Holiday Gift Guide, with Furry Wrist Abroad
Published on Thu, 05 Dec 2024 09:03:07 -0800
Synopsis
In this episode, hosts Andrew and Everett welcome guest Furry Wrist Abroad, a prominent writer for WatchClicker.com. They discuss Furry's recent series of holiday gift guides for watch enthusiasts, covering items at various price points and value propositions. The conversation explores products like the Bulova Hack military watch, Brodinky's "Men Wear Pink" collaboration with StrapHabit, the Vero Force Service Workhorse, and various watch accessories including straps and cases. They also discuss Furry's writing style and approach to watch reviews, emphasizing the importance of providing meaningful content that respects readers' time. The episode concludes with their regular "Other Things" segment, where they share recent discoveries and recommendations unrelated to watches.
The discussion delves into thoughtful commentary about watch collecting culture, manufacturing quality, and the value of different price points in the watch industry. There's particular emphasis on how certain products support worthy causes or represent exceptional value propositions for gift-giving. Throughout the episode, the hosts maintain an engaging mix of technical discussion and casual banter, making complex watch topics accessible while keeping the conversation entertaining.
Links
Transcript
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| Andrew | Hello fellow watch lovers, nerds, enthusiasts, or however you identify. You're listening to 40 in 20, the watch clicker podcast with your hosts, Andrew and my good friend Everett. Here we talk about watches, food, drinks, life, and other things we like. Everett, how are you? I'm wearing a flannel. I'm wearing a flannel. |
| Everett | Which is good times. Not wearing pants though. wearing pants. I am wearing pants. It is so cold here, Andrew. It got, it's been dry, which I really like, but it got in the last 48 hours. |
| Andrew | Yeah, we touched winter. Incredibly cold. We're talking mid thirties, but not, wet, like not dry, wet 30 or not dry, dry, wet 30 wet thirties, like humid mid thirties, just like that chill you to the bone mean I stood outside from noon to four 30. Hmm. On Saturday? Yeah. In like 37 degrees and like 60% humidity. It took me hours to warm back up. |
| Everett | I stood outside from 430 to 730, but I was so drunk that it didn't matter. |
| Andrew | I was not drunk. And I was stationary. And I like, it wasn't great. Well, Andrew, I'm doing well. How are you? I'm great. Oregon is going to the Big Ten. Big Ten championship game. Yeah, that's right. Championship game. Thank you for having us. The big 10 will have this now. So thank you again. Uh, Michigan won the game. Yeah. This is the most exciting year of college football that there's ever been. The NIL is exactly what college football needed. You know, SMU stands to play in the first 12 team champion, like playoff SMU. SMU. I'll say it a fifth time. SMU. Does anybody know what that stands for? |
| Everett | Southern Methodist. I'm a Methodist, so I know what it stands for. |
| Andrew | I thought it was St. Mary's. |
| Everett | Well, Andrew, we're not here to talk about football or cold weather, especially given our guest. And I will just say, I will just say our guest hails from a very cold part of the world, and that's all I'm going to say. But our guest, who is a writer at WatchClicker, with a W, probably our most frequent writer at this stage of the game, fantastic photographer, wonderful speaker of words, based not just because of this very, very rich and luxurious timber, but also because the things that are coming out of his mouth are relatively smart. Yeah, just wait till you hear his voice. We have none other than Furry Wrist Abroad. It's been too long. Furry, welcome to 40 and 20 for the very first time. Sorry for that, also, that it's the very first time. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | Good evening, beautiful people. It's so good to see y'all again. I think it's been two years since we saw each other in New York and we had some Korean barbecue, correct? |
| Andrew | I think that's right. That is because you rushed away from Korean barbecue, so that was the last time that we saw you. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | Yeah, I value my sleep. You guys wanted to karaoke, right? We did karaoke. We did karaoke, yes. It got weird. |
| Andrew | In a good way. In a fun way, yeah, but it got weird. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | Yeah, I value sleep. So I typically don't sacrifice that. And that that weekend, I remember, I was like, Why aren't you coming? I'm like, I haven't slept in the years. Like, what does that mean? Then I told him and it was like, Yeah, you should go to bed. |
| Andrew | And we're gonna go get weird in a karaoke room. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | As you should, as you should. That's a luxury I could not afford on that week. |
| Everett | You know, when we go out to New York like that, we're so far from home that it's like, there's no fucking rules, man. There are no rules. Like, cocaine in the bathroom, yes. There are no rules. I'm in New York. Andrew's a cop. He's not gonna cop to that. But, didn't do that. Can't say wouldn't, but didn't. I didn't see for either. So, uh, well, well, furry. So first, first for anybody that doesn't know you in your own words, can you introduce yourself to the crew a little bit? Uh, who, who are you in relation to watch clicker? What do you do for watch clicker and why watches? |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | Okay. So first I'm going to address the 900,000 pound elephant in the room, which is the name furry wrist abroad, which is the. Instagram handle. So, um, the reason why that handle first came was because I'm kind of a furry person when it comes to hair. That's a genetic thing. Primary reason why I haven't gotten tattoos is because if I get a tattoo, it's like, Hey, putting up a beautiful masterpiece on a wall and putting a frigging bookshelf in front of it. But that's because I kept on, uh, actually booking trips and all the vacations were canceled because of work emergencies, family emergencies. So as a joke, made an Instagram thing called furries abroad, which back then I had. health trackers and like even though I was a mechanical watch guy then and that Instagram page was Directly for health related things working out recipes and things of that nature then everyone I loved and cared about told me to stop that because I made them feel fat and told me to Shiny watches And as far as the writing, I've been writing my entire life, but I've been writing about watches specifically under this pen name for about eight years. I am the first writer that came on to the watch clicker. And the major reason why I did that was basically me and Will really wanted to support his cat Revel, which is the most adorable cat on the planet. Yeah. I wanted her to have the most luxurious life possible. So dumped in all my writing in for him so we can get that going. And then he started having kids on the ship and the shift went over to doing that. So, yeah. |
| Everett | And I want to clear something up. The reason we're not calling you anything other than for Arista Broad today is because you are actually a classified scientist that works on alien projects and your identity is kind of a big secret, right? Because of your connection to extraterrestrial life that's known to humankind, we have to be able to preserve your anonymity. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | Thank you for clarifying that. I have gone to trouble in the past with that being interpreted as illegal aliens. No, no, I know it's a terrestrial alien. |
| Andrew | It's non-Earth dwellers. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | Yeah, exactly. Right now, I'll tell everyone I am from Canada. So right now the whole migration issue between us is a bit of a touchy topic. So it is a thing. I am allowed to work on aliens from the globular cluster just outside of the Milky Way galaxy. |
| Everett | Yeah. You know, you guys, we can't show you, but he's shown us some pictures that will blow your mind. I don't think he was supposed to show us. You shouldn't. I didn't see him. |
| Andrew | Everett might have. |
| Everett | My security clearance is at a lapse. Well, hey, so first, if you're not familiar with Furry's work, go to the website. He produces, I think, there are a handful of writers in the watch world that really don't follow a model. And oftentimes you get really delightful, but always sort of different material. And Furry's one of those. I'm always taken aback by the approach you take to writing. WatchClicker is the type of website where we publish, I would say, largely formulaic reviews. When I write a review, and it's been a while, but when I write a review, it's to the same format that Will writes a review because I copy his format. And I think we see a lot of that in the watch world, right? Where you've got an introduction, you make a couple of jokes, you talk about the dimensions, you talk about the dial, you give a little, you know, grid that you fill in the data in, and you don't do that, right? You take a much, I'm going to say, you take a holistic approach to the watches you write about. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | Would you say that's fair? degree. It is a little deeper than that. I'm a big reader, so I love the fact that when you guys do your other things, like last week you guys went to television shows, I don't watch TV that much. Primarily because I do read about four or five hours a day. My day starts with the two-hour block, which is why I wake up so early, where I just read newspapers. And what ends up happening when you've been doing that for like 30 or so years is you recognize when a writer or an editor does not have or does not value the reader's time. And when you go into formulaic things, and this is going to be a great segue into our main topic, when you're going into formulaic articles such as best top 10 pilot watches for the summer or something, the reader's not getting anything out of it. They may see a nice washers, they may buy, or they may pass over, but there is no long-term benefit for their gray matter. So I do actually stick to Will's format overall, but it may not feel that way. And the primary reason why I write for Will and no one else, especially those who I've been approached by, is I will not bend how an article should be written to portray a certain set of information towards the reader in a way that will actually benefit them. There were watches, which I was presented with to review, but the reader would not benefit from anything that would have been said from the review. So down to, so, um, it all comes down to whether I'm going to waste your time or not. And I don't, the last thing I want to do is do that. |
| Everett | So, well, I would say your reviews are unilaterally delightful. No, universally delightful. That's the word I meant. |
| Andrew | Uh, and, and like I said, it always, I'm always struck by how different they are because they're storytelling and, and Everett asked two questions that haven't yet been addressed. You sort of answered one. You said you've been writing your whole life, right? Talk about that. Like what, what, like, like your, your journey into writing, because we've all been writing our whole life. Like we, we, we go into elementary school and they're like, write an essay on Anne Frank and you write your essay on Anne Frank. I use Anne Frank cause I just read my fourth graders essay on Anne Frank. It was two paragraphs and it was, it was very cute. And I was like, that's objectively wrong. But fine, like great, I'm super glad that you researched this so well that you... did that. Uh, but I'm wondering about that journey into writing cause we all start writing like that's a thing. And then there's a decision point, right? Where this is a thing that you're passionate about that you want to pursue and you have a really unique writing style. You're a fantastic storyteller in the way that you, you write. Uh, I think when I, when I read your stuff, like I'm, I'm, I'm very engaged by it in a way that a lot of other, consumer goods writing just doesn't capture me. Uh, and I, and you kind of touched on that, but I'm wondering how, how we get there. Like, like where's that, where that passion is ignited. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | Um, the passion has to do with other writers. Um, as far as if you want to. And I don't advertise it as much because it is under a pen name, but I do actually have my own website where there are other topics covered, such as economics. There was actually a long form article on collecting communities, such as Watch Collecting Communities of Financial Responsibility and Psychology. I'm using my background in psychology and economics to actually feed into that. writing about long-term health facilities, how to navigate those systems, coming to even fiction and poetry. So the whole gamut I do write. Your audience will primarily be only exposed to my watch writing. The watch writing is probably, if you go on my website, you'll see it's probably about 40%, maybe 20% of what I write. And that's because there are so many more interesting things in life than watches. But watches are a beautiful thing, which is why we're here. |
| Everett | Yeah. Yeah. That's a really, it's not, I won't say it's a bold statement, but given what we're doing today, I think it's a, it's an interesting statement. How do you, well, I'm going to ask this in two parts. One is how do you come to terms with that dichotomy, right? We're spending all this time, Andrew and I have talked about in recent years, we're now like 318, 319 episodes. Right there. which amounts to something like, I don't know, probably 12 to 1500 hours each in this pursuit. And that's, you know, that's like a year, just that's like a year of an occupational year, right? How do you, how do you come to terms with that? That, you know, |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | problem right we're here we're spending all this time doing this thing that's so stupid watches are so stupid so um anthropologically um we do have a modern bias on that um and we also have a electronic record of these things where in the past we did not if you think about our great grandfathers they spent hundreds of hours a year in their shed with their friends. And talking about what they did back then. Go back to when there were campfire days, same thing. It's the fact that there is a paper trail, a digital paper trail about it does make us feel more guilty about it. And it does become a sanity issue too. There are people who do take it too far. I have worked with collecting communities in the past, and they're very much are examples of people who do take it too far. And it does impact the quality of life and their family life. That is when you notice it's time to take a step back. You guys, this is your hobby. You guys have other hobbies as well, but it's healthy. you're engaging, you're making a community out of it. It's not just sitting in a room by yourself obsessing over forums and quietly writing comments away while your family needs you. So regarding that and in all other forms of life, It comes down to our modern bias of thinking a little bit too much about our own importance when it comes to these things as well. Dumb things are everywhere. Dumb things bring us joy, right? Not everything has to be severe to bring value, right? |
| Everett | Yeah. Yeah. No, it's, it's a great answer. |
| Andrew | That's one of the most beautiful things ever. |
| Everett | Yeah. Yeah, I really like the idea of sitting in the man cave and shooting the shit. |
| Andrew | That's all we do. That's what this used to be. And then Sam started working from home and now there's a lady office behind us. |
| Everett | That's what we do. We just happen to record it and put it on the Internet. And I think to the same, you know, to a certain extent, writing about watches is the same thing. A little bit different. The second part of the question, part two. This is going to be a left turn. You ready? I'm ready. I believe that right now, AI, artificial intelligence, is capable enough to meaningfully replace 95% of the words that are written on the Internet. How do we continue to differentiate the quality words that folks like you make, and maybe to some extent folks like Andrew and I make, each week given that reality, or do we need to? |
| Andrew | 95% of the things that are written on the internet shouldn't have been. Yeah. Sorry to step in and answer your question for you. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | Actually, it's incredibly hard to forecast anything when it comes to artificial intelligence, given every month it doubles in its power. But in general, do good work. If you do good work and it's easily replaceable, the work is not good. And if AI gets to the point where it's replacing great work, good work, then that's something that we'll face when we get there. The only thing which I have encountered personally within the realm that we're speaking of when it comes to watches is I have encountered AI using the articles I've written for Watch Clicker to surmise watch reviews on YouTube and elsewhere. And it's wrong because it gets its information from everywhere and it's put together and it's dreadful. And me and Will, I think it's about eight months ago, we had a hard laugh at one of the YouTube videos that was using my photographs, using some of my words, but using words from everywhere from the internet. It was a mess. It's goulash. Exactly. And there are tells as well. Just like there are tells of people who are not good writers, there are tells of people who are liars, there's tells of AI which has gotten its ideas from everywhere. You can go to a party and strike up a small talk with someone and know that their answer is rehearsed and you don't even have to overhear them go to the next group and you know that they're saying the exact same thing to another person. Humans are, we have great BS detectors. It is our natural defense mechanism in order to move through the world. And as AI evolves, our BS detectors will naturally adjust for it to the point where it will be indiscernible. And at that point, that's a different discussion altogether. |
| Everett | Yeah. Yeah. No, I think you're right on with that last comment, right? human condition is, is 100% to this point in history, been to identify falsities and to be able to find the right in the midst of 10 different possibilities. |
| Andrew | So, I don't know, I think that, I think that level of attention is, significantly lacking in our current collective state? |
| Everett | I think we are dealing with unprecedented levels of information, and it does seem to me that we're getting somewhere. It does seem to me, and I don't mean that in the context of what we're seeing on a day-to-day basis, but I do think on average, we're getting more capable at detecting just as a society, as a global society, I'll say we're getting more capable at detecting. This is a huge aside. And so we probably don't want to spend too much time here, but I do think we're getting better. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | That's OK, it'll be a nine hour episode, it's fine. |
| Andrew | We can Rogan this like I'm I'm not opposed, whatever. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | Well, it all got better. So we can do we can do. |
| Andrew | So, so to get us on something like track. Can I, can I finally get the second part of my question in? Sure. Why watches? You write about this enormous gamut of things, right? You're, you're, you're clearly very well-informed. You're clearly very intelligent. You are objectively a very good writer. You're a very engaging writer. What got you down the rabbit hole of this hobby that's totally okay to have, though antiquated and a little bit silly? And that's okay. At what point do you like, oh hey, I like watches. Oh fuck, I love watches. Oh, I wanna tell other people about these watches. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | I'm really thankful and grateful that we have another eight hours of recording time. I'll start when I was four years old. Essentially, here in Canada, believe it or not, we did have rough neighborhoods. |
| Andrew | When I was very young, my parents gave me- Do you mean like there were potholes in the roads? |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | No, I think kids going missing and ribs being found later. These things happen globally. My parents gave me a very, very cheap Casio digital watch, which is where everyone starts. But for me, my parents were like, this has a 15 minute countdown timer. When it beeps, you run home and tell us you're still alive. Right? That is where my love for watches came in because it was a tool. I reassured my parents that I was okay. And also when I would look at it, I would see the time. I had the hourly time as well. So I knew when to come home for dinner and stuff of that nature. |
| Andrew | The empowerment that comes along with being able to be aware of time is super meaningful. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | And the trust that comes with it too, right? When you're five, six years old and your parents are like, We trust you to have some agency in real life. Imagine doing that now with the helicopter parents around. We entrust you to have some agency over this, but there's responsibility for it. You have to let us know if you're okay, and this is your tool. And from then on, throughout my academic and professional career, watches were always central. So whether it came to billing, whether it came to exam times, prep. I have a background in music, so when it came to exactly knowing how long a piece was, how long to keep a rehearsal going for, things of that nature. And even now with diving, keeping track of students doing drills, and I don't call them antiquated at all because I still must have a mechanical or quartz watch with me when dealing with diving students, for instance. And I use Garmin's as well, not as much Apple watches. I have gifted Apple watches to relatives and family members. But I do love Garmin's as well. So the antiquated part I don't agree with totally. For normal civilians and people who don't use them as tools for their work and for their livelihoods, possibly. But for me, they are essential tools, just like pens, keyboards, cameras, cars. And the beautiful thing, and everyone on your show will have said some version of this, is that I'm not going to do my Professor Fink Simpsons impersonation with a nerdy voice here, but it's the perfect intersection of design, engineering, history, art, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, right? So they're very relevant. They're not antiquated. In fact, within a mechanical watch world and a couple of things that we're going to talk about later, we'll see where not progressing is a bad sign, but they are progressing and they are moving the needle forward. So yeah, that's my reason for watches. It's beautiful thing and doesn't cease being beautiful. |
| Andrew | Accept your answer now we can move on you can take it away. So You pitched to us kind of a couple ideas You Carried the torch of our of our gift guide Because we didn't, because, I don't know. Well, you can call it life. We'll just, we'll accept your answer. But you carried the torch. So part of the reason you're here, this is the first episode of December. This is the, you know, kind of the globally accepted gift giving time of year. Let's dive into it. I do have a question at the conclusion of the gift guide. Yeah, but let's dive into it. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | OK, so regarding that, when I spoke to Will, I pitched to him an idea of doing the not just the holiday gift guide, which is just one article. I don't know what other publications you read. There's no shortage. Yeah, there's no shortage of holiday gift guides. The extremes range from what Watch Clicker did before, which is like anything $20 and. all the way to the Financial Times How To Spend It magazine, which is the ideal gift for your husband is a $10,000 Omega Seamaster, which is very viable. |
| Andrew | Super ideal gift for me if my wife is listening. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | Exactly. And in fact, on probably another episode, I did receive such a gift for birthday from now an ex-girlfriend and it didn't take me aback, but it was extremely appreciated. And even though we're, we're actually still on speaking terms, I still wear that watch in her memory. So, but getting back to what the watch cooker is doing, we're marrying those two together. And now that we're dealing with the financial. I wouldn't say financial crisis, cost of living crisis that pretty much determined everything in our lives. Value means a lot. And the value proposition means a lot more than just strict budget. So it comes down to what you get for your money. So for this series of articles, not just one article, there were four criteria. The first was, does the gift receiver feel like they received something special? The second, does the gift receiver value and use this gift, right? There's a difference between, oh, this is very nice, this is very special, goes on a mantle and disappears. Third, does this gift have a higher purpose and mission beyond just being a product brought to the market, right? Does it support a greater cause? And within the holiday season, season of giving, this is Giving Tuesday and everything, this is actually a part of our society. And fourth, do you, as a gift purchaser, get your money's worth in knowing that your gift is well-received and will be appreciated over the long-term? Meaning it's not something that just chucked in a drawer and will resurface when the gift receiver dies and you're in charge of their estate. |
| Andrew | Or when they're looking for a $0 limit white elephant gift. |
| Everett | That is, there's some value to that, right? I've given this person the ability to give someone else joy. |
| Andrew | I have a white elephant party every year that the rule is you may not buy it. What is a white elephant? What white elephant party it's a gift where everyone everyone brings a Gift and it's wrapped and it goes under a tree or under like wherever the pile of gifts is and then everyone randomly selects the item and then you if you if you select an item and It may be stolen or it may not be. And then the next person in line selects either steals your item or picks a new unwrapped or wrapped gift under the tree. So I have a, I go to a white elephant party every year where the rule like, and, and, you know, usually it's like a $20 limit, $15 limit, you know, inexpensive, kind of like fun, silly things. But I go to one every year where the rule is you may not buy it. It has to already exist in your home. |
| Everett | I, so I actually believe that the term white elephant, so they call this different things in different places, but I actually believe that the term white elephant comes from Thailand where the former King of Siam used to give dignitaries that came to visit that he didn't like, uh, albino Island, uh, elephants because they were expensive and difficult to maintain and just basically a terrible gift. I've heard of this. Just a shitty gift. Yeah, it was just like, take one of my albino elephants. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | David Letterman gave Conan O'Brien a horse simply because he knew it was an incredible pain in the butt. |
| Andrew | Yeah. Yeah. It's just like that. It's just like, yeah. So anyway, that's the white elephant gift. I don't remember how we got there. |
| Everett | Well, we said that's one way to get someone a gift is to make it like, here's a future white elephant. |
| Andrew | Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. The, your criteria for, for the value propositions, it's. Okay, yes. |
| Everett | Well, given that, why don't we just go in order of publication? So there are a total of four of these, we'll call them gift guides for lack of a better phrase, four of these gift guides that you've published at WatchClicker this season. Let's start with your first one. Well, and the fourth one will be publishing more or less simultaneously with this episode, so it actually as we record this hasn't published, but we have. Well, excuse me 5, but we have seen the 5th one because furry was kind enough to give us a preview. But let's start with the first one. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | But the first one, it makes sense for the first one to be an entry-level gift for an entry-level mechanical watch enthusiast. And for this, I went with the Billova Hack, especially the military edition. Now, what's beautiful about this is that it not only feels special on the wrist and when you're holding it, it has a beautiful case back, beautiful acrylic crystal, appropriately finished case. Strap is a little, leaves a little to be desired, but what doesn't? |
| Andrew | That's kind of a bull of a thing. Yeah. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | But the fact that it uses a direct link for watchmaking being the source to give injured veterans a pathway towards making a livelihood is just a beautiful thing to spark that enthusiasm within a brand new watch enthusiast. |
| Everett | Now, the Bulova hack, this is a watch that is, I would say this is a watch that exists in many counterparts, both today and over time. It is a watch that you'll see and instantly recognize. Bulova, of course, is a brand that can lay claim to the earliest phases of the American wristwatch. and still today remains an independent, well, I guess they're not independent. They are a, but an American company that continues to make watches in the same spirit as it did back in the 1940s. And this, of course, Boulevard Hack named after the sort of genesis of this type of watch, which was that ability to stop the second's hand. Uh, we've talked about this watch on a handful of times on this show at 400 ish dollars. |
| Andrew | Oh, and, and every iteration of this watch that has ever been produced in the last six years. Yeah. This is as iconic as a watch gets. And this is, I think one of the, I think you nailed it. And one of the best, best value propositions of this watch. |
| Everett | And now you've written about your own bull of a hack that you've owned for a number of years in this article, right? Or in this guy. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | Correct. Correct. And the beautiful thing about the bull of a hack is that it goes on sale very frequently. So the 400-ish or so dollars, Canadian money, 400 U.S. dollars is a house here. It's true. Um, but it can be had for significantly less. Um, a tip for our listeners is that if you are interested in a bowl of a hack is. Continuously look for discounts because citizen themselves do discount the watch, not necessarily the military watch, which was covered in the article, but there are other beautiful variants of it as well, which have all of the features that you would love of this model that was reviewed, except for the case back. |
| Andrew | Well, the case back is a winner. It's, it's one of the most meaningful case backs that's ever been etched. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | Yeah. And, um, you guys know the people who served probably served yourselves. Um, My friends who serve in the military looked at this watch and give it an auto-approval, where a lot of watches, especially enthusiast watch related brands, they look at it, roll their eyes, and they're like, this is just people doing cosplay and they move on. But this is, this actually has a purpose, right? |
| Andrew | The purpose is what lands it. The case back to the purpose is what got it for me. But typically when I see case backs like that, I roll my eyes. I'm like, man, fuck you. |
| Everett | Tell us a little bit about the Veterans Watchmaker Initiative. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | So Veterans Watchmaker Initiative, it's all in the article. It goes back a hundred or so years, right? It's taken different forms of ownership over the years and Belova originally was in there. So this is all in the article. Um, and. The fact that Bulova is still doing it when they don't have to speaks a lot to not only Bulova, but Citizen Watch Group in general. So I'm very fortunate that I have met not the senior C-level staff of Citizen Watch Group in North America and the United States and Canada, but pretty much up there. Amongst all watch companies, They have the longest tenureship of employees. You ask them on average, how long they've been there. It's 25 to 30 years and it shows they legitimately care about their products. They know their products. You ask them about a specific niche product, their eyes light up and they won't be quiet. They'll corner you in a party and it's their party. So, Um, it speaks a lot to citizen watch group in general, and it's something that a lot of larger watch brands can learn from. |
| Andrew | And that's wild for a brand like Bulova who can make everything from the curve and like Macy's counter nonsense to like actual watch chops things like the hack. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | Yeah, and within, again, the larger scope of Citizen Watch Group, Bolivar, when you look at their precisionist line, it does fit in within price range of what overall the Citizen Watch Group has. Just like Swatch, when it comes to their different brands, they have to slot things in. So they're going to do everything they can because they're a huge conglomerate, but the fact that they still care about the nitty-gritty is quite impressive. |
| Everett | So friend of our show and probably one of the most well-known people in our space, Brodinky has for a number of years now done a men wear pink collaboration with StrapHabit. I think this is the second or third year of this. And you actually did a write-up, your second write-up for this year was on the Brodinky StrapHabit men wear pink write-up or strap. Tell us a little bit about that. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | Okay, so this is between me, you, and you, and the listeners and no one else. The reason why this particular article was written had to do with my interactions within collector communities. Hobbies which center around products that can be viewed as strictly items that are perceived as status items can have a negative impact for many who are starting out. So when it comes to giving a gift to someone, Not only are you giving them a beautifully engineered strap, because Nick from Strap Habit, he is an engineer, extremely well thought out, and it's going to come later on as well. But this introduces the person to the good people in the community. There have been lots of collector groups that I've gone to. I won't specifically name which ones. where I have seen a young lady and or gentleman sit down with their Seiko SKX or Seiko 5 at a random table that they found a seat at. They want to talk about watches and what this watch means to them and person sitting across from them with the very basic ETA movement IWC could not care what they're talking about because it's such a lesser watch them, what they want. And when I first started writing within the space, I was involved in the collector community. And this is something which a lot of young people spoke to me about, where they're like, we go to these events, and we literally, we're not seen. Right? Sean even Yeah, look, they don't even it's not even being shunned like you can't it's like a human walking over and I'm just not I might as well not be here. Exactly. And, um, in one of the instances I actually took out, I think it was six of them and I bought them, it was a sushi dinner. I just felt so bad. I took them out for dinner and we talked about it and they told, they talked about their dreams. One of them was like, I want to open an architecture firm, but have a vintage watch. office off to the side and another one his eyes lit up he was like i want to do the same thing with outdoor brands and stuff like that so this was primarily geared towards that And a nice way to actually get to know that there are decent humans in this hobby, too. It's not just people flashing their wristwatch in front of their luxury sports car steering wheel on Instagram. |
| Everett | Shudder. You know, and I would say in some ways that is why this why this show got started. And it very much is in the spirit of of 40 and 20 and the watch clicker, you know, when we started this, we were like, nobody's talking about cheap watches. I want to, I want to bold. I want to time. We've been accused in recent years of having upped the material. And that's a fair accusation. And it is, I think one of those things that happens over time. |
| Andrew | Our, our, this show is us Experiencing our watch journey in real time. Yeah, right our first shows we talked about reach watches that were $800. Mm-hmm and that was like |
| Everett | But, you know, I guess maybe to bring it back, you know, today I wore to work in a suit with a court hearing. I wore my Casio AMW 320 that I picked up on eBay for 80 bucks and is still just one of my favorite watches. |
| Andrew | So I think- And currently he's wearing a Speedmaster Pro that is not wound. |
| Everett | It is. No, it's not fucking running. It is running. |
| Andrew | Andrew, what are you wearing? I am wearing a Monta Atlas. That's what I wore today to hang Christmas lights. And it is 100% running. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | So on that point, actually an important one. It swings. It is running. I apologize. It's a small second sub-dial. It's hard to see at times. On that point, I want your listeners to actually know that it swings both ways when it comes to the shunning. And some people see their own financial burdens as a litmus test as to the value and worth of another human being and whether they should be heard from. Again, coming back to watches, the beautiful thing about them is you have Flick Flacks at whatever price and you go all the way to David Thunes, right? And above that, there's something for everyone. As soon as you criticize someone for focusing on a topic which is out of reach for you, it's not out of reach for you financially, it's a personality issue and possibly intellectual issue. So it's whenever you come to a point of discomfort in a social setting, the first question you should ask is, why am I feeling this discomfort? Look inwards first, then go forward. So, um, I've been listening to you guys for ages. Um, you guys have not strayed into Richard meals and stuff, even though I was, I kind of wanted to talk about the RMO too. And why, why. |
| Everett | Well, before we get too far removed from it, I do want to talk about this because I think this is, I do think Brodinky's collaboration, this, I believe it's an annual collaboration, is a pretty cool deal. And I like the fact that they've gotten traction with sort of, I don't want to call it ironic, but a pink a pink rubber watch strap that's intended to be worn on high-end watches. People are not buying this strap. Well, I assume you could buy it for any watch you want, but people are buying this strap to be worn on their you know, very nice, perhaps Saco's or Omega's or, or whatever, this is a strap that's sort of like counterculture and goes to a great cause, right? So the, the American cancer society, I believe is the recipient and they're raising thousands of dollars for the American cancer society with us. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | And this really speaks to Nick's work as well. So the quality of his products. I wear another one of his straps, which we may speak about later on my Omega X 33. And it feels like an OEM Omega strap. |
| Andrew | Which is one of the coolest watches that I've ever seen in person. And when you showed it to me in person, it like it did the same thing, same thing that the Santos did to me. And I was like, man, |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | It's a special piece. It and my Seamaster 300, which is what I'm wearing right now, are just my primary go-tos. The only reason why I don't wear my Garmin much more is because it just falls outside of my training regimen to have that. So, but it's, yeah, Nick is a very impressive person. And I'm not only saying that because I may be riding for him later, just like when it comes to Will. you kind of you have the freedom to you do surround yourself with people who are good and His work is the foundation for this being possible. Also the strap. Oh, I have it here. It's not attached to a watch Sorry guys who are listening. This is wonderful radio, but It's beautiful, pliable, doesn't smell like anything, which is hugely important. |
| Everett | Are they FKM or are they MBR? |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | That you'll have to look at the review. FKM sounds familiar. |
| Andrew | Have you worn Everest before? I have. So compare it to Everest. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | From what I recall from Everest, this would be five years ago, Everest felt more robust in the stiffness spectrum, but not necessarily in whether one would tear or one would not. |
| Andrew | Yeah. So that's like a little, just a little firmer. So if I'm hearing you, I'm hearing this strap is just a little bit more supple. Cause something that I've like, I, I don't complain about with the Everest straps, but they're, they're stiff and they don't seem to break in and which I'm not kind of okay with. Right. Cause I, I like, like, I like, I like the firm rubber feel. But but but they're they just are. They're just a little stiff. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | So the best way to put this FMK strap, which is different than his other straps, which I bought, is. We've all been children at one point, and you've come home from a horrible day at school and your parents sees that you've had a horrible day at school and they just give you a hug. That's what the strap feels like. Sold. I love it. |
| Andrew | I love it. What have we got next? |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | We have the Vero Force Service Workhorse. So with that, very easy. It's the most unique watch experience that you can have before venturing into the realm of orthorology. So if you don't want to spend $150,000 on a watch, turn to Vero and their designer, Matt Smith-Johnson, which is also from Toronto, Canada. And all the risks that they take are calculated, informed, and groundbreaking. And when it comes to the movement of the watches, it's a kinetic movement. How they wear and how unique they are on the wrist makes them an absolute no-brainer gift for the watch person in your life. which already has everything. |
| Everett | Yeah. Yeah. You know, Vero brand that's kind of near and dear to us. |
| Andrew | Very good. So very dear. We've we our first field trip was to their original all in house manufacturing, uh, I'm reticent to call it a Portland reticent to call it a warehouse or or even production facility in their storage unit that they rented that they had a bunch of CNC machines. |
| Everett | Yeah, they probably had about what 4000 square feet of a shop and they had they had a handful of four axis and a five axis CNC machine and they had an entire space dedicated to sort of watchmaking and then they had a pad printing this Lovely pad printing room. |
| Andrew | Yeah, they're a little paint shop and custom. There was a dog who had a trampoline bed Yes, no, we love Vero Vero is is a hundred miles north of us They are I don't know what that is in kilometers |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | I'm given the information it's from here to Venus probably. |
| Andrew | Yeah, probably. It's it's a short drive. |
| Everett | It's it's two hours and Chris was was just really cool to us from the get go. So again, yeah, Vero's Vero's near and dear to our heart. |
| Andrew | They were they were cutting. Prototypes like while we were there, we were wearing prototypes like yeah, we were. We wanted to test this idea out today and they'd pull the. watch case out of the CNC machine. |
| Everett | And of course, we've talked about this in the show, but Vero, a much different brand now, they did eventually decide that wasn't going to be financially, or perhaps even just business sense, like making those watches in that shop in Portland wasn't going to work out long-term. And I think they've done a really good job in their transition to still making Vero watches. And to your point, Furry, Watches that are so different that wearing them in and of themselves is one of the weirdest experiences you can have. I've got in my chest right now, I've got one of the Smokey the Bear watches, but the Workhorse, when that watch came out, I was a little like, what? |
| Andrew | Yeah, a little offended, like a little excited. Yeah. |
| Everett | So tell us a little bit about this watch. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | So, um, That has to do with Matt Smith-Johnson. I have written articles on him on the Watch Clicker and the Matic blog and elsewhere as well. Some stuff will be coming up on the mainspring. He's an actual designer. So lots of people, they get into watch designing and they don't have a design background. He does. And on top of that, he's been a watch nerd for decades. |
| Everett | And this is Matt Smith-Johnson, AKA Teenage Grandpa, is how many of you may know him. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | exactly and also again between me you and you and your listeners he is such an adorable human being you meet this he's like a cartoon character in real life you just want to adopt him even if he's older than you so brilliant mind he knows what he's doing and on a side note with these two watches vera were kind enough to let me keep these two watches And as a writer for ethics reasons, I never actually keep watches. I gave these two watches to two other writers for WatchClicker, Frank and Will, and they may do something with them later. So that's something that may happen in the new year. But as you said, they're very different. Will, when you received the watch, the first thing he told me is, what the heck is this? This is so different. This is only something Vero can get away with. So yeah, Matt Smith-Jones is doing great work there. Vero's doing great work too. I'm very excited to see what they're doing. On that review, I did make a wishlist, which I think will never happen, but I want a workhorse at this $3,000 to $6,000 USD price point. I want to see what they can do. And that being, I don't want like a mechanical movement in there. I want a high-end core, something that's meant to be beat up, robust. But when it comes to the manufacturing know-how of Vero, now that they've got with Matt Smith Johnson, I think they're capable of so much. |
| Andrew | Because to be clear, these are coming in at under 500 bucks. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | Yeah, these are coming at under 500 bucks. And as someone who's been writing about this for a decade now, you can see a platform of something with this unique of a design elements being much more too. |
| Andrew | Yeah, it's like hooded. |
| Everett | case like lugs that are yeah hooded it's not hooded lugs it's lugs that are it it's a brilliant design on on this on this watch you know and i think i think vero's done a good job with with their full line of watches in listening to feedback and making uh changes and i think they've done that here i actually got a bit of it I wouldn't call it a heated discussion, but it was approaching heated with friend of the show, and I don't think he'll mind me saying this, Los Angeles Timer on Watch You Seek. He has probably written more words about watches than anybody I've personally ever met. Fantastic guy, super smart. I believe he's a script writer. Los Angeles Timer and I had gotten a bit of a, like I said, approaching heated conversation about the original workhorse. And he made some good points. He said, you know, I'm reading about this watch, and I don't read anybody saying the things that I'm seeing, which is that there's some problems with the movement, that the strap's a piece of shit, and that there are some other problems with this watch. You have a curious face. And nobody is saying these things. And I, you know, I said, well, look, right. We get everything. Every watch has his, his point was that, that the, the watch media doesn't ever criticize a watch, right? We don't ever criticize. And there are things to be criticized here. And that ultimately, if we do criticize them, it'll make it a better watch. When, when those things are considered, I think not withstanding the fact that maybe nobody was screaming about these things. I do think Pharaoh has done a really good job in addressing these. I do think the original workhorse strap was not my favorite, and I think that they've largely addressed those issues. |
| Andrew | Yeah, they have. They did a Pendleton partnership, and they've improved their strap overall. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | Actually, on both of those things. First, I'd like to know what his issue with the movement is. |
| Everett | You know, I can't remember. There was something about the movement, something about the way the second hand was torqued, and I don't actually remember, and it doesn't matter. But I do remember the strap criticism. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | That might be an example. I have held many of them. The only issue I have with the movement personally is on a functionality point where you press restart and you have to wait for the hand to slowly go back. I never had an issue with it being torqued. Now the strap, I have spoken about it and I've written about this watch twice. When you do hold it brand new, you may be disappointed, but after three weeks of yard work, you appreciate that strap. Yeah, fair enough. |
| Everett | I do think the strap is better too than it was on the very first versions of these that came out. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | I have the first versions and I've tried the most recent ones. Um, the same holds true if someone's criticizing, cause I've heard the exact same criticism of the new one where if someone holds it, they're like, this is a piece of garbage while they haven't actually looked at what's gone into the construction of it. And also it comes down to, and this is not for who you were speaking to. This is everyone who I've spoken to. It's differentiating. what is the mission statement of the product you're holding and what is the mission statement of what your personality point is that you're trying to get across and what your values are. The workhorse is meant to patina. It's meant to be worn very hard. Lots of people, their primary complaint about the workhorse is that the paint chips on it. It's designed to be like that. And in fact, if you read the website, it clearly states this. And if you make a nice, beautiful, supple, delicate strap to go on a tool watch after that three weeks of yard work, it's not going to be on the watch anymore. |
| Andrew | And your watch won't be on your wrist. It'll be somewhere behind you. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | So it, it's. In fact, if the only lesson I can give for your listeners is outside of very small micro brands, which are have founders coming to the table with a watch simply because they like watches. people are smarter than you give them credit for. |
| Unknown | Yeah. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | People do things a certain way. And again, when I mentioned earlier, when you're in a situation and you feel discomfort, ask what's the internal source first before you go outside. Right. And with the strap, and in fact, the reason why I say yard work is that original workhorse that I have went through a very grueling summer. And the strap is now softer, but it actually still looks new. So again, you're holding the watch for 10 minutes. You have an opinion. That's great. But does that mean you should write an article about it? |
| Everett | Tell us a little bit about, tell us a little bit about why this watch makes a great gift. Beyond the obvious, beyond the obvious. Do you have anything like it in your collection? I personally don't know. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | Most people don't. It has retro themes, which go back to something which a lot of us are nostalgic about. And the design is very unique. It'll stand out. And a lot of times when, if you're going to the gym or going anywhere else, you just grab a boring G-Shock. For the enthusiast, this gives you something to take with you to be enthusiastic about, yet you know you can beat the living daylights out of it, and it's meant to go through that process with you. And one of the reasons why we love watches is that they're not disposable. They go on that journey with you. They age with you. They patina with you. And that is what the workhorse presents to anyone. |
| Everett | Tell us about the Loci PCH and I hope I'm saying Loci correctly. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | I think it's Loci because it's based on the Latin word location and stuff. But I met Trip Anderson at the Toronto Timepiece Show and I held a timepiece that he had and the quality of it stood up for a timepiece that I would give to someone that's an entry-level luxury timepiece. This being something that the segment is occupied by Hamilton or worse, but unlike those two watch companies, It presents something that a watch enthusiast would enjoy, which is not something that you can just pick up at a department store. And as a segue to the final article, brands such as Nodus and what Lokai bring to the table, is something that a watch company can focus on that larger watch companies cannot bring to the table for the masses, right? Yeah. That is where this came on. And when you talked about criticisms, there were some criticisms about this watch in the article. And it's primarily wearability issues. Um, and something which is a little different than my articles as I even went into the anatomy of one's wrist and specifically when this wouldn't work. So if you are giving this as a gift to someone, you can eyeball their wrist and pretty much tell instantly whether this will work for the wrist or not. Right. |
| Everett | Cause PCH has got a pretty decent lug to lug and not a lot of curve. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | Yeah, so it has an issue which a lot of Bell and Ross earlier watches had, which is where your tendons and bones would just get crushed. This one doesn't crush it, thankfully. It just presses up on it, so it may create a more fatiguing wearing experience. But overall it's, it was wearable for my wrist and my wrist is borderline for that. It was just, and another quick thing for your, for your listeners is that whenever I review a watch, I do slap it on to as many risks as possible. Right. It's not just my wrist. Right. So, um, it wore really well. The dial on this watch was another beautiful thing. Um, trip he took a photograph of a beach the sand and he did a 360 composite of it and at trade shows it might look a little flat because of the lighting but in all other lighting situations it's actually beautiful yeah it's really dynamic Yeah, it's really dynamic. It does depend on your lighting. And I think that is why a lot of people may go to his website and choose the two other dial variants. But every single person who I showed it to, especially people who were, um, into fashion, not necessarily watches. Cause whenever I show something to someone who's into watches, they fall into the trap of saying, oh, I don't like the lug to lug. I don't like the strap fitment and stuff. They don't actually look at the timepiece. Right. Everyone else who was into fashion looked at it and immediately thought this fits within 50% of our wardrobe. This will get worn. Right. So yeah. |
| Everett | And loci actually, so PCH is refers to the Pacific coast highway and loci gives 10% of every sale. I believe 10% of their gross revenue to the surf riders foundation. Can you tell us a little bit about that? And I believe that that's that within your theme, that's why this gets a nod as a great gift. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | And I believe there were, again, I don't have the article in front of me. It's been a while since I've written it. Early eighties, I believe they came into B and they focus on natural disaster areas and various other things. And Trip actually has a background in it too. So for him, it is not just something random that he cares about. It does have to do with his upbringing, his life, his professional background as well. So when I spoke to him, again, we talked about BS majors, right? When you go to any trade show, you can immediately tell when someone's rambling off something. And Trip was not Trip. And then when I spoke to him about specific areas up here in Canada, his eyes again started to light up. It's something that's going to, that's been coming up in this show quite a bit, people's eyes lighting up. So at that point we spoke and we were familiar with similar people in the watch industry. And then we, I told him, we can write something for you. And this actually has a space for our readers. |
| Unknown | Yeah, yeah. |
| Everett | But it's a great, it's a great write up and I think it's a terrific watch. So for our final article, and this will be the article that's publishing today, of course in the future for us, but today for you folks listening, I think we can do this in a bit of a speed round, but there's a theme here. Talk to us a little bit about your theme for this final article, because I think it's fun. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | I'm not sure, I'm not sure what the theme is. You probably read it more recently than I wrote it. It's basically, essentially it comes down to value again. So best entry level luxury watch for wrists of all sizes, the Notice Unity. Will wrote a comprehensive review on it back in April of 2023. I've owned the pink version since it was launched. It's perfect. Outside of the finishing and especially the movement, and I'll speak about it very quickly, the Notice Unity is the best alternative to the Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra on the market bar none. Once you get past the movement, Omega's movements, I'm an Omega collector, as someone who loves watches, that reliability of their movements does come into play and their Miotas and Seikos and even Salidas don't come close to that. But outside of that, it is just, it's a beautiful watch. And it's something that I'm really proud of the Notus Boys, which they brought out. |
| Everett | Yeah, great size on this. I do wish it was just a hair thinner, but a great size on this. |
| Andrew | When we got to see the prototypes of these in New York and two years ago, you know, when we last met. I just remember being like. I have like I want to be able to offer you any kind of feedback. |
| Everett | Well, my feedback, and I told Wes and Colin this, I said, I think for this watch, you need to be under 11 millimeters. That's what I told them. And what, well, what made you think that? You know, I just felt like it wore a little too thick for that watch. You know, I remember at the time I was wearing a Manta Triumph and Manta Triumph is in its own world, right? And these are 11.3, just to be clear. Manta Triumph comes in at 9.7. And I remember wearing that Unity and thinking, you know, I would love this watch if it was half a millimeter thinner. As it is, I think it's terrific. I do like it. I love it. But I don't love it. But I agree with you, though. |
| Andrew | You're also talking about the price difference between a $625 watch and a $2,000 watch. I'm not arguing with you. |
| Everett | I'm not arguing with you. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | I think it's not an price point issue. I think it's an expectation and perception issue. You were coming at it from a Manta. I was coming at it from an Aqua Terra. Yeah. Well, I think Aqua Terra, I'd own Aqua Terra if it wasn't 12 millimeters thick. Yeah. It's interesting. I actually liked the thickness on it. It made, when I first wore it at the same windup, |
| Andrew | Did you buy the pink one from them at that windup? Not, they weren't selling them yet. They weren't selling them yet. I was just wondering if you bought their prototype of it. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | So, um, just a little inside baseball, I have been busting Wes's, um, man region to make a pink watch for ages. And he finally made the unity and I jumped on it. |
| Andrew | It's the best color way that they offer. The blue is so good too. The blue's good, but the pink is baller. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | Yeah. I personally, they made a one-off white version, which went to a very dear friend of theirs. I want the exact same texture, but in silver transparent. I just want the texture to sing for itself. I want it to be, like the new Seamaster that came out that was the monotone, the silver. I want it that if it catches any light, it blinds you. Just the doc. So that's okay. I can get with that. Keep working on them. Thanks. Well, yeah. Oh, no. In fact, what I've learned with, uh, from all this time is, uh, just let them do what they're doing. These are smart people. They know what they're doing. They know a lot more than us. They know that. |
| Andrew | And a couple of things. They're just a touch late to the party. It's like, they give you the teas almost like they know. that you that they're giving you not what you quite want. And then they're about to deliver it. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | I was really glad it went where it went, because you said when they were just a touch light, I was like, Oh, no, is he going to finish the sentence with a touch light in the head? No, no, no, no, no. |
| Andrew | They're they they they like give you a little tease. They're like, and here's what you. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | But also on that point, Little Inside Baseball, their manufacturing, when it came to those dials, if you noticed, six months to a year later, Grand Seiko started making the same colors. Yeah, so it's... We're not allowed to say any of that. Oh, you're not? Nobody is. |
| Andrew | Actually, those are observations that we made independently as people who tuned into the industry. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | Actually, no, I've written about it. So I'm actually going to swear for the first time here and I'm going to say, fuck it. No, this is the fucking truth. So it is what it is. The other manufacturers, and in fact, if we do talk about a certain watch later on, the manufacturing will be brought up as well because it's important. |
| Everett | I wish we could. The value of the manufacturing matters. We heard it here first. Tell us about marathon wall clocks. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | Oh, very quickly. as gift, wall clocks, solid, not bomb-proof because nothing is bomb-proof, but in the article I go into details of how the 12-inch model is possibly the best wall clock in the world, and you're going to have to read the article for that reasoning. |
| Everett | Well, and I own a small one of the desk wall clocks that is looks an awful lot like the 12 inch wall clock, or I wrote the desk clock that looks an awful lot like the 12 inch, but this 12 inches some special temporal. |
| Andrew | I've got a Gavox wall clock that Just keeps on singing. I love it. It does. It hangs over the toilets. You can monitor the time elapse while you play your game. |
| Everett | Nice. Temporal goods, rigid case. And you and I have talked about this in the past. Yeah, we have. Tell me about the temporal goods, rigid case. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | It's a wonderful, okay, I've had it for two years, since I've written about it, and still to this day, it's the best single storage solution for a beloved timepiece. It allows me to enjoy both my Seamaster and my X33, fits in my work bags perfectly. And also, the man behind it, Ansel Duff, is an angel. You want to support this human being and the work that he does. It's been with me everywhere. All of its finishing, all of its materials are solid. Nothing's happened to them. What more can you say? The $200 price point is well worth it if you own a vintage watch or anything. that's dear to you, just get this and protect it. |
| Everett | Yeah. You know, I, I actually think the price makes it an interesting, I actually think the price makes it an interesting gift guide, uh, recommendation because it is, uh, it's the type of thing that nobody needs. right? Nobody needs it. Uh, I love it when zoom, when I put my thumb up and zoom is like, yeah, thumbs up. I agree. Nobody needs it. You could do the things it does with something less expensive. For instance, coffee can and a pair of socks. Exactly. Uh, I was almost exactly where I was going to say a pickle jar and, uh, and a piece of foam. But you, you know, all that to say, we don't need it but it's cool in a way and it's valuable and if you're in the market to get someone you know that loves watches a really really special gift it does those things so Give us just, give us just maybe 45 seconds worth of what makes this better than Andrew's coffee can and pair of socks. And don't be too pragmatic. Fuck me up, man. Tell me why I'm wrong. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | Well first, it comes back to the whole value. This will last years. The picture jar will shatter. This won't shatter. Ansel is adorable. The first thing he did when he showed me this was he put it on the ground and he stood on it, right? Not a small guy. It'll last for a very long time. It looks special. It feels special. The person you're gifting it to is not going to toss it into a banker box and it's going to be in his attic. It's beautiful. And also the carbon fiber, I believe Ansel finishes it by hand himself. |
| Everett | Yeah, hand-finished carbon fiber on the sides, billet machined aluminum for the top and bottom. Beautiful thing. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | It's a piece of art. |
| Andrew | Good reason to feel like you can stand on it. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | Exactly. I value the timepieces that I wear on a daily basis. I feel safe with them in there. And again, coming back to criticisms, I did feel some criticism in the initial review of it, and that was primarily the Apple AirPod connector and stuff, and went into security-wise why that was the case. But I chose to buy it without the Apple AirPod connector, and if I was going to recommend it, for people as a gift guide is to get it without it because it's actually a bit trimmer and it will fit in work bags better too and also it's more attractive to potentially that way even though the air tag from my memory it's actually it looks very cool it looks something like it does look pretty cool It looks like a protomolecule sort of thing if you're a sci-fi sort of person. |
| Everett | But you know, you can just get an air tag and shove it in the bottom too. This is an option. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | You can't. |
| Andrew | Yeah, it doesn't need its own housing. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | Oh, so this is the fun thing about it. Thank you for saying that. The case is so well built that it acts like a Faraday cage and the signal will not get out. Oh, what? So when it comes to vintage watches, and I believe I wrote about this in the original article, If you're worried about magnetism, which again, one of the watches later on, which we'll speak about, it'll come up. This will offer some protection. So, and also someone wants to steal their watch, you can chuck this at their cranium and then pick it up after when, while they're passed out on the thing. It's that well built. |
| Everett | Has no bounds, watch roll and leather straps. Tell us what we need to know. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | Make it very quick. Very reasonably priced. It is led by a wonderful human being, which I met earlier this year. And her name is Christine Lamb. And she has many years of experience when it comes to furniture and textiles. And she has brought this into the world of watch accessories. The watch roll has little touches such as Alcantara cloth, which covers the watch and protects it, yet it cleans it for you without you even noticing. It's real Alcantara. |
| Everett | That's the shit they have in Lamborghinis, you guys. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | and has tool minders which are robustly built, has a zipper compartment off to the side that's exactly perfect for warranty cards and straps, and most importantly, the stub which closes the watch roll it's not going anywhere. It's extremely robustly made. And this transfers over to the manufacturing prowess, which she has with her experience when it comes to the watch straps. You hold her watch straps, they feel like OEM straps from luxury brands. And that is why these two watches, these two watch accessories very easily made it on to the list. |
| Everett | You know, I haven't tried, I haven't tried the has no bound straps, but I, they are on a short list of, I don't, I'm not a big leather, leather strap guy. I just don't wear much of them. But these, these straps at, uh, at what 70 bucks us, I think they're competing with any other leather strap on the market. And you get a you get a absolutely phenomenal taper on these. That's that's what I'll say. These compared to I'm not going to name any brands, but at 20 to 16, you know what I'm talking about. 20 to 16 taper is perfect. Vintage taper on these. They're fantastic. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | Mm hmm. Offers them in different sizes, too. So yeah, that's right. They're based in China, so they're very well aware of different body sizes globally. And the one thing which I'll say is the consistency in their products is just real. Like the watch role, she chose goatskin. Not what you would originally think, but holy poop, this thing is tough. |
| Andrew | But if it's a material people are used to working with and treating, that's the material you want them to be using. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | Yeah. And this is right. Like it's. Well, could you expand on that? I don't know. Yeah. What do you mean by that? |
| Andrew | You made a weird face. I was trying to understand what you meant. If we're talking about like Chinese manufacturing and we're going to a manufacturing plant and they work with a certain type of material, you're not going to be like, Hey, here's some shell quarter vein. I want you to do the right thing with it. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | Actually. So she has experience with shell quarter vein. She has experience with everything. And it has nothing to do with what her manufacturers have experienced with. It's what she actually has experience with. So she looks at, I've built couches out of all these various things. I've built shoes and belts with these various things where people's butts were meeting the surface repeatedly. And you're putting a wash roll in and out of a bag. goatskin actually worked for it, for industrial level. Like if you're putting a office chair, right. And you're having people in a waiting room and they're shuffling and they're angry. Goatskin actually works. Does this work on a watch roll? Yes, it does. Yeah. So I think. from us in the Western world, it's really important to step back and not blanket statement things made in Asia. |
| Everett | Uh, we've talked about this, but yeah, more times than, than we can count on this show, right? Where we're living in a world where we're living in a world where the best things in the, literally the most ornate high quality things in the world are being made. |
| Andrew | mainland China in like right 60% of our made in China and then they're in the watch world they're being assembled in Switzerland yeah yeah exactly and it's probably worse than that |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | You're not allowed to talk about that. When it comes to her materials, the stitching, now I'm thinking back, it's all upstairs. I don't have it with me. It's just consistency and pride in your work and it shows. I can't quote off the top of my head because it was at a previous event to the watch show, but she was talking about the artisans that she employs and how many years of experience each one of them has. so and this shows in her work and this directly leads into our other watch strap which um is not like the has no bounds ones it's again by strap habit and in the article i just flat out call it the best natal strap ever made. And this is coming from someone who has over a decade of experience. I'm saying that. Well, you can't say natal, right? |
| Andrew | Yeah, that's the natal. That's what you can't say. It's the best canvas pass through. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | Exactly. I'd like to see that guy go after Omega for this. |
| Everett | Anyway, I don't want him to go after us. We think Omega paid him. They bought the license. Yeah. |
| Andrew | Yeah, they paid him. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | Yep. So good for Jesus. Well, anyway, dollars. |
| Unknown | I'd like to look at him. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | So so the pass through stop. I have over a decade of experience of using rubber pass through stops for my exposure suits while diving. Nick Lanner is an engineer. The quality of this thing is beautiful. You'll read the article. The adjustability on it is amazing too. And again, just like the Has No Bounds straps, it feels like an OEM strap. As I mentioned earlier on my X33, it looks like my Omega came with the strap. That's true. And that's a huge compliment for him. |
| Everett | It is. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | Yeah. And he should be proud, honestly, I think. Because he's a very humble guy. |
| Everett | And finally, and the thing I'm most excited to hear you talk about hands of time, a watchmaker's history by Dr. Rebecca Struthers, what you call the best book on the history of horology. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | It's also the best book ever written. I'm just doubling down, doubling down. No. So. This book took me by surprise. You'll I won't. repeat what I wrote in the article and I actually wrote a review of it on my own site which is linked in the in the article. This watch reignited parts of my enthusiasm for watchmaking. I picked up Watchmaking by George Daniels again just to reread it because now I have more technical knowledge that I can actually apply it more towards my writing. Her, her husband, the photographer, they have done great work. I went out and bought several copies of this book. I even tracked down signed copies of this book in England to give to my favorite watchmaker and to my favorite watch photographer, specifically. I cannot recommend this book enough, like many items that we've spoken about today, but this is probably the easiest book to recommend. to anyone, and I do know a couple, which husband and wife, wife is into watches, husband is not, which they're doing their own mini book club together with this book. So it's just a beautiful book, and she is an amazing historian, great storyteller, great watchmaker. Go out, buy it now. What are you doing listening to us? |
| Andrew | Go buy. Exactly. Stop listening to us. Spend some money. |
| Everett | Just participate in some consumerism, people. Hey, this has been terrific. Thank you for walking us through your gift guide. Thank you for walking us through your thoughts on this. Everything that we've talked about today has been written about with actual syntax and proper grammar and all the good things because Furry is a stickler for these things. You can check us out on the website. Andrew's going to link to everything in the show notes. He's grimacing, but he will because that's what he does. If he's not rickrolling you, |
| Andrew | I is linking to things in the show. I will not apologize for rickrolling people or linking them to wrong places. I rickroll you. I link you to the wrong places. It's it's a test. It's to see how many of you are actually clicking on my links. |
| Everett | These things will all be linked directly on the watch clicker website because that's our website and we do care about that. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | And Andrew, I'll give you the links for everything just to make it easier. |
| Andrew | Thank you, that'd be super helpful. You still could be Rickrolled. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | With that... That's another term I haven't heard. |
| Everett | Rickrolled. What is a Rickroll? Oh boy. Oh boy, furry. We'll come back to that. |
| Andrew | Yeah, we'll do this off air. I just bought a sweatshirt with a QR code. Andrew, other things. What do you got? Ah, so today I am on an extension ladder hanging Christmas lights and I'm pissing and moaning and bitching about it. Nobody that's listening to this show believes that. Because they're just never, you just can't get them right. that like that you just can't get them right. So I'm like pouting on my front steps. Nobody believes that Andrew. No, I know. I'm pouting on my front steps. I Google custom Christmas lights because I just want somebody to like accept my measurements. cut me lights, send them to me. Because I know where my outlet is, Walmart doesn't know where my outlet is. And that's clear, based on my Christmas lights. And I find this company who does that. And then they go one more. They're like, hey, if you don't wanna pay us to do it, here's how you can do it yourself. And there's an entire page on their website dedicated to here's the parts. Here's how to do it. Here's how to measure it. And I was like, Hmm, that's my shit. That's exactly what I want to do. So, uh, I tomorrow I'm not taking down these fucking lights until after Christmas. But when I take them down, I'm cutting all my measurements, ordering all my shit, and I am, for next Christmas, making custom Christmas lights to my house so that all I have to do is get up on my ladder five times, hang them on little things and just plug it into the outlet. And these tutorials are fantastic. They have, I don't know if I'd say proprietary parts, but they have their parts that they use that are super easy and they have little gifs on their website like, Hey, Step one, words, jif. Step two, words, jif. Step three, words, jif. Like, you can't mess it up. And that's what I want. I want something that easy to make lights to fit my house so I don't have to deal with zip ties and twisty cable ties and tipping off of my ladder. I don't want you to tip off your ladder. Came real near. I had texted my wife, I was like, she's working from home today. And I was like, hey, if you hear a weird thing, come and examine the problem. So yeah, my thing, I will link to this. The company is called Custom Lights, or excuse me, Christmas Lights, et cetera. They'll send someone out, I think, to measure. I think they do installations. What got me excited was that they were like, hey, You don't actually need us. Yeah, this is all doable. You can manage by yourself. |
| Everett | Furry wrist abroad from Canada. Other things. What do you got? Do you have Christmas there? |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | We do, but it's a year. So that's a Thanksgiving joke. Anyway, in preparation for this, I was going to talk about HBO's Dune Prophecy, which I love. I was going to talk about. wonderful article in financial times that had to do with atomic measurement of time. I was going to talk about the new limited edition steam deck, but I threw all that out in honor of a person that you had on the show before his name was Cameron. He is a wonderful nerd and he's a huge Lord of the Rings fan. And about 20 years ago, I bought the entire set. I just started reading the Silmarillion and my goodness, it is the most soothing thing I have ever read in my life. Um, people hate it because it's. It's like a history book, but goodness, it is so soothing. I recommend it as a starter for people who want to get into Token simply because it is slower paced and My other recommendation for it is to get out a pen and pad and just take notes. That'll slow you down and you'll start being OK with the language that is using because it is older English. And before you know it, by page 40, you're no longer taking notes. You're rocking and rolling with it. So. |
| Everett | So now the Cimmerillion is so I've not read it, but I understand it's like a short story. like a short story compilation that serves as a prequel to The Hobbit. Is this correct? |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | So, somewhat. Tolkien, throughout his life, just wrote lore for Lord of the Rings. After he passed, his son put these together in the best format that suited the readers. And he did a good job. And I think the version of the Silmarillion that's out now might be slightly different than the version I have, because it's quite old. It is something that evolves a little because it is piecing together what his father wrote. So that's my other thing, a book that most people avoid. |
| Andrew | It's the context for Lord of the Rings. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | Yeah. |
| Andrew | And it's some high level shit. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | Yeah. And. I know you Americans don't like to think this, but you guys sneeze, the rest of the world catches a cold. We've been reading a lot about the news about the election that went on there. And a lot of us are burnt out from just that amount of news that we've been reading. This is a great palate cleanser. So a lot of people go to science fiction and fantasy for these sorts of things. This is a wonderful, soothing way just to bring your blood pressure back down. Get into something that doesn't matter, but it's beautifully written and a great segue into something much greater. |
| Andrew | You know, this is a whole other 20 hours seated in front of the television and then like two or three weeks with the television off. |
| Unknown | Yeah. |
| Everett | You know, this is not my other thing for the week, but your other thing made me think of this. I've recently started a book that I personally have avoided because of the language and because of the subject matter. But a science fiction book that is beloved is The Expanse. And I have tried on so many occasions to read this, and it just never took. And so I think I'm on my third try, and it finally took. I got through about 100 pages, and I was like, okay, I'm into it. But it is the opposite of what you're talking about with the Cimmerelian being soothing. This is the least soothing book I have ever read. The other night I was in my bed at like 11.30 and I could tell I was starting to nod off and the book got me fucking hyped. |
| Andrew | It hackles up. |
| Everett | Scared and like anxiety ridden and I had to like actually get out of bed and go to the kitchen and like get some milk and be like, I gotta set this fucker down. I gotta put it in the freezer like Joey because It's too much for me right now. So finally took, uh, but yeah, your, your other thing made me think of that. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | Yeah. On, on that front, um, James, I said, Corey, the duo writers just came out with a new series and I wrote a review book review on it. It failed on a few parts and. You could feel the editor in the room in their new book. But what you said, second or third time reading, because it's bouncing perspectives, it's difficult. That's right. |
| Everett | You're back and forth between Miller and Holden and it's a lot. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | Once you get really into the books, you get like a thirst to get into the next perspective as you're in the current one. And that's something that they did very well with that Expanse series. It sort of fell short in their following one. But I have faith in them that they'll recover in the following volumes. |
| Everett | Yeah, well, I'm looking for I'm enjoying it. I'm about I've been I started this about a week ago and I it's been a busy week. So I haven't actually really cracked down, but I think I'm about two thirds of the way through it. And and I'm getting pretty it's getting pretty exciting, but not not soothing or relaxing. uh i've got another thing is it a pair of capris it is a pair of capris uh i recently bought a pair of capri pants and i am in love with them so i bought a pair of Martwall men's classic thermal merino base layer, three quarter length bottoms. |
| Andrew | How do you deal with the interaction of the sock to pants? |
| Everett | So these are a pair of base layers that are made specifically for activities that involve boots. So skiing is... Uh, my purpose for these. And if you've, um, if you're familiar with skiing, you know, that base layers can be a pain in the ass because you really can't tuck them into your boots because then you get like weird friction and constriction. |
| Andrew | So you put them on first and you put your socks over them. |
| Everett | Nah, no, you don't want them under your boots. I live in boots. Yeah, no, sorry, you're wrong. When you're skiing, so you've got two choices. Either you take a full length pant and they kind of cuff up around your calf, which is normally fine. It's normally not a big deal. Or you get a shorter pant. And I picked these up specifically for that purpose. However, I went to the football game on Saturday And I had longer socks on, and these three-quarter pants went right to the edge underneath my normal pants. So you had an inch of cold leg? No, zero cold leg. They come down to just about mid-calf, and so there was a perfect degree of overlap. And I was just like, these are terrific. They fit. They're fitted, right? So they're not constricting where they hit, but they just fit. Smart wall, man. Yeah. |
| Andrew | No, I accept and concur with your position. |
| Everett | Smart wall quality is fucking nuts, dude. I'm blown away. So I wore these things from about noon to 11 o'clock. Never got hot, never got cold. I, in that time, drank about 35 beers. I walked about five miles and then stood in a football stadium for four hours and got home. I took them off, they crumpled in the corner, got in bed, I slept. The next day at noon, I got up and I was cleaning up after myself, right? Because, you know, I was like, fuck. Some debris. |
| Andrew | Oh, Oregon beat the Huskies. That's what happened. |
| Everett | I picked these things up and I went to put them in, they're washable, right? So I went and put them in the hamper and I was like, you know, let's just, and I, yeah, you did. I was like, I don't need to wash these. These are fine. Zero odor. They're soft. I never was irritated. Like, you know, sometimes wool pants, depending on how, like how coarse the wool fibers are. They're like, it's perfect. It was 31 degrees at the stadium. I had a pair of like twill chinos on and just these. I also had 35 beers. And so that might've contributed. I was never cold, even a tiny little bit. You didn't have to pee once. Oh, well, I did pee once or twice. |
| Andrew | But like he was in a wetsuit. Yeah. On that same night, I wore a pair of first light merino. No. Yeah. First, let's get to wool pants. I froze my nuggets right off my body. |
| Everett | Yeah. You needed the smart one. |
| Andrew | I think it was as a result of a lack of the 35 beers. But I'll say that though I did freeze my nugs off, I wasn't ever really cold. Like my business was just frozen. Now I wore insulation. |
| Everett | I will say they make this same exact pants in full length. And if that's appropriate for you, just do the full length. But |
| Andrew | Yeah, in particular, base layer or just like a Marino or smart wall base layer, I think is the answer. |
| Everett | And I have multiple pair of Marino base layer. Like I've got a pair of our I got an R.E.I. pair. I've got like a what's the name of that store at Gateway? Duluth. Duluth, yeah. I've got a pair of Duluth Merino base layers. The Smartwool ones, kick those out of bed. I mean, no doubt about it, these are superior. And the REI ones, the Duluth ones were cheap, maybe like 50 bucks, 60 bucks on sale. The REI ones were like 120. These Smartwool ones, they're 105. |
| Andrew | So it's much better. One of the few things that REI can be beat on in the way of like base layers or just like basic technical clothing. Just go smart wall, just go smart wall. |
| Everett | And there's a couple other brands. I know everybody's got their brand of Merino, but for me, I'm all first light. |
| Andrew | Like I, this is the first time wearing first light that I was ever cold and it was cause I was stationary for five hours. |
| Everett | First abroad. Thank you for joining us. What do you want to tell these people before we get going? |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | Enjoy life, spend it with the ones that you love the most. No one remembers the time that they were at work. They remember. the time that they were with their loved ones. Do that during these holidays and keep a little perspective moving forward. |
| Andrew | America. Or Canada. |
| Everett | But mostly America. Exactly. Hey you guys, thanks for joining us for another episode of 40 and 20, the WatchClicker podcast. Do me a favor, go to WatchClicker.com. Check out all Furry's articles because they're all really fucking good. If you want to follow us on Instagram, you can do that at watch clicker at 40 and 20 underscore watch clicker or. |
| Furry Wrist Abroad | I'm not used to showing my own writing. I typically avoid it. |
| Everett | Thank you. Support us on patreon.com slash 40 and 20. We need your money guys. It doesn't cost a lot to keep this going, but it does cost a little and we need you to help contribute. Keep us going and don't forget to tune back in next Thursday for another hour of watches, food, drinks, life, and other things we like. Bye bye. |