The GADA Watch – Go Anywhere, Do Anything Watch is a term that’s been popping up a little bit lately, so it got us thinking, do people know what it is, and what are some great options if you’re looking for a watch that is truly Go Anywhere, Do Anything?
Originally published in June 2023 – Updated with new pieces and pricing
The Go Anywhere, Do Anything watch. Sounds like a myth, or maybe just a new term for the “One Watch Collection” which is more probable. But essentially, it’s what the name says – a watch that you can go anywhere with (and I mean anywhere) and do anything with it on your wrist.
The Rolex Submariner Date 116600 could be some people’s GADA watch…
With a GADA watch, it does need to be versatile and appropriate for many situations or occasions. For this reason, we’ve created a bit of a checklist in terms of what boxes a great GADA watch has to check off:
It has to be robust – At least 100m water resistance for any water related adventures, solid case construction and ideally on steel or rubber (leather isn’t great for lots of outdoor activities or climates).
It has to look good – This is a “Go Anywhere, Do Anything” watch don’t forget. So it needs to be at home on the wrist when wearing a suit for those more formal occasions, but equally (see point 1) be worn in casual settings and not look weird in hiking gear or a pair of board shorts.
It has to be highly legible – Again, see point 1, but a good GADA watch needs a dial that’s easy to read in the day, and at night. Be it at the beach, hiking in the mountains, out to dinner with friends or camping at 2am when you wonder “what that noise was outside my tent”!
It has be the right size – Now this should go without saying, but it’s probably no good having a behemoth on your wrist if you’re going from beach to the boardroom. So for the sake of this exercise, and keeping with the trends today, anything larger than 44mm is a no go, and even then, some 44mm are still too big for many people, but we feel somewhere in the range of 38mm to 42mm hits the sweet spot for most.
It has to be timeless – This is probably a slightly controversial last point, but if you’re going to have a GADA watch for a long while, then it probably needs to stand the test of time. After all, if it doesn’t and trends change in the watch world, which they frequently do, you’ll need to be buying a new GADA watch more frequently than you’d like!
The TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional – a good contender for a GADA Watch!
So now that we’ve covered what a great GADA watch should be, let’s explore some options at different price points for a GADA watch should you be in the market for a watch that’s versatile and gets you out of trouble in any situation.
The Tissot PRX has been highly popular since it came out a few years ago. It is a great bang for buck entry-level piece that really punches above its weight in terms of design, finishing and value.
With the Powermatic 80 movement, this will run for over 3 days without wear, looks great on the wrist, has 100m water resistance and has a quick change bracelet. Plus, it won’t cost an arm and a leg!
We mentioned the Aquaracer Professional 200 above, but for this list, we have chosen the Solargraph version as it still has the same good looks and design DNA, but this one is powered by light!
Just 1 minute of sunlight will power the watch for a whole day, and once fully charged, you’ll get 10 months of power without the watch seeing the light again. 200m water resistant, steel and in 40mm, it’s the perfect all-day companion.
Kicking off, the Grand Seiko SBGN027 GMT Quartz is a great value choice for a GADA watch. It’s got classic looks, reminiscent of a Rolex Explorer II, the GMT function and date for those that travel a lot, and a ridiculously accurate movement, the Calibre 9F86 which is accurate to +/- 10 seconds a year!
The 39mm case is only 12mm thick, and has 200m WR with a screw-down crown, so it’s robust and easy to wear, plus the black dial and lumed indices make it highly legible anywhere and anytime. Being a smaller-sized sports watch, you could dress it up and hide under the cuff if needed.
Whilst there are a lot of BB58’s now in the range, we’ve chosen the classic BB58 OG with steel bracelet and black dial with the gilt markers.
This ticks all the boxes and for under $6k too. A 200m WR dive watch, looks great on the wrist from suits to the sand, it’s very legible given it’s a dive watch and at 39mm, it wears well on almost anyone and for any occasion. As the BB58 was designed based on the Tudor and Rolex Subs of old, it’s timeless and a modern classic. What more could you want?!
Rado makes some great watches, and none are more iconic than the Captain Cook – in this instance, the Captain Cook Automatic Chronograph in steel.
Coming in a 43mm case, and with vintage styling direct from the original Captain Cook from 1962, it is a good-looking, modern chronograph that will suit those who like watches on the slightly larger side, but without compromising style. It’s a pure dive watch, but can be dressed up easily thanks to the black dial and bezel.
If the Omega Seamaster is good enough for James Bond to wear 24/7, then it stands to reason it should be the perfect GADA watch!
Again another diver (there’s a reason they are so popular in demand), we’ve chose the black dial variant with the black rubber strap as you can dress this up or down, and wear it anywhere for anything. It’s as at home in the ocean as it is on the wrist playing Black Jack at the Casino and with METAS certification, incredibly accurate and highly robust. It checks all the boxes.
Australian Recommended RRP: $9,275 on rubber, $9,850 on steel
The Breitling SuperOcean Heritage in 2-tone Rose Gold is a slightly different look. Not quite a diver, not quite a dress watch, it’s a nice happy medium that’s designed to take whatever you throw at it.
It’s a good-looking watch, and the touch of the Rose Gold makes it perfect for more formal occasions. However on the rubber strap with a push button folding clasp and sliding micro adjust and with 200m WR and screw down crown it’s anything but a formal watch! It wears well at 42mm and on most wrists under the cuff if it isn’t too tight.
For something a little different, the IWC Pilot’s Chrono 41 is a good option, due to it’s robustness being a pilot watch and the new 100m WR. Combine this with the added day, date and timing functions, the IWC Pilot Chronograph is highly versatile and at 41mm, wears very well.
This particular version is on leather, but with the IWC EasX-CHANGE system, swap this to the blue rubber and you’ve got a great GADA watch option
We didn’t include Rolex in our original article from 2023 as these were still hard to get, however, times have changed and now the Rolex Explorer is one of the easier models to get your hands on at retail if you play it right.
The Explorer is a prime example of a GADA watch, originally designed pretty much for this purpose. With its high legibility, robust 904L steel and water resistance to 100m it will look good on any wrist, on any occasion.
In the words of Jaeger-LeCoultre, the Polaris is “designed to accompany the urban adventurer in all circumstances…” and when you get this on the wrist, you understand why.
At 42mm and 13.9mm thick, it’s edging up there in size, but thanks to the design, it still suits most wrists. With 200m water resistance, a beautiful gradient lacquer dial in grey-blue, and an interchangeable rubber strap, the Polaris is up for anything.
Australian Recommended RRP: $17,900
So there you have 10 GADA watches that you can buy, put on your wrist, and effectively, never take off. Do you agree with these choices? Do you have a great GADA watch? Let us know in the comments section below and on our Instagram page!
Obsessed with watches since the age of 8, Matt is a self described watch lover, photographer, writer and traveller, sometimes all at once. To see more content, check out his Instagram: @digital_escapement
Matt Clymo 
