Casio is my favorite watch manufacture…

I used to be a Seikoholic. And many a time, I turned up my nose at Edifices (not g-shocks) for being carelessly designed and relatively crudely made. The 580 I just bought 2 days ago is worlds apart from Edifices of the past. It surpasses many Seiko 5s / 3-star Orients / low end Citizens in looks and is cheaper as well. I wouldn’t mind a collection of s.steel Casios except I am winding down buying watches.

That aside, I don’t think I can earn much money anyways. Much less afford an MT-G which are rather large for my wrist. Just now, I searched on realigning the chrono hands on the 5490 and to my surprise, it was possible with just a pull of the crown and a press of the start button. Casio think of everything.

And in the current poor economy, I feel better with a sub $100 watch on my wrist. More later…

I bought a whole lot of watches from SunriseTimeCentre,

1. Casio Protrek 270
2. Seiko solar diver (tuna-ish)
3. Seiko Presage
4. Seiko 077j
5. Casio 2200 carbon core
6. Casio Edifice 580 (latest one)

There will be another one soon, making 7 in total which is why I get more discounts than others, in case kids are wondering.

…

An hour or so away from dinner out. Blimey, I may have landed myself a remote working job offer, just from writing free articles on Medium. I could soon earn 100RM a day lying on my back with my iPad. May have to pay taxes!

Having an income would allow me and the folks to have a better quality of life. Mom and Dad can spend their pensions on their passions and I can afford nicer things. Too bad the Rapture will come soon and I’ll not have saved enough for anything really good. Maybe I will use the money to travel or go on outings with the folks to PD, Penang, Ipoh etc.

Will resume work on the essays at 7pm.

…

Raining and stormy out. I am preparing my article on Casio watches in general and why the Edifice is my grail. There are 7 criteria to choosing a watch:

1. Don't buy purpose-built watches unless you need their special function. Buy instead, a watch that says who you are by its style and price-point. Don't buy second-hand luxury even if you can afford it but you are of a lower income group.
2. Don't buy modern watches that are discounted for being older / slow-moving stock. Also don't buy watches that look special, say bullheads and UFOs or chunks of chromed brass from the 70s.
3. Don't buy a watch that is so cheap that people notice. Buy a watch that is respectable, better yet, from a known leader of the price tier to which you belong.
4. Don't buy a watch that you can't shower, or take to the pool with, or is fragile -not as your daily wear.
5. These days, solar powered watches are king, so are 10-year-battery watches. Buy those if you can afford them, and don't buy Bluetooth watches or fitness / GPS watches unless you lead a very active lifestyle like Bear Grylls.
6. Don't save up for your EDCs. Save up for heirlooms. If you had put away $100 every month for an heirloom, then buy it when you retire but never use it as a daily driver.
7. Don't buy a watch until you have visited every AD and online seller you possibly can. Watches have a tendency to remain undiscovered or secreted in out of the way locations and some can cost less while being more attractive.

These were all mistakes I made as a younger watch collector. Here are the key things to look out for in a watch that you will love and appreciate:

1. There is a sweet spot for watch sizing and it is between 38-41mm wide not including crown and guards / pushers etc. Plus the watch should be round.
2. There are 2 categories of watches that look best on a man, first it looks sharp (quite literally) and second, its dial looks asymmetrical.
3. A complication of some kind is a big selling point. My favorite is moon phase and also annual calendar.
4. Watch dials can come in many colors, choose a color to match your skin tone. Otherwise buy jet black. A smaller watch on strap may be bought white dialed. Dark skinned people should not buy into rainbow colors, but more towards gold tone.
5. Owning 2 cheaper watches is normally more satisfying than owning just one expensive one. For example my Edifice 580 and the Mudman 9000, rather than a BT G-Steel do-it-all. Don't buy more than 3 watches even if you can. One of the 3 should be an heirloom.
6. If a watch looks out of this world, then stop and just say "no". If a watch looks too generic, also say "no". Everything about watches is grounded in tradition. If it has a power reserve ramp, OK. If it has a sub dial, OK, if it has an open-heart tourbillon, OK, if it has a fighter jet pointer and army stripes, No way.
7. Titanium, sapphire, ceramic, carbon fiber, are selling points true, but you should not choose a watch just because it is full carbon, antireflective sapphire etc. Materials do not matter as nobody will notice them in passing -even yourself!