The “One and Only” Wine Test for Watch Getting

I came from the wine trade, and before I fell into the horological rabbit hole, there was an exercise I would often do when I tried and liked a wine. It went like this: “Is this wine a wine I could live with, day in and day out, possibly even as the one and only wine I would ever enjoy, if I were stranded on some unreachable island in the middle of nowhere?”

The task at hand was to ferret out just how much I liked a particular wine. And in more than a few cases, there were wines that met the challenge. So, too, with watches, I’ve adopted that parlor game.

I have watches that wouldn’t make it to that secluded island in this little game I play. They might be too sensitive. Or too precious. Too in need of service, or a battery. Or just not tough enough. Oh, I’m not talking about water resistance or shockproof-ability. No, it’s a more intrinsic idea I have percolating on the burner. It’s more about just not getting tired of the “one and only” on my wrist.

When I bought an Omega Speedmaster, it appeared to pass the test. But that seemed too easy. Sure, a “Speedy” could be a “one and only” timepiece.

But could another watch, or watches work just as well? Of course they could. Watches like the Tourby Enamel 40, which was a gift from my watch mentor, Il Doge di Orologi, and was likely the watch that launched my journey into the rabbit hole. It would make a great “one and only” watch. The movement is based on the Swiss made ETA Unitas 6498-1, which is a hand-wound movement. Indeed, it is based on an adapted pocket watch movement. If you put the watch up to your ears, it makes a ticking sound just like my grandfather’s pocket watch. Somehow, it is oddly reassuring to hear that sound, much like a heartbeat. Something you don’t get with a quartz movement and many more modern manual or automatic movements either.

It's a solid German watch made in the town of Hagen, in Westfalen, and built upon the Teutonic rock of reliability. I really liked getting this watch. It’s old fashioned in a way, but it is not without its very own gravitas. With a timeless, and lovely, enameled lacquer dial upon a base of 925/000 silver, it could be the only watch I’d ever need. I’m sure for some gentleman in Dortmund or Cologne, it could very well be. One really doesn’t need more than that which the Tourby provides. And if that doesn’t fulfill the requirements of the “one and only” test, I don’t know what does.

I do know there are other watches that can work, like the Omega. But that’s a tale for another day. In the meantime, I remain happily stranded on my little Teutonic island, made possible by a town in Germany, straddled by the rivers Lenne, Volme and Ruhr. Oh, and to sweeten my conjectural shipwreck, the German watchmakers are Italian wine-lovers too!

Tourby Watchmakers choosing their island wine?

 

 written by Alfonso Cevola - limited rights reserved