Pedro,
well done!
No need, I believe, to explain why you didn't include a Heuer.
Your selection makes a whole lot of sense to me, and proves a good taste - no doubt.
And btw, I should add that you've taken much more time to describe your choice than I did. Actually, I forgot to ... I meant to show my enthusiasm for Jeff's wonderful idea by adding my spontaneously rhymed lines; didn't even think of it to be a poem.
What you did well, IMHO, is to show/tell us a bit about history and where these companies are from.
And ... by no coincidence, I assume ... many brands/names are from very close by...like neighborhood. :-)
As you said, they were kind of "down the road" ...

So, to the West Coast, the East, and anywhere in between, in the U.S. of A. ,
to all of us freezing in Europe, and everyone else around the globe:
HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND :-)

Cheers,
Saluti,
Olaf

: Since Jeff threw down the gauntlet earlier this week, like many of
: you I’ve been attempting to whittle my nearly 15 years of
: collecting (currently at ~ 30 watches) down to 3 favorites that
: I wouldn’t/couldn’t want to be without… everyone will have
: different criteria for what they view or want to see as the
: perfect watch, whether it’s history or size or looks or
: functions, so I’m excited to see all your selections as this
: is what makes our hobby fun, and of course, the world go
: ‘round ☺ but it should be a tough decision for any
: serious/seasoned collector to pick only 3 desert island
: favorites…

: I’ve been around hanging around OTD since nearly its beginnings,
: around 10 years I’d say… of course I was trying to research
: some Heuers and found the site, and I have been
: admiring/acquiring vintage Heuers (and chronographs in general)
: since 2000, that after owning a couple of TAGs through the
: 80’s/90’s… I’ve definitely gone through my fair share of
: great Heuers in nearly 15 years, buying & selling many at
: ridiculously low prices compared to what we are seeing the last
: few years, but c’est la vie ☺ I still own a handful of
: lovely ones and will always admire and respect the brand and its
: great history… but unfortunately no Heuers made my desert
: island list ☹

: My tastes have changed in the past 5 years where chronographs are
: no longer the primary focus, and although I still own a few nice
: ones, I find myself favoring time-only watches for daily wear,
: especially the vintage divers for their cool style, easy
: legibility and rugged functionality… I’m a big ‘form
: follows function’ fan…

: Sooo… Top of my list would have to be this early 70’s Eterna
: KonTiki Super IDF-issue… a great watch from a great house in
: Grenchen (right down the road from Enicar in Lengnau and Heuer
: in Bienne) with real-life military credibility… some really
: bad-ass Israeli Naval Commando heroes wore these… a near
: perfect diver tool watch imho… and I enjoy it even more on my
: favorite weathered DED rally… bought this from a US Navy SEAL
: in Coronado, CA... one day I’ll find the correct Eterna NSA
: bracelet ;-)
: more info here: http://milspectime.com/?p=318#more-318

:
:

: #2: I have developed an affinity for vintage Squales the past few
: years (Swiss-made, based in Neuchatel but designed in Milano)
: with many of their diver classics produced during the same era
: many consider Heuer’s finest, 1965-1975… well-known for both
: their 500m and 1000m divers, both functional and still stylish
: over 40 years later, they were to dive watches what Heuer was to
: chronographs, ahead of the curve…

:
:

: I love their use of multi-color luminous acrylic bezels, high-domed
: acrylic bezels, robust yet comfortable cases and the very
: distinctive orange minutes hand… of the 5 that I own, I’m
: choosing the most recent acquisition, this cool Berios Squale
: 500m, which uses the same ‘fat’ Squale case as the Blancpain
: Bund divers with flat glass and similar dial/hands layout…
: I’m a big fan of PVD and the acrylic bezel, darkened chapter
: ring and stealthy legibility make this an instant favorite for
: me! The condition doesn’t hurt either ☺ I can see why many
: here covet the Monaco ‘Dark Knight’… this could well be
: the diver version ;-)

:
:

:
:

: and the 3rd? yikes, well that was a very tough call… I did want
: to add a chronograph into the mix, but again, no Heuers made the
: cut ☹ the final slot goes to my Orfina (also from Grenchen)
: Porsche Design Bund chrono… an iconic, clean functional beauty
: with a tough Lemania 5100, super comfortable NSA spring-loaded
: bracelet and military pedigree… nearly a perfect chronograph
: (imho) that I could be very happy wearing every day! (also shown
: with his PD civilian PVD brother) ☺

:
:

:
:

: hope you enjoyed… I'll now sit back and 'watch' the fun!!

: cheers & great w/e to all!
: Peter