I don’t know how many watches the average persons owns but I have about 10. None of them expensive, some of them are quite out of date (in fashion terms – that’s not a joke about their batteries being flat and displaying the wrong date) but, like my large collection of mugs, I do like to have a range to pick from.

1980s Soviet military watch (above)

Apparently this is a genuine 1980s Vostock (Boctok) military issue watch from the Soviet Union. CДЕЛAHO В CCCP on the face means ‘Made in USSR’. I bought it on Ebay for about £30, so even if it’s a fake I’m not really bothered. I can find similar watches online but not the exact same design.

I placed the watch on a military style jacket I have, which seemed quite fitting. I lit the watch with a gridded flashgun to the left and a large umbrella as the main light. Due to the shape of the face the smaller softbox I’d been using was showing up in the reflection. Taken with a Nikon 105mm Macro lens.

Fossil watch

I’ve had this watch about 15 years, I bought it when I lived in the States. I don’t think it looks especially American, maybe even the best horologists can’t tell which country a watch was designed – although the brand name is probably a good indicator thinking about it! Oddly I like it because the face has a 70s feel and reminds me a bit of an old metal ashtray, the round ones that had the slots in to rest your cigarette on. A strange reason to like a watch eh.

I sat the watch on a some wood from the shed I’d been keeping to use in wildlife photography. I used a small softbox attached to the flashgun positioned to the right and a gridded flash to the left. I also used the back of a white envelope to reflect some light into the shot and to show up in the reflection on the watch. Taken with a Nikon 105mm Macro lens.

Cassio G-Shock GW-7900-1ER

This is my second G-Shock watch. I bought my first in the early 90s which looks pretty similar, even though some of the casing is missing, it still works fine. This upgrade is solar powered and radio controlled so the time is always accurate … it doesn’t stop me being perpetually late. It also shows moon phases and tide graphs, ideal if you’re a werewolf who likes to sail.

To emphasis its toughness I sprayed it with a mix of water and glycerin, this helps the droplets to hold their shape and not just run straight off. Lit with a single flashgun to the right and a reflector (gas bill envelope) to the left. Because of the angle I did focus stack this shot. Two shots were enough to get the face in focus. Taken with a Nikon 105mm Macro lens.

Since taking the shots I realised I’d set the hands at the wrong time. They’re normally set to 10 past 10, so the watch has a smile, I’ve set them to 10 to 2. No biggie, it has the same effect.