The Grey Nato - Episode 01 - "All Lux'd Out"
Published on Mon, 01 Feb 2016 22:10:41 -0500
Synopsis
This is the first episode of a podcast called "The Graynado" hosted by James Stacy and Jason Heaton, who are both writers focused on topics like watches, travel, and gear. In this episode, they discuss their experiences at the recent SIHH watch show in Geneva, sharing highlights and their favorite new watch releases from brands like IWC, Vacheron Constantin, Jaeger-LeCoultre, and others. They also talk about some recent camera gear purchases, recommend useful websites and podcasts, and preview upcoming plans like dive trips.
Links
Transcript
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| James Stacy, writer based in Vancouver | Welcome to the first episode of the Graynado, a loose discussion of travel, adventure, diving, gear, and most certainly watches. My name is James Stacy. Based in Vancouver, I call myself a professional enthusiast and I write about watches, cars, and almost anything else that catches my eye for a blog2watch.com, Nuvo Magazine, and more. |
| Jason Heaton, freelance writer based in Minneapolis | And I'm Jason Heaton. I'm a freelance writer for a number of gear, travel, and timepiece publications, including gearpatrol.com, hodinkee.com, Revolution Magazine, and Men's Journal. And I'm based out here in sunny Minneapolis. |
| James Stacy, writer based in Vancouver | Well, the sun, that must be nice. I haven't seen sun since we got back from Geneva. It's just been raining in Vancouver. |
| Jason Heaton, freelance writer based in Minneapolis | Well, that's what you're known for, isn't it? |
| James Stacy, writer based in Vancouver | Yeah, definitely this time of year, it's just wall-to-wall rain. You never really take your jacket off. But yeah, Geneva was nice. The weather was a little chilly. So we're both back about a week after SIHH, which is one of the two big watch shows. |
| Jason Heaton, freelance writer based in Minneapolis | Yeah, how's your jet lag doing? You're a couple hours even beyond me from Geneva. |
| James Stacy, writer based in Vancouver | Yeah, exactly. The team I was with, with the blog to watch, we keep some pretty late hours. So I don't have the same adjustment, but it was still probably four or five hours that I had to get back. And it was, uh, it was tough. I was going to bed pretty early for a few nights. Uh, but I think I got it back so far. Yeah. What'd you, uh, what'd you think of the show? |
| Jason Heaton, freelance writer based in Minneapolis | Well, I, you know, I thought this year was quite nice and, and I'm interested to get your perspective because it was your first SIHH. Um, this was my, this was my fifth and, uh, especially compared to last year, last year's show was, It had a distinct feeling of being almost overcrowded and sort of a little bit harassing, I guess, from an attendee perspective. And I think others agreed with that point. I think this year, from what I heard, just sort of through the grapevine, the organizers of the show sort of pared down the invite list. And so it just felt like there was a little bit more elbow room in the show hall. and at meetings and everyone just felt a little bit more relaxed and I think it was kind of purely coincidental but I think it was also reflected in the sort of vibe I got from the brands too. I felt like the watches that were on offer, the overall collections from each of the brands were a little bit more pared down, a little bit more focused and a lot of people have commented online I've seen as well that things felt like they're gearing a little bit more towards actual consumers, people that might actually buy a watch, which is contrary to probably what we'll talk about a little bit today, which is, you know, this is a high luxury show. So, um, most of this stuff isn't necessarily in the realm of guys like you and I, but, um, for the most part, I felt like collections that we saw were focused. Um, if I had to draw some kind of overall, um, you know, conclusions about the show, you know, smaller sized watches, more accessible complications and in some cases more accessible pricing as well. What did you think? What was your impression of your first show? |
| James Stacy, writer based in Vancouver | Yes, definitely my first time. I've done Basel a few times. It's a completely different vibe than Basel. Obviously, Basel is very much like throw everything at the wall and see what sticks. Yeah. So, you know, you get used to meetings where brands are showing a hundred SKUs or would like to show you a hundred SKUs in a half an hour. It's a different vibe at SIHH. It is very much more of a luxury show and they're promoting that aesthetic and those values, not just towards the idea that somebody luxurious would buy their luxurious watch, but also in the way that they kind of, the way that they offer an experience for the show, there's food available. And, uh, and, and yeah, I would agree that the overall vibe is actually pretty relaxed comparatively and people are much more dressed up than they are at Basel. Yeah. Um, you know, I don't think I've worn a tie that many days in a row, maybe in my whole life. Right. Pretty casual sort of, sort of guy. And, uh, you know, I had a really, I had a fun time at the show. It's a, it's a grind covering it for a website where, you know, it's always another thing that has to go up and another video that has to be edited. Yeah. But it's a blast. And I think it's the sort of thing that keeps your knife really sharp throughout the year as far as writing and photo editing and even taking photos. I ran a bunch of new gear for SIHH that I didn't have for Basel last year, and all of that worked out really well. So I think it was a successful show, but yeah, just an entirely different vibe than Basel, which feels a lot more like a convention. |
| Jason Heaton, freelance writer based in Minneapolis | Right. I feel like, just for listeners that maybe aren't as familiar with what SIHH is all about, If I had to make sort of an analogy, and I'm showing my Minneapolis roots here, Basel feels a little bit more like the Mall of America or sort of a mega mall, whereas SIHH feels a little bit more like going to some sort of a boutique shopping center. And I think that's even reflected in the layout of the place. It's a smaller, it's a large place, you know, no doubt about it, but it's definitely easier to get around. It has sort of a hushed vibe, it's very beige, there's a lot of carpeting and, you know, as James mentioned, a lot, you know, very, people are sort of, you know, a lot more dressed up. You see a lot of camera gear being toted around and big umbrellas and little canapes being served and espressos and things like that in the main hallway. But, you know, just to kind of explain the name, I mean, SIHH stands for, I'll butcher the French here, Salon Internationale de la Haute Horlogerie, which is, you know, loosely translated means it's a salon for high watchmaking. And the focus of the show really is on high watchmaking. So you do see a lot of, you know, really high end pieces. And it, you know, when you and I were talking, we were sort of comparing it to going to getting access behind the scenes to like an art museum or something. |
| James Stacy, writer based in Vancouver | Yeah, that's definitely how it feels to me because you're seeing things that I have no doubt there's a market for, they will sell these watches, but I'm not part of that market. So it is like having really good access at a museum full of things that you actually like. Yeah. But not something you're ever going to hang on your own wall. Right. Generally speaking. So, I mean, I think the most entry-level watch we saw, if we switch to, you know, speaking about product was the Mark 18, the new IWC pilot watch. Yeah. At four grand. And that was an absolute outlier. A lot of five figure watches. Yeah. You know, six figure watches, wherever you look from whatever brand you can imagine. Right. This is a show where a handful of brands essentially swing for the fences. So, uh, Lange comes out with a perpetual tourbillon version of the datagraph bonkers. Yeah. Uh, you have, you know, uh, Grubel Forsey swing for the fences with every type of a complication that they can put together, including a watch that had no complications, which I think for that brand essentially counts as a complication. Right, right. So, I mean, yeah, you have everything from independents to the big players within the Richemont family going all out. And that means some really big ticket prices and a big presence of collectors at the show, which I'm not used to from Basel. Right. A lot of people there actually buying watches? |
| Jason Heaton, freelance writer based in Minneapolis | Yeah, it is. It's pretty incredible. I mean, it's, you know, and that's another difference with the format of the show. Basel, you get, um, it's open to the public. Uh, the meetings and then the access to the booths themselves is not necessarily open to the public for, for most of the bigger brands, but you know, we're, it's a packed space in Basel where you're shoulder to shoulder with, you know, families there on the weekend, pushing a stroller, looking at the windows of the booths and looking at the new watches. Whereas SIHH is, It's an invite-only event, so you get, it's mainly for retailers and to a slightly lesser degree for journalists and then, as you mentioned, collectors. And so that alone sort of introduces this sort of, I don't want to say elitist, but a more exclusive vibe. And I thought another thing that was interesting this year that's worth noting was the inclusion not only of the Richemont Luxury Group brands, and then a few others like AP and some others. But this year, for the first time, they put sort of an annex in the main hall for, I think they brought in nine, I think was the number, independent brands. So smaller brands like Moser and Haute Lance and... David Thune. David Thune and, you know, a few others. Itkari, HYT. Yeah, and it added... I felt that sort of lightened the mood a little bit. It sort of freshened it up, and people enjoyed going in there and meeting with those. It felt a little bit more Basel-like, a little bit more like going to the palace at Basel, where you get some of the smaller drinks. |
| James Stacy, writer based in Vancouver | It did feel like the palace, yeah. And what did you think as far as product? Did you have a few that stood out, a few that you really liked? |
| Jason Heaton, freelance writer based in Minneapolis | Well, if we throw out the notion that I could pretty much afford none of this stuff... Yeah, sure. I would say that the Lange Jumping Seconds was definitely a favorite of mine. The AP, the Super Sonnery, was a real standout for me. It was a minute repeater that last year was shown as a mere concept, but this year it was sort of more serialized. I think they're still not going to make a ton of them. It was quite a piece. And what else? Cartier had another one of their Astro Turbillon Mysterieurs pieces with the mysterious floating seconds. One thing I found interesting was the Piaget. It was the Imperador Cousin. And it was a hybrid mechanical quartz movement in that watch, which surprised a lot of people and it drew some obvious comparisons to the Seiko Spring Drive, but I felt it was it was sort of a bold move for them. It's not my favorite watch of the show, but it was definitely something that was one of the more interesting pieces of the show to me. |
| James Stacy, writer based in Vancouver | Piaget does some pretty interesting stuff because I don't think they're necessarily feel especially confined by the conventions that some of the other brands that SIHH would be locked to. I think they might be a little bit more free. to yeah just try things and pivot and uh certainly the 900p i finally got to see in person and that's such a cool watch oh yeah um what else i saw i really like the um the vacheron constantin oversees the chronograph i did too um i think you know it seems to be fairly divisive from what people were saying in comments and and on instagram and such but i i mean on wrist especially on the metal on the uh sorry on the rubber straps It's so comfortable, so cool. They're very expensive watches. I'm not going to spend $30,000 on a chronograph anytime soon, but it's a locked in product. It comes with three straps that you can change in 10 seconds without a tool. I think especially for watches that rely on a proprietary lug system, whether you're Oris or VC, I don't think it matters, but I think a quick change system really makes that a much more appealing product. I agree. And they're including the straps. Again, it's 30 grand, so they should, but nobody else is. Right. So, I mean, that's cool. And I thought the blue dial was beautiful. I thought the perpetual version of the same watch was pretty great with the gray dial. It was just a nice refresh to a line that I think a lot of people ignore. And they just, they tend to simply think about the, you know, the APs. |
| Jason Heaton, freelance writer based in Minneapolis | Yeah. I mean, the Overseas, I reviewed one of the last generation chronographs late last year. That family has always been a real favorite of mine. I know it's sort of overlooked by a lot of people, but I felt like they did a really good job with the update. And, you know, with the chronograph, people, you know, have a little bit about the price and about the, uh, I saw some things about the date window placement, things like that. But I, I don't know, I guess I'm a real fan of the aesthetic of that watch and just sort of the overall vibe and it's 150 meter water resistant. You can put it on a rubber strap. It's got lockdown pushers. Um, It has a sporty look, but you could put it on the bracelet or on a, I think it was an alligator strap. And it really, it's a really versatile watch. It's probably one of the more versatile watches you can buy, um, in that sort of price price range. |
| James Stacy, writer based in Vancouver | Yeah. And I also liked the IWC time zoner, another watch that a lot of people seem disappointed by. And from the moment I picked it up off the tray at the table, I mean, it's too big for my taste. Like it's thick, it's 45 millimeters wide, but that mechanism, as far as like, I have a real penchant we'll say for GMTs. And that mechanism, I love anyone that can kind of express a GMT in a new way. You know, Nomos has a fantastic way of doing it, but connecting it with the bezel and it works really well and it's captive. So you kind of have to push the bezel in a specific manner to get it to turn. Yeah, I think it ports that kind of normal pilot watch vibe that a lot of IWC product has their pilot line, but it gives you this really interesting mechanism that Just changes time zones on the fly and then instead of having kind of a local hour hand and a GMT hand like You know, I was in 144 chronograph that's based on a 7750. Mm-hmm So instead of having those the the hour and the GMT hour hand roll independently the hour and the What looks like a GMT hand is actually a 24 hour hand and they're locked So whenever you spin that bezel to pick a new time zone, not only do you know the time there, you also know if it's AM or PM, just at a quick glance. |
| Unknown | Yeah. |
| James Stacy, writer based in Vancouver | I think if they remove the chronograph, they'd have a really interesting product because it would be cheaper and you could conceivably make it not as thick. Yeah, that's true. Um, you know, something around 15 millimeters, I think would, would really start to make that 45 millimeter width a lot more tractable. |
| Jason Heaton, freelance writer based in Minneapolis | I agree. And I, I think I always come back when I see a watch like that, I always come back to this idea, for better or for worse, whatever people think of that watch. After hundreds of years of mechanical watchmaking, it's always encouraging for me to see watchmakers and watch companies push boundaries and just try new things because that's really what watchmaking is all about. It's all about finding these solutions and maybe you're doing something that isn't, okay, it's not necessary. It's not saving lives or even necessarily improving the experience for Um, someone that, that needs some vital information, but it's, it's just trying something new that we haven't seen before. And I think that's a big part of what SIHH is all about. This isn't a fashion show per se in many ways it is, but, um, it's things like that that are very interesting. And I think, you know, just going back to IWC in general, um, it's a brand that has taken some flack over the past few years. I was quite impressed with their offerings this year, and I, I wasn't as impressed with, with the offering that I think they wanted people to be impressed by. And that was the. the Heritage Big Pilots, which had the small seconds, they came in a 48mm, I think, and a 55mm version, with the in-house hand-wound, I think it was hand-wound, right? I think so. |
| James Stacy, writer based in Vancouver | Not offhand, I'm not sure. |
| Jason Heaton, freelance writer based in Minneapolis | Yeah. Those watches, you know, they're kind of cool, I suppose, for collectors, and they do harken back to, you know, the original Pilots watches that they were making in the 1930s and 40s, but to me, the offerings that were the more The most interesting and thrilling that I saw were the TimeZoner, which you just mentioned, but also two more, the Mark 18, which you briefly touched on, which was priced really well at around $3,900 US. But also, you know, they came out with an automatic 36mm pilot watch, which, when you really think about it, it's the size of the original Mark 11 pilot's watch for which IWC became really famous. And it looked good. I tried it on, it fit my wrist well, the aesthetics looked good, And, you know, it's a watch I would actually wear as someone who has a penchant for vintage tool watches and pilot's watches. |
| James Stacy, writer based in Vancouver | Yeah, very cool. I think it's a nice size. I also tried it on and they're very strictly saying, oh, it's a lady's watch. And I'm like, eh, 36 millimeters is a perfect size, especially for somebody with vintage taste that maybe wants a new watch. Right. And other than that, I mean, my absolute favorite from the show was that Grubel Forste Signature One. I wrote a piece for a blog to watch about it. Just a stunningly beautiful watch. Their first without a tourbillon, their first watch in steel. Hugely expensive for a time only watch. I think it starts at $170 US. The number means nothing to me because I'm not going to buy one of the 66 that they're going to make, but to see one and to kind of be able to experience again, firsthand what is in my opinion, the absolute pinnacle of hand finishing on a watch. It's a really stunning thing to see in person. I did my best with the photographs, but I just don't think I got all the way there. |
| Jason Heaton, freelance writer based in Minneapolis | Yeah. That was a real show favorite for, for everybody. I think it would really appeared on, if you, if you just sort of look through, um, sort of the, the post SIHH, uh, feeds from the different blogs online, it was definitely in the, in the, in the favorites. I, uh, you know, I particularly, I think I would, uh, I would kind of put the, the jumping seconds Lange in that category for me as, as a show favorite. Very cool. You know, for Lange, it was kind of the big one for them this year was the datagraph tourbillon. And, you know, I didn't, and it was a perpetual obviously as well, which is a huge accomplishment. But the minute I saw that watch, it was just too thick and dimensionally, it just didn't look quite right for me. And while it's a technological marvel for them to create that watch, the jumping seconds Ricard Lange was just Perfect. You know, I love the Ricard Lange family. It's sort of their scientific instrument watch family that kind of goes back to the founder of Lange's son, who was a renowned watchmaker who had a number of patents to his name. And I think it fit well in that family. I like the regulator style dial. And then the jumping seconds is sort of the, it's sort of the darling complication of the past couple of years. A few brands have done it most recently. Jaeger LeCoultre with the Geophysic this past fall. But I don't know. That was a real showstopper for me, I thought. |
| James Stacy, writer based in Vancouver | Yeah, it's definitely some great stuff. And there's lots to see. And I would encourage anyone who's interested to let us know what you think. Please send us an email. It's thegraynado at gmail.com. Questions, thoughts? We'd love to hear from you. Yeah. I think that pretty much wraps up SIHH 2016 and we'll be back next year, obviously, to do it again. And then we've got Basel in March. |
| Jason Heaton, freelance writer based in Minneapolis | Yep. That should be another whole new adventure. And I'm already, uh, I don't know about you, but I, I was still at SIHH and coming home and I was already getting emails to set up appointments for Basel. And so we're jumping right out of the, uh, the frying pan and into the fire, so to speak. We sure are. Okay, so now that we've wrapped up SIHH coverage, let's kind of move to a section of the program where, you know, we'll talk about things that we've been liking lately and maybe we can introduce to the listeners as, you know, just what we're into these days. It can certainly be watches, but James, you know, you and I are into cameras and gear equally as much. So you've been seeing a lot on the internet lately about different professional photographers that are abandoning their SLR kits to to move over, especially to a camera like the Sony A7. And while I'm not entirely ready to abandon the SLR side of the fence, I did pick up a Sony A7 Mark II, which I'm still sort of getting a handle on, getting comfortable with, but I can definitely see its advantages and I'm kind of eager to play with it a little bit more. So I know James, you just actually picked up a camera and yours is actually a new SLR. |
| James Stacy, writer based in Vancouver | Yeah, I got a 5D Mark III. And I picked up a new macro lens to kind of do the wrist shots and such for SIHH. And that's been fantastic. You know, for me, what I wanted to kind of recommend to listeners, obviously, you have a couple problems when you do something like an SIHH or a Basel or really if you just travel to do some photography, you have a couple of problems. One is what gear to take, but two is once you have it selected, how do you really package it together to be protected, but still accessible? And the trade show thing's a little strange, but I found Lowepro makes this bag that's designed for GoPro cameras. So it's called their viewpoint series. It comes in, I think, four sizes, the CS40, 60 and 80. I think I paid 50 Canadian. So this is like $5 US or something. Yeah. For the CS80 and it can hold, it held literally all of the little trinkets that I use. So everything from like white balance cards to batteries of all kinds to, it's got like slots for, to hold cables and card, like storage for memory cards. And it's this, it kind of zippers up like a flat lunchbox. It's nicely padded. The little sections on the inside, like in a camera bag can be moved around and it's just works really well. I'll, uh, if you go on my Instagram, it's a J E Stacey, scroll down a little bit, you'll see a photograph of it in kind of three states. Cause it kind of folds out and it gives you a lot of storage options for those little things that kind of get lost in the bottom of a backpack. And I use like a tote when I go to these shows. So I have kind of like a soft case thing that holds my camera all set up and ready to go. And then this holds all the kind of ancillary gear. |
| Jason Heaton, freelance writer based in Minneapolis | Yeah, I think, you know, When people talk about camera gear, they tend to focus on the camera itself and the lenses, and that's certainly the most important. But I have struggled over the years to find just the right way to carry all this stuff. And I think everybody who is into photography and travels with a camera always kind of has to develop their own little system for carrying stuff. And one thing I struggle with, particularly with trade shows, and I know it's a bit of a fashion concession, Especially at SIHH where you're wearing a suit. I'm not a real fan of backpacks with suits. It's sort of Doesn't work well over the shoulders of a sport coat or a jacket Kind of looks goofy But then you're stuck, you know with a shoulder bag which can get uncomfortable and heavy or you know Something that you're carrying in your hand So I still haven't quite found the the exact formula But I did take a look at your Lowepro and it looks like it looks like a pretty slick setup |
| James Stacy, writer based in Vancouver | Yeah, I haven't found the exact formula for the whole thing. I don't really like the bag that I use, but it's okay. I can't do the backpack if I'm dressed anything more than casual, which you are for any of these shows. And you're also just always taking it off. And then with a backpack, you're left with a vertical problem, which is some gear is under other gear, which is fine if you're like hiking and you're going to take a little break and open the whole bag up and dig out you know, a little tripod from the bottom, but for this thing, like you pretty much put your bag down, you zip it open and you have to work. Right. I know that you, uh, you had said you recently got, uh, bitten by the cereal bug. Yeah. |
| Jason Heaton, freelance writer based in Minneapolis | You know, now that we're, we're into this podcast now, I've been, um, you know, downloading and looking at various podcasts lately. And I know you're a big fan of, uh, of podcasting and anybody who has even heard the word podcast by now, it's probably, Also heard the word Serial, which is the podcast that sort of was spun off of the This American Life program on National Public Radio. And to me, the great thing about podcasts is you can listen to them one at a time or, and I think this is the angle that they're going for with a lot of these, is you can binge listen. I just blew through the whole first season of Serial in the past about 48 hours and just thought it was fantastic. So I'm ready to dive into season two. |
| James Stacy, writer based in Vancouver | Season two's good, no spoilers, but I am enjoying it. I also enjoy, I love some true crime and I enjoyed the first season quite a bit. Those podcasts become something of an addiction. They really become great and then with serial so popular that they actually had to like kind of schedule when it would start again, like a TV series, because there were so many people asking them when season two would come out and season two is an entirely different story. So pick one, pick one or two, or I think you should just listen to them all if you like podcasts. If you have a road trip coming up, Yeah. Download it and I think you'll know what we mean by the addiction, which, which brings me to, uh, to my next point, which is my personal addiction. Uh, and, and the second thing that I'd like to share, this is a free share. So I apologize for anyone that I'm enabling with this is a website called watch recon.com. Oh yeah. I'm a big fan. Um, yeah. So watch recon was developed. I actually don't know the guy. I follow him on Instagram. Someone developed this website that looks at all of the enthusiast sales forums, the private sales forums for watches. So like a lot of people would know poor man's watch forum, you know, has an under $1,000 sales forum, which is where I got my start a long time ago at this point. And then watch you seek is very popular. And you know, the Rolex forum has a sales forum. These aggregate all together, and then you can delve into the way to search for things. So I can search by locale. So if I want to find a watch in Canada, which can be helpful with such a big disparity in the currency these days and trouble getting a watch over the border with taxes. So I can search by city in Canada and just see the posts for that city. You can search by model numbers. Obviously people selling, let's say a Rolex are always going to put its reference number. So you can search by that reference number and find anything you want. But the power in it is really when you get hooked and you're going back nightly, this is how I go to bed. And you just kind of look at the same 30 or 40 types of watches and you get a real idea for the market. Right. Where you'll see something mentioned in a post, Oh, what does this underline mean? Or what does this big crown or, or whatever. And you can go and Google it. And I think it's a, it's an interesting way to learn with kind of tangible connections. So if you're into watches, I assume that also means that you're into occasionally buying and selling watches to thin the herd or, you know, hunt that new grail, whatever, whatever phase you're at. Check out watchrecon.com if you haven't already, follow them on Instagram, and just let them know that the site's great. I think it's great. It's definitely not great as far as productivity. Sometimes I'm there instead of doing other things that I should, but it's a nice way to kind of relax your brain and learn a bit as you go. Certainly you learn a lot about the huge amount of value that's encapsulated by the pre-owned market. |
| Jason Heaton, freelance writer based in Minneapolis | Yeah, I agree. I've bought and sold a few things through Watch Recon, and it's definitely fun, but it can also be a bit of a hit on your pocketbook, I guess. |
| James Stacy, writer based in Vancouver | Oh, no doubt. Yes. Like anything else. Right. As soon as you start really knowing the market, then you're like, oh, that looks like a good deal. And then before you know it, you've got a bunch of watches, and you've only got one wrist, really. |
| Jason Heaton, freelance writer based in Minneapolis | Yeah, I agree. It's a good segue into our next section, which is what we're working on. And I recently got two watches in this week for review. Both dive watches. One is the Seiko SRP777, which is... The new turtle. Yeah, the new turtle, which is sort of blowing up on social media and on some of the forums these days, which if people aren't familiar with it, they probably will be if they see a picture of it, because it looks very much like the 6309 reference that Seiko made from the late 70s through the late 80s. And, you know, I've actually got it on my wrist as we're talking here. And it's just, it's such a fantastic watch. They really nailed the vintage vibe, but I'm having a little bit of trouble with it because with Seiko, their watches are sort of timeless anyway. I mean, if you picked up a 6309 and put it on your wrist, it would feel so similar to this. There's no need for them nowadays to, you know, put some sort of a faux patina with a loom or fiddle around with a vintage font. I mean, their dive watches have taken on such an evolutionary sort of track over the years that it almost feels like a new watch or an old watch. It sort of splits the difference. You're not quite sure what you're reviewing here, you know? |
| James Stacy, writer based in Vancouver | Yeah, it's an old one, but it has hacking. |
| Jason Heaton, freelance writer based in Minneapolis | Yeah, yeah. So there's... Basically. Exactly, right, right. So there's that one and then also the Zodiac Super Seawolf 68, which is a reissue, so to speak, or a vintage-inspired release by Zodiac which which is a very interesting brand these days because they're it's owned by Fossil which everybody probably knows from the mall stores that sell largely fashion watches and watch nerds have largely pooh-poohed Fossil over the years for just that reason but they own the Zodiac name and they've made an attempt in the past couple of years to revive the spirit of what Zodiac once was which was a pretty respectable maker of tool watches and the Super Seawolf is this re-release of a watch that was introduced in 1968 and was quite popular up through the mid-70s. And, you know, frankly, I could not be more impressed. It's a really faithful reissue, and it feels really good, and it's super high quality. The bezel is a pushed-turn bezel, and it works really well. The crown feels smooth. The finishing is really nice, right down to the strap. It's really an excellent watch. |
| James Stacy, writer based in Vancouver | Cool. Now I know you did a bunch of diving earlier this year in, or I guess late last year, more accurately in Sri Lanka. Are you planning on taking these two diving as well? |
| Jason Heaton, freelance writer based in Minneapolis | Not for any initial reviews, but certainly I'm sure at least the Seiko will find its way onto a dive trip. I think it's one of those watches that, you know, we toss the word keeper around a lot, but I do think that this watch is one that, it's just one of those great grab and grow, sort of unassuming watches that are perfect for a dive trip. It's not too high luxury, it's durable, it looks good, and it's just a really versatile piece. So I'm sure it'll make it onto a trip at some point. What about you? Anything new in the stable? |
| James Stacy, writer based in Vancouver | Yeah, I recently picked up something of a grail of mine. I really try and only buy maybe one watch a year. It allows me to spend a lot of time just looking on Watch Recon. lets me double down on that addiction, but I picked up a, uh, a, uh, 16, five 70 and explore to the white dial, uh, that I'm absolutely thrilled by. Um, and it's nice cause I have no intention really of reviewing it. If you want to see it, you'll have to swing by Instagram or Twitter or something like that. There'll be lots of photos. I'm sure it's, uh, all part of the madness, but I like, I like Rolex, fine. I'm maybe not as big a Submariner fan as, as other people that it's a, it's a fantastic watch. It's just never really called specifically to me. Um, I like a watch. It's a little bit strange, especially if it's strange within its overall family. And the white dial Explorer two, I think is a fairly strange watch, not unlike the Milgauss. It just kind of stands out. It has its own appeal on top of the kind of Rolex appeal. And, um, you could get them with the 3186 movement. They made them for like almost a year and a half, I believe, with that movement. So they're not especially rare on like the GMT Master IIs that have it. The 16710s, I think there was like maybe five or six months where they made those with the 3186, which is the upgraded movement that's in the new Explorer IIs and the new GMT Master IIs. Yeah. So it's, it's a decent value. It's a little bit newer, a Rolex than I wanted. I would have preferred one with drilled lugs and without the engraved Riat, but with the white dial, I decided not to be that picky and I really do like the watch. I wore it all through SIHH. Obviously it's pretty handy to have a GMT indication for that to know what time it is back home to talk to the family. And it really just, it's exactly the sort of my taste in Rolex. So I've been pretty happy with that. I have an AORUS 65 that unfortunately has to go back. It's in for review. Really cool watch, one that I've liked quite a bit. I took a handful of watches diving in Mexico in November and it was one of them. Certainly if you swing by a blog to watch now and look up the Tudor Pelagos, that was a recent one that I took to Mexico. Also a fantastic watch. The 65 is just, it's pure charm. Not unlike the Seiko, I think that it wears its vintage chops so without irony. Yeah, but I mentioned in my review that it's not so much that you're looking, you're, you're picking up what feels like a vintage watch. It's, it feels like you're going back in time when you put this watch on. It's very kind of like Vogue 60s, maybe like Cary Grant, uh, you know, by the pool working on maybe too much tan. It's that sort of thing. So it was a great watch to take down to Mexico for a break from the Vancouver weather. Yeah. And despite being a hundred meter water resist, which people on Instagram tell me isn't enough to dive with, I dove with it quite a bit and it's perfectly capable. I didn't go deeper than a hundred meters obviously, or anywhere near that, but a hundred meters with a screw down crown and a dive watch, especially from a brand like Oris, who takes their dive watches really seriously. That watch will be just fine. More fine than you will be underwater, certainly. And for well under two grand, they're about $1850 with the tropic style rubber strap. I actually think it's a really good value, too. I mean, if you want a really interesting watch, it's a Sellita SW200 movement, so you're not paying anything for the movement, but it's also going to be very reliable, can be very accurate. And it'll be cheap to service, which I think is perfect. |
| Jason Heaton, freelance writer based in Minneapolis | Yeah, I'm a big fan of Aorus. And I think that watch, it was so funny to watch the post-Basel sort of buzz last year when that watch came out because people, you know, bloggers and forum denizens were really, it was almost like everybody was more excited about that watch than anything else that anybody else introduced. And it was so funny because like you said, it's a sub $2,000 watch. But they just, they nailed it so much. And I think, you know, we could do an entire podcast on vintage inspired dive watches because everybody's doing it. And like you said, I mean, some people, some of them are, they're, they're doing them well. But, you know, some, they're a little too self-conscious. They're, they're trying a little bit too hard with the loom or with the, you know, the font or something. And, you know, Oris sort of defied, defied convention because I think that they, They went so vintage-y with that watch, but like you said, it didn't feel overdone to me. |
| James Stacy, writer based in Vancouver | It's not a gimmick. They took a reference, a 35mm reference design, and aside from the colour of the lume, which with C3 has kind of a greenish-yellow hue to it, that the old lume from the 60s wouldn't, aside from the lume colouring and the fact that they basically put the watch on a photocopier and ran it at 120%. It's 40 millimeters. Uh, the case is lovely. The bezel is great. Like I said, it's a fun to dive with. It's got a crazy domed bubble style bezel or a sorry, crystal that is like constantly magnifies and there's glare all over it. And it feels vintage cause they didn't go to any length, like to try and hide any of it. It has AR coating, which works very well in the center. But if you see photos of it, the dome, you know, it's not linear it doesn't come to the center of the it's like right on the edge it's like a pie pan yeah it turns and then it's fairly flat across the top it's a i think it's a really charming watch and uh and solid value because you can't you know for two grand you can't go out and buy say a watch of a similar sort of appeal like a black bay that's nearly double. So, I mean, you have to look at it within the confines of its competition. And I think it's a pretty solid proposition and Oris knows exactly what they're doing. They know dive watches, they definitely know sport watches, and they have this kind of quiet ability to just turn out interesting watches. And they're one of my favorite brands to kind of bring to a wider audience because they make a really wide range of, you know, very big pro style dive watches to stuff like the 65, which they're expanding. They have a blue gray dial option and they have the, um, the, uh, bronze version, which is a 42 millimeter, uh, that they announced a little while ago. There's, there's, uh, some pretty cool stuff coming out of, uh, Oris these days. |
| Jason Heaton, freelance writer based in Minneapolis | Yeah. And it's, it's, it's one of those brands that, you know, they're small independent, well, I shouldn't say they're small, but they're smaller and they're, they're independent. They're, they've, They've had the same sort of family ownership since the 60s. The company has sort of a history of keeping things affordable and sort of being innovative in terms of making watches with complications that are a little bit more accessible and maybe a little bit, taking an easier route than the more complicated route, which I admire about them. I have the, I've got the Altimeter watch that they came out with a couple of years ago. That's a cool watch. And it's a great watch. And it's, you know, it's an automatic, you know, mechanical watch with a mechanical altimeter sandwiched underneath it. It works well, it looks good, and I get more compliments when I wear that watch than pretty much anything else I own. It's really fantastic. On the other side of the fence, they've got the Aquus, the depth gauge watch, which similarly takes this very simple approach to telling depth. Now, it doesn't track your maximum depth, which as a diver, we both know that is important, but it's just a cool watch. I've dived with that watch and it works really well. It's these things that really make the company very appealing to me. |
| James Stacy, writer based in Vancouver | No doubt. Speaking of diving, do you have anything coming up? Any cool plans? You always have a trip in the works. |
| Jason Heaton, freelance writer based in Minneapolis | Well, let's see. My wife and I had talked about cooking up a trip sometime in February, but I think after Sri Lanka and Geneva, I'm kind of ready to spend a month or two at home before heading off to Basel. We've got something in the works for the end of May. We're probably going to head down to the Baja Peninsula and do some diving in the Sea of Cortez. There's a little town down there called Cabo Pulmo, which is on the Gulf of California side that we fell in love with last year. If you're a diver, it's really one of those places that I highly recommend going because it's really off the grid and kind of end of a dirt road, sand streets, great diving. There's sea lions and bull sharks and huge schools of fish. And, uh, just a great sort of, um, less touristy sort of Mexico vibe, which, which is really wonderful. So we'll, we'll head down there at the end of May for a week. |
| James Stacy, writer based in Vancouver | Well, it sounds great. The, uh, 777 will fit in perfectly in that kind of vibe. |
| Jason Heaton, freelance writer based in Minneapolis | I think so. Yeah. It's the perfect watch for that. |
| James Stacy, writer based in Vancouver | All right. Watches, diving, SIHH. Obviously there's loads to talk about. And, uh, when you see any of the posts on Instagram, feel free to leave your comments, uh, send us an email again. That's graynado at gmail.com. I think we're going to move on to our final notes. These are kind of something we want to leave you with to chew on until you hit the next episode in a couple of weeks. Jason, what do you think? |
| Jason Heaton, freelance writer based in Minneapolis | Um, well, I mean, I think the obvious takeaway from, from today is, is SIHH. It was kind of our big topic. It's where we were, uh, a week or so ago. And, uh, you know, I would encourage listeners, um, Go ahead and check out any of the blogs or the online coverage of SIHH before it fades too far in the rear view mirror and let us know what your favorites were and what watches you didn't like and whether or not you agree or disagree with James and I here. So you can drop us an email, talk about that. |
| James Stacy, writer based in Vancouver | Yeah, please do. And for me, I would say that mine's yet another recommendation. Check out the Tim Ferriss podcast. Tim Ferriss is known as kind of a self-help guru, but a little while ago he started a podcast project where he's just interviewing top performers in literally almost any genre and walk of life. So swing by, I'm sure if you Google Tim Ferriss podcast, you'll hit the site, pick a name of someone you know, he's got everyone from celebrities to some sports stars to stars within the medical field and people who are all star investors in Silicon Valley, etc, etc. Pick someone you know, or name you recognize, it's always full of wisdom. And I think it's one of my favorite kind of cultural touch points throughout the week because I always learn something and you get a lot of stories mixed in there too. So I think that's a good way to kind of fill the gap. So I think that's all we have for episode one. Thanks so much for listening. We're gonna try and have a new episode every two weeks, but in the interim you can follow us on Instagram. Jason is at jasonheaton and I am at jestacy. If you have any questions, please, please, please write TheGreyNado at gmail.com or hashtag TheGreyNado on Instagram or Twitter. Please subscribe wherever you find your podcasts or grab the feed from soundcloud.com slash greynado and music throughout, Siesta by JazzArr provided by the Free Music Archive. |
| Jason Heaton, freelance writer based in Minneapolis | And until next time, we leave you with this thought from George Eliot, adventure is not outside man, it is within. |