Watches in the Wild (Daylight Savings Blues, Volume 27)
Disclaimer: A busy day ahead.
This is the twenty seventh in a semi-regular digest of cool watches I happened to see this week.
Past posts in this series have been hashtagged to #watchesinthewild and you can click through for part 17, part 18, part 19, part 20, part 21, part 22, part 23, part 24, part 25, and part 26.
As always, my general policy is that I never ask for wrist shots (because approaching strangers and distant acquaintances to talk about watches is already weird enough) so all pictures below are sourced from the internet. People are mostly cool, I try not to annoy them.
After weeks of frenetic travel, crazy rainstorms (though those haven't really stopped), and an archaic time change that serves no purpose, this week we had the first blush of characteristic Northern California spring weather here with temperatures in the 60s F (15-18 C) and plentiful sun. I got to spend time with my kids and in the office and generally have been bumbling about, thinking that normality is severely underrated.
Of course, after three bank failures in the past week (with two in my neck of the woods) and massively volatile capital markets, I would say that. I digress.
I suppose by comparison, Northern California is a little sparser and less diverse than London in terms of watch spotting. I saw no fewer than four stainless steel Submariners and three stainless steel Explorer 1s out there in the past week and a half.
I did manage to talk to the owners of those Rolexes and most of them claimed they were relatively new (some within the past few weeks) with short waits. One even claimed that he was able to get his explorer at a discount (I don't know that I believe that one). One thing is abundantly clear, if you want that stainless steel sports Rolex, now is the time.
Still, despite the slimmer pickings, I did see a fair number of very cool watches over the past couple of weeks. The best are below.
IWC mark XVI
Seen during a fire drill in a crowded elevator. No conversation.
I admit, I have a bit of a tough time distinguishing between the modern IWC Marks on the fly. The look is so distinctive for them (probably the nicest flieger any of us has ever seen) but the differences are subtle in terms of dial and case shape. The Mark XVI is the one with the standard date display at 3 and a missing 9, an aesthetic choice that bewilders me to this day.
I mean, I totally get what they were thinking. You balance the dial by taking out hour numbers, right? Except the date placement means that visually it just looks even more unbalanced, like there's an empty space that ought to be filled on the otherwise. They remedied this problem with the Mark XVIII and the color matched date wheel with the date in white, and why I view this (along with its near clone, the Mark XX) as the most attractive of the Mark Series by a significant margin.
There are other small differences too. The bracelet on the Mark XVI, is a pretty uninteresting five link engineers bracelet with a mostly hidden folding clasp (lacking the awesome on the fly micro adjustment of the Mark XVIII and XX, though with smaller links so it's perfectly possible to get a good fit). It's shinier too and oddly blingier with a lot more angles, a raised 2nd and 4th link, and, I believe, a somewhat finer brush than other IWCs.
The whole package comes off as dressier to me, oddly enough for a real deal tool watch. I ultimately can't complain that much. I love the way the IWC fliegers look and this is yet another take on it. But compared to the near perfection of the Mark XVIII/XX, it feels wanting.
Seiko Prospex SPB153 "Prospex willard" in green
Purchased by a watch friend as a birthday gift to himself from Gnomon. I got to fiddle with this one for a bit and I like it very much.
I've mentioned this before a couple of times, but it is worth repeating.....I don't really like divers much. I've been trying to overcome this extraordinary deficit as a watch collector and a human being but I simply find that dive watches don't fit my lifestyle. I live a soft and indolent life and while I have been known to recreationally dive from time to time, I do so with a dive computer, not a watch.
But it must be said, the Willard is both a kooky and remarkably attractive watch. As with many Seiko divers, it just nails the dial. I think I might prefer the subtle texture of the grey dial but the camo color of the green dial is subtle and good looking. The hands are among my favorites among the Seiko catalog, echoes of the Marine Master 300 in the hours and minutes and the red dot seconds hand if the MM200. I even love the hour markers and the characteristic Seiko split chevron marker at the 12.
The case is unlike any other watch out there, save for perhaps the Turtle with the short and rounded lug profile. And even then, the unique crown guards give it an organic, limpet like look on the wrist, aided by how flat it wears. It straddles that line between adventurer and military and does so with panache.
It has the same old Seiko niggles of course: a tight bezel with softer clicks than I'd like, occasional alignment issues, and a competent bracelet that looks like it belongs to another watch.
But slap an AliExpress FKM strap on there (or an Artem Sailcloth if you're a fancy sort) and you have the stylish tool watch contender, worthy of a scuba dive in crystal clear water or a tropical journey into the heart of darkness.
Hamilton Khaki Field Officer Hand Winding in green
Seen at the playground on the wrist of another parent while trying to referee my daughter's disagreement with said parent's little boy.
Anyway, there was no way I was going to ask about this watch given that my only entry would have been
"Hey, I think my kid might have made yours cry and I'm really sorry about that and by the by, that's a really cool Hamilton you have there. Can we be friends?"
Have you ever worried about your kid's capacity for being a Bond supervillain? My eldest daughter is showing a remarkable talent for psychological warfare.
Anyway, I used to own the black version of this watch, purchased because some YouTuber told me "that every watch enthusiast should own one of these." Any time I've ever followed this moronic piece of advice, I have ended up hate flipping the watch purchased. This time was no exception.
That doesn't mean I regret owning it. Indeed, I think I learn more from the watches I don't like on my wrist than the watches I do like. Among the lessons learned were....
1. I just don't really care about the military heritage thing. You might and that's super cool. But it's not really my thing.
2. Long straight lugs relative to a small light case just make me sad. Any watch with them slips all over my wrist.
3. Manual winding is great for dress watches I wear occasionally. For a daily, I find it immensely frustrating.
Now, I don't want anyone to think I hate the Hamilton KFM at all. It's a lovely looking watch in that bead blasted kinda way and I even tend to prefer this slightly more subtle dial with the less prominent minute markers and more prominent Arabic house numerals. The winding action is smooth with a good amount of friction to it. It's pretty strap monster-y as these things go.
And you know what, the green looked good on the guy's wrist. But not mine.
But the KFM will forever remind me of the importance of one's personal watch journey (paging @Aurelian to lampoon me later for using the word-that-shall-not-be-said). Listicles comprised of watches that every collector should own are just for the birds.
A trio of lady's watches
Cartier Tank Francaise
Lady Datejust
Omega Constellation brown dial two tone
All seen at a convocation of ladies who lunch. Conversations were attempted and were remarkably unsuccessful. I'm afraid I still have horrifying flashbacks from when I bought my wife a watch a couple months ago so I'm afraid that you'll have to do with some quick hits.
Does anyone else think that the new Tank Francaise looks worse than the old Tank Francaise? I find it very strange how they're trying to make it sportier with an all brushed finish and the strange integrated lug. Also, the weird applied numerals and not my thing. There's a beautiful art to the way that Cartier prints their numerals, with beautiful rounded height to them. Even though they're printed, they're also three dimensional almost like a molded enamel. Not a fan.
I've always wondered why Rolex stopped making quartz movements, especially for lady sized watches. They clearly can do it (and do it well) given how remarkably well my old Oysterquartz operates. I wonder if their lady sizes would be more popular if they did.
The brown dial Omega is an absolute stunner in person. Its a two tone with Sedna Gold (which is a beautiful Omega branded red gold. I liken it to a chemically inert and vastly more expensive bronze that doesn't patina. I'm sure I've insulted @thekris somewhere with this line of thought.). I think the brown dial probably requires a certain sort of personality to want to pull it off, but I did actually find myself vaguely browsing the Omega website the other day to see if they did a 39mm mechanical version. They do, but it looks worse (probably due to the busier dial and the slightly unfortunate date window ringed in gold).
Le sigh.
Black Bay 58
Seen on the wrist of a gentleman carrying an armful of flowers from his car into my office building. No conversation.
For how beloved this watch is by the watch nut community, I am surprised that this is the first time I can recall seeing it.
I don't know what I could add to the conversation about it aside from the fact that it is as nearly a perfect vintage diver as it gets save for two small niggles. The faux riveted bracelet still feels silly and those snowflake hands on the round hour markers just make me sad.
The rest of it is just about perfect: size, design, and quality. As I've mentioned to others in passing, it is the sort of watch that I wished I encountered earlier in my watch collecting life, perhaps when I had fewer opinions about what I liked and disliked.
What cool watches did you see this week?
By day, investor and father. By night, Seiko nut. #justgooutsideandtouchgrass
Your ability to detect watches continues to amaze me. I go to courtrooms several times a week and I usually only see Apple watches clashing horribly with blue suits (Old WC reference). I have to engage in conversations to see what lurks under a cuff. Luckily, I am not shy so this isn't a problem.
After a criminal hearing I had a conversation with a public defender wearing one of these. When you see something like this on someone on the bottom rung of the attorney salary scale you know one thing: family money. Turns out that he owns six watches: an IWC, a Speedmaster, and the rest Rolex. He complained about the accuracy of the IWC. I told him that I had just bought another Elgin and he asked if Elgin ever made watches in South Carolina. A ten minute lecture on the history of Elgin followed. What I lack in expensive pieces I make up for in useless information.
I had a divorce hearing this week and noticed a new watch on my client's wrist:
Now that he was getting divorced he bought himself "a nice watch," the "kind that ladies like". So, be careful out there ladies. There is a newly single middle aged Methodist preacher who would like you show you his Michael Kors and probably much more. ( @HotWatchChick69 swears that Michael Kors will make women quiver.)
Finally, I used to wear my hair long, now I wear it short. Is that my haircut journey? I started listening to the Beatles and now listen to just about everything. Am I on some sort of musical journey? The word "journey" makes it sound so purposeful and evokes the romance of travel ("When I bought my Casio at Walmart it was as though I was in the bazaar in Samarkand"). Your tastes change and adapt. Your income hopefully increases. Age + disposable income = mystical watch journey.
Your ability to detect watches continues to amaze me. I go to courtrooms several times a week and I usually only see Apple watches clashing horribly with blue suits (Old WC reference). I have to engage in conversations to see what lurks under a cuff. Luckily, I am not shy so this isn't a problem.
After a criminal hearing I had a conversation with a public defender wearing one of these. When you see something like this on someone on the bottom rung of the attorney salary scale you know one thing: family money. Turns out that he owns six watches: an IWC, a Speedmaster, and the rest Rolex. He complained about the accuracy of the IWC. I told him that I had just bought another Elgin and he asked if Elgin ever made watches in South Carolina. A ten minute lecture on the history of Elgin followed. What I lack in expensive pieces I make up for in useless information.
I had a divorce hearing this week and noticed a new watch on my client's wrist:
Now that he was getting divorced he bought himself "a nice watch," the "kind that ladies like". So, be careful out there ladies. There is a newly single middle aged Methodist preacher who would like you show you his Michael Kors and probably much more. ( @HotWatchChick69 swears that Michael Kors will make women quiver.)
Finally, I used to wear my hair long, now I wear it short. Is that my haircut journey? I started listening to the Beatles and now listen to just about everything. Am I on some sort of musical journey? The word "journey" makes it sound so purposeful and evokes the romance of travel ("When I bought my Casio at Walmart it was as though I was in the bazaar in Samarkand"). Your tastes change and adapt. Your income hopefully increases. Age + disposable income = mystical watch journey.
It's pretty unusual seeing a Root Beer in the wild period, let alone in the wrist of a probably inadequately compensated government attorney. Regardless, I can't critique the choice of watch (if you can get it). It's got panache.
As a side note, should I ever find myself in your neck of the woods, I'm going to demand an hour long lecture on Elgin. I have these gaping wide holes in my watch knowledge that I feel like I should address at some point. Better to hide the fact that this hobby is mostly about my love of shiny things.
I think of my watch journey much in the same way that Henry Hudson thought of his journey through the Northwest Passage.
And then I was placed in a rowboat and left in somewhere in Nunavut.
Awesome column as always, man!
On the wrist of a co-worker...
It is a HUGE EFF'ING WATCH! 46.2mm diameter, 15.6mm thickness, and a giant onion crown! Dude is like 6'4" and 250 pounds, so he can pull it off. Me at 5'4" and 250 pounds, probably not so much.
He said that his collecting strategy was to focus on space stuff. So, "Le Petit Prince" appealed to him. Next up is the Moonwatch!
Your ability to detect watches continues to amaze me. I go to courtrooms several times a week and I usually only see Apple watches clashing horribly with blue suits (Old WC reference). I have to engage in conversations to see what lurks under a cuff. Luckily, I am not shy so this isn't a problem.
After a criminal hearing I had a conversation with a public defender wearing one of these. When you see something like this on someone on the bottom rung of the attorney salary scale you know one thing: family money. Turns out that he owns six watches: an IWC, a Speedmaster, and the rest Rolex. He complained about the accuracy of the IWC. I told him that I had just bought another Elgin and he asked if Elgin ever made watches in South Carolina. A ten minute lecture on the history of Elgin followed. What I lack in expensive pieces I make up for in useless information.
I had a divorce hearing this week and noticed a new watch on my client's wrist:
Now that he was getting divorced he bought himself "a nice watch," the "kind that ladies like". So, be careful out there ladies. There is a newly single middle aged Methodist preacher who would like you show you his Michael Kors and probably much more. ( @HotWatchChick69 swears that Michael Kors will make women quiver.)
Finally, I used to wear my hair long, now I wear it short. Is that my haircut journey? I started listening to the Beatles and now listen to just about everything. Am I on some sort of musical journey? The word "journey" makes it sound so purposeful and evokes the romance of travel ("When I bought my Casio at Walmart it was as though I was in the bazaar in Samarkand"). Your tastes change and adapt. Your income hopefully increases. Age + disposable income = mystical watch journey.
I'm really happy that you've come to accept the idea of a watch collecting journey. And you bring up a really good point: It's not just watches, it's all collectibles, and all aspects of life.
Here is my shoe wearing journey...
I started out with canvas sneakers, but not Vans like this. Instead, it was typically the Kmart store brand. They would wear out after like 1 month, and then for the next 6 months of the life of the shoe, holes would grow larger and larger and larger, until it was more hole than shoe. And this was in the 80's, before tattered clothing was a cool thing - back then, it just meant you were poor
Once I started working, I had to be corporate drone, and wear corporate drone shoes.
Now that I no longer do actual work, I am able to wear really nice, comfortable canvas sneakers!
Now that I think about it, I think I'll do a whole a whole series on my different collecting and lifestyle journeys? Obvious things that come to mind are...
Watches
Snakes
Garden gnomes
Rotary telephones
Spiders
Was handed a new Zenith El Primero owned by a client at work, I normally have a soft spot for Zenith but for a ~10k watch it felt a bit cheap, the display caseback was lovely and the movement inside is no doubt special but the bracelet had that horrible rattly cheap metallic squeak when handled, just like, dare I say it.. my £80 Invicta.
Awesome column as always, man!
On the wrist of a co-worker...
It is a HUGE EFF'ING WATCH! 46.2mm diameter, 15.6mm thickness, and a giant onion crown! Dude is like 6'4" and 250 pounds, so he can pull it off. Me at 5'4" and 250 pounds, probably not so much.
He said that his collecting strategy was to focus on space stuff. So, "Le Petit Prince" appealed to him. Next up is the Moonwatch!
Dude, the big pilot is so massive. It's the best example of a watch I can think of that also literally doesn't have a use case anymore (being worn over leather bomber jackets).
Was handed a new Zenith El Primero owned by a client at work, I normally have a soft spot for Zenith but for a ~10k watch it felt a bit cheap, the display caseback was lovely and the movement inside is no doubt special but the bracelet had that horrible rattly cheap metallic squeak when handled, just like, dare I say it.. my £80 Invicta.
Wonderful spot! The bracelet on that one is rough. I don't have hairs on my wrist and it even pinched my skin a bit. It's one of those watches, though, that is so good that I think I'd still be happy owning it, but would almost certainly buy it on the strap.
What have I seen this week...
Breitling Endurance Pro in a fetching blue, new work colleague. Bought it to fit in with his fitness orientated lifestyle and because 'its a Breitling'.
Rolex GMT Master, in black, again a new work colleague. Just back from a service after he noticed it had lost time, and when wound manually made a crunching sound! Said owner wears this all day, every day, on construction sites. Lots of respect!
Hamilton Ventura Skeleton, rose gold w/ rubber. On the wrist of someone we were employing for some groundworks. A watch like that must be an enthusiast, right? Nope. I felt like a right mug when I said 'Nice Ventura' and he looked at me blankly and thought I meant Ace Ventura. His wife purchased it for him apparently and he didnt think anything of it.
What have I seen this week...
Breitling Endurance Pro in a fetching blue, new work colleague. Bought it to fit in with his fitness orientated lifestyle and because 'its a Breitling'.
Rolex GMT Master, in black, again a new work colleague. Just back from a service after he noticed it had lost time, and when wound manually made a crunching sound! Said owner wears this all day, every day, on construction sites. Lots of respect!
Hamilton Ventura Skeleton, rose gold w/ rubber. On the wrist of someone we were employing for some groundworks. A watch like that must be an enthusiast, right? Nope. I felt like a right mug when I said 'Nice Ventura' and he looked at me blankly and thought I meant Ace Ventura. His wife purchased it for him apparently and he didnt think anything of it.
Absolutely fantastic spots there. Of those three, the only one that I haven't seen in person is the Ventura. That's a super cool watch. I kind of want to meet that guy's wife, I'd love to know what about the Ventura specifically that appealed to her.
Thanks! Definitely share the ones that you spot here. Part of the point of these posts is that I love seeing wrist watches on people's wrists in normal situations and hearing about other people see watches in their normal lives (or whatever counts as normal ).
I try to post every week on Wednesday morning so feel free to give a follow!
Was handed a new Zenith El Primero owned by a client at work, I normally have a soft spot for Zenith but for a ~10k watch it felt a bit cheap, the display caseback was lovely and the movement inside is no doubt special but the bracelet had that horrible rattly cheap metallic squeak when handled, just like, dare I say it.. my £80 Invicta.
Rattly, cheap bracelet. Sounds like a vintage Rolex!
Your ability to detect watches continues to amaze me. I go to courtrooms several times a week and I usually only see Apple watches clashing horribly with blue suits (Old WC reference). I have to engage in conversations to see what lurks under a cuff. Luckily, I am not shy so this isn't a problem.
After a criminal hearing I had a conversation with a public defender wearing one of these. When you see something like this on someone on the bottom rung of the attorney salary scale you know one thing: family money. Turns out that he owns six watches: an IWC, a Speedmaster, and the rest Rolex. He complained about the accuracy of the IWC. I told him that I had just bought another Elgin and he asked if Elgin ever made watches in South Carolina. A ten minute lecture on the history of Elgin followed. What I lack in expensive pieces I make up for in useless information.
I had a divorce hearing this week and noticed a new watch on my client's wrist:
Now that he was getting divorced he bought himself "a nice watch," the "kind that ladies like". So, be careful out there ladies. There is a newly single middle aged Methodist preacher who would like you show you his Michael Kors and probably much more. ( @HotWatchChick69 swears that Michael Kors will make women quiver.)
Finally, I used to wear my hair long, now I wear it short. Is that my haircut journey? I started listening to the Beatles and now listen to just about everything. Am I on some sort of musical journey? The word "journey" makes it sound so purposeful and evokes the romance of travel ("When I bought my Casio at Walmart it was as though I was in the bazaar in Samarkand"). Your tastes change and adapt. Your income hopefully increases. Age + disposable income = mystical watch journey.
Well, our "journey" put us on the much same path. Beatles -> long hair -> short hair -> evolving musical tastes -> mystical watch journey. Not in need of that Michael Kors watch, though, as I'm happily married, and have been for 42 years. 😊
Absolutely fantastic spots there. Of those three, the only one that I haven't seen in person is the Ventura. That's a super cool watch. I kind of want to meet that guy's wife, I'd love to know what about the Ventura specifically that appealed to her.
I have to admit I havent stopped looking at Venturas since. Its such an ‘out there’ watch im sure it will fit in any collection!
I'm really happy that you've come to accept the idea of a watch collecting journey. And you bring up a really good point: It's not just watches, it's all collectibles, and all aspects of life.
Here is my shoe wearing journey...
I started out with canvas sneakers, but not Vans like this. Instead, it was typically the Kmart store brand. They would wear out after like 1 month, and then for the next 6 months of the life of the shoe, holes would grow larger and larger and larger, until it was more hole than shoe. And this was in the 80's, before tattered clothing was a cool thing - back then, it just meant you were poor
Once I started working, I had to be corporate drone, and wear corporate drone shoes.
Now that I no longer do actual work, I am able to wear really nice, comfortable canvas sneakers!
Now that I think about it, I think I'll do a whole a whole series on my different collecting and lifestyle journeys? Obvious things that come to mind are...
Watches
Snakes
Garden gnomes
Rotary telephones
Spiders
You bought a return ticket for your shoe journey.
Still cold and and people wearing thick layers of clothes still. I saw a couple of nice watches though, but they were all mine.
Seen this week, brief discussion revealed it was passed to him from his father. Not a watch guy, but started wearing it daily after his father passed and really enjoying it.
These 90’s TAGs were my first exposure to “luxury” on some of my high school teammates parents. Though quirky and VERY 90’s design (kind of like the SMP bracelet, right? Right? Is this thing on?!) these are a special kind of cool to me. Not unlike Sublime and slap bracelets.
I feel like I’ll prob end up low balling one on EBay after killing a bottle of scotch and being really happy seeing in my watch box someday. Almost all still on wrist have a nostalgic story like this gentleman and you have to respect that legacy.
I remember these growing up...they're just not my jam but I would agree that all of them have amazing stories. Your guy's was no exception.
I'm clearly just a terrible and superficial person who still can't get over that bracelet 😉
I need to get out more (or move to the Bay). I'm excited when I spot a Seiko or G-Shock. Otherwise, it's almost entirely smartwatches and fitness bands (or no watch).
Awesome as always. I like to tell myself I did not have kids because of the Bond villain theory.
I need to get out more (or move to the Bay). I'm excited when I spot a Seiko or G-Shock. Otherwise, it's almost entirely smartwatches and fitness bands (or no watch).
Do get out more! Wander through a mall or along a boardwalk. Stake out a nice outdoor cafe next to a busy sidewalk. I think you'd be surprised!
I like how I've become the resident bronze guy.
As I read these posts I always have comments which are overshadowed by my comments on the next watch so that I pretty much only remember the last one. In this case I lost concentration on that brown Omega. As soon as I saw it I thought it was both great looking and the kind of thing I'd never buy. I love that companies still make weird watches like that, I just find that I don't have enough money for them. That brown dial though...I never understand how blue became the default color for watch dials. Like if it's not black or white, 90% chance it's blue. There are so many choices out there, I think it's a shame they don't get more love. But bro. Brown. Brown? Like that's an amazing chance to take. I feel like Omega nailed it, and I've seen Rolex do so as well, but there had to be a high likelihood of screwing up a brown dial.
Anyhow, great spotting as always. I actually thought about your posts last weekend when I was at a party and couldn't figure out what watch a guy I was talking to was wearing. Looked Sub-ish, but that meant it could be 50% of the divers in the world. Somehow the time never felt right to ask.
Awesome as always. I like to tell myself I did not have kids because of the Bond villain theory.
She's an amoral little genius.who has decided to engage me in an arms race that I'm pretty sure I'm losing.
Seen this week, brief discussion revealed it was passed to him from his father. Not a watch guy, but started wearing it daily after his father passed and really enjoying it.
These 90’s TAGs were my first exposure to “luxury” on some of my high school teammates parents. Though quirky and VERY 90’s design (kind of like the SMP bracelet, right? Right? Is this thing on?!) these are a special kind of cool to me. Not unlike Sublime and slap bracelets.
I feel like I’ll prob end up low balling one on EBay after killing a bottle of scotch and being really happy seeing in my watch box someday. Almost all still on wrist have a nostalgic story like this gentleman and you have to respect that legacy.
Stop reading my mind.
I like how I've become the resident bronze guy.
As I read these posts I always have comments which are overshadowed by my comments on the next watch so that I pretty much only remember the last one. In this case I lost concentration on that brown Omega. As soon as I saw it I thought it was both great looking and the kind of thing I'd never buy. I love that companies still make weird watches like that, I just find that I don't have enough money for them. That brown dial though...I never understand how blue became the default color for watch dials. Like if it's not black or white, 90% chance it's blue. There are so many choices out there, I think it's a shame they don't get more love. But bro. Brown. Brown? Like that's an amazing chance to take. I feel like Omega nailed it, and I've seen Rolex do so as well, but there had to be a high likelihood of screwing up a brown dial.
Anyhow, great spotting as always. I actually thought about your posts last weekend when I was at a party and couldn't figure out what watch a guy I was talking to was wearing. Looked Sub-ish, but that meant it could be 50% of the divers in the world. Somehow the time never felt right to ask.
I hope you know that I needle because I love and also because you're one of the original #1wc merry band of idiots.
The ladies version is just a really good looking watch. The dial proportions are great and the color is truly beautiful. If they made a sized up gentleman's version, I might have gotten one already.
But the problem is they added all the dial text and a completely unnecessary date that they decided to highlight with a gold ring just so we wouldn't forget it. It makes me sad.
I hear you. It can be hard and I definitely occasionally miss some because it's not socially appropriate to ask. But sometimes I just ask anyway. I find that most folks are reasonably graceful about my stupid requests.
This column needs an opt in notification system - would love to be first to add my $0.02
Yay Tokyo! I’ve had better luck watch spotting here than in my usual life with athletes and hospital workers.
Sadly my ID-ing pales in comparo to yours. I liked @Deeperblue ‘s Attenburrow analogy. You’d describe a Himilayan Spotted Snow Lion and I’d call it a big white cat.
This means the watches I briefly spot on subway or a passing company worker can’t be ID’d
Oh well, without further ado:
On the wrist of a Wako Grand Seiko watch repair specialist:
(Wako is a crazy high end watch and luxury item dealer in the heart of Tokyo, it’s bathroom was as stunning as it’s showroom
An antique Rolex! Sadly, he spoke no English and my Japanese, while decent, didn’t decode much of what he said when I asked about it. I detected he had some scandalous joy in having this on his wrist at work.
While eating michinlin star Ramen with friends
A JLC reverso on her and a GMT master on him!
They were a surgeon and his wife we knew from Canada who happened to be in Tokyo at the same time as us.
I was so excited to chat about there watches with them, but slightly saddened they didn’t ask anything about my Prospex LX. The curse of secret luxury 🤷♂
And on the wrist of my sales guy at Jack Road - a 36mm current generation Explorer. If Rolex hid a date on the dial somewhere (say color matched at 4:30 no cyclops) I’d buy it tomorrow. Such a classic
Very pro watch salesman looking I told him - and he was quite happy to hear that.
Also mentioned my dad wore an explorer for almost his whole life and he said he hoped to pass his to his son one day… once he gets a girlfriend … and then wife …and then has a kid.
We both agreed our favorite watches should go to our kids 🙂
This column needs an opt in notification system - would love to be first to add my $0.02
Yay Tokyo! I’ve had better luck watch spotting here than in my usual life with athletes and hospital workers.
Sadly my ID-ing pales in comparo to yours. I liked @Deeperblue ‘s Attenburrow analogy. You’d describe a Himilayan Spotted Snow Lion and I’d call it a big white cat.
This means the watches I briefly spot on subway or a passing company worker can’t be ID’d
Oh well, without further ado:
On the wrist of a Wako Grand Seiko watch repair specialist:
(Wako is a crazy high end watch and luxury item dealer in the heart of Tokyo, it’s bathroom was as stunning as it’s showroom
An antique Rolex! Sadly, he spoke no English and my Japanese, while decent, didn’t decode much of what he said when I asked about it. I detected he had some scandalous joy in having this on his wrist at work.
While eating michinlin star Ramen with friends
A JLC reverso on her and a GMT master on him!
They were a surgeon and his wife we knew from Canada who happened to be in Tokyo at the same time as us.
I was so excited to chat about there watches with them, but slightly saddened they didn’t ask anything about my Prospex LX. The curse of secret luxury 🤷♂
And on the wrist of my sales guy at Jack Road - a 36mm current generation Explorer. If Rolex hid a date on the dial somewhere (say color matched at 4:30 no cyclops) I’d buy it tomorrow. Such a classic
Very pro watch salesman looking I told him - and he was quite happy to hear that.
Also mentioned my dad wore an explorer for almost his whole life and he said he hoped to pass his to his son one day… once he gets a girlfriend … and then wife …and then has a kid.
We both agreed our favorite watches should go to our kids 🙂
No way. This is a column for hipsters. If you're going to read it, you're going to in the jankiest, most inconvenient way possible.
Overall, excellent spots and a ton of fun. Which of the high end prospexes did you see and any deals?
Amazing post yet again, i can feel the glee in your writings! Here’s hoping to continued great weather.
not much spotting as have generally stayed home to take care of a sick wife and child, but the time I did went out, i spotted my first black BB58 too (talk about coincedence) on a wrist of a co-worker. Singaporeans love their blues so I usually only see blue Pelagos’s and BB58’s. one of the reasons I sold my blue 58, twice, was mainly because of the lack of QC both watches had and, just like you, the mix of snowflake hands and circular markers just did not do it for me…. I also hated the green lume on a blue watch.
I did spot a another Panerai and I assumed it was the Ti version of one of their models. It did not shine the usual “im expensive” shine and i thought it was cool. Fella was busy handling his child at the barbers and came off as a nice guy. Thats a first for me, a nice guy using a Panerai. The world is not so bad after all..
Spotted a Rolex DJ 36 in blue, non fluted, oyster bracelet (Thats a mouthful, why didnt they just issue a model name and number for their different combinations?… or did they?) on another colleague. This guy is quite muscular and he made the watch look like a 34 that I initially thought it was an OP34 until I saw the famous wart. Nothing to shout about honestly, but i’d chose a DJ any time of the week over a sub/gmt if we’re just talking Rolex. Such a classic!
Til the next one!
Amazing post yet again, i can feel the glee in your writings! Here’s hoping to continued great weather.
not much spotting as have generally stayed home to take care of a sick wife and child, but the time I did went out, i spotted my first black BB58 too (talk about coincedence) on a wrist of a co-worker. Singaporeans love their blues so I usually only see blue Pelagos’s and BB58’s. one of the reasons I sold my blue 58, twice, was mainly because of the lack of QC both watches had and, just like you, the mix of snowflake hands and circular markers just did not do it for me…. I also hated the green lume on a blue watch.
I did spot a another Panerai and I assumed it was the Ti version of one of their models. It did not shine the usual “im expensive” shine and i thought it was cool. Fella was busy handling his child at the barbers and came off as a nice guy. Thats a first for me, a nice guy using a Panerai. The world is not so bad after all..
Spotted a Rolex DJ 36 in blue, non fluted, oyster bracelet (Thats a mouthful, why didnt they just issue a model name and number for their different combinations?… or did they?) on another colleague. This guy is quite muscular and he made the watch look like a 34 that I initially thought it was an OP34 until I saw the famous wart. Nothing to shout about honestly, but i’d chose a DJ any time of the week over a sub/gmt if we’re just talking Rolex. Such a classic!
Til the next one!
Sorry about the sick family. Sick kiddos are the most pathetic thing in the entire world. My youngest has been battling a cold and whenever she coughs she looks stricken, like the world has personally conspired too invent illnesses to personally make her miserable.
Excellent spots overall. The BB58 is one of those watches that I appreciate existing but never would buy. It's clearly a fantastic watch that slots well into the old Rolex sports mold of sporty and nice but not dear.
But I'm a watch collector and, as such, am cursed with opinions. Opinions that tell me I don't like snowflake hands with round markers. Opinions that tell me the faux rivets are crazy and nonfunctional. It's all stupid.
So I gotta ask on the BB58 QC. I've always seen them be basically perfect (no movement issues, good alignment, sturdy build etc) but I hear more and more stories about how dial feet snap and movement issues and all sorts of things. This gives me some pause when recommending it to watch noob friends. What were your QC issues?
Sorry about the sick family. Sick kiddos are the most pathetic thing in the entire world. My youngest has been battling a cold and whenever she coughs she looks stricken, like the world has personally conspired too invent illnesses to personally make her miserable.
Excellent spots overall. The BB58 is one of those watches that I appreciate existing but never would buy. It's clearly a fantastic watch that slots well into the old Rolex sports mold of sporty and nice but not dear.
But I'm a watch collector and, as such, am cursed with opinions. Opinions that tell me I don't like snowflake hands with round markers. Opinions that tell me the faux rivets are crazy and nonfunctional. It's all stupid.
So I gotta ask on the BB58 QC. I've always seen them be basically perfect (no movement issues, good alignment, sturdy build etc) but I hear more and more stories about how dial feet snap and movement issues and all sorts of things. This gives me some pause when recommending it to watch noob friends. What were your QC issues?
Both had movement issues that did not perform to spec. One of them eventually turned out to be -10s per day. Being an accuracy nut, thats a kick in the balls.
Both also had hand alignment issues where the hour hand did not align, ie it read more 9 and 1/4 pm. This problem also appeared on my wife’s BB36, but she doesnt mind 🤷🏻♂️
It was strange that both watches had similar issues that i joked w the wife that i got the same watch the 2nd time round
All’s good with my FXD, but i’d avoid any Tudor’s with the Black Bay movement
That green on the Prospect Willard is choice. 👌
100% agree with you on the new Tank Francaise! 😕 A rare misstep by Cartier IMO.
That green on the Prospect Willard is choice. 👌
100% agree with you on the new Tank Francaise! 😕 A rare misstep by Cartier IMO.
Very very good looking watch.
I feel like I'm on a bit of an island on this one. When the watches dropped, the Dink, Fratello, everyone rushed to praise it....and when I saw it, I felt it was unpardonably ugly. Like someone had taken a pretty good watch and then decided to satin brush the entire thing without regard for lines or light play or all the things that make Cartier feel transcendent as a design piece to me.
And then, while they were trying to make it sportier, they forgot to add water resistance to make it functional.
I hate all of it.