Is that a Rolex? The $60 watch that will make your summer.

My neighbor and I were watching our pups play together when he asked the question: “Are you rocking a Rolex?!?” “HA! I wish!” was my quick reply. But as I held up my wrist so I could better show the details of my new Invicta dive watch, I realized that I didn’t mean those words. I was proud of this watch and I couldn’t care less that it isn’t a luxury brand. This humble $60 dive watch is everything I want on my wrist this summer. It’s been so much more than simply a shiny new accessory; it’s changed how I’ve approached life.

My new go-to watch this summer has a gold-tone stainless steel strap and a handsome blue dial. It’s striking to glance at, but the details are what I really love. On the dial, stamped behind the hour markings a pattern of waves intensifies the blue dial’s reference to the sea. Above the 6 o’clock mark, a gold hammerhead shark floats above that ocean blue. On the working bezel, the minute hashes between the 15 and 20-minute marks are replaced by a second hammerhead shark. Everything about this watch says summer to me.

When my trusty old Casio Dive Watch (featured in our Best Summer Adventure Watches post) died this spring after years of use, I knew I wanted something a bit more bold to replace it. I’ve looked at gold watches occasionally, and dive watches a lot. I really wanted to buy my first gold watch last year, but honestly, I was worried I would look a bit too “Tony Soprano” with a gold watch. I guess I was actually worried I couldn’t pull it off.

This spring, when thinking about a summer without our typical beach trips, I decided I wanted a little ray of sunshine on my wrist all summer. Summer is all about sunshine and time by the water. This watch is the physical embodiment of those qualities. When I wear it, I feel brighter.

My gold dive watch somehow lifts my whole outfit, my whole attitude to a higher level. It’s one of those finishing pieces that somehow shapes every item of clothing I put on. I want everything I wear with it to also scream “It’s summer, and I feel fine!” I end up choosing brighter shirts, shoes with more sprezzatura, and crisper chinos and shorts. I dress better and then I feel better.

It’s a striking watch, to be sure. And at first glance, it does look like some fancy expensive watch. Most guys don’t wear gold watches, so it is instantly set apart from what people are used to seeing. But, as with most things in life, it’s not the price tag that makes this watch special.

This hefty gold and blue watch is just a watch. It keeps time. But somehow it has also helped me make time. When I wear this watch, I’m reminded to make the most of weekdays that could feel like drudgery. It makes me want to mix drinks and sit on the terrace listening to good music in the afternoon sun. It makes me want to take walks in beautiful parks and to put on that pink OCBD with my best woven sandals.

When I bought my gold Invicta Pro Diver, I thought I was buying a handsome and bright watch for the summer. I thought it would help brighten a summer that had had some of the fun stolen from it. It did that and so much more.

Snag some summer for yourself here.