This is an edition of the newsletter Box + Papers, Cam Wolf’s weekly deep dive into the world of watches. Sign up here.
My watch rotation is modeled after an NBA team. The best squads are often built around a superstar pairing that papers over the other’s weaknesses and elevates their strengths: Think Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen or Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. My two-man game is equally complementary: The rugged, sporty Tudor Pelagos 39 and elegant, classic-as-hell Cartier Tank are the two superstars who I rely on on a nearly everyday basis.
But a great basketball team is nothing without a deep bench filled with role-player specialists. I started thinking about this the other day as my hand passed over my Tank and P39 yet again. If a watch collection truly does need specialists to be in tip-top shape, then I can’t think of a more important hole to fill than the Summer Watch.
The Summer Watch does everything the collection’s mainstays can’t. This specialist is the one that fills all the holes on a vacation. Perhaps it’s made out of titanium or another material light enough to not become a mini portable radiator on your wrist, and it is likely friendly with sand and ocean water—maybe even a scuba dive, like one Illuminati’s contribution to this list.
Most importantly, the Summer Watch has to check all these boxes while also being one of the most fun in the rotation. (There’s that “fun” word again!) Chris Hall, the founder of The Fourth Wheel newsletter, says his Summer Watch fills him with a “childish joy.” Adam Golden, the dealer who owns Menta Watches, wore a Rolex Explorer with a tropical dial for much of the summer. “It’s in the name!” he wrote, referencing its tropical dial. (Apparently Golden was having too much fun, because a client so was taken with it that Golden was convinced to sell it to him).
My Summer Watch is the Seiko 5 Sports x Rowing Blazers with an orange dial. This piece fills every need I have for a Summer Watch. The thing you learn when you become a dad to a two-year-old is that they’re constantly inventing new ways to make a mess. Just this week we were at a park when my son spotted a small creek. I told him not to jump in it but that’s the other thing about toddlers: Listening skills are still a work in progress. I’m never worried about my Seiko getting muddied up with questionable creek water—unlike my Tank, which I’ve had to find a safe space for during unexpected visits to the beach.
