The truth is that if you love watches, you love, well, watches plural, and it will be very hard to commit to just one watch for the rest of your life. Like Jason (and probably every one of you reading this), I’ve tried many, many times to commit to just the idea of one watch, and every time I’ve failed miserably.

Unlike the dive watch, the pilot’s watch has not become ubiquitous in the public view, and when a company like IWC tries to sell a Big Pilot based on how authentically designed and functional it is, I feel as if I’m being sold a costume accessory.

If you’re still unconvinced, consider that I also like to wear aviator sunglasses and Schott bomber jackets. These are two items that, like dive watches, have shed almost completely their military origins, but would I ever wear them together?

In the decade-plus that I’ve been into watches, I’ve noticed that there is a very, very small handful of watches that are universal. And when I say universal, I mean that with as much certainty as I can glean without a formal data set. These are watches that pretty much everyone likes and that any watch collector who’s not simply looking to flex will enjoy. In fact, these watches are well-known to be as appreciated by collectors as are their Pateks and Rolexes.