There Are Pandas, and Then There Are Pandas.
And this isn't either of them! The Pandas we're talking about here, are watches, not bears. And what got me thinking about them (again) was a link posted this morning by @cm.rook who pointed a few of us to the very attractive (and not terribly priced) Yema "Rallygraph" Panda which, in it's most traditional arrangement, looks like the one on the left, but can also be had in the version on the right: The model on the left is a true Panda, while the model on the right is called a reverse Panda. The reason for that distinction is clear--Panda bears, only come in the first arrangement. Now at this point, everyone should be thinking about the most well-know Panda, The Rolex Panda, which is actually a Daytona, and among Rolex Daytonas, the most famous of which is the Paul Newman Daytona, which was famous first, because it was Paul's, and second because it sold at auction for $17.8 million (US Dollars). The story of that auction is well-known so I'll only...
Nov 8, 2019
I don't think there is one ideal face/strap/size...it has to match your personal style. Open heart, Roman or Arabic numerals, Bauhaus minimalism all have a place at the table. Some general rules of thumb, IMO:
- No Natos, rubber or perlon, etc - keep it on a bracelet or a nice leather band if you are wearing it in a dress setting.
- I generally keep it to a three hander, but there are some beautiful chronographs and small seconds dress watches available. Just avoid sport chronos.
- Legibility is important to me here: I want to be able to quickly check the time and have it slide back under my cuff.
https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/seiko-presage-sje073-thin-introducing
To discuss the point about straps...first, there are dress watches and there are Dress Watches. There is no firm notion of what constitutes a dress watch. There is no firm notion any more, of what constitutes being dressed up. The classic notions tie in with the prescribed formal wear...white tie, black tie, morning coat, etc. That's something 95% of us will wear no more than a handful of times.
So we're dropping to business wear. Is a Rolex Explorer a dress watch? It wouldn't normally be called one. Is it fine with a suit? Absolutely, IMO. So is the Nomos Club Atlantik I'm wearing today...and on its OEM nylon. Not that I'm wearing a suit; it's gonna be 85 today. Shorts and a t-shirt. And it looks great.
There are general rules. Perlon is casual only. NATO...which means it does have metal keepers...is for tool watches, because of those keepers. Good nylon...RAF single-pass with a matching fabric keeper, or 2-piece...works fine on a GADA watch; my favorite there is probably the Bell & Ross V1-92. Nylon works until you need to make the more formal statement. That's not just the clothing style, it's the perception you need to send. The 'rules' can't fit all the combinations, so there's always going to be exceptions.
I believe more in developing a sense of style. One of the most common remarks on WatchUSeek's public forum, when this topic comes up, is that "there are no rules, do whatever you like." For me, this is often just immature and selfish. It's saying "I don't want to learn the rules, I don't care, and what I want to do is the only thing that matters." I'm not saying that. I'm saying understand the pieces and how they'll combine. A discreet chronograph with a suit, on a Bond stripe NATO, is probably better than a 3-hander on a rally strap.