If I could only have one
By Hannah Lindqvist, Stockholm ·
This is the one. If I had to own a single watch for running, ski touring, sea swims, weddings and the office, I'd buy an Oyster Perpetual 36 and stop thinking about watches.
Here's why. 36 mm with lugs that curve down, 20 mm at the lugs tapering along the Oyster bracelet, and 11.2 mm thick. On a 15.5 cm wrist it sits flat with a little bit of wrist showing on each side. Not hovering. Not 'wearing small'. Just fitting. The 3230 gives you 70 hours, there's 100 m of water resistance, and there's no date window, which I've come to prefer.
I'll be specific, because 'it fits' is the lazy version. The lugs are short and bend down toward the wrist, so the bracelet starts dropping almost straight away instead of sticking out flat like a diving board. The Oyster bracelet is mostly brushed, which hides the scuffs you collect leaning on desks and café tables, and the end links sit flush against the case without a gap. You know it's there. It doesn't swing around when you run.
The turquoise dial is the controversial bit. It's loud. In February, when Stockholm has been grey for five weeks straight, a flash of that colour is good for morale. In a board meeting, maybe less so. There are calmer dials if you want them. And I like that Rolex lets a serious steel sports watch be cheerful. Plenty of men buy the bright dials too, which tells you the idea of women's colours was always marketing.
Criticisms: buying one at retail can still be annoying, and the Oysterclasp has no Easylink extension, so there's no quick way to give yourself a few extra millimetres when your wrist swells on a hot summer run. That's a real omission on a sports watch at this price.
It's worth comparing with what else I'd look at in this size. The Tudor Black Bay 36 is cheaper but taller at 12.6 mm. The Explorer 36 is more or less the same watch with a different dial and a higher price. The Omega Aqua Terra 34 has the fancier movement but is thicker for its footprint. The OP sits in the middle of all of them, and that's exactly why it works: nothing about it is extreme.
6,300 to 6,650 dollars isn't cheap. For what it does and how long it will last, I can live with it.