By Keith Wood
I’m a watch guy but not a watch nerd. I know what I like but I can’t rattle off reference numbers. I guess I’m like the dude who’s carrying a Nighthawk .45 but isn’t sure which model it is.
Over the years, I’ve racked up a decent collection. I bought an Omega Seamaster in college and pulled the trigger on a Pepsi GMT when I inked my first book deal. Several royalty checks later, I added a Submariner to the stack. I can see a Daytona in my future.
“If you hunted big game the world over, you’d wear a Rolex,” the iconic black and white print ad read. The block letters framed a photo of Guns & Ammo Publisher Tom Siatos standing over a Cape Buffalo, Rolex on his wrist. The ad probably ran in Playboy, and a copy of it hangs in my shop. GMTs retailed for $360 at the time—two grand in 2025 money.
The good news is that I’ve hunted the world over. The bad news is that my Rolexes stay at home. The world has changed since Siatos’ day. Even if you can afford a Rolex, you may not be able to replace one that is lost or stolen. So, there I was, standing over a dead buffalo with a five-figure double rifle in my hands and a $40 Ironman on my wrist.
First-World Watch Solution
There had to be a better way. I thought back to the Tourneau watch catalog that I’d grabbed at the Treasure Coast Square mall as a teenager in the ’90s. I dog-eared that book over the years, staring at Rolexes that I hoped to one day own. The $3,250 price tag for a GMT is laughable now but was insurmountable when I was working as a bus boy at a country club.
Tudor. That was the “other” interesting brand in the catalog. Swiss made, attractive, and owned by the same parent company as the world standard of watches. Rolex-adjacent we’ll call it. Semi-affordable and, more importantly, readily replaceable.
I came home from Zimbabwe and bought a Tudor Heritage Black Bay with a PVD finish (ref. 79230DK for the nerds). No date, since when I’m hunting, I don’t care what day it is.
I ditched the leather band for a NATO-style strap that I later traded out for a cooler one sold by Watches of Espionage — PornHub for watch nerds.
To me, this Tudor strikes the correct balance between a throwaway watch and a recognizable timepiece that might get your forearm lopped off with a machete. It sort of flies under the criminal radar.
I’ve worn my Black Bay in Buenos Aires, La Paz, Quepos, and even in true third-world shitholes like Chicago and Minneapolis. So far, no one has pulled a gun and demanded that I hand it over. If they do, I’ll collect the insurance and buy another without having to offer my prison wallet to a Rolex AD.
Hats off to the guys with the balls to wear their Rolexes the world over — I’m not one of them. For me, the understated Tudor is the way to go.
