Latest / The Deep Track / The Deep Track, Ep. 113 - New Gear/Old Gear Pick Ups, Inge 50th, Rolex Padellone

Transcript

The Deep Track, Ep. 113 - New Gear/Old Gear Pick Ups, Inge 50th, Rolex Padellone · 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.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: This week I wanted to touch on some gear, some new pickups, some gear, as well as some gear that I've had for a long time that has performed really well.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, because I feel like that stuff is worth mentioning too, just so we don't continue down this uh whole consumerism uh kind of trend of, you know, where we always have to be getting new things.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: I genuinely don't think that's the case.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: And I also think that's probably an unhealthy way to look at uh to look at our hobbies is really constantly something that you constantly have to replenish or be buying new things to really kind of get the most of.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: That is certainly not the case in watches and uh and not the same in a lot of other areas as well.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so when I talk about gear and do some gear spotlights of things that I've been using or picked up recently, I always want to kind of balance it out with gear that I've had for a really long time and not replaced and and stuff that performs really well because I think that's just as important.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, before we get into that, I have been on a couple of the recent episodes of the open work podcast.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: So if you've been missing uh the weekly installments of the Deep Track, you can head over to uh Collective and to the Open Work Podcast.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: Gabe and I had a discussion with uh Pranith of Ming and really kind of talked about how things work there, the future of the brand, where it came from.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: It is, I think, a really interesting discussion uh with Pranith about a brand that uh uh that I find particularly fascinating.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: And I will, of course, leave a link to that down below.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: One other bit of housekeeping, uh want to give a shout out again to everyone who bought a hat.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: I really appreciate you.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: There will be a new product coming into the store uh probably next month, so keep an eye out for that.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: It will be seasonal and it will not be remade.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: So uh the batch that comes into the to the store, that will be it.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: And uh obviously purchasing it directly supports my ability to continue to keep the site uh fully independent, ad-free, this kind of stuff, ad-free.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: So any support goes a long way.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: Alright, I want to start with a wrist check, which is also a part of uh some of the new pickups in terms of gear that I have had.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: It is an Apple Watch Ultra 4.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I have been a big fan of the Apple Watch Ultra since it released, and you know, in my opinion, it's kind of like the it's what the Apple Watch should have been all along, and it is kind of like a maximalist take on on what an Apple Watch should be, in my opinion, but that's coming from a guy who usually wears um normal mechanical watches or enthusiast watches or whatever you want to call it.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and I and if you're listening to this, you probably fall into that camp as well.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm generally not a person that wears an Apple Watch all throughout the day and you know needs to dress it up with a bunch of different straps or anything like that.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: I really only use it for its functionality when I am running, when I'm diving, when I'm hiking, any of that kind of stuff.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: Uh that's what I use it for.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: And because of that, I like the larger framework of the ultra, the bigger screen.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: Uh to me, it just feels like an overall kind of more functional version of the Apple Watch.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: So I've always connected with it for those reasons.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and I have used, and I picked one up, the original one that came out, um, I guess it was four years ago, something like that.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: And and I use it all the time.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: I've I've gone diving with it all over the world, uh, run all over the world with it as well.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I have hiked in Europe and in the American West and Southwest.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: It's a watch that I really like for that purpose.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: And it has performed really well in my time with it.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: Lately, though, it has gotten slightly uh maybe sluggish, I don't know.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: And the battery drains a little bit faster, all that kind of stuff, all the all the all the typical things that we complain about when it comes to modern tech.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: And obviously why we like mechanical things.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but this is why when the Ultra 4 came out, I thought I would uh upgrade to it or make the move over to it, and I did so in uh the black-coated case this time.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: I had the uncoated case last time, and I've got the uh it's like a loop strap that's like this sage earthy color.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: I think it works really well.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: It's a pretty sharp watch.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, but that doesn't really matter because it's not a watch that I wear day to day and track, you know, how how much I'm standing and my heart rate all day and all that kind of stuff.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: And the only reason I have it on now is because the first week that I have it, uh, I'm wanting to put it through its paces and use this thing called uh the readiness score and kind of see what that's like.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: I'm also trying to track my sleep, see what that's like.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: I've never really used these features.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so the first week I am wearing it uh more kind of on a daily basis just to see how this stuff uh stacks up.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: And the readiness thing needs like a week's worth of data, um, including sleep data to to really kind of get up and running.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: So uh so that is why I'm wearing it uh this morning and uh and throughout this week for the most part.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: And I gotta say, it's a sharp watch.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_00: And when I wear one of these for any length of time, the little tiny features do kind of start to suck me in where you know I can I can manage you know texts or see what emails are coming, just like see all that stuff without having to pick up my phone uh when I'm on the go or even not take my phone with me when I want to walk out somewhere.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: That's kind of nice.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I like that.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, if if I was gonna wear it for like a whole month, you know, I think I would get more like, oh, I gotta be wearing this, you know, every day to keep up with all this stuff.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: So I think it's important for me to kind of, you know, when I'm done with a with a run or whatever I'm using it for, I take it off and set it aside, and that's that, and not really get pulled into all the other uh, you know, bells and whistles that this thing has, because yeah, ultimately I don't really care that much uh about all that stuff, and obviously I would much rather wear uh all you know any of the other watches that uh uh that I own.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: So that's the first bit of kit.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: And I have two new camera pickups, one old and one new uh that I wanted to talk about.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so first the new.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: So taking a step back, I had a Sony A7R5 and a slew of lenses, and that was kind of like the kit that I would take to like Watches of Wonders, Geneva Watch Days, or or press trips or anything like that, and shoot watches with.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: It ended up just kind of getting to be where it was like a lot of kit.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: I also had an Sony EVZ1 or something like that uh for videos, and it was just kind of ended up being a little unwieldy.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: So I wanted to pare down and really just get a single camera and body that would replace uh all of that and be able to um, you know, get the watch photography that I need at events, be able to do like when I'm at an F1 race or something like that, and uh and really just kind of be able to cover all the bases that I would need to use, like a modern uh you know, digital camera for.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: So I sold all of that stuff, all the Sony kit, I got rid of all of it, and I picked up uh Leica SL3P.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: And this is a camera that kind of sits between the SL3 and the SL3S, and it has this very fast uh auto tracking thing, and it's got a great sensor, and I really love the ergonomics of it, which are like highly customizable, and I picked up a uh 28-70 lens to go with it.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: And the thing that I like about this is that I can use the lenses that I have for my M6 with this thing, uh, with an adapter that I picked up from uh from Light Lens Lab.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_00: And this specific adapter allows you to uh to to kind of use the up-close focusing as well.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_00: It pushes the the lens a little bit further off of uh off of the body, allowing you to take advantage of that.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: So I thought that this would kind of fit nicely into the ecosystem of like the kind of the film stuff that I have and uh and be kind of a single solution for all the digital needs that I would have.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, that lens I think is a is pretty great all-around lens.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: I really don't want to get into, you know, where I've got you know half a dozen prime lenses sitting around and all that kind of stuff.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_00: Uh we'll see if it gets to that state, but I would like to avoid that if possible.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_00: You know, for that kind of stuff, I'd rather just get like a nice M lens that I could use on the M6, and then from time to time, if I want to throw it on the SL3, I'll be able to do that.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so I have already traveled, uh, made a trip over to Switzerland with this thing and got to use it at uh Geneva Watch Days, and it was kind of like learning on the fly a little bit with it.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: And the Godox flash that I have, I have to use um uh like a trigger that goes in the hot shoe mount uh because I can't use it, won't work uh TTL that Godox on the camera itself.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: So uh so I have to get this adapter and uh that's like a trigger that does work with all the features that is meant for Leica.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and then you know I have to place the flash somewhere else in the room.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: So it was mixed results with that, I would say.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um it's something that I need to probably spend some more time with and and getting to know.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and I honestly like using flash like this is kind of a new thing for me in the first place.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_00: It's only been, I don't know, maybe a year or so.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_00: And I've talked about this in the past.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_00: I don't really consider myself all that great of a of a photographer in general, and certainly not when it comes to watch photography.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: I think there's a lot of other really fantastic watch photographers operating out there.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: And uh to me, it's always been a bit more of a challenge.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_00: It's really been like dependent on on my surroundings, the environment that I'm in, the lighting in the environment that I'm in, and the watch itself.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_00: Like, is it a flat crystal that's easy to see through, or is it one of these domed things that's gonna that's gonna reflect everything around?
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I I haven't mastered like being able to photograph a watch in any environment uh yet.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't know that I ever will, honestly.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: It's just one of those things that you're kind of consistently working on and and maybe you get a little bit better.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_00: And I've found in in my in my experience over the years, like whenever I feel like I'm getting a little bit better, I'll I'll I'll run into a handful of watches that uh that just completely throw me for a loop and I have no idea.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: And then it kind of knocks me down a run or two, like, oh, I don't uh I don't have this figured out as well as I may have thought.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: Or you know, I'll go through a series of of pictures and feel like I really really happy with how these came out.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_00: And then I see what somebody else, how somebody else photographed that same watch because they were with me when when we were getting access to it, and theirs are way better than mine, and then I'm kind of like, oh, well, what how would how do I how do I get that?
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_00: Or how do I get that uh level of clarity or depth or light or whatever it is, then uh it kind of sends me back to the drawing board with trying to figure out how to how did they do that, and then how can I try and replicate that or or work it into my own style.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_00: But that's also kind of why I like photography a lot.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like there's always something that's that I'm learning, and I'm I never really feel like I'm I've I've mastered anything or like I've uh like I'm good enough to where to where I'm getting the results that I think you know I'm getting in my head.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: I have it in my head, okay, this is what I want this to look like, and then I have a hard time matching that up.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: So so it feels like there's always something to work on and to to learn, and and that I think makes this such a makes photography such a uh such an engaging and interesting hobby from from the latest and greatest digital stuff to the oldest film cameras.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's the same throughout.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_00: So I I really love that kind of challenge uh to it.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, the SL3P, definitely enjoying it, and uh I think it's something that I'll end up even just kind of walking around New York with a little bit more often and and and using.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_00: I never really felt like doing that with the with the Sony for some reason.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: Like it was too uh like it was too perfect, it was too clinical, it was it was all that kind of stuff.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: I never really felt like getting out and and doing, you know, like night photography around the city or something like that.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: Like I I I will want to do that kind of stuff with uh with the SL3P, and you know, I think it has uh maybe a little more character um in it than the Sony did.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, I'm excited to kind of stretch its legs a little bit and push it in ways that I never really did with uh with the Sony.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_00: And on that note to walk around with, uh there are this is another bit of of gear that I picked up for it, is uh are these straps, just shoulder straps.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: And I picked them up from uh this place called Earth U R T H.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: And uh this and it's because I had gotten um these filters for some of the lenses that I have, uh like an orange filter for shooting black and white, or a UV filter or a polarizer.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: Uh this this brand makes them and they have uh they're magnetic.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: So you screw one onto like if you wanted to have a UV filter that just kind of like lives on the lens, and then you can snap on any other filter over it uh magnetically, so you don't have to screw it in, so it makes it really kind of like easy to swap out on the fly.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_00: Really cool system of filters that they have in all kind of variety of sizes.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and I so they also make straps for the for the cameras, and the straps come with a little bit that screws into the underside of the camera that you can put the uh the little tabs into to put the strap on.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_00: Anyways, uh really nicely built uh straps, and I think they come in a nice kind of earthy color palette uh as well, so I've been pretty jazzed with those, as well as the filter system.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_00: And again, I have no affiliation with any of these uh people or these brands or anything like that, uh, just to be clear.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_00: Uh alright, the other camera is an older camera, a much older camera, and it is, and it's my first medium format camera.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_00: It is a Hoselblad 501C.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_00: Now, this is a system that I've been you know familiar with for for a long time, purely because you know it's it's the V system that went to the to the moon uh with the astronauts.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, those are highly modified versions of the 500 uh system, and uh they were actually left on on the surface of the moon.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_00: They just brought the film uh canisters back with them off the uh out of the film back.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_00: Uh anyways, obviously legendary uh medium format system, and it is fully mechanical, the body is, which which uh which I like.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: These older cameras, especially from like the late 80s through the 90s and early 2000s, have these uh electric electronic systems in them oftentimes, and sometimes you can't even like fire the shutter if you don't have batteries in it and stuff like that.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_00: And I feel like those are all kind of ticking time bombs.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_00: So I think looking at medium format cameras that will last and be able to be fixed for a long period of time, this Hoselblad system seemed like uh seem seemed like a great system for that.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, the other one that I was looking at is kind of a legendary Mamiya 7, but that has some electronics uh in it.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so ultimately decided to go the 501c route when one came on my when one came across my radar.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_00: Now this camera is interesting for for uh obviously a bunch of reasons, but you know, for for for someone like me being able to use it, it's a highly modular system.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_00: And I love the flexibility that it offers in terms of like the lens systems that you can put on to it and the film backs that you can put onto it.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so the one that I have the film, so the back that I have for it is an A12 uh which shoots uh six by six format uh 120 film.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm honestly a little leery about the square format.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_00: So I am currently looking for an A16 back, which uh which which shoots uh six by four, so it changes that ratio a little bit, and you get a few more snaps out of a 120 roll, which I think would be uh would be nice.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_00: Uh but anyway, but there's all kinds of different backs that you can put onto this thing, uh including like the latest digital backs that Hasoblod makes.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_00: You know, of course those are six, seven thousand dollars, but uh but they have that huge hundred megapixel uh sensor.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_00: I love the idea of maybe using something like that with with this old camera.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so maybe down the line I'll try and keep an eye out for uh for a used version or something like that.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_00: But uh but overall the system I think it was gonna be really fun.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_00: I have just the the standard waist level viewfinder on it.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_00: I know there are different mounts of that you can that you can use that that make framing your picture a little bit easier.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_00: Because when you're looking through the waist level viewfinder and moving it around, it's like the reverse of what your brain uh thinks.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_00: Like the picture is uh mirrored.
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, if if you if you're trying to kind of move the frame um, you know, to the to the left a little bit and you move your body right, like it's it's gonna take some adjustments, I think.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but I'm I'm I'm really excited to start using this thing.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm already kind of thinking about a couple of road trips that I might get on uh to put this thing uh to good use and maybe get some some landscapes and stuff like that.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so we'll we'll we'll see what happens.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_00: But um overall, really beautiful bit of machinery here, and you know, this thing is from uh like uh the 70s, and uh it just feels like I don't know, like a like just a really well-made um piece of hardware.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_00: And one that I'm really excited uh to start using.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_00: First rolls of 120 film that I picked up, I got some Aktar 100, uh Cinestil 800T, and some Ilford uh HP5, I believe, some uh some some black and white stuff.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_00: And I even picked up a couple old filters to go with this lens.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and it uses uh the lens uses it, it's like a bellows system, so it's not standard filters that that screw in.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_00: They uh they they have to be specific for these lenses, which is I don't know, a little annoying.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_00: But but yeah, overall, really cool system.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_00: Alright, and moving on to some gear that I've had for a really long time that has performed really well over that period of time.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_00: Uh there are a few things that I wanted to talk about, and you know, but first and foremost, I I really like the idea of buying like something, even if it is expensive, buying it for the purpose of keeping it for, you know, a lifetime.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_00: And and I don't mind paying more for something that that I intend to do that with.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's definitely part of the appeal of some of the watches that we buy and own, that we feel like it is something that we can that that we can keep for for a lifetime, that should last us a lifetime.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_00: That's kind of how we think about these things.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_00: And honestly, how we're able to maybe justify the cost of some of these things as well.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_00: But it's a lot more than than than just watches that uh that this applies to, obviously.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_00: And the first thing that I want to touch on, it's probably very obvious, are are my pair of uh Iron Rangers, these Red Wing boots that I have.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_00: I will be on my uh boy, I don't know, maybe 12th or 13th year season with them, and they've really just kind of gotten better year by year.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_00: And this is a shoe that you know you're supposed to keep for life, and you can you can kind of refurbish them and put new soles on them, they have guarantees, all that kind of stuff.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_00: And uh, you know, I love stuff like that.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_00: I love boots like that that really just kind of get better and better as you use them.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_00: And that has certainly been the case with these Iron Rangers.
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_00: Uh if you if you have a great pair of boots or if you're into boots at all, this is uh kind of a legendary pair, so I'm sure you're familiar uh with this.
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_00: But uh, you know, they're they are pretty much the only boot that I wear like throughout the entire kind of fall, winter, spring season, and then from time to time, I guess in the summer, depending on what I'm doing, but uh man, they have held up just amazingly well, and they've only gotten better looking um with each season.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_00: And the next thing is maybe a little silly, like I feel like it's like a little stereotypical, a little hypey.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_00: It's like the Daytona of of luggage, and that is a Rimoa uh suitcase, Rimoa uh suitcase, that is uh just like the the base kind of aluminum shell.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_00: And this is thing, this is a thing that I've had for for quite a while as well, and it is very dinged up and bruised up, but I've traveled again all over the world with it, and it's something that I've really grown to like.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_00: I love its size and its form factor, it fits kind of everything that I need to perfectly.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_00: I think they also have like lifetime replacement for for like the wheels and stuff like that, if they break, um, which I haven't uh which I've never had to to to replace.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_00: Mine still works really well.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_00: And again, like the Iron Rangers, like it just kind of keeps getting better uh as you use it and as you travel with it, and as it kind of picks up more um you know, scratches and and stickers that you put on it and and all that kind of stuff, it just kind of ends up taking on a life of its own.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_00: And then it becomes this like personal thing to you.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_00: And obviously, like I kind of view watches the same way.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_00: I view my Daytona the same way, like it's it kind of becomes its own thing the more that you wear it and becomes more um maybe not sentimental to you, but it like it takes on more meaning to you uh the more that you put it through like real real-world usage to fully appreciate the the build quality, and that's exactly what they're meant to do.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_00: So I love you like kind of using items like that and the way that they were made to be to be used kind of fully.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_00: And it gives you a deeper appreciation for something that is like really well put together.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so I think that's pretty cool.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_00: You know, both of these things are kind of like a like a cast iron pan where where it just kind of gets better with age and uh just kind of encourages you to keep using it because uh because of that.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_00: Alright, and finally, there have been uh quite a few watch releases uh over the past few weeks, and I really just wanted to touch on a couple of them.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_00: The first one being uh the 50th anniversary uh IWC Ingenieur.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_00: It's not the 50th anniversary of the Ingenure, of course, that has been around a lot longer than that, and uh, but it is the 50th anniversary of the JL Genta designed Ingenure, and IWC came out with a limited edition uh variation in both 40 and 35 millimeters.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_00: And the difference here is the dial, which gets a vertical brushed finished, which looks fantastic in person.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I got to spend some time with both of these watches, and uh boy, I really uh like them.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_00: I like this dial a lot, and I would 100% jump on the 35mm uh given the option.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_00: I do think that they have could have pushed this a little bit further.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_00: I know the dial is special and it does say 50 on it.
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, if they wanted to lean into the kind of the old school inspiration, I think they could have removed the crown.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: Guard uh on this and maybe reworked the the crown a little bit.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_00: They could have maybe left the date off of there to further differentiate it.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_00: I think there's a few things that they maybe could have done if they wanted to uh to to set this one a little bit further apart from the standard engineurs, but as is, I think it works really well.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_00: I really like this this watch.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_00: I'm a I'm still a fan of the Engineer, I still have one.
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_00: And uh uh this 50th anniversary I think hits a lot of the right notes.
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I know it's probably too expensive, and yeah, the movement stuff, all that, yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_00: Uh but I really like the design.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_00: I like the bracelet a lot, and this dial really works for me.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so hats off to IWC for that one, and uh happy 50th anniversary, I guess, to uh to the SL Engenor, uh, which of course was released in 1976.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_00: Now that's a watch that we knew was coming.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_00: Uh this next one uh was a little bit more of a surprise, uh, but not entirely shocking, I suppose, and that is a new watch from Rolex, the Padalone, and uh this is an annual calendar put into that, into that new kind of formal platform that we saw launched with the uh 1908.
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's the perpetual collection, I think.
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_00: Which might be a little confusing because it's not a perpetual calendar.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, when Rolex uses that word, it it really kind of just means the uh the movement is an automatic movement because it keeps itself wound uh per perpetually, I guess.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_00: Now, obviously, this brings back a design that Rolex was kind of famous for in the reference 8171 that had the nickname Padalone, and this is Rolex kind of formalizing uh that that nomenclature, which is kind of interesting and not something that uh that we've really seen them do in the past, but it does continue a trend that's uh you know that I've that have been documenting for the past um you know five, six years of them becoming more cognizant of their history and really kind of weaving that into their modern releases uh in more interesting ways, which is something that they hadn't really done uh really ever uh up until um really you know relatively recently.
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_00: And this one, it's not a recreation of that 8171 by by any stretch, but it's obviously um in the ballpark of it.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_00: And I really like the handset, I really like the numbers on the dial.
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's really sharp.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_00: My really my only gripe with this watch is the lockup up at the top, which has the crown, the Rolex name, and aperture for the uh the day and the month are all really kind of jammed up at the top, and it feels slightly uncomfortable.
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like they could have maybe you know not had the word Rolex there and just had the crown, and that would have created some space, or put the word Rolex underneath the two apertures.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know, like there's there's not enough space for any of these three things to breathe.
• 24:50
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so it creates a lot of tension up at the top of the dial, uh, in my view.
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_00: And this is just through pictures, you know, maybe in person, you know, maybe in person it doesn't read like that.
• 24:59
  SPEAKER_00: Now, obviously, this is kind of taking a stab up at more um, you know, kind of higher end, complicated watchmaking uh from Rolex.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_00: So buyers of watches like this from other brands like Burguay or Vacheron or kind of the more classic, you know, Langanson, more classic brands that you would expect to be doing stuff like this.
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_00: Like I'd be keen to to hear, you know, those buyers' thoughts on something like this and if they find it compelling.
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_00: Not just from a historic standpoint, uh, but also from a watchmaking standpoint, because this gets a lot of the um, you know, the the the it gets that new Dynapulse Escapement, uh, you know, it's all the kind of latest high-tech bells and whistles from Rolex.
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_00: But I generally don't associate Rolex watchmaking even on the high end with kind of the you know the the quote unquote handcraft type level that you expect from like an Alanga and so like they make a lot more watches than those other brands do every year.
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so you know I'd be curious to understand how collectors of watches like this view Rolex in this kind of a context because of that stuff.
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I've as I've said many times I always kind of see Rolex as like uh a Toyota Tacoma like level product that's just like built like a tank, it's gonna last forever.
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_00: I don't really view it as as uh you know kind of horology high-end watchmaking.
• 26:26
  SPEAKER_00: That's not what appeals to me about the brand.
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_00: Not that I don't think they're capable of like really impressive watchmaking.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, they are.
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_00: They've just always directed it in a different way than you uh you know would typically find with kind of high-end watchmakers.
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, but you know, taking a step back, I I am happy to see this this uh perpetual collection kind of further evolving.
• 26:47
  SPEAKER_00: And I think these are really obviously very attractive watches and once again another kind of step in in recognizing uh their their past and their history.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, I'm still excited to see how that works out with uh you know with with watches like the Explorer 2 or or other kind of watches that that uh that we talk about a little bit more around here.
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_00: But those are my thoughts on the new watch from Rolex and uh and that new IWC.
• 27:11
  SPEAKER_00: And that will do it for this week's episode.
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_00: I will leave links to all this stuff down below.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_00: As usual, thank you so much for tuning in, and until next time, take care.