Borna Bosniak
Another year gone, and another year of looking back at what has been and figuring out which three watches accompanied me along the way. As it tends to go with these things, there are two caveats to watch out for. The first, and most dangerous in my experience, is recency bias, which I still fear might’ve affected my third pick, though I’m quite comfortable in saying that if it didn’t quite make the cut considering the pure number of wears, it certainly will over the coming year. The second is the unavoidable “I thought it wouldn’t change much from last year“, before it inevitably does. With that in mind, I really did give myself a fair go, hugely expanding my collection of vintage pieces towards the end of 2024 as I simply couldn’t pass up a single “good opportunity”, with the mindset that I wouldn’t be too cut if they had to leave the collection. That’s pretty much exactly what has happened – not many of those original purchases have stayed with me, some were quite difficult to part with, but with a few pieces emerging as clearly preferred, it just made sense.
Casio G-Shock GWM5610
The venerable G-Shock is back, to noone’s surprise, this year taking up the number one spot – and there’s good reason for that. Throughout the year, I managed to achieve one of my goals of being more active, whether that’s gym, badminton, or spending more time outdoors, and the G-Shock was an easy pick every time. I wore it so much, in fact, that it moved out of my watch box (or let’s be honest, watch drawer at this point) and sat in the key tray next to the door. This meant that I never really needed to worry about picking out a watch to wear when running a quick errand, and ended up just grabbing the Casio on my way out. Having had it for two years now after a year-long G-Shock hiatus, I’m not quite sure how I ever managed without one in the collection.
Universal Geneva Tri-Compax ref. 222100-2
With the love for vintage UG hotting up given the exciting news of the brand revival, it was time for one to return to my top three. I actually wore the Polerouter featured in ’23 plenty this year, courtesy of a stunning new strap I got for it, but this pipped it to top UG. There’s no two ways about it – this was an unexpected arrival to the collection, and one of the main reasons why I no longer have a grail. It really doesn’t get much better for me. For the longest time, I longed for a really special, vintage Universal Genève, and believing to be a staunch realist, didn’t think something like this would ever be possible. And yet, here we are. I initially thought I’d be scared of wearing it, but the 36mm case and those twisted lugs made it not just impossible to ignore, but also supremely comfortable on my wrist. It also helps that the dial is in incredible condition – that vertical brushing enchants me every time I look at it.
Lima GMT Transit
The third spot on the list goes to a watch whose existence I was not aware of until a few weeks before it joined the collection. Lima is an Indonesian microbrand, and the brainchild of graphic and industrial designer Herman Tantriady – and I think it’s pretty obvious that whoever put the GMT Transit together knew a thing or two about design. In a time when brutalist design has been the talk of the town when it comes to new, hot microbrands, I’m surprised that Lima’s GMT effort hasn’t made a bigger splash. I was completely enamoured by the strongly brushed, flat surfaces and wide bezel, combining beautifully with the matte dial, which is the highlight of the whole design with its custom typeface and excellent proportions. All of these things would’ve been enough to make me pull the trigger, but the decision was pretty much made for me given the fact that this thing sports a Seiko NH34 automatic and retails for A$500. It stepped in for my Grand Seiko GMT on my trip to Singapore for SpringSprangSprung this year where I actually got to meet Herman and hear a thing or two about the watch’s design process, making it a definite long-term commitment. Now I’m left with having to choose between a beautifully Zaratsu-polished GS or this micro bombshell whenever I travel. Oh deary me, what a terrible problem to have…
