The Tudor Black Bay and the Myth of the One Watch Collection

The idea of a “one watch collection” has been a fascination of mine as I’ve gotten deeper into the hobby. Part of the reason, I’m sure, is the growing anxiety I feel when I look down at my similarly growing watch collection and realize that many of these things are simply not getting worn as much as I’d like them to be. This, I’ve learned, is an extremely common sentiment among those with our affliction, and it’s perhaps what leads to every “for sale” post on the various enthusiast forums where we try desperately to thin the herd. 

So a one watch collection, which is admittedly not really a collection at all, feels a bit like a utopic fantasy for someone with a herd of watches spiraling slowly, and then quickly, out of control. “Fantasy” here is the key word. I’ll point out right up front that I have no real intention of selling everything off, or limiting myself to one watch in any way, shape or form. The variety that has always been part of this hobby is what draws me in deeper and deeper, and I’ve come to accept to a degree that I’ll always have a number of watches at my disposal, even if I can’t quite come to a decision on what that number should actually be. 

And yet, as a thought experiment, the one watch collection persists. We discussed it on a podcast recently and we got so much feedback I wanted to expand my thoughts a little on my own choice for this hypothetical one watch collection, and pretty soon you’ll see our contributors take their own stab at selecting a single watch to wear forever. Trying to figure out what you’d choose to wear if you could only choose one watch helps, I think, to distill what you like about watches to begin with, and might even help identify ways to get you closer to the type of satisfaction with all of your watches that you’d hypothetically get from your “one watch” pick if you had to make that choice for real. 

The watch that wins running away for me in the one watch collection contest is my Tudor Black Bay, with a burgundy dive bezel and the METAS certified movement. Now, if you know my collection, and my taste, this might be a bit of a surprise. I have a tendency toward more unusual, even experimental designs, independents, and watches that qualify as “conversation pieces.” The Black Bay, by contrast, is generic, kind of boring, and doesn’t scream “watch enthusiast” from across a room, even though Tudor is a hardcore enthusiast brand. But that’s the reason I’ve picked it. 

If I’m limiting myself to one watch, I feel no need to make that watch my entire personality. To an extent, that’s what most of us, myself included, have done with the collective watches we’ve chosen to acquire over the years. We are identifying ourselves to one another and the world more broadly (if they’re looking) as watch people. And I think that’s a great thing – it binds us all together as a community in a really comforting and authentic way. But if my only watch was a M.A.D.1S, I don’t know that I could escape the feeling that I was cosplaying as a watch collector. 

The Tudor Black Bay, at the end of the day, is just a good, solid everyday watch that works in literally every situation imaginable. To borrow a tired watch writing cliche, it can easily go from the beach to the boardroom and back. 

Recently, it’s the watch I find myself reaching for when I have to attend a big watch event as a professional watch person. It’s been with me at the last two Watches & Wonders events (where I first saw the watch when it was introduced there a few years ago), many Windup Watch Fairs, a bunch of press trips, and, most recently, Geneva Watch Days. 

It was a particularly good choice for me to bring along to Geneva Watch Days as my only watch. It has no date, so it’s about as good as you can do for a travel watch without a movement with an actual GMT complication or jumping hour. But what I really appreciated about it in Geneva this year is its neutrality. At an event where everyone is ogling every watch on every table in every meeting (very much including those worn by guests, media types, and so forth), I appreciated the predictability of not having to explain my Tudor Black Bay. These meetings are often too short, so it makes little sense in my view to waste a minute that’s not focused on the watches I’m there to see and ultimately write about. The simple fact that no one has any questions about the Black Bay is maybe my favorite feature of the watch in an environment like this. That said, it’s not a watch that I bring to casual enthusiast meetups – that’s where I take along the weird stuff that perhaps fewer have seen. 

The Black Bay is also just an incredibly versatile watch, day in and day out. On the five-link bracelet it can present as a little more formal, but still looks great with casual clothes. And let’s face it, I’m wearing casual clothes through about 99% of my waking hours at this point. On my wrist I find it to be quite comfortable and easy to wear, though I hear the calls of collectors who insist it is still too big and too tall. But it works for me. Most of all though, it feels like the type of watch that I’d be happy to have associated with me by people in my life if I did wear the same watch everyday. 

That is an extremely specific concern that only touches a small corner of the watch enthusiast world, I think. But it’s an idea that comes up with some frequency in casual conversations with colleagues and watch friends. There’s this notion, perhaps a result of a very particular type of watch marketing, that part of the appeal of a nice watch is its heirloom quality. You’re investing in something that will outlast you, and the people who remember you after you’re gone will picture your watch in their minds eye when those memories come up. But for a collector who wears a different watch everyday, this is a pipe dream, which is why, I think, it holds a certain appeal. Many of us wish we could be that person who could be associated with one watch, and one watch only. 

The Black Bay, as an heirloom, is a pretty good choice. It has a timeless quality to it that will never go out of style and people will always want to wear (as much as I love my Arcanauts and Mings, I’m not sure this is where they excel). And it is incredibly well made and should easily keep ticking for many decades to come with a little maintenance and care. And, importantly, it’s simple and straightforward. Just like it doesn’t dominate the conversation at Geneva Watch Days, it won’t become an object of undue fascination to these hypothetical heirs of mine, and I like that. 

Of course, this is all just one big thought experiment. I’m not going down to one watch intentionally, but if financial disaster were to strike, the Tudor Black Bay would almost certainly be the watch I’d decide to keep. In the meantime, when I wear my one and only Tudor, I’ll continue to enjoy participating in my own kind of watch collector cosplay, imagining that this watch was the last one standing. Tudor

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