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A GADA could be the most useful or most useless type of watch

6K views 56 replies 33 participants last post by  Denizen 
#1 ·
Just a random thought I had today. So for WIS types, a typical example of a GADA could be something like a Rolex Explorer I. The antithesis to a GADA could be a delicate dress watch in precious metal with limited WR. Maybe a JLC Master Calendar in rose gold. Watches of each category exist in many price tiers, of course.

Now, for the majority of my adult life, a watch of any kind has not been a necessity. A phone tells time and can do any kind of measurement/calculation a watch could do. For the entirety of my life, a watch beyond a common quartz Seiko or Casio has not been a necessity. So in this type of a world, the argument for a GADA as:

Completely Useless: Because of the above factors, watches have become completely discretionary luxury items. In this context, a watch should be VERY specialized and something you wear for very special type occasions only. So a very fancy black tie event where you may not want to wear an Apple Watch or take out your phone to check the time. In this case, instead of a GADA, get a very specialized dress watch that really fits the purpose.

Completely Useful: In a world where a watch is far from a necessity, you want to maximize the time and usage of a discretionary item. The easiest way to do this is to have a GADA. Again, something like an Explorer I, maybe that compels you to wear it more often because ostensibly you could get away with wearing it to a black tie event, at work, at the gym, whatever.

Two very disparate takes on the philosophy of a GADA watch that just came to mind. So for WIS types, I'd posit the ultimate solution. A minimum 2 watch collection. 1 GADA, and 1 highly specialized limited usage watch (perhaps a precious metal dress watch). :-d
 
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#2 ·
I agree with your logical thought sequence and both arguments... but not the outcome or solution.

Simply because a GADA isnt a need. I am not the right person to talk as I own the very watch you use as an example of you GADA analysis but I dont believe that a GADA is a requirement regardless of the unility or usefulness of a watch.

We also dont all agree on what a GADA watch is. Currently (and for a few months now) I have considered my Submariner as my GADA watch. A watch that isnt usually thought of as a GADA watch.

Anyways, very nice write up!


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#3 ·
There was a time (not all that long ago) that most people had the crazy notion that one watch was all anyone needed . You wore your watch anywhere,anyplace. If the going got rough you just took it off. Mine got put in the golf bag pocket when I played golf and came back out when I was done. All watches were GADA. Then forums came along and all of a sudden rules started to develop about what you could wear when ,where,and with what. It's been all down hill ever since.
Ah,but for the days when things were simple. Bring back free range horology!!!!
 
#4 ·
"Free Range Horology". I love it! This is a good point too. I'd say for the majority of people, any watch could be a GADA with just a bit of wrist awareness.
 
#5 ·
GADA is not, for me an explorer 1 or any 3 hand watch, I would opt for a chronograph with date. More useful.

Some of us do not carry mobile phones so a watch is still an essential bit of kit along with basic math skills so you do not need the crutch of modern society. It seems the more technological society becomes the dumber folk become.

Watch, hanky, knife and cash. Sorted.
 
#11 ·
but you're underwater... as far as i can remember, the blancpain bathyscaphe is the only chronograph that works underwater :p

How about we switch GADA to TWFML (this watch fits my lifestyle)?? This way it doesn't require a consensus to decide what it means. I was looking at a thread about dress watches earlier and with all the pictures of chronographs/sport watches, it clearly shows we're not ready for GADA.
 
#6 ·
I've thought about this and for me, the best way to think about a watch collection starts with thinking about life. Let's break life down and plot all of its activities on a horizontal line. At one end, you have (for the sake of argument and proving my point) mud wrestling or bull fighting or other harsh activities - things that wouldn't be good for automatic watches or for many watches in general. At the other end of the spectrum, you have very formal events. Throughout the middle is everyday life - the beach, bars, restaurants, the office, etc.

For me, this breaks down roughly in a 10%/80%/10% split, and I am creating a collection that reflects this. The first 10% is a beater watch that I can wear camping or sailing or running or in a scenario that would put a nicer watch at risk: this is a Luminox black ops for me. I think it's a great choice - durable, inexpensive, quartz, and has tritium lume that doesn't need to be recharged. The middle 80% is my GMT - It's durable enough for everyday life, it has a genuinely useful complication that I use daily, and I feel comfortable wearing it with anything from a suit to a T shirt. The top 10% is where I currently have a gap - I'm thinking a JLC Reverso or MUT Moon - a dressier option for formal events, but can still dip down into the middle category and be worn to work or out to dinner.

Obviously, none of these categories are exclusive and there would be overlap, but it would cover life pretty thoroughly. I don't see a reason to limit myself to one true GADA watch that would be able to do anything, but only be OK at some of the things, particularly because I enjoy watches. Similarly, I don't want to have a dozen+ different watches that cover the entire spectrum broken down by complication or face color or construction material or country of manufacture - you get it.

At least for me, 3 seems like the ideal number where everything will get some time on the wrist, and I'll be able to show up in any situation with a suitable watch that I very much enjoy.

Since I've laid out a relatively coherent framework, allow me to contradict myself: I still need to figure out what to do with my Sinn 556i. Part of me wants to keep it as a nice "mid-80% of life" option that doesn't say Rolex on the dial, but I can't help but feel like it's a bit of a waste, since it's only gotten a few days of wrist time since I picked up the GMT. I guess I need to either flip it and put it towards a dress watch or build in some kind of a tier system to my whole mentality.

Either way - interested in hearing everyone's thoughts.
 
#7 ·
Ok,....so I'm obviously not in the "edumakation" club and I tried to look up what "GADA" stands for or means...

GADA:
Georgia Automobile Dealers Association
Georgia Athletics Directors Association
Greater Austin Dance Academy
Generic Animal Drug Alliance

& The gada: is a club or blunt mace from South Asia.Made either of wood or metal, it consists essentially of a spherical head mounted on a shaft, with a spike on the top.

& A Fun Fact:
GA first 2 letters of my first name
DA first 2 letters of my last name



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#10 ·
I've spent far too much money trying to find the perfect GADA watch. I think they do exist, I just don't have the right genetic makeup to be happy with only one. Imagine a world where everyone was issued a watch at birth and that was it for the rest of their lives. The ultimate GADA watch. There's no adventure in that. The joy is in the hunt.
 
#12 ·
So for WIS types, I'd posit the ultimate solution. A minimum 2 watch collection. 1 GADA, and 1 highly specialized limited usage watch (perhaps a precious metal dress watch). :-d
Plus a beater, so that's a minimum of 3 watches.

I tend to think of GADA watches like a Swiss army knife. Not a great corkscrew, not great scissors, not good tweezers, not a good screw driver, etc. But for a single knife, it's reasonably good at several things. However, if you have a specific or frequent need, a more specialized tool would better.
 
#14 ·
How our standards have changed! It wasn't that long ago when the Reverso was considered a sports watch for its ability to protect a crystal from shattering and keep dust out of the case. Now in the days when virtually any 3atm watch that has been pressure tested recently is suitable for a dip in the pool, we think we must own an Explorer (a watch designed to climb Mt. Everest) to protect against desk diving or doing the dishes...
 
#18 ·


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#19 ·
I've searched for a GADA watch before and wasn't able to find quite what I wanted.

It may come down to definitions, and I think now what I'm really looking for is a travel watch that most people would consider a GADA watch.

I travel fairly frequently and often it's a mix of work and personal travel, so I might be in the office during the week then at the beach or trekking on the weekend. That's the sort of thing I think of when I think of a GADA watch.

In regular life at home I have many watches to choose from, but when I travel I want one watch that does everything. That's where I see the usefulness of a GADA watch for someone with a lot of watches.
 
#20 ·
I don't get why a dress watch isn't "GADA" for 90% of people. I mean I guess I'd like a screw down crown, but honestly I can just take a darn watch off for swimming and hot tubbing. Otherwise a dress watch goes better with a suit and jeans than an explorer for example. Lume is always a negative unless you're going cheap. Thin is just better. And if you can mix straps that's cool.
 
#27 ·
I don't get why a dress watch isn't "GADA" for 90% of people. I mean I guess I'd like a screw down crown, but honestly I can just take a darn watch off for swimming and hot tubbing. Otherwise a dress watch goes better with a suit and jeans than an explorer for example. Lume is always a negative unless you're going cheap. Thin is just better. And if you can mix straps that's cool.
You've answered your own question - if you have to take your watch off for regular activities then it's hardly a GADA. Of course swimming (or anything where a watch might get wet) might not be a regular activity for you, but I'm sure it is for many of the 90% of people you're referring to.

As for the OP's comments, I don't agree with the premise that watches are unnecessary (as suggested in both alternatives).

I consider a watch to be somewhat necessary. I don't use my phone for the time, and try to leave it at home when I can. I lock my phone in the safe when on vacation, and my family has a rule of no phones at the table.
 
#21 ·
I used to have a Rolex DJ and it did everything, anytime (ha - pun), and it was all I needed. Eventually I got a G-Shock for really beating up and risky travel situations where I could use the alarm, and then I bought a Citizen "dress" watch just to spend a couple hundred bucks. But the DJ was all I needed.

I have been wearing my Sinn 556 LE the past week and I am torn with it. It is a GADA and fits most any occasion I encounter. But it obviates the need for about 10 of my other watches, which makes it useless as a part of a collection (unless you have a collection of GADA, which is then a metaphysical paradox). I could live with the Sinn and my Vulcain (as dress watch with alarm) for the rest of my life quite nicely. But that is not watch collecting.

I would add pictures, but it seems WUS won't allow uploads right now? Just URL link!?!?
 
#22 ·
I think that this is really based on lifestyle. We all happen to really like watches so many of us have more than one. All watches used to be GADA and for many people, none belonging to this forum ;-), one watch does do everything they do. Do I need 15 square G Shocks, obviously not. Do I use any of them for anything other than looking at while they are on my wrist (or sitting in a box), nope.

The reason we are even able to think about topics like this is because we don't have any real problems to deal with. Go ask some starving kid in an area of the world that is under developed how many watches he rotates through and if he would wear a Sub with a tux or if only ALS will do. I'm most certianly not trying to take moral high ground, I indeed have many hot meals on my wrist right now, I only am trying to demonstrate that with a lack of serious problems we tend to fill the void with trivial things. I for one wear my G Shocks with a suit at work and wore my Explorer and Speedmaster Mark II swimming in the ocean. I have many different types of watches and they are all GADA.
 
#28 ·
I agree that the GADA watch choice has to do with lifestyle and you should probably have two.

I think the main factor in choosing a GADA watch is the person wearing it and being realistic about where it will be worn.

A GADA watch for someone who actually goes anywhere and does most anything will be much different than for those who don't.

A GADA person would need a Casio GShock and A Garmin GPS watch.

A Non-GADA person who does not really go anywhere or do anything would be fine with a Submariner and a Speedmaster.
 
#29 ·
I agree that the GADA watch choice has to do with lifestyle and you should probably have two.

I think the main factor in choosing a GADA watch is the person wearing it and being realistic about where it will be worn.

A GADA watch for someone who actually goes anywhere and does most anything will be much different than for those who don't.

A GADA person would need a Casio GShock and A Garmin GPS watch.

A Non-GADA person who does not really go anywhere or do anything would be fine with a Submariner and a Speedmaster.
My GADA is my 1996 SMPc. It has gone lots of places while I did lots of stuff. As you say it is the wearer being realistic.
 
#38 ·
The concept of a GADA watch doesn't mean the watch has to be a particular type. It can be an Explorer, it can be a diver, it can be a G-Shock, it can be anything.

I have many GADA pieces. Maybe later in life, I sell everything except this:



or maybe keep this:



Oh, how I adore titanium!
 
#39 ·
I disagree.
Either one of these two can be GADA.


I would not use a precious metal dress watch enough to justify owning one.

Before I got my Stowa, this was my duo


I prefer a GShock as my second piece so I can wear it when mowing the lawn, cutting stuff with a chainsaw, general funtimes


Anyone who objects to me wearing either the Nomos or Stowa to a formal event is the one with a problem.


I buy the watches for me. I won't buy what I don't want to wear.
 
#53 ·
I like to mix things up so I have a variety of watches. Mostly Seiko’s but also Glycine’s, Archimedes, etc. If I had to pick one GADA watch though, it would be my Sinn 556i.


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#55 ·
Would you wear your GADA watch in all the following occasions?

1. Attend a job interview at Wall Street.
2. Barbecue at the beach with family.
3. Watch Deadpool 2 at the cinema.
4. Meet the in laws for the first time.
5. Watch F1 at the circuit as a spectator.
6. Attend America’s cup as a crew.
7. Participate in a Pan America rally as the navigator.
8. Race at a triathlon.
9. Serve hot meals to homeless people at the church.
10. Time contraction intervals while on the way to the hospital.

For me, I would want to wear a different watch to each of these occasions. Although I don’t get to go to many of these occasions, a collection of one, two or three watches would not suit me. I prefer/want/need varieties.



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#56 ·
Would you wear your GADA watch in all the following occasions?

1. Attend a job interview at Wall Street.
2. Barbecue at the beach with family.
3. Watch Deadpool 2 at the cinema.
4. Meet the in laws for the first time.
5. Watch F1 at the circuit as a spectator.
6. Attend America's cup as a crew.
7. Participate in a Pan America rally as the navigator.
8. Race at a triathlon.
9. Serve hot meals to homeless people at the church.
10. Time contraction intervals while on the way to the hospital.

For me, I would want to wear a different watch to each of these occasions. Although I don't get to go to many of these occasions, a collection of one, two or three watches would not suit me. I prefer/want/need varieties.

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I think I will only do about 2 of those 10 in my entire real life, but yes, if I did all 10, I would be happy wearing the Oris (that I just posted above you) everywhere.
 
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