Andrew O’Connor
Buying your first luxury watch is extremely exciting, whether you celebrate the event that defines your life or simply because it is a very memorable moment in its own right. So there’s a lot of pressure to get it right, and there’s probably weeks of research, even a few hours, days, or even a few weeks of research trying to find the best model for you.
For most people, their first luxury watches offer versatility, can handle most of their daily activities, and are probably outliers. Call it what you do – anywhere, anywhere, from the beach to the boardroom, all-arounder – there are plenty of options. Some focus on dresses and see more of the house with suits and ties, while others become more casual and emphasize their usefulness and durability.
I was able to purchase my first luxury watch in 2018. I have a Masters degree and I’ve been lucky enough to be a royalty with financial aid. I already had some mechanical watches, but I didn’t own any large branded pieces. That was something I wanted back then.
Personally, none of the many sub-40mm stainless steel watches with water resistance of over 100 meters would be a problem. Every day I wear quite casual clothes, usually choosing casual pants and t-shirts, or button-down or blazers. I was relatively active and swam regularly at that point, so I wanted to be able to do a clock swim. I appreciated the date window and relied heavily on the watch to track the date before adopting the practice of writing a smartwatch in double writing.
This is where work begins
What makes my standards slightly different after fully filling in the LEDs is my life as a classically trained working bassist. Although not for all bassists, one of the coolest things about instruments (both double bass and bass guitar) is that they are involved in so many different genres of music. My work as a musician includes playing in symphonic orchestras, jazz ensembles, music theatre pits, and even punk bands. I really wanted something that would work with a tuxedo and a band t-shirt (no, it’s not the same. Yes, I know I’m not supposed to wear a watch with a tuxedo, sue me).
But for my music work, one of the major factors I was considering was magnetism. Some people are even worried about the small magnets on their phones, but I am constantly surrounded by pretty large magnets. Guitar pickups are made of magnets, just like speakers, microphones and headphones. My home studio has several large speaker cabinets, a rack full of guitars and bass guitars, a handful of microphones and a few headphones. As an adult, my residence was mainly in an apartment near the city centre. My designated studio space may be smaller than a modest walk-in closet.
Why was I attracted to Aqua Terra?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OKK_ZMQ9UW
In 2013, Omega announced a highly anti-magnetic caliber 8508 with its “Bumblebee” Seamaster Aqua Terra. Two years later, they embarked on METAS certification and began updating their product lineup further to include newly updated moves. In 2017, Omega redesigned the Aqua Terra. This was a design update that included improved sizing with horizontal teak patterns, 41mm or 38mm and an integrated rubber strap option. As a longtime admirer of Patek Philippe Aquanaut, this seemed perfect!
With this logic, the choices seem obvious, but of course I wanted to know all of my options. Just a date? It’s too expensive, especially considering the discounts available at the time (or lack thereof). The dedicated diving watch was too sporty (I still love the Black and Rose Gold Seamaster Diver 300m, and it was new to that time). Are there any complicated models? I didn’t want to potentially face the horror story told by Watchuseek about sorting out modular complications, so I wanted to manipulate clearly.
I want to be a speedy tuxedo guy (the hesalite model features a Faraday cage), but it really didn’t jibe with me. The same goes for IWC. Does it work most of the time? of course! However, I always wanted something that worked for myself, so the Mark XVIII case didn’t wear well on my 16cm wrist. This would be my main watch and I was continuing my graduate education. Life as a musician is not always financially promising. I wanted to make sure I could get out of my mileage from it!
So, Aqua Terra is. I already established myself that I prefer small watches, so size wasn’t really a question. The 38mm variant was an easy choice. Now I struggled with the bracelet options and would I choose a black or white dial? Most of my peers are not interested in watches, and those who wear something on their wrist often take them off when they play. As someone who has been wearing a watch with a certain level of abilities since I was five years old, I was used to the feeling of a watch, so when I didn’t have one, I was bothered by it.
Practical Considerations
I was drawn to a bracelet watch (still somewhat) but I found myself having problems playing. It wears too loosely and they can knock on my instrument, resulting in loud noises on any acoustic instrument. If it’s too tight, it’s distracting because it’s so discomfort. However, straps aren’t that much of a problem. It can be worn tightly without generally discomfort. It can also be worn noisy even when in contact with audio equipment. As mentioned earlier, I have always loved Aquanaut. Something about a steel sports watch with integrated rubber straps always does it for me. So it’s a rubber strap! My eyes’ textured patterns and stitching made me dressy enough to find no place in my suit and tie.
For me, choosing the dial wasn’t that complicated. I loved the press photos of the white dial version with refined black indexes, but directly, the monochromatic look wasn’t too shocking. It’s definitely boring and predictable, but the black dial was, well, safe. In my eyes, the integrated elastic straps added enough personality to make the watch unique.
So my mind was made up. I got my Masters degree and for the two years I worked on that degree I became friends with a local watch dealer who happened to be a musician. He was an Omega certified dealer and was extremely helpful in my decision making, and was patient and patient with me (he had a short foray into his used inventory. I walked to his boutique with my then girlfriend (now wife) and made my orders and wrote a full check (he was very helpful too).
A few weeks later, I was on the move to get my PhD, but the dealer agreed to ship the watch to my new apartment. My first day at my new location, the clock arrived. It was everything I wanted and I felt as cool as I thought I would wear it. A few weeks after I began my doctoral program, I also met fellow bass players who were very tattooed, enjoyed cigars and gathered watches. It’s fair to say that in the first year of ownership, that watch was with me throughout a very impactful moment in my life. I also took this watch on my honeymoon!
look back
Thinking about this work, it made me ask myself, did I make my decision right? There are a few things in hindsight that I might have wanted to know. A modern watch with silicon balanced and/or modernized movement materials has enough magnetic protection to deal with use, but the 15,000 Gauss has definitely been an overload, as it cannot be monitored directly by the magnets of the pickup or speakers, but we welcome the sense of security.
You can also consider more of your used watches. They are undoubtedly better value in 2018, and it is overrated that they have a box and paper. I now have a big tub full of boxes and paper, and it rarely brought me any joy. I had to send the Aqua Terra back to Omega, so there’s a guarantee (the date wheel can sometimes get stuck between two numbers), but it’s not a problem since. I often wondered if I should get a bracelet, but I remember that bracelet sizing was a problem with that particular bracelet (the link was very large).
It was only recently that Omega made fine adjustments to the Aqua Terraline. As I have already mentioned, being forced to wear a loose bracelet was (and still is) no go to me. Now I have an aftermarket vintage inspired bracelet that requires my style and comfort that is far better than an OEM bracelet, even if the quality isn’t on the OEM level.
Also, given the amount of left-hand movement that occurs when playing a double bass, I was wondering if a manually wound watch would be better. I sent the Omega for routine service towards the end of the original 5-year warranty and replaced the rotor. I don’t know what happened to the rotor. It could have been a number of times, including normal wear and tears, so I couldn’t help but think that it had something to do with something excessive.
I also began to wonder how I felt about the Aqua Terra eight years later, seven more additional watches. I think I still made the right choice. I enjoy other watches, but I often see that when I turn on the Aqua Terra, it has been going on for a while. I knew it was my only watch for quite some time, and it was my only watch if I was tilted so much (and maybe still).
The new Aqua Terra model has a great dial, but I don’t like the completely refined case. There are also independent brands that cost less money, but I know that now I have met my itching for a “nice watch”, but these were also less well-known at the time. There are also many watches released since 2018, perfectly matched to my desires and needs, but that could easily lead to a downward spiral of water-age fools’ errands. My desire to add some watches to my collection definitely shows my watch obsession, but I feel comfortable saying that if I have to remove them all and keep them, I’ll probably be an Aqua Terra. Plus, I think it might be my favorite model on the Omega website.
