The Grey NATO – 292 – Drafting Summer Watches (And A New UDT!)

Published on Thu, 11 Jul 2024 06:00:00 -0400

Synopsis

This podcast episode discusses summer watches. The hosts draft different watch recommendations for various summer scenarios like going on a diving vacation, needing a watch for the office and weekends, or just the ultimate summer watch. They also discuss some new watch releases like the Momentum UDT Eclipse Solar and the Christopher Ward C65 Super Compressor.

Transcript

Speaker
Henry Catchpole Hello and welcome to a hijacking of the grey NATO, a loose discussion of travel, adventure, diving, driving, gear and most certainly watches. My name is Henry Catchpole and I'm with fellow TGN guest alumnus Cole Pennington.
Unknown Hey there y'all.
Unknown So we probably should dive straight into where we are.
Unknown We should, let's get right out front. We are in Silverstone. England. It's just started raining, because everyone will ask. Yeah, I mean quintessentially British weather here.
Unknown Exactly, yes. We're standing on the stairwell, so I can tell the audio will already be driving James absolutely crazy from this.
Unknown Yeah, sometimes you gotta give us some room here. Perfectionism is overrated.
Unknown Well, exactly, yeah. It has been cool to see.
Unknown I mean, I've been working with the team, sort of, for a while, but this is my first time getting down in the dirt, seeing the cars, meeting the drivers, so forth. So, what do you think? Good experience for you too, yeah?
Unknown It was amazing, yeah. I was at Le Mans a couple of weeks ago and then coming here it's incredible to see just how much more polish I think there is to everything, how much more sort of it's just the next level up. Talking to Peter Beyer, he's the very senior guy, he's exactly down at Visa, Cash App, RB. That's right. That's right, VCAR. Yeah, VCAR, yeah. And he was saying, yeah, it's almost like Le Mans is this massive sort of club race compared to F1, which is crazy really.
Unknown That's next on my list for next year.
Unknown Yeah, yeah, absolutely. We should probably dive into a risk check, shouldn't we? Yes, we should. So, shall I go first?
Unknown Well, we kind of have something similar, but you go first.
Unknown You go first.
Unknown No, you go first, because then I've got a new one. All right. I have the first ever Metis certified watch from Tudor, which is the Black Bay ceramic. And I wore this for a very special reason. It's because, well, now there's a new one.
Unknown Which is on my wrist. That's right. Which is the one that people have probably seen on Daniel Ricciardo's wrist since the beginning of the season. And this is now the one that people can actually buy. That's right, yeah. Which has the Visa blue dial. Exactly. The gunmetal surrounds to the blue ones. Yeah. I loved it when I saw it on Daniel's wrist.
Unknown It's striking. And there's a reason for it, which is You know, it's not just making a watch, it's the VVs of blue. There's also one other interesting note that I've been seeing people say, why are we doing a dive watch for a driving partnership? There's one little historical tidbit that I wanted to share too. Back in the 60s, Tudor sponsored a team in Japan who ran the Fuji 1000. And they had their own race team, Tudor Time Machines race team. They were campaigning in Porsche 906. And at the time, they were all issued Submariners. So the Submariner was really the Tudor sub, of course. Yeah. Was the watch of that racing team back then. Wow. So kind of interesting that now you have the spiritual successor to that in the form of the Blackbird. So there is some historical precedent for that. And it's, of course, ceramic, so high-tech material.
Unknown Yeah, exactly. All that sort of stuff. Yeah, I absolutely, I think it's great that it's coming from one of those things. It's not only I think you said it before, it's that kind of thing, so the junior can kind of have that bit more fun in it. It's really fun to look at. The other thing I like is the strap, because when you had the junior, the other guys here got the NATO, and I'm like, I love a NATO, and I'm like, I don't know, is it right? And I mean, wearing the strap, I actually really rather enjoyed it, it's the kind of leather, leather combo. That's very cool. Yeah, it's very cool. So yeah, that's wrist check from me. from here. One other thing that you told me, which I was really keen to know, is the FXD, the original blue one, because I was thinking the blue, because this is just a bit darker, sort of, it's still matte isn't it, but it's just a little bit darker than the blue on the original.
Unknown It is, so this comes from Visa, so it's not even a Tudor decision on what blue this is.
Unknown No, and it was the blue, I think I told you that originally when they set Visa up, The thing I didn't know was that, I'd heard rumour but never had it confirmed, that The FXD that gets issued to Marine Nationals and the two-line one comes in the Destro as well, because I wear watches on my right wrist, so I was always just really keen to know that that does actually exist out there.
Unknown Because, obviously, it's a piece of issued kit, right, so them being right or left-handed matters. This isn't just a luxury product, so they can actually choose their configuration.
Unknown We probably shouldn't take up too much of their time.
Unknown Thank you, Jason and James.
Unknown Yeah, absolutely. Shall we put a bow on it, as James likes to say? Yeah, let's put a bow. Let's put a bow and wrap it. Yeah, exactly, wrap it. Okay, well I've got one quote to finish. The final quote, instead of the final note, which is when Sterling Moss was asked if he still got nervous before a race, he replied, I still get the butterflies in my stomach, but I've got them flying in formation now. Oh, that's a good one.
Unknown Good ending note.
Jason Heaton All right. There you've got it. The first ever fully remote intro. from our good buddies Henry and Cole at Silverston this past weekend at the GP. Jason, I woke up this morning to just an audio file from Henry saying, I hope the audio quality is okay. And I was like, Oh, maybe it's going to be like cars driving past on the track or, you know, something cool. And then I realized it was like, you know, like almost six minutes long and I clicked play while making my first cup of coffee. And I just started giggling these two These two absolute gems putting down a mini TGN episode from Silverstone. Big shout out to our buddies Cole Pennington from Tudor and who's been on the show many times and certainly to Henry Catchpole who's also been on the show before and will be on again, hopefully sometime in the next little while. But man, what a treat.
Cole Pennington Yeah. I mean, thanks guys for doing that, making our job easy. I think job done. We can jump right into final notes and call it a week. I mean, that's great.
Jason Heaton Yeah, that's so much fun. Huge thank you for that. Really fun way to start off Episode 292. Look, I mean, the tone of this show is largely about summer. We just got an audio, an unprompted and very cool audio recording right from the 12th race of the season, the middle of the season for Formula One. It was a pretty exciting race, too. Had a good time. And then, yeah, it corresponds with Tudor launching the kind of production version of the V-Carb BB. which I think is fun. I can certainly put that in the show notes. But we've got a bunch of stuff to talk about today. The main topic is summer watches. We're going to do a little draft into a handful of sort of summery scenarios. But that should be fun. But, you know, we've got a bunch going on. And the main thing, I guess, is this will come out the day before Jason and I start our pilgrimage to one of the watch meccas of the summer. And that's Chicago.
Cole Pennington Yeah. And it promises to be another scorcher. I mean, I looked at the weather and it's like it never fails now. This is the the third year we've been to wind up and it's always like, you know, mid nineties and, and, and proper hot summer in the city kind of weather. Um, but I guess, uh, you know, that's what you get. And, uh, yeah, you mentioned it's, it's kind of a summer themed episode. And, and when we were talking about, um, today's recording, I was like, you know, we haven't really done a summer watch episode yet, but here we are like almost midway through July. And it seems a little crazy. I'm, I'm, you know, hesitant to say it, but, but summer is, is flying by. Um, so it's, it's high time to do this.
Jason Heaton Yeah, it's really cooking along. Obviously, we're huge fans of summer watches. It's a great time of the year to wear a big watch. It's a great time of the year to explore color and maybe more of a vacation feel to your watch, right? Yeah. Take a vacation from your problems, to quote one of my favorite Bill Murray films. Yeah, there's kind of like a ton going on this week. because we have wind up coming up. It's going to be incredible. We've got this hangout with citizen that a handful of the crew is going to be at, but we'll be at the show for, for a good part. Maybe now, especially because it'll be fresh. Maybe even people will be listening to this as we, as they drive or commute to Chicago for the show. Do you want to get people like a, a really short rundown of what to expect as to when we'll be there? Cause it's largely straightforward for me. We're not there Friday. Right. We both get into town on Friday and then I'll be at the show Saturday afternoon. I'm considering a little field trip in the morning in around lunchtime. But then you won't be at the show Saturday afternoon, right?
Cole Pennington Correct. Yeah. I get in kind of later on Friday and then we're going to meet up for what's become a tradition, our sushi dinner on Friday evening. I'm looking forward to that. Can't wait. And then Saturday the show opens at noon and I will be there probably right at the beginning just for probably the first hour. I'm booked on this dive charter with a few folks for the wind up in a lake event out in Lake Michigan. We're going to do another rec dive, have a little onboard music from a very special guest, uh, that's been booked for that. And, uh, and then we're doing like a little bit of a sunset cruise, um, to finish it off. So I'm kind of my Saturday afternoon is pretty well booked with, uh, with aquatic adventures. Um, but then Sunday morning is, is when we're all going to meet up and that is back at venue West, uh, at windup. And for those who were able to get in on the RSVP list, our, again, our apologies at how quickly that filled up, but we should have a really good turnout for that. Um, we will be doing kind of that bit of a hangout, a light breakfast and a short presentation and giveaway from citizen, our partners in the event. And then, uh, that goes from 10 until 11 and then at 11 until 12, We get to kind of spring everybody loose before the show even opens officially to wander the floor and visit the brands without having to battle the crowds that'll no doubt show up when the show opens at 12 o'clock.
Jason Heaton Yep. Yeah. No, I think it's going to be great. And then we'll be there for Sunday afternoon. After that, we are recording an episode of kind of the, you know, the, this will be the third in the trilogy of like co episodes between the worn and wound podcast and TGN. So I believe that's at one o'clock, but just pay attention to the slack and to, um, the program for, for windup as that, that, that time is just being resolved as we're recording this. It should be set up in the next little while, but that one for anyone who's not there, or if you're busy doing other things at the show, you'll be able to listen to the audio. No big deal. Um, but if you'd like to be part of it, uh, check that out. It is a pretty early on Sunday afternoon is the current time slot. I think about one o'clock. Yeah. and then we'll be at the show until it's essentially time to go to the airport
Cole Pennington you know, the back was full of boxes of t-shirts that we were selling at the show.
Jason Heaton Yeah. Well, the first year we ran it, we were in a table with Sarah and Gashani.
Cole Pennington It was great. Yeah. And I will tell you, um, that just about killed me driving, uh, in Chicago traffic last year in, in the heat with no air conditioning or, uh, or an automatic transmission. So I opted for a different transport this year. And, and part of me wanted to take the train. I know our buddy, Matt Ludwigson is hopping the train and hats off to him. I can't wait to hear how that goes. Um, but kind of given some timing issues, uh, I opted for a cheap flight into Midway airport. So yeah, I'm in, in Friday night out, uh, Sunday evening. So kind of a quick turnaround, but there's a lot packed in the middle of that should be fun.
Jason Heaton Yeah. And I, we were just talking before we started recording that I'm intent. I'm currently thinking I'm going to go ultra light for this trip. Just one backpack and, uh, and deal with it. I have, I have some stuff to bring for you, which I'll have to find a little bit of space for maybe carried on my person as a second bag. But I'm pumped to do this. I want to leave a little bit of space for goodies that I might buy at the show. I always end up bringing a few things home. And it's always a good time and a chance to see some stuff in person that you don't get to see otherwise. So that's been great. Also talking about new stuff, we're recording this the day that Momentum is launching the new UDT. And this is kind of a big announcement. Momentum, you know, it's a little bit of a quiet thing unless you're tied into what's going on with their Instagram and their web page and the rest of it. And this is actually We're recording just a couple of hours before they open the pre-order for the new UDT. So Jason, have you been over some of the press materials for this? I have.
Cole Pennington Again, it's a little... There's not a ton available. It's a little scant. The official name, it looks like they're calling it the Eclipse Solar UDT. And in that name is obviously a clue as to one big departure from the original UDT. But I guess before we dive into that, let's give a quick bit of background on why this came about and what the UDT is in general. The background is that Momentum, the Canadian brand, I believe that there's some connection with St. Moritz watch company. I don't know if they're the same brand.
Jason Heaton St. Moritz is the main company that I believe controls Momentum. They're two watch brands, but I think Momentum became the front runner and St. Moritz is the holding company. I could have some of the terminology wrong, but I think that's accurate. But yeah, the Simon, the owner of Momentum St. Moritz, previously owned Kronosport. And not that long ago, and we talked about this on the show, but a year ago, maybe a little bit more, they launched the Cquartz 30, which is a recreation of a Kronosport, very famously worn early on by Magnum PI. and others. And now the audience, Momentum's audience, has been begging for them to recreate the Kronosport UDT. And the new model, which again is called a UDT Eclipse Sync Solar, is kind of an amalgamation, if you will, if you're really deep into the UDT stuff of a Type 1 and a Type 2 UDT. So there's no seconds hand, and the handset is different. It's not the bar style hand, like the little pin thin white hands, these have loom on them, which I think is actually a pretty smart decision to have one that's luminous, because I don't believe, at least from none of the materials they've sent so far, and the press materials are very limited, but from what they've sent before so far, it's an Epson source movement, so a Seiko adjacent movement, but I don't believe there's a backlight on the screen, which again would make the Arnie quite a unique position, if we're talking anodigy, and we should do a whole anodigy episode at some point, maybe once we both have one of these on our wrist. Yeah. So yeah, they fitted a solar movement from Epson, which is the AB12A, and you get all the standard feature sets, secondary time zone, one one hundredth of a second chronograph, alarm, date, hourly chime, it does a low battery alert. But the interesting thing here is one, solar, I think that's a big win for everybody, and two, This model offers synchronized time, so you only ever set the time on the digital display and then the hands update. I love that. Yeah, exactly. I mean, like that sounds like relatively nothing, and I'm sure there's people in the audience that love their G Shock Casio that do this kind of stuff. But for a watch such as this, something in the UDT vibe or the aerospace vibe or even the Aqualand, you have to... With each one of these watches, I've had to develop my own like checklist of how to sink everything. Yeah, I know, because I really like it, especially on the Aqualand, which is we'll get to risk check in a moment, but that's what I have on my wrist. But with the Aqualand, I really love that I can set it to the second display and watch it like hack with the second hand.
Unknown It's fun. Yeah, I know.
Jason Heaton Yeah. The major story here is it's a 42 mm steel Monin style case, 11.7 thick, 47 lug to lug, and I think the part that people are going to be surprised by is the price point is 295 bucks on the pre order. I don't know how many they'll pre order. I don't know how long the pre order will be available. We don't have all that kind of information, but even after the pre order, you're looking at a standard price of $369. So I mean less than a scuba 50 significantly less than a scuba 50 not or not insignificantly less than a scuba 50 and at 295 about the same as a moon swatch and you're getting a steel watch with a you know, relatively modern courts and a digi movement. I'm just I'm super pumped for this. Yeah, they offered a loaner to each of us. So I'm hoping we'll have a loaner. I'm still considering buying one. Yeah, same in an hour and 15 minutes. Yeah, just because I don't really want to miss my chance. Yeah, yeah. And at $295 I don't think that they're shooting for exclusivity. I think that we're talking about a small company trying to figure out how many of these they actually need to make, because these are a niche thing. The Sea Quartz 30, you could sell that in dive shops all over Canada and the States, like Momentum's... Most of Momentum's business, that's how they operate, like right in dive shops. But I think with this, it's a much more esoteric sort of offering. I think it makes a lot of sense for TGN, but not necessarily for the wide world of watch enthusiasm. It's a little bit more niche and cool that way. We definitely have a lot of anti-digi nerds on the slack, which I love. But yeah, I'm So, so pumped for this watch.
Cole Pennington Yeah. Same here. And I think, you know, aesthetically if you're not familiar with kind of the generations of UDT that were made back in the, in the seventies and eighties actually probably just the eighties they had kind of a type one configuration and a type two that had kind of slightly different nuances, but, but this one definitely kind of falls in, I would say the type one kind of vibe. And it's a pretty close approximation. I mean, I think obviously the case shape is the same, The bezel to my eye looks a little kind of a little bit wider. And now it's ceramic. And now it's ceramic. Yes. And of course, gone is the Chronosport logo, but they've got the Momentum logo as they should. And then it's a bit of a larger digital display at the bottom. And there isn't a pusher on the lower right, which the original type one had. So I think it looks fantastic. It comes on a number of different strap options. I'm just looking. They've got what they call a hyper rubber, which I guess for ease of explanation, more similar to what's on an Aqua land, especially like an old school Aqua land with the big accordion and then they've got, they've got two Tropic rubbers. They've got one in red and one in black. They have a sand Zulu nylon, which is I guess kind of like a NATO strap. It almost has that sort of kind of textured woven look to it. Not unlike, you know, some of the, the NATOs that have come on tutors in the past and then a black version of the same. So, Yeah. For my money, like if I'm just going to order, pick one of these, I go for the hyper rubber. I've got enough tropics I could swap onto it, but there's something about that hyper rubber with that the flat vents that just give it this chunky, very businesslike look to it.
Jason Heaton Yeah, I totally agree. I couldn't care less which strap I get. I will buy whichever one I can get my hands on. But if I get my pick, it would be that the the black hyper rubber. I think that's the coolest look. Yeah. It kind of underlines the 80s appeal of the watch. in a way that I don't think in NATO or certainly the Tropic, which is so much more mid-century in its presentation. But yeah, so I mean, I think by the time this episode comes out, I wouldn't be surprised if the watch isn't available anymore. I just don't know how many they're gonna pre-order. And you remember, it was genuinely difficult to get a Seacourts 30 for about six months. Yeah, true. Yeah. The price point was incredible. The watch was great. Still a watch I recommend to people. We're talking summer watches, great summer watch sort of scenario. But yeah, I did want to underline this because I think it's a deeply TGN watch and I don't know how often I get to get really excited about watches that are so affordable. I know. I know. Yeah, don't get me wrong. I would actually I would actually say like Jason. What do you think like a $300? That's right at the probably the top end of what a non watch enthusiast might think is expensive. Yeah, but I do think that numbers moved a bit because of the Apple watch.
Cole Pennington Yeah, I think you're right. And I think yeah, people are more used to spending eight, $900 on like a smartwatch or, you know, even more than that for anything like a Garmin, a Sunto, an Apple watch. So yeah, this suddenly seems incredibly affordable and it is by any measure. I think for any watch nerd, I mean, we're talking old, old days, kind of Seiko SKX territory, especially at that, that special pre-order price. I mean, this is.
Jason Heaton You're, you're kind of getting close to it. Yeah. Right. I mean like really, I think my SKX was under 200 Canadian. Yeah. So there was an era, but that didn't last. Right. Right. I just like, you know, I'm not a, we've talked about this tons. I'm not a huge moonswatch fan. I love the scuba 50. And I think in this, you're getting everything that, that people might complain about the scuba 50 at 400 bucks us or whatever it is. Yeah. Everything that somebody might complain about the plastic case, it's not serviceable. You can't do this. You can't do that. This fixes all of that. And I think it It doesn't look like a Blancpain, so it's not gonna be as popular, it just won't be. But I do think that for a certain metric of people, especially if you want a quartz watch, you want your grab and go watch with a bunch of functionality. This is also one of those sorts of watches where every scratch is only gonna make it look better. We can only imagine, if you think down the road, if you don't need another black dial sports watch. It's also 200 meters water resistant if you close the caps on the pushers. So it's a proper dive watch if that's what you want it for. But there'll be other colors, right? Yeah. Like you imagine this with an orange dial or just in steel. Totally. Without the black iron plating. I'm pretty pumped for this. I don't know what the scenario will be when the watch actually launches. So this isn't a heads up because it'll be too late. This watch comes out in like two hours. But it is something I wanted to bring up on the show because we've missed some releases recently. And this is one that I'm genuinely pumped for, will happily spend my own money on. And I think it's a nice way to kind of kick off the idea of a summer watch is like this is a watch that would absolutely look rad, you know, with, you know, swim trunks and a Hawaiian shirt, you know, having a beer after a dive.
Cole Pennington Yeah, totally. Totally. And I mean, it is a quintessential summer watch. I could have included this in our draft today, but it looks like if you order it this week during the pre-order, the first production, it says it ships by mid-September. So Maybe next summer, but certainly just barely around.
Jason Heaton Yeah, exactly. So plenty warm up here by September. So yeah, yeah, we like to stretch that. But yeah, so that's, that's the new UDT, uh, keep an eye out for that. I'm sure there'll be tons of chats on it, on, on the Slack. They've got a bunch of other anti-digi stuff going on in there as well. So that's been good. You look, let's get into some risk check in a minute, but before we get there and, and onto the summer watch draft, what else have you been up to?
Cole Pennington Yeah. I mean, just real quick, uh, I, I finally bit the bullet and made a very boring purchase, but one that was necessary. I got the new iPhone 15 pro. Um, you know, we don't talk a lot about phones or tech necessarily on this show. Um, I find a phone and incredibly boring way to spend totally what, what is now about a thousand dollars, but I needed it. My, my iPhone 11 was getting long in the tooth and I was just having a lot of like weird issues with it mainly because I had it so full of junk from, you know, owning it for five years and was filling up. It was just time to. to move on. Plus I wanted the nicer cameras in the 15 pro and you know, I, I took my 11 diving out in Monterey last week, uh, inside the oceanic housing and you know, the photos are fine, but like, I'm just really dying to, to throw the 15 in that housing and I'll take it to, uh, to Chicago this week for, for wind up in the lake instead of the big camera I took last year. So, uh, should be fun. And then also related to dive related stuff, I guess. Um, Suunto actually reached out to me. You know, I was a long time Suunto guy. I still have a Vector and I used to use Suunto dive computers before jumping over to the Garmin world. But Suunto has a new dive computer slash sports watch called the Ocean that looks incredibly full featured. And they reached out and asked if they could send me one to try out. And, uh, I, I said, yes, if you can get it to me this week, I'll take it to test out in Lake Michigan on Saturday. So I should have that with me, assuming it arrives this week. And, uh, I'm excited to kind of check it out and compare it to my experiences with the descent. I, the descent mark two that I have, uh, is, is pretty hard to beat. So it'll be interesting to kind of see what Sunto is up to these days, but, uh, yeah, that's kind of where I'm at. Otherwise I've just been kind of, you know, taking, taking a week off between between trips. I feel like every two weeks I've been on a plane. So I've been trying to get stuff done around here for the past 10 days or so. So nice. Yeah. Yeah. And you, you got something new too.
Jason Heaton Yeah, yeah, yeah. I did. I, before I get to that in just a second, I am really pumped to see this center ocean. Super thrilled that you got it. It was on my list of brands like to reach out to. I'm just having, I'm so far behind on actual watch writing these days that I'm scared to like ask to borrow a watch and then have it be way too late to, to cover it. Yeah, but it looks awesome. I can't wait to hear what you think of it and even just to check it out from like a hardware standpoint because I know the Garmin stuff so well. It's a cool brand and I'm pumped to see what you think of it. So that's that's rad. Yeah, as far as my last little while like since we recorded the last episode, obviously was like a holiday mixed holiday weekend. We had July 1st Canada Day, then we July 4th Independence Day in the state. So on the 4th because her dinky was largely closed. I just had to I could manage things mostly from my phone. took the family to the zoo. My parents, my kids, everybody went. It was a really good time, but I figured I might bite the bullet and buy a lens I genuinely didn't need for work. I've been enjoying trying to take photos of birds at my cottage and in my backyard, and it gives me... It's a whole non-watch way of thinking of photography. Yeah. And so I'd done a little bit of research and dug around and found this Sigma 100-400. Yeah. So it's a very long lens, but it's quite compact, not too heavy, native mount with the SL2. So it's the part of the L-mount alliance. And you look, we're not here to review a lens. And I also think this is a fairly esoteric lens depending on what you want to do. It's not good for vacation. It's not good for shooting watches. I might be able to use it for things like cars. We'll see later this summer. I have a big event I'm going to for that, and I'll probably take it along. But if you want to see some of the photos from that, I dropped a bunch into the Slack. from the zoo, and I think a few of them turned out pretty well. I had a really good day at the zoo. It was crazy hot, but otherwise, it was just awesome to be there and stroll around with my family and take some photos and probably start doing that pretty often, because it's not that far from my house. The zoo's as close as any of the hiking trails I could go to. Nice. But this way, I could walk around the zoo and get my photos in and that kind of thing. And it's a nice way to keep the brain sharp on an entirely different type of photography.
Cole Pennington Yeah, that's amazing. I mean, I, I think, you know, I, the longest lens I think I've ever used, I think I've got a 300 and I'm always struck by, um, how, you know, how it just brings stuff in so close that's far away. But like, if you're close to anything, it's like useless. So, I mean, I guess the 100 allows you to, you know, if you wanted to.
Jason Heaton Yeah, right, right. Sorry, photograph a person. Yeah, yeah, right. You know that that term doesn't translate that well. But yeah, but yeah, other than that, to be honest, like a lot of this week, I'm just I feel like I am genuinely just kind of killing time before I get to leave on Friday. I leave I leave just just at the end of the workday. Like I said, I'm hoping to be like super lightweight. on the packout and that sort of thing and keep things really easy, get there easy. Hopefully the flights and everything go well and I'm there, you know, Friday afternoon or Friday evening and pretty pumped to see everybody at the show. And otherwise it's going to be, I think it's going to be a great weekend, but yeah, maybe time to jump into some risk check.
Cole Pennington Yeah, I think so. I mean, I think a pretty, pretty easy one for both of us here. Um, we, we, as we mentioned, we're, we're partnering with a citizen for our Sunday activity at wind up on, uh, this coming weekend and, and we're both kind of, suited and suited and booted, so to speak for that, uh, today, um, I have my vintage Aqua land on, this is actually from the first year of production. It's an 85, 1985 Aqua land that looks remarkably good for its age. Um, and I've got it on, on the, you know, the, the, the flat vent, uh, no deco marked, uh, rubber strap that, that it came on and, and just love this thing. I'll be taking it diving on Saturday and, uh, kind of fits with our, our Anna digi. vibe that we got going here today. And I think you've got a descendant of this watch on your wrist as well.
Jason Heaton I do. Yeah. I'm also... I've been really wearing my Aqualand a ton. I wore it all last week and over the weekend. And part of that is because I'm in like a wind up... For me, it's like a very much a wind up watch. Yeah. So I've been wearing that. But the other thing that really led me to wear a bunch and really not take it off my wrist is I found a new strap for it. And I'm not generally a huge fan of teasers, but I'm gonna make this the final notes. It's a remarkably excellent strap and it's $7. So stay tuned for final notes where I will talk about that strap. But yeah, I'm wearing the JP2717W, which is the Lume Dial Aqualand. It's probably my most favorite watch made in the last few years, maybe with the exception of the Pelagos 39. I just think this watch is an endless amount of charm and I really love... The more I wear it, I love that most people, even most watch nerds don't care for it. Yeah, like it is an absolute niche. I think it's gorgeous. I think it's kind of brutalist and fun. I love the loom dial. I love having quick access to the chronograph and that sort of thing. Obviously, I don't in my world. I don't know that I need the depth sensor, but I kind of like the way it looks. Yeah, yeah. And then the last thing and we say this all the time and I don't think it makes any difference. If you're talking about an old one, that's you know, 37 years old or whatever, or a brand new one. It is the best wearing big watch in existence. Yeah. So you wanna throw a big watch on your wrist and kind of do that if that's the summer move or whatever. This is a great option. They're not... I still think they're quite fairly priced at about $500. Yeah. And they also make a version that's steel with a blue dial, which I haven't seen in person, but who knows, maybe this weekend, which is also a winner. So that's our extended shout out for the AquaLand
Cole Pennington Oh, I forgot about the blue dial steel one.
Jason Heaton I'd like to mention that for sure. Yeah. I mean, if it's the kind of thing, like if they have it, it might be a problem.
Cole Pennington You know, quick note here, um, since you did mention a new strap and I will wait to kind of expound on that in the final notes. Cause I, my, my Amazon cart is full since you sent me the link to this, um, is, uh, you know, for my, uh, JP 2007, my kind of black loom dial one that you're wearing today. Um, you know, finding a new strap for a 24 millimeter watch, um, is no small task. And so I'm glad you found this one. But what I was trying to do is I had a spare one of the old style, um, kind of accordion rubber with the no deco markings. And I was like, I want to put that on that watch, but it always bothers me when the finish of the, of the hardware on, on the strap doesn't match the watch itself. So I took the, I took all that off that old strap and I, um, I sprayed it with a black plastic dip the other day. hoping that it would kind of, you know, and I put a couple of coats on and waited and whatever. And then when I put it back on, it was just enough of a thick coating that the little, what do you call it? The pin of the buckle, I couldn't fit it properly through the holes in the strap. And it just peeled the plaster dip right off as I was pushing it through. So maybe a failed experiment. I might keep fiddling with that to see if I can get that to match.
Jason Heaton But, uh, we've, we've got a couple of guys on the Slack who've had whole watches black. yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, That's rad, though. If you want to check out my aqualand or see this strap when we get to it at the end of the episode, this is what I'll have on my wrist for the weekend in Chicago. So do do swing by and check it out. I even briefly considered like buying ten of these straps because they're seven bucks. Yeah. And then just having them every every aqualand I came across just giving giving one out. So that's still, you know, I don't again that's not packing so lightly if I'm bringing ten straps with me. Um, but yeah, it should, should be pretty good. And, uh, yeah, I, I, I just adore this watch, man. It's just, I love it. Yeah. It's not an easy one to recommend to people. It has to go to the right person. They have to be, you have to be in the right headspace for this sort of watch, but I, I just, I dig it so much.
Cole Pennington And I have a feeling it's going to pop up somewhere in what we're about to do here, which is our summer watch draft, but I will, uh, I'll see how that goes.
Jason Heaton So yeah, let's jump into the summer watch draft for 2024. This is something I was kind of kicking around, but I didn't come up with a solution yet. And then I realized that making it like five mini drafts, each one is its own scenario. Each one would have one watch selection is going to be kind of the way that we do it. So we'll each have a chance to draft a watch into a given scenario, these kind of summer related scenarios. And then the only real rule here is the price is dictated by the scenario, but only a given watch can't be picked by more than one person. So if Jason picks an aquiline for one of his replies, I can't pick it for mine for that scenario, if that makes sense. Yeah. So Jason, who do you think we should have go first for these? I'm going to let you go first. Oh, okay. All right. I'll take it.
Cole Pennington Sure. Yeah. Yeah. I'm gonna let you go first. Yeah. And I like these scenarios. I like this format for a draft. I think we should revisit this in the future for a few different kind of themes because it's kind of cool to have these, these little kind of storylines for each. So.
Jason Heaton Yeah. And I think it gives us a chance to get kind of out of our the normal mode. Yeah. I mean, don't get me wrong. Some of the answers I have on my cheat sheet here are my normal mode, but it allows you to kind of think outside of that, of that arc. So yeah. Why don't you kick it off with a description of scenario one.
Cole Pennington Scenario one. Okay. It's May. All right. So a couple of months ago and your friend who always wears an Apple watch wants to pick up a new watch that is quote unquote dumber, but not to the point of being useless. They want functionality, but would like a break from some of the more intense features and distractions of a smartwatch. The price should be around or less than. an Apple watch.
Jason Heaton All right. What are you going to, what are you going to advise? So that gives a scenario one. And I kicked this one off cause this is one I actually get. I'll be taught. Usually it's not somebody else in the watch world. They're in it enough for like they're an enthusiast and they know what else is out there. Even if they love an Apple watch, which is fine, but it'll be a family member and they know that I know watches or like watches and they'll say, I have an Apple watch, but I am, I want something else for my weekend. So I don't want the phone buzzing or the rest of it. But you know, it, it's tough because, If the Apple Watch is staying for the weekend, you could suggest all sorts of watches for the week, but on the weekend, you need a certain type of watch, right? And the other layer to this is I think it's something kind of summary. That's the whole point of the draft, so we're gonna try and pick into the summary element. And I looked around a lot. This was the one I did the most research for, Scenario 1, and I came across a watch that somehow is on discount, so we're talking $88. Wow. Wow. It's a great looking watch, super useful, has a nice function set. Keeping in today's grander theme, it is an analog DigiWatch. Okay. Anti-DigiWatch. And this is the Casio G-Shock GA2100 with the translucent case. GA2100. The SKE7A. I can send you a link. Oh, I see. Oh my gosh.
Cole Pennington Oh, you've got it? I think so.
Jason Heaton Hold on. I would say this one isn't one that I'm, you know, obviously we're picking it for this hypothetical friend. This is not so much my style. Whoa. Yeah. But I really like this watch. I wish I could pull it off. The transparent case gives me a little bit of swatch, right? Yeah. And you still get a nice black, crisp, easy to read dial, and then you get a negative LCD. And while I'm normally a guy that's a positive LCD sort of nerd, when the screen is this small and the screen on these Casio Royal Brokes, whatever you wanna call them, are so small, I think that it's genuinely easier to read in the negative sense, like this one, where the characters are lit up and the background is black rather than the other way around, like your normal screen. I really like these. They make the clear case back in two other versions, like a 5600, and then I think... I don't know what the reference is. It's not a 6900, but this is the coolest one. And it's $88 right now. And I think for 88 bucks, if you wanted something that wasn't an Apple watch, but still had a few extra features, you could time a run. If you went on a run, you could watch the barbecue. Like it's got a chronograph, it's got a couple other things that are useful and it's still 200 meters water resistance. So you don't take it off regardless of what you're doing. And I think the, this is summary without leaning into all the color.
Unknown Yeah.
Jason Heaton Like they obviously make two hundred other versions of this watch. You could go gold, you can go with tons of color, you can go with all black but like color on the hands and markers. There's a bunch of different ways to do this but this in my mind would be the starting point and at $88 it's like the price of a strap for your Apple Watch. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Cole Pennington Maybe a little bit more. That's a surprise pick. I was not expecting you to go with that one. I thought for sure you'd Go with the Aqualand on this one, but I get it. I think this is... But you can't recommend an Aqualand to a friend.
Jason Heaton Yeah, that's true. I don't think. Coming from an Apple Watch, I think this is way more tractable.
Cole Pennington Yeah. And I like that you chose the kind of translucent case because I think you're right. It lends a summery kind of lighter vibe visually than kind of a black, typical black G-Shock sort of thing.
Jason Heaton Yeah. And they make them with, you know, they make one that's in full yellow as well. Like the old frog man look. Yeah. Yeah. Which I really like. Yeah. Um, but that feels very intense. Whereas, you know, if you're coming from an Apple watch, I think this aligns quite nicely. Yeah. Currently $88. So if you're going to pull the trigger now seems like an okay time. I think standard is 110 bucks. Wow. Wow. It's a lot of watch for the money. It is. All right. Good pick.
Cole Pennington What have you got for scenario one? Okay. Scenario one. Um, you know, I'm going with a watch that I actually had a couple of summers ago that I wore almost nonstop. Um, ended up selling it. Um, had my fun with it. Um, it's a quirky watch. Um, I think it, it lends itself really well to summer and it comes in a different number of different configurations and that is, um, a Seiko Arnie solar. So this is the, their analog digital, um, you know, kind of throwback piece, uh, you know, People who, you know, kind of movie buffs will obviously know it from, from the Schwarzenegger films. Um, but the, the specific reference that I'm alluding to here, uh, has a bit of color to it. It's, it still has a black dial black shroud, but it has a nice dark blue rubber strap and, and then this sort of lighter blue and turquoise, uh, bezel and a, and a kind of a turquoise minute hand as well. So I think again, you know, I wanted to introduce a little bit of color. It's got the functionality that this person that we're, we're, advising, um, wants, you know, you get your, you know, your stopwatch and your alarms and your second time zone. Um, a little chunky, maybe a bit of an acquired taste visually, but I think, you know, it's, it's kind of a perfect summer watch. You know, they're, they're, they're incredibly bashable if you will. Like you can just wear it for anything. You can take a diving, jumping in the lake, um, whatever. Um, it's not hiding under a sleeve cause you know, presumably it's going to be 90 degrees and you're gonna be wearing Hawaiian shirts and t-shirts. uh, good loom, you know, if you're taking it camping and you're in the dark tent, um, and just, just pure fun and it's solar. So like, you know, out on a sunny day, it charges up, you can take it off and, and, you know, leave it for a few months, uh, during the winter and it'll still be running when the weather gets warm again.
Jason Heaton That's great. Great pick. Uh, I had an Arnie for response to a different question. So that's now off the table. Ah, yeah. No more, Arnie. But I love this a lot. I love the use of color here. I do think that they could go even harder on color. I do too. Like orange dial.
Cole Pennington I know, I was surprised not to see an orange dial.
Jason Heaton That sort of thing would be... Yeah. Yeah, right? Yeah. And then I think the other thing that's noteworthy is I believe, although I'm not 100% sure, that these have a backlight on the digital screen, which is awesome. Oh. Definitely the version that I reviewed, which is I believe the 025, which is... similar spec to this one, that was the kind of like the original Arnie from 2019. Yeah. Did have a backlight, and I think that makes a big difference. It's a really nice feature to have, especially when the screen is that small. Yeah. And especially the other thing you'll find, and you can see in some of my photos in the original review, again, back from five years ago, is the dial is quite deep on these. And so the little screen right up at 12 there is often in a shadow from the bezel. And having that backlight is quite helpful.
Unknown Yeah.
Jason Heaton Yeah. Yeah. It's nice stuff. Great product. Love that watch and a solid choice for sure. I could see this one being appealing to someone who enjoys the functionality of an Apple watch, but not the distractions. Yeah. Cool. Good one. All right. Scenario two, you will have the first pick as we'll do a serpentine draft. So I will read the question. What watch would you take on a summer vacation to go diving? Let's assume the diving is in Mexico or somewhere similar. You're staying at a local Airbnb and trying to get to really know the area. while also doing a bunch of diving over the course of, say, a week. Price is unlimited, but has to fall within our natural comfort zones. And again, you take that whole question, read it how you would. What would you take for a week of diving and kind of local fun in Mexico or somewhere similar?
Cole Pennington I had a couple of ideas in mind. This is a tough one because obviously, you know, diving, color, Um, you know, travel, you want something kind of affordable and something that flies a little under the radar. It kind of mixing all of that together presents this tantalizing list of, of options, but also its own unique challenges. Um, and I'm going a little off my usual here with, with a watch that I've never owned. I've never handled. Um, but I'm quite intrigued by, and that is, uh, a Christopher ward. So this is a C 65 super compressor. Um, It is, uh, it's actually a new configuration that is just launching on the day that we're running this episode. And, uh, thanks to my art and thanks to our chum, Mike Pearson. Um, I, I kind of caught early wind of this one and, and I'm quite smitten by the, the images that he sent me mainly his own wrist shots. Um, it, it's a new configuration that they've come out with, um, that has a very colorful. kind of decompression chart on the dial. You know, we've seen this configuration from a number of brands, you know, dating way back from, you know, brands like Volcain. More recently, we've seen one from Mido, et cetera. I think what I like about this one is it, even though it has a lot of, a lot going on in the dial, it has this very broad white spare rotating internal bezel that kind of sets it off. And, and, you know, I just think this watch has a very summery look. It's obviously very dive friendly. um, in terms of kind of it's, it's, it's provenance if you will, or it's a intended use. Christopher Ward is a brand that I haven't had really any personal experience with, but I've been kind of warming up to it and we can call it the Mike Pearson effect. You know, our, our good friend, he's been, you know, he sends me tantalizing images and posts a lot on social media and whatever. And I got a chance to see them at the British watchmakers event earlier this year. And Christopher Ward, has been kind of touting. They've made a super compressor for a number of years and one thing they've been kind of touting is the fact that they've actually recreated the actual super compressor technology. So this is a watch that as the watch goes deeper the case back closes tighter and tighter due to this spring that's built into the case back that kind of renders the watch even more water resistant the deeper you go. Now that's a tidbit that you know is interesting to people. It doesn't really matter to me as long as it stays dry. I do like the look of a twin crown watch. This one comes on a number of different straps. I think I'd go with the bracelet version. Uh, when it launches today, I've been told that the price will be $1,300. So, you know, they kind of keep up their reputation for affordability. And, um, yeah, it's just a little something different. I think this would be a fun watch to take on a, on a dive vacation and just really cool looking.
Jason Heaton Yeah. Good pick for sure.
Cole Pennington All right. Where are you headed with this one? I have, I have my guesses, but you know, you've surprised me already. So
Jason Heaton Yeah, I'm trying to, I mean, this one's for me. We're going diving for a week in Mexico, you know, staying at an Airbnb, staying local probably wouldn't bring something super expensive, but I'd want something that feels cool that I like seeing in images. And I'm really torn because I thought you were gonna help me out by taking one of the two that I had for this scenario, and you went an entirely different direction. Yeah. So I'm actually... I'm gonna go... We've already talked a ton about the Aqualand, so I'm gonna go with that new Momentum. Oh, okay. That UDT... If I got one today and was going diving next week, that's what I would bring. I think it would look really rad. a I think it kind of aligns with the way that I would be dressing on vacation, that sort of thing. Is it a specifically summer watch? I think not in any way that's locked into summer, but I think it works in that setting really well. And I also think some of these, I was trying to think like, oh, if I was in that scenario and I saw somebody else wearing the watch, what would I think? And if I rocked up to a little cantina after a dive or two, needing a cold beer and maybe some, you know, chips and ceviche or something like that. And the guy down the bar had on a Kronosport UDT or this new UDT from Momentum. I'd be thrilled. So I think I think that's going to be my pick.
Cole Pennington Yeah, that's a good one. I mean, I wondered if that would make it into this one. Certainly not for this summer. But as I mentioned, you know, I mean, who knows if it comes out early September, you still have a few warm days and hey, you can go to Mexico in the winter if you want. It's summer all the time.
Unknown Sure.
Cole Pennington Yeah. Right. All right. I think you get You get to the first crack at scenario number three, so I'm going to read that. What watch would you recommend to a friend who wants something summery but will spend much of their summer in an office at work? The watch has to work for a corporate environment while also feeling like a specific choice for patio happy hours or friend group getaways to cottages on the weekend. The price is limited to $1,000 or less.
Jason Heaton In my mind, I went two different directions with this one. And it just depends on the office. So if your office is fairly conservative, conservative-ish, even in the summer, like if the dress code doesn't change wildly in the summer, then I'm gonna lean on something that I just believe to be a classic, but it comes down to how you wear it, and that's gonna be the white dialed khaki mechanical, the khaki field mechanical, but on a purlon. it's such a summary vibe. The watch weighs nothing. It's how I wear my khaki feel mechanical, which is not the white dial. It's the Houdinki LE. But I think the white dial of that, especially if you're used to wearing something a little bit more demure, a little bit more stoic, black dial, that sort of thing, this brightens up the whole thing. Still feels very functional and useful and subtle, but gives you a bunch of color. And then you could buy 10 different purlins if you wanted. Yeah. And just change them out with whatever kind of matched what you're feeling for the day. Yeah. And then, like I said, if you end up at a patio happy hour, you go to the cottage or the camping for a weekend, that watch is not gonna be out of place.
Unknown Yeah.
Jason Heaton If your office is a little bit more wild, maybe you work in a startup, something like that. This is just an aside. I'm picking the Hamilton. But I do think... Maybe take a peek at what Swatch is up to right now for like $100, because they did... a remake of the Le Mans chronograph. It's the swatch neon wave chrono. It's crazy colorful. Like I think if you're the type where like summer comes around and maybe you just, you kind of wear more simple clothing, simple black t-shirts, that sort of thing. Like I think this could work for the right sort of thing. Uh, it's an absolutely wild looking watch, but if it suited your office, I think this would be the most, maybe like one of the most summery watches, especially for, I think it's 110 bucks, maybe a little less.
Cole Pennington Yeah. Good call.
Jason Heaton I like it under, under a normal, business formal to business casual sort of play, I think the Hamilton's a good option. Yeah. Yeah. How about you? What would you recommend to, uh, to this hypothetical, you know, corporate friend, you know, like you, I stayed in the swatch group, but I'm going in a whole different direction.
Cole Pennington And, uh, I'm advising, uh, this friend in this poor office dweller in the middle of the summer, uh, go with a Tiso, uh, PRX Powermatic 80, uh, specifically the one with sort of an ice blue dial.
Unknown Yeah.
Cole Pennington Um, I, I think this is a, this is a cool watch. This, this is a watch. It's a, it's 40 millimeters in diameter, uh, 80 hour power reserve, of course, with a mechanical movement integrated, uh, steel bracelet that has a quick release that you can swap over to, uh, a couple of different straps that Tiso offers price is $725. So that definitely well under our thousand dollar limit here. And I think, you know, when I think of like an office environment, I think of something maybe without too much, in terms of kind of functionality and flash like a bezel or big pushers or you know a lot of bright colors i think this one looks classic it would slip under a sleeve nicely but i think bracelet watches to me make really good summer watches given you know especially if you can you know wear it slightly loose it just wears well if you've got kind of a sweaty arm if you want to get it wet totally etc and um yeah i just i think these are really handsome i think that you know it's certainly on trend with with kind of the integrated Uh, bracelet steel sports watches that everybody seems to be jumping on these days. And I think Tiso kind of nailed it with this one and you can get a quartz one if you want cheaper, but I specifically liked this kind of ice blue color way. I think it kind of cools things off a little bit and I think it kind of goes well with a lot of different clothes and that sort of stuff. So yeah, that's where I'm headed.
Jason Heaton I think that's a great pick. They also do a 35 millimeter version. If 40 is going to feel too big. Oh yeah. So they do a 35 that has the Powermatic 80 and that steel dial or that kind of like steel blue, ice blue dial. And with that, we will move on to scenario four. It's your pick first. So I will read, and this is an easy one. This isn't necessarily like within our vibe, but what is the peak summer watch? What watch could be no more summer? Price is not limited. I'm not saying it's a watch that you want to buy, but what's the most summery watch?
Cole Pennington Yeah. Yeah. I was struggling with this one until this morning. And then like a light bulb went on. And, uh, the more I look at this one, I'm like, yep, this is, this is pure summer to me. It is the, uh, the tag Hoyer, uh, Carrera, uh, skipper. Nice. If I had my wish, uh, I would have snapped up the Hodinkee limited edition from a few years back. I thought that was kind of the perfect one, but I think that the glass box, but one that they've, they came out with, what was it a year ago or so, um, is just, it's such a cool watch. And I just, I can't, I can't not look at it. I mean, I just look at this thing and I'm like, I would love, I can picture it on my wrist. Oh yeah. I think it's just a fantastic piece. Um, this is a watch it's a 6,750 so not a, not a cheap watch by any means, but you know, we didn't, we didn't limit our price on this particular scenario. A hundred meter water resistance. So it's a, it's a chronograph largely from kind of tags, motorsports background, but with a very kind of sailing vibe, you know, they based this on, watch that took its colors from the America's Cup winner Intrepid. You know, it's got the 15 minute countdown timer for timing a regatta start. It says skipper on the dial. I mean, what could be more summery than that? It's got all this interplay of colors going on, big orange hands, and some orange on the markers. I mean, just such a great watch. And to me, this watch just feels incredibly summery. I mean, you could even throw this thing on like a white rubber strap or something, and I think it would look awesome.
Jason Heaton Look, I love this watch. I think that the sort of glass box, the 39 millimeter glass box Carrera is an absolute gem in the watch world right now. Yeah. If you have that kind of money, I think it should be in your consideration. It's really good on wrist. We did a huge story when this watch launched on the boat with it, so I can include that in the thing and you can see it on my wrist. I took a bunch of the photos. We had several people there. really cool watch and a great pick. I think genuinely super summary, not one that that I've, for whatever reason, remembered, despite doing that last summer, the launch of that watch in Newport and that sort of thing, but a great pick for sure. I mean, this is a tough one for me, and I think it's really only scenario five that's kind of saving, like making me decide what pick I'm going with. Yeah. Man, peak summer watch. No budget. Yeah, I think I'm going to have to go Royal Oak Offshore Diver in the boutique edition with the blue-yellow dial. Oh, yeah. Nice. You know, follow my train of thought here. Ploprof was high on the list, as I'm sure it was for you, but the watch didn't, even in the more modern sense, didn't come in a truly summery color way. Yeah. You know, there was the gray-orange, which is good. The black is obviously rad and the classic. there's the sort of bluish color and the vintage ones. The other, you know, I also had the orange monster on there, which for me is just sunshine for your wrist. But I don't know that it's, again, I don't know that either of those are like specifically feel like a watch. I wouldn't necessarily wear some other time of the year. I mean, look, if I ever lucky enough to have a Royal Oak offshore diver, I will never take it off. But since I don't see that in my future, This feels like a very summery choice for somebody with a sizable luxury watch collection. And I think it's the sort of watch that gives you all of what people would want from a sport watch, but it's also demonstrably, it just looks like something you would wear in the summer. Yeah. It's bright and cheerful. Sure, they're crazy expensive. That's why we have this sort of dream watch question, but very, very cool. I also had the IWC Aquatimer, the Cousteau.
Unknown Oh, sure.
Jason Heaton on the list. It's a very cool watch, obviously Cousteau connection. Yeah, there's a bunch of really good ones, but the one that I always fall back on, and it could even be just a standard black one, but those boutique editions that came out a few years after, this would have been either the second to last or the last year that I was at SIHH, they launched these watches, and I think it was five or six different colors. They also did an orange version, But I think that blue, the blue yellow really locks in an interesting color way of a watch that feels like very sort of summery vacation, escaping to a different part of the world, that sort of watch.
Unknown Yeah.
Cole Pennington Love it. That's a, that's a good pick. It was definitely on my list for kind of a break the bank category, so to speak. And for sure. Always a good one. Yeah. All right. Last scenario, you get a first pick on this one. This is our summer So which summer watch would you buy for yourself right about now or a couple of months ago at the beginning of summer? Any price, assuming that you're comfortable with it in reality.
Jason Heaton Right. So this takes scenario four and kind of flips it on its head a little bit more realistic. Has to be a watch we would actually buy. And honestly, I only really had one brand came to mind. There's a cute few watches in it, but really only one brand. And it's got to be a Doxa.
Cole Pennington Yeah. Okay.
Jason Heaton Right.
Cole Pennington Yeah. I thought, I mean, it had to pop up somewhere.
Jason Heaton I was waiting and look, I think like the peak summer watch, if I didn't need this watch for scenario five, this could have run as I do think it's even more summary than Royal Oak Offshore, especially in the pro spec. Yeah, but for me specifically, I'm going with a watch that I just just spoke with Jason at Roaldorf to order for me, which is the 200 T diving star.
Cole Pennington Oh, fantastic.
Jason Heaton So they are brand new retailer in Canada for Doxa at Roaldorf. I believe they just announced this on Instagram today or yesterday. Yeah, and I believe they're opening up pre orders, but I wanted to be the first docks order through roldorf. So that's for the yellow dial 200 t diving star. I think it's the second most summary. Yeah, legitimately. I think the pro is the summer watch. Yeah, but I'm going diving star because that's in reality. It's a watch that when he sends me the invoice, I will be but I will be have paid for with my own money and I'm super excited to have one.
Cole Pennington Well, that's a good pick. And, and to be honest, this was going to be my first choice for either scenario four or scenario five. So, um, docs is off the table. I was going to go, um, 200 T, uh, uh, Caribbean, um, just to be a different cause it has the blue with the splash of orange, but, uh, yeah, really good call had to have a docs on the list. And if we didn't, you know, um, I think our credibility would be shot. Yeah, show over. Yeah, exactly.
Jason Heaton Yeah. And it's so embarrassing to have Cole and Henry kick off a show that would have been the last one. Yeah. All right. So what are you picking for your summer watch with the caveat, the little asterisks that it would probably also be a 200. Yeah, right.
Cole Pennington All right. So, um, this is a bit complicated because I, I had two choices for our scenario four, which was price, not limited. And then this one, um, one of which the, the, the skipper, I guess would have been my choice for this one due to it's more affordable price, um, within at the outer reaches of what my comfort level would be. But I'm going to go big on this one. And I'm going to say, I'm going to sell a couple of watches to raise the funds. And I'm going big time here. And I'm going to go with the Zenith Defy Extreme Diver. Ooh, the new one? The new one. The 600 meter? Yep. This is the big one that we all saw at Watches and Wonders. I got to play with it a little bit at the Topper event a couple of weeks ago out in San Francisco. Just a spectacular watch. They did kind of the vintage or retro version Um, that's a smaller and more affordable, but, um, something about this big blue and orange version with the interchangeable straps that has a really cool mechanism for, for swapping straps. It's just got loads of color. It's got this amazing texture dial. Um, looks like nothing else out there. I mean, it's just this angular case, very modern, but also kind of retro. And I mean, they really captured sort of this blend of, uh, I guess, you know, late sixties, early seventies, angular case, kind of that style with something that just feels wholly new and modern. And I love the strap that comes with it, that kind of textured, I don't know if you call it like a sailcloth or kind of synthetic strap.
Jason Heaton Yeah, like a nylon of some sort. Yeah, but... Yeah, these are killer. 42.5 millimeter. In my mind, this is like Zenith taking a stab at the planet ocean. Yeah, yeah. Taking something kind of old, making something new, making it this kind of high spec. It's got really great loom. I think it's very cool looking. Obviously, it's a Zenith, so it has to fit into their price point. Not inexpensive at all. Yeah. But it is a very cool watch from a brand that you don't normally attribute really cool dive watches to, at least not in their current generation.
Unknown Yeah. Yeah.
Jason Heaton Good pick. Great pick. Yeah. I'm glad that you got a chance to see that in person too. Cause did you not see that at watches and wonders or you got like a second chance to see it in California?
Cole Pennington I did see it at watches and wonders, but, but to be able to kind of spend some good time with it at topper was a, was fun to kind of do it in a more calm environment. So it was great.
Jason Heaton Yeah. Well, that's great. Look, this has been our summer watch draft for twenty twenty four. We had five scenarios. I would love to see everybody fill in their answers for scenario one through five on the slack. So please get in there. Let us know what we forgot for great summer watches. There's no way to remember all of them. And, you know, it's a market that does kind of change with some frequency. But yeah, I think this has been really fun. I enjoy these this sort of scenario based methodology for picking the watches. And then, you know, when you have five of these, it does start to limit, like you only get one doxa, you only get one aqualand, you only get that. So it does, it does kind of force a little bit more creativity into the process. So yeah, I enjoyed this and I hope people did as well. How about we, I mean, like Cole and Henry forecasted, how about we put a bow on it with some final notes?
Cole Pennington Sure. Yeah. Um, so a week or so ago, um, our, our good buddy, Ben Lowry, who showed up in Yeah, he's working for Watches of Espionage, but he still runs his kind of fun Instagram profile. He's got a website called Submersible Wrist dealing with all things dive watches, specifically those who actually wear them underwater. And he launched a new shirt. So this is a, he calls it a sun shirt. And it's his Submersible Wrist SWDT. So Submersible Wrist Dive Team 1 UPF 50 Sun Shirt. It's a long sleeve synthetic shirt. Um, kind of made to, to wear, you know, on a hot summer day, whether you're out, you know, paddling a kayak or on a dive boat, um, or, you know, who knows in the garden, whatever it's got UPF 50. So it's going to keep the, keep you from getting burned. Uh, it breathes well, it dries quickly and it's got a kind of a cool cartoon logo on the back of a, of a hard hat diver with a giant wrench and his submersible wrist logo on the, on the chest. Um, it just looks great. As soon as it went on sale, um, I, I placed an order there $40 and it arrived a few days later and I've already worn it and I plan to, uh, to wear it on the dive boat in Chicago. So hats off to Ben for cranking this out. Um, some great photos, uh, on, on the sale page of a good buddy, Brock, who I hope will be diving in Chicago. He was there last year. I'm not sure if he'll be there, but he was a good model for this one. He's a Navy diver, uh, very appropriate. Yeah, just a cool shirt.
Jason Heaton Sporting an FXD in the photos. Yeah, yeah, that's great. Yeah, I ordered one of these as well. I'm super pumped to have it. Mine's in the mail. Big shout out to Ben and what he's doing with obviously with watches espionage, but certainly with submersible wrist. Even if you're not going to buy the shirt, follow the Instagram. It's awesome. It's one of my favorites. Yeah, I scroll past a lot of stuff on Instagram. I won't scroll past those. I like to read what he gets up to with that kind of stuff. So yeah, I'm pumped to see it. I won't have it in time to wear it for wind up. But we have a we have a few other things to wear for wind up, don't we? So there's there should be some some fun little surprises in that in that course. And I guess that brings me to my final note for the week, which is this seven dollar strap that I have on the Aqualand. And I'm going to read you the entire name of the strap. It's available on Amazon and it is the I'm going to make up the pronunciation of the name, but the Wochi adjustable nylon sport watch bands with hook and loop fastener quick release watch straps for men and women band with sixteen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty one, twenty two, twenty four millimeter. So this is a sort of an apple style. They call it nylon. I would say it wears a little bit closer to like cotton. It's very thin. It's very soft. It's very squishy. It's incredibly comfortable. And I wanted to get a weekend of sweating into it before I talked about it on the show. Yeah, because I wasn't sure, you know, with a nato, you get them sweaty, you rinse them off, put a little dish detergent in them, hang them up to dry and just keep wearing them. It's fine with this. I wasn't sure because it's an entirely different material and it worked out really well. So I am happy to promote this seven dollar strap. I don't think you'll be upset with the seven bucks. I will say that it's apple style, so it has its own end links like they're just plastic. and they come with spring bars. Yeah. So the end link connects to the top of the watch and then loops around under your wrist to a bottom end link has like a loop through again, very Apple watch similar. And then that tail velcros down. So you have infinite adjustability. It's a little bit elastic. It weighs nothing, but the center here and I'll explain why this could be good or bad. The end link is colored to match the strap. Oh, sure. So the plastic cap at the end of each link or at the end of one end of the strap and that floats on the other part, because the strap loops through it. Yeah. Is like a dull grayish green color.
Unknown Yeah.
Jason Heaton For this one, it's available in 24. So I bought it immediately for the Aqualand and it is an almost perfect color match. It's remarkable. The watch looks incredible on this strap. I just love it. I definitely posted some photos of it in the Slack and I think on my Instagram as well. 24 millimeters only comes in a few colors. You can go black or army green, they call it. And I think either of those would be great. But the green weirdly suits the grayish gunmetal tone of the 2007 Aqualand really well. If you switch into other colors, you need to go down to smaller sizes. So obviously, I couldn't help myself. I bought a 21 for the Pelagos, but because of the color of the end links, it doesn't look that good. Oh, sure. So that would be my warning is for $7, the stakes couldn't really be that much lower, but the sort of cap, the plastic end link thing they have on the watch is color match. So if it suits your watch, it looks almost OEM. If it doesn't, it looks very strange. It didn't work on the, on the tutor at all. Yeah. It makes sense.
Cole Pennington Yeah. So this strap looks, um, the strap material itself and the, the, the sort of built in, you wouldn't call it a keeper, but the, the kind of knob on the end that prevents it from pulling through. Um, it's identical to the garment ultra fits, um, probably the same material could even be the same supplier. Um, of course the garments don't come with the, those plastic end links, but yeah, I mean seven bucks when you sent me this link, like I said earlier, I like, I just, like filled up my Amazon cart and I'm going to kind of go back and revisit, um, especially now that you mentioned the kind of color match between the end links and the watch. But, uh, I think I can think of a number of watches that, that this would be good for. And I think, um, you know, to find something that fits a 21 or a 24, that is kind of more of a casual or you don't have to go OEM. I think it's just a nice. Yeah. Low risk, especially at this price option. So very cool.
Jason Heaton And I think the other plus is you don't commonly see 24 millimeter straps on 24 millimeter. You assume it's a large watch, right? A lot of these straps that have kind of a NATO like way of wearing them means they're going to put a band of fabric under the watch, right? Like a traditional NATO. Yeah. This system, this sort of Apple adjacent system, and I'm sure Apple didn't design this, but they did definitely popularized it. doesn't put anything under your wrist. So if you're wearing a bit of a thicker watch, and I would actually say the Aquiline is not especially thick, it's like in the middle, it's probably like 15 to 16 millimeters, but it just keeps it right cinched on your wrist. And then if it gets, if it's a little, it feels a little too tight, you just pull it off, kind of flex your wrist and lay the material back down. Again, if you've had an Apple watch with any of the fabric style straps, like they definitely had this on the Ultra, it was one of my favorite parts of the watches. It was always comfortable. Yeah. if it was too tight or too loose, you could adjust it really easily. And for that reason, I really like it. And honestly, I would probably be thrilled about this strap, even if it was $40. Yeah, right. Like just just setting my expectations based on other straps. I know. Do I think this is going to last forever? No.
Unknown Yeah.
Jason Heaton Yeah. But it's a $7 strap.
Cole Pennington Yeah. Right. And I think, you know, speaking of $40, that is what the ultra fits are from Garmin. And I know I had that in a final note in the past. And if you don't want the end links, you can kind of opt for the Garmin option, um, which it doesn't add height to the watch. It has that kind of clever way of, of looping through that can still use the heart rate monitor. So I've, I've, I've bought them in three different sizes and I'm using them on three different, uh, three different watches. It does not come in a 24, but it's got 26, 22, 20 and a couple others.
Jason Heaton So, yeah, I went to look for a 21 or 24 of the Garmin's for the, these two, the two watches I wear the most these days, the Pelagos and the Aqualand. Yeah. These are awesome, but really cool. I just, I couldn't be more thrilled, but every now and then you get lucky. You buy a strap on a random whim on Amazon and it just works out. And that's this. And man, like, what do you want me to say for seven bucks? If you don't like it, you're not going to be out that much.
Cole Pennington Over the years, you've become like a real Amazon strap ninja. I mean, you just have a little bit of a weird savant at these things. I mean, you've had mash.
Jason Heaton It's important to have a lane.
Cole Pennington Yeah, you've got, yeah, exactly. Yeah.
Jason Heaton So very cool. Bezos, hit me up. I'm moving some real $7 units. Yeah. I need a few pennies. I need a few pennies. But yeah, so that's my pick. Wow. We've got an awesome sun shirt from a good friend of the show. Please buy one if you're in the market for something like that. I think it's a rad thing. I think it looks really cool. It's going to be really fun to wear throughout the summer. And then we've got this adjustable nylon sport watch brand from Wochi or Wocky or something like that. Yeah. Show notes, find the link. It's great. And yeah, I think that rounds out a pretty solid summer episode. I would say. This means I can check off one more thing that brings me physically and mentally closer to Chicago, which I'm really pumped about.
Cole Pennington Definitely. And I will see you there, and we will see hopefully a lot of our listeners there. Safe travels to everyone. And as always, thanks so much 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 a new TGN signed NATO, please visit TheGreyNATO.com. Music throughout is Siesta by JazzArr via the free music archive.
Jason Heaton And we leave you with this quote from Marcus Aurelius who said, you could leave life right now. Let that determine what you do and say and think.