The Grey Nato - EP 28 - Rolex

Published on Tue, 21 Feb 2017 09:03:49 -0500

Synopsis

The podcast starts with James and Jason discussing their recent adventures, with Jason recounting his experience of ice diving in Minnesota. He describes the process of setting up for the dive, including shoveling snow, cutting a hole in the ice, and setting up tents. Despite the challenges, he found the experience novel and enjoyable. James then talks about watching the new John Wick movie and his interest in potentially buying a new camera for photography and videography.

The main topic of the episode is a discussion about the luxury watch brand Rolex. Jason and James share their thoughts on the brand's history, its appeal to collectors, and the perceived baggage or drawbacks associated with wearing a Rolex in certain situations. They also explore the idea of finding a modern-day equivalent to the pre-baggage Rolex as a rugged, reliable tool watch.

Transcript

Speaker
Jason Heaton Hey, James, how's it going?
James Hey, man. Yeah, good. You?
Jason Heaton Yeah, pretty good. It's Monday here, but it was a good one as Mondays go.
James Yeah, we got blessed with a few days of nice weather here in Vancouver, so I think this is a good way to kind of round off what was actually a long holiday weekend for those of us in British Columbia. Oh, nice. Feel like doing a show? Yeah, let's go for it. Welcome to episode 28 of the Graynado, a loose discussion of travel, adventure, diving, gear, and most certainly watches. Thanks for listening.
Jason Heaton So what have you been up to? Well, you know, the weather here has been really strange. It's been unseasonably warm for about the past three weeks and like above freezing, which is odd for Minnesota. But last weekend was, you know, fairly cold. It was, it was below freezing and I had a chance to go and do some ice diving. which is something I haven't done. Yeah, I haven't done that in a couple of years. I got my ice diver certification about, I guess it was about three winters ago on a lake just outside of Minneapolis here. The shop that does the certification courses, uh, does these classes every year. They do like, you know, one weekend a winter cause it's a bit of a, a bit of a process to, to get everything set up and going. Um, but they offer past people that have been certified in the past to come and Get some dives in if, if we're willing to help out with the setup and, and, uh, be a dive buddy for some of the, the new guys that are getting their certifications. So that's a neat setup. Yeah, it's really cool. You know, so I got my tanks filled and, you know, went out there last Saturday morning. It was, uh, it was interesting ice diving. I've, I've said in the past, it's, it's kind of like a mix between, you know, almost like, like expedition style mountaineering and, and diving, because there's just these. odd elements of both that you combine. I mean, you're, first of all, you have to, you have to shovel snow off the surface of the, of the ice to find a good spot to, to cut a hole. And then, um, in order to make the, the hole, the path to the hole visible, you shovel what they call spokes in the snow out from the hole that you cut. Um, with sort of shovel in arrowheads pointing back towards the hole so that if You know, you're diving tethered for obvious reasons. You have a rope and a carabiner clipped onto your buoyancy vest. Then you have a tender at the other end standing outside the hole who kind of pays out rope as you're underwater diving. But if for some strange reason that rope became disconnected from you and you had to find your way back to the hole, the easiest way to do that is to look up and these spokes that you've shoveled into the snow, let more sunlight through. So it looks like a bunch of arrowheads pointing back in the direction towards the hole. And, and then, uh, the guy who runs the course, he bought these surplus tents, like desert storm era, military tents that we set up over the hole. Um, and these things are big, monstrous, heavy, you know, canvas tents. You've got like this crew of guys. I think there were like 12 students and then a few of us that were just diving and then four instructors and everybody's kind of has a job to do, whether it's shoveling or setting up the tents or, you know, getting gear ready, um, use ice screws that you put into the ice to anchor the safety lines. And, you know, all of this takes, I don't know, I mean, I don't remember how long it took hour and a half to kind of get things set up and ready to go before you're even thinking about getting in your dry suit to get in the water. It was, it was kind of crazy. You know, this kind of goes to show how, Strange and kind of what different sorts of issues you have to face when you're when you're ice diving because we had the tent set up We had the hole cut they had kerosene heaters inside the tent and there were two divers sitting on the edge of the hole all geared up and ready to go and a big gust of wind came and picked up the The tent it's the first time it's ever happened Apparently picked up the tent blew it right up up off over the this dive site and tumbled into this guy's car and tore off the driver's side mirror and put a big gash in the side of the car. Wow. Yeah, it was crazy. You know, then everybody's scrambling. You've got to leave these poor divers sitting at the edge of the hole waiting to go in the water. And we had to somehow get the tent back upright, lift it, carry it back up over the hole and then re-anchor it with more ice screws. And then the day went fairly smoothly. We had a couple of guys that had free flow regulator issues, which is a common concern when you're diving in really cold water. Um, the regulators don't really like that. They kind of freeze up inside the, the first stage of the regulator and start just gushing, gushing the air out. So we had to deal with a couple of issues like that. But, uh, finally I managed to, to get in the water with, uh, with a couple of guys and you know, the visibility wasn't great that day. The, the, the, the theory went that because we've had so little snow here this winter, that more sunlight was penetrating through the ice and causing the algae to grow a little bit. longer this season than it normally does, but you know, whatever the case, it was kind of murky and, and I think I was one of the last of the divers to go in the water. So guys before me had kind of kicked up a lot of stuff. And for me, it's, it's not even so much about what you see underwater. I mean, we saw some, some pike and some, some walleye and things like that kind of in the weeds, but it's more just kind of a novel experience, sort of a good, good adventure, um, uh, on a winter weekend here. Um, but you know, it's, for me, it's the kind of thing I'll do once every It probably wants to be three years or so. It's just, it's an awful lot of work for just not a lot of time underwater.
James Yeah. It seems like a really, uh, kind of intense experience.
Jason Heaton Yeah. And it's, it's, it's cool. I mean, it's, it's something like you'd never would experience any other kind of diving because you get this overhead clear, you know, ceiling above you that your bubbles, your exhale bubbles collect and sort of dance around on the underside of the ice. And you can, you know, if you feel inclined, you can walk upside down on the ice and The fish are kind of lethargic and it's novel. It's, it's interesting. The guy that actually, the guy that I was a dive buddy with, uh, came up from Louisiana, um, to just to do this and he actually had a rebreather, which was really strange because the dives we were doing were max 20 minutes long. Um, and you know, rebreather, the whole kind of point is aside from not producing bubbles, which is great for, photographers, but really the point is, you know, you can kind of last longer since you're recycling your own exhaled breath. But for a 20 minute dive, it kind of seemed like overkill. And then he was having some buoyancy issues and, and then he had to keep this rebreather warm before, you know, before he went in the water because they're very susceptible to freezing up. So he had it sitting in his car, parked out on the ice with the engine running for, I mean, hours you know while we were setting things up and it seemed a little bit kind of crazy to come all the way from Louisiana and bring your rebreather but I think he just kind of wanted to try it and uh that was last weekend oh and on the watch related front I kind of was debating which watch to take with me and and ultimately I ended up wearing my my Seiko SRP777 which is a watch you know we both have talked at great length about um but it hadn't gotten a whole lot of bottom time with me so I wanted to take that along plus the big long rubber strap that comes with that watch was just perfect over the, the thick gloves that I was wearing. So, and it, it, it worked fine. Watch the watch performed as advertised. So perfect.
James Yeah. I guess that that's, that's that piece of gear that doesn't need to be babied at all. Like a rebreather. Yeah, exactly.
Jason Heaton Right. Yeah.
James Very good. Well, that's fun. I, you know, I'm jealous of the fact that you got out for a, you know, a legit adventure like that. Ice diving seems even maybe too intense for me. I also don't like necessarily being that cold. I mean, I guess maybe it's not that much colder than the cold water I do here.
Jason Heaton The temperature was about 38 Fahrenheit. So I don't, I think that's about three or so.
James I've done five. Yeah. Yeah. I bet you that two degrees makes a big difference.
Jason Heaton Yeah. Right. Right. So what's new on your end?
James Uh, yeah, I did. I didn't do something, you know, that exciting, but I did do something a little bit exciting. I went, you know, just last night I went and saw the new John Wick. movie John wick chapter two. Oh yeah. I don't know. There's, I mean, we don't do movie reviews or anything like that on this. It's, it's, if you enjoyed the first John wick, it's more of the same. Um, and even then they've added more Carl F Bucherer, uh, placements throughout the film.
Jason Heaton Was that on the first one as well?
James Uh, yeah, that's the watch he's wearing, but like it almost seems, I don't know if it was like a paid thing in the first one or that's just the watch that he had on. I mean, it's kind of an esoteric choice.
Unknown Yeah.
James So maybe they did, maybe they didn't, but it was much more, obvious the placements in uh in this one sure the movie itself is uh i mean it's wild just like the first one if you haven't seen it they're uh fantastic you know north american action movies yeah and uh kena reeves absolutely at his best hardest working man in hollywood and i loved every minute of it it's uh i mean they're a real a real just kind of feast for the mechanics and uh, the, uh, artistry behind capturing things like extended fight scenes and stuff like that. So if you're kind of into that, if you like the raid or, I mean, hey, John Wick one or something like that, then I think the two's definitely not going to let you down. It was fun.
Jason Heaton Huh? Nice. Yeah. I still haven't seen the first one. I know you, you've highly recommended it and I, you know, I like the odd action movie, so it's, it's in my queue on, I don't know if it was Netflix or iTunes, but, uh, I'll get around to seeing that. Yeah.
James It's on Netflix now. Yeah.
Jason Heaton Cool.
James And yeah, other than that, you know, I've been spending a fair amount of time kind of researching the possibility of a new camera and people who listen to the show and certainly Jason, you won't be surprised that like when I get into these kind of things, like I just, it seems endless. Yeah. You know, if suddenly I have five Evernote files based on different cameras, I've seen every YouTube video from some that aren't even in English to ones that, you know, that have five views and I'm three of them. to, you know, some of these big camera reviews, uh, you know, have, you know, a hundred thousand views or more. Uh, but yeah, I'm, I'm trying to pick something kind of between my cell phone and my, uh, my 5D Mark III. I'm tired of carrying the Mark III when I like, I'm just kind of going out. Yeah. And the cell phone I find is perfectly adequate for the average wrist shot, but I would like something that kind of spans the two and then The problem is, is, you know, I was, I was looking at something like the Fujifilm, the X100T, which is a fixed equivalent 35 millimeter camera. Yeah. Not crazy expensive. And at this point I'd buy used, so it would hold its value roughly from that point. Not unlike what I did with the RX100 II, which I sold because I got the GoPro and didn't need it for diving and that sort of thing. So, yeah, I don't know. But then the, the X100T, you're not going to really use it for video. And I would kind of think if I'm going to invest in you know, say $1,000 to a $1,500 camera system that could do video with autofocus, that would be good if I wanted to do more of the vlogs that we did for SIHH. So as you can see, I'm a little torn, I guess, is where this ends. Yeah. I think when you're buying a camera, especially one that's not crucial, you really want to be pretty focused on why you're buying it. And I think I have a few different reasons for why I want one, and it means different cameras. So, you know, I want external audio input. So some of the smaller, really high-end point and shoots don't work. at all, you can't connect a decent microphone. Oh, sure. And, you know, some nice autofocus. So yeah, I'm still kind of leaning towards like, I think an X100T might strengthen me as a photographer, because I could carry it with me and they're never really in the way and that sort of thing. But right. I was also looking at the the new Canon EOS M5 system, which is like their mirrorless. It has audio in and autofocus and with an adapter, I could use the lenses I already have. you know, well-reviewed, doesn't stand up to the autofocus speeds of the Sony A7s and things like that, but still apparently it's good. So it might just come down to, I may rent both.
Unknown Oh, sure. Yeah, that's a good idea.
James And see where I land, you know, borrow them for a couple of days and see which one I actually like, and then consider buying one after that. I don't know. I think at a certain point, kind of like with watches, I have a little bit, I get enough of a buzz just from researching them. Right. That I don't necessarily feel like I have to buy something until I have a specific, like I can make money with what I bought. Yeah. So if I can find my way to earning with the said camera, then maybe that'll, that'll clear up my, uh, you know, what decision I make. Right.
Jason Heaton Yeah. Well, you know, we've got, um, I think you mentioned the Sony a7 and that's something that Ghoshani and I have that, you know, as you know, we, we use as an underwater camera, but certainly I've carried it around. uh... topside as well and and the lightweight and and it's got a lot of you know great features it's a it's a well-reviewed camera i'm not sure of the video quality i mean i've used it a little bit for video but that's kind of not really my my thing but uh... you know it's certainly one you might want to put in the mix as well yeah the issue you know i was looking at the like the a7 uh... S2 and the R2 both fantastic both very expensive and at a certain point you know in canada you're looking at
James $3,000 plus to get into that system without a lens. Oh, wow. Or maybe with one lens, but like it isn't going to be the necessarily like the lens. And at that point, should I just like leave Canon altogether? Right. Sell the Mark III, because now you're into the price of a used Mark III, most of the way to a Mark IV. And the Mark IV has autofocus and does some really fantastic stuff. They're just very big, right?
Unknown Right.
James And like I went to a market earlier this weekend and was walking around with the Mark IV kind of strapped to like a little loop that I use to hold it on a belt.
Unknown Yeah.
James And even with a medium weight lens, you can just notice it's there all the time. So I don't know. I just find that sometimes they can be a pain to kind of trudge around. And I was a little spoiled by the RX100, where if I went hiking or something like that, I had that camera, but I want something that shoots a better photo and does a few more things. A little better. I want something that doesn't feel necessarily like a point and shoot. So where I'm more encouraged to use the viewfinder and it kind of feels more like photography. There's a certain analog way of using an SLR, or at least the way I've taught myself to use an SLR is still using the viewfinder and you know, all the little digital numbers under the screen to very quickly change how you're metering. And you lose some of that when you're just using the screen on the back of the camera. And I'm just not sure I want to go back to that for you know, kind of shooting around and just kind of playing with, uh, general photography.
Jason Heaton So don't you find that with, with camera research like this, you go down so many different paths, but then at some point they seem to merge again. And you, you end up, you think, wasn't I just here? Didn't I just see that camera? It's like, it's like you're hiking and you end up on the same trail over and over again, because there's the options are just, they kind of overlap. And there are some cameras that do one thing better than the other. And I just find it kind of maddening.
James It definitely, at first when you get into these things, it seems like there's a ton of cameras.
Unknown Yeah.
James But then when you actually filter out for the stuff that people really love, or I also think it's important not just to see things that people like review well. Yeah. But things that people then work into their personal workflow. Yeah. You know, like I'm a big fan of Ken Rockwell's reviews for all sorts of cameras. And he, after reviewing one of the earlier X100s, I guess maybe even the original X100, bought and used one. Yeah. Continued to upgrade as the new ones came out. And I think that's like kind of glowing in a couple of the vlogs that I watch use the A7. I'm assuming an A7S2. Yeah. Maybe it's an R. I'm not sure. Yeah. And you can get, you know, fantastic video. But again, then your cost has gone way up. So it just depends on is this a tool that would pay for itself or more of just something I'm buying to have a second system that also needs more lenses. Right. And am I really just putting myself essentially within 70-80% of the SLR I already own? Yeah. Which would be a strange choice to put that money out. Yeah. So, yeah, like I said, I have some fun kind of weighing everything, but I'm really no closer to a decision. And how about you? Anything else new in? Any new acquisitions?
Jason Heaton Yeah, I've got a decidedly more low-tech new item than a camera on my end. I was fortunate enough to get a strap sent to me by a guy in Michigan. His name is Myron and Myron runs a small strap business called Rover Haven. And he sent me a strap just out of the kindness of his heart. I had commented on a blog that he had posted on his own personal blog about doing some sort of exploring of a shallow shipwreck in Lake Michigan. And he appreciated that and he kind of knew of the Grenado and some of the writing I've done. And we have a mutual friend and he sent me a really wonderful leather watch strap that he made. He made it of Horween Cordovan, which is that, it's actually the shell or the butt skin or hide of a horse. Of course, it's used for shoes and belts and a few companies use them for watch straps. You know, kind of a shinier, really thick, durable leather. I've never really been a shell cordovan fan for for watch straps for whatever reason. I think maybe the styles that I've seen Haven't grabbed me necessarily. I'm not a real fan of that shiny. It always always looks a little too dressy for me, right?
James I was just saying because like no most uses the Shell cordovan and I think that it is it does kind of have a dressier appeal. It has no grain No, kind of like visible grain. It's very shell like exactly but I agree that it does kind of have like a Dressier almost like yeah, just a more up upscale vibe.
Jason Heaton Yeah, like a picture like when I was in high school I used to I used to have like these these penny loafers, you know, these shoes these dress shoes this slip-on shoes and Looking back. I can't stand those shoes I can't believe I ever wore them but like they they had that same sort of shine to them and yeah for sure Anyway, so the strap is nothing like that. The strap is really cool. It's certainly shiny. It has kind of that dark brown Color but it has this kind of chunky Uh, you know, sort of a crew or white stitching, full length stitch, almost like, I guess you'd call it like the brightening style strap, you know, the full length stitch, big kind of beefy leather keepers, um, for tucking the tail in. And then he sews in on this particular one, he sewed in one of those, um, I guess for lack of a better term, like a NATO style buckle, which is like the, the closed loop buckle. That's kind of a one piece buckle with the pin. And then he sews it into the end of the strap. So there are no spring bars or anything holding the buckle in place. And it kind of looks like one of those smaller buckles that you'd get on a, on a nylon NATO strap, but it's sewn into this kind of beefy cordovan strap. And it's a great strap. I don't, I don't want to, you know, wax on and on about this thing, but, uh, it's just a fantastic strap and, and, um, it's a good, it's a good length. It's a nice thickness. super high quality and I put it on my Speedmaster my my vintage Speedmaster and I think it's it's just a great look and It's kind of become my my favorite leather strap these days So really pleased with it and you know, thanks to to Roverhaven for sending that over But yeah, we'll link out to to Roverhaven as well. He's got a kind of a cool sight. He's an interesting guy He he has like an old series 1 or series 2 Land Rover that he keeps in really pristine shape and he's got a few pictures on his blog of that and on his Instagram feed and Anything else on your end?
James No, I don't think so. But I mean, before we digress too far away from watches with more movies or cameras or something like that, with the strap bringing us back on focus, you want to switch into the main topic? Yeah, let's do that. OK, so this week's main topic is another one of our looks at a brand. So it went pretty well for episode 20, we did Seiko and Seiko is an absolute favorite brand, not only of watch enthusiasts, but certainly Jason and I. We're picking simply another brand that's on our list that we both really like and have a fair understanding of from a personal taste perspective on the brand, and that's going to be Rolex. You all saw the title for the episode, so we're going to be chatting about Rolex. Jason, where do you start with a brand like Rolex? They epitomize luxury watches and what so many people in and out of watch appreciation would characterize as a good watch.
Jason Heaton Yeah. Rolex, it almost defies description because it depends on who you talk to. Um, I, I, I, one of my favorite watch articles that, that I wanted to use to kind of reference in this episode was, was one that I read. It was actually written back in 2012 by our, our friend, Jack Forster, editor in chief of Houdinki when he was writing for Forbes. And it's still on Forbes's website. We'll put we'll put a link in the show notes to it but the the article is titled the Rolex problem a semi-rational look at the world's most recognized watch and In essence, you know what what Jack does in this article is is the perfect kind of way to to approach Rolex and that is he kind of breaks it down into these three stages of or three ways of looking at Rolex and his first way is Rolex is the best and that's the new guy version. So that's the guy who doesn't know much about watches. He's just landed his first big job or achieved some sort of milestone. He goes out and he says, I want the best watch there is. Give me a Rolex. And then the second way of looking at Rolex is Rolex is for suckers. And that's the new connoisseur version. He calls it, that's, that's the, you know, the connoisseur that's kind of gotten into watches and maybe he's, you know, he, he thinks that there's just so much more out there to appreciate. There's the, the, the Pateks and the, the obscure guys, the Nomos and the Day Batoon and all these other brands that are worth looking at more than Rolex. And then the third kind of way, it almost comes around full circle, is Rolexes are actually pretty good watches, which he calls the grizzled veteran version. And I kind of can see that in my own short history in watches, going back 10 years or slightly less. I used to see Rolex as kind of just you know, the epitome, the best watch in the world kind of thing. And then when you kind of get into watches more, you, you kind of want to look elsewhere because it just seems like the obvious choice. And then now I've come around and I think you and I are in the same boat. It's like, it's just, it's such a great watch. I mean, they're just such fantastic products just in general. There's so much to admire about them. And the, and for, for guys like us and for people that listen to the great NATO, they, they kind of fit the kinds of activities and lifestyle that we like.
James Yeah, for certain. I think Jack hit the nail on the head with that one. I definitely remember first getting into watches and learning that, you know, the Invictus that I found on Poor Man's Watch Forum were actually like direct ripoffs of this iconic product that was very much well loved, but also constantly somebody was questioning its quality or its comparative qualities to another product. you get a little bit deeper and you go, Oh, okay. So like, this is, this is the watch that you've got to got, you've got to have. Yeah. And it's always just, you know, it's a sub, I want to sub, I want to sub and that's fine. Amazing watch. And it's worthy of the praise that it's given, I would say. And then I definitely got to a point where it was like, why would anyone buy a Rolex over an Omega or Zen or a Grand Seiko or anything like that? And then you, you just kind of exist long enough in the stream of watch appreciation to realize that like, you know, it's one thing to be the king, but it's another thing to have to get there.
Unknown Yeah.
James Right. And I think that's what there is, is like they have, they have this history that isn't necessarily replicated by other brands. And sure. Is it over-marketed? Definitely. I mean, it's the watch industry. And is it at times, treated like a religion, borderlining on a cult? Most definitely. That's all what it is. And again, I think that comes with being in this number one position that exists both within enthusiasm and the general market. Yeah. You know, people who buy a magazine or see a Rolex ad or, hey, look who's sponsoring the Oscars in two weeks. Yeah. Rolex, right? Yeah, right. Like they know that their game is kind of twofold. It's being on wrist with notable athletes and explorers and, and James Cameron going to the bottom of the ocean, all of those sorts of things, but it's also maintaining their position as the household name within a luxury product.
Unknown Yeah.
James And I have, I've, I've spoken to people who know Rolex and, uh, and would, you know, could tell you the logo and obviously that they make watches and that sort of thing, but have no idea what they cost. They just know they're expensive. Right, right. That's a pretty kind of special smokescreen because you talk to someone about cars that doesn't know anything about cars. Yeah. They know that a BMW is roughly X amount of dollars more than a Honda.
Unknown Yeah, right.
James But they couldn't tell you how much more necessarily a Rolex is unless they were at a jewelry store and asked at some point in their life and remembered the number because it was shocking.
Unknown Yeah, yeah.
James Is compared to their Citizen, their Seiko, their Fossil, their whatever.
Unknown Right.
James And it's a it's a strange It's a strange thing, but I definitely think that Jack kind of nailed it with the learner kind of, there's a learner love and then there's a middle point where people kind of don't like the popularity of the brand, don't like the mainstream qualities of the brand, don't like how it's constantly showing up every time somebody does a watch on my wrist thread or your favorite watches thread or a state of your, you know, collection thread or whatever. And then eventually you get to the other side where maybe you found a model that speaks to you, that has the history that you kind of connect with and It's a weird sort of thing. They've been around for so long and their products do kind of maintain a certain level of iconography within watch appreciation.
Jason Heaton Yeah, and I think I've kind of followed this arc or this sort of evolution of Rolex appreciation, even with the ones that I own and have owned, which now that I look at it, I guess I had a GMT Master for a while, but it's been largely just Submariners. With, for instance, I got a Submariner, the 14060 that we've talked about before for my 40th birthday. And I've always said it's actually the one watch that I probably, you know, if it came down to it, would be the very last piece that I would sell. In fact, it would probably be the last item that I would part with if, you know, the house burned down and I just had to leave with what was on my body at that point. I'd probably just wear that, you know? Right. But on the other hand, I wouldn't even say it's the watch I wear the most at this point. Um, I have other watches. I wear my Speedmaster more. I probably wear my Seiko dive watch a little more and maybe my Doxa. And yet, you know, kind of when push comes to shove, I come back to that Rolex. It's almost like slipping on a favorite pair of shoes or, um, you know, pulling on that, that jacket that, you know, sits in the back of the closet, but you've had for 20 years or something. There's just something about that Submariner that just kind of feels right. Not only because of the way it wears, which is fantastic. It's slim, it's light, it's just the right size, et cetera. But I think it, it kind of, it feels like the watch that best suits my lifestyle. And it's so cliche to say, Oh, it's the watch you can wear with a suit or a wetsuit or a tuxedo, you know, that whole kind of line. But to a certain degree, there's some truth to that, but also it's Rolex. If you, if you look at, other watches in that price range or that people consider blingy or expensive. They are watches more like Hublot or Audemars Piguet, pieces like that that have more flash to them. I mean, when you look at most Rolexes, they're pretty conservative timepieces, you know?
James Yeah, I think by design at this point, they kind of have to be. Yeah. There's obviously exceptions, the crazy Peve diamond models, the ones that have like cheetah colored gemstones all across the dial. But I mean, if you focused on the sorts of, I think, Rolexes that we would talk about on the gray NATO. So they're, they're kind of core sports lineup there. I don't think they should be especially interested in changing those watches because they all kind of represent touchstones in watch appreciation for certain people and touchstones in like life appreciation for other people. So whether that's the sub you got on your first job, like your first kind of big job, or maybe Maybe you closed some giant sale and you got a Daytona or, or whatever, you know, there's guys like you and I who, who maybe would buy one for a birthday. That's how I got mine. And, or was the, you know, the sort of excuse I used for mine. And there's others who would use them to mark very other important events or successes. And, and it is like, it's cliche just to say it because it's cliche. You know what I mean? Like, like it's a, it's a thing because it is actually done. Yeah. Right. Of the sorts of people that were, you know, friends of my parents as I grew up, there was a couple Rolexes in that group and they were all to mark kind of milestones, big anniversaries, retirement, things like that. They weren't purchased because they necessarily loved watches. They just knew that this was the type of product that is a good way to celebrate, like I said, a milestone or a child being born or whatever.
Jason Heaton Yeah, right. It's funny because Patek Philippe has that ad campaign that's been running forever about, you know, you never really own a Patek, you just take care of it for the next generation. But I think with a Patek, they're, they're just, they're, they're just too expensive for the average person. But I think a Rolex is one of those quote unquote aspirational watches that you can splurge on a special occasion. And even if you're getting the most basic, you know, no date oyster perpetual and spend, I don't know what they're going for these days, four or $5,000, you know, you, you can attain that. And if you do have a baby, have a 50th birthday, et cetera, et cetera, you, you can afford that. Whereas a paddock just feels so too expensive. And so I think Rolex almost owns that, like what you're talking about, they kind of own that space of, of the special event or special milestone piece that, that then gets passed down. And you're right to, to change the look radically of their watches kind of defies that it's nice to look at a Submariner that you know, a father or grandfather bought for something and then passed down and it kind of looks like a current one or you can wear it and it still feels contemporary.
James Yeah, for certain. I mean, and if we, if we, you know, I always like to, and I use this phrase too much, you know, to zoom out, but what if we zoom in just to you and I, so you connected, you said you've had a GMT master and subs. Is the sub thing simply because it kind of connects you to the type of guy you would aspire to be, a kind of adventuring diver, you know, like all of that kind of mythos is wrapped up in that product for you? Or is that too simple of a, you know, is that me, you know, boiling it down too far?
Jason Heaton No, I think you're right on. I think there are actually a few Rolex sports models that I could probably equally identify with. And I think that the Submariner was kind of choice number one by a sliver. I think I could just as easily have gone the GMT Master route or the Explorer 2 route. I'm not a Daytona guy. I don't really identify with the Daytona. I also don't, strangely enough, I kind of understand the appeal of the Explorer 1, but I can't see myself ever owning one unless it was like a vintage 1016 and that would merely be for, you know, just for the coolness of owning a vintage Explorer. The Submariner has always been number one on the list, especially a no-date one. I find that it embodies the guy that I want to be, the guy that I'm trying to become. It just has such a great history. I think when we've talked about watches in the past and what makes a brand appealing, I think for me the history and lore um of a brand and kind of where they've come from and what they have been worn in the world to accomplish is is important to me it's not just what it looks like currently on my wrist but when I look at that watch on my wrist I'm seeing you know all the guys in those National Geographic ads from the 70s and 80s or that Life magazine that you just got recently with the best adventures of all time and yeah you know a lot of these guys were wearing Submariners or Explorers, Explore 2s and you know, that I just identify with it. It's such a big part of my life. I read about these people. I, I try to go out and kind of live things to the fullest. I've worn that watch to the top of Mount Rainier and diving in New Zealand and sailing in San Francisco. And it, that's what it does for me. You know, and I think for you with, with your Explorer too, you've, you've kind of already, you've only had it for a year or two, but you know, you've also started, started to imbue your watch with, with your own stories that kind of reflect what the watch is all about. Wouldn't you say?
James Yeah, for certain. I mean, like, I think we do that with whatever watch we have on, but I think I'm a little bit more thoughtful with the Rolex. I don't really know why it sounds cheesy whenever I try and explain it, because I'm essentially just admitting that I was, you know, in some way brainwashed by their marketing.
Unknown Yeah.
James But I never really found the one that I really liked. You know, I always liked the 16710, you know, the last generation GMT-Master II. And in researching between that and the 16660 Sea-Dweller, I've always kind of loved, I thought the Sea-Dweller, the backstory to the development of the Sea-Dweller is fascinating from a product standpoint, because of course it was designed first and foremost for a very specific use and not as a market product. Right. uh, which I really love. And then I eventually came across the, you know, the Explorer twos, the last generation, 16, five 70, and then the white dial. I have no real interest in the black dial. I think it looks quite a bit like a, a Submariner on wrist. And I see Submariners all the time in Vancouver. And I think that's why I have a bit of like a Submariner fatigue. I think you see them all the time on like Instagram too. Like they are kind of like a, a big touch point in watch love. And I get it, an amazing product with a really great history. They're the 9-11 of watches, the Rolex Sub. But for me, it was the strangeness of the polar with the black surrounds on the markers and the black hands. And I just, for whatever, I'm willing to admit the level of cheese that I'm culpable of. And that's, I like that the history of the explorer is in the mountains and in kind of the relentless attempts at finding new places to exist, even if you shouldn't be there necessarily. And I like that. And like you said, that I've spent so much of my life reading books about the sorts of people that go to these places and these books almost never talk about the watch they're wearing and that's fine. It's largely inconsequential. Certainly is at a modern scale. Anyone can make a watch these days that should be able to put up with that sort of abuse. But not everyone could make the watch, you know, 50 years ago or 40 years ago. Yeah. And I like the watch. I love the functionality. I like the movement. And I do like that. Right. Within reason, obviously, if you buy a really bad one from a bad seller, you could have a very bad experience with the overall quality of your Rolex. But if you buy the watch as it left Rolex.
Unknown Yeah.
James You're buying a great watch. Yeah. Right. You're buying the, I would say, arguably the standard. Yeah. The market standard for sports watches. And certainly lots of other watches will be just as reliable, but they wouldn't necessarily have evolved to be that way over all these generations that kind of give Rolex that lore.
Jason Heaton Yeah. Yeah. We've gotten to the point in the conversation where, you know, we've both talked about our love for the watches and wearing them for their intended use and getting into the history of them. And I think looking back to the 1950s, the 60s, the 70s, You know, Rolex was the watch that these guys were wearing, these divers, these polar explorers, mountaineers, because of what you just said, these were the watches that, that lasted. I remember interviewing a guy who was one of the sea lab divers and you know, here I am writing an article about him for Hodinkee, this watch nerd publication. And I was going on and on about his watch. And he said, you know, in those days we, I just bought, we, we bought Rolexes because they didn't leak. You know, we didn't care what they were. And when we were done with them, we'd, you know, toss them overboard or sell them or put them in a drawer somewhere. Uh, he didn't fetishize the watch. He wore it because, you know, it's the watch that worked and served its purpose at that time. But I think in the time since then, as we've seen, you know, black plastic watches and digital and courts and everything else, and people not wearing watches at all, you know, Rolex is, transformed into more of a symbol of that era at best, and at worst kind of just a symbol of wealth, you know, luxury, whatever you want to call it. And so, you know, this kind of leads to the next point, which is kind of the baggage that comes with Rolex and how it's kind of lost that ethos, I guess, that it had, you know, in the days when it was a true tool or an instrument that somebody wore. And recently I was talking with a guy at our local Red Bar group who got an Explorer One for a significant birthday recently. And we were just talking about watches and how the Explorer could be the one watch, the watch that you can wear for anything. And so I posed this question to him that crossed my mind and that has kind of troubled me. And that is, would you wear your Rolex Explorer if you were to go hiking, you know, set off on a hiking trip across Morocco or across Cambodia or someplace like that. And he immediately said, Nope, I'd wear, I'd wear my Seiko SKX on a NATO strap. And it's like, to me, that was, that's the Rolex dilemma in a nutshell. It's the perfect watch for pretty much anything you can do. It'd be the watch you should wear to the end of the earth. Um, but it has this baggage that, you know, people will say makes you a target for theft or, makes you a point of, you know, a bit of a, um, you know, someone who stands out in a crowd because, you know, you're wearing more expensive watch than anybody else or, you know, whatever that may be. And I think that both troubles me and it, um, well, yeah, I guess it troubles me because I would love to be able to say that my Submariner is that one piece that that's good for anything, but I don't want to have to tuck it away at home. If I'm traveling in somewhere a little bit dicey or going to do something, um, a little bit sketchy. You know what I mean?
James Yeah, entirely. I mean, I'm not sure that Rolex has necessarily lost any of the ethos surrounding the product and its capabilities, but the product has been reframed as a luxury good. There's some credence to being worried about a product like that in certain scenarios, because they do have a flat value all the time.
Unknown Yeah.
James So that's essentially in some way like currency, only people might not carry this much currency on them. And they certainly wouldn't just strap the currency to their wrist. That's true. So, I mean, speaking in the most practical of terms, outside of watch appreciation, if you're going somewhere where there's a whole marketplace for taking them and selling them, then yeah, as much as I would like to say that the Explorer II would come with me everywhere and just be that cool watch that you would see in dusty photographs. Yeah. I just don't, I don't think I would take it. I would, I would side with your buddy. And you know, when I went to the park today and knew that I was going to be climbing around on a jungle gym, I grabbed my Seiko.
Unknown Yeah.
James And it's not because I'm worried about necessarily beating up on the Rolex. I took it up Baker twice, but I don't know, like, like at what point did I take it up Baker? Because I wanted it to kind of accompany me up Baker and I don't care about going to the park. So I grabbed something like like my SKX, which is kind of my most faithful, longest standing, never sell it watch. Yeah. This is oddly close to some of the stuff we spoke about in our last episode, but the modern context for that product is different than it was previously. Just like you had said, I had an, uh, an uncle in the Navy and he, he remembers, uh, Rolex subs as being kind of just around.
Unknown Yeah.
James They were not treated as precious items. They were simply the watch that you could pick up from the store that we had access to. And he, even then, you know, many years later, by the time I got to know him and he was, you know, retired at that point, he had no respect for the idea that a Rolex was anything fancy. It was just a well-made product. Yeah. You know, this is a guy that had been in the Navy and then had worked for GM for many years. And he had an idea of a good product and a bad product. And, you know, He saw Rolex in that original capacity, which I thought was, as a budding watch nerd, fascinating. Right, yeah. Because there was no rose-tinted glasses for him. He just remembers them as, you know, they would have been sold next to the pocket knife that you might have needed, or a new belt, or whatever.
Jason Heaton Yeah, sure. It's kind of like the same thing if you look at, again, our analogies to the automotive world. You know, in the U.S., I don't know about Canada, but in the U.S., you know, like a Land Rover Defender, like the Defender 90, which is the one that they imported here for a few years, to find one now, they're just astronomically expensive and just coveted. But you go to, you know, I've been to Sri Lanka several times, you know, the police drive them, farmers drive them all over the U.K., New Zealand. And, you know, they're just as common as, I suppose, I don't know, like a Jeep Wrangler is here or something, or a pickup truck. Same thing with like a Mercedes, you know, like I don't remember what the generation was, but there's a product that in Mercedes badge on the front, most of the world thinks of that as a luxury product, but a taxi driver in Beirut or something might see that as the mark of something that he has to buy and maybe pay a little more for at the beginning, but it's going to run for, you know, half a million miles and he's not gonna have to worry about it. You know, taking that kind of the next step, what modern watches might fill that same place that Rolex did, go back to the 60s and 70s and kind of try to replicate that sense nowadays. I think the obvious first place is to land is maybe Seiko.
James Yeah, certainly the most accessible Seikos, the $200 SKXs, the three $350 SRPs. I think if you're looking today to try and fill the same shoes that somebody would have been then, I think that's what you're looking at. And certainly as Rolex became known as, you know, a good watch.
Unknown Yeah.
James And then I think now you're pushing into maybe Zen.
Unknown Yeah.
James What do you think?
Jason Heaton I think so too. But as you were talking, I was thinking to myself, if you look at old photos of like Navy SEALs in the 70s, they were wearing, you know, maybe a Tudor Submariner or a Rolex Submariner. Nowadays, you see the pictures, they're wearing a G-Shock. Is the G-Shock the new Rolex you know, that pre-baggage Rolex.
James I think it certainly could be in like, uh, uh, like, uh, law enforcement, military. Yeah. Um, you know, you definitely, you definitely see that as ubiquity within those spaces. And I know that's not universal. We have audience members that have written in, uh, from active duty and various stages of duty. and they're deep into watches and maybe they wear a g-shock when they're in the field or on on tour or whichever but yeah beyond that i'm sure that i'm sure that if you're maybe the type that just wants the watch yeah so that it can tell the time and you can see what time it is at night and maybe set an alarm yeah why wouldn't you wear a g-shock right exactly right no but going back to your point about about xin um i think xin is you know i think i mentioned it to you the other day if i were looking for kind of
Jason Heaton the one watch that you could take anywhere in the world and travel with and it could stand up to a lot of abuse and be somewhat useful. I think like something like the Zinn 857 UTC with a, you know, that screwed on rotating bezel and the UTC hand and, you know, the hardened steel case, et cetera, et cetera. That might be the watch. I don't, I don't think it would attract a lot of attention like a Rolex would maybe, especially if you put it on like a NATO strap, you know, it might be a tick up from, from Seiko in terms of, I don't know if I don't want to call it ownership satisfaction, but you know, kind of watch nerd appeal.
James Yeah, I think so.
Jason Heaton You know, um, and, and, and possibly do as good a job as a, as like a Seiko dive watch would do. You know, Doxa is another one that I think of, although it's such a small brand, I don't know that, I mean, I guess that shouldn't matter, but you know, I, I wouldn't hesitate to take this sub 300, you know, just kind of traveling, throw it on a, on a NATO strap.
James But I think the, I think the Doxa would be like an enthusiast's choice. Yeah. I think if you try, if you try and look at what the average guy with a job to do might be strapping on his wrist, I think we might've hit it with something like a G-Shock or a Seiko, uh, you know, EcoDrive Citizen.
Unknown Yeah.
James Right. These are like, you know, you'd pick it up, wear it, wear it every day. And then eventually, sure, maybe it breaks, maybe you drop it. Yeah. You know, it takes a really hard hit. You take it into the store, they go, well, we can fix the crystal, but like the hands are messed up. Yeah. Right. For another $200, you just start over again, you buy another Nighthawk or you buy another one of those Blue Angels chronographs I see on actual pilots wrists all the time.
Unknown Yeah, true.
James And yeah, I mean, there's a lot of compelling watches that are not a fortune, especially if you buy them on sale. And you can find great G-Shocks for 60, 70 bucks if you want the atomic, half that if you don't. And then if you want some more features, you want a ProTrak, you want a Rangeman, something like that. I mean, there's still not a fortune. Yeah. Two, 250 bucks. Right, right. Which, I mean, if we're going to make the case that the average guy or gal with a full-time job conceivably could save up over some period of time to buy a Rolex, you could certainly save up and get the G-Shock of your choice. And it'll, I mean, I don't, I've never heard of anyone having a problem with them, period. Yeah. I guess you could break it. You'd have to work hard. I had a bad tumble on a very steep slope, essentially going hand to hand over branches after I got lost, kind of up on a height called Crown Mountain, north of Vancouver. And I actually twisted my wrist so aggressively to grab it, kind of tarzanning from one branch to another, that the buckle, the spring pin in the buckle broke and the watch fell. 20, 30 feet on various rock and branches. And once I was on stable ground, I kind of scrambled down to get it and it was otherwise fine. I wore it for a while and gave it to my cousin. That was arrangement, you know? Yeah. There's no way the fall that it experienced. I don't know of a single mechanical watch short of, uh, yeah, none. So, I mean, the only watch that comes to mind that could live through that would be like a Victorinox Inox and that's quartz. Oh, right. Yeah. There's another great choice in there.
Jason Heaton Yeah, that's true.
James Yeah. I mean, if you're not a watch guy, but you want to watch that, like you put on and just kind of runs, I think they're really cool even being a watch guy. Yeah. So yeah, I think Seiko, Zen, I could definitely see Doxa if you were like, maybe you were really into diving, so you knew Doxa, so you didn't buy it necessarily because of the watch background, but the diving background.
Jason Heaton Sure.
James I think otherwise it's like a super niche product.
Jason Heaton Yeah. Yeah. And so I think, you know, rather than kind of veer back into our, I think we did an early episode on, you know, what if you could buy one watch to rule them all, what would it be? And what could you wear? Um, I think, uh, you know, that the, the note that the different factors that come into play when you're considering what Rolex was pre baggage, um, kind of dips into that territory of, you know, what are your, what are your criteria? Um, for me, it's, it's a watch that, you know, you, you not only, hope will survive what you're going to put it through, but will also sort of inspire you and keep you interested over the longterm where when you look at your wrist, it kind of, um, you know, keeps you, keeps you interested. Whereas I think that's where like a G-shock falls short for me. I fully agree. Um, but something like a Zen or a Doxa or a Seiko would, would definitely do it for me.
James Yeah, no, I 100% I'm, I'm on that page. I think, uh, I think that's where we would probably close out on the topic. I think both of us would say, though, that if there's a Rolex that catches your eye, you should save up and get one. I'm very happy that I saved up and got one. And the level of risk, especially if you're talking about maybe buying somewhere in the secondhand market, they hold their value really well. So if it's something that you kind of get and you're not that crazy about, they're not that hard to move along.
Jason Heaton if uh certainly if that's the sort of watch collector you are where you're buying and selling uh and you're comfortable within those spaces and there's tons available via very reputable resellers yeah i agree and and you know like you i've been thrilled with with my rolex and and like i said it's the it's the last watch i'll sell if it ever comes to that and uh you know great brand can't say enough good about it i don't think we i think we tried to present sort of an even-handed discussion of it today but you know we'd love to hear from from listeners, what you guys all think. So greynadoe at gmail.com or give us a tag on Instagram.
James All right, you want to button this up with some final notes?
Jason Heaton Yeah, definitely. Got anything good to start us off with?
James Yeah, both of mine are videos this week or video topics. So the first one is just something we've been trading back and forth in Slack is this one specific car reviewer. His name is Henry Catchpole, and he at one point was producing videos and a lot of written stuff with Evo magazine. And he's now with the new website, web presence, social media platform, Drivetribe. So in short, Drivetribe is like a web, a car appreciation website, Facebook sort of thing, started by the guys behind old Top Gear. So Clarkson and May and Hammond. And so they're kind of attached to it as celebrities. And then anyone can kind of go in and start their own DriveTribe. I haven't gone on the site. It doesn't matter. What I can say is they're producing video on YouTube under the DriveTribe umbrella. Henry has some absolutely top quality videos and he's not bombastic. It's kind of more thoughtful. His presenting style is really great. He did a series for Evo about kind of the greatest driving roads. So I'm going to link a handful of these. in the show notes, and they're all really good. You know, there's an amazing one where he goes and finds the best driving roads in Scotland, and he's driving an Aston Martin N430, which is kind of a special version of the Vantage. It's fantastic. It's beautiful. I mean, he goes to the road that we see in the third act of Skyfall, where, you know, Bond and M are getting out of Dodge and heading back to Bond's roots. And he argues, you know, I got a better road for you, and then he shows it. It's great. And I'll link a handful of those. And then I'll also link some of the stuff from the new site with Drivetribe. He's got a great coverage of a SharkWorks Cayman GT4. SharkWorks is like a California-based Porsche tuner. So imagine taking the hottest of the Caymans, the GT4, and just dialing it up to, I guess, 11. All great videos, all super fun. And if you like kind of car reviews, but you're maybe a little stale on the guys that are yelling a lot or constantly trying to be funny or, you know, just aren't, aren't kind of being more thoughtful with the overall presentation. I think Henry Catchpoole may be your in road to some really great car videos because they're just really watchable and he's great at what he does. Uh, I know Jason, you're a, you're, you're something of a fan.
Jason Heaton Oh yeah. I'm so glad you turned me on to him. He's like you said, he's, he's kind of the anti, I don't want to say anti-Clarkson, but he's, he's sort of, he might be, yeah. He, he's so, um, he, he just comes at it with this sort of quiet intellectual sort of nerdy in a nice way, um, kind of delivery. And, and he, you know, he has the look, he's a little bit disheveled. He's, he's, he's, he's a little bookish looking with the glasses. Um, he seems like he's a good driver from what I can see and you know, just, As a bonus, he wears that Speedmaster Pro on a NATO strap when he's doing his reviews, which I think is like the perfect fit for him. It's the perfect fit for what he's doing. And that Scotland video is definitely a great place to start with him because he gives this really sort of quiet, almost meditative sort of discussion about what this road was, this old military road and where it goes and why it appeals to him and then kind of segues into talking about the car. Yeah, I'm a huge fan. So yeah, thanks for turning me on to that. You guys should check it out.
James Yeah, it's a really, really pleasant way of approaching the idea of a great driving road and a great car. And if you're a car guy, I think these are great. You've probably already seen them. But if you haven't hit the show notes and and I'll pass the mic on to Jason. What do you got for for your first final note?
Jason Heaton Yeah. So both yours are both sort of videos. Mine are both long reads. And the first one I have is Uh, it was an article from, from one of our favorite, uh, link out, uh, websites, uh, outside online or outside magazines website. And the title of the article is what happened to Rob Stewart. Rob Stewart was in the news in the past couple of weeks. Uh, it's kind of a sad story. He, he's, uh, kind of well-known in the marine biology and dive community, as well as a filmmaker. He was the guy behind the movie, the documentary a few years ago called Shark Water. which was kind of a call to arms to people about the plight of the shark population in the world and the atrocities being committed against millions of sharks for shark finning and illegal trade and that sort of thing. He kind of presented it in a very bold, not anti-scientific or not less scientific way, In a way that kind of appealed to people to kind of take up arms and pay attention to this stuff. And a few people have attributed the decline in shark finning and the heightened attention, can trace it right back to his Sharkwater movie. Stuart was, he actually just died last week or the week before on a dive off the coast of Florida where he was off working on kind of a follow up film to Sharkwater. And this article in Outside not only kind of goes over, you know, rehashes what the events that led up to his death and kind of what happened when he was diving there, but kind of retraces Stewart's career and what he meant to marine biology and sharks in general. You know, and I think some people that have seen Sharkwater kind of find him a little bit off-putting, maybe a little bit egotistical, and maybe the movie's a little too much about him, but I think You know, for better or for worse, I think what he did was kind of, I don't want to say sexed up, you know, biology or conservation, but he kind of made it kind of cool to kind of care about this stuff. And I think for that, he should be applauded. And when I saw that he died, you know, I've actually dived kind of in the area where he was and, you know, reading the account of what happened, you can It's kind of like reading, there's a magazine called Alert Diver that's put out by the Diver's Alert Network that kind of often does sort of rehashes of accidents and incidents and looks at what went wrong with a specific case and like a diving accident. And that's kind of how this article reads, but then, you know, just looks at Stewart's career and kind of what he meant. And it's a good, it's a good long piece of journalism that came out very shortly after he he died. So we'll link to that and definitely worth a read.
James Yeah, real sad story there. But I read that piece and it's definitely worth your time if you're interested. I mean, if you remember the documentary, or if you're just interested in general in these sorts of things, the guy was really passionate about not only diving, but obviously about sharks and the conservation of these species and ecosystems. And I think He'll definitely be missed. You can see that with some of the outpouring after it was finally announced that he had perished and they hadn't simply lost him at the surface.
Unknown Yeah, definitely.
Jason Heaton So how about something a little more upbeat? What do you have?
James Yeah, a little hard to move on from that, but we'll do our best with it. So mine is actually a concert film on YouTube from an artist called Bon Iver. It's with NPR's Front Row music series. I've been a Bon Iver fan for what feels like a really long time now. I remember listening to Bon Iver and my old Solero. I don't know if many people remember the Olero, but I had essentially the nicest Olero in the world at one point. Oldsmobile, yeah? Yeah, yeah, yeah. The two-door at the... Yeah, that's a cool car. Anyways, it was a fine car and I remember driving around the Muskoka area in Ontario with Bon Iver playing. Late at night, it was... Oh, perfect. I've always kind of held on to a few of those songs and he put out a new album this year, very kind of experimental album, and it's one that I listen to almost daily now. I really, really love it. And then a little while ago, they put out this NPR Front Row Music coverage of a full performance and a handful of some of their older songs as well. And it's, I mean, I can't understate it. It's absolutely fantastic. I love it so much. The music's fantastic, the performance great. It's very under understated in terms of its production. It's very much left to the music. And if you're kind of a fan of Bon Iver or you want to maybe try something new, load this up and see how it lands. I think kind of my favorite four or five songs are at the last third or so of the concert. So you could always jump ahead if some of the more experimental stuff at the top isn't finding a home. Oh man, I really love the new album and I don't get out to see as many concerts as I used to when I lived near Toronto. There were just a lot more shows to see. But YouTube has really stepped up to fill that void with KEXP and stuff like these NPR series and BBC does all their sessions. You can see a lot of artists put out their absolute best show and never leave your couch. Yeah. So if you have a decent pair of headphones and even like I watch, sometimes I'll watch these things like with my cell phone and a nice pair of headphones connected and just enjoy it that way. And, you know, other times on, on kind of a big screen and, and you can really kind of enjoy the concert without any of the struggle to park and, you know, $12 for a beer and somebody bumping into you every 20 seconds and, and that sort of thing. And, and, you know, I think it comes down a little bit to like, we were talking the last time with, uh, going to see movies. Yeah. It's just nicer to watch a movie at home. And I think there's certain things that I'll always want to see live if I can. And I would love to see Bon Iver live. Yeah. But if the alternative is I don't get to see these tapes, then I, you know, I'll take this. I love it. As far as a middle ground between seeing something live and not seeing it at all. I think these are great and they portray the music beautifully. Yeah.
Jason Heaton I thought it was great too. I, I I'm, I'm a little ambivalent about, um, live recordings or live music in general. Oftentimes, more often than not actually, I think I prefer kind of albums or songs as they were recorded in the studio. I just find a lot of times live recordings or performances kind of leave me a little flat. But this one really delivered. I mean it was really really good. So yeah good stuff. Well I've got one last note here and this is actually kind of a fun one Uh, it is an article on watchpatina.com called salvaged diver. And, uh, the article is actually about, um, a guy who finds, uh, a vintage Doxa Teagraph. Hey. And what was really cool is I just stumbled upon this article through either Facebook or Instagram or something. And, uh, lo and behold, here's a mention of the gray NATO. Um, the author had been, uh, listening to our show a while back when I had I discussed finding my old Sea Rambler Teagraph and how much I loved it. Actually, it's not the author, it was the subject of the story. Sorry, it's a guy named Matt who is a listener of the show and he decided he's going to set out to kind of hunt around for a vintage Doxa. And he searches on one of the auction sites and comes across, lo and behold, a Sub 200 Teagraph. even stranger is that the Teagraph that he's found that's up for auction is actually located near him. So he's actually able to go and check it out in person, gets really excited about it, bids on it and ends up winning the auction. And what was really funny is that it was being auctioned by like one of these kind of estate sale, you know, aggregators or somebody who would kind of had this collection of old watches and stuff from somebody's estate and was just kind of selling it off piece by piece. There was like an old Casio and a vintage Seiko 6105 in the mix. But he won this Shark Hunter Black Dial Teagraph, of which, you know, there are very few of those around. It looks so good. It does look good. The dial's a little bit kind of spiderwebbed, it looks like, and it's got just the right amount of patina. But, you know, fun to see that it was inspired by something we talked about on the show. You know, big congrats to Matt for winning that auction and I hope you just enjoy the heck out of that watch and certainly check out the article. It was written by Nick Federowitz on Watchpatina and we'll pop a link in and you can take a look at those awesome photos of this beautiful watch. So that's where we're going to leave it. That's my last note.
James As always, thanks so much for listening. Hit the show notes for more details. You can follow us on Instagram at Jason Heaton and at J.E. Stacey. And you can follow the show at TheGreyNado. If you have any questions for us, please write TheGreyNado at gmail.com. We've gotten a ton of emails recently. You know, I think people really liked the discussion in episode 27. So let's keep that going. I'll reply to every single email that we get. And please subscribe and review wherever you find your podcasts or grab the feed from TheGreyNado.com. Music throughout is Siesta by Jazzer via the free music archive.
Jason Heaton And until next time we leave you with this quote from the romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley who wrote, Away away from men and towns to the wild wood and the downs to the silent wilderness where the soul need not repress its music.