A Watch For Valentine’s Day

On this celebration of romance and fertility I have a confession to make: I love pairings.  Finding the perfect “thing” to go with “whatever occasion” is one of my favorite challenges — granted usually with less amorous couplings like food and wine, suit and tie, and now watches with, well, anything.  Never really considered it “match-making” but for today we’ll stretch the metaphor.

Personally, I blame the movie City Slickers and the fictional characters Ira and Barry Shalowitz (clearly meant to be real-life Ben and Jerry) where Barry could name the exact right ice cream flavor to follow any meal.  From the moment Barry scoffed at Mitch’s (Billy Crystal) “franks and beans” offering with “scoop of chocolate, scoop of vanilla — don’t waste my time!” right up to “rum raisin… whoof!” I was hooked, and a little hungry.

So every holiday I find myself pondering this question and occasionally writing about the “ultimate watch” pairing: from Fourth of July (actually twice) to Shark Week.  Now, to be dubbed the occasion’s “ultimate watch” the bond must run deep and for Valentine’s Day I’ve yet to find the right chemistry.  You can’t just force these couples.  What I have come upon are two approaches that work on a casual and playful level without getting too committed.  Or maybe this is the perfect V-Day theme?

But first a few swipe left’s to reassure the Bum Faithful.  I didn’t consider fashion watches or otherwise bedazzled pieces.  No random hearts drawn on the dial.  I didn’t include — nor did I know about until this search — a sub-genre of erotic watches; where this JLC gives new meaning to “reverso”.  No here we’re aiming for more courtly love, less Courtney Love, among the endearing micros and independents.

One is pretty obvious: an open-heart watch.  This transparent approach has wooed watch lovers since the 1990’s and has its share of PDA devotees and secret admirers.  The example here happens to come in a rose gold case, and for all the bums out there: only $379.   Plenty of room in the budget for whatever dessert Barry recommends.

Next, a red and pink colorway offers a simple approach that still covers many bases.  Kind of like a Hallmark card.  You can choo-choo-choose anything from a subtle streak of red in the handset, to rose gold casing, to dials of vibrant ruby and classy coral.  There are formal watches that could suit any date night to more vivacious colors worn with specific intention.

Without some definition, however, this list of red and pink can become a bit too casual with waning benefits.  Fortunately, among these darling choices there was one watch that caught my eye with several non-color features and would still be considered rose by any other name brand.  The newly released Nodus Sector Pilot Flyer just might be your 2021 Valentine’s date.

Let’s check out why.  

First is a pallet that includes not one but multiples of Cupid’s colors: a shimmering copper (rose) chapter ring and textured center cut-out with red accents at, ehem, the cardinal numerals.  And while the Sector Pilot is certainly rugged enough to wear on darker straps, for this one day it might be worth going with the rogue — paired here with rose gold buckle — to complete the bouquet of red, rose, and don’t forget the white numerals.

Second, you get a unique day-date complication at 6 o’clock to remind you of the 14th; or alert you a few days prior.  In a more in-depth watch review this complication would probably be the focus rather than a quick pickup line — even still this rather novel display is so intuitive it has you asking, where have you been all my life?

For those star-crossed lovers who might need to travel on Feb. 14th (in ordinary times) the Sector Pilot likewise has you covered with an aviator design and rather useful countdown timer.  For tracking the flight time…

This Valentine’s Day whether you’re leaving on a jet plane or just going to the local chapel of love — these colors and complications offer a range of options and welcome quite a few expressions of style and preference.

So there it is, a watch schemata for Valentine’s Day — some combination of blushing colorway, helpful date reminder, aviator wings, and sure a countdown timer.  Ultimate or not it’s what I’ll be wearing this year –and given how quickly it disappeared online — it does have me feeling lucky.