It’s easy enough to keep a narrow interest. We like what we like, more of the same can be a matter of “yes please!”. Finding an interest in something we’ve not previously been very interested in at all? Now that takes the seductive moves of a true lothario. In this weeks episode, Dachi tries to make Nick see the light when it comes to wrist-mounted timepieces, or watches as we usually call them.
Dachi leads on a trail that takes us by classic military watches, diving watches, who used what to tell the time on Everest, why some watches appear to increase in value beyond any other investment, why you can’t go into a Rolex dealer and just buy a watch, and many more topics. At the end of the day, will Dachi convince Nick to drop the digital atrocity that he wears, or will it have been a futile exercise in seduction? This is without a doubt another unmissable tet a tet.
And remember, while you can listen to the episode right here on the webpage (all episodes on the Garmology page), the podcast is also available on all the usual podcast sites, like Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google Podcasts etc. This is very handy for listening via your phone while walking the dog, driving, cooking, or whatever activity you do where you want to listen to people talk about stuff.
Hopefully this has convinced Nick to take watches a bit more seriously. His heirloom Constellation is surely a fantastic piece (the casebacks were so cool) that should be getting daily wear. Not in love with it, throw a new strap on it and it’s an entirely new watch. I wish I had a Constellation passed down to me.
The great thing about watches is that you can spend $100 or well north of $10,000, it doesn’t matter, and still get a great watch. As someone who has a Peanuts Timex or three to Rolex steel sports pieces or three made of Unobtainium, whatever watch you’re wearing can really be enjoyed. In fact Drakes has had Swatches in their lookbooks and I think for time if they still don’t today sold them in their shops.
My advice would be to really spend your time researching and seeing what’s out there. If you’re not looking to spend a lot, there are great vintage pieces from the 60s or 70s that can be had in the hundreds of dollars range. Again, add a new leather strap of which you’ve got a lot of great options and you’re good to go. And the great thing is they probably have at least a little wear and so you don’t have to lose sleep about scratching them.
I have to admit, I’m a sucker for a good story, and there is no doubt that there are some great tales to be found in the world of watches and timepieces. There’s also a lot of very interesting and special watches. I think a lot of my problem in getting interested in watches is the whole value thing. A lot of watches these days are like cryptocurrency, mere objects of investment, in a pyramid scheme and get rich quick culture. Once an object is reduced down to its mere potential future value, a wealth signalling appendage to be flexed around, I’m out. Doesn’t matter if it’s garments, cars, boats or … watches. It’s a shame really, though clearly not the fault of the devices themself. Maybe I’ll change my opinion and find something nice and fairly priced, but right now I’m not looking 🙂
Also, well done Dachi. I think he covered some good ground and made some great points. As a Reverso and Speedy guy myself I can tell he has great taste.