The Grey NATO - Ep 50 - Oak & Oscar & More
Published on Tue, 09 Jan 2018 09:29:05 -0500
Synopsis
This episode celebrates the podcast's 50th episode milestone. Jason and Blake discuss new gear they've acquired, including a backpack from Topo Designs and clothes from Outlier. Blake interviews Chase Fancher of Oak & Oscar about their new Jackson chronograph watch. Jason and Blake then cover final notes, recommending podcasts, articles, videos, and other content they've enjoyed recently.
Links
Transcript
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| Blake Stacey | Hello and welcome to another episode of The Grey Nado, a loose discussion of travel, adventure, diving, gear, and most certainly watches. This is episode 50, and we thank you so much for listening. And actually, you know, with it being episode 50, Jason, I would also like to say just thank you for listening to 49 episodes so far The Grey Nado, eh, Jason? |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah, it's really exciting. You know, sometimes you need to stop and kind of look back and, and, uh, absorb these milestones. And I guess until we started recording today, it hadn't even occurred to me that, you know, 50, that's, that's, that's legit. That's, that's pretty cool. So yeah. Thanks everybody for, for keeping us going and, and, uh, and making the Graynado as successful as it's been. |
| Blake Stacey | Yeah. And a nice way to kick off the new year. So we're well into 2018 by, uh, you know, 72 hours or so at this point and You know, how are things? How is the end of your year? We haven't talked in a little bit. You know, it's a busy time of year the last couple weeks of December. So how are things? Anything new or notable? You've got some pretty bonkers weather there. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah, it's really cold here. You know, we've had a string. We had 66 hours straight, is what the news was saying, below zero Fahrenheit. So, you know, that's That's straight on cold, you know, even, even by our standards. And today's not much better. It's, it's pretty windy. And, um, you know, I was chatting with, uh, with Steven from Hodinkee, uh, the other day and he was out here visiting and he was quite happy to flee back to New York after visiting his in-laws out here. But, uh, it's, we're definitely in the thick of, of fire and whiskey season as people have probably noticed from, from my Instagram photos lately. Um, but it's, you know, it's fine. It's, uh, as long as you, uh, You dress appropriately and kind of keep your skin covered up. It's definitely tolerable. So how about you? You said you're expecting rain there in Vancouver. I can't even remember what rain is like. |
| Blake Stacey | Yeah, it's been actually, you know, if we think back to the last time we recorded, it's been a real mix. We had snow here for quite a while and then it rained for quite a while as it does and that cleared up all the snow and today it's just kind of foggy. You know, we're holding above freezing temperatures, which is good for all the people who have to drive around here. They don't have a lot of cold weather driving experience. The average BC, you know, lower mainland driver. So they do a lot better at, say, two degrees instead of negative two. Yeah. And it's been, overall, it's been fine. We had a couple of really shining days. You know, my brother had some really amazing days up skiing in Whistler. So it looks like the season should be good for that. You know, I can't really complain with two when, you know, I've got friends and family dealing with negative 20, negative 30s. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah. Yeah. I think last time we talked, last time we did an episode was, if I'm not mistaken, it was our Colorado episode, right? |
| Blake Stacey | Yep. Yeah. So it would have been right on a month ago. |
| Unknown | Yeah. |
| Jason Heaton | Right. You know, we took some time off obviously for the holidays, but yeah, last time we met, we were skiing out in Colorado. It was pretty chilly out there. Have you been out much, been outside much? You haven't been skiing since then, have you? |
| Blake Stacey | No, you know, and people will hear this a little later in the episode. I was sick for a good portion of December. I don't get sick very often, but this one really, really put me down. I was pretty much just able to kind of chill in bed and write. I wasn't much good for anything else, you know, from maybe the 6th or 7th until the 20th. Yeah. And that's when, you know, we've got a chat coming up in this episode with Chase Fancher of Oak and Oscar. And I did that in his hotel room, like on my absolute last leg. I imagine the interview, I just sound totally fried. But yeah, so I was able to bounce back from that just in time for Christmas. And now, you know, it's kind of a busy time of year. I'm not going to SIHH, but that doesn't mean there's not a ton of work that kind of revolves around it. Because there'll be lots to cover and, you know, lots to produce as far as Greynado stuff, because we'll have an episode. One of the main reasons we take a bit of time off is always to re-sync, usually by one week, for SIHH so that we can have a show that comes out pretty close to when the show ends. Yeah. Which is just kind of handy. And then we just kind of wing it for Basel under the hopes that we're both on site for that show. Yeah. And, uh, yeah, it would have been nice to make it out to, uh, to SIHH this year, but if, if you're going to miss a show, I think in my scenario, you know, my love of kind of cheaper sport watches, stuff like that, it's probably okay. Yeah. To, uh, to duck out of, uh, out of an SIHH, but I'll certainly miss the hangouts and, uh, fondue on the pier and all that kind of stuff. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah. Well, it'll be, uh, it'll be fun to, to link up at Basel and, uh, I'm sure we can, we could, uh, possibly chase down some fondue there instead. |
| Blake Stacey | Yeah. Or some, uh, some shawarma that'll put you. Put you out for a day. Yeah, yeah. So what's new as far as, I don't know, did you kick it off with watches or did you get anything kind of, get or gift anything kind of fun for Christmas that stands out? |
| Jason Heaton | Well, you know, I haven't been, I guess I did go downhill skiing once since our trip to Colorado, but one thing I did acquire was sort of a hand-me-down. My wife and I spent Christmas at my folks' house and I kind of inherited my dad's, he had a set of, a pair of old backcountry cross-country ski boots that I think I had given to him when I was working at REI. I got them and I gave them to him. And then when I was at their house, I found them in the basement and brought them home. And I put some backcountry bindings on my touring cross-country skis. And so I got to go out with those a couple of days ago for the first time. Despite our downhill skiing recently, I'm kind of a lifelong Nordic skier. And so I always enjoy getting out, but we just haven't had enough good snow the past couple of winters. So yesterday I was able to kind of brave the cold and get out. So, so that was fun and it's kind of a nice way to get some, some exercise and fresh air in the winter. Um, but, uh, yeah, I mean ahead is, is, uh, I guess at the end of the next week I'm off to, off to Geneva for SIHH. So, uh, that's, that's kind of the big looming, uh, next big thing on my calendar. I kind of laid low for the past couple of weeks for the holidays, everything sort of quiets down, but, uh, I'm slowly revving up and ready to jump back into action. |
| Blake Stacey | Yeah, first kind of big event of the year and certainly a great time to get some work done and see some people and all that kind of thing, so that's good. And hey, who doesn't like some cross-country skiing? I hope that the snow holds and you get out a few more times. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah. And speaking of SIHH, you recently got a watch in from a brand that started up at SIHH again. They were there for a number of years and then they went to Basel and now they're back at SIHH. That was the Girard-Perregaux piece, right? |
| Blake Stacey | So you've got that right now? I do, yeah. I'm actually holding it in my hands. Might as well move on to some actual watch product news. So one of the watches I've got in for review for Hodinkee now is the Girard-Perregaux 1966 WW.TC. So obviously I'm a huge, nerd for GMT, world timers, things like that. And last year at SIHH, they launched this watch. It's a 40 millimeter steel in-house world timer with a beautifully symmetrical dial. It's just the right size. It's 12 millimeters thick. It comes on either a multi-link bracelet or on a leather strap. It looks really good. It works really well. It has these, a crown at nine and three. Like I said, the symmetry is really high on this watch. You could almost take a photo of it and then cut that photo in half and just mirror it. And aside from doubling certain aspects of the watch's text, you wouldn't notice a big difference in its design. And I really love this watch and a lot of their news cycle and such throughout the year has been dominated by the Loriato. which really isn't of interest to me, if I'm honest. I much prefer this watch, and it's certainly expensive. I think you're looking in the range of $14,000. It's a GP in-house world timer. And certainly, I think some of the watches that it would hope to compete with are even vastly more expensive than that. Yeah. And I've absolutely loved having it in. It's not really typically my style of watch. It's very dressy. but there's a simplicity to it and the aesthetics really beautiful. And then we'll put it in the show notes if you haven't seen, it's also on my Instagram. So I'm really thrilled to have that in for review. And I've got that for another, I don't know, probably a week or two at this point. So time to shoot some photos and get that kind of stuff sorted out. |
| Jason Heaton | That's a beautiful watch. I think it's possibly my favorite of the kind of high-end world timers. There are a few out there, but a lot of them kind of err on the, Dare I say he's kind of busy side in terms of the layout and design. This one is just so clean. And I think, you know, I'm not a huge fan of that bracelet that it's on. I kind of get why they use that. But I'd love to see that just I think you could kind of dress it down even a little bit on a on a nice brown leather strap or something would be just sharp. |
| Blake Stacey | Yeah, I think you'd have to get the strap custom made Oh, the lugs, the lugs are really short. And if you, cause I went, as soon as I got it, I was like, Oh, I'm going to pop this bracelet off and put it on one of my own straps. Like I don't wear anything on a bracelet. Yeah. It's certainly not new stuff. It's just heavy. But the, um, you could, the, the spring bar is so heavily curved that you can actually see the angle at which it meets with the case is curved. Oh, wow. So it's, it's a very tight fit. And I think you'd have to, you'd have to pretty much have a strap probably made for it. Cause there's almost no gap there. Yeah. But yeah, I would agree with the aesthetic. You know, a lot of world timers, you look at stuff from VC and Mont Blanc and even Patek, you know, they have a world kind of like a globe design. I don't like that. And with the Patek one, you have that kind of strange magnifying glass hand, which I'm sure is traditional and important to Patek guys. Yeah. For me, I just don't like it as much. Yeah. And there's no date on the GP. So again, there's literally nothing There's no asymmetry to the dial at all. It has a sub seconds at six. And then you have this, you know, one crown that controls the time and then another crown that controls the placement of the city disc. Yeah. So it really doesn't get a whole lot more simple in terms of setting it either. Yeah. |
| Jason Heaton | I'm looking at your Instagram photo of this watch and it is entirely symmetrical. I mean, you could almost by accident put the watch on upside down. |
| Blake Stacey | Oh, for sure. It's incredible. Yeah. Yeah, and especially because it's a double butterfly clasp, you could probably put it on upside down and not notice for a little bit. Yeah. With a leather strap, the tail would go the wrong way, but with the bracelet, I don't even think you would notice. Yeah. So I've really, really enjoyed that. So heads up, I assume I probably review late January, early February for Hodinkee. Yeah. And that one's been fun. And then the other one that I have in is the one that you gave to me recently to check out, you know, so we can chat about it. And I think we'll do a specific sort of element to a show in the future. But that's the paradigm. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I had fun with that. And yeah, I'm glad you're having fun with it. |
| Blake Stacey | Yeah. And yeah, I'm enjoying it quite a bit. That's on my Instagram, if you don't know about it. And like we just mentioned, I think the plan will be to do kind of a team review for a future episode, probably in the next couple episodes. Yeah. But I've been enjoying that. And I mean, who doesn't like that type one kind of style? Oh, it's a cool watch. Yeah. Great looking watch. |
| Jason Heaton | Easy to wear. Yeah, I'll look forward to kind of trading notes with you on that one. And then you've got a new diver in, right? Yeah, we're kind of on a small brand theme here because you're talking to Chase a little later in the episode, and then the Mark II, and then I just got word from Pierce Barry at Pinion Watches over in the UK. He's sending me one of their Adams. |
| Blake Stacey | Oh, cool. Okay, yeah, yeah. To review. Those are great looking watches. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah, they are. I'm curious. I've never... I don't know. |
| Blake Stacey | I don't think I've seen one in person. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah. Yeah. So that's, that's coming in the next week or two. Um, but yeah, just today actually, uh, package arrived from Ferrer, the British company. We, we talked about this aqua compressor. Yeah. Yeah. I wrote it up for Honekey back in the day. When, um, when they first came out, I remember you and I, I think we were recording an episode that day and we kind of quickly kind of shoved it in the show notes and we're, we're chatting it up. And, uh, um, yeah, they kind of wrote me out of the blue and said, you know, we hear good things about the Grenado and we'd love to send you, the Aqua Compressor to kind of take a look at, and it arrived today. |
| Blake Stacey | And you've got the, it's the silver orange one, the Levin? |
| Jason Heaton | The Levin, yeah. Yeah, cool. Which I was happy about. I mean, I like the other two. The black dial one, I can't remember which one that is, but that, you know, that one's kind of more classic diver aesthetic. And then the blue dial would be kind of cool to see, but I think from a wearability standpoint, just my own personal taste, the Levin with this sunburst silver dial, uh, and the touches of orange, um, just, just hit the mark for me. So, you know, I, it's a little early to kind of pass judgment or make any big comments and maybe we can, you know, I can chat about that. Maybe it's even on the episode we do the mark two or just a later episode. We can, we can kind of talk about these, um, in more detail, but, uh, so far so good. I've, it came on a, on a rubber strap and I, I quickly kind of moved it over to a NATO. Um, the rubber was nice, but you know, being as we are, I think, uh, uh, it works really well in a NATO. So. |
| Blake Stacey | Yeah, so far so good. Yeah, for sure. I think they look like a winner. I like the different colors, but I agree. I think the silver kind of stands out for me. Yeah. With that orange and the black. And I'm excited to hear what you think, because I've read a couple reviews, and I find that more people ask me about them via WhatsApp or Instagram or whatever, and I just haven't had a chance to see them in person yet. So I'm excited to hear what you think, kind of knowing how you feel about other watches, give some context. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah, and I'm kind of a fan of Ferrer in general. I tend to visit their website regularly and just sort of ooh and ah over some of their other designs. I really am a big fan of even their Quartz GMTs and just their time-only stuff. I love the look of the GMTs. |
| Unknown | Yeah, yeah. |
| Blake Stacey | I would happily wear one of those. They're very cool. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah. What about you? Now, you've got, you've been kind of, when we met in Colorado, I ferried some goods to you from Outlier. You still enjoying that stuff? |
| Blake Stacey | Quick check in on two things. So one, you gave me a spare Toppo Daypack. Yeah. Which is a backpack that I think we've probably talked about, maybe not specifically on the show, but we've definitely mentioned Toppo, I don't know, half of the shows so far. Yeah. But I was kind of vaguely in the market for a new bag and this was the, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe this is the Toppo bag that you gave me as the swag bag from the GoPro games. Yes. Yes. That's correct. |
| Jason Heaton | Actually, no, the GoPro games were, was the, um, I think it was the gray one with the red accents. Is that the one I gave you? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Yes. You're right then. Yeah. GoPro mountain games. |
| Blake Stacey | Yeah. So it's a, it's a gray version of the bag with, um, red accents all around. It's got a tutor slash topo patch because it was again, tutors supporting the GoPro games and topos supporting them and that sort of thing. So. What I would say about the bag is one, it's really nicely made, like the materials are really great, the zippers are fantastic, all the little accents. You know, you or Ghoshani have been using the bag so I can see how well it wears. Yeah. It's not fresh out of a, you know, a plastic sack or something. Yeah. And I'm, the other thing that I'm kind of really jazzed about is it's like a perfect everyday size for me. I know that the idea of a perfect everyday size changes from one person to another. Yeah. But it's, um, it's 20 liters, but it's a kind of a tall, thin 20 liters. So if you want, like, you know, if I'm going out for a whole day where I'm probably going to go writing, maybe go have a meeting somewhere, then I'll have a laptop, a camera, probably a layer, whether that's a rain layer or warmth layer. some gloves, maybe some water. And then I have, you know, the little stuff, the USB cable and a battery pack and a pen and maybe a pad of paper and all that kind of stuff. And it fits all of it. And then it has some room for when you buy that one or two things at the grocery store you needed. Yeah, right. I really love the size. I love the gray, which isn't part of their normal lineup. But I mean, they have like an olive green one, a navy blue one, an all black one with a leather bottom, which looks pretty cool. And then they have like a navy blue one with a brown leather bottom that also looks great. So they have a bunch of different versions. And at $150, I actually think like, this is one I would happily buy if it turned out, you know, you had loaned it to me. It's just the kind of thing I needed to see in person. Yeah, yeah. And kind of use. It's really nice. If you're in the market, you want to kick off 2018 with kind of a new bag to carry your stuff around and you want something that's more on the casual side than a briefcase or something like that. I can't imagine a much easier or, you know, the bag sits so flat against your back. Yeah. So if you're biking, I think it would work okay. Like it's just a nicely designed shape. You know, it's 13 by 19 by 8. And they say 20 liters, it feels a little bit bigger than any other 20 liter bag I've used. But that could be, you know, I think the other 20 liter bag I have is a hiking bag. Yeah. And it, uh, from Duder and it's more of a pear shape. Right, right. Where the bottom, you know, you can cram a lot of stuff into the bottom. This is very much like a, it's almost like a rectangle. |
| Unknown | Yeah. |
| Blake Stacey | And, uh, and yeah, nice pockets, nice zippers. It's got two outside pockets, like for water bottles, or that's where I jam a pair of gloves. And, uh, and yeah, I can't really say enough great things about it. I've been using it for a month solid and just really like it. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah. I mean, we we've, so we we've got the black one with the leather bottom here and, uh, and Gashani uses it every day, carries it to work with laptop and food and the whole bit. And, um, I borrow it sometimes too. And one thing I like about it too, is I also have used the Topo Designs Clutter Sack, which is kind of that top load tunnel style climbing pack. And what I like about the day pack is, You know, it's got the big horseshoe zipper and it kind of opens up all the way. So if you, if you want to get to something in the bottom, you're not kind of deeply rummaging. You just need to lay the pack down on a table or whatever and unzip the whole thing and kind of peel back the, the flap and you've got access to the whole thing. And, um, you know, there's nothing groundbreaking about the style. I mean, this is kind of the classic day pack style that, you know, you see even school kids carrying, you know, I mean, it goes back who knows how many decades, but it's, It's just so well done. And then the nice little pockets on the inside. |
| Blake Stacey | Yeah, it's a nice organization. This gray one that I've got has like a bright white interior. Yeah. So you don't lose some small thing at the bottom. You don't lose like a little USB connector that's black against a black interior. Yeah. It's just kind of nice that way. Yeah. So kudos to Toppo and Jason. Thanks very much for Passing me yet another, what I really needed in my life was another backpack. So I appreciate it. |
| Jason Heaton | Right. Well, it wouldn't be, it's very fitting that on the 50th Grenada, we're still talking about bags. |
| Blake Stacey | Yep. And then, yeah, like you'd mentioned, the other thing I got in was an outlier order. So after they had sent me a pair of pants and a shirt, I kind of got hooked on just wearing those clothes. Yeah. So then I ordered more. I got a pair of the Slim Dungarees, which are their like classic pants. I got them in what's called Radiant Blue or Resin, sorry, Resonant Navy. Yeah. And it's like a deep, deep blue. It's a really great color has a little bit of gray in it. And they're just the best pants I've ever owned. Like I've been wearing them a ton. And they're definitely going to be part of the daily, like the weekly cycle and whenever I travel, and then I bought a, like a blue button up this Nyko button up, which is this really beautiful heavyweight sort of wool. Yeah. And it's a bit like a work shirt, but it has nice white buttons. And I'll link all of this on the one. And then finally, I bought a sweatshirt, which is their Merino Co-Weight. So it's kind of like a medium weight sweatshirt, but like in a 50s sort of military cut with pivot sleeves. Oh, yeah. So comfortable. I think it looks great. And it's a nice military green sort of color. And yeah, I'm I know now whenever I feel I need another piece of clothing, I'll be starting on Outlier's website and it'll be hard to turn down those kind of options because I've just been so, so very happy with the clothes. And then to, you know, to put some of my own money behind it, I really like the stuff. And now whenever I leave, I'm always like, yeah, could I wear it again? You think I could probably wear it again. So it'll end up becoming a uniform of some sort. |
| Jason Heaton | I think, you know, nowadays when there's just such a ubiquity of just kind of affordable clothing, we We get used to the sort of disposable nature of so much clothing. And when you come across something that is really well made, you can really tell the difference. And I've found that that's what I'm appreciating these days too, is kind of the tried and true stuff that, you know, with zippers that don't break and buttons that don't pop off and good materials. And it's kind of how I felt about, you know, a couple episodes ago, I think we talked about the Alps and meters care package that I got. And, you know, I've had a, another month or so with that stuff since we last met. And I know in Colorado I wore those tweed ski pants, which were kind of a chuckle, kind of a conversation piece. But you know what? They've held up really well. They're super comfy. I mean, I couldn't believe how great they were for skiing. And then we had some friends in town for New Year's, and we hiked down to the – there's a fairly famous waterfall not far from our house that gets completely frozen over in the wintertime. And New Year's Day, we walked over there to kind of take some pictures there and stuff. And it was well below zero. And I put those on with a base layer underneath, and they were great. So thanks again to Alps and Meters. And I'm still enjoying that stuff. |
| Blake Stacey | Yeah, and to Outlier, both for making nice stuff and for feeling like they wanted to send something to the Great NATO. It's obviously very welcome and something that I've enjoyed quite a bit so far. So that's always fun. Yeah. And then, yeah, so finally, I got a really great gift from a friend of mine after seeing my brother had got this fountain pen from a company called Kaweco, a German company. And my apologies for my pronunciation. That's the best I can do. So it's this German fountain pen company called Kaweco, and they make this really awesome pen called the Liliput. And it's available in a series of different metals, everything from aluminum to, I believe, brass and copper to fired steel and I think there's a black aluminum version as well. And, uh, I, my brother bought the, uh, the copper one and it's, it's this design from the early 1900s. It's very small. And then it's threaded on both sides. So you take the cap off and thread it on the back and it becomes long enough to actually write with. Oh, sure. And it runs on a cartridge. It's not overly expensive. They're about $60 Canadian. So you'd be able to, they're actually on Massdrop right now. If you're a Massdrop aficionado, you can find, uh, options for the Lilliput. They run on a simple cartridge from Coveco. And I actually don't remember the last time I kind of enjoyed a physical product in my hand as much as this, even when the lid is on. |
| Unknown | Yeah. |
| Blake Stacey | Like I'll sit at my desk and just kind of roll it around between my fingers. And it's the gift one that I got was the brass. Yeah. And it's absolutely gorgeous. It writes really well. You know, I'm trying to get into the sort of mental process of doing some journaling to manage kind of input and output of ideas and things like that. So I have a book that I generally make like notes during conference calls and things like that in, but now I'm also trying to keep kind of daily logs of ideas and concepts and things like that. Yeah. And so this kind of adds another layer to that and certainly not unlike winding a vintage watch, this is needlessly complicated and kind of overly romantic. But if you kind of enjoy the idea of a fountain pen, or maybe you didn't really like any other fountain pen that you've had or tried out, I recommend just drop by a pen store that carries this brand or even just go to their website so you can see the, you know, I'll put it in the show notes, but you can actually see what they look like. And they're just like a surprisingly simple, beautiful thing. And then actually using them is also kind of a joy. So that's one other thing I would add. And then if you know someone who is maybe into fountain pens or into kind of needlessly classic affectations, then it would make a great gift as well as it did for me. So thank you very much to the person who got that for me. And yeah, the Kaweco Liliput. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah, I think, you know, writing by hand is becoming a bit of a lost art. You know, everybody kind of takes notes on their phones or Whatever. And, and I think just the act of buying a, a nice pen kind of encourages you to write. And I think then, you know, in turn, actually handwriting notes kind of encourages you to slow down a little bit and maybe consider what you're writing. And, and I don't know, there's just something about it. I guess it's a bit of an intangible thing and, and maybe it's kind of more thoughtful. Yeah, maybe it's kind of a writer thing, but, uh, you know, I clicking away on a keyboard. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. |
| Blake Stacey | So yeah, that's cool. And yeah, I think, uh, I think that pretty much wraps up kind of new stuff for me since December. Yeah. Are you, do you have any predictions, anything you're hoping to see at SIHH? Or is that kind of a, uh, wait and see sort of game at this point? And we'll do an episode right after the show. |
| Jason Heaton | Well, you know, last year at SIHH and you were there for that one. Um, it was, there was a decided sort of dearth of proper kind of sports watches compared to years previous. You know, JLC used to do the odd sort of vintage inspired diver, IWC did more sports watches, you know, Cartier had divers a few years. Other than, you know, Panerai and kind of that Clifton Club that Beaumont Mercier came out with last year, there's just, I'm hoping, you know, just selfishly, I'm hoping to see a handful, you know, or Two or three kind of cool high-end sports watches this year, you know aside from like a you know solid gold Royal Oak which which to me isn't necessarily a sports watch but Yeah, so, you know, I'd love to see that just just for my own kind of wheelhouse But you know, I did catch wind of something kind of cool coming that I can't can't comment on Publicly till after the show which I think is really really exciting and and we'll talk about that in the next episode but I Yeah, you know, it's always fun to visit kind of the small brands that are in that sort of little annex that they've got there for the independents. And then just to, you know, catch up with everybody and, you know, do the usual dinners and late nights in the lounge upstairs at the President Wilson Hotel. I'm actually, so I'm staying, I go Saturday the 13th, come home on Saturday the 20th and I have appointments at SIHH proper, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. I actually have Thursday, Friday free in Geneva. So if anybody out there is listening and has any recommendations, I've bummed around Geneva a little bit, walked over to Old Town and been to the Mad Gallery and that sort of thing. But if there's something I'm missing that I should do, I do have probably a day and a half free to kind of cruise around Geneva a little bit. So I'm all ears. Yeah, hit me up on, on, you know, Instagram direct message or send an email to thegraynadoatgmail.com and I'll take a look at that. So appreciate that. |
| Blake Stacey | Got to get some of those chocolate almonds. |
| Jason Heaton | Yes. Yes. That is definitely on the schedule. I don't remember the brand offhand, but I think they call them the princess. |
| Blake Stacey | Yeah. The princess almonds. Oh, so good. It's that, it's that orange, they have an orange sign. They're not hard to find. They're right, right over there, just around the corner from Mad. Yeah. Incredibly expensive. You told me to swing by there last year. They're delicious. |
| Jason Heaton | I brought back a couple of boxes last year. And of course, I'll have to go for fondue, sadly, without you. Brave the icy pier to go out to Banda Peki. |
| Blake Stacey | Yeah, bring your flashlight. Yeah. The Michant saved us last year. Escort people on the... Yeah, us and about a half dozen Swiss. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Cool. So I think we can probably move on to the main topic, you think? Yeah, I think so. So this is an interview with Chase Fancher of Oak & Oscar. I caught up with Chase while he was on a quick tour of the Pacific Northwest. And we sat down in a hotel room here in Vancouver to chat about the Jackson, watch design. And then we even dug into a couple of your questions from Instagram. I had a really nice afternoon with Chase and with his business partner, John, who's also a really sweet guy. And it was a treat to see the Jackson in person. And thanks again to Chase for the hangout and for the chat. And we hope to see you again in Vancouver sometime soon. Hey Chase, welcome again to the show. How's it going? |
| Chase Fancher | It's going really well. Thank you for having me. |
| Blake Stacey | I really appreciate it. Well, thanks for visiting Vancouver. What a treat. You know, we don't get a lot of visitors and certainly watch friends don't typically make it this far out, but you're in the process of kind of launching the Jackson and sharing it with people and, uh, and you're doing some traveling. How's that been going so far? |
| Chase Fancher | You know, today's like today. It reminds me of how amazing it is to travel and, and go out and see people and talk watches, especially because we got to take the train today from Seattle. up to Vancouver and we got to see some amazing scenery. Posted some stories on it, you guys can probably see that, but it was just an amazing thing to see this part of the country and coming to Canada. |
| Blake Stacey | Certainly Seattle to Vancouver, you've got the Cascades and the water, amazing mountains. It's all certainly a good view. I haven't done that train trip, but I know when you, when we were kind of planning the timeline for this, you said you were taking the train. I was like, ah, the train. There is like a romantic sort of old world charm to train travel. And it's the simplicity is way better than renting a car, trying to bring the car into Canada. And then you're you're flying home from Canada tomorrow. So you wouldn't. |
| Chase Fancher | No, I'm actually taking the train back. |
| Blake Stacey | Oh, you're going back to Seattle. |
| Chase Fancher | Yeah, we were going back to Seattle. And, you know, for me, honestly, when we were devising the plan of like how to get to Vancouver from Seattle, the train was pretty much like our go to because of the scenery and the simplicity. And just like you said, the romantic notion of just jumping on the train, you've got plenty of room, it's comfortable and it's just nice. No stress. |
| Blake Stacey | You're not driving, you can have a snack, whatever. It's nice. |
| Chase Fancher | And it's not a super long trip either. No, it was, we'll call it four and a half hours. We got delayed a couple of freight trains, but you know, whatever, no big deal. But it was really nice. We actually really enjoyed it. Didn't once think like, I want to turn on my Netflix and watch some videos like it did on a flight down. |
| Blake Stacey | from Chicago. The length that you have to go to, and we've already digressed so far from you talking about watches, the length that you have to go to to be comfortable on an airplane, and this is like, you guys travel a lot, I travel a fair bit, especially with kind of the current gig has a fair bit of plane travel, and I find like, as soon as you know that this flight you're on now isn't going to be your last one in your memory, Like, you know, if you only fly once or twice a year, who cares how hard it is, really? Unless it's really terrible. But like, if the flight goes okay, then once or twice a year, it's a bit of stress, it feels like you're on the plane forever. But if you do it, like, weekly, or have to do Europe with some frequency, like I do, and these are all really good problems to have, because the travel's amazing, but you really start to become crazy about, like, downloading stuff on Netflix, or getting excited when you get on a plane, and they've put new movies on. You take enough flights and they don't change them that often. So you get on and you're like, I've already seen that. I'm going to watch this again. Or you get on and the plane has like a different selection of old movies. Yeah. Which is, uh, which is great. I got on a plane recently and they had, um, they had, uh, Vertigo. Oh yeah. Hitchcock film, which I hadn't seen before. I had read about it and you know, it's re it's counted as one of the finest movies ever made. And I watched it, man, for anyone who hasn't seen Vertigo, that's a messed up movie. Really messed up plot line, but it you know and stuff like that can really shorten a flight But you can't really look out the window for a whole flight like you could on a train. Yeah, and the trains much quieter Yeah, the experience on the train because talking to somebody on a flight is a pain And yeah, I like I like the the idea that you're able to get here and I guess head back to Seattle on the train That's that's cool. But let's I suppose dive in To something let's let's talk Jackson. So the watch launched a few months back |
| Chase Fancher | Yeah, we launched just a couple months back. It was late September, I believe it was, early October. It's been an amazing whirlwind ever since. |
| Blake Stacey | You guys have been all over since then. |
| Chase Fancher | We've been all over, yeah. So Chicago was the initial launch party, which is where we're based out of. And then we went to DC, Boston, New York. We've also been in Toronto, Minneapolis, Switzerland, London, Charleston. San Francisco, L.A., Seattle, and Vancouver. So tonight's actually arguably the last one, which we're kind of looking forward to being able to kind of slow down. I know my wife and son are also looking forward to it. So it's been an amazing thing to get out there and see all these people, meet guys who have ordered the Jackson or meet guys who actually own the Burnham and the Sanford. And I've never met them in person before, but I know their names from, from orders, from emails. And it's a phenomenal thing to be able to connect with these folks and see them in person, shake their hand, drink a beer with them. And it's just, it's one of those, those, those activities that reaffirm how amazing this job is that you get to meet people who love your watches and they tell you what they wore like at their wedding or hiking or on a train trip. And it's just one of those things where. You get to see how important that watch is to them. And that's something that came out of my head. |
| Blake Stacey | It's crazy. Yeah. No, I mean, it's flattering always to see whether it's somebody, you know, I'm always flattered. We get an email for the, someone likes something that one of us wrote or, or, or something like that, or, or a product that you created. It's always flattering to see how people connect with something that you put out in the world. Cause there's a risk, obviously we're not talking about a huge risk for, I write something and people don't like it. That kind of comes with the territory. But you know, it's a big risk to put your heart and soul into making a physical product that you're going to demand a certain amount of money for. And then not only to see people buy it, that's largely believable, but then to have them attached to it in a way that's more than maybe other products, their phone, their jacket or something like that. |
| Chase Fancher | Yeah. I've got guys who tell me with the Jackson, they're excited to get the watch so that they can time her wife's contractions when they have their kid later this year. guys who are like, my wife won't let me wear it or my fiance won't let me wear it until our wedding day. Guys who have already pegged it for something that's just monumental. And it's an amazing thing where you take that risk, like you said, and folks appreciate it. And it's, it's, it's humbling. It's amazing. |
| Blake Stacey | And it's nice that you're able to do the travel to meet up with people. I think it's one of the tenants of the watch, enthusiast world is meeting up with other watch enthusiasts because it's an esoteric hobby. And it's typically a hobby that's, I would say, even just by the fact that most people don't care enough to wear a watch, that it becomes a private hobby. It's something you do on your internet browser and on your phone and then on, you know, on your desk at home or on your bureau or whatever. And occasionally you have some buddies. And I think this is why we see the value of things like Red Bar is just making those connections. And even if there's not a product, a specific product or a specific brand spurring on the reason that people got together, you still get to get together and see some watches and have these conversations that otherwise you just kind of read passively on the internet or, you know, I think, I think it's one of the like amplification techniques of the entire industry. |
| Chase Fancher | It's also group therapy. |
| Blake Stacey | Yeah. I think that's even an even better way of putting it. |
| Chase Fancher | Yeah, for sure. I've heard from certain people who would say that it's an amazing thing to get with a group of guys and girls. who they can sit and talk watches, whereas like the entire day during their office, they're just, they're, they're just known at the office as the guy who's probably too into watches, watches on his desk. Like, what is he doing? Like he's got another watch on today. Like what? Taking pictures of watches. |
| Blake Stacey | Yeah. |
| Chase Fancher | And then, and then he shows up at this group where guys bring like rolls and like 10 watches each. And he's like, Oh, I belong. And it's such an amazing thing as a watch guy myself, I mean, that's how I started going these things and it's just it's such a fun experience to be able to do that as a watch guy And then and then it doubles it triples it multiplies as a brand owner and founder Of guys who really like look up to what you're doing and not only what I'm doing as a watch company But also as the guy who quit the corporate gig it did something that he loved and chased after that dream, right? |
| Blake Stacey | yeah, and I think with the With the internet making these sorts of livings possible Um, you know, to be able to quit that job and, and, and put your product out and be able to market it yourself and not deal with all of the middlemen that have existed in this whole industry for so long, you're able to interface directly with Switzerland. We were talking about that earlier. You're traveling there to see the product and we can definitely get into the movement for the Jackson, but you're also, you know, hands on with changing aspects of the movement so that it's what you wanted for the watch, not just what Eterna happens to be selling. |
| Chase Fancher | For sure. And that's one of the things that's been really nice is like, you know, with the internet, um, as digital and cold as it is, it also brings people together. Um, not only watch lovers, but also what you're talking about with the companies. I get to have a lot of really good conversations virtually with my suppliers, which would have been hugely difficult over the phone or hugely expensive or both. Yeah. You'd ship drawings back left and forth. I would imagine. to be able to say this is what I'm thinking. |
| Blake Stacey | Or you'd be spending a huge amount of your personal time in Switzerland. |
| Chase Fancher | Yeah, and I don't think my wife or someone would be happy about that. |
| Blake Stacey | Probably not. This is probably why there's concentrations of watch brands in certain areas is because people weren't traveling to get a watch made before the internet necessarily. You knew where they were made and that's where the business, the entire product was. |
| Chase Fancher | The hub of it. Yeah. Yeah, and it makes sense. And also the way the old industry used to work is they were all specialists in different things. No one really did the whole in-house thing. And everyone knew they could go and get certain gears here and problems there and cases and dials from all different companies. So it was one of those scenarios you want to be in that inner circle. |
| Blake Stacey | You know, and largely the existence of the current thing has simply made, again, something that's a little bit on the esoteric side, watch collecting, much more accessible. So the information is a lot more readily available. the existence of brands that would have been secrets, essentially, for all but a few buyers. Now you can have a small brand that's very successful. You can have a brand that doesn't have to sell a million watches or be in every store to have people know about it. Instagram's made this possible. Twitter's made this possible. WatchySeek, all these connection points that we have. And, uh, and the, the, you know, the end result is, is yeah, we were able to, Have a brand like Okanoska come to Vancouver and we're going to do a red bar hangout in a few hours, a chat for Grenado. We got all sorts of fun stuff like that. And I suppose for anyone listening who doesn't know Okanoska or maybe doesn't know the watch, we've spoken about it quite a bit on, on Grenado in the past. And when we had you on an earlier episode in our first year, maybe a simple breakdown of the philosophy of the Jackson, what, why make it, what is it? That sort of thing. |
| Chase Fancher | Yeah, the Jackson is, you know, from the high level, a 60-hour power reserve manual-wound chronograph with a stacked register. It's got a date at six, and really it comes down to me wanting to do something that really steps up the Okanoska game. And doing a chronograph like that is a big deal for any company, and certainly a small brand like mine. We're really proud of this, and we've had to step up the game with our suppliers, we've had to step up the game with the assembly team and everything is, it's all handled out of Switzerland right now, except for the leather goods, which are in Chicago and Indiana. And it's something we're really proud of. The story behind the watch is chronographs are dead sexy and manual wound chronograph versions are even better. It feels natural to me to have a manual wound chrono. And we really wanted to make something that we'd be proud of. We're really proud of the Jackson. |
| Blake Stacey | So you had the Burnham, the Sanford, and now the Jackson. And in moving in and taking what you have learned from the first two watches, looking to make a chronograph, what were the new, it couldn't have, it was probably mostly movement was the challenge, but what were the big issues when you said, this is what we want to do? |
| Chase Fancher | Yeah. So with chronograph specifically, and I've heard this from other watch suppliers as well, they're almost more challenging than like, you know, tourbillons. They're, they're a very challenging watch. Um, the hands, are very specific. You have to make sure that they're shaped right, because there's a lot of torque when you reset that watch, especially because this is a flyback. There's a lot of torque on that. A lot of the other challenges were making sure the dials were all correct, because this is a time piece that deals with accuracy. So you have to make sure that things are done properly. It's a watch that we knew with the assembly team, especially that we had to be very careful with, with the stacked hands at three o'clock, |
| Blake Stacey | So to explain for someone who doesn't know what that is, because we were talking about this earlier, not very common. |
| Chase Fancher | It's not very common at all. Yeah. And stacked hands essentially is a, um, it's a saying where on the three o'clock register on that sub dial, you can track both the hours and the minutes versus the three sub dial chronographs that track, um, the hours and the minutes on separate sub dial. So what this does is it gives you a two compacts chronograph that you can still put a date at the six if you want. And it's got that really beautiful symmetry that I personally love. But you have all of the data that you might want on a normal watch. Because personally, I like to track more than just 30 minutes. Or 60. Or 60, if you have that. Yeah. And so for me, that was somewhat of a necessity. So it was a challenge to find the right movement to do that. And then having such a highly advanced movement means you also have to have a really great assembly team. And so those are all the different challenges that you deal with. Not just the movement. how you then build everything around that movement. It all has to be up to that same level. |
| Blake Stacey | And with the movement itself, it's an Eterna sourced flyback chronograph movement, but there's some changes made to it. |
| Chase Fancher | So it's an Eterna caliber 39. Uh, what we have done that Eterna had said to me, they've never done before is a color match date wheel. So they had to figure out that process, not as big of a challenge as the other special piece to it, which was a bridge to make it a manual wound. instead of automatic. And that was a fun process. Fairly simple on my side, Eterna had to go through a lot of the R&D to get there, but they made a bridge that we're proud to say that we aren't aware of, nor is Eterna, anyone else who has a caliber 39 with that bridge. And a bridge is a bridge, let's be honest, but at the same time, it's still pretty cool to say that not a single other caliber 39 movement like this exists. |
| Blake Stacey | And that's cool. So you've made a custom modification? Yeah. Which is neat. And it opens up the back. Yes. So you can actually see aspects of the movement that would be covered by a rotor. |
| Chase Fancher | Correct. And what's great about this piece is, well, it's a column wheel. So you can get to see that column wheel, which we all know and love in chronograph. |
| Blake Stacey | For sure. And beyond that, the basic spec of the watches, as far as size, they're all steel. |
| Chase Fancher | Yeah. So it's a 40 millimeter piece. They're all steel. One version is actually a PVD coated. It's a really nice dark charcoal. And it's lug-to-lug is, let's call it, off the top of my head. |
| Blake Stacey | 46.7, something like that? |
| Chase Fancher | Yeah, it's around 46. It might be 46.4. It's right around there. Right. So super comfortable. And the lugs, they just curve over the wrist. And it's really a very comfortable watch to wear. |
| Blake Stacey | Agreed. Yeah, I got to try it on for the first time. We were out for coffee a little while ago, and I got to try it on. It's definitely comfortable. I think, for me, I'm a sucker for a blue dial. uh, in a lot of stuff, but it would be really hard to pick between the three of them. And certainly with the blue dial, the orange accents and the gray sub dials, uh, reminds you, it has definitely like, uh, a connection to the vintage, uh, chronographs of the seventies and the late sixties, but not in a way that feels heavy handed or overdone. It's normal loom. It looks and feels like a modern product that simply has the same sort of appeal or charm as some of these, you know, the Nevada Grinchins and stuff like that. |
| Chase Fancher | I actually really appreciate that entire statement because it's exactly what we're going for with the modern watch with a really classic appeal to it, with all of the great technologies that we have today. And it's something that we've accomplished. And the design itself is something that I'm just super proud of. And I love this piece. |
| Blake Stacey | Yeah, no, they look great. And then you've also got the wallet here. Now, we had given away a wallet, which you were kind enough to offer to us for a giveaway. And then this is this kind of second generation or... This is actually the third generation. Third generation wallet. |
| Chase Fancher | The first generation came with a Burnham. The second one came with a Sanford. And then this is the third one. And we just keep essentially finding ways to not only make it better, but make it more appropriate for the watch itself. So this one now has a zipper on it, no longer being closed by the post closure system. And a lot of that is inspired by utility for one, but for two, you know, kind of like those vintage 60s, 70s car manuals, which makes sense for a chronograph. It's got a tacky, the, um, the Jackson name is actually from, uh, Jackson park on the South side of Chicago, where the very first North American car race took place in 1895. So it's an odd, it's, it's, it's an honor and an ode to that. If you will, that it's got a little bit of that, that racing theme to it, not overly done, as you said, not heavy handed. but just an appropriate level. |
| Blake Stacey | Yeah, I wouldn't call it a motorsports icon sort of style. It's not directly in that vein, but it would not look out of place in those sorts of scenes, vintage car shows and racing. |
| Chase Fancher | Sure, especially on the Rally Strap that it comes with. |
| Blake Stacey | Yeah, the Rally Strap looks really cool. |
| Chase Fancher | That bright orange, handmade leather Rally Strap. |
| Blake Stacey | It's quite a color, definitely worth checking out on the website, even if you've seen the watch, swing by there and take a look at that. And then, yeah, the wallet looks really cool, and I like that the little pouches are modular. And you had sent both Jason and I one of those pouches, and that's now my go-to. It just lives in the flap of my Tenba bag. So when I take my watch off at security for an airport, I drop it in that, drop it in my bag, and I don't have to worry about it. That's awesome to hear. Thank you. It's just the right size. And when there's no watch in it, it's really thin and sturdy, but it's just there. And even some of the other small cases that I have, if I'm only talking about one watch, they add a bunch of bolts. And this is just like a messenger bag. So that front flap doesn't have a lot of depth to it, but you don't really want to take the watch off and put it in the tray. |
| Chase Fancher | Yeah, no. |
| Blake Stacey | I got a couple that I don't mind doing that too, but even those ones I'd rather, I want to drop them in the bag, whether my keys are in there. |
| Chase Fancher | I just never take my watch off when I go through security. |
| Blake Stacey | Oh, I find that sometimes they say you have to, sometimes they say you don't. So usually I just take it all off and then I don't have to stop. Just the watch, right? Just the watch, sure. I can go through it just to watch on, then there's no question either as to what's beeping. |
| Chase Fancher | Yeah. |
| Blake Stacey | It's one or the other, it's binary. So when you're designing a watch like this and you finally... You have a really good idea of what you want it to look like, the CAD drawings or whatever, the Photoshop's are all finished. From that point, how long until you're holding a prototype in your hand? Oh, wow. What would be good? What would be good? So you already know this... I'm sure the first watch takes a lot longer because you have to make the relationships, maybe the third one. Sure. |
| Chase Fancher | Well, so the, the Burnham literally took probably a few years ago to start to finish more than that for sure. Like four or five years when it comes down to having a final design. Um, and to back up to your, to your point about having the right team is we actually use an entirely new production team on this just because we knew we needed to have all the tolerances and just an amazing team behind it. So this is actually with a whole brand new team of folks. So learning how they work, they learned how I work, And it's a really good seamless team, to be honest. Actually, I've been really happy about that. But gosh, from having the final design to prototype, you're probably talking anywhere from three to six months, especially on a movement that is this complicated. That took a while to get. We actually had that done before we had the final watch designed, because I knew that would take longer. And then once we could marry the two, because you also have to make sure You send the factory a movement to make sure that the case specs around it perfectly. It can take a long time. In this one, it was about six months, I would say, from final design to actual prototype. |
| Blake Stacey | That seems fast. I mean, it's a long time, certainly. And if you're a small business, at the time, you're one guy. Or maybe you had both. |
| Chase Fancher | Yeah, no, at the time, it was me working with some outside contract employees, helping out. It's not really the number of folks that you have involved with it. I guess. Cause it's, it's not me that would be the bottleneck. It would be typically like the factory. Cause these prototypes, they essentially have to almost hand make each one. Not, I don't want to say hand making, you know, out there chamfering out with like tools. |
| Blake Stacey | But that is what the prototype essentially is. They're not developing any of the structure to crank a bunch of them out. Correct. They're trying to prove the point. |
| Chase Fancher | Correct. It's a proof of concept. And so it's, it's one of the scenarios where they definitely take longer. And truth be told, it's just the way business goes. I'm a small company, so sometimes my stuff's in the back of the line behind the big companies. I've heard that so many times. Yeah, for sure. And that's just the way it is. But luckily, we were able to push and sometimes get things done more quickly. But yeah, six months. I guess to me, that feels like a lifetime. Because I'm sitting there, I've had a design, I've put it out on paper in CAD, Photoshop, all of that. And then now I'm just waiting to see it in real life. Because sometimes when you see it in real life, it's not what you expected. And so that scenario of like you're waiting, you're waiting, you're waiting, but you also know that you also have to plan all these launch events and this other launch program. And so those all have to gel together. So you have to wait until you finally get that prototype to say, Oh, okay, good. Let's keep moving forward. Or let's tweak this. Let's tweak that. Like there was a couple of things on the Jackson, the original prototypes we got that we've tweaked. Sure. The thickness of the pushers. They were actually slightly, the caps of them were slightly thinner. So we didn't like the feel of it in our hand when we were activating the chrono. It just seemed a little too, as we put it, needly. So we increased the size of it. And I did a big study on a bunch of chronographs from vintage to new. I actually measured out all the pusher caps to the crown to the case and found pretty much what I thought was a golden ratio. for all of those aspects and then did the same with the crown size. And we've come up with what I think aesthetically is very, very nice, as well as it just feels really nice. And the activation of this chrono is such a good, crisp, clean activation. I think it would have been ruined if the pushers themselves, the tactile feel of it wasn't up to par. And so that was something we changed. And it was one of those things that you can only feel by a Proto. |
| Blake Stacey | And then when you take on the task of designing the next watch, do you already basically have an idea of what it's going to look like? Are there rules you try and follow? You're talking about a sort of golden ratio for pusher, cap, size, relations sort of thing. Can all of that kind of be expressed through the watches? Your watches always have a very balanced, proportional kind of fluidity to the design that I think people have obviously attached to that, but they've been very successful in their, in their sales. I always wonder how you approach. Do you have an idea for, I want this type of watch or? |
| Chase Fancher | I think that's where it starts is I want this type of watch. And for me, it's all about, it's inspiration of, of, of what I personally want as a watch guy. Um, and what I think is the next step for Oak and Oscar. Um, and for me, it's, it's about making that piece that fits into the collection that already exists. But takes us to another level and I Have to then think about well what what fits that mold and then go from there? So for example after the Sanford I was thinking well, let's do a chronograph and then I have to go to well What kind of chronograph do I want? One of the biggest questions is to register verse three register and then from there what kind of design? |
| Blake Stacey | And so just to cut in why what what brought you to to symmetry? |
| Chase Fancher | Honestly, like it's easy as that symmetry plus the date of the six to me is just a beautiful way to show a chronograph. But I've always been frustrated that typically the two register chronos only give you the 30-minute totalizer. So that was when the Eterna Caliber 39 came into play with the stacked registers. It's like perfect, good to go. |
| Blake Stacey | Yeah, because suddenly you have the functionality without the loss of the date. Because I mean, we can get into this too and I could for a while on it, but the date at four 30 is a bummer. |
| Chase Fancher | That's nothing I ever want to do. I'll tell you that right here, right now recorded. I don't even like the date of the three. |
| Blake Stacey | I can, you know, I can deal with the three, especially if it's implemented. Okay. But it does always seem unbalanced. |
| Chase Fancher | And then the four 30 drives me nuts. I'd rather see a date at the 12, the three. I know, I know that's crazy, but like for me, it just feels right. And also it's kind of the heart hierarchy of information. Now, I understand why people put it at the three, with the intention that maybe only that part of the watch is out from under your cuff. So maybe it's easier to see. But for me, the symmetry of it is better at the six. It's paramount. And it's just, it becomes the hierarchy of the information too, is like your watch is more about the time and then follows by the date. Because a lot of guys, typically I find this with vintage guys, they don't even set their date, but they always set their time. So for me, having it the six, it's unobtrusive, which is a huge complaint by guys who don't like dates is it looks like it's just a secondary thought just thrown in there and be like, Oh crap, dates sell better. So let's put a date on it. For me, it's, it's one of the biggest features. Like we have a color match date wheel. The font on there is totally custom. The sevens have the hashes on them, just the way I write my sevens. And those are things that are important. Every little detail has been considered. |
| Blake Stacey | And you, uh, you figure a date is always, the right way to go or just depends? |
| Chase Fancher | No, definitely not. It really depends on the watch and what I want to put out there. I will one day make a watch without a date. I'm sure of that, but I, as it stands right now with the watches I've made, prefer having dates on them. |
| Blake Stacey | And if the movement that you're optioning has a date, then you're not dealing with having to remove that date and any of the structure within the movement that facilitates the date and and that sort of thing, which can be problematic. |
| Chase Fancher | Yeah. I mean, there are kits that you can buy typically from the manufacturers to after market, de-date them, if you will. Um, but you know, it's one of those scenarios where you're already paying to have them put the date on it. Why pay to then take it off? Um, but a lot of movements, you actually build feature by feature. So adding the date costs more money than the base model without a date, you know, a date versus no date. It all depends on the watch for me. Right. I like the functionality of the date, but sometimes it is, you know, form over function. |
| Blake Stacey | Yeah. Yeah. I, yeah, I, I, I can go either way with date or no date. If the date's done well, then you never notice it. It's just information that's nicely presented and it's there and it suits the watch, but it's so often not done well. |
| Chase Fancher | Yeah. Or the ones that are done at like 435, like not even 430, but they're in between the, that one drives me nuts. |
| Blake Stacey | Or, you know, you get a big, the really big drop from the dial edge to the date wheel. |
| Chase Fancher | Absolutely. And so you have to shadow. |
| Blake Stacey | Yeah. And I mean like obviously there's going to be a shadow on any of these, uh, apertures depending on the lighting, but sometimes it just feels like half of the team is always in the dark. |
| Chase Fancher | And that's one thing that we're actually really cool about the Jackson is the date window is really up close to the dial. So it's actually, it's actually slightly bigger date window than the Burnham or the Sanford. And that was one thing that I didn't really see until we saw it. in the prototype. I was like, wow, okay, that's awesome. Like, that's really cool. The date is that much more visible. I don't know if it has something to do with the sandwich dial design of the first two. That gives it adds a little bit. Yeah. Yeah. I guess that probably would be one of the key things. Cause this one is a raised indice. Um, so that dial is closer, although it does have a subset in the sub dials. So those are similar to the way the sandwich dial set up, but it all depends on the watch. |
| Blake Stacey | Yeah, I suppose so. And at a more broad level, as somebody who designs watches, if you go into a store and are just kind of, you know, looking at other brands watches and things like that, is there stuff that always stands out that that bothers you? |
| Chase Fancher | Or is it not wanting to get too negative about other folks watches? The quick answer is absolutely. I think a sense of cohesion with the design and then also knowing when to stop and adding just too much. And I think one thing that's always important to consider is that just because a feature is cool doesn't mean it needs to be on there. There's a lot of watch companies that throw a lot of stuff on the dial and it's just not always necessary. |
| Blake Stacey | Like where do you draw inspiration for your watches? Is it from other watches or typically from just good design that you found? |
| Chase Fancher | It's kind of a personal aesthetic that I like. And whether that's from simple things, like for example, like the tacky on here, is a light gray tacky and that contrasts with the dark gray dial. That actually, one of the first inspirations from that was trim on houses while I was walking around San Francisco with my wife and son years ago. I was like, I love the way that looks. I didn't do it on the Sanford, um, but I wanted to do it on the Jackson because I just, I thought the tacky would look better in a lighter color with a darker color print on the text. Um, and so that was actually inspired just by trim on houses as funny as that is for sure. It's, it's looking at how different aesthetics play on different products, different, different things, whether it's nature, whether it's architecture, cities, other watches, of course, are part of an inspiration. Like for example, the sub dial at three o'clock with the blocking of the colors, that's something that other watch companies have done before. So you look at that as an aesthetic that's nice to look at, but As you make it and as you use it, you realize that's really useful use of a visual design because quickly you can see five minute blocks of time. So you're really able to tell the elapsed time that much faster. So you're spending less time staring at your watch and doing that activity that you're doing, whether it's behind a car or cooking pastas or, or what have you. It's, it's a, it's an actual useful feature. |
| Blake Stacey | So since launching the brand, I assume Your watch enthusiasm must have grown substantially. Are you still collecting watches, into watches? Anything catch your eye recently? Have you bought anything cool? |
| Chase Fancher | Definitely. I mean, even being part of the industry, you almost see too many watches. I mean, there's pieces everywhere. I'm like, God, I'd love that. Of course, being in Vancouver, I'd be remiss in even talking about Halios because I love what he's doing. Jason's doing some great things. And he and I, we always get to hang out. We're in New York for wind up for the worn and wound event. And that's always fun to see him and chat and, um, actually knowing I'll see him later tonight. It's, it's just great as two, two little micro brands, two little independent watch companies trying to do cool things. We get together and chat and, and it's, it's a nice part of the industry where you're actually pretty friendly with most of the guys. Um, love what he's doing. I did, I was lucky enough to pick up the Hoyer skipper. Oh, very dinky. Yeah, I like that one too. It's, it's the one that just spoke to me and I can see the appeal. |
| Blake Stacey | Like, yeah, I think it's in the same vein as the Jackson. |
| Chase Fancher | Lots of fun colors and chrono. And I've actually, I've actually been lucky enough to wear the original Skipper. |
| Blake Stacey | Okay. |
| Chase Fancher | Like the original Skipper era. Um, and like I put that on three years ago. I know, I know one of the owners and I was, I was just smitten. And if you want to talk about grail piece, like that's it. Like I know I will never have one, right? I can't watch them. They're not enough of them. And I can't afford the number of zeros behind that price tag. Yeah. So if there was ever a watch that anyone was ever going to remake, it doesn't matter who it was. And it was that I was probably going to buy it. And so when I saw that, I jumped on it. |
| Blake Stacey | Yeah. It's a great design and yeah, a great use of color and really just a successful thing at a, you know, a price that people really took to for sure. |
| Chase Fancher | I just picked up another Seiko SKX-007. I have one. I gave one to another friend and like those are just classic pieces. |
| Blake Stacey | Yeah, I mean they're great for that. Getting a friend into watches or you know sharing the love so to speak. I think they're a base currency of the enthusiasm for watches. I think it's great. I adore mine and I love that it doesn't That really is one of those watches where it does not matter what price level you're into, what really even the aesthetic, unless you just don't like divers, fine, but it just has an appeal that really speaks to pretty much any enthusiast. For sure. And you've modded yours, right? |
| Chase Fancher | Yeah, I have the steel 12-hour bezel. Yeah, that's such a cool... I love... It's a great travel watch. For sure. I love 12-hour bezels. I think they're really cool. fun addition to a watch. |
| Blake Stacey | For sure. It's something that, you know, but 12-hour bezels is kind of a funny thing recently because, you know, they were more common. And then I think they just kind of faded out. And then, you know, it's only in the last few years that you start, or at least I personally started to realize that just a huge amount of functionality with no increase in complexity or cost. |
| Chase Fancher | It's simple. I mean, you count up, count down, like those are great. But with a 12-hour bezel, you can use it for a secondary time zone. And really you can also still use it for a count up or count down, especially if it's a bi-directional. Um, and, and cause you can just multiply the one through 12 by five and you know, the five minute increments it's they're very, they're very useful. So I'm actually tempted to mod the Seiko with that same. |
| Blake Stacey | Sure. I can send you the link to the Yaboki's. Everybody who listens to the show has heard me talk about that so many times, but I'll put it in the show notes for this. No problem. Yeah. It's a 20 or $30 thing from Yaboki's and you just pop the scale out and throw this one in. |
| Chase Fancher | That's easy. Yeah. And I love it, but it's, you know, talking about like, yes, my watch enthusiasm and I'm lucky in this scenario that having made a hobby into a job, the enthusiasm for the watches themselves only grows. Cause also as you do this, you realize the complexity that some of this stuff is like as a, as, as a hobbyist, as an enthusiast, as a person who was just buying watches, everything was really cool. But then you realize the amount of technology, R and D and everything that goes into it. And then also just the watchmakers themselves. It's such an amazing skill and art form they have that you just have that much more of an appreciation as you get deeper into it and as they say, getting to see the sausage made. Like you really just get to, it's for me just being so passionate about this, you get to see that much more into it and the doors open up and that rabbit hole just gets deeper and deeper. And it's an amazing, darker and deeper and it's just, it just, |
| Blake Stacey | Increases the enthusiasm I have for each piece of not only mine, but other pieces that I fall in love with So before I let you go, I did put up a post on my Instagram just asking if anyone had any questions for you Well, we had the opportunity. So we got a few questions During the course of the interview. So maybe we go over those bring it. |
| Chase Fancher | Let's see what we got a fun interactive way to do it I like it. |
| Blake Stacey | So the illustrious Joe Brown of pops. I sure he's asking will you do another run of the Sanfords? He missed one and he's pissed about it |
| Chase Fancher | Unfortunately, the answer is definitely not. Sanford is limited edition. Once they're done, they're done. Well, they're done, you know, bottom line. Occasionally, they go on the secondhand market. Shoot me an email. I'll let you know if any of the owners contact me. |
| Blake Stacey | Yeah, I guess that's a good point. I guess if he's really, Joe, if you're really looking one, maybe Chase can source one when one's going to come up kind of soft into the market. Yeah. All right. And then we got three questions from my buddy David, who's at mantra.la land. First up, why not go for Swiss made designation on the dial? |
| Chase Fancher | Simple enough is certainly I could actually all of it would qualify to have Swiss made on the dial. It's a, I'm an American company. It just doesn't feel right. Yeah. I mean, it's as simple as that. It's it's all my leather goods are from Chicago. All the leather goods are made in Indiana. Um, I'm Chicago based, so it just, it doesn't feel right. |
| Blake Stacey | Okay. And next up with another from David, what is the origin of the name Oak and Oscar? And I know the answer to this from one of our very early chats. |
| Chase Fancher | I almost want to ask you to answer it for me, but I'll save you from that. It's actually the stuff that I love. Like I quit the corporate gig so I could do this and have a better life balance and priorities. Oak is because my love of bourbon. And Oscar's my dog's name. So part of our profits go to a local dog charity. Um, and it's really all the stuff I love, watches, whiskey, dogs, and I get to hang out with my family more. |
| Blake Stacey | There you go. And that feeds into, cause I roughly knew the answer. Uh, two questions from, uh, one from 47 underscore jewel underscore movement and also, uh, at Clark Maxwell, both asking favorite whiskeys. Ooh. |
| Chase Fancher | Well, I will say I typically aim towards the bourbon side I have been really intrigued recently by a bourbon. I had it a couple years ago, but I've really gotten back into it but larceny Okay, really great frankly cheap. We did bourbon. Okay, you can get it at a really Most places I think and you in in US dollars, I think less than 30. Okay Um, but it's got great flavor, uh, and you never have to feel guilty for mixing it, but you can totally drink it by itself. That's been my favorite one drinkable, right? Like every day, like right now, if you're talking favorite, like special occasion, um, I mean, you can always list out the ever present pappies, right? That's, that's easy. Big money, big money, uh, and hard to find. Um, but, I like a Blantons a lot. Blantons are great. Huge fan. I'm a big fan of also like Four Roses. Yeah. And I'm recently getting... Oh, they do a Barrel Select? |
| Blake Stacey | No, that's... I can't remember the exact name of it. Four Roses? It's 50% though. |
| Chase Fancher | They do a lot of Barrel Select singles where it's based on where you buy it from. Okay. They may have special access to different barrels. Oh, okay. And same thing with like restaurants, like the Sommelier Beverage Director may be able to pick out certain barrels. One that I've really enjoyed and we actually just posted this on our holiday gift guide a little bit ago is a Colonel Taylor. Oh, sure. Yeah. Um, small batch, single barrel, uh, full proof, all of it. They're delicious. Cool. Okay. Those are a little harder to find, but they're, they're like 50, 60 bucks. They're so good. |
| Blake Stacey | Rad. Well, I think that gives a list. Yeah. Uh, I could go on for that for a little while. Keep going through the holidays with a few bottles and let's get to another one. Uh, from David, which was explain how a flyback chronograph movement is different from a standard chronograph. |
| Chase Fancher | Sure. So the simple answer is, is that the flyback allows you to hit a reset before hitting start and stop. So on a normal chronograph, you hit start, the hand goes around and you hit stop and to reset it, you hit the reset button. Um, with the flyback, you can hit start And then just to reset it and have it immediately start again, you can hit that bottom reset button, which makes it fly back to the beginning and restart. And keep running. Yeah. |
| Blake Stacey | And it keeps running. So if you're timing multiple laps. Yeah, exactly. Fast, staccato events. |
| Chase Fancher | Originally, from my research and understanding, it actually originally became popular on pocket watches a long, long time ago, in like 1800s or so, for horse racing. Okay. Um, the flyback specifically, and then it started becoming popular on your, your wristwatch chronograph for pilots. Um, so now it's just, it's just a really fun, very unique feature that not a lot of chronographs have. Never hurts, right? It just, it kicks ass. |
| Blake Stacey | Yeah, for sure. At our Lex, the robot asks, what watches do you feel need to be seen in person to be appreciated? Oh, kind of a deep one. Ooh. Um, I got a quick a quick reply is any of the opus? Okay, the harry winston stuff. |
| Chase Fancher | Sure the depth of the Challenges that they overcome and they're a little tiny they're not tiny but like their watches that they're it's amazing what they do and I guess sapphire cases and all those crazy things. |
| Blake Stacey | Yeah, the hours 11 is the one that always gets me it's like a tornado inside the watch and the stuff they do is just |
| Chase Fancher | I mean, it's just phenomenal. No, so be seen in person. I think, frankly, let me go ahead and give you an answer that's not an answer. Every watch is better in person because you get to see it on your wrist, you get to feel it, you get to even hear it, you get to engage the crown, the pusher, whatever it may be, it's always better in person. Minute repeaters? Minute repeaters are better in person. Super good in person. Especially if you have your sound off. Yeah, gosh, that's a It's kind of a deep question. But really watches are meant to be enjoyed like physically. |
| Blake Stacey | I would also say that any watch with a very complicated movement is really fun to see in person because you can get your the view of it and the way the light plays off like you look at a Lange movement in person is really a special thing. Especially if you've not had the opportunity because you don't live in a big city where you could go and see a Lange. I think Grubel Forzis are unbelievable in person because the closer you get the better they are. You start to see the way that they finish a hand and they have this special spear technique for hand finishing that is an artisanal, literally an artisanal technique that they had to redevelop in the process of making the 24 seconds vision. And in person, that little tiny hand, the point goes into infinity. It's so thin at its point. It's weird and it's really fun to look at under a loop. Yeah. And then you see things like the... If you've never seen a Day Batoon in person. Yeah. Those do not come across in photos. |
| Chase Fancher | They look amazing in photos, but in person... The depths of their dial with the way that they have some of the hands set up coming out of it. |
| Blake Stacey | And the blue titanium is incredible in person. The way that they do the day, night, AM, PM indicator with the little world that's made of... It's palladium and something else. Yeah. Awesome. That's another watch that I think is... so much of it is mirrored, but it somehow doesn't come off as flashy. Yeah. |
| Chase Fancher | And that's really cool piece. There's, there's a lot of cool pieces out there, but I think that's, what's great about watches is they're really meant to be enjoyed, um, in person. |
| Blake Stacey | And I don't think they all have to be super complicated too. If you've ever, if you've not had the opportunity to see a bunch of say vintage subs in person to see how one age differently than the other is a lot of fun. If you've ever, anyone who's ever been to a car show, especially a brand specific car show, you know, a parking lot full of nine 11. And you start to say like, well, these are all the same car, but then you've got color, you've got modifications, you've got wheels, you've got all sorts of things. And I think all of that plays into vintage too. So vintage always, if you can buy or see the piece in person, that's a good way to go. Yeah. |
| Chase Fancher | And that's one of the important points of why we even travel out and do these really fun tours is people get to see our watches in person. |
| Blake Stacey | Perfect. Well, it makes sense to me. And that looks like it pretty much rounds off most of the questions. Let me just double check. Mark Sweeney's can't wait for his Jackson to arrive. |
| Chase Fancher | Mark is such an awesome, like, stylish guy. |
| Blake Stacey | Oh, here we go. At WatchWannabe, any new designs for upcoming watches in the work? It's a good place to end because I assume you don't want to say too much. |
| Chase Fancher | Yeah, I mean, of course. I mean, just like with the Jackson, which we started designing before the Sanford even, you know, hit market. We're always thinking about what's next. You can't sit back and just Wait, you have to get out there and figure it out. And yeah, we've got the next piece in the works. And it's something we're really excited about. It's something where we know it's going to be a big step for us. |
| Unknown | Cool. |
| Blake Stacey | Well, not more needs to be said until it's time. Again, thank you so much for being on the show. I really appreciate it. And yeah, let's swing down to Red Bar and see how that's going. |
| Chase Fancher | Absolutely. Let's go. |
| Blake Stacey | Okay. And we're back. I think we're going to tackle some final notes, but of course, again, one more thank you to Chase for being available, for coming to Vancouver, for doing the chat. We always appreciate really having any personality on the show. And Chase is a, you know, I think a great designer and just the type of guy you want running a watch brand. And we wish him all the, all the success with the Jackson. And, you know, some of the, the stuff that's coming out in the future looks pretty exciting. So I think all of that's a very promising as far as a Okanoska goes. So Jason, how are you feeling about final notes? |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah, let's jump into it. Uh, you've got more than I do. Why don't you, uh, why don't you kick it off? |
| Blake Stacey | I do. Yeah. So the first one is a podcast. I had, um, I had kind of purposefully scheduled my December as a new freelancer to be very light on work. And then I got sick. So it was good in that I wasn't going to miss it many. I wasn't going to miss a deadline because I was sick, but also I was blowing what was essentially going to be a couple of weeks of really just, just maintaining a presence. Yeah. in email and things like that. So I was I was actually legitimately kind of bummed about that and a little down. I wanted to spend a little bit extra time with the family and I just wasn't feeling that great. And I found this podcast and it made a really big difference because these guys are very funny and hyper positive, which is two things I love in people. Yeah. And I think you can you don't have to be funny, but I really love positivity in people. I think that naturally I'm a little bit of a skeptic and I have to find positivity. Whereas some people just kind of exude it. And this podcast is called All Fantasy Everything. It's from a podcast network called HeadGum. And the concept is actually, if somebody had explained it to me and didn't explain it fast enough, I would have written it off. But the concept is basically, it's generally between three and four comedians from LA. It's run by this guy, Ian Carmel. And then he usually has on his pal, David Borey and Sean Jordan. And then they have a fourth guest and the concept is they they pick a topic of some sort which could be anything from sandwiches to like a fictional character you would like to go on a date with to like best cities the best cities to spend a weekend in of which they picked Minneapolis and and they also did like what you would do with a billion dollars would it be a billion oh my and the idea is that they do a serpentine draft So if there's four people, it goes 1, 2, 3, 4, 4, 3, 2, 1, back and forth. Yeah. And they all draft ideas or, or picks. So it could be your favorite sandwich and they're trying to take each other's picks or come up with funnier picks. And, you know, on whole, I typically listen to kind of self-help podcasts, like, you know, the Tim Ferriss one or Kevin Rose's podcast. I'm listening to podcasts about like Bitcoin and alt currencies. I'm listening to podcasts about cars. I'm listening to podcasts about watches. And then this one. and another one called my brother, my brother and me kind of make up my palate cleanser. Yeah, because they're really zany, super funny. I wouldn't listen to you can make this choice for your own kids. I wouldn't play this in the car with my kids. There is some bad language and there's some adult concepts and that sort of thing. So I would leave that to you. But don't don't think that because Maybe you play grenado in the car with your kids. And I'm recommending this, that you could just download an episode and start playing it. Yeah. You know, these guys are standup comedians and they kind of speak as such, but like I said, they, they kind of attack everything with a high level of positivity. They're very funny. They're into things that I don't know a lot about, which I really love. I love kind of having that, that new interest in things. And, uh, and yeah, I highly, highly recommend all fantasy everything. It's a podcast from HeadGum, whatever you use to listen to the Great NATO, you'll be able to find all fantasy everything. It's a very popular podcast at this point. And they're also up into the 60s or 70s as far as episodes. So there's a ton to go back and take a look at. But if you want a recommendation, the one that I will link in the show notes is what to do with a billion dollars. It's hilarious. Nice. Very cool. And how are you feeling? What have you got first? |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah, my first up today is a piece that came out in the New York Times two weeks ago on Sunday. And then there's also an online version, which we'll link to. I don't know if you can hear that they're doing the severe weather. |
| Blake Stacey | Oh, wow. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah, I can. They do it at one o'clock on Wednesdays. I think it's the first Wednesday of every month. Yeah, I think it's over. Yeah. So first up for me is it's an article, really long form article from the New York Times. It was actually a special section in the newspaper. two Sundays ago, and then there's a nice interactive online version with some video clips that we'll link in the show notes. But it's called Deliverance from 27,000 Feet. I don't recall the last time I read something this long in a newspaper, or much less even a magazine. I didn't do a word count, but it must be 15,000 words or more. Oh, wow. Just a tremendous, you know, given our interest in all things sort of mountain sports and adventure, This article just leaped out at me, really appealed to me. It's a bit of a sad story, but it's also very interesting. It's essentially about a group of four climbers from India, from West Bengal in India, who spent like 10 years raising the 40,000 bucks each to mount an Everest expedition of their own. |
| Blake Stacey | Just talk through it. |
| Jason Heaton | Of the four, only one made the summit and actually survived. The other three died during the attempt. And as people might know, when people die in Everest, typically the bodies are left there for various reasons. But in this case, for various reasons such as the Hindu religion and getting life insurance compensation and whatnot in India, Um, the bodies of two of the guys were requested to be brought back down by their families. The story is about the attempt to go and retrieve two of these bodies. And it's just, it's a fascinating story. I think culturally, you know, we, we read so much about Everest climbing and, and it tends to be kind of the province of, of kind of wealthy hobbyists that, that can, you know, save up or train a little bit and raise the 60 grand to go and do a climb like this. These guys that did this, these Indians, were from extremely humble backgrounds, you know, living in, you know, borderline slums in Calcutta and, you know, training and saving money for 10 plus years. And the story of their demise is fairly tragic, but equally just a fascinating story about the, not the rescue attempt, the recovery attempt to bring the bodies back and some great images, great video. And just a really good story. One of those kind of long form reads that, you know, you might not even be able to digest over a lunch break or a coffee break. Maybe it's the kind of thing you sit down in the evening and read for, you know, half an hour, 45 minutes. |
| Unknown | Yeah. |
| Blake Stacey | Yeah. So check that out. Good stuff. Sounds fantastic. I entirely missed that. And now I'm very much looking forward to reading it this evening. That's great. Yeah. How about you? All right. So my next one is a video from YouTube. It is called Wolf of the Autostrada. and it's from Virus Tornado, and it's basically this... I guess you could almost call it a music video. I mean, both of us have loved this, so you know the one I'm talking about. Yeah. And it's essentially a short film. It's five and a half minutes long, and they're playing Relax. Is that Frankie Goes to Hollywood? Yes, yeah. And it's, it has Valentino Balboni, who's, of course, the legendary test driver for Lamborghini, right, and was involved, you know, in many times. And then on top of that, you have Stefan Roser, Sam Hancock, Mikko Venturi, Emmanuel Kolo, and such. And then in the, it's basically a music video with cars. So if you're into, you know, like, Jamiroquai always has great cars in his music videos. So it's kind of in that vein. So there's a roof CTR Yellowbird, which is a highly specialized, highly customized Porsche 911. There's a Lamborghini Countach, an earlier one, and a lovely Ferrari Testarossa, and then an Aston Martin V8 Vantage, the one that looked kind of more like a Mustang, the older version, not the Vantage you would know now. And it's basically just them driving around and they're all trying to get to a certain case, like a briefcase. And it's hard to explain. Like I said, it's five minutes of just really great car fun. And I highly recommend it. It was one of my most favorite car videos of the last year. I'm working on a piece for Nuvo, kind of summarizing my favorite kind of car videos online from 2017. And this is absolutely one of them. It came out early December. And it's just great. So Wolf of the Autostrada. It's in the show notes. Check it out. |
| Jason Heaton | I loved that. I can't remember how you first described it to me, but it was I think you said it was kind of like a sort of almost a retro version of Petrolicious or something. It has that really interesting sort of tint and production quality to it that just has this retro. Yeah, it's nicely shot. Nicely shot and some great driving. Some great music. It has a very unique feel as opposed to other car videos and I particularly like that Aston Martin, the way that guy drives that. |
| Blake Stacey | Oh sure, and to see some of these cars just moving down the road. Like you just, I don't think like, like I know with YouTube, you can essentially see everything, but you know, I was watching the video again yesterday and there's a very brief clip where you see, you see Balboni coming in around kind of, it's a long panning shot, maybe from a drone of him coming around a corner in this early Countach, which is much more like when you think of a Countach, people think of the ones with the big wings and all the vents, but the earlier ones didn't have all that. They were a little bit more just the shape, the wedge with the awesome wheel arches. And he's kind of coming around a corner and then I'm not going to give away anything that happens after that. But that shot, when you see it moving, it has like an impact to see that car like actually running around. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah, definitely. |
| Blake Stacey | And I just loved it. It was great. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah. So many of these cars, particularly the ones in this video, are so photogenic that we tend to see them in photos. You know, it's a poster on the wall or it's some beautiful Instagram shot. And you're right to see them moving, to see a guy actually drifting of Aston Martin Vantage. vintage one around the corner is just something really unique about it. That was great. |
| Blake Stacey | Yeah. And I will watch any video with a yellow bird. Yeah, yeah. I've probably seen half of the videos on YouTube with a with yellow bird in them. It's just it's been a favorite car since I was, I was little and I think they're just mega cool and to see one in a video but also among the ranks of like a with the Testarossa, the Countach. It's great. Yeah, yeah. Super fun. |
| Jason Heaton | So I've got a I've got a podcast for my second final note here. It's nothing new, actually. It's just something that's kind of an archive that's been made available through the BBC. And it's something maybe people have heard of already. It's called Desert Island Discs. And I've particularly enjoyed these on long flights or just kind of as I'm getting ready for bed or whatever. |
| Blake Stacey | There's a classic Mike Pearson recommendation. Oh, really? Oh. Yeah. Oh, yeah, for sure. Oh, very cool. Big fan. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah. So it's, um, the, the concept is very simple. It's, it's, uh, you know, a presenter from, from the BBC talks to, uh, some sort of, you know, luminary from some various fields, whether it's an explorer, an actor, um, you know, author, poet, artist, uh, politician, what have you. And the concept is, you know, tell us your eight, if you were trapped on a desert Island, what are, what are the eight, uh, discs or records or tapes or you know, I guess nowadays it would be, uh, you know, audio clips or files, um, that you would want with you to sort of keep you company while you're there. And, and those eight songs that are, they sort of form an anchor to the program or sort of milestones that they come back to from time to time. But between the playing of each of those songs, um, the, the presenter talks to the person about their life and kind of their history and, um, you know, growing up and their exploits and things like that. And I, what I found is, is the show goes way back to, you know, the 1950s, um, up through the present day. And I've enjoyed just kind of hearing the voices of some of these people that, you know, previously I'd only known of, you know, from reading a book or, or just kind of knowing about, uh, Jacques Cousteau's in there, Richard Branson, uh, Wilford Fessiger, Sir Randall Fiennes, um, uh, Robin Knox Johnston, Jeremy Irons, Helen Mirren, you know, it's just you name it and and it's just it's just wonderful stuff It's these pleasant sort of conversations You know with these very famous people in a very Ordinary kind of down-to-earth fashion just asking them about their musical tastes and and then sprinkling in sort of filler about you know their lives and their exploits and and I just enjoy it each episode is I want to say, you know, 30 to 40 minutes long and very digestible. Kind of one after the other. I just sort of line them up and play them when I'm on a flight. You know, I'm sure when I'm on my way to Geneva, it's kind of a nice way if I don't want to watch a movie to kind of kick back and listen. And oftentimes I'll, you know, fall asleep during it or something, but it's just really cool. So there's a huge archive of them through, you know, whatever podcast system you use. I play it through iTunes, but it's really good stuff. We'll throw a link in the show notes to kind of get to that main, main page, maybe on iTunes. |
| Blake Stacey | Yeah. Very cool. We can certainly link that. It sounds like a great recommendation, especially with, uh, yeah, with stuff like SIHH and Basel and other trips, you know, there's a handful, handful of good flights coming up for you. So yeah. How about your last one? Yeah. My last one is a really quick one. Chris Burkhardt's Under the Arctic Sky. Uh, we've spoken about Chris and his, uh, Instagram many times and about Under the Arctic Sky. It's now on Netflix and you can also just buy the file right off their website. So we'll put a link in the show notes to that. Everyone should watch it. I watched it as soon as it showed up and it is fantastic. It's really good. |
| Jason Heaton | Yeah. I can't wait to see it. I watched the trailer for it and, um, it just, it, it promises to be really good. I'll have to definitely check that out. |
| Blake Stacey | Yeah. Great, uh, great adventure stories. There's some Land Rovers in there. Obviously there's a lot of like frozen water surfing. I think they did a really good job overall. In terms of the production and the length, it was very watchable. I love that it's on Netflix. Uh, you know, if you want to presumably be more supportive of Chris and his work in his studio, then you can go and buy the file, uh, outright. And then that way you can have it for, uh, long flights or scenarios where maybe you're not able to, uh, download the file to your Netflix account, that sort of thing. So, uh, you know, it's one that we had, you know, if you follow Chris, then you kind of saw it go to various film festivals and all that kind of stuff. And then now it's out. So that's great. Nice. I think that pretty much wraps it up. Don't you think? Nice long episode, episode 50. Looks like we made it. Onto a new year, the next 50. Yeah, for sure. I think it's going to be great. And next episode will be a post SIHH episode. So look forward to that. If there's specific, if there's a, you know, a specific watch that you'd like some feedback on that you see from the show that maybe isn't getting any mention, just drop us an email and I'll get it in the show notes for episode 51. And other than that, you know, as always, thanks so much for listening. You can hit the show notes for details. You can follow us on Instagram at Jason Heaton and at J.E. Stacey, and please follow the show at TheGreyNado. If you have any questions for us, please write TheGreyNado at gmail.com and please subscribe and review wherever you find your podcasts. Music throughout a siesta by Jazza via the free music archive. |
| Jason Heaton | And we leave you with this quote from Sir Ernest Shackleton, who said, I believe it is in our nature to explore, to reach out into the unknown. The only true failure would be not to explore at all. |