The Fourth Wheel, Issue 70

Ask Me Anything: Why the Reverso isn't a sports watch, the best time of day to buy watches and what happened to the Watch Snob

Hello and welcome back to The Fourth Wheel, the newsletter which yet again failed to mention this AMA in issue 69. Every ten issues I throw it open to you, my wonderful readers, to ask anything you like, and you have never let me down. Even when I forget to prompt you! So here we are, back once again with the polite enquiries¹.

In other news, I went to a pub quiz with a few friends this week. We sat down, got our drinks, paid our dues and then found out the quiz had a theme, which was…. time! Cue an entire quiz about watches, clocks, celebrities and the watch brands they wear, time-themed movies, etc. The pressure was on, and my professional pride was at stake. We did have a small ‘discussion’ about whether Rihanna was a Rolex ambassador or not (she’s not, but if there are any certainties in this universe, one of them is that you can never, ever, correct a pub quiz in your favour) but overall I felt that I upheld the dignity and honour of the watch writing profession. We came second though, because the music round (songs with time-themed titles) was hard².

---

---

The Fourth Wheel Reader Survey is still open! Thank you to everyone who has filled it out so far. If you have ten minutes to share your thoughts on this humble newsletter three things will happen.

1. I will be enormously grateful
2. The newsletter will get better as I listen to what you want
3. You will be entered into a draw, giving you a chance to win a year’s free subscription

---

Now, your regular instalment of ‘I’m a watch journalist: Ask Me Anything’.

We start with two questions from Joseph Wood, who asks:

1. Why don't models update water resistance over time, like the JLC Reverso? If it was watertight, it'd be a GADA watch for many. It fell into the dress watch category but wasn't born that way, so what gives?

First let me admit that I had to google GADA (‘Go Anywhere, Do Anything’, for anyone else similarly uninformed). That done, let me say thank you, because this question opens up a number of different avenues.

As I’m sure you’re aware, there are plenty of models whose water resistance has improved over time - most Rolex Oysters, for instance, are better rated today than when first introduced. I would also argue that the general level of water resistance found on ‘everyday’ watches has improved over the decades. If you buy an IWC Portofino, a Nomos Orion, an Omega Constellation or a Grand Seiko ‘Heritage’ model - to choose at random four watches that really aren’t intended to brave the full force of nature - you will get somewhere between 30m and 100m of water resistance, which is more than likely enough for your day-to-day needs.

You may disagree; your daily needs might include white-water kayaking, search-and-rescue diving or turtle conservation, but if so I think you will already have sought out a watch more particularly tailored to your lifestyle. If you are among the legions of watch customers who will never be fully reassured by 30m or 50m depth ratings³ then I sympathise, but I would recommend reading Jack Forster on the subject of depth ratings (twice - first at Hodinkee, and more recently on Substack) as well as the piece I co-wrote with Alex Doak for Mr Porter, busting some of the more die-hard myths. What really matters is that a low water resistance tends to imply, and be accompanied by, other design choices that render a watch ill-suited for adventure. Historically, as well, guaranteeing the water resistance of square or rectangular cases was a bit of a conundrum - TAG Heuer really battled with it on the Monaco - but these days making a 100m-resistant Reverso would be well within the brand’s technical capabilities.