Staff Picks: The Watches We Wish Were Our Dads – HODINKEE

So here you go, our picks for watches that we think would be good dads (and why). If you had to so deeply personify a watch so that it could represent a father, what watch would you choose? 

If I close my eyes and imagine my dad at his best, he’s wearing his classic mid-’90s garb and either dragging me to a jazz concert (despite my hours of protest) or blasting house music in the car with all the windows rolled down. Like Genta’s own brand designs from the ’90s, he was rebellious in nature but the coolest to those who got it.

Not all fathers are straightforward field or tool watches. Some are a little more complex, like this Octagonal QP, with the upside of being eccentric, shiny, and fun. These dads/watches are layered and wise and full of intricacies that you didn’t even know they had until they turn to you and say something like: “Oh, I remember that time I saw Larry Levan at Paradise Garage with your mother in ’86. She looked so beautiful on the dance floor.” Or when you strike the minute repeater on the Octagonal and wonder how such a tiny 35mm instrument can chime so perfectly on request. When I’m feeling soppy and in the mood to reminisce, it’s the smaller sounds, phrases, and objects that I remember as precious.

Like my dad, the openwork octagonal is three-dimensional, stylish, devastatingly cool (in his youth, don’t you dare tell him I told you that), and a little bonkers – in the best way, of course.

This exceedingly odd prompt was dreamt up by my exceedingly odd boss, so I figured I’d choose one of his favorite watches. Because who wouldn’t want to call a camera-toting, chore jacket-wearing guy who’s surprisingly tall in person their dad? In his Week On The Wrist with the Tudor Pelagos 39, James called it the “dad (or mom) diver,” and when he described what he meant by this, I couldn’t help but think, “That’s the kind of dad I want.”

“What if, like me, you dive a lot less than you used to because you have kids and work and, you know, life stuff?” James wrote. “Heck, what if you don’t dive at all, but you like the format for its raw capability and casual charm? That’s where the Pelagos 39 fits.”

A dad who’s around, prioritizes his family, me, and perhaps most importantly, my college tuition (if I can get in) over his silly little hobbies? Sign me up! That said, I know Pops works hard and deserves a nice watch – more importantly, a cool watch.

Because while I want my dad around, I also want to know he’s got some edge, or at least he used to. Nowadays, they’ve hung his jersey in the rafters. But still, he’s not picking me up from soccer practice in a minivan and he’s not too concerned with suburban concerns like “hitting his steps” on his Fitbit. No, I’ve got a cool dad who doesn’t try too hard, and he wears a Tudor Pelagos 39.

There are so many ways to go with this seemingly straightforward prompt from James. When sitting down to think about it, fathers are difficult to capture in a watch! Obviously, I thought of my father, a man of many watches, both in reality and in this hypothetical scenario. If he were to be distilled to a single watch (though he can’t), it would be his trusty Rolex Submariner ref. 16613 in two-tone with a perfectly faded, now purple dial. Insert comment about my reliable, slightly swanky, and gracefully aging father here.

So, why have I picked MB&F’s Legacy Machine Perpetual? Well, I’d rather distill a hypothetical father into a watch rather than my own. Fathers are like ogres and onions, not because they stink or make you cry but because they have layers. MB&F is a very layered brand. Everything Max and the team create begs you to look deeper, peeling as you get over the excessively domed sapphire crystal and the large-and-in-charge balance wheel before you even start to read the time. The LM Perpetual obviously adds further layers with complication.

Of all complications, a perpetual calendar best describes fathers. At first glance, there is a lot going on, and at first interaction, most don’t know how to interact with a perpetual calendar. Yet compared to tourbillons or minute repeaters, a perpetual calendar is barely a complication – Ochs und Junior created one using just nine additional parts. And when given a quick how-to, it’s easy to understand which buttons to push to get everything set correctly. Fathers, too, can be more simple than they present (it helps to know which buttons to push) and, at the end of the day, can give you all the information you need to get through life.

There’s gotta be a deadbeat joke somewhere, right? Anyway, I digress. During the brainstorming of this write-up, I came to realize that the qualities that I liked about my G-Shock MRGB5000 were exactly ones that I respect in a paternal figure – reliability, versatility, and titanium construction. Okay, I’m only kidding about that last part, but the MRG series from G-Shock embodies the versatility that you’d want – it would get along with everyone else and is super low-key but commands deep respect for those who really know.

The MRG series are the highest-end G-Shocks, and do an incredible job at being luxurious while retaining its core principles of being a true tool watch. I think those are some solid qualities – great at being fancy once in a while, but making sure you’re still yourself at the end of the day.

The watch itself is made out of a high-hardness titanium alloy with a cobalt alloy bezel, along with a virtually scratch-proof DLC coating. Not only that, but what separates it from the standard G-Shock lines is the intricacy of the actual case construction, as well as plenty of Sallaz polishing throughout. Hidden within that resiliency is refinement. You’ll know that when the going gets tough, your dad/watch is going to stand up to anything that gets thrown his way. Sounds good to me.

In second grade, my parents took me to Disney World in Florida. Among all the fun memories of rides and a visit to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, one of the things that sticks out in my mind is an official sketch of Mickey Mouse golfing we bought for my dad. I can still picture it in my head, the red, loose lines sketching out Mickey winding up in his backswing, hanging in my dad’s office. My dad was an avid golfer from the time he was a kid and through my childhood, taking me out to the range and the course. As he gets closer to retirement age and I get back into golfing, I’m manifesting a more relaxed, carefree, and golf-filled life for my dad, and the watch for that lifestyle is the Gerald Genta Retro Fantasy Mickey Mouse watch.

Thanks to Genta’s revival, these fun jump-hour watches are back on the minds of at least a few collectors. But with all the debate about the success of Genta designs under his own name, it’s hard to argue that his Disney golf watches are anything but pure whimsy. I’ve quietly searched for a deal for a while, thinking it would be a fun watch for my collection and maybe one I could gift to my dad for his retirement to help remind him to slow down and enjoy his well-earned time for his passions. I also thought it could be fun to build a golf-themed collection with watches like the Cartier Pasha golf score counting watch. But the prices continue to rise, and both seem out of reach. Oh well, that won’t stop me from imagining my dad wearing this watch as he hits balls on retirement. That’s the watch I wish was my dad – I just hope he keeps his eye on the ball a little better than Mickey.

I don’t often look to inanimate objects to fulfill a fatherly role in my life, but if I were to personify a watch out there in this fashion, I think I would choose something like the Rolex Moonphase Reference 8171 to assume paternal responsibilities. With its rich sense of history, I believe this watch would be great at offering sage fatherly advice when necessary.

This piece’s all-yellow-gold attire is luxurious, sure, but not in a cold, aloof way. More so, it strikes me as a warm sort of opulence, and something about the moonphase makes me think it would have a good sense of humor. Complicated, sure, but this watch is easy to read and reliable, proof that it can give it to ya straight when necessary. I think it would also provide great tips on managing a stock portfolio and would probably come complete with a trust fund for yours truly.

The assignment was to select a watch that I wish was my dad, but to be honest with you, I could think of no watch aside from the one that my dad doesn’t even wear. The Rolex Datejust 16220 with silver tapestry dial, engine-turned bezel, and Jubilee bracelet fits my dad so much to a “T” that I’ve already had an answer to the question that hadn’t yet been asked.

My dad is a no-frills kind of guy. He just wants to play golf every day and watch the Atlanta Braves. He’s retired now, and he does exactly that. Since he’s retired, I’m moving a bit upmarket from the 16220 to something more like a 37mm Platinum A. Lange & Söhne Langematik Big Date (308.025). The one with the Sax-O-Mat (L921.4). “But, Jonathan, you say “no frills” and then go on to mention a watch that costs well into five figures?” Yes, you heard me right.

First of all, the gray dial on the platinum reference is way more his speed compared to the contrasty black dial of the white gold. That would just be way too much. The blued small seconds hand will do just fine. Obviously, the DJ is a great watch, but for a watch to symbolize my dad in retirement, we’ve got to step it up. A little bit of ceremony – even against his will – is good for him. If Dad wasn’t playing golf all the time, I’m certain he would lose track of the day of the week. And I’m saying that as something to aspire to. So, naturally, we’ve got to have a big date to keep track of the important things, like first pitches and tee times.

Further, this being the earlier Langematik with the Sax-O-Mat movement, there’s a clever “zero-reset” function that resets the running seconds to zero when the crown is pulled out to reset the time. It’s great for a man who spent nearly 40 years in the aerospace industry. Even though he’s retired, he’s still very precise.

While this deeply silly query could be answered in many ways – including with my usual staff picks selection of an Omega Ploprof – I think the Hamilton Khaki Field is a watch with a lot of dad-derived charm. Like any capable father, it’s part of a great legacy, it’s tough but uncomplicated, and it carries a simple but experience-based perspective of the world.

It’s reliable, handsome, and un-fussy, and the lume is good enough that you don’t have to be perfect when holding that dang flashlight. Reflecting on some elements of my own father, I have selected the 38mm automatic version with the titanium case. I like the mix of old-school and modern in one package, as well as the life-long relationship that one can have with a mechanical watch. Finally, it has orange accents (which is among my dad’s favorite colors). 

The Hamilton Khaki Field might not be as big of a flex as something like a Rolex Explorer, but it nails the subtle versatility of a great father figure without an ounce of added drama or complication. It’s dependable, adventure-ready, and a heck of a good role model. After a long adventure or an especially hard day, you can look at your wrist and know – even if it’s not said aloud – that this watch is proud of you.