Green for the win.
A few weeks back @linhnghiem ran a little giveaway of hand-made leather straps by artisans in Vietnam. His company is Chiii and their website is here. We winners all chose green.
Mine arrived today. My initial impression is very good. It was softer than one that I would buy from a big retailer and feels much better than some that I have bought on eBay.
This Zodiac has been a tough watch to match for me. My father wore it on a Spiedel Twist-O-Flex. I have put it on black or brown leather. The silver dial and stainless steel case just absorb all of the color. The watch disappears. I wanted something to pop. So, green it is. I chose a rally strap because I live in a hot area and vintage owners can rarely get a rally strap in a vintage size. So, double win.
Years ago I was the attorney for the Vietnamese Society of Southeast Louisiana. New Orleans and its environs have a large Vietnamese population. I miss the markets on Chef Menteur Highway and the restaurants on the West Bank. I used to be invited to banquets, really neat affairs, the kind that have largely disappeared. There was singing and comedy, there were speeches, and ladies in their finest. And I didn't understand a word of it.
Some lawyers I knew began to travel to Vietnam and began importing granite and flooring. One brought back a wife. The quality of Vietnamese goods always impressed me.
I am impressed by this strap and I want to thank Linh for introducing me to his product. I hope that you all check them out. I think that I may have found a solution for a drab Zodiac.
Restitutor Orbis. Aristocrat of beauty. Autocrat of time. (Trying to perfect trolling over at theescapementroom.com)
Looks great and that Zodiac is such a classic Swiss watch ! It looks to be an early automatic, have you ever dated it ?
Looks great and that Zodiac is such a classic Swiss watch ! It looks to be an early automatic, have you ever dated it ?
It is not an automatic. The best online source for vintage Zodiac is behind a paywall that I won't pay for. I guess that it is 1959-1965. I remember my father wearing Timex and Seiko through the 1970's and 80's.
I love hand winds, gives you reason to fiddle with your watch more. Cheers!
The strap looks great. I'll have to keep Chiii in mind if I'm in the market for one.
OMG... as always, an absolutely hilarious read. The subtle ambiguity of which noun is being modified by the subsequent sentences... just genius.
Lol, the wife bit made me chuckle.
Know many good friends that spent time in various overseas duty stations that were fortunate to meet some very amazing women, whom they promptly fell head over heels with and married.
A vietnamese couple my wife and I met when I was courting her have basically become extended family. I'm Uncle Yetti to their three kiddos and my daughter considers them her family 😂. This family also introduced me to proper prononciation and enjoyment of authentic Pho, IFYKYK.
That strap looks really good on the watch.
Is this a 5-star watch too? 😂
Nice green strap. Lovely bleed. I just have one green strap. A cordovan that came with a watch. All solid color, not much life in that.
Nice reading as always👍
It does look fabulous on the Green. But I don't agree the Zodiac is drab - you could run a piece of grey duct tape through the lugs and it would still look great.
But I guess you could also put that strap on (insert ugly watch name here) and that would still look great too.
But the combination of Zodiac and green rally strap . . . !!!