Horological Meandering

Though I carried the Seiko on each deployment as a backup, it was the Submariner that I wore religiously on every operation. I considered it a good luck charm. In any case, even in the dirtiest, most remote locations and austere conditions, it was always nice to look down and see that shining block of 904L stainless hugging my wrist.

 

Sub Gets a Sibling

Following my second tour, I decided to treat myself to a Daytona – if I could find one.

 

One day the Rolex rep visited my AD where the subject of Daytona came up. My AD told the rep that he even had one client waiting for a Daytona that was about to deploy to Afghanistan for his third deployment – donning a Sub. 

 

The rep exclaimed, “he’s wearing a Submariner in combat?” 

 

The next call I received was to ask if I wanted a black or white face.

 

When I arrived home from my third tour, I had a shiny new 116520, “white dial,” waiting for me.

It was the first Hublot that really changed my life, and that’s not overstated. It was the first watch to inspire me to write about watches. It ignited my interest in learning all I could about the different brands, their histories and even the mechanics.

Today, I absorb all the information I can. I attend as many events as possible and I’m now a regular at Basel each year. Though my taste in watches is no longer influenced by military service, it is that very service that is wholly responsible for initiating this quest.

 

As for military watches?

The topic of military watches is never ending, but in my opinion, it’s a subject trapped in time. “Military” watches to me, refer to a era when a mechanical watch was essential in the conduct of military operations. I have witnessed the evolution, or more appropriately, the “gradual obsolescence” of these mechanical timepieces. It’s strikingly similar to effects the “quartz crisis” that we witnessed in every other aspect of society. 

I certainly respect and appreciate the classic military watches as today there simply is no equivalent. As for what people wear today, just about anything that strikes the fancy of today’s warriors, most certainly an affordable quartz and most commonly a Casio G-Shock. 

As for the Special Operators? While I can’t speak for all of them, in my experience, I’ve never seen a Master Compressor on a Navy SEAL, at least in the combat zone, or any other mechanical watch specifically marketing the military. The closest I’ve seen is Rolex on the wrist of several Special Forces personnel, but typically in a staff environment and not during combat operations. Here, I’m the exception.

Bottom line: Having conducted numerous missions with SF, SEALs and Marine Special Ops (MSOC), necessity and practicality reveal Suuntos and G-Shocks are most common, though an infinite number of various other (seemingly nameless) black plastic digitals also share the battlefield. 

Back on the home front, there is no standard. Anything goes. Though many a soldier aspires to wear a Rolex, in my experience, TAG Heuer is still the most common of Swiss timepieces. Among those I worked with during my final assignment, I was aware of about a dozen TAG Heuers and about half as many Rolexes - a mix of Subs and GMTs.

After more than three-and-a-half decades, I have to accept the fact that my generation closed a chapter in time when military watches had a place; an almost glamorous period that produced Fifty Fathoms, Submariners, Zodiacs and so many others. They were watches built to be rugged and practical rather than coveted heirlooms. 

I take great pride that my Seikos and my Submariner represent the last of a dying, breed yet remain a cornerstone in everything my collection is and may become. They are more than pieces labeled “military watches,” they are “my” military watches that have stories and history that will be passed down to my children.