reach for by default when you just can't be bothered to give it any thought. The criteria are probably the same for most of us. The watch has to be comfortable, versatile and, frankly, one you are unconcerned about damaging. Otherwise, it wouldn't be a beater.

Right now I have three beaters that together are found on my wrist more than half the time, probably much more. The first is my one dollar mechanical on a green NATO strap. It's my true beater beater, perfect for mowing the lawn or working on the garbage disposal. It keeps good time, looks decent, is extremely comfortable and all but worthless.

My second beater is my Seiko 6309-7290 diver. For such a top-heavy watch, it's surprisingly comfortable on its current Jubilee bracelet. As Seiko divers go, it's nothing special, but even the lowliest Seiko diver looks great and goes great with anything from a sport coat to swim trunks. Of course it's waterproof, and probably bombproof.

But one of my most worn watches remains my very first mechanical, an Invicta 8926 (review). This is Invicta's single most popular wristwatch. It's an homage of the Rolex Submariner, though the most recent version (mine) has adopted a scalloped bezel like the Omega Seamaster.



The Invicta's Miyota 8215 automatic movement keeps great time and is very robust, one of the best basic automatic movements made (comparable to the ETA 2824-2). Its solid link oyster bracelet balances the substantial 40mm case quite well. It's heavy (ca. 150g), but not too heavy; big, but not too big; a bit blingy, but unlike most Invictas, not too blingy. My only complaint is that the polished center links on the bracelet get scratched up in no time. But that might almost be seen as a desirable feature, because once you scratch up your watch, you're no longer afraid to really wear it. To make it a beater.

Fakery and Homage, Pt. 2

There are a great many "homages" of iconic timepieces, watches that replicate their style but not carrying their name. Some homages, in fact, look virtually identical to the originals, lacking the name only. A few watches—especially Rolexes—are so commonly imitated that stylistic borrowing has passed from homage to horological commonplace. Conversely, a couple of styles are still so distinctive and fresh that even modest imitation constitutes homage. For example, almost any dive watch with an orange bezel references an Omega Planet Ocean, and it seems you cannot reference the Panerai style at all without creating an homage (a PanHom).


Panerai homage by paulorbvalley. I own one, but no pix yet.

Fakes violate trademark laws are cannot be sold, for example, on eBay. Homages do not violate trademark law, since however much they imitate a style, they lack any infringing branding. Since they may only differ in the name on case and dial, fakes and homages are often made in the same Chinese factories on the same lines. The fakes go to street stalls and replica shops, while the homages go to legit vendors and eBay. This practice is of course not unique to wristwatches.

A curious byproduct of their common manufacture is that sometimes the infringing branding of fakes finds it way, carelessly or accidentally, into replicas. This can be as overt as a branded case back being put on an off-brand homage.



Longines in an entry-level luxury brand of the Swatch Group. The face of this watch is branded Fuyate ("Swiss Made," of course) and looks very little like a Longines. Maybe this case back found its way onto the watch from a run of fakes on the same line. It's a 15$ watch. I'm tempted to buy one just to see if it really comes as depicted, but possibly it doesn't. The item description contradicts: "See through back case."



This is a rough homage of a Breitling Navitimer. Without doubt this homage came off of a fake watch line, with only the face and back changed. The giveaway is the second hand. The counter end (circled in red here) bears the anchor and stylized "B" of the Navitimer. This is every bit as infringing as the Longines case back, even if less obvious.

The Watches of James Bond

No single movie movie character has shaped taste in men's watches more than James Bond. Now, to be sure, in the movies Bond has worn some wristkitsch from time to time. The Hamilton Pulsar P2 2900 LED watch in "Live and Let Die" (1973) was an understandable expression of high-tech enthusiasm, but all the Seikos of the 70s and 80s were just lucrative product placements. And all of the gadget watches, and Bond's spy gadgets generally, have been very appropriately satirized. Admit it—both the movies and the gadgets could get really silly. (Statement of disclosure: This Bond fan refuses to recognize any Bond movies not starring Connery or Craig. Well, there may be a couple of exceptions.)

But the primeval and archetypal Bond watch was merely a functional timekeeper. It is described specifically in Ian Fleming's books as a “Rolex Oyster Perpetual Chronometer on an expanding metal bracelet.” So it was a Rolex. But the rest of that description does not pin down a precise model. One watch enthusiast has recently done some serious sleuthing and arrived at the likely answer: a Rolex 6350 (Dress) (Proto) Explorer I. Or at least, this is most likely the watch Fleming was wearing while writing his first Bond novel, and we know Fleming closely modeled Bond on himself and other Naval Intelligence operatives he knew.

But this is not the Bond Rolex as everyone knows it. From the very first movie ("Dr. No" [1962]) Bond wears a Rolex Ref. 6538 or 5508, commonly called the Rolex Submariner. It is a professional diver's watch, really the first, depth rated for 200m. It came on a stainless steel bracelet, like most Rolexes, but in the first two Bond movies Connery wore it on a leather strap. That watch was actually the personal Rolex of director Terence Young. Upon arriving in Jamaica, it was discovered that Connery was wearing a white-faced dress watch, and no Rolex had been sourced by wardrobe. Bond had to wear a Rolex, so Young handed over his own watch. That simple response to exigency made his watch one of the most famous in the world of horology.

By the third movie, "Goldfinger" (1964), the Bond Rolex appears in its first close-up, sporting a new band, a gray and black NATO-style wraparound strap that is still today called a "Bond strap." These straps were commonly used in the early 60s and apparently Connery himself was still wearing his watch on a similar one in the 80s.

NATO "Bond" strap on Seiko SKX009

The original Bond Rolex was not a product placement, but rather a detail carried over from the books. From the 70s until today the watches appearing on Bond's wrist have been placed there at great expense to their manufacturers. The 70s Seiko digitals are of no interest to lovers of fine watches. But after a brief reappearance from Rolex, the latest Bond watches have been Omegas, either a Seamaster Professional or a Planet Ocean. While the Seamaster Pro is similar to the Rolex Submariner, the Planet Ocean in somewhat more distinctive, especially the usual orange-bezeled models. I think these are great Bond watches, and for Omega, this has been money well spent. There is no question that the iconic popularity of the Rolex Submariner has been driven enormously by its association with the world's greatest spy. I think Omega has now captured for itself a little of that magic.

Omega Seamaster Professional

Omega Planet Ocean



More on the Bond watches:

• What Watch Did James Bond Really Wear?
• James Bond Gadget Watch History
• QBranch
• Watch his Movie - James Bond