Latest / The Deep Track / The Deep Track, Ep. 106 - Analog Lifestyle and Hot Takes from Reddit

Transcript

The Deep Track, Ep. 106 - Analog Lifestyle and Hot Takes from Reddit · The Deep Track

• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: Hello and welcome to the Deep Track Podcast, an exploration of watches, trends, and culture with a few adventures in between.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Blake Bettner.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: It'll just be me this week.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: I've got another fun theme planned and a few other updates that I wanted to share with everyone.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: Before we get into some more episodes with uh guests, of which I have a few on the docket, uh, including Carol Beckend of Barrel Hand.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: Uh stay tuned for that.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: We're gonna be talking all about the development of the monolith, a watch that I found uh really terribly interesting.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: And uh, you know, I feel like there was a lot of um maybe misunderstandings around that watch.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: So Carol is gonna come on and uh and we'll and we'll kind of get into all that stuff in a future episode, so be sure to stay tuned for that.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: You've probably noticed this has been a bit of a lull period for the industry.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: Uh not a whole ton of new releases have been coming out, which I think is just fine.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: It kind of gives you a chance to not have to uh really be inundated with all the new stuff and hopefully a chance to kind of get out and enjoy the watches that uh that that that you have and put them to good use.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: And take advantage of a summer.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: Hopefully it's not too hot where you're at.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: We are, boy, I think, nearing 100 degrees in New York this week as we head into the July 4th weekend.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: But thankfully there are plenty of other distractions currently happening at the moment, from Wimbledon to World Cup Soccer, and uh of course the F1 race in Silverstone this weekend.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, I gotta tell you, I'm not usually a fan of soccer.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: I shouldn't say not a fan.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: It's just not a sport that I've ever really taken the time to watch or really get into.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, you know, I'm a typical American, I guess, in that sense.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, but with the World Cup on, um, I'm sure like many people, I've kind of taken the chance to get into it a little bit and watch some of the games.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: And have really been surprised by how by how entertaining some of them have been.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: I will admit, the more that I watch some of the games, I feel like the less I understand uh some of the some of the rules around it.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, but that's okay.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I it's a fun thing to watch, and it's it's just really kind of fun to see all these other parts of the world come together and get as excited about it as they have been.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: And frankly, I love seeing a lot of the world kind of come to uh to these US venues and get to experience our culture a little bit and uh maybe share a bit of theirs as well.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: I think there's uh really something beautiful to that.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: So I hope everyone that has traveled to the US has had an amazing time and uh hopefully a positive experience around people that they've uh interacted with.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: Uh alright, this week I am wearing a Autodromo Group B chronograph.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: The Rally Sport Chronograph.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: I'm wearing the night stage uh edition of this watch in particular.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: I've had a few, a a number of uh watches kind of hidden away in in storage, and there was something else that I needed to go and grab out of it, and I noticed a few of these watches, so I I I put a few of them in my bag and and brought them back home with me.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: So there's a handful of unimatics and uh and and a few autodromos that I had.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: So I hadn't worn one of these in in quite a while, and you know, this is one that I yeah, the group B has always been a watch I just kind of instantly connect with when I when I see it.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: And of course it was no different this time when I looked in and saw the uh I have three group B's and they're all night stage variations.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: You know, the the regular time-only group B uh is a a time-only watch.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: These night stage versions had these kind of gridded dials with um uh one of them is kind of like a uh light blue teal kind of color, and the other one is um is pink uh on on black.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: And then the chronograph is that same kind of teal color, but there's no grid on the dial.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, this is a collection of watches that uh that I really just kind of truly adore, and I guess some watches that I hadn't really thought about all that much uh until uh a recent release from Autodromo, uh, which was of course the group C, a new generation of the group C and Anadigi watch from uh from Autodromo.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: And uh, you know, I think the inspiration for these car uh for these uh for these watches is obviously something that uh that I'm very enthusiastic about, and I like how he kind of captures the personality of the era and some of the components of these uh of these older race cars in these watches and uh and still feel kind of uniquely Autodromo in the process.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um I think Bradley does a great job with these things.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: So um happy that I have this one on my wrist and out of uh uh of storage and sitting in the box uh doing no good at all.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: I've pondered this many times.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know what an uh a new generation of the group B might look like, um, but it's something that I would be keen to see an exploration of.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: Uh obviously we just saw that second generation of the group C uh kind of take form and uh and kind of evolve that watch and that idea.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: And the group B I think struck a a real chord with a lot of people and uh and really kind of found a broad appeal.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: I think it of course kind of came out at about just the right time as well.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: It's uh yeah, it's kind of a pseudo-integrated bracelet sport watch.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um there is a normal lug there though.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: You can take the bracelet off and put anything you want on it, but it it the it it does kind of integrate into the case, it looks like very seamlessly.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: So it uh it kind of captured that look.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: It's very thin uh and uh and it has just kind of like a really unique design language, I think.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: So uh I you know I think the the the idea of this watch and the foundation is really strong, and I would really love to see um it expanded on in some way, shape, or form.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know if that's in the cards or not.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: Um and I haven't talked to Bradley and in uh in and boy, maybe a few years.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so I don't know where his head is at with these things, but you know, again, I think it's a watch that a lot of us have a real fondness for, and um and and would really like to see kind of live on in new, in interesting ways.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: So hopefully we'll see more of the Group B uh collection at some point down the line.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: Alright, so I must confess that I do uh browse Reddit from time to time.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: Uh there's a few kind of specific communities that I like to be a part of there, including um, you know, the the the local kind of running scene in New York.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: There's a few kind of running subreddits and uh the analog uh communities there uh for photography.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: I've really been kind of into uh getting back into film photography uh lately, actually.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: And uh it's it's really kind of a refreshing it's been a really refreshing exercise.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: I think photography is something that uh it's it's really kind of easy to start taking for granted when you're using equipment that makes it so boy, I guess I don't even know, like accessible, easy, I don't know if easy is the right word.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: Like this there's still effort that goes into it, obviously, but you know, you feel like this you know some of the gear that you have and can walk around with is doing, you know, 90% of the work and you just kinda like um, you know, transporting the camera there to to get it.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: You know, the Sony A7R series, I have a A7R5 that uh that I've been shooting with for a few years now, is it's almost uh really kind of spoils you in a lot of ways.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: It's almost like too perfect.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: Everything is captured really perfectly and and really easily if you want it to be, especially with some good glass on it.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: And uh and I've I've you know I've taken it all over the world and shot a lot of lots of different things with it.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: But it almost is at the point where where you you don't think much about the little tiny details of how you're shooting.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I guess I would maybe liken it to like uh like racing cars from you know the 60s and and 70s, you know, and and eighties, you you were still doing a lot of the work with like manually shifting the car yourself, and it required that kind of like thought and and effort compared to like uh a very modern racing car where it's it's uh you know you're you're you're using paddles to shift, and I think a lot of the things are are maybe automated a little more.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: There's a lot more kind of tech gadgetry going on behind the scenes, and of course it's a better race car, it can lap a track a lot faster.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, but at the same time, you know, you've lost a little bit of that kind of um uh connection with what you're doing and and how you're getting there.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_00: And uh and I think it's the same with with cameras, um, and I think you know, obviously I think this is why a lot of us uh find a huge appeal in something like a mechanical watch.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: Uh but as far as cameras are concerned, you know, I I it's been a long time since I've shot uh film.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_00: And uh and I've got kind of a few old uh film cameras.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_00: I've got a Canon uh AE1, of course, a kind of ubiquitous uh camera from from the eighties, a Pentax MX, uh and another one from from Minolta.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_00: Like certainly nothing uh fancy by any stretch, really kind of just b basic um uh film shooters from from another era, but really kind of perfect tools to get back in to uh into shooting, into really kind of I guess forcibly like slowing yourself down with how you're shooting and really kind of thinking about every element of it instead of taking it for granted.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: I I'll get out and walk around with um with this AE1, for instance.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: I've got a uh at the moment I've got a roll of Ectochrome 100 in there.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so obviously I'm getting out in kind of like well-lit situations uh with that, and I've got a little uh metering app on my phone that I have to get out and kind of check that I'm you know getting a proper exposure time and all that kind of stuff.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_00: I mean all the things that you you know you you really don't think twice about when I'm walking around with uh with the Sony or even the the Fujifilm X100, um, which can kind of handle all those things.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I think if you if you if you f if you are into photography and you use the camera a lot, you you know you know the aperture, uh you know ISO settings, you know your your shutter speed, you know how all these things work together and influence each other, um, but you aren't used to having to like kind of directly manually um have a have uh uh input to every single one of them in such a kind of carefully considered way that film forces you to.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: Uh you know, obviously the the the ISO is locked to whatever stock you have loaded in the camera, uh, which which almost kind of f forces your hand to to use the other two for for how you're gonna kind of compensate to get the um the exposure that you want.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: So it's it's it's it's something that um you know it's it's more work, but I think it's if you're a person that enjoys uh photography, I think it's worthwhile to do and really kind of puts you kind of closer, um, you know, in touch with it, kind of puts you in touch with your own creativity, maybe a little bit more, and forces you to think about that.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_00: And it's also not like you're gonna stand there and burst like 20 shots uh in slightly different compositions to kind of see which one works best.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_00: Like, you know, you you've got uh 36 uh shots in the back of there and you don't know how it's gonna turn out.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_00: So you you really kind of slow things down and really kind of have to uh to consider every little thing for every single shot.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: It's you know what it is?
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_00: It's fun.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's fun if you enjoy kind of an an analog, like being a part of an analog process uh like that.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: And uh, and you know, at the end of the day, maybe slightly more rewarding as well.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_00: And I guess this may be a little different than the the race car analogy that I use because old cameras can still take phenomenal pictures.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's not like uh you know like the the lap times of a new race car being that much faster than the old one.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_00: Uh you know, it's not like the these older cameras are are worse in their abilities.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, the it's it's your ability to to to wield it correctly and understand the the the film that you've got in there.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_00: Uh if you've got like a decent piece of glass, obviously that's gonna that's gonna help.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but you know, obviously these cameras from uh from from generations past are still capable of taking really uh exceptionally unbelievable uh pictures.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so it's uh it's an experience that I think is worth having.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're curious about this kind of stuff, I think this is a good way to kind of force yourself to to slow down and really kind of savor um you know the little details that that uh that maybe got you into it in the first place.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I think that's it's certainly something that we talk a lot about over in the watch space, um, and uh and certain certainly applies here.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_00: So, anyways, that's another one of the communities that I'm involved uh with on uh on Reddit.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_00: Uh of course I get a lot of watch content that I don't I honestly really don't engage with that much.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_00: Uh you know, if if a person asks has a question about something weird and I happen to know the answer, I might jump in if nobody's answered it yet and uh and drop an answer.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: But it's it's certainly not like a space that I go into and start engaging with uh uh you know in discussions.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_00: I generally have found, um, you know, to my dismay that uh, and it's certainly not just watches, but a lot of the kind of enthusiast communities online uh to be very cynical places.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: And uh I usually kind of find that that uh is kind of a bummer for me.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_00: It kind of brings me down.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_00: So I generally try to kind of stay away from, you know, so I can kind of enjoy, enjoy these things the way that I like to, uh, on my own terms and uh not for anybody else.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_00: And uh yeah, and obviously, you know, for my own, I guess, mental health in in in some in some way, shape, or form uh as well in there.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: But there is a subreddit uh that does come across my my feed every now and then.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not subscribed to it or anything like that.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_00: It's called a hot, it's called Watch Hot Takes, uh is the sub.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_00: And uh every now and then I'll see something come across and just kind of uh you know, roll my eyes or shake my head or something.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_00: But I I recently went into the to sub, just kind of browse uh the the topics, the takes, I guess, that that people have, and a lot of them are, I guess, unsurprisingly um uh bad, I guess, if I'm being if I'm being completely honest, uh, or uh just terrible takes in here, some borderline uh offensive, a lot of kind of stereotyping going on in there and that kind of stuff.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_00: But uh, but I think there are a few that uh that I found kind of interesting or that have caused me to to take pause or or laugh or or whatever it is.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_00: So uh there's a few of these that I wanted to pull out today and at least like comment on and uh and maybe speak to uh a little bit.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_00: And the first one is from user uh, let's see here, Bet on Noteb.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_00: Bet on Note B?
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know uh what what exactly his name is, but uh he says you don't need a quote unquote well-rounded collection.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and he says, you know, if you like divers, just go ahead and collect divers.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_00: Would you tell someone who owns three BMWs or collects Italian sports cars uh that, you know, you're missing a well-rounded collection, you just need an American pickup truck.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, you know, I and I think he brings up a good point here.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_00: I think we often like to think about our collection in terms of, well, I have something that I can use for every situation.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I think taking a step back, I don't think we we we we need a watch for pretty much any situation.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_00: We might want a watch for certain situations.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_00: And I think if we limit the watches that we buy to the types of situations that we would want to wear them in, uh then I think that's just fine.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_00: And then if that restricts us to, you know, in his example here, just divers or something, um, you know, then then that's fine.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_00: It is what it is.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you're just a person that likes to wear a certain type of watch, doing a certain kind of thing, and it doesn't really matter if you have a dress watch for when you need to suit up or um or a weekend watch to mow the lawn in, because maybe you never wear a suit, maybe you don't have a lawn to mow or what you know.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously we all have our own kind of situations, and I think it's easy to look at other collections and think it's very practical to think I you I should have a watch for this, this, and this, and then I'm covered all my bases when you know, in re in in reality, you might just enjoy wearing watches in you know a certain way.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and then in in all the other situations, you know, you probably don't need a watch if if you're being honest with yourself, right?
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_00: And and maybe that just does kind of keep you in uh a very specific realm of you know just watches that look a little bit like this or a certain genre of watch or whatever it is, a certain brand that you happen to connect with, and which is just fine.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think you need to force other types of watches into your collection just because you, you know, or people on the internet say you you need a more well-rounded collection.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think this guy's right, you don't need uh a well-rounded collection.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_00: You know, when you're talking about like shoes or clothes or something like that, like you need to wear that stuff, and and it's all the so you you you you think about the kind of versatility of what you of what you own.
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_00: Um but with a watch like or things that you don't need, I don't think it uh it needs to be imposed on any kind of of collection like that.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and I think his his example of of the cars is is perfect.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_00: I mean you see people that you know, some people that that do collect a certain type of car or sports cars or you know, old Porsches of a certain era or whatever, and it's it seems ridiculous to think that they might have like a you know a uh a Buick from the 80s and uh you know pick up an American pickup truck, uh whatever, just to be able to say that they have a well-rounded collection because they've got a a truck that they can go and do their yard work in or something like that.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_00: Uh you know, if if you need something like that, then fine, but I don't think that you need to, for the sake of saying that you have a well-rounded collection, need a little something from every genre uh to be able to say that.
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so I don't think that's a hot uh take.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's uh I think that's an accurate.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's an accurate take.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_00: Uh all right, a next one that I wanted to touch on is from uh user 0f56.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_00: Uh at some point, you're destined to end up with a speedmaster.
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_00: Or going into his comments, uh, or a Seamaster Explorer, OP, Sub, Santos, etc., pick your poison.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_00: No matter how contrarian you want to be with micro brands, 15 different Seikos, whatever it is that you have, you're eventually going to wind up picking up the classic heritage-based story-driven watch that you claim to not like for your whole watch enthusiast life prior.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_00: You can spend your whole watch collecting journeys saying that the Speedmaster or whatever is overrated, overpriced, or basic.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_00: 10 years later, um, you know, you've explored everything else, you wind up getting a speedmaster or whatever it is, and realizing that you should have just gotten that to begin with because it's uh it's it's better quality than than all that other stuff.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_00: So this is something that um you know touches on something that we've we've talked about, I think, for a long time, over the course of many years, and uh there's been a saying over the years that every collection needs a Speedmaster, which I wholeheartedly disagree with, and I think what I just talked about in in the last uh segment uh kind of illustrates why not everyone needs uh a Speedmaster or will like a Speedmaster, will get along with a Speedmaster or cares about all the space heritage stuff.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_00: You know, not that any of that stuff like should matter or factor into a purchase decision at all, but like ultimately it does for some people.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I I think the point here is is the Speedmaster, along with these other kind of like classic pillars of their genre, like the Seamaster, the Submariner, the Santos, all that kind of stuff, are watches that you kind of want to resist because they feel like kind of like he says, here basic and all that kind of stuff, and you want to build a more unique, you know, high personality collection type thing.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_00: So you end up maybe cycling through uh, you know, 10, 15, 20, whatever different uh micro brand watches, and you might you might buy one and and and then sell it and get a couple others and then sell those to get something else, and it whatever it is, it's like a part of this, it's like a part of a journey that you go on.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_00: And then ultimately you realize like, ah, none of those really kind of like hit the spot, or none of them like really lived up to the quality bar that I find in something like uh a Submariner, a Santos, a Speedmaster, or whatever it is, so that you end up just kind of like back at that uh spot.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_00: I d I don't think this is necessarily like entirely true for everyone because a lot of people are perfectly content with um with a few of the Seiko's or collecting uh in whatever kind of niche that they enjoy, and that works for them.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_00: But if you're a person that doesn't have such a highly focused interest in this hobby and you're looking for for maybe a few watches that are versatile enough to wear um, you know, for for for all kinds of things that you would do in your daily life.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_00: And and honestly, there's a lot of watches that are like that.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_00: So for me, that really just comes down to like, is it comfortable on the wrist?
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_00: Does it like does it feel like the level of quality that you want, like in the fit and finish and all that kind of stuff?
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and you know, is it does it does it make you happy when you look down at it basically?
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, I think it's it's the point of this is that you can go through a lot of watches looking for that when in reality some of these kind of like classics uh, you know, that have been looking at you right in the face for a long time are the watches that have those qualities and uh and you just didn't maybe pick up on it or didn't want to pick up on it at first.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I don't think that that's necessarily always the case, but uh but I think it is, you know, it's worth saying like some of those watches are have their reputation for a reason, and for a very good reason, because they're they're great watches.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_00: And a watch like an explorer or a submariner or something might feel like really boring and you want to explore more of the hobby, which I think is is great, and you should explore uh more of the hobby because there are really great, interesting, creative, fun, beautiful watches being made by great people out there.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_00: And I think it's a very natural thing to want to explore that space.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but I don't think that it means you should be just immediately dismissive, maybe, of some of these other watches that might feel, you know, quote unquote boring at the end of the day, if you're looking for a watch that you can kind of like wear all day, every day, because they're great options uh again for uh for a reason.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_00: So so I think that's uh so I think that's a fair uh point by this guy.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_00: Uh alright, the next one is the user uh Might Unhappy4719.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_00: Vintage Rolexes have the same build qualities as a modern Seiko 5 series.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_00: So this is I guess you could say that's a uh hot take.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_00: And as someone who has owned plenty of of both of the of these things and loves uh both of those uh things, I can uh decisively say that he is uh incorrect here.
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_00: And that is not a knock on modern Seiko uh five series.
• 21:59
  SPEAKER_00: I think.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: uh you know by and large the the build quality where it matters in kind of a lot of these old Rolex watches are are pretty robust even by today's standards.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_00: And I think like it might get a bad rap because of how like the bracelets might jangle or something like that.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_00: But you know all the things that that matter like the the the case, the seals, the the how the movements were constructed, all that, they were never like cheap entry-level watches uh even even back in the day, these these Rolexes.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_00: So you know they they were never built with like uh you know like oh we've got to make a ton of these things so we can sell them at low prices.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_00: Uh like it's it's never been the the case for for these old Rolexes and a lot of them I think were you know way back when even had more kind of like hand uh you know more human hands in the process.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that their their quality is legendary for a very good reason um for for kind of how these watches have have been used throughout history and the kind of things that they've stood up to uh and and and I don't say that just because of their like marketing materials.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_00: I say that on actual stories of actual people that are that are using these things and have used these things for for decades.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_00: And their quality I think speaks for itself and how they've been able to do that.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_00: Now I think a modern Seiko 5 series is plenty capable of you know working in a cold environment and diving to a deep depth like it could do all of those kind of same things to uh to a degree.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_00: But if you do all those things with it over the course of you know 40 or 50 years, 60 years like some of the Rolex watches had had put up with you know then I think you might see a different story of how things played out uh for these because you know let's face it the a modern Seiko 5 is built in in volume in very high uh volumes and it is built to kind of be a certain price and uh you know nothing nothing against it or anything like that.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_00: It's just kind of like a different quality standard that I think they are they are made to so I don't think this one lands quite as well as this guy uh thinks it does and again I don't mean that as a knock on on made at modern Seiko 5 watches um at all.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_00: Alright next up we're moving to a take by user confidence uh number 1937 uh it's alright not to think of watches as prized possessions you plan to keep for life.
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_00: This touches on something interesting that I think a lot of people grapple with uh at times, at different times throughout their, you know, quote unquote journey uh in into this space.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_00: You know, and I think that the more time you spend in this space the more that you realize that this is uh uh I don't know maybe maybe maybe not an unhealthy way to kind of think about the watches uh that you get but maybe certainly a unrealistic expectation to place upon them.
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_00: That said I think if the watch ends up becoming that through um you know through the sentiment that you end up building with it or or you just end up bonding with it for for whatever reason I think it's it's it's something that that should be able to be a part of your life for the long run.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_00: You know I think about a mechanical watch today in tune at 2026 and and how these things are made and the prices that uh that are being asked for them it is a very niche thing obviously and and I think that an expect there should be an expectation of you know hey if I get this watch and I do end up bonding with it um that it will that it will do well with me over the course of you know generations and maybe it is something that I would hand on uh down to my kid.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_00: Like that is the kind of like level I think that we buy these watch brands are are told that it's okay to think about these watches as as that kind of a thing.
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_00: But I don't think that you should have an expectation that when you buy a watch that it is just going to be that.
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_00: And I think too often uh you know I think it's it's it's uh as this user points out it's it's good luxury marketing story to justify outrageously large expenditures as he uh as as he or she puts it.
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_00: And I think there certainly is something to that it's it's easier for us to talk ourselves into it if we have in the back of our head, well it's something that I'm gonna keep for you know the rest of my life and I'm maybe going to hand it down to my kid.
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_00: So you know uh I can I can justify the$10,000,$15,000,$20,000,$5,000, whatever it is, you know, that that makes it it removes that barrier right like it kind of like uh it it removes it reduces the sting of that number when you think about it over the course of that many years.
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_00: And you know and then when you get home and you realize like oh I've got I've got 15 of these things or 10 of these things or or whatever it is and uh you know I've bought and sold six in the last six months and I've picked up these other three you know I think then you realize okay like mm maybe the jig is up and I that's not actually the reality of how I'm treating these things.
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_00: You know and maybe it takes a few years for a few to kind of filter through into like a permanent you know a permanent collection of of yours that you could that you would actually do want to keep for the rest of your life and and hand on to your kid.
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_00: But I don't think that's that's something that you are going to be able to um to know or really judge kind of in the moment in um like if you're in an AD and you're you're ready to get out the the checkbook or the credit card or whatever I I don't think it's something that you're going to know in that moment in time.
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_00: So I think it I think it's it's it would be wise to not think of it as something like that when you are in the process of making a purchase decision uh uh around these things.
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_00: So I think this is this is a this is a good thing to call out um uh by this user here.
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and that goes uh the same goes for this uh for this next one here uh from user affectionate week uh 929 uh etta based movements is a positive selling point and of course myself and many people like me that have that have been around watches a long long enough I think have been saying this for a very long time it is difficult to make a better movement than the the the ETA 2824 or or or any watches in that or any movements in that vein.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_00: These are great like workhorse robust movements and uh some brands can put a lot of time and energy and money into developing a new movement just for the sake of being able to say that it has an in-house movement because it's easier to charge a little bit more for uh for that but that does not make it just a better movement by default because you know it doesn't have decades of of like use under its belt and uh and understanding and evolution and all that not to even touch on on the servicing uh stuff implications of this you know if if I if I see a a young brand that's made their own movement you know I'm gonna be thinking you know if I buy this watch and in 10 years from now uh you know if I still have it and then I need uh a different part or or service or whatever is this brand A going to be around and are they gonna be able to service um you know this unique movement of theirs.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_00: And uh and and I think these are these are very real concerns uh uh around a lot of this kind of stuff and I think that's why that you will notice a lot of brands that do um you know manufacture movements or or make these these new movements or find these new movements to use they're all based on really kind of the template of of these Eda movements.
• 28:52
  SPEAKER_00: And you know the the the history of the Swiss watch industry and and how they all the kind of consolidation uh happened is uh is a very interesting story and print probably one for another day that maybe we'll touch on uh at at some point in the future but um but that consolidation did happen even at the expense of maybe some some some years of innovation uh but that also meant that like these movements are very very good at what they do and they've become kind of an industry standard as a result.
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_00: So when I see a nice watch that has an Eda movement I think oh that's really cool.
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_00: And if I see a watch that I really like it has some like weird jank movement I've never heard of or something uh I boy you know it's it's I I kind of say you know I kind of think to myself boy I wish it why couldn't they have just used the an an Eda movement or or something like that or a Salita uh SW300.
• 29:39
  SPEAKER_00: Uh you know these these are excellent movements that uh that I find a lot of appeal in and unless I am you know thinking about a watch uh on the level of of of like a Longa and zona or something like that then I don't really I don't I mean I personally don't really care all that much like how beautiful it is uh to look at that it can be behind a closed case bag for all I care.
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_00: Like I just want it to work well um and be robust in terms of what it can put up with like maybe a full balance bridge is nice and keep halfway decent time be easy to service and maybe be able to to go quite a few years between those service intervals.
• 30:17
  SPEAKER_00: You know it's it's it's not like that exotic of a formula here and I think once you got those main pillars down then you've got something um that you can build on.
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah completely agree with this uh with this person edobase movements is definitely a positive selling point.
• 30:32
  SPEAKER_00: Alright and then there's one final one that I have to have to touch on only because it made me stop and laugh uh out loud from user damaged unicycles.
• 30:41
  SPEAKER_00: Most of you have such disgusting forearms and hands that no watch could possibly look good on you.
• 30:47
  SPEAKER_00: And I think this is alluding to a lot of the kind of um you know grisly looking wrist shots that we see sometimes come across our uh our feed.
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_00: And I I will say for a long time uh if I'm taking wrist shots for uh for reviews or anything that that I think a lot of people you know might be looking at I try to go through the trouble of either myself or whoever's wearing the watch have a long sleeve shirt on and have the watch just kind of poke uh underneath it uh unless you've really got um I don't know I don't know what is what is an aesthetically pleasing uh forearm and wrist look like maybe tan and slightly muscly or something like that.
• 31:26
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 31:26
  SPEAKER_00: But uh but anyway something to consider.
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_00: My actually my bigger uh my bigger issue most of the time is people who use a phone uh and just get too close uh to the to the watch on their wrist uh which of course distorts the kind of size and proportion of that watch to the wrist so it looks like it's kind of overhanging on both sides and you can't get any kind of true sense of um of you know the proportionality of that of that watch or what it really looks like in person uh on the wrist so uh so yeah if you're taking a picture of your watch on your wrist I would always say like move the camera move the phone back a bit uh until the it goes if you're using an iPhone at least like mine will go into this um it's like a macro mode and there's a little like flower that will appear on the screen.
• 32:12
  SPEAKER_00: If you back it up far enough so that it goes out of the macro mode and then you can try and center it in that and then maybe get a tiny bit closer that's usually I think a much more realistic uh view of the watch and how it looks on your wrist from from a proportionality standpoint.
• 32:29
  SPEAKER_00: So so keep that in mind.
• 32:31
  SPEAKER_00: Alright I will put uh I'll put uh links to to each of these that I mentioned here in the show notes so if you uh you know or find yourself uh real incensed by any of these you can feel free to jump into the discussion uh over there on Reddit.
• 32:45
  SPEAKER_00: Alright that'll do it for this week's episode uh thank you so much for tuning in and until next time take care