People think I’m making it up. It all started at about the same time as Miami Vice. The early 80s, when the world felt like it was effortless. All you needed was a pastel suit, a .45, and a black Daytona and you could rule South Dade. I was in Texas at the time, mostly acting like an idiot, but unbeknownst to me I was about to embark on a lifelong pursuit of timepiece destruction.

This was not something I planned or intended. In fact, it caught all of us by surprise. A watch gifted by a friend of my father’s. A brief period on my arm and the rest, well, it’s history. My legacy of destruction when it comes to watches is quite something, even if I do say so myself. I’ve burned through brands and bands and still don’t have an answer as to why this happens. Some might last a year, others a day or two, but nothing seems impervious to the “death ray” that my body puts out. Last week I torched my wife’s watch in ONE DAY. The latest timekeeper to feel my understated wrath.

With this in mind, welcome the VAER S3 Calendar Field Watch. A simple, beautiful, 36mm watch made of stainless with sapphire glass and multiple bands. This is my first dance with VAER but I do love their story and their work. This is not an expensive watch folks. I’m testing the water. I will run in this watch, cycle in this watch, hike in this watch, paddle, travel, and explore and I will submerge this beauty when the time comes. And yes, I will photograph in this watch.