Recommendations
Books
Some of my favorite books about watches (and a few about other things)
Watchmaking, George Daniels
The Watch, Thoroughly Revised, Gene Stone and Stephen Pulvirent
The Movado History, Fritz Von Osterhausen
A Man and His Watch, Matt Hranek
About Time: A History of Civilization in 12 Clocks, David Rooney
Watches: A Guide by Hodinkee, Hodinkee
Moonwatch Only: The Ultimate Omega Speedmaster Guide, Rossier and Marquie
Universal Geneve, Pietro Sala (also check eBay)
A Grand Complication: The Race to Build the World’s Most Legendary Watch, Stacy Perman
True Style: History and Principles of Classic Menswear, G. Bruce Boyer
Shoe Dog, Phil Knight
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, Stephen King
Ametora: How Japan Saved American Style, W. David Marx
All of John Goldberger’s books on watches are excellent — which one you might like depends on your particular interests
Patek Philippe: The Authorized Biography, Nicholas Foulkes (see expert John Reardon’s full reading list of books about Patek)
Other Tools for Collectors
Bergeon 6767 Springbar Tool, the first tool you’ll need to swap straps and bracelets.
Bergeon Spring Bar Tweezers, if you’re a real power strap changer.
Other recs. If you’re doing any type of work on your watches, you might also want a soft bench mat from Bergeon. You’ll also want to get a jeweler’s loupe eventually too, and Bergeon’s got a nice one. Finally, if everything I’ve mentioned here sounds nice, I think this Bergeon watch repair kit (with carrying case!) is actually a pretty good idea for a couple hundred bucks. For traveling with one watch, I love the WatchPod watch travel case. For opening case backs, pick up a Friction Ball. For photography, you’ll want a tripod — I recommend the AmazonBasics Tripod.
Watches
Hey, you’re here for the watches, right? Here are a few decent ones to get started
G-Shock DW5600, the original G-Shock
Seiko 5 Sports, it’s gone through some changes over the last few years, but it’s still a great place to start a watch collection
Hamilton Khaki Field, just a classic field watch
Timex Marlin, Timex’s modern hand-wound dress watch for something fancier