A Very Rare Watch Snob Moment

http://images.askmen.com/fashion/men...5876-flash.jpg
The Watch Snob is in.The Best Yachting Watch For Men?

Yannick, I don’tknow if you are a precocious fourth grader or a 40-year-old Luddite, but your letter hasmade me happy. Trust me, that does not happen often when I sit down to sift through theraft of detritus that floats by Watch Snob HQ. A handwritten letter is a lost art but onethat those of us who appreciate things that take time still appreciate. I still try to dipthe nib a few times a year when I write to my elderly aunts and my favorite professor fromschool.Handwritten epistles provide a worthy companion tomechanical timepieces. A fine linen paper, good fountain pen, caring penmanship andinspired prose bear many of the traits that define hautehorlogerie. And while your palimpsestic sheet of ruled notepad paper,heavy-handed quasi-cursive and simplistic sentences are more akin to a watch most typicalreaders are buying, I am happy to overlook this due to the fact that you took the time tosit down and compose it rather than hurriedly peck it out on a smartphone, too lazy tocapitalize (is everyone listening?).Now to your question: TheYachtmaster II is a clichéd choice and a horribly garish one, more suited forposeur skippers who get seasick after two drinks at the yacht club. And while the Submarinerwould make a fine choice for your activities, I will suggest something more refined. Givenyour penchant for sailing, along with handwritten missives, you are obviously someone whoappreciates things done by the sweat of one’s brow. So I suggest you bypass theUlysse Nardin and go for a Vacheron Constantin Overseas. Even the simplest self-windingreference is an exquisite piece of watchmaking and perhaps the only braceleted sportswatch other than a RoyalOak or Nautilusthat I can recommend without wincing.The times I thank readers come far lessoften than the passage of Halley’s Comet, so do not take my gratitude for yourhandwritten letter lightly. But next time, please find some better paper.The Right Choice

Dear Snob,I'm a young professional athlete with anincredible passion for horology. I'm attempting to begin my pursuit of a watch collectionwith a watch that checks every box. I've narrowed it down to the Audemars Piguet RoyalOak, Patek Nautilus 5711 and perhaps a used Lange Datograph. After now spending almost amonth over the past two years training and staying a mere 100 meters away from the APfactory, the RO has a special place in my mind. I acknowledge that the movement inside the15202 is/was manufactured by JLC, but in your opinion, how much does this play into thewatches' strength/weakness? The movement in the Lange blows me away and I very muchappreciate that it was the first newly conceived chronograph in a very long time, soperhaps for not a huge amount more, the Lange is within range.You, sir, are a walking oxymoron -- a professional athlete with a passion forhorology. Most professional athletes think “horology” is something theypractice in their hotel suites with another kind of professional. If they happen to wear awatch, it is usually some sort of special edition given them by fawningmarketers.The Jaeger-LeCoultre calibre 920 is one of the mostlegendary in the history of self-winding movements, as evidenced by its use by the holytrinity of Swiss watch companies, Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin.The fact that AP appropriated this movement for its own use now in the classic steel RoyalOak (as calibre 2120) can be nothing but a trump card for this timepiece. Don’t getme wrong, the Nautilus is a fine watch in its own right, but the Royal Oak is the one tochoose here.The Datograph, while it may be the finest chronographin existence (you may quote me on that), is an entirely different category of timepiececompared to the AP and Patek. If you want a modern classic and a complicated timepiece,get the Lange. But something tells me your heart is in the Vallée de Joux, and inthat case, the Royal Oak is the right choice.Question from a Watch Knob

I am about to inherit a ring (pinky) that for sentimental reasons I will wear (everyday). Do you think it's remiss to wear a gold ring with a "silver" watch with leatherstrap? It is remiss to wear a pinky ring at all,sentimental reasons or otherwise. But if you do plan to wear it, I recommend pairing itwith a matching gold watch, belt buckle and gold-framed sunglasses. Continue Reading

http://www.askmen.com/fashion/mens-watches/yachting-watch.html ]More...[/url]