Purple & Gold Never Looked Better.

When my Father unclipped the oyster clasp on his two-tone 91′ Rolex Submariner ref. 16613, and proceeded to place it in my hands, signaling that the watch would pass on to its next caretaker, I was beyond ecstatic (a full article on that moment and that watch will come out closer to my 30th Birthday this year, which will also mark the watch’s 30th year). As I was shaking off my sense of disbelief, he walked over to a forgotten drawer in a partners desk in our living room, and fished out another watch that was patiently awaiting the light of day. I caught a hint of steel, a flash of “gold”, and…wait…was that a PURPLE dial?

It indeed was, as he unclipped the clasp and fiddled with the jangly bracelet, slipping it onto his wrist. It was a mighty return for a forgotten son, back in its place on wrist, and brandishing its lower-case Nautica written logo like an eager smile. This was the watch that my Father had before his first Rolex, which was an early 90’s Rolex GMT Master Pepsi, and boy was it ready to be back. Even today, which is 10 years from that moment, my Father still wears his vintage Nautica. It is battered, it is beaten, and the stories it must have lived are all brimming beneath the case. Every time I visit my parent’s home, I ask my Father to slip it off and let me hold it. It is the closest thing that I have ever come to a true “vintage” watch, in the sense that it has not been treated like it was guarded in a safe for its entire life.

Looking closer at the watch itself, it really is quite an odd confluence of trends from a bygone era. With a bezel that places an “N” for North at the 12 position, screaming “I am a Field watch!”, and gold sunray pattern calendar/day/hour sub-dials showcasing an air of distinction, the watch seems to be having a crisis of identity. Top all of that off with a flamboyantly purple dial color, and you have the makings of one really unique watch.

Despite all of the odd design choices, I have a huge smile on my face each time I see it, and in doing so, this little Nautica becomes so much more than the sum of its parts.

-Mister Wrist(er)