Russell Sheldrake
This year has been a pretty big year for me. I started as the UK’s first employee in February, and since then it’s been a whirlwind of launching Time+Tide here in the UK. Helping to build this amazing team here at Albrighty keeps me busy, but somehow I’ve also found time to travel around the world. I visited the African continent for the first time on a holiday to Morocco with my partner, traveled to Geneva countless times, took a quick tour to A. Lange & Söhne in Germany, and took a short ski trip to France with Richard Mille as a couple. did. A short trip to Paris on the Eurostar, connecting between different brands. So there was little time to let the grass grow, as the saying goes.
But during that hectic journey, I also found time to add another watch to my collection. Then I made the terrible adult decision to not buy any more watches until I finally bought a house. And in making that decision, I also announced that I would be selling off another watch I owned to help fund the transition to homeownership. But enough with the financial worries, let’s talk about the three watches that have logged the most time this year. I have been fortunate enough to try on many watches that could have made this list if I had been allowed to keep them, primarily Louis Vuitton Tambours, but in the past I’m very happy with the three watches that have been with me for 12 months. .
Oris Diver Sixty Five 36mm
This has been my daily staple for about 5 years. The little diver from Oris experiences all kinds of punishment in my daily life, and whether it’s hiking the mountains of Morocco, kayaking along the coast of Cornwall, or braving the commute from the south, the end The daily service from East London to Chiswick took me on an adventure. The smaller size fits my smaller wrist perfectly, and although it’s a little thicker than the lighter one, it feels well-balanced.
It features a bronze bezel ring, and it’s really fun to watch it sometimes accumulate a little patina-like patina, especially after being in the ocean. And when you turn the bezel, this green dust rains down. But overall, this tough timer’s relaxed aesthetic keeps me coming back for more. There’s nothing overly complicated about the dial, and the small touches of the bubble crystal and (faux) riveted bracelet give it just enough of a vintage feel without being overpowering. The 100 meter water resistance has lived up to its word over the years, and the Sellita inside has held up relatively well for the amount of time I’ve put it through.
tudor submariner
You may have seen me talking about this watch in a recent video hosted by Justin Hast. This is my birth year Tudor Submariner and has been the crowning glory of my collection for the past three years. It doesn’t come out as often as I would like, but I do my best to keep it in the condition it was in when I bought it, as it will be the watch I end up selling when I buy a house. But it will be difficult to let go. This was the first watch I spent over £1,000 on, and it started my collection towards vintage and neo-vintage models. This model was made in 1995 or 1996 and is the last reference Tudor sub to still retain Rolex components, marking this as a very important and transitional moment in Tudor’s history. I am.
This is another small diver. This is a medium-sized version, not the 40mm you often see. So it might seem a little thematic at this point, but I promise. My last watch couldn’t stay away from these two even if I tried. I like this watch for its faded denim blue bezel, very faint oil slick patina on the dial, and that it’s an acceptable sports watch to wear with a suit. I’m sad to let this go, but like I said, I have to make very adult decisions at this point in my life, and this Tudor embodies just that.
universal geneva gilt shadow
I told you this is not a mid-sized diver. I purchased this watch in February of this year. It was to commemorate my participation in Time+Tide and to fill a dress watch-shaped hole in the collection. During Zach’s interview during his first week on the job, he told me he wanted this watch. I think I saw it on sale at Kibble Watch the following week and bought it. I have been looking for a suitable version of this watch on the market for a long time. And I think I bought it at the right time, but in hindsight, I could have bought this a few years ago and saved money. A few hundred pounds, which in hindsight is a great thing.
This watch not only marked my joining this publication as Editor-in-Chief, but it was also the watch I wore to my brother’s wedding this summer, and what I did to mark the occasion. I thought I would need something special. Since 1970, this vintage model has established itself as the world’s thinnest automatic wristwatch, thanks to the impressive 2-66 micro-rotor caliber inside. It may look like a Patek Ellipse, especially after releasing a model with an integrated gold bracelet this year, but to me this watch has enough personality to be completely its own watch. I may have made the mistake of buying a plated watch with the intention of keeping it forever, but I still enjoy it and plan to keep it for a long time to come.
