The three watches Pietro wore most in 2024 are…

Pietro Pilla

It’s my first time writing a yearly watch recap, and while the first two might be what you’d expect from a watch journalist, the third one is a bit of a wild card. I’ve had the chance to wear several watches this year, but most of them weren’t mine and just in for getting a few pictures or reviews. This makes all the difference in the world. Even if you’re trying to experience them as you would normally do with your own watches, at the end of the day you’re always babying them a little in order to send them back to the manufacturer in the same state you received them. You’re going to see that this doesn’t happen with my watches, you’ll see bumps, and scratches as they are very lived, with every mark telling a different story. Even being careful, during the day (or the night), it will happen at some point.

Grand Seiko Omiwatari SBGY007

This was my first serious watch, and it has been by far my most worn watch since I got it (as you can probably see from the condition of the case). It’s always hard to say but it’s the watch I’d never sell, it’s been over three years since I got it and it still excites me in the same way it did at the beginning how the dial completely changes with the light. Whether it’s natural or artificial light, directly pointed at it or more dimmed, there’s a new shade of colour appearing every once in a while. It goes from a very silvery to a light blue tone, sometimes you perfectly see the icy texture of the dial and some other times it seems like it is just a uniform matte surface.

But let’s talk about the strap. Did I ever keep it on the original strap? Absolutely not, Belgian brand Molequin has been an excellent companion from day one. It should be the honourable mention on this list if you combine the wrist time of all the straps I have owned from them. I’ll always be a big advocate of strap hacking and this is mostly thanks to Molequin. The way watches, and especially this Grand Seiko, change appearance with a new strap is surprising, adapting it to (almost) every circumstance.

1930s Helbros jump hour

This Helbros jump hour was an eBay purchase from two years ago, but it sat in a drawer most of the time because when it arrived it didn’t work. I knew it was a risk when I put the order in, but for the price I paid for it, I was prepared either way. When I finally decided to have it fixed I discovered that it was just a minor fix and I fell in love with it.

It was on a terrible black leather strap when I first received it, too wide for the dainty lugs. Trying to source an era-correct metal bracelet resulted in too big of a hassle, and Amazon came to the rescue with the current one. It is a tiny watch and it’s a watch I’m more careful with considering its age, but it fills me with joy whenever I wear it. Sometimes, when light is scarce, reading the time is almost impossible, but when you manage to do it (assuming it’s precise), this curious display brings you back to a completely different time.

It’s by far the watch I get asked most about, as much from aficionados as from people who have nothing to do with watches. I was extremely surprised when industry legends Michel Navas and Enrico Barbesini noticed from across the room and asked me about it at GWD.

Wedding watch(es)

This watch doesn’t have a name or model number, as it was a bespoke project for my brother’s wedding. It’s not a watch I wore much this year, but for the time it took to put all the components together, it was the watch I had on my mind more often. By far.

As soon as I knew they were going to get married back in the summer of 2023, I decided to gift my brother and his wife a pair of matching watches. The only branding you can find is our family name on the bottom of the dial, and it seemed like the only worthy name given to such a special project.

With an onyx dial for him and a lacquered off-white dial for her, I chose to match the colours to the outfit they would have been wearing on their big day in Venice. It was not easy to find suppliers for such a small quantity, nor was it to make all the components fit together, but the look they had on their faces when they received their watches made the effort vanish in front of such joy.

While the ETA 7001 movements come from Switzerland and the straps from Belgium (guess what? Molequin again), dials and cases have been made and finished in Italy for an almost handmade product. And if you were to ask if you’ve already seen those hands the answer is yes. Our dear friends from Baltic came to the rescue and sent them over, as I didn’t find any other suitable hands.

To be completely honest, I wore both of these watches for a day to test them, not because I didn’t want to scratch them (still very true) but because that was the full amount of time from when they were ready to when I gifted them. Luckily they arrived just in time!

For my pockets, I really hope this list will not completely change next year, but this is it for 2024! It’s been a big year in my watch-collecting journey, and I now have a clearer view of my taste. Let’s check again next year to see if I’ll be maturing more on this matter. I’m as curious as you are to see what will be my three most worn watches for 2025, I’ve got some watch resolutions for next year that I hope to maintain. Stay tuned!