The Quest for the Perfect Watch...

[Jedi]

...is a question bound to raise hackles or elicit thoughtful responses, so I thought I'd ask it after being inspired by a post by fellow TRF'er, stevemulholland3...

"...it seems like every rolex I buy just doesnt fill the void I have for the "perfect watch".As soon as I get what I thought was it-I start seeing flaws and freaking out over stupid stuff-but I know I will find the one.
cheers..."

...and here goes, Are You Still Looking For Your Perfect Watch?

To kick things off, I started being conscious of watches when I received as a child, a Casio Game Watch, featuring a really cool F1 Grand Prix style game on it. I was 11 years old. The old Mickey Mouse watch was flung into the corner and forgotten until about 10 years ago. The Game Watch was the PERFECT WATCH.

Then I wanted a James Bond style Seiko digital, with the cool ticker tape print out and garroting wire. So I received a Seiko Divers Quartz for a birthday. It was less than PERFECT.

Being enamoured by NASA and space exploration, I saved my pennies and at the ripe old age of 16, with some help from grandma, I bought my Omega Speedmaster Automatic. It was PERFECT, until one day, inexplicably, my mother handed me a Limited Edition Breitling Navitimer with the Swiss Air Force logo on the dial. It was just too cool and I was doing work experience at a civilian operated airfield at the time. It was even more PERFECT. The pilots were really jealous, but it scored me a couple of flights in the cockpit of a Cessna Citation! Jet planes are even cooler than watches

Then I bought a few SWATCH's, traded them, and eventually sold them all.

At the age of 21, instead of a key or a car or vacation or party, I received the granddaddy of them all, a Rolex Submariner Date 16610 with lug holes and tritium dial. This lil' bastid became THE WATCH at the exclusion of all others. For almost 10 years it stayed on my wrist, enduring everything I threw at it.

As I progressed through life, and career and what not, there were times when I was moved to buy another watch, but the Rolex/Omega rotation became kind of standard on my wrist. I never tired of looking at them and talking about them. My research pretty much convinced me that the SubDate was IT. THE ONE. Bar none. Until I bought another Rolex, the Pepsi.

From then on it became a journey. The realisation that Perfection comes along in many forms as my own appreciation of horology began to develop. Since then, my tastes have diversified somewhat, with my horological focus being on timekeeping and expressions of that ideal. Rolex fulfills that no doubt, but like Steve, I'm often left questioning myself.

But this is a wonderful hobby and I was just wondering, how do you guys feel about this topic.