2 UP: Andrew and Borna battle it out in field and vintage categories

Borna Bošnjak

In this brand new format, two participants choose two watches from their own collection to be placed in two categories. With two minutes on the clock, they get to tell the story of why their watch deserves to win. The winners will be decided in the YouTube comments, so head on over to cast your vote. Welcome to 2 Up.

Round 1: Field

2 up andrew borna — Andrew’s Hamilton Khaki Field Mechanical

Fighting from the red-with-white-cross corner is the Hamilton Khaki Field Mechanical, a watch that Andrew fell in love with once Time+Tide became the official distributor of the brand in Australia. With great sizing, class-leading movement and oh-so-pretty looks, this is a little piece of history, modernised. We’re on record professing ourselves as big fans of the KFM, whose bronze version was voted best watch under $1,000 by our audience. Shop the Hamilton Khaki Field Mechanical 38mm Nato with Time+Tide here.

With its roots tracing back to Japanese mountaineers, the Seiko Alpinist sits in the opposite corner. Sporting a green sunburst dial before it was cool, I couldn’t escape hearing about or seeing this watch in its heyday. I began seeking it, setting up price alerts wherever I could. It wasn’t just being a broke student that kept me from getting one, though. One break-up later, however, and I managed to pick up the last (to the best of my knowledge) SARB017 sold in Australia.

Round 2: Vintage

Introduced a year after Omega‘s famous 1957 trio, the Ranchero hoped to follow in their footsteps of success. Unfortunately, it was quite the contrary for this broad arrow-handed beauty. The name didn’t sit well with many Spanish speakers, as it basically meant “farmer”. Fortunately for modern collectors, it’s this kind of thing that makes watches collectible, as the production run of the Ranchero ended after only two short years.

Last and certainly not least, the most beautiful watch ever created, in my totally unbiased opinion. Penned by an up-and-coming designer named Gérald, who went on to create nothing of note whatsoever, it’s an exercise in mid-century restraint and absolute elegance. Powered by a micro-rotor calibre 215, it runs like an absolute dog, regularly gaining between 2 and 4 minutes per day. None of that worries me, I’d happily pull an Andy Warhol with this one.