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Best Super NEWS Watches
What Should We Call The Seiko SPB153?
Around the same time James picked up a Seiko SPB143 for himself over a year ago, I picked up a Seiko SPB153. It's easier to decode the Voynich Manuscripts than it is to understand Seiko's confusing reference numbers, so I'll make the nomenclature easy. The SPB143 is a modern derivative of the 62MAS, Seiko's first dive watch. The SPB153 (and the SPB151 C the black dialed variant) are modern versions of Seiko's well-known 6105-8110. You've most likely heard the 6105 referred to as the "Captain Willard" because it was worn by Martin Sheen as Captain Willard in Apocalypse Now. From the second I wrote up the Introducing post on this w...
When fashion designer Virgil Abloh died Sunday at the shockingly young age of 41 from a rare form of cancer, he left behind an immense cultural legacy C most obviously as the founder of the luxe streetwear brand Off-White, and as the first Black artistic director at Louis Vuitton. But also as a watch collector. He approached his watches (particularly the Patek Philippe Nautilus) the same way he approached his clothes, as if the raw materials were hip-hop beats to be sampled and improved upon. He clashed high and low until the distinctions became inverted. And in this way, he redefined the very notion of luxury. He was known for three Pateks: A gold Nautilus and a...
In-Depth: In Defense Of The New Two-Tone Rolex Explorer
Rolex doesn't do homage, and you certainly can't categorize any of their watches as heritage pieces. That sort of thing is left to Tudor. Instead, the Crown subtly nods to history while maintaining a deliberate forward motion, like a monarch in a motorcade acknowledging her subjects as she glides past. And in turn, we, the public, often find ourselves disappointed when the brand doesn't address each and every one of our personal needs. We howl when conservative Rolex designers don't reach for the stars C or even when they literally do. The new meteorite Daytonas have dials made from a material from outer space, and somehow that's still not ambitious enough. ...
Second Opinions: I Can't Tell You What Watch To Buy
Among those in my line of "work," one question reigns as the most troublesome:?"I have $XXXX, what watch should I buy?" I hate being asked this question. The problem isn't the question itself C it's a totally reasonable request of someone who writes consumer advice about watches. The problem lies with the answer because my answer is pretty much always some version of "I can't tell you what watch to buy." Which I know is totally unsatisfying.It's not that I don't want to be helpful. It's that I actually don't think I can be helpful. That's because picking a watch is C or should be C the result of an internal monologue informed by ...
Did You Know Brooke Shields Collects Watches?
One moment, you're writing 600 words on the supply of Rolex steel sport watches, and the next you find yourself standing in the kitchen of one Brooke Shields, preparing to sit down for a little conversation about C what else C watches. In a gorgeous 19th century townhouse in the heart of New York City's historic (and iconic) West Village, Shields pulled out all the stops, and all the timepieces, for an honest discussion about her career, and how it's mirrored through the watches she's owned and worn. Through her collection, which is a bit different from some we've seen in the past, you get a sense of a story. Look at each component individually, and you'll surely...
The running joke in my circle of friends is: "Two people walk into a bar. One is a vegan and one went to Howard University. Which one is going to tell you first?" ?Usually my money would be on the vegan, but as a proud Howardite I know very well that I'll tell a perfect stranger where I went to school about 14 seconds after meeting them.?If you didn't go to a historically Black college or university, it's hard to understand the pride that seeps through the pores of anyone who walked the hallowed halls.?Yes, of course, HBCUs are known for churning out some of the most talented doctors, lawyers, artists, and creatives of our time, and the bedrock of every?HBCU is the education?C but for me, it...
Adam Wade On His Favorite Swatch
In Watch of the Week, we invite HODINKEE staffers and friends to explain why they love a certain piece. This week's columnist is a veteran storyteller from The Moth, and the author of the bestselling audio memoir, You Ought To Know Adam Wade. I grew up in the 1980s and early '90s in Manchester, New Hampshire. My family lived right on the Manchester-Hooksett border so we were in a suburban-rural area. An ideal childhood setting in a lot of ways, but there weren't a lot of other kids around, which meant that I spent a ton of time with my brother and only sibling, Matt, who is four years older. The only ...
Second Opinions: What We Talk About When We Talk About 'Mall Watches'
When I was a kid, one surefire way to get a rise out of someone was to say they had cooties. We're talking Central Pennsylvania in the 1970s so admittedly you can't expect the kind of precociously elevated derisory discourse I'm sure you can get from today's social-media enhanced, globally acculturated eight-year-olds, but we worked with what we had. (The term "cootie" is attested as early as 1898 ... but perhaps that is a digression for another day). The interesting thing about the word C with its non-specific connotations of dirtiness and contamination C is that nobody knows exactly what the word means. It is sufficient to understand that saying someone has them, makes them an outsider and...
Choosing A "Desert Island Watch"
Imagine you're stranded on an uninhabited island. You don't know when help will arrive, or if it ever will, but you've got the basics of survival down. There's enough water to sustain you. You have some form of shelter. Eating means embracing your natural instincts and hunting and foraging. The watch on your wrist during this imaginative ordeal? That's your "desert island watch." Though I have to note, it should probably be called the "deserted island watch," unless you really are on island that hosts a desert climate.? This thought exercise seems to crop up time and again in watch enthusiast circles (and other hobbyist circles, as we...
Interview: The Full Story Of The 'Pulp Fiction' Watch
Pulp Fiction debuted at Cannes 27 years ago today, winning the Palme d'Or and forever changing cinema. It changed how filmmakers use dialog. It changed how they play with the concept of time. And It changed how viewers engaged with movies."Because it was a film that was so structurally, thematically, and metaphorically complex, it really benefited from the kind of hyper analysis and hyper-detailed research that was just sort of starting to happen on a broad scope via the internet," Jason Bailey, who literally wrote the book on Pulp Fiction," told HODINKEE. "I've such clear memories of AOL chat rooms that were specifically targeted at talking about the minutiae of Pulp Fiction. Obviously, thi...
Four + One: This Ice Cream Mogul's Wrist Has Some Serious Drip
Ryan Fitzgerald never thought he'd wear a Rolex, let alone a Rolex on a NATO strap, while churning out ice cream at 1-900-ICE-CREAM, the Philadelphia company he founded that uses an e-commerce storefront and a flavor "drop" model to sling wild varieties of ice cream to Philadelphians, but here he is. "Rolex was just too conservative for me and I didn't really think it was going to be my thing," he says. Then he discovered, as he says, the "Rolex with an orange lightning bolt." Fitzgerald spends plenty of time in the freezer. It's an occupational hazard. He's talking about his Milgauss. It's beat to hell and he wears it on a NA...
Photo Report: 45 Watches That Stole The Street-Style Show At Pitti Uomo
Street style is equal parts envy and inspiration. You see someone doing something you probably do C walking C looking how you would probably like to look C exceedingly cool C with such ease. There is no greater moment for off-the-cuff men's fashion photography than Pitti Uomo, the annual menswear trade show in Florence. We sent photographer Robert Spangle to capture the best watch moments, and the stylish folks pounding the strada did not disappoint. Franco Mazzetti; @franz_1955 Hes owned this 1968 GMT Master for more than 40 years and is particularly att...
Think sushi is best when it's the freshest? The Dry Aged Fish Guy would disagree. "Fresh is boring" is Liwei Liao's tagline, and he's bringing the age-old technique of dry-aging fish like New Zealand Ora King salmon, blackthroat seaperch, and Baja kampachi to LA's ever-trendy food scene. Before serving his fish, he hangs them in a dry-aging chamber for anywhere between seven to 15 days. Liao grew up on the New York waterfront. "I would ditch school at Bronx Science to go fishing, and my dad was okay with it," he says. "English and history were not my strong suit, but I did well in physics, bio, and math." Skipping high school in ...
Grails: I Finally Found My Holy Grail Watch. Heres Why I Didnt Buy It.
Ive done the majority of my vintage watch shopping at Bangkok's Chatuchak Weekend Market, a massive collection of tented stalls that sell everything from exotic wildlife to artisanal soap. That market taught me more about vintage watches than any website or magazine. Chatuchak Market is full of odd and old watch-related paraphernalia. I bought a Seiko 6306 at the market to match my old SRP775. I visited about a dozen vintage watch dealers bi-weekly when I lived in Thailand, from 2010-2016, and over time, they started to understand my taste and put watches ...
A Review Of The AP 34mm Black Ceramic Royal Oak
It all started in the Womens Novelties section. Summer had arrived in New York, and Cara Barrett and I had popped over to Audemars Piguets New York headquarters to see a new piece before its public release. The room was buzzing over one particular watch, a 34mm black ceramic Royal Oak. Ooh, ceramic! everyone seemed to be whispering. I didnt quite understand why. Granted, I was new to the game. Id recently founded the blog and Instagram account Dimepiece to celebrate women in watches, and I was learning along the way. Dimepiece was strong on the culture side of watches, which I felt had been underrepresented (especially for ...
Jason Heaton Shares His Watch Collection
I met Jason Heaton many years ago, on a press trip (there were boats involved and we were all invited to attempt to use a sextant and chart to get a fix on our boat's position. My observations put us around five hundred miles east of Pensacola. The boat was in Lisbon). The airline had managed to lose his luggage, and what impressed me most was how phlegmatic he was about the whole thing. Since then, I don't think I've ever seen him come close to losing his considerable cool. Diver, watch expert, world traveler, and novelist, Jason's carved out a unique niche for himself both as a journalist and traveler (you might say Jason Heaton's greatest creation is Jason Heaton), and I, like countless o...
HandsOn With The New Patek Philippe Calatrava
What was the biggest news of the year in the world of Patek Philippe? For many, I think the discontinuation of the Nautilus 5711 will take the cake. The confirmation of the rumor in January left many in shock, and people went nuts over the release of the olive green dial variant dubbed as the last 5711. It wasn't the last 5711, as we all now know. That title belongs to the Tiffany Blue 5711. However, to me, the real big news was the introduction of the new Calatrava, which was made extra special with a brand-new hand-wound movement ticking inside. Automatic calibers are more mainstream in todays mechanical watchmaking. There just arent many manually wound (ne...
Thoughts On The Royal Oak Concept Black Panther Flying Tourbillon
Im new to the watch world. So new that this story should probably be filed under First Opinions. My background is in design, and my hobby is other people's drama, so here I am today thinking out loud about the Audemars Piguet Black Panther watch with you fine folks.?In my previous jobs, I spent a lot of time contemplating impact vs. intent in regard to objects. You make a chair not just because someone needs to sit, but because you want to put American design on the global map, or propose that upcycled-plywood is the way of the future. Then you release it into the world and whatever it becomes is out of your hands C a status symbol, a talking point, a source of ridicule. ...
Hey, HODINKEE answers weekly reader questions on watches and watchmaking.
Hi everyone! It gives us great pleasure to introduce a new HODINKEE video series C Hey, HODINKEE! is where you send us questions about absolutely anything watch-related and we give our best answers, as quickly and accurately as possible. You'll be able to find us here regularly, and also on our YouTube channel. We're very excited to share this debut episode, hosted by HODINKEE Editor-in-Chief Jack Forster. In addition, we'd like to thank HODINKEE Team Video, including our own David Aujero and Will Holloway, behind the camera, and Nora Taylor on voice-over, pitching the questions. Also the debut of Hey, HODINKEE! mascot Drinking Bird, as seen in the opening sequen...
Cara Barrett On Why All Watches Should Be Unisex
Ever since I dove into this weird and wonderful industry almost a decade ago, I have always preferred watches with a little heft. A little grit. Sure, I love the occasional dainty diamond for special occasions. But usually, what I want is something that makes me feel strong. When I look at my collection, I don't see any conventional ladies' pieces. I see watches that were marketed to men, but that I happen to like. It's enough to make me wonder: Why are these considered "men's" watches at all? Why aren't they just...watches?? It's crazy to me that the watch industry continues to make this distinction at a time where more and more brands C and more and more humans...