The Grey NATO – 180 – We Shouldn't Have Overlooked These Watches
Published on Thu, 10 Feb 2022 07:00:17 -0500
Synopsis
The episode discusses overlooked watches from various brands that Jason and Brad feel deserve more attention. They share their picks for underrated or lesser-known models from brands like Omega, Rolex, Tudor, Oris, Sinn, Seiko, Citizen, and Bremont. The recommendations range from downsized versions of popular lines to unique complications or aesthetic variations that tend to fly under the radar. They also touch on Jason's upcoming ice diving trip, Brad's plans for winter camping, and Jason's progress on his next novel.
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Transcript
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| Brad | Hello, and welcome to another episode of the Graynado, a loose discussion of travel, diving, driving gear, and most certainly watches. This is episode 180. And it's proudly brought to you by the newly formed TGN supporter crew. We thank you all so much for your continued support. And if you're interested in supporting the show, please visit thegraynado.com for more details. Jason, how are we doing? |
| Jason | I am doing just fine. This show comes around so quickly now. It's, uh, it feels like a bit like the Groundhog Day movie where it's, uh, you know, what I scramble to come up with something new to talk about and chit chat and, uh, look out the window at the weather. And here we go. |
| Brad | I'm not only am I very excited for summer, um, because it means more, more doing things, which also means more to talk about on the show. Like the idea that maybe in the next few months we'll return to some, some semblance of like normal travel ability. Yeah. Yeah. Which I think will really start to open up the show. Uh, I worry you and I both worry that it can get a bit repetitive, you know, right. We talked about the weather a bit. We talked about the Washington wrist. We dig into a topic. We give you a couple of suggestions and you go and like repetitive is good. It's understandable. It's predictable. I think repetitive is pretty nice during this time in our lives where things seem unpredictable and out of control at times. Um, but I am excited to have kind of more to talk about. Yeah. I don't want to sell this episode short in any way, But I do want to start by just saying a huge thank you to everyone who checked out the Bond episode from last week. One of our best performing episodes, you all who put this as a suggestion, thank you so much. Those sweet of you, you made our jobs easier and more productive. So I just wanted to throw that out there that we're really still looking over that big list of comments and we're going to keep mining those options for more interesting shows that give us a little more flexibility. I thought the Bond episode would do fine and it ended up doing like fine plus plus. So thank you very much for listening. And if you haven't gotten to it and obviously if you didn't get to it because of spoilers, that's, that makes a lot of sense. But if you haven't gotten to it yet, it's worth a listen and we had a really good time with it. |
| Jason | Yeah, that was a, that was a lot of fun. And speaking of listener suggestions, today's episode also came from that same listing. I think somebody, somebody mentioned doing an episode on ugly duckling watches and we didn't, we're not going to call this one that, but it's kind of along the same theme and we'll get to that in a little bit. But, Before we do that, what's new on your end of things? |
| Brad | Well, speaking of having something to do and being tired of winter, my wife and I have decided we're just going to lean into it, stop being hermits for a certain extent. And a friend of ours is very into camping year round, but has a whole winter setup and kind of offered to show us the ropes of camping in like legit winter in Ontario. I've done some winter camping, which is a little bit closer to three season camping out west. uh, where, where I was in Vancouver never really got quite that cold. So you didn't have to go quite as deep into the gear. Uh, but yeah, so we're, we're going to do some camping in the next couple of weeks, which I'm pretty excited about. And, and I, that meant some gear and it feels so weird to be buying gear for something like outdoor travel, that sort of thing, just cause it's been so long since I've bought any, or even had a chance to really use a lot. Like when we camp at the cottage, it's just like car camping stuff, pretty entry level, simple gear. Right. As it turns out, there's a bit of a shortage on some of this stuff. It can be really hard to buy. So it took some time, but I was finally able to score two Therm-a-Rest Neo Air X Therm Maxes. We're keeping with that theme of buy once, cry once. This is, I think, the best performing sleeping pad in the world from what I can read anyways. I still don't understand how a bag that packs down to be about the size of a Nalgene bottle has an R-value of 6.7. This feels insane to me, but it should be very warm. They get great reviews. You can't find anyone who's seems to be really let down by one. And then, uh, we, I also went with a pair of, uh, mountain hardware, uh, zero F. So what's that? Negative 18 C bags. That should do. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And we'll, uh, you know, supplement that with, um, the right pair of socks. And I always like to sleep with a toque when I'm in a tent. So we'll do that. That's a beanie for all of you that aren't from where I'm from. |
| Jason | Oh, that'll be, that'll be a blast. So are you, uh, are you going to borrow the tent from, from the friend or do you can use your own tent or? |
| Brad | So friend has a tent, like a little bit like a mini yurt sort of thing that has a stove. Oh, there you go. You can't all sleep in there. There's not quite that much room. He's very partial to sleeping, not in the hot tent. He says it can literally be too hot. Um, so we'll have the option of either using that or I'll probably just bring your, the tent that you gave me years ago. Cause that's meant for camping in the snow. Oh, the Alps, right? Was it the Alps? Yeah. It's an Alps mountaineering ghost. That doesn't sound right. I'll have to go back in the show notes. The last time we talked about it and I'll find it, but it's a little, they don't make it anymore. It's a, it's a, I would almost call it a one and a half man. Cause it, it, it pinches at the feet. Yeah. So you over, you'll have to overlap things like sleeping pads. Yeah. But it's a fully staked low profile tent that's designed for a glacier use. So that should be fine. And I mean, the last couple of days it's been like around freezing, so I don't actually know how cold it'll end up being. This might end up being overkill, but that's okay for sure. You can use the sleeping pads I can use year round. You buy something that good, you can use it all the time. And then the mountain hardware bags, I didn't go with down bags, because I'm not that worried about packability. I went with a synthetic bag, which is gonna work better if I don't care for it correctly, keep it dry, that sort of thing. So that should be good. And then, yeah, the only other thing on the horizon, I might get my way into some snowshoes, but I think maybe rent to start, just because I don't know how much snow there'll be by the time we go out in the next couple of weeks. |
| Jason | Yeah, and I suspect that if you did decide to buy, you could probably get fairly cheap on what your version, Kijiji or Craigslist or something, because, you know, it's that kind of gear that people buy and then they, you know, it's almost like a treadmill, you know, people use them for a couple of years or don't use them and then they're like, eh, just sell these things. |
| Brad | So who knows? I think it slots into the same thing where like, you know, over the course of the pandemic, the last couple of years during nice seasons, it's been hard to buy a bike during cold seasons. It's hard to buy like winter outdoor, you know, cross country or skiing or the rest of it. So I think, I think the supplies maybe aren't as aren't as good as they, they might be otherwise in terms of the secondhand, but yeah, I'd love to buy just a couple of pairs of those. I've used the MSR ones, you know, they have crampons on the front and they have the, the heel bar for going uphill. If I could just get a pair of those, like X rental, I don't care what shape they're in. They should last forever. MSR makes incredible stuff. So I don't know where we'll land on the snowshoes. It might end up being kind of a game day decision to decide, you know, if there'll be enough snow or if we need them where we're going. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, that's exciting. That's cool. Yeah. No, I'm, I'm pumped for it. It'll be nice to kind of get away. We haven't had a vacation in a little while and we kind of looked at the cost of the sleeping pads and the bags. It's like, well, this is what a, hotel for several days would cost in the end. And we'll keep getting value out of these. We'll use the pads all summer. And with two little kids that are growing up, having extra sleeping bags is really not a stressor for me. There's no option where you just spend $2,000 and you have a bag that works all the time. Like summers are real hot here. A sleeping bag is almost out of the order. And then winter gets really cold. So you kind of have to accept that you'll have, two or three bags depending on what you're using and how big their pack is and whether you're going out of the car or not and that kind of thing. So, but yeah, I'm pumped for it. It'll be something to talk about, you know, once we've done it and report back on this gear and you know, if I learned anything really exceptional about winter camping. |
| Jason | Yeah. Oh, that's great. Wow. Yeah. I've got a bit of a multi-sport week here. I mean, I've been cross-country skiing as usual, but then it's, uh, it's warmed up considerably. I think today's actually even above freezing and Gushani and I thought we'd sneak out a little early today and hit the, downhill ski area again this week and get a few runs in just to, well, it's not so frigid, you know, shivering along up on their lift. And, uh, and then this weekend, I'm excited. I I'm signed up by, I've been talking about it a few times now for, um, an ice diving weekend. And I've been careful not to, not to jinx it because I I've done it in the past or I've, I've signed up for it in the past. And then, uh, if it gets really, really cold, they nix it or if they're, um, The ice isn't stable or whatever, they, they don't want to risk it. So, uh, but it's looking good and it should be warm enough that it won't be so cold when you're between dives and just standing around on the ice. And so I'm really excited. I got my gear all sorted yesterday and check the regs out and got my, uh, BC put on the tank and that sort of thing. So I'm, I'm, I'm really excited. I think it'll be fun. I'm planning to, uh, hoping to take a proper underwater camera rig under the ice this time. I've taken GoPros in the past when I've done this and. And it just doesn't quite do it justice. It's a little dark, so you need some light. So I've, I've got some big strobes that I'm going to bring. |
| Brad | And if you do, we should, we should do a little, we should do a little photo set for, uh, TGN sub stack. Uh, I w you know, that view I've seen, I've seen obviously some of this stuff, the under the ice stuff and the stuff with the GoPros, but yeah, you take the Nikon or whatever. Yeah. Super fun. So I'm pumped to see that. |
| Jason | Yeah. I'm no Becky Kagan, but, uh, nobody is. Yeah. Yeah. Well, we'll see what I can get. It should be fun. And, uh, other than that, I've just been, You know, I think I mentioned a few weeks back, I've just been getting up so early these days and I've just been using the time to kind of just plow through on this, on the followup novel to depth charge. I've just been kind of working hard writing and excited. It's going well. I've got some momentum. Yeah. I'm excited. I'm about, uh, I did a count the other day. I'm about 50 or 60 pages in now and it's, uh, it's taking shape. I've got kind of a new, very different plot, very different setting than I had in depth charge. And, um, but it'll still be with, with Tusker as the protagonist and it's, uh, Should be fun. It's, it's just so fun to kind of create a fictional world and populate it with, with all manner of people and vehicles and detail. So yeah, I'm having fun with it. |
| Brad | That's great. I mean, I'm sure I'm speaking for just about everyone who's listening, but I'm very excited to be able to read that at some point in the not too distant future. That's awesome. Yeah. That's so quick to in my mind, like you had such a like depth to the depth charge took some time. Right. Yeah. To kind of iron out and then just to see you go right back into it. I'm very proud. That's a, that's awesome. |
| Jason | Yeah. Yeah. So I was, I had hoped to have something ready by this fall, but we'll see how it goes. Yeah. Other than that, that's, that's where I'm at this week. |
| Brad | Well, Brad, you want to jump into a wrist check? |
| Jason | Sure. Yeah. I still have on my sea mask. You know, somebody wrote me the other day and said, uh, you know, how much longer are you going on this one month, one watch thing? And I was like, well, I, you know, I might just keep on with this cause I'm, I just, I'm not, uh, I'm not missing changing. It's not that I don't miss my other watches. It's just, I'm, I'm just kind of happy not having to make that choice. And, and I've been swapping straps a lot as people have probably seen on my Instagram, which is, which is a lot of fun. Great on that bracelet. Yeah. Yeah. I, You could call this cheating, but, uh, some people might notice I did post a photo. I picked up a, a pocket watch. You know, we were talking about pocket watches and people gave me a hard time. Cause I, I said, I thought they were going to maybe catch on in 2022. And then I noticed the Jack Forster had mentioned, or there was a question to Hey Houdinki about pocket watches. So who knows, maybe there is some momentum, but I, I bought one from CWC. So they, they still, they're one of the few brands out there that actually still has a current kind of modern pocket watch on offer on their website. And it's not terribly expensive. It's, it's a Unitas, like a 6497 pocket watch movement inside. And yeah. And a chromed case with some engraving on the back and it has cathedral hands, but the dial has this distinctly kind of military CWC esque dial, which I like. It's not quite as kind of dainty or, or fragile looking as like a vintage one that you might pick up. And, you know, I haven't, I haven't been, Like wearing it, I have a chain, but it's just, you know, it doesn't lend itself. I mean, my lifestyle just doesn't lend my lend itself to wearing a pocket watch around, but I've been thinking to myself, I spend so much time sitting at my desk. It's kind of nice to just have this kind of slow ticking kind of big watch sitting, you know, right, right next to me here that I can just sort of admire and pick up and kind of hold in the hand and wind every day. And that's, that's kind of the point of something like this, I think. And so, you know, we'll see, it's, I should get like a little stand for it or something like a little wooden, |
| Brad | cradle or something that I can sit on. I know that that was like a popular thing in the past to find like eight day airplane clocks and then mount them in little wooden stands. Yeah. Okay. What about you? What are you wearing? You know, I kind of took a little page out of your book. I'm wearing a white dial watch, my Explorer II on a gray NATO. But what I've been doing lately is I don't take it off for anything. Yeah. Yeah. And this watch is easily among my most comfortable watches, especially for a watch that's like 39, 40 millimeters. Yeah. On a NATO, it's super comfortable. And what I found is after about the first night of not taking it off when I go to bed, I just forget that it's on. I wake up in the morning and I go, oh, look, there it is. Yeah. It's so comfortable. It's so easy to wear. I love this watch. Yeah. I just recently had a colleague write me and say he sold his because the numbers were, the values were too high. And he's like, you must be thinking the same thing. And I'm like, I've literally never once considered selling this watch. I have so many other things in my life I would either cut back on or sell before I got to this thing. I don't see this as like an asset for me. I see it as like a point of happiness. Right. I like this watch a lot. And it is one of the few watches in my life where it doesn't matter how much I wear it. I could wear it once or twice a month or I could wear it for months on end. I never tire of it. It always just works. I love the way it looks. I love the flexibility to put it on different straps. I think a lot of that comes from a white dial, which is what you're experiencing with the Omega. I think you're right. There's just a casual flexibility that feels left of center or right of center. I didn't mean that in a political sense as much as I just meant it's a little bit not usual to go white versus, say, black or blue. And I love the steel bezel. The timekeeping is incredible. The functionality is great, especially now that we're starting to gear up with kind of new watch season, being able to have the really glanceable Swiss time for embargoes is handy. Right. |
| Jason | Yeah, that's so true. I mean, it's funny. I haven't been wearing this Seamaster on a NATO very often. I've done it a couple of times and not more than a day or two at a time. For some reason, it lives mostly on the, on the rubber strap and then on that bracelet. But, uh, yeah, I mean, I think there's something about just kind of putting it on, on a NATO that just kind of takes a Rolex or a ceramic dialed Seamaster and just kind of makes it not anonymous per se, but just like so versatile, you know, you can just, like you said, just sleep in it or whatever. And you just don't, you don't feel like you have to baby it, or it's not a precious piece anymore. |
| Brad | In some ways, I think it actually helps the preciousness because the case back is, is protected if you put it down on a table. |
| Unknown | Oh yeah. |
| Brad | You're not scratching a clasp. Right. Right. Granted, let's be clear. The bracelet, the stock bracelet for my, Explorer 2 looks like it's been through a rock tumbler. It just looks ridiculous, like I left it in a gravel driveway for a little while. It's not in nice shape. That's how I like it. I don't want these watches to look perfect. I have dress watches and I have heirloom watches, and those ones I want in a very specific way. I feel this watch very strongly about the same way I feel with my Jeep. I want it to run properly and be reliable, but I don't care if I pinstripe the side of the Jeep on some branches on a trail. Yeah. And that probably comes with having not bought either of them new. You know, I got both of these things with scratches and rust and hopefully no rust on the Rolex and otherwise. And yeah, I love this watch. Yeah. Oh, and then the other one I wanted to talk about, and several people sent this to us and to me via DM, we're going to add some watch talk into today's wrist check, is this new Raven Vintage Gold. So we've talked about Raven watches before. I'm a huge fan of the Trekker. I've had Trekkers in a couple different sizes. The Raven Vintage is kind of Raven's take on like a Black Bay 58 sort of thing. It's 39 millimeters, a steel dive watch with sort of a vintage, a mix of sort of a vintage Rolex feel and some vintage Omega kind of thrown in there as well. And it's, like I said, 39 millimeters wide. It's 13 millimeters with the crystal. The case is 11 millimeters. A case and bezel is 11. It's super wearable, drilled lugs, 300 meters water resistant, a good crystal, a black dial. And now they're doing one in full gold with the bracelet. And you get a black ceramic bezel. I think this thing looks awesome. It's also something that I was specifically asking for, like for gold to be at a more accessible, fun price point. And you know, this watch in total, $740, they're doing it in a split 50, 50 pre-order. So affordable. Wow. I just think if you ever want to do the gold watch thing, especially in a sort of like, there was a lot of gold stuff that was, um, plated back in the day, right. Or, or, or I guess not PVD, but it wasn't solid. Right. |
| Jason | Can you imagine how nice this would look if it's, if you, if you like wore this thing solid for like your summer working at the cottage and swimming and everything crazy, great. It would look at the end of the year. Oh yeah. All kind of worn down and a little bit scuffed and Oh, it looked great. |
| Brad | Yeah. So I'm hoping, uh, when, cause obviously they're on pre-order, so they don't really have any that are fully ready. Um, but I'm hoping when one's ready, I can get that in and give it a test run. That's something I'd be very excited about. Uh, Jason and I were big fans of Steve and what he does with Raven and, uh, and you know, other brands to brands in the past and, and brands like Finch, uh, for the knives and that sort of thing. So I I'm really keen on this, Jason, you've got an airfield, uh, that you've, you've checked out and enjoyed. So. Yeah. Yeah. I think, I think this is cool. I hope we see more of this. Hopefully this is like successful and people kind of attached to it. I agree. |
| Jason | And I, wouldn't it be cool if this does trickle down as the wrong phrase, but you know, we start to see this pop up with other smaller brands. I mean, can't you picture like a, like a gold Aqua star or something, you know, something like that. It would just be so cool to see some of these smaller brands kind of pop up with this stuff. I mean, bronze kind of caught on with a lot of the smaller brands. So who knows, maybe, maybe Steve will start a little trend here and it'll, it'll kind of, populate some of the other brands as well. |
| Brad | I'd be super excited if he did. I think there's a couple of things that I think are special about this one. The watch has a bracelet at that price point and the Raven bracelets are really nice for the money. They're exactly what you want. They're nice, sturdy, sizable bracelets with a reliable class. You can't ask for a ton more than that at the price point. And then the other thing is, you know, I had always wanted a, like a C fourth in gold, a C fourth with a 12 hour bezel, gold with the, you know, but it would require different hands and a different dial than any that exists. Otherwise you'd have a white metal. So I think that's where the struggle is. It's not just getting the thing PVD in, in gold or plated in gold or whatever the option is. Uh, the, the other side of it is, is it does mean new dials, new hands, right? Cause it has to, the gold needs to match. Right. Uh, so I think in some scenarios would work. Uh, and I think here the decision that he's made to go with the slightly smaller case size, something that wears a little bit more like a vintage watch is, is really clever. I'm pumped to see it for sure. |
| Jason | Well, I think that's a good, it's kind of a good little segue to get into our main topic, which is overlooked watches. I think Raven is a watch that isn't a lot of people's radars, at least not yet. And, uh, we've talked about kind of overlooked brands or brands that you should know on past episodes. But as I mentioned at the top, this, this show is kind of came to us from a listener suggestion, like the watches that, that brands aren't as well known for. And so we, we've kind of morphed that into, something we're calling overlooked watches. And, uh, some of them surprised me. I mean, some of them I was like, I didn't even know these existed. |
| Brad | So it's, it's been fun. Basically, we think this is something we can kind of play out over several episodes in the next while. Um, but for the first one, we picked a handful of brands, do you know, this kind of stuff we kind of always talk about on the show. And the goal was to try and find, yeah, like a watch that people, it does, maybe it doesn't get the kind of the credit it deserves, or it just, you don't see it on Instagram ever, or, watch you forgot was in the lineup, but is kind of worth a bigger consideration. So we're talking everything from Seiko Citizen to Rolex and kind of everything in between, but all largely TGN brands, you know, we'll probably do a micro brand one in the future, which I think could be super fun. What was the other one we threw around Jason? Oh, all the Swatch brands. Yeah. Right. Right. So like, obviously we're going to talk Omega in this one, but like, if you start considering like the wider range of the Swatch world, There's some very overlooked watches. Longines, Certina, you know, Amido, like, yeah, Tissot, there's some good stuff in there. So I see this as being something of a series. This is the kickoff. We tried to pick at least one, well, obviously no less than one from each brand. Some of these brands, like Rolex, that's kind of hard. Is there an overlooked Rolex? It turns out we think yes, but we'll get to that in a moment. And just to be clear that we did omit two brands from consideration today, that's Hamilton and Breitling. We think both have overlooked options, but we also have done challenge episodes recently that, um, that kind of cover the exact same thing for those brands. Uh, so if you want some overlooked or more interesting options from Hamilton or Breitling, just dial back a little bit in the show and grab the challenge episode. Uh, cause we, we just didn't want to double up on something we talked about like in the last month or two. Yeah. Uh, Jason, you want to start with, uh, Omega's to keep it, keep it in the family for, for your wrist today? |
| Jason | Yeah, sure. Um, we both, we both kind of chose similar watches, just slightly different size. Uh, the one, the one I picked, um, you know, there's this range. If you, if you go into the Seamaster range on the website, you, you, you scroll and you scroll and you look and you kind of sort things and it's like, they've got these, these smaller sized, uh, planet oceans. And, you know, for years they made like a 36 millimeter, Seamaster Pro, kind of, you know, the earlier version of the one I'm wearing, except in a smaller size, imitated in quartz. And I was looking for one of those because I have a friend who has one and I just thought it's such a sleeper. It's such a cool watch. Well, they don't do that in the Seamaster Pro anymore. The smaller size watches exist in the Planet Ocean line, which is kind of, kind of odd when you think about it, because it's kind of this burly, deep diving kind of halo piece for them. But I chose this 37 and a half millimeter Planet Ocean, 600 meter coaxial chronometer. And I'm not going to read off the reference number because their reference numbers are long with lots of decimals in them. You happen to choose a 39 and a half millimeters. Now I think whichever one you go with on these, the one I chose is, uh, it's got the orange numerals and kind of that slightly grayed bezel with a black dial and yours is so that the one I, um, picked is 6,100. Uh, the one you picked a 6,550. So not a huge price difference between them. Um, the reason I picked the 37 and a half for one thing, uh, you know, years ago, Gashani got a 37 and a half millimeter planet ocean chronograph. She still has it. I've always loved it. It's a cool watch. Um, it's a little thick for, for the small size. I think this wouldn't suffer from that same dimensional challenge. Uh, but what I like about the smaller one, and it's a very subtle thing, it's the numerals on the dial. I've always liked the original kind of looping, uh, Seamaster style like Seamaster 300 style numerals and the one you picked the 39 and a half has these more kind of modern little little more squared off uh shinier ones um but other than that I mean I think they're both just such wonderful picks that great Seamaster case shape 39 and a half would wear beautifully I think 37 and a half in a non-chrono I think would just be uh just a fun watch I mean I'd I'd I'd pull that off I'd wear that that's you know that's the size of that the latest the Deepstar 2 and I think that that wears really well as well |
| Brad | Oh, that's a good point. Yeah, I think you might have picked a better one. Not only is it a little bit less expensive to go with the slightly smaller one, I really adore the gray bezel on the black dial because they do Omega does such incredible dials. Yeah. And to have all of that and then just a little bit of that kind of contrast with the gray and the orange is really nice. Yeah, great price 600 meters water resistance for each of these. You know, they've got helium escape valves. So yes, unnecessary, but it's not like You just leave it closed and try and ignore it. Yeah. These are, this is a date, uh, you know, like a watch with a, with a date and, uh, yeah. Yep. And on the bracelet for that money. And this is a watch that absolutely would stand against a modern Submariner, but like, look at the pricing. Not only can you not get the sub for the price that Rolex would like you to get the sub for, but like, this Man, several times to see if I could borrow a 39.5, because I think it's such a sleeper. I don't think people realize that this is a size that they offer now versus the 42 and of course the 45.5. And this one has a little bit more of a modern overall design than yours. Different minute markers. It feels a little bit more just kind of updated. Right. And I really like this watch. I would love to know how it wears. I don't know how thick it is, know, Omegas aren't typically thin watches these days, but this has, you know, master chronometer, big dive watch, proper 8800 caliber. I'm a big fan. I think that for the money and the name on the dial and the everything of it all, this is a really interesting way to go down the road. And I think that the last few years for Omega have really been about you know, the updated Speedy last year, this time last year. And then, you know, kind of before that, the no time to die bond piece and, and, and the Seamaster before that, and, and all for good reason. We've, we talk a lot about the new Seamaster, but I think, I think this is a bit of a sleeper and that, and that's kind of what we're looking for. |
| Jason | Yeah. I mean, and we've got a lot of watches to get to, so I don't want, I mean, I could go on and on about this one, but yeah, you're right. I mean, when I look at 30, 39 and a half, I mean, that's Submariner sized watch for less money and for a more kind of modern, a little more dynamic looking watch. And, uh, and then it's got that great, those twisted lugs that I love omegas for. So, and a great bracelet. So great, great price, good picks, uh, whichever way you go, I think on these. Yeah, I agree. Let's hit Rolex. I mean, I think, you know, you, you mentioned at the top here, I think speaking of a smaller size kind of sleeper watch, uh, why don't you, uh, why don't you introduce this one? |
| Brad | Yeah. So I, I really, I went through the entire lineup to find something that I felt surprised me like that. I didn't realize they still made or, or, or whatever. Yeah. And I ended on... And this isn't a super TGN version of a Rolex, but let's face it, all Rolexes are a fortune now. Yeah. The four $5,000 ones, you can't buy them at that price. So I don't think the pricing of a Rolex is something we need to... It's obvious that there's a weird disconnect between the enthusiast market and the grand market and the supply. Yeah. So what we went with was the Yacht-Master 37. I don't think I've ever seen this watch in person, And if I did, it might've been the year it came out at Basel. So a 37 millimeter version, um, mostly steel with a platinum bezel us price is $11,600. So again, I said it up front, it's kind of an expensive piece, but I was surprised it was still around and it's a nice size. It has a gray dial with a light blue accent. So very TGN and it's coloring. You get the bracelet and, and that's only a little bit more than what a sub is going to cost you. True. With a platinum bezel. If you're able to get the sub at retail, right? Yeah. Yeah. But yeah, so I think this is basically within the world of finding an overlooked Rolex and not going as far as like Cellini, which of course wouldn't really be in our headspace. I think it's this Yacht-Master 37. Would you wear this, Jason? |
| Jason | Oh, totally. I think it's a unique and very different twist on a Submariner, but I think it occupies exactly the same kind of wearability and use cases. And I love the little touch of blue. I love anytime Rolex uses color because it's, it's such a stoic seeming brand. And I think when they do stuff like the, the colorful dials that we've seen on the, on the oyster perpetuals, I think this, this bit of blue is like one, you just don't see on a Rolex. And then that, that platinum bezel is like this kind of cool surprise. I think it's, it's kind of stealthy. It's like, you know, you wouldn't have to announce that you're wearing a platinum bezel watch, but I think you'd kind of know that there's this precious metal on the on the top ring |
| Brad | kind of overlooked Rolex necessarily. Everything seems pretty popular and hard to get. And for all I know, these are impossible to buy too. They have a steel case, so I'm sure they are. Yeah. Um, but I, I, it was one that I think maybe a handful of people in the audience won't, won't have realized it was around. Do you want to, um, you want to jump to sister brand? |
| Jason | Yeah, let's do that. I think the, you know, I, I threw out the black by 36. I don't think it's necessarily overlooked, but I think it's a watch that people might want to consider if they're looking at another sort of field watch style or, or, you know, kind of all around her. Um, but I actually like your choice better. I mean, we can dwell on the black Bay 36, but I think people know enough about it. I think it's been talked about a lot, but I think your pick the, the heritage Chrono, especially in the blue configuration is a watch that the heritage Chrono was the one that tutor came back with back in, I think it was 2010 and, and perked, you know, made me perk up. I think it was, it's still such a cool watch, but I think it's, as you've, alluded to by including it here. It's, it's largely overlooked or forgotten now. |
| Brad | Yeah. I think because just after the heritage Crono came out, everything became about the black Bay and like, that's good. And it's an amazing product and I get it. And then they did a black Bay Crono and they've expanded the black Bay Crono and the rest of it. And then of course we've got 58 and Pelagos and all that. Cause like imagine how far tutors come since they started the heritage Crono. Yeah. But man, I have had a crush on the Heritage Chrono Blue, that cream dial, the orange accents, the 12-hour bezel for so long. It's long been like in my top three tutors that I would consider buying if a deal kind of landed on my plate. And I think this is such a cool watch. It's a little big in terms of thickness and at 42 millimeters, compared to what I'm normally wearing these days, but it wears nicely. And I just love the way it looks. I love its connection to the sort of Monte Carlo home plate designs, It's a cool thing. Jason, which of the color would you go blue or gray or jet black? |
| Jason | I like the gray. Yeah. And I think, you know, this is a watch, you know, I had to scroll and scroll. I mean, I had a hard time even finding this on their website, but it's, it's, it's a watch that, um, you know, I think some people have poo-pooed because, uh, it's a little bit thick and the movement isn't, you know, one that's kind of appeals to the kind of movement snobs, but again, You know, it's, it's just, again, I like interesting dynamic watches as I think you do. I think this has so much color and shape, um, and functionality to it. And it would just be one of those watches that you buy for pure fun. And you mentioned, you know, if the right deal came along, I think this is that kind of watch that you might not walk into, you know, you or I at this point in our, in our collecting careers, um, wouldn't walk into a retailer and plunk down for one new, it's the kind of watch that pops up. Someone says, Hey, you know, Would you be willing to trade your whatever for MyHeritage chrono that I don't wear? And you'd be like, yes. And you'd be so happy with that, you know? |
| Brad | Oh, for sure. Look, I think there's a couple overlooked watches because of how much heat and attention the Black Bay gets. And again, for good reason. There's not like, there's not a problem here, but I think if we look at your pick, the Black Bay 36, you know, this is one, a watch that I think was very wisely described to me by, um, my former, uh, you know, colleague and boss, Steven Pulverin, as like the modern day 1016. Sure. Yeah. So for less than three grand, it's 27, 25 on a leather strap. You can get it on a bracelet for a little bit more money, two or 300 bucks more. I think this is your Explorer that you can actually go out and buy. Yeah. Right. Right. And it's got decent water resistance. It's very nicely made, very easy to wear, a really accessible size. You want to buy a watch for you and your partner and you don't really agree on watch sizes. You want to buy a watch that your kids could be pretty safe in wanting to wear when they get a bit older. It's casual, it's stylish, it's really out of the way. I think both of these are great options. And the blue one is legitimately gorgeous. I really like it. But they make 36 versions of the 36. Incredible. Oh, sorry, of the Black Bay with the smooth bezel Black Bay, if that's the easier way to put it, which goes from 32 millimeters to 41. |
| Jason | So it's interesting that, you know, with the exception of the Heritage Chrono, the watches we've picked so far for these overlooked watches have all been kind of smaller versions of other watches. You know, the Planet Ocean, the Yacht-Master, and now the Black Bay 36. It seems to be a theme. I mean, kind of going for downsized watches. But I think now that we're moving away from our first three brands, I think that ceases to be the case. |
| Brad | Yeah, we got a real spread coming up. |
| Jason | Yeah, right. Let's jump into another favorite brand of ours, Oris. I mean, you... Yeah. I think we both picked bigger watches actually. Um, Oris does make smaller watches, but which, which one did you pick? |
| Brad | This was a no brainer for me. And then it turns out they don't make the watch I thought of anymore. So I was immediately just going to go, well, their most overlooked watch is the regulator Durmeistertaker, which is an Aquus with a really incredible, super beautiful, very modern sort of regulator display and a rubber strap. It's titanium case. You can get it on a titanium bracelet. That's a watch I wore to Clipperton years ago. And a watch I really love, and I know people who've been listening for a while know that I lament that I didn't buy that watch from Oris after that trip, is it had all these memories and I was just... Wasn't in a money way where it would have made a lot of sense at the time. Yeah. And it turns out they don't make that anymore, it's part of their previous collections if you go on their website. So if you've always wanted one and you can find one at your dealer, now is probably the time to talk to them about it, because you're gonna lose out on options slowly. but I went with one that's significantly less expensive, but in the same vibe, I guess, which is the Aquus titanium date. It's a watch that I don't think a lot of people necessarily realize exists. There's like well over a hundred different SKUs in the Aquus family. And so this is a larger, one of the larger sizes, not the pro diver, like full size, but this is a 43 and a half millimeter Aquus on a rubber strap with a titanium case, a gray dial. I think this is very like, core Oris dive watch. You know, you think back to the TTs. |
| Unknown | Yeah. |
| Brad | Yeah. And I think this was in the same vibe. I had a 300 meter titanium TT back in the day, really cool watch. And this is 2,200 bucks. |
| Jason | Yeah. That's, that's pretty good. That's amazing. If you were kind of in that vein of getting a Pelagos, I mean, this is, uh, what half the price or, or not quite, but you know, it's, uh, for a really solid titanium diver, um, high quality with, with, you know, Okay. You can't put NATO's on these watches, but they make some of the best rubber straps. |
| Brad | And there's an available bracelet for this one as well, if you want to spend the money. So if this was my money, I would buy it on the bracelet. And then I would see if the Oris dealer, and if anyone from Oris is listening, and this is against the rules, I apologize, but I would see if the Oris dealer would then sell me the gray rubber strap that goes on the same size Oris Aquus relief. Yeah. Because then I think you'd go full gray on the titanium and it would just be like, I think it would work really well. And, and, you know, we, we always talk about the way watches wear versus the way that they're sized, the physical dimensions and a 43 millimeter Aquus doesn't wear like a 43 millimeter watch. They sit really low. They've got the special lugs to make sure that they kind of stay on your wrist, especially with the rubber. Yeah. And, uh, they're not a small watch. That's, that's not the point I'm trying to make. They wear like a large watch, but they don't wear cumbersomely for a 43 and a half millimeter watch. So this is the direction that I think I would go. Um, it's a watch that I'm not even sure I was fully aware they offered on a rubber. Like, I think I knew they had a titanium Aquas from a couple of years ago on a strap on a bracelet, because I think it's the same bracelet that was on the Durmeister talker, which is probably how I keyed in on its, on its existence. But my guess is this is one that a lot of people don't necessarily realize is there. |
| Jason | Yeah. Yeah. Well, I went a totally different direction with Oris. Probably the most complicated watch we've got in our list today, I think. This is their Artelier Calibre 113. Now, you know, when people think of Oris, they think value priced, dive watches, maybe some pilot's watches. The Artelier line is kind of their dressier, more upscale line. And I think most of our audience and myself included, tend to overlook that category. But when we were looking for overlooked, that's immediately where I went. And, uh, I've always kind of liked the, the kind of overlap with their, uh, kind of caliber one 10, one 11, one 12, one 13 kind of series with that big, bold power reserve. It's like a 10 day power reserve. This is a 43 millimeter watch. This is on a bracelet. Um, and it has this interesting complication that, that tracks the, the weeks of the year, which is something you just don't see. Now it's not necessarily useful to me, but I remember when I worked for a Swedish company years ago, they used to kind of run their whole annual schedule based on to hit, you know, certain weeks of the year for deadlines and things. But I just think it's, it's a cool watch. And this one comes on this, this really kind of sleek bracelet. It's a dressy watch, but I think it's one you could, you could kind of wear, it could be very versatile. Um, and if you're someone who's looking for a complication, but you want kind of more of a sporty watch, you know, you've got a day and a date. Um, and it's just, there's so much to look at so much to kind of play with and have fun with on this watch that, uh, that, that was kind of my pick. And I think it's definitely overlooked. I think people tend to overlook or us as kind of in-house watchmaking prowess. And I think this is a good example of it. |
| Brad | The one 10 base stuff. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No, this is a cool watch. You know, I, I really hemmed and hawed about picking that the pro pilot world timer. Oh yeah. Which is also a fairly large watch with a, with a neat complication from their one 10 line. I think this is a great choice. I like it on the bracelet. I think the power reserve is really cool. I think the, the whole like counting the weeks is more of a European thing. I could be wrong. I don't, my apologies to our European listeners, but of course like Zinn makes the Frankfurt line, which has this complication. Um, and Frankfurt, I believe is, you know, the, the financial capital for Germany. So I think that's kind of like a, uh, European business sort of thing to, to track the numbers. I've, I've seen it done in some businesses here, but less commonly than watching quarters basically. So yeah, that's a, that's a great pick. What price do you have there? I can only see CAD. |
| Jason | 6,300. So it's not a cheap Oris. It's not a cheap watch by any means. No. If you like the look and you're looking for, for an overlooked Oris, that'd be the way I go. And, And again, this, this episode is definitely not about, you know, saving money or like find the cheap option. This is just pure fun. So. |
| Brad | Yeah. It's a bit of an Easter egg hunt. Yeah. See what we can find. Yeah. All right. Let's jump to, um, let's, oh, we were, we mentioned Zinn. Let's go to Zinn. |
| Jason | Yeah. I don't have a pick for this one, but I really liked the one that you chose because I, I get really overwhelmed by Zinn's website and I, I, they just have so many watches for kind of a smaller brand. But I liked the one you picked. I think it's kind of just full on classic Zinn. |
| Brad | Yeah. So for Zen, I wanted, I very quickly, my brain went to the EZM stuff, which is their kind of like most tool-ish, most mission specific sort of designs. And I think sometimes that makes the watches feel a little bit less casual, a little bit less approachable and thus maybe a bit overlooked. And I think the sweet spot in the EZM line is the EZM3, the standard EZM3, which is a 41 millimeter dive watch with a left-hand crown, which is I think great for comfort, right? especially if you... I believe their thing is about it binding against gloves. Oh, sure. And that sort of thing, whereas the other side would be against a sleeve. It has this kind of modern, clean thing that you know for Zen, but it's a normal elapsed time bezel, which I really like for a watch like this. And to boot, it's 500 meters water resistant in a watch that's only 12.3 millimeters thick. So I think it's a nicely made, nice looking watch, but like Is this sort of like their 2254? |
| Jason | Yeah, I think so. And, and I'm looking at the price on, on watch buys, which is kind of their North American retail outlet. Um, and they're going for 2290. So it lines up very closely with the Oris you just mentioned, the Aquos titanium, albeit this one's in steel, but then you get this technology, this anti-magnetic cage, you get the copper sulfate, you know, moisture capsule and all of this. And, and, and Zins are just so rugged. They're so well-made and, uh, Yeah. You get this little twist with the left-hand crown, which I think, you know, everybody kind of crowed about the LHD Pelagos and, you know, it's just something a little bit different, something that's practical, but also kind of, you know, makes you look twice when you see the watch. |
| Brad | Yeah. I don't love the 430 date or to be honest, it's a 330 date. I don't like the 330 date very much, but they do it with a black base and red text. So It's pretty subtle. Like you almost have to zoom in on their website to realize it's there. You think it's another like AR logo or something. Yeah. Yeah. No, I think these are killer. They're really nice in hand. They work really well on a strap, but the bracelet's probably worth paying the money for. But they also offer a perfectly good rubber strap with a tang buckle or you put it on a NATO and it would just sing. I think these things are sweet. |
| Jason | Yeah. Once again, I mean, we've brought up Zen and we're like, I'm like, well, I don't have a Zen in my collection. They're just, they're such. |
| Brad | Over the last year I've come, Yeah, pretty close to a U 50. If it wasn't for the fact that I would have to buy it from watch buys and deal with the taxes and everything, I keep an eye out on what's available in Canada. And if a U 50 came up in Canada, it'd be tempting. I just think it's such a killer watch. Says the guy who's previously said on two episodes ago that I need to stop buying dive watches. |
| Jason | We should do an episode on the ones that would break us. We both are like, I'm not in acquisition mode, but There's, I know there are some out there that like we would just be too weak to resist. |
| Brad | Oh, I mean, absolutely. Yeah. That's another came really close to buying. Yeah. Handfuls of watches recently. That's another episode, but uh, all right. |
| Jason | Who's next? Seiko maybe perhaps? |
| Brad | Uh, yeah, let's do Seiko. Yeah. You want to start with yours? Yours is a pretty new pick, so it might even be overlooked in that people weren't paying attention. |
| Jason | Yeah. I mean, I think, I'm not sure that this is overlooked because it did get a bubble of press when it first came out. Um, but you know, what, what, Caught my eye when I was just kind of scrolling through their website is when I think Seiko for better, for worse, it's like Astron solar stuff, Seiko five and dive watches. And I've long kind of wished that they would kind of return to like a proper automatic winding chronograph because, you know, I mean they were there at the beginning of that whole thing back in 69 and then they came out with this Prospex speed timer. And specifically the one I'm mentioning is the SRQ zero three five, which is a, Um, this white dialed one with these gigantic push pieces, uh, on a bracelet, it's, uh, you know, by compacts, you know, to register, um, auto chrono, very kind of minimalist. And you could say it's retro looking in a way it's kind of has a, like almost like a handheld stopwatch look to it, but it does fresh and modern as well. I think it's just a look that I'm not accustomed to seeing in, in modern Seiko now. It goes for $3,200. This one happens to be limited, but I think they've got non limited versions in the speed timer line. |
| Brad | Yeah. And then this is a, you know, has an eight, eight series movement. So very high end movement for a Seiko. That's, that's part of what you're seeing in the price there. Yeah. And 42.5 millimeters steel case. Yeah. A hundred meter water resistant, you know, I mean, this is really good looking watch. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And I think there's a handful of stuff in that lineup that the automotive kind of adjacent. automatic chronograph stuff, like Cole's got a pretty sweet one as well. Oh, yeah. I'll put a wrist shot in there. So, yeah, I think that's a great pick. Yeah. What about you? I got two. And the first one is the SNE573. And this one is all but brand new to me. I've definitely seen a photo of it because it has a somewhat strangely smooth case. But this is a 38.5 millimeter, 200 meter dive watch. Wow. That uses a V147 solar movement. This might be like the Seiko for someone who just wants a vacation watch, a weekend watch, a cut in the lawn watch. Maybe you wear something more like the Aorus or a vintage Omega or like whatever it is you wear to the office or when you're doing other stuff. But this is $475. It comes on a black rubber strap. It's really good looking. I might even like elements of it more than the SPB. Definitely the size is going to be killer. But I love that they do... It's the mix of the casualness and the do-it-all of the solar quartz with big punchy luminous markers, a simple date, and then the 200 meters water resistance. This is a watch I'm now exceedingly curious about. I've never seen this watch. I had no idea this existed. It might be like the dive watch for people who don't like dive watches. Yeah. |
| Jason | It's very rectangular looking. It has those weird little crown guards. This looks like no other Seiko. Those markers are very Submariner like, but then you combine it with those very Seiko-esque hands. Yeah. Yeah. Strap that strap. I've never seen that style of strap before on Seiko. Just crazy watch. |
| Brad | Closed case back, drilled lugs. I'm getting to my favorite part. 10.6 millimeters thick. |
| Unknown | Yeah. |
| Brad | Yeah. And if you look at the profile, just, you know, we'll put the link in the show if you want to see the images. If you look at the profile, look how low set the lug points are. That watch is just going to disappear on your wrist. Yeah. Yeah. It's going to be tough and you can beat it up. You can rinse it off in the sink, let it dry with the dishes. Like this is not a watch that's going to care about anything other than showing you the time and probably glowing really brightly at night. I think this is killer. I was pretty happy to click on it and realize it was something like, all right, it's not automatic, but the price seems really good. And obviously like with Seiko prices, there's a price that they say on their website and there's a price that they hit in the street. And that just depends on popularity. Like a lot of the SPB stuff holds and you actually have to pay retail, but who knows for a quartz Seiko dive watch that's on the smaller side, maybe nobody's paying any attention and you can get a sweet deal at a at any of the, you know, like I think Macy's carries this, this sort of general line, right. The prospect stuff. So keep, I would say, keep an eye out for that. |
| Jason | Yeah. I mean, I think unless you're like really an automatic lover, um, I think at this, this kind of 500 and below price level with Seiko is that you're almost better off going with, I mean, they do such a good job with quartz and solar stuff. I mean, they've been, they've been doing it forever and it's that much more rugged. I mean, you talk about rugged Seiko's, I mean, this is that much more rugged because it's, you know, it's not an automatic. And it's affordable. And like you said, like just keep it somewhere where there's a little light hitting it and it'll run forever and you can just pick it up and go. |
| Brad | Yeah. Killer. Yeah. I like it a lot. I'm pretty keen to see if I can try and get one in or, or if they're going for a decent price in the, in the sort of online market, I may snap one up. I think they're definitely worth a story. The other one I'm including is one that I see commonly, but only in certain channels. It's popular on Reddit, but I don't see it on Instagram that commonly. It's not something that I see a lot of people writing about. But a couple of years ago, Seiko redid the whole Seiko 5 line. So they brought out a version of a watch that looks just like an SKX, but of course there's only a hundred meters water resistance. And continuing that trend as sort of an update to like an SNK, they did the SRPE and then their numbers are very difficult these days. So it's a five sports SRPE61 is what I'm suggesting. Suggesting it for an obvious reason, gray dial, it comes on a gray NATO. Oh. Piece of cake. 100 meters water resistance. It's a 40 millimeter watch. And if you kind of dig the, um, the black Bay 36 that we were talking about, but you're going, I don't want to spend $3,200 or $2,800 or whatever it was. Uh, this, this is the one for you to look at. They come in several different versions. I believe they do bracelets, but it's basically, um, the dial of a Seiko dive watch, but in sort of more of a field watch presentation. So it's a little smaller than, than the new Seiko 500 meter divers. you still get a see-through case back, so if it's your first time buying an automatic, this is a great one. It has a 4R36, so you're not even into the 7S stuff that we all got used to with the 007s, and it's $275 list. This watch is probably like 180 bucks if you watch for a sale. Four o'clock crown, so you're comfortable. It's a good looking watch. It's gonna glow really nicely. I think this is a no-brainer, and it's not one that I see I might be projecting, it might be something I haven't paid enough attention to, but I think it's kind of like where the SKX kind of adjacent 100 meter Seiko 5 stuff, people were like, why couldn't it have a screw down crown in 200 meters? It'd be amazing. Yeah. And with this, you kind of don't expect that because it's not a dive watch. Yeah. And for me, it makes a little bit more sense. I really liked the sizing, you know, 40 by 11.5 and under 45 millimeters lug to lug. And, uh, and like I said, if you, you know, proper loom, hard Lex crystal, better movement than you would have expected from a Seiko in past years and a fair price. |
| Jason | It has that SKX shaped case, which I love with that kind of swoopy little 4.30 or 4 o'clock crown position, but without this bezel. So you kind of do a double take and I've always liked that case shape and then to see it on a smooth bezel, kind of more of a field style watch. It's refreshing. It's kind of neat. I like that. And I love that it comes on a NATO strap and the price. I mean, talk about your, I mean, not to, not to say this in any sort of disparaging way, but you know, talk about your lawn cutting watch. I mean, this is like the ultimate sort of just wear it all summer long in the garden or, you know, fixing stuff. |
| Brad | And yeah, I definitely didn't meet it, mean it in any, any sort of a dig. It almost the opposite really. I think that it's really easy to know what kind of big expensive watch you should buy and care and wear for. Like, I think that's somewhat more simple. Right. But when you want the one that that's for the times where you might not even wear a watch, depending on your comfort zone, I think that's a crucial role for if you love watches, right? Yeah. Obviously, why would you listen to an hour of this if you didn't? |
| Jason | How about we do Citizen, follow up? Yeah. Yeah. We got two brands left here. Let's, let's stay in Japan for this one. Yeah. This one, you know, the, the watch that, kind of is a darling of forums was the, the Citizen NY040. I think it was, it was this kind of simple, you know, black and white automatic diver. Did you ever own one? I never owned one. You know, I've had AquaLands, I've had EcoZillas, AutoZillas, all that stuff. And those are all these big wild looking dynamic watches. The NY040 was like kind of just a, you know, a more traditional looking dive watch. Um, from citizen and I don't think they sell it anymore. I kind of searched for it on the side. I couldn't find it, but I, what I did come up with was the pro master diver BN 0 1 5 1 dash 0 9, which is a, they have a blue dial and a black dial version. This is a, this has got the eco drive movement in it. It's, it's very traditional looking. It's got, it's got kind of those wild looking stubby citizen style hands and very different looking markers. you know, this kind of fits that same, that same niche. If you, if you want like that citizen quality and kind of durability, um, and affordability, this is $280, but you don't want that big kind of garish Aqua landy kind of looking thing. I think this is a good way to go. |
| Brad | Yeah. My only thing for these is, and I thought this when, when they first came out as having owned, I had a loom dial NY 40 and I had a black dial one and neither of them ended up being very reliable watches. Oh really? Um, yeah. I mean, they were just very inexpensive and, and a little bit more, That's a nice way to say it. Like a little bit more loose in their details than the Seiko's I was buying 15 years ago. Yeah. My only problem with these ones is, you know, the, the NY40 is 40 millimeters. These are 44. Yeah. So you do need, you do kind of need to be in the zone to want, like 44 is in my mind, a large watch. There's no way to make a small 44 millimeter watch. And I, for years I wore a 44 and really enjoyed it when I was first getting into watches. So no, no preference of one being better than the other. But if you think it's going to wear like an NY, I don't think it will necessarily, but it definitely has the look. And I think it makes sense again, to have a dive watch with the eco drive just works for me. It's kind of like those Seiko, S U N kinetic GMTs, which they just make great, like vacation out of the house, actually doing something like very TGN sort of watches, which I, which I certainly appreciate. Yeah. |
| Jason | I mean, I think for, for us, you know, we're, we're kind of dive aficionados, but I think, you know, for a lot of people, they want to wear their, Oris Atelier most of the week, and then strap on something for the weekend and an eco drive dive watch, or, or, you know, this is the kind of, kind of the, the proverbial watch that sits in your dive locker, you know, kind of waiting to go on a trip or waiting to have an adventure. And, and, you know, you can wear your kind of nicer stuff, uh, the rest of the time without feeling too bad about leaving this one sitting for a while. |
| Brad | Um, yeah, I agree, but for sure. Good one. What have you got for citizen? For my pick, I went with something called the Garrison. which is $425. It's a 42 millimeter sort of field slash pilot watch. Titanium on a titanium bracelet, which I think is something Citizen does really well. Titanium watches. I would say this would be good competition for a Swiss Army watch like a Victorinox. Oh, yeah. I really like the way this looks. Sapphire crystal. The model is the BM8560-53E. Probably easier just to use the show notes. You know, it's a three-hand with a date. It uses their super titanium, so it's more scratch resistant. You get a sapphire crystal, like I mentioned. It's otherwise just like a really straightforward 100-meter water-resistant watch. Swimming, showering, and snorkeling is what they say, which is... I like that they say that. That's cool. It's got a gray dial, sort of tan lume, red accents throughout, and a day-date complication. And for $425, I think this makes sense. I think it works. I think this would be like a fantastic... no fuss sort of watch with the backing of the eco drive and the lightness of the titanium. It looks like it's just standard lugs. You should be able to put other straps on it, that sort of thing. |
| Jason | So did you know this existed before this episode? I mean, or did you have to dig and find this? Cause I had no idea this thing existed. I mean, even the name was like, no. |
| Brad | And it looks like they make like several other versions. Cause there's a garrison that's $200 on a, I assume it's steel. It's good. It's a different look. Yeah. And then there's one that looks just like a garrison, but it's called the Chandler. Huh. Some of their naming is just, it's a little bit confusing. Yeah. But if you're not, if you don't know their lineup very well, go, go scroll through the site and give it a check. That's, this is just what I found. There's a handful of garrisons. This is what looks to be the most expensive one being titanium. Um, and, and with a bracelet, but they've got, they've got some, some stuff that's worth checking out for sure. I mean, the, the, the easy one to suggest is, is, you know, the, the Navajo, which we've talked about previously, but people know that watch and we wanted to try and uncover something. So yeah, my pick is the full titanium garrison, which is the more premium side of the line, it would seem. But I dig it. And I think it would be like a good everyday watch, which again, which is what Citizen's good for. |
| Jason | You know, it's funny. This is a very small point, but on their website, on the US website, when I go to look at this watch, They actually have, like, if you're going to order this online, there's a dropdown where you can put your wrist size in and they will presumably size it for you before they ship it to you, which that's awfully nice. It makes so much sense. And I've never seen that done. I've never seen that done by anybody. And if you spend, if you buy this watch, you get a free watch roll. I mean, it's like these little touches that like you don't think of when you've been in the game so long, you know, cause we're so used to like sizing bracelets and knowing people that could size a bracelet. But for, for somebody that goes to the citizen website to just buy like kind of a cool, do everything watch. It's like, it would make sense for them to size it for you. |
| Brad | So yeah, I like that. Yeah, no, I absolutely agree. It seems to go by eighth. Uh, so you've got a nice resolution there from five inches to nine, super clever, especially with titanium. And if you don't have the tool, you're going to scratch the bracelet up. Like, yeah, that's, that's cool. And, and who doesn't like the watch roll might be a good way to kick off somebody's like whole, uh, sort of, uh, fascination with watches. Somebody sizes it for you. It comes in a cool little roll, take places and yeah. sort of thing. So that's Citizen. Two good options, I think, for sure. I think they do a lot of stuff. I'd love to see them just kind of focus more on the midsize, the 40, 41 sort of classic sport watches. But they're certainly not without those options. Yeah. |
| Jason | All right. You want to close out on Braymont? Yeah, let's do that. I mean, you know, Braymont one of our favorite brands. I mean, again, this was like a website that I had to just, it's like Omega or, or they've got a lot of skews, not quite Seiko, but like you just scroll and scroll and scroll. And there's so many versions, but, um, there's, there's a watch in here that, that I picked that might seem a little outside my, my normal wheelhouse, but I've long admired this one. This is the alt one C, um, uh, with a white dial and the polished steel. And these are sick. It's a, it's not a cheap watch. It's 63 95, but I think, It's just a lovely watch. I think what Bremont does well is seen in this watch. They do, they can do a, a really sporty, durable watch. That's also like looks good, like dressy. And I remember when they were one of the America's cup sailing sponsors, they had like a limited edition America's cup watch that kind of had the same aesthetic. And now it's trickled down into the kind of the standard alt one C category. And there's something about that. They've used these kind of slightly more curled, little dressier looking numerals and a railroad track minute track and then with the white dial and the polished steel I just think it's I just think it's a beautiful kind of dress chronograph that you know you I don't know if I'd put it on a NATO strap I guess you could do it but maybe a leather NATO yeah leather NATO I mean I think it's just a versatile really really handsome watch it just has that kind of throwback look, but with the more modern kind of shape of Bremont cases, I just think it's a beautiful, beautiful watch. |
| Brad | I totally agree. I think this is a great pick when I... It definitely would have been in mind if I did... Picked five watches that maybe people don't... The funny thing with Bremont is they move in these kind of generations. So if you haven't been following Bremont since they hit Basel, then there's gonna be generations you're not aware of, whether it's the earliest S500s, whether it's something like these polished ones, or like the one that I'm gonna bring up, which is the Alt 1 WT, the world timer. Oh, yeah. For a while, this was like my absolute possibly accessible dream watch. I ended up leaning a different direction for travel watches because I like ones that are a little bit more active. This is a semi-passive world timer. So it allows you to... It's not a true world timer, which shows you the instantaneous time in every time zone on the dial. This one allows you to use an offset feature, which makes it more flexible, perhaps less prestigious, but you see that in the price as well. I really like this watch. I mean, probably the only reason I didn't end up buying it was I bought a solo, which was in my price point at the time. And then I slowly got phased out of wearing watches of that size of 43 millimeter watches. It took years. I had the solo for a really long time, but this would probably still be like among my favorite sort of larger wearing watches in the world. Yeah. I like it with the black dial. They make one with the blue with yellow accents and they make a white dial with sort of a Panda. Oh, right. Version. But I think I just like the black one with the red accents. And it's an automatic chronograph. So you get the chronograph, a 12 hour chronograph, which is super handy. And it's this kind of independent world timer where you're using the controllable RIAT, which is called Rotoclick. And it's this tactile crown that you can turn that clicks as it goes. And you basically set a certain city at 12 and then you can read the hour off of the GMT hand. is how that works. |
| Jason | Yeah. Yeah. I'd go for the blue. I've always loved the blue. It's so distinctive from a distance. And, uh, I don't know. I mean, the thing about any sort of world timer or world timer adjacent watch is the, it's just the presence of all those city names. It's like, it inspires you to just like pull out a map or, or plan a trip or something. I just, I love that on a watch. And I think that the way that they've done that sort of texturing on the dial, that sort of looks like a lines of long, longitude and latitude. It's just, it just adds a little bit of dimensionality to it. And yeah, that's a great pick. |
| Brad | Yeah. And that's the dial design. I'm glad you brought that up. Cause there are these sort of lines almost like a globe. Right. And normally if you told me that in it without showing it to me, I'd go like, Oh, I don't know. Don't do that. Yeah. That'll suck. And they have it at sort of a tilt and it's only sort of noticeable depending on the light. It's very subtle. I think they do a really nice job. These watches have like a lot of contrast and are very sporty, but they also have that sort of visual complexity that makes a Bremont or a Breitling or any sort of world, like you were saying, like just there's a specialness to it. Yeah. And it feels a little bit more like it has this sort of old world vibe of like, look at how big the world is and the travel and the dawn of, you know, passenger flight and that sort of thing. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I dig it. You know, they're $6,400 on a bracelet and about $5,800 on a strap. So not cheap. Towards the top side of the brand's sort of consistent line. But for your money, you are getting a fully automatic chronograph, the hardened steel case, and the world time feature. For the right uses, I think this could be a very handy watch, and I just love the way they look. |
| Unknown | Yeah. |
| Brad | Yeah. Good pick. Yeah. So there's our, I think that's what, eight or nine brands, and what we think are some of the overlooked things that they offer. But hey, and anyone listening knows exactly what I'm about to say. What from these brands do you think we missed that we overlooked? Right? Maybe there's a super overlooked watch from everybody's perspective except yours. Put it in the show notes. TheGrenado.com. Head to the show notes. If you're not signed up for a Substack account, sign up for an account. Get yourself subscribed so you get the show delivered via like a newsletter format and you can take part in the comments. The comments have been really great. People are starting to share kind of things that aren't necessarily directly connected to one statement or request Jason and I made in the show. They're starting to be more conversational, which I really love. And we don't, we don't jump into every comment cause we don't really want to be too controlling or overbearing, but we see every comment. We get an email for every single comment that comes in. So that'd be really fun. And I think there's a lot of conversation here and I would love to discover more watches like that Seiko, the SNE 573. I would love to discover that I had missed more, more kind of weird, cool, useful, nicely priced watches like that. From Jason, from this list, what, what, what do you think you would actually kind of put your own money towards? |
| Unknown | Oh man. |
| Jason | I think the WT that you picked the last one we just talked about is kind of along the lines of the heritage chrono blue. I think it's one of those watches that I could see that I might not go by new, but like, you know, you see them every now and then. And if one popped up and said, someone said, you know, that regatta Omega that you've got, uh, if you're not wearing it, I've got an old one WT that I'd be, you know, interested in trading or something. I might, I might concentrate, you know, like, yeah, it's, it's, it's that sort of watch that, you know, if you're not wearing it, you know, I forget about for a while. And then when you see it, it's like, that is so cool. Again, very spendy. Like if I were to kind of stick to a budget, it might be something more along the lines of, uh, I don't know that Garrison's kind of calling my name. It's such a funky, cool watch. |
| Brad | Yeah. Yeah. I think there's a couple of good ones that EZM has me rethinking like, Hmm. Yeah. All the... Because it's so easy to think with a Zen you want a U. Yeah, yeah. But the EZMs are like they're like operator special forces sort of stuff, like they've made stuff with Spetsnaz and they've made stuff with other groups. And I think this is just a cool watch. And whether you buy it new or in my case, maybe I would wait to see one pop up in Canada and go that route. I think that's an option, but I probably will buy the SNE573. Oh, yeah. Yeah. And to see what the street price is and dig one up. Cause I just think there's, there's something there that I like. I love, it's such a, it's such like a skin diver. Wear it and don't worry about it and enjoy it and snap a wrist shot on the reef. And, and you know, it glows when you get back to your tent, to your hotel or whatever. I, you know, I'm about it. |
| Jason | Hanging on a peg at the cottage, you know, every day, every weekend when you go up, you know, like it'll stay nice and nice and charged. |
| Brad | Yeah. Yeah. I love it. Yeah. All right. So how about some final notes? Yeah. You want to go first? Sure. Yeah, I'll go first. So a good buddy of mine, friend of the show, Paul Hubbard, who Jason, you've dealt with on past watch dealings. Yeah. He sent me and he sent me this a while ago. I'm just getting to it now. But he sent me this, this, it's also a sub stack by guy. The sub stack is called Reed Max, R E A D. And this guy whose name is Max Reed put together a sort of conceptual breakdown of all of the nineties dad thrillers. So I'm going to, again, I've, I've mentioned this concept a few times, cause this is very much influenced the way I've been watching movies for the last couple of months when I have free time. Uh, so I'm going to put dad thrillers in, in, you know, quotations, uh, will I explain the idea, but it's these, he, he kind of has a compendium and then a sort of genealogical timeline of every movie kind of that came after things like predator and man hunter, and then sort of, stopped with movies like Casino Royale and Taken and Batman Begins and Ocean's Eleven. So it's a really fun post to read, especially if you're a fan of the Jack Ryan stuff, the Tom Clancy stuff, the John Grisham stuff. Over the last little while, my wife and I sat down and watched a bunch of these. Some of them I had seen but hadn't seen in a long time, like Hunt for Red October is just incredible. |
| Unknown | Yeah. |
| Brad | And other ones I hadn't seen before, like Under Siege, which is kind of said to be Steven Seagal's best movie. Uh, I didn't end up liking under siege a lot, but I can see why people did back in the day. And then, and then, yeah, I went through like all of the, uh, the Tom Clancy, Jack Ryan stuff, and just like almost all of that stuff, super watchable. And it is, it's like a weird time for the idea of an action movie. And it's a lot of like talking in boardrooms and looking at screens that shoot missiles. Uh, it's, it's, it's a whole vibe and it kind of like in his mind, it kind of starts with things like, like I said, like die hard and hunt for red October, presumed innocent signs of the lambs. Man, that's a great set of movies. And it kind of wraps up in the early 2000s with some of all fears and born identity. And then those all kind of keep moving on from there. And it's not like a perfect, complete list. The comments bring up all sorts of other options. But I do think that if you're keen on this sort of thing, if you like these sorts of movies, or if you're at the point where like it's still winter and when when you're done shoveling snow or you're done being outside and you come in, you're not really sure what to watch and you just sit scrolling Netflix endlessly. Start searching out some of these movies. Fill in a few blanks. I highly recommend all of the Jack Ryan ones where it's Harrison Ford. Those have held up really nicely. Yeah, they have. Because he kind of plays a gentleman. So they don't have the... What's the right term? Sort of lewdness that might be attributed to some of these that doesn't age that well from a sexual politics sort of standpoint. Uh, I enjoyed this. So, uh, kudos to, um, to Max Reed. He did a lovely job, I think, to kind of tackling the complex sort of disparate topic. And then a big thanks of course, to my, my buddy Paul for sending it. That's awesome. |
| Jason | Yeah. I, I read through this when, when you plopped it into the show notes earlier and I was like, it's such a scholarly look at something I never even thought about. And I, I love anything that is that type of, article that draws these parallels. And he's, you know, he's got these Venn diagrams and all these, these extensive listings. And I was like, as I was looking, I've seen so many of those movies and I was thinking, this is the kind of, these are the kind of movies that you find at like a garage sale, like in the stacks of old DVDs or, or, you know, she's even VHS tapes or something that like you buy for like a buck a piece or 50 cents each. And like, you can just sit and like watch bits and pieces of them. But, uh, Yeah, this was, this was great. And I love the, I love how he draws these, these conclusions about what these movies meant for the era and how that era ended with a certain other set of movies that came along and what those meant for the two thousands. |
| Brad | And uh, yeah, the, the, the canon of the dad thriller. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So good. Really, really. The, the, the one, the one pro move I would suggest to anyone is as you're picking the movies and if you scroll down, it's, it's quite a long post. If you scroll down, he expands the list impressively and kind of puts them into specific little derivations. Yeah. Movies about doctors in distress, general boomer psychosis and paranoia. The one thing I would add is when you finish the movie, search it out in the archives for a podcast called the rewatchables, which is Bill Simmons podcast, where he looks at movies that are infinitely rewatchable and the kind of easy explanation for the movies they pick for that series and have for years. It's like a movie where if you caught it on the afternoon on cable, you kind of, you have no choice but to finish it. And I think there's a bunch of them that are in here. I do think you have to pay now for the rewatchables archives, but it's not much money. And there's a lot of value there, especially if you love a fun way of looking and rethinking about some movies and, and, and they do, they always do a great job. I really enjoy. Um, and we've talked about their stuff in the past with the, the, the three heat that they did back when I was coming back from Germany in November and that sort of thing, but big fan of all that. And, and certainly now I'm a Max Reed fan as well. |
| Unknown | Yeah. |
| Jason | Yeah. Love that one. All right. I have from a local guy, I'm a Minneapolis based graphic designer named Anthony. And, uh, he reached out to me with, with his new venture, which is called the illustrated watch. And I think it's, it's another in, in a very recent, uh, at least over the past few years, uptick in kind of watch art. You know, we've got, uh, stuff like watches and pencils and Julie Crowless with her kind of really upscale, you know, beautiful work. Oh yeah. Several others. I mean, I think you recently mentioned one. |
| Brad | Yeah. Bad art. Nice watch. Bad art, nice watch. My wife got me two prints from him. His name is Brian and he's based in North Carolina. And it's these sort of like somewhat more conceptual artistic renderings of watches. Yeah. And I can't wait to get those hung. So I'm on board and it's really nice because all the options that we've mentioned before, they're all like completely different aesthetics and price points, right? Yeah. Yeah. A Kralis will cost you a lot for a very good reason. Yeah. She's incredible. Uh, loosely a neighbor of mine here, really lovely. Um, but you're going to have to get in line for her work, I think. Whereas I'm, I'm, I'm really dialed in on, on the one that you're mentioning now. |
| Jason | Yeah. So the illustrated watch Anthony, he's, he's super talented. And I think, you know, he comes at this from almost like a technical illustration, uh, angle. Um, and he takes kind of these, uh, a series of iconic watches from, you know, 50 fathoms, a Royal Oak, uh, Benrose Seamaster 300, a Monaco, um just a whole number you can you can hit his website the illustrated watch.com and what he's offering is uh you know these kind of museum quality matte paper that he he uses uh that he prints on and then you can order it framed or unframed they're 12 inches by 16 so you know kind of a nice size to hang in an office maybe it's of a watch that that you own and and kind of want to look at and have more kind of conceptual way, um, or, or maybe it's a watch that, you know, it's kind of a grail that you'll never own. But I, I think it's, it's really neat what he's done here. I, I, I'm a big fan of technical illustration and I love his use of color. He's got some kind of, you know, they're not like pure, like, uh, uh, primary colors. They're sort of, you know, these sort of ocean blue or kind of a mahogany red, um, you know, for various watches and, uh, and they're quite affordable. I mean, I think for a, a framed version, he's charging, Gosh, I think it's like one 30 and unframed at 70. Yep. And right now during the month of February, you know, as, as luck would have it for this episode, um, if you enter the code Feb flash, uh, he's going to take $15 off of all the orders and, um, there you go. Yeah. And, and I just think it's really cool. And I think I would, you know, I'd love to see one of these framed in my office, maybe of, uh, you know, like a Seamaster 300 or a Submariner or something like that, or, you know, a Speedmaster with, There's a lot of detail on that. And just kind of the way he does it, he leaves the logo off, but these watches are so recognizable that, you know, you tell it from a distance. And yeah, normally I'm not a huge fan of kind of very blatant watch related art, but I do like kind of advertisements and I'm a huge fan of technical illustration. So check that out. I think, I think what he's doing is really cool. |
| Brad | Yeah. And you know, the other thing to keep in mind is it's always easy when you do this and you can just take it, you know, every now and then we talk about how, you can learn from me being an idiot. I have so much artwork here that I bought the cheap way where I just bought the, the print and, and ignored what seemed like a much more expensive option. And then it just sits in a, in a roll or in a folder somewhere and I don't frame it. And framing stuff is a fortune, especially when it gets big. So the idea that you're going to go up from $70 to say $130 and then don't forget that promo, that doesn't seem unfair. That means you get to literally take it out of the box and hang it. And that's pretty nice when you're like, I've got the... You sent me that poster, the Doxa poster you made some time ago. That's just in a roll, because I haven't had the time. And then you go to price it, it's like hundreds of dollars to get it backed or framed and matted. And I want to do it at some point, but it's just like... It's just one of those things. Yeah, I know. Really consider how much of a chore getting it framed is gonna be. That's my pro tip, because there's a bunch of stuff that I have in my house that I wish I just paid to have it delivered in a frame. I've got two Brett Curry prints. I've got a handful of stuff that I would love to have upon the walls and I just haven't gotten around to it. Of course, all of that, even again, delayed all over again because of COVID. Yeah. Yeah. So very cool. What watch show, if you could, if you could have him, like if you could commission one, what do you think you'd go for? |
| Jason | Commission one? I don't know, but I'm really liking the look of the Speedmaster. I mean, I think, you know, dive watches are cool, but I think for something as technical as what he's doing, I think I don't know. I think the Speedmaster really lends itself. It's a very technical looking watch and there's a lot of detail to it. So yeah. |
| Brad | Yeah. What about you? I would love, um, it's two very different options, but they're two of my favorite watches. I would love either the 1655, you know, an early Explorer 2. I think it'd be super fun, has nice detail. And you could even pick the background color based on the kind of color of the hand, the orange, which I think would be pretty fun. Or, And this is a bit of more wild one, but I would love to see how it look would be like a classic Patek Philippe world timer. Oh yeah. Oh wow. So lots of detail and beautiful and kind of felt. And I think that would, those would be the two different directions I would go. Yeah. But man, these are, these are really cool. Good, good for him. Yeah. I was, I was pleased to see it when it hit the inbox and, and, and, and then again, when, when you put it in the show notes. |
| Jason | Yeah. All right. Another long episode, but a good, a fun topic. And I look forward to seeing the comments from, from listeners. Oh yeah. And as always, thank you so much to everyone for listening. If you want to subscribe to The Show Notes, get into the comments for each episode, or consider supporting the show directly, and maybe even grab one of our TGN signed NATO straps, please visit TheGreyNATO.com. Music throughout, of course, is Siesta by JazzArr via the Free Music Archive. |
| Brad | And we leave you with this quote from Edmund Spencer, who said, For there is nothing lost that it may be found if sought. |