Recently, I got married…that’s it that’s the article! Bye!
Kidding, of course, though few could blame me for my head still being in the clouds for a while. Where did we get married? Sunny San Juan, Puerto Rico. My wife (read aloud: mah wiiiife) was born and raised in Puerto Rico - much of her family lives there still - and so we were incredibly fortunate to have our closest family and friends join us there to celebrate. Two weeks of incredible food, wonderful weather, and the type of social overstimulation that somehow even the introverted side of me enjoyed; I couldn’t have asked for anything more.
I packed light when it came to watches, only bringing two with me for the full trip. For the day-to-day, I brought my Breitling Chronomat, one of my more versatile watches and one packed with sentimental value, having been my dad’s for a long time before he gifted it to me about 6 years ago.
For the wedding, I brought my 1968 King Seiko 45-7000, but not before way too much mental back-and-forth and - somewhat inexplicably - nearly selling the watch earlier in the fall. Was I overthinking which watch to wear and this watch specifically? Duh, of course; I am writing a watch blog after all, which, last time I checked, is a pretty clear sign of someone overthinking…
Over the course of the last year, I had planned to wear my Grand Seiko SBGA285, a simple and classy Spring Drive piece that had easily been my most worn watch of 2022. This watch was pushing just about everything out of the way, and I could have counted on one hand the number of days that I didn’t wear it for at least a couple of hours. I wore it to two other weddings this year, and it seemed like something I really didn’t need to think about when it came to my own.
You’ve probably gathered by my tone here - and the obvious title of this article - that not only did I not wear this watch at my wedding, but sadly it is no longer a part of the collection. A couple of weeks before we were due to fly down to Puerto Rico for our wedding, my car decided that it was the time for a number of essential repairs to have to be done (cue Adele…helloO…it’s meE). It had been a while coming, since we hit 150,000 miles, but it was just a perfect storm of out-of-budget repairs that even my mechanic was apologizing for (and you KNOW if the mechanic is apologizing, it’s no bueno). Between these repairs, expenses for the wedding, and impending travel costs, a couple of watches had to go, and the GS was unfortunately one of them. Part of the process of moving it along was relieving, since I was able to see in real time that it had held its value incredibly well since I’d purchased it, and it was a very quick sale at that. And obviously, obviously, this is a part of life; things happen, needs pop up, and while watches are wonderful things to have, at the end of the day, they’re items, and sometimes items gotta go in favor of taking care of more significant priorities. Necessary, but a bit of a bummer nonetheless. Part of the reason I let the GS go is because I knew that someday, when the timing made sense, I could either pick up another one or move along to a different reference if I wanted.
The same could not be said for the King Seiko; as a vintage piece, its production days were long gone, and in my late night perusals of vintage watches, I was having a hard time finding other examples of the 45KS that I liked. I did have this watch on the chopping block in what was admittedly too broad of a selling sweep, and only for about four days, when someone reached out asking to buy it. That was my *record scratch* moment, and I didn’t need a second one; the watch was off the market and back on my wrist. I hadn’t worn the KS much in a while, and the thought of letting it go felt easy…until it wasn’t. By contrast, in selling the GS, I quickly had gotten over the attachment I had to the watch; looking back, it’s largely because the KS was there to take its place.
All of the design cues I loved about the GS were present in the KS. The case shape, the lugs, the amount of space the dial occupied, the sharp hands, and even the crown bore resemblance. The KS is the smaller, thinner, more understated version of that GS, and while there will certainly be another GS in the collection someday, that moment of nearly-selling cemented this watch as unsellable to me.
So, now that we’ve established that the KS hung around longer than the GS, why did it make the cut as the wedding watch?
The design elements were certainly a key factor, but at the risk of sounding a bit sappy, the central reason is a bit less tangible.
I saw myself in this watch. Not literally, of course, since it’s not polished like that, but somewhat metaphorically. This King Seiko has been through its share of experiences, and I’m sure some were good, some, well, not as good. It’s got scratches, patina, some water damage, dents, and the gold medallion in the back has a little nibble taken out of it. Someone might look at this watch quickly and not give it another glance. However, on the inside is where it really shines. The 45 series mechanical movement it houses was the last of the hand-built King Seiko movements from the Daini factory all those years ago, and as a true high-beat movement, running along at 36,000 bph, it’s always moving like it has something to prove. It’s in this characterization that I felt a new connection to the watch; a bit scuffed up and scarred, a chip on the shoulder, but knowing what was on the inside counted the most. It was the perfect watch to have on for what I knew would be the best day of my life.
I know, I know. Cheesy. Extra cheese on those fries. Go to your local grocery store, clear out the dairy isle, and get your own cheese fridge at this rate. But I’m a sentimental person, and this is a sentimental hobby, so we can all just be sentimental together :) Now I’ll always look down at this watch and smile - just can’t put a price on that.
As always, wherever you are, and wherever you’re going, many thanks for stopping by.
It’s the perfect wedding watch classy elegant and strong, I would love to own this piece…….. on my list
Congratulations Mike be happy and enjoy 😀
thank you Heath!! looking forward to seeing when one makes its way into your collection 😊