Latest / The Deep Track / The Deep Track, Ep. 105 - Watches Sold, But Not Forgotten, Plus Grand Seiko & Parmigiani

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The Deep Track, Ep. 105 - Watches Sold, But Not Forgotten, Plus Grand Seiko & Parmigiani · The Deep Track

• 0:09
  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 today talking about a handful of new watches and watches that I've had a chance to go hands-on with recently.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: And I want to talk about some watches that I I don't want to say regret selling, but they're watches that I think about and miss frequently.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: And uh there's a few watches in here that still kind of linger in the back of my mind, and uh and and I wanted to talk about why.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: And some of them might surprise you, so stay tuned for that.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: First off, I am wearing the CWC Titanium Diver 300.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: This is a watch that has uh has been getting a lot of wrist time frequently here this summer.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's it's really turned into a fantastic summer watch because it is it's exceptionally lightweight.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: It's easy to wear on this uh uh this this fabric strap that I've got it on.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: And uh it's a really easy just kind of grab and go watch.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, you don't have to wind it or anything like that.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: So I found myself really gravitating towards it this summer far more than I would have expected myself to.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: I generally enjoy the process of winding a watch and setting it and uh and putting it on a different one every day and all that kind of stuff.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, but there's something really refreshing about just being able to reach for this and slap it on.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: It is uh a watch that I enjoy, the the look of it, I like how it feels on the wrist, all that kind of stuff.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: So uh so yeah, this has been probably so far the watch that I have worn the most this summer.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, I of course have a full review of this watch over on thedeeptrack.com.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: We'll leave a link to that and everything else that I'm talking about uh uh here this week down below in the show notes.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: All right, let's move on and talk about a few new watches that I want to give some of my thoughts on, and this starts with the uh Grand Seiko Evolution 9 collection.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: They have released nine new watches in the Evolution 9 collection.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: There are uh UFA Spring Drive versions, there are uh mechanical, pure mechanical versions, and there are different sizes, the different materials.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: It really kind of seems like a hard reset in some way of the Evolution 9, just kind of like base collection of watches.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: And there are quite a few familiar dials in here, textures, colors that we've seen before in previous and existing references from Grand Seiko.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: And uh this is kind of like consolidating it all into a new framework altogether, and they all come on new, more tapered bracelets, which is of course something that people have been asking for for uh for for a long time.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's a great move.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, but uh, you know, the only issue with that is you know you go to the Grand Seiko Evolution 9 website right now, and you'll see them sitting alongside that you'd have assumed, or at least I would have assumed that they would be replacing.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: So there's a little confusion right now in kind of browsing uh what you know what what these what the differences are between a lot of these watches and why these are being released alongside them.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: Uh when these launch in, I think later this year, September, presumably it will just be this will be the new kind of base Evolution 9 collection, and the other references won't be there anymore.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not quite sure.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, but they are, you know, regardless, they are there are a lot of the kind of like greatest hits of um Grand Sago Evolution 9 watches that we've seen since uh since the first Evolution 9 watches came out in uh 2001, uh I believe, 2000, uh in that realm.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: And uh, and of course that includes watches like the the like the white birch and uh the titanium um black night uh birch watch and uh and a few others.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: It's uh of course they all have these kind of like beautiful brilliant dials and they're very dynamic and they've got these great textures that are inspired by Japanese nature scenes and and all the stuff that you kind of know and love about Grand Seiko, and they are they are they are being released with the uh 9SA5 automatic caliber, which is which is of course exceptional, and the uh 9RB2 uh ultra fine uh spring drive movement, and uh they are mostly in 40 millimeters, though there is one in 37 millimeters.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: It'd be nice to see all of them have uh have you know two size options in both 40 and 37, uh, but that's not how they chose to go with this one, it's really just just one of them, and uh and each of the kind of groupings uh with the movements here uh have one in titanium as well, uh, which again I think works really well here, and uh, and again, this just kind of seems like it's taking what has already existed in the Evolution 9 collection, consolidating it and kind of repackaging it, and uh, you know, kind of tightening up the focus a little bit uh here on these nine watches.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: And again, presumably they will not be offered alongside the the older or existing references, even though they are still there on the website.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: It feels a bit like Grand Seiko is still kind of finding their footing with how they uh how they market and release and present a lot of these watches.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I think in the past they've they've been um criticized by some, or or maybe, maybe, maybe just me.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I think they come out with you know a single watch and it's very compelling.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: And then a few months later they'll come out with a different one with a different dial that is also compelling, and it kind of kind of forces you into this holding pattern of what are they gonna do next.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm not gonna buy that one even though I like it, because I might like the the next one that they release even more, and you kind of get this paralysis where you're always kind of just sitting there watching the the new watches that come out, and and they're all kind of great in their own right, and then it's just kind of hard to to pick one.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, I like the idea of kind of seeing all of these together as a group and being able to look at them and say, oh boy, this you know, this this one with the white dial really speaks to me.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, especially seeing it next to all these other ones, you know, I'd like it even more.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: Whatever it is, I think this is a better way to handle some of these releases, uh, instead of kind of just keeping uh you know keeping enthusiasts waiting to see what the next one is going to be, to see if they're gonna like that one more.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I I I've said many times with some of these watches, the night birch, uh the the the what the white uh birch, I I think the dial texture is really beautiful.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: I love the kind of big wide hands, uh, and and really kind of almost everything about the watch except for the the how they handle the date on these things, I think it's a texture that deserves a dateless um execution.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: And I would love to see either of these uh or at least a few of these options in uh in a dateless option uh there.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: But I do think the big thing here, these the bracelet, the tapered uh bracelet that also has a quick adjust system in the clasp.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: Uh overall, though, I think these are or these are all you know great watches from from Grand Sago and uh and and and they're really just kind of iterating in the way that they need to.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: So uh so good stuff.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_00: I still haven't gone hands-on, I still haven't been able to spend much time with the new diver that we released at uh Watches and Wonders earlier this year.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: I'm hoping to get uh to get one of those in for a review relatively soon here.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: That one is uh it's kind of right up my alley.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_00: So uh so keep an eye out for that.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: Hopefully in the near future.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: Alright, the other watches that I wanted to mention here are from Parmigiani Flurier.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_00: These are uh watches that that I had a chance to go hands-on with uh here in New York just recently, and uh they are the new some new Torik watches, which is celebrating an anniversary this year, so they've got kind of an anniversary collection that have these unique hand-hammered dials, and uh, you know, I think the Toric, I've been a huge fan of it.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: Um uh well since the first time I saw one, frankly, which was uh, you know, uh 15, uh, 16 years ago, something like that, in in uh Fleurier when I was touring their manufacture uh uh you know many moons ago, and I always found it to be a very peculiar design, uh, and it was kind of you know very much of its era.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: I think the original design, but the the new Toric that came out uh just the other year is is is absolutely fantastic uh in in in pretty much every sense.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_00: It is, you know, it's a formal watch, so it's it's it's not a watch that I look at and think, oh, I want that, and I would wear it all the time.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_00: I don't I don't know if I could pull any of these things off, but they are you know absolutely beautiful objects and in watches themselves, you know, from from the dial textures to the design of the the case, how it all works together to the finishing of the movement, and uh really kind of just at every level, these are really exceptional watches.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: And uh then that continues to be the case with the Tauric uh anniversary editions.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: They also uh are really kind of bringing new complications into this collection.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: Uh there's chronograph, uh and they had the uh perpetual calendar.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_00: And uh in this year for the the anniversary, also with this hand hammered dial, they released the chiming, the the carrion tourbillon, uh, which is um which chimes, which has four uh actually uh kind of notes that it can can chime.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: Two of the gongs are visible, the the two of the hammers are visible on the dial, I should say, as well as the kind of uh it's like a resonating arm that kind of encircles the dial in this like uh wave-like design.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_00: Uh it's really cool, you know, it creates distinct tones for the hours, minutes, and and and the quarters.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_00: So it's it's an impressive bit of watchmaking, and it really kind of shows the uh you know the versatility, I think, of the toric as a platform.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: And uh and obviously that's kind of a a real special piece in in platinum.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: Then they're not gonna make money of those.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: Uh really kind of as a celebration of the Torik uh for for its anniversary.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_00: But it's really the the time-only version that I that I um kind of found myself drawn to, the petite seconde.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_00: And uh yeah, I the the the light blue and the hammer dial, the textures, again, every little thing about this watch just kind of um uh it kind of draws you in for a closer look, and it's exceptionally handsome.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: So I really enjoyed this one.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: There is one other watch uh from them that I got to see, and that is the uh chronograph mystery, which can continues a trend that Taparmajani has had of of kind of hiding these complications where you know either there's a button that you press, and then a hand that's hidden under one of the normal hands will will will kind of come into action and it will fill a different purpose or something like that.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_00: So you know it's a complication there that doesn't really look like a complication, so it's not uh compromising the simple kind of three-hander design.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: So this has uh just a single presser in uh the bottom left lug, and when you press it, uh you know, these these uh the silver hands all jump to the top of the dial and start timing like you would expect a chronograph.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_00: Two, and it leaves um the hidden hands that were in gold set in place to keep telling the time.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so it's it's a really interesting concept.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_00: I found it a little you know, when when you when you have it uh the chronograph actuated and all these hands are kind of running around everywhere, there's no numbers, there's no subdials, there's nothing nothing like that.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_00: So it's it's a little um uh disorienting almost at first to look down and see you know these five different hands, kind of with all seemingly random positions.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: Uh you know, I I think they they maybe could have done this with with just um the seconds hand and like a minute totalizer, uh, just to kind of keep things really clear and and concise.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: I also found the hands slightly difficult to differentiate between um because they are polished.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: Uh you know, one is silver, one is gold, but depending on your your your the lighting situation of the room that you're in or outside or whatever, those hands can be like you might have to go in for a closer look to kind of pick out which ones are you know the gold hands and which ones are the silver hands, keeping the time.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_00: Overall, though, I think a really creative concept, and I liked when they do these things.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's a little gimmicky, maybe slightly, uh, but you know, it's it's certainly well done at the end of the day.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: I still think the best um implementation of this was the first one, the GMT Rajpont, which uh which allowed you to kind of press a button and then have a uh a second hour hand uh come into motion that would that would allow you to track a second time zone if you wanted.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're traveling, you could just press that and uh and get to local time while also keeping your regular handset on uh your home time.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: So so I think that one was was was really cool, and that's like the kind of clear-cut, very practical implementation of it, the chronograph.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_00: You know, maybe slightly less so.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, but uh any additional uh centrally mounted chronographs uh out there are uh are a good thing in my book.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_00: So uh again, once again, I've got all the uh hands-on images along with um you know more of my thoughts over on thedeeptrack.com so you can check it out there.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, let's get into the main topic of this episode, and that is uh watches that I uh I do not regret selling.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: I want I want to be clear about that.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I'm not a guy that's looking to just amass as many watches as I can, and uh I'm not a guy that wants this huge collection of watches.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: So when I do sell a watch that's not getting worn for one reason or another, I don't want to look back and say I regret it because I wasn't wearing it.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_00: So I just have to keep that in in mind.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_00: Uh but at the same time, you know, when I when I when I think back or you know I'm scrolling through uh you know an old image folder or something, and I've come across an image of one of these things, it will kind of cause me to pause and be like, wow, this is that was a great watch.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_00: I remember that, and I I I wish I had it here with me right now, uh, but I don't.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_00: And and there's there's there's one that I'm gonna start with because I think I've talked about this before, and it's watched that I've bought and sold twice uh now.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm I'm I'm I'm really kind of disallowing myself to to buy it for a third time because I kind of know how the story goes with it.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and that is the uh Explorer 2 reference 16570.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_00: And uh I had the white dial, two examples of of the white dial.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: And every time I get it, and every time I see one in in person, every time I handle one, I I love it, I enjoy it, and you know, it it does kind of bring a smile to my face.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_00: For whatever reason, when I've when I've owned it, it's just not a watch that gets worn all that much.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_00: I generally have at least a few GMT watches uh at any given moment, and you know uh and for whatever reason, you know, it's just it's usually one of the other ones that ends up getting more wrist time than that Explorer 2.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_00: Even if it is like the um uh like the GMT Master 2 is a watch that I wound up war wearing a lot more than uh than the five-digit uh Explorer 2, even though, you know, the the 5 digit 16570 is arguably a uh more wearable watch, a more comfortable watch, an easier watch to wear.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_00: Uh but there's something, you know, the the the GMT Master is not a difficult watch to wear, and you know, I find myself kind of bonding with that watch in unexpected ways.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, I I know you can you can roll your eyes all all day long about modern Rolexes and and polished surfaces and all that kind of stuff, yeah, I get it.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_00: Uh but you know there there's something about the watch that has kind of got gotten under my skin.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_00: And uh that's watch that that I've that I've that I've never really kind of even entertained is selling.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_00: And and it's a watch that I still grab quite often and wear and enjoy wearing quite often.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_00: And and uh that that was just you know never really the case with the Explorer 2.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, even though, you know, I preferred its its dimensions and uh and uh and and I like the way that it looked.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_00: I like the steel you know brushed bezel with with the with the with the 24-hour scale engraved on it.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_00: There's a lot of of details about the watch that I really like.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_00: And truth be told, like the the uh 1655, the original Explorer 2 is a watch that um that boy, I you know, I still look at and and kind of lust after in in in one way or another.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, you know, that's a watch that I could see maybe in the long term trying to to add into into the collection.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_00: But I worry that, you know, would I would I wear it?
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_00: Would it just sit there?
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, you know, it's it's one of those watches that and and there are a lot of vintage Rolexes that kind of fall into this category, and that's why a lot of vintage Rolexes have come and gone uh uh from my collection.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I guess at the end of the day, I feel like I'm a guy that wants to to be able to rely on a modern watch and put it through its paces and not kind of worry about it being an older watch and what I'm doing with it, and do I have to be too precious with it?
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, I I with with with the modern stuff, I feel like I can kind of make it my own over time, and over the course of many years, it starts to kind of like look like the way that I want to, and I build all these memories in it, and it really kind of feels like something that's truly mine, I guess, at the end of the day.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what, you know, when I talk about that, the GMT Master 2, that that is kind of like the process that I feel like it's going through right now.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's it's got dings and scrapes, and it's it's losing some of its that that luster polish and stuff.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_00: So so it's like I like the way that it looks like more and more and more the more that I wear it.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_00: And I feel like I'm I'm I'm earning that, you know.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_00: I know it's a cheesy thing to say, but uh, but I am earning that like the way that I want it to be, instead of kind of buying one of these older ones where I already like the way that it looks, but then I'm kind of nervous about taking it on vacation or taking it hiking or swimming or whatever it is that I'm gonna do with it, because you know, it's this precious thing that's already kind of like perfect.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_00: And uh I know that sounds like kind of weird, but but I you know, I I feel like it's it's ultimately kind of um you know our responsibility to to make these watches, these these modern watches, as interesting as these vintage watches are for another generation that's that's yet to come.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_00: And uh and and I feel like I can I can do that, and I I um you know I I wear my the the modern watches with less stress because I know that uh that that they can put up with whatever I'm gonna throw at it and it's you know probably gonna come out all the better at the end of the day because of it.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_00: So uh so anyways, that's that's my spiel.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_00: The the Explorer 2, again, fantastic watch, and just one that uh that is never really kind of stuck in uh in my collection.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_00: Uh alright, the next one is uh is kind of a weird one.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_00: It's uh a watch from Linda Verdolin, and it was a spidalite titanium.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_00: Uh this is uh a very unique watch that uh that has kind of an uh uh a skeletonized integrated case.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_00: And uh this one, this particular one was was titanium.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_00: Uh this is a brand that I've always had kind of a soft spot for.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I I I remember interacting with the the brand's founders back kind of around the time that it had launched, and they they used to make these tools that you could put over the top of the case, uh, these like digital instruments that you could put over the watch itself for like um like high altitude climbing and and and skiing or or scuba diving, and and then they would be like these computer elements that you know they designed these uh you know, these these pieces of hardware really to and the software parts that would go over that would like clamp on to uh the chassis of the watch, which I always found to be like a really interesting, kind of like over-the-top ridiculous uh thing, but I I loved it, and that's kind of what made them so interesting.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_00: Uh but the design language of these watches and the cases in general, uh I I've always had a real soft spot for.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_00: And one day I came across uh a spiderite in titanium that was uh you know, you know, okay, let me pause here and just say that I think some of these watches, uh the the Linda Verlin watches, uh I don't know, maybe over-engineered to agree, that it made them quite expensive at MSRP, and you know, they didn't exactly hold their their value all that well.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_00: So some of them you could find for for relatively reasonable prices, and that was certainly the case with this Spider-Light.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_00: So I I found one and just kind of instinctually jumped on it because I never owned one before, and uh and ended up owning it for, I don't know, maybe a year or something like that.
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_00: And uh it's it's it's a little it's a little large, you know, it's 44 millimeters and and and a little thick because of how the case is designed.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, it ended up being just a watch that I that I didn't wear all that often because of its kind of like large stature.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, but it's a watch that I could like handle and look at all day and and still find, you know, really tremendously interesting and original in its in its in its own way.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_00: And it's a brand that I would love to see kind of come back and start, you know, continue to to and and really kind of continue to evolve these ideas that they had and uh and create new watches around them, maybe that are slightly more ergonomic or or I don't know, or keep making these crazy things and maybe make new uh you know new modules to put on top of them.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_00: You know, no, you don't it's just things that you don't really see all that often these days.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_00: And this is a watch that when I look at pictures of now I uh I really kind of just stop and think, wow, that that was cool.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I can't believe I own that thing.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_00: Why did I get rid of it?
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_00: Uh was that a mistake?
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_00: Should I have kept it?
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_00: All that kind of stuff that you just kind of think of.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_00: But again, if you're not wearing it and um and you've had it for for that long, you know, you just kind of know, like, okay, this is this is a watch that I don't need just kind of sitting around.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_00: And if somebody else can can take it and really kind of put it to better use than I can, then uh then then great.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you can't look back and and kind of dwell on on regrets and stuff at the end of the day.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_00: There's nothing I can do about it now.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, but you know, I think going through a lot of the experiences of these watches and many other watches is how you kind of end up shaping your own sense of curation for you know what works for you, and and you can really kind of hone in on a on a collection or a few watches or a bunch of watches that that work for you.
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_00: Uh not because you you know you've always thought it looked cool in an Instagram post or because.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: that's been really popular with other people or whatever.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I think you you have to go through a lot of these watches that be before you start to realize, you know, what what it is that that you actually are drawn to wearing and not just kind of liking.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_00: And uh and only then can you narrow in on the kinds of watches that you know that uh that will get worn and will get used and uh and and you'll be able to enjoy to kind of the fullest extent rather than just kind of amassing uh tons and tons of watches.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_00: Uh unless that's something that you that that you want to do um you know which is uh there's nothing wrong with that I suppose either.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_00: Uh it's just really not me.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_00: Uh all right the next watch is one that I that I that I absolutely adore and would absolutely still own it were it not for a single detail.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_00: This is the Zin Easy M1 uh which is uh the the first of the mission timers from Zinn uh was released in 1997 the Eisenzeit Miser and uh this is the watch that uh used a Lamania 5600 has a centrally mounted chronograph uh really just one of the coolest watches has a really cool origin story and really kind of a unique take on the chronograph from Zinn you know they they didn't take like the obvious easy route they kind of engineered this solution um for for a variety of reasons kind of centered around you know um usability and legibility and uh focus and all these different things and the one the one thing about this watch that um that I ended up having a hard time with in use was the fact that the crown is on the 9 o'clock side of the case and uh the crown and the pushers I should say and I am a guy that wears my watch on my right wrist and I really don't like the crown pointing into the bend of my wrist.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_00: And I thought that you know maybe it was something that that wouldn't really bother me or that I could get over uh but it ended up just being something that I couldn't because you know it's not like a tiny watch.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_00: Uh it's it's relatively kind of thick and and tanky even though it's only 40 millimeters.
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_00: Uh it's just one that really kind of never got along with my wrist uh unfortunately so uh so it was never a watch that that ended up wearing all that much uh but this is a watch that I certainly uh treasure and and dearly wish uh Zin would make a modern rendition of in the same size uh but um but maybe with the crown over on the right hand side of of the case um you know and and they they they modify uh 7750s for the modern EZM1 uh like spec 2 or whatever they call it and they're slightly larger I think they've done them in DLC cases uh stuff like that so uh you know it just doesn't quite hit the same as the original titanium 40mm uh La Magna version and uh you know it's kind of like a legendary watch and uh it boy it's it's really kind of just uh a language that I would love to see them return to and uh and do justice to at some point down the line in the future to me it's just really one of the coolest watches ever made if you're a person that's into uh to tool watches uh really and it's it's kind of like the ultimate version of that and it's got great kind of pedigree as well so uh so yeah Zinn EZ M1.
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_00: Alright rounding out the list uh I mean there there are probably a dozen more of these things that I could talk about uh but these were were were kind of an initial handful that uh that I wanted to to kind of get off my chest and at least talk about a little bit.
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_00: Uh the the last one is uh it's another Rolex and it it's again it's a watch that I never would have imagined missing or even liking or even wanting in my collection in the first place.
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_00: But it ended up being all of that and uh and for some reason I ended up getting rid of it kind of thinking that oh there will you know that there's plenty of them out there.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_00: I can always pick up another one down the line if I if I want to you know in in in I think that's something that you say to kind of help yourself justify uh a decision that you're unsure about but you maybe know that like I don't know if I'm ever going to come back to it or not am I ever going to be like go through the trouble of coming back to it or not.
• 26:09
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's really I mean it's it's it's a Rolex submariner reference 114060.
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_00: It's uh the the the last 40mm submariner um modern ceramic bezel dateless uh sub submariner and you know it's it's you know for all intents and purposes it's it's it's the least you know I've owned a lot of submariner references uh both old and and and new I think this one is arguably maybe the you know the ugliest uh the least compelling of of all of them um but again it's a watch that I just found myself wearing a lot and uh yeah I took it in on a trade just kind of thinking that oh it'll be an easy watch for me to turn around and sell um because it's a it's a Rolex submariner.
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_00: And this was I don't know maybe 2017 in that realm 2016 in in that uh in that realm and uh you know I'd only plan on keeping it for a couple of weeks uh or something and that turned into uh boy when did I get rid of it uh maybe two years I mean I probably had it for for a good solid like six or seven years uh and and it's a watch I never really thought about keeping in the collection.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_00: It's something that like maybe I always took for granted or I always thought or yeah I'll go I'll get around to getting rid of that or selling it at some point but I just never really did and I just kept wearing it more and more and more.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I ended up having like building really kind of a lot of great memories in the watch without thinking about it or realizing it uh you know when when my when my kid was maybe uh I don't know from you know like four to ten or something like that.
• 27:51
  SPEAKER_00: So so a lot of a lot of like good stuff happened in that in that realm and I did a lot of cool things in with him in this watch.
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_00: Again without really kind of thinking about it because that's how it goes.
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_00: And and it's a watch that I still that it's this is probably of of all of these it's the one that I like the least but it's the one that I regret selling the most I'm not a super sentimental guy but boy this watch had uh I mean it it it had some life on it and uh you know you could tell you could see the mileage kind of on on every corner of the watch and it really kind of is a watch that like earned my my love or or something like that.
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know how to how to how to say it because it's you know maybe not like traditionally as beautiful as some of the other Submariner references that are out there but there's something about it that just really got along with my wrist.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_00: Come to think of it the frame of the you know GMT Master 2 is is really not all that different from this watch and that gets along with my wrist really well as as well.
• 28:51
  SPEAKER_00: So you know maybe there's something about that particular case that um you know that just works for for my wrist and like how it's sized and the the profile of the case back all that kind of stuff.
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_00: You know I think we all have watches like that that you try on and it just kind of fits like a glove.
• 29:09
  SPEAKER_00: And and you know you you might not like it as much as other watches or something but it's just more comfortable than all these other watches so you end up uh kind of gravitating for it to towards it for that reason.
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_00: You know this was this was one of that those watches and and the GMT Master 2 is is one of those watches as well.
• 29:27
  SPEAKER_00: So you know this this Submariner kind of the the um you know the ugly duckling I don't know what this this submariner's place in history will ultimately go down as maybe like the the 996 version of the 911 a little bit.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_00: You know it's got the wide kind of fat lug and uh yeah it's not the most graceful thing in the world right but uh but there was something like it I mean it looked that way in pictures at least I'll say right like if you if you see a picture on Instagram and it's a yeah it's kind of close up and it's it's it it's all these things are exaggerated about it.
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_00: But on the wrist and in use it it didn't really I like it wasn't that bad.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_00: It wasn't that exaggerated.
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_00: And uh and it was really kind of you know thinner than you might expect.
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_00: It's just it's just a watch that that worked better on my wrists than um than than I ever thought it it it would have.
• 30:26
  SPEAKER_00: And that is the watch that uh you know again uh the the only one that I would maybe use the word regret uh selling for in in at least in this list of watches.
• 30:36
  SPEAKER_00: And this is an idea I'll probably come back to at some point maybe with a guest and we can each kind of talk about watches that we've had and and moved on but we still think about I'm sure if you're listening to this you have some of these watches as well um you know feel free to share that with me you can drop me a line on email you can hit me up on uh on on Instagram even though to be perfectly honest I don't spend a whole lot of time on Instagram uh I really um just find my own personal quality of life uh better when I'm not spending a lot of time on on really any kind of social media uh so uh so that's why you don't see a whole ton of posts if you're on Instagram all that uh you know a whole bunch that's why you really don't see a whole ton of posts from uh from the D track uh and uh and it's something that uh you know I guess I'm not losing too much sleep over at the end of the day um but uh anyways those are those are my watches that uh that I moved on but I still think about the Explorer 2 the Linda Verdolin Spider Light Titanium the Zin Easy M1 and the Submariner 114060 there's another watch that I had on my list here the Fortis Cosmonaut that I didn't get a chance to talk about but we'll save that for for for another day and uh and for another batch of these watches.
• 31:52
  SPEAKER_00: Alright that'll do it for this week's episode thank you so much for tuning in and until next time take care