The Day Begins

And Dawn is a feeling.

I'm often reminded of the album Days of Future Passed as I sit outside and watch the dawn turn into day. This is an album that was not well accepted when it was released in 1967, the idea of joining symphonic orchestra to rock was still novel, the thematic format was too new to be appreciated, and the fact that each song was also a poem were concepts that took time to be accepted. I still have the LP record which is played occasionally. You may not remember the name of the band, but I'm sure that "Nights in White Satin" will ring a bell.

unlike the Moody Blues and myself, the Islander ISL-68 isn't a child of the 60's. It's based on the Seiko's Mini Turtle that was released in 2017, and the base design of the original Turtle date to the 1976.

Marc at Islander watches presented the ISL-68 a couple of years ago and discontinued it in the following year. My guess is that the sales volume didn't justify keeping it, so I may own something of a rarity.

The highly curved dome of the sapphire crystal may have been one of the factors that tipped the scales toward discontinuation. It looks like an expensive crystal to make and it also throw a lot of reflections. The ISL-68 is also kind of a one trick pony, because the lack of indices on the dial which force to keep the bezel at a fixed position, so it may be rated to 200m WR but with this dial and bezel it's more suited for longing on a beach chair.

It's also quite heavy. There's nothing "Mini" about its weight or heft. It's thick and heavy and you are not going to forget that you are wearing it. It does feel sturdy and I guess that with a Seiko NH36 inside I don't have to worry much about reliability.

All thing considered, it's a fine companion for summer weekends, which is exactly why I'm wearing it today, until the forever afternoon will turn into night and the Cold-hearted orb that rules the night, Removes the colours from our sight. Red is grey and yellow white. But we decide which is right. And which is an illusion.