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- [00:01]
A
Welcome to Scottish Watches podcast. We have been on our travels, but we're not going to tell you too much about that today because that is for a future episode. It does relate to an episode that went out just a mere few days ago where we talked about Mont Blanc, we talked about Minerva, and at the end I come up with a great idea of jumping on a plane, going back to Geneva, where I've just come from. But it was exceptional. It was really well put together. Simon was courteous, courageous. He was an absolute stellar superstar. But more about that in the future. Dave is here with us.
- [00:30]
B
How is Dave courageous? You really want to know? Probably why you had to be courageous. Mind you, if it involves us, there's probably good reasons. But yes, outside that, David is good, because David stayed. Well, he didn't stay in Geneva, but he stayed in Switzerland and went to Beale Town to do some real work.
- [00:45]
A
Is that named after the guy from EastEnders?
- [00:47]
B
Yeah, it's Ian Beale. That guy who has the chippy in the sandwich shop. And is it altogether a bit of a geezer? Yeah, him. That probably means nothing to anyone that's not in the United Kingdom, by the way. It's a soap opera. It's been on for years and it's utter garbage. But outside that, no, not so much. Been back in the UK and I'm about to go away again tomorrow because I have to go down to London for some other Watchy watch stuffy stuff with the guys at Watch Pro because they're having their annual awards ceremony and there's so many shows, we should probably talk about them at some point. But there's lots and lots of shows coming up through October, November, even into early December, some stuff, both the UK and all over the world. So we can maybe talk about that at some point. But there's also lots of interesting things going on with watches that have been released very recently.
- [01:29]
A
Well, you told me a little story about a drive through and we ain't talking about your cholesterol level for once. We're talking about Swatch. And it's the Drive through that me and you went to a number of years ago. We held hands, we went in the drive through, we tried to get a moon Swatch. They told us to off. But we did pick up little custom editions that were specific for the Omega and the Swatch Museum that we had visited. And you paid them a visit. And it's something to do with tariffs, it's something to do with what's happening in America, and it's a little bit of a Play on words.
- [01:58]
B
It's a tariff that's neither 40 nor 38. That kind of, well, number in the.
- [02:04]
A
Middle people do like a 39. I mean they've downsized from a 42 to 40 slightly up from a 36. 39. Where is that?
- [02:11]
B
Well, it's, you know, it's maybe 39 is the new 69, who knows? But it does seem to please people. Well, that is less. You are of course living in the United States where you're having to pay a 39% tariff on goods that come into the country from Switzerland. In the case of your luxury watches. Well, not just luxury watches, every type of watch that comes from Switzerland and they've done something quite clever because they've got a range of watches called what if they launched them a couple of years ago. Now it's the square ones that I think the kind of original play was what if watches hadn't been round and they were square and they've done quite a few iterations of it. Definitely, I would say not one of the better selling swatch watches. I can probably count on one hand how many I've seen in the wild. But they've done a what if tariffs model of course, is having a little bit of fun in games, you know, poking a jibe at the whole situation.
- [02:58]
A
That guy from Jersey Shore.
- [03:00]
B
Yeah, not him. That's. What is it with us, Andy? Soap operas today. But anyway. Yeah, well, this is a bit of a soap opera, it's fair to say. That's probably actually quite a good way of counting it. But yes, they've switched to three and the nine round in the dial. It's well, the 39 tariff watch and I have to say they're only going to make it available in Switzerland. I guess that kind of works because it's only Switzerland that's affected and they've said that when the situation improves, maybe when they move the tariff to 38% then they will stop selling this watch. But yes, I went to the drive through to get one and I believe it's going like a little steam train at the moment because it appears most people in America want to get their hands on one of these watches, even if it's just for a little bit of fun. But Ricky, can you guess what the Swiss have managed to do with this watch that really only the Swiss would get away with?
- [03:46]
A
Of course I know what they've done, Dave, but you need to tell other people that maybe aren't quite as gened up in all the watch knowledge and news that comes out because we are a little bit sad act. We do check things on a daily basis. We do follow a lot on Instagram, but put us all out of our misery. What have they done?
- [04:01]
B
That was an excellent way of saying. You don't actually know what I was going to say. But very well done in. Bravo for that. Well, the watch is normally 100 Swiss francs. So instead of selling it for 100 Swiss francs because, well, they've deleted the date and the day from it, they've actually added 39 francs to it and it's 139 francs. So not only are they kind of poking fun at the whole situation, they're actually taking it as an opportunity to make an extra 39 francs on every one of each.
- [04:25]
A
So they've done a Porsche RS. They charge you more for not putting stuff in in the first place.
- [04:32]
B
Aside from that, which is absolutely correct, they have removed stuff and charged you more for it. And at the same time, it's kind of poking fun at the fact that folk have to pay more for watches and they're making you pay more for it by firmly putting another 39% straight into their pockets. So very good work. Well done, Switzerland. Bravo. And yes, I am one of those idiots that has got one of these watches.
- [04:53]
A
And is this your wrist check for today?
- [04:54]
B
Yes.
- [04:55]
A
Okay, tell us the spec then.
- [04:57]
B
Will we tell you the spec or do we wait till the wrist check? Well, we should maybe just.
- [05:00]
A
We'll do it right now, Dave. We'll do it right now. Why bring this shit up twice? Why don't you tell us a spec of it? Tell us what grade of plastic they've used. Tell us the way that that second hand misses every marker. Tell us how good that is and accurate is. Tell us the power capacity of that tiny little cell in the back of it. How loud is it? What's the spl, what's the pressure levels? How noisy is this thing going to be on the desk when I'm trying to sleep at night?
- [05:24]
B
You won't be sleeping, just like the Swiss watch executives because they're also probably having some sleepless nights to do with this tariff. But anyway, what is the watch? Well, it's a straight up normal swatch watch. The square one, the what if model. It's got a blue dial, which is actually quite nice. And it's a kind of weird off white, creamy color case and rubber strap on it. It's actually a very comfy rubber strap. I have to say it wears quite nicely. It's more rectangular TV shapes. It's kind of wider than it is tall. They've got, of course, no date or day on the front of the little fr. Yeah, that's probably a good way to do it. It's got a full kind of glass box, crystal, of course, that's made of plastic along with everything else being plastic. Oh, sorry, bio ceramic. That's right, bio ceramic. But yeah. Do you know, it's actually quite a cool little watch. It wears very well. The little battery cover on there as well is the percentage symbol, which is, you know, again, a little bit tongue in cheek, I have to say. It's a quartz watch. Ricky is correct. The seconds hand, well, it kind of just does what a second hand does. It ticks around 60 times. It doesn't hit very much on the dial. Everything's a bit square and it says 39 on it. So, yep, if you're in Switzerland and you fancy one and the tariffs are still 39% and they're still selling it, then get one outside that. I don't really know what more to say about it. So we should probably move on and say, what are you wearing? Because we're doing wrist checks at this point in time.
- [06:40]
A
But you know what, why don't we just tell people, look at show notes at this point in time. It's an absolute cluster of an episode. We're not even recording the video for this one. I've had about an hour's sleep. I sent Dave the show notes maybe about an hour ago. Who knows what's going on? But you can check out the official online show notes thanks to the maestro that is Mziel, that will be in your podcast player. Click across to there. You'll be able to see all the pictures, all the links to the bits and the bobs that we're going to chat about today. And no, I'm not doing my research just now because can't be bothered. We're going to talk about some good news for Americans and well, our man in the ground over there is of course, Mike Pearson and he is with Christopher Ward. They have got a new showroom in New York City, so things are on the up and up. It's not just doom and gloom everywhere when it comes to watches and America.
- [07:22]
B
He is the maestro that has made all things Christopher Ward explode in the United States.
- [07:26]
A
States.
- [07:26]
B
The US is their single biggest growth market. They of course, opened their first. Well, we won't call it a shop, more like a kind of showroom boutique that they've got down in Texas and it's been going Great guns. Not somewhere you could just walk in and buy watches. I think other than the odd limited edition. You kind of go in, you see things, you try them on and then you place your order. They of course opened one in Virginia a mere few weeks ago. But they've also announced that we'll be opening a showroom in New York City this winter time. So over the next coming months it's going to be around two and a half thousand square feet. So a really nice. They've even got an address that being 75 Green street in Soho. That's green with an E on the end just to confuse people. It's going to be a combination of a retail space, a kind of community and a club style hospitality hosting area as well. And obviously with New York being one of the biggest watch markets in the world and USA being one of the brand's largest growth markets, it kind of all makes perfect sense. And that new Virginia showroom, when they opened it in the first four days they did US$70,000 of sales. That is going some big as. Remember Christopher War? It's not super entry level like Swatch Watch or G Shock but they are definitely very strong value orientated pieces. So that is some exceptionally good sales. I bet there's a few other brands out there wishing they had even done a fraction of that turnover in four days. They've also opened up a showroom in the uk. It's actually a world's first, the world's first watch showroom retail store inside a football stadium. And of course they've got a bit of a tie with Everton fc. That's something that Mike's not so happy about because he, well he sports a very different team. But Mike, Mike's the boss. Mike supports Everton, lifelong fan and they've got their all new Hill Dickinson Stadium up in Liverpool.
- [09:07]
A
Is that beside Anfield?
- [09:08]
B
That is I think beside the other Liverpool team that's not Everton. The one that probably wins things. The famous one. Yeah, that one.
- [09:16]
A
The one that never walks alone.
- [09:18]
B
Probably, probably, yeah. I mean they definitely. Well yeah, let's say the less about that the better or else we might have a horse's head on our bed. Courtesy of Mike. But yes, excellent work seeing what those guys are doing, doing some exceptionally cool things, really building up. I mean we both can remember that brand when, let's just say they got a little bit of an unfair stick sometimes from especially people who had moved up in the world of watch brands and got a bit snobby about things. And of course with what they did over the last few years with the first with the Volcanto and then obviously with the Loco and other things they have done as well, really changing the narrative of that brand. And I think it's also fair to say that Mike, well, he has brought all his experience for many years in the watch industry and has really upped the game, especially when it comes to the us.
- [10:02]
A
We did call him the Mo Johnson of the watch world and that is a very Scottish joke for football fans up here. But there's loads of people celebrating lots of things this year. We talked about Pietro and the crew at Limited Edition Day was down there a mere week and a bit ago celebrating 10 years of that culmination. It's not a brand, it is, I don't know, it's a consortium, it's a community, it's a collection of enthusiasts mixed in with watch creators, artisans, artists across the world. And Pietro has managed to corral a squadron of merry men. He's almost like Robin Hood and it was just fantastic to see how well that was received. I've seen all the pictures, I've seen Instagram, Dave shared a couple of bits and bobs, he chatted about it last week. And Czepek, they've been celebrating stuff. 10 years of the revitalization of the brand. 180 I think it is in total since the original founding. You've got 25 years of Gerald Charles that we've talked about, their crazy tennis watch and the big boys, the guys at the top, the ones that have been, as I am led to believe, the world's longest running, continuously running since day one Watchmaker. They are celebrating a big one too.
- [11:09]
B
They are. And who are we talking about? Well, of course It's Vacheron Constantin. 270 years of existence for those guys. Well, they've already brought out a few different things over the last, well, many months that I've made up 20, 25. But they are now revealing possibly one of the highlights of the year, that being in the Metidar category. And it's a tribute called Quest of Time.
- [11:33]
A
And what does that mean exactly?
- [11:35]
B
Metidar? What that means is it is your high end, artisanal, generally hand orientated skills.
- [11:42]
A
So things like you're quite skillful with your hands.
- [11:44]
B
I've heard I'm quite skillful with my hands. Well, it depends where my hands are and what they're doing. You really want to see those hands. But anyway, yes, they do lots of things, whether it's wire work, whether it's kind of working with different materials, woods, paints, enamels, all of these kind of things. But yes, of course we also saw lots of Meti Dartlings on our recent trip over to Minerva where we actually had a little go at doing certain things. You'll see more details about the upcoming episodes in the bag. Anyway, don't let that one out the bag. We're rewinding, we're rewinding. But anyway, what have we got here? Well, we've got a watch that is both of course highly artistic but has got lots of technical innovations in it as well. So lots of things you would expect from the brand, traditional techniques. You've got the innovation in there, the craftsmanship, but you've also got things to do with astronomy. What have we got? We've got a double sided wristwatch. Now they've already pushed out Commemorative editions of the 222 of the Patrimony and the Traditionnelle. But in this one they've got an all new calibre, the 3600. It's manually wound, it's high frequency, it runs at 5 hertz. It's a pretty big caliber, 34 millimeters by 7.8 millimeters. That is a wide and chunky calibre. But you're about to find out why. There's three barrels, that gives us 60 power reserve in there. There's 512 components. It took them three years to develop it. It fits into a watch which is 43 millimeters by 13.58 millimeters in height. You've got a sequential double power reserve display. You've got a retrograde governor that ensures all the hands jump in perfect harmony.
- [13:11]
A
All right, governor.
- [13:12]
B
Alright, governor. You've got a three dimensional moon phase with precise lunar age indication. You've got a correction system that allows adjustments at any point without disrupting the mechanism. You've also got a dual mode display. You can have an active mode where the hours and hands are always there doing what they do. And you've also got an on demand mode where you can basically summons the time. So a little bit like what we saw from Hermes this year where they've got the watch that kind of. You can park the hands essentially at 10 to 10 or 10 past 10 and you can then press a button to bring the time up when you want. The time is not told. Traditionally it's not normal hands, but you've got a. Now here's a word that we're going to see if we can get out in one piece. It's anthromorphised. I actually did it. Oh, my goodness. But there's a zna, which means someone spelled it in American way, which I'm not so happy about. But anyway, it's a golden hued human figure and the arms do kind of a wavy thing. You've got retrograde and you've got the minutes and you've got the hours in that display. So it's actually a biretrograde display. Behind that, you've got a celestial tableau. Now, it's a faithful reproduction of the sky at night above Geneva on the 17th of September, 1755. That's when they were formed. The stars are positioned with astronomical accuracy. So basically you're kind of looking as if you're looking to the skies on that origin moment of the maison as well. Beck kind of likes things that are good. Sometimes the tricks are in the back. And this was a watch where if you flip it over, you've actually got a real tight sky chart. Now, this celestial map doesn't just kind of imitate the heavens, it actually mirrors them. And the drift on it is so small that it would take over 900 years to deviate by a single day. So you've got something pretty cool going on there as well. This is something that is not just beautiful, but it's, well, basically a scientific instrument on your wrist. That central figure is actually sculptured in titanium and it's been finished with a golden PVD patina. The three dimensional moon drifts through its phases. Guess what, Rookie? There's only 20 of them. There's no price. Do you think it's going to be a bargain?
- [15:13]
A
Yeah, of course it is. It's Vacheron. They always do bargains.
- [15:16]
B
Yeah. Not the kind of bargain that me or you or 99.99% of the world thinks is a bargain, but it's an amazing piece of high horology doing what the brand do the best. They just take those traditional skills and they do crazy complications that well. Does anyone need them? No. But does anyone need just a normal watch on their wrist? No, they don't need that either. So if you're going to do it, do it right.
- [15:38]
A
This is really good and it's something that I've not seen from Vacheron. This style. They do a lot of crazy stuff, but it's very classic. It's like a better version of many, many watches that I could explain about. One that stands out to me, there was an FP Journe that was a hand or a gauntlet and it had fingers that would point at things this reminds me of a little bit. But the main thing that this, I don't know, Oscar or Emmy in the middle of this gold colored little human eyes thing in the middle. It reminds me of the COVID for the movie metropolis from like 1920s on the 1930s where you've got this robot right in the center with these waves going up and down. Obviously there's no waves going up and down on this, but it just gives me that feeling. It's not a robot. It's obviously humanized. But the way it works, the way it's designed, the color, the hues, the blue mixing with the gold right down to the strap, it's fantastic on the back, even more beautiful. And we got to see some really cool pieces. When we were at Watches and Wonders this year with the guys from Vacheron, we were taken behind the scenes by one of the folks, actually produced their crazy complication. The thing that caught everybody's attention this year and this, this is absolutely amazing looking. Definitely will never see one in real life. It will be in somebody's safe somewhere in the world. But if you ever get the chance to see this, if there is some kind of museum piece that's going to show this off, if you're going to go around the world to a boutique that's maybe got it in as a traveling collection, go and have a look at that. They have really absolutely knocked out the park.
- [17:09]
B
Absolutely cannot agree. More and more news GPHG have announced their jury and we know somebody who's been selected.
- [17:17]
A
We do indeed. And it's a co host on the show. Funnily enough, it ain't Sarah, the duchess of watches. It ain't Dave Sharp. Mr. Arajan. It ain't me, old Rickster. It is Barbara Palumbo. What's on her wrist after being involved in journalism, writing, the crazy arts, when it comes to gemstones, then moving across the watches, many more years in the past than I got involved in things. She's finally actually been recognized for all the hard work she's put in behind the scenes, traveling across the globe, covering all this stuff so that people can read about it, hear about it and see it on YouTube. Finally, she has been picked to be on the jury for this year's gphg, which is the Oscars of watchmaking as where lots of different brands can put their hat in the ring, propose one or two of their watches and then all of the hundreds of entries they're whittled down and then academy members, which me and Dave are, which is the entry level point of the Academy. We get to kind of vote on what we think is good, put them in an order and then that's whistled down yet again to the proper jury. Those are the folks that will actually mull over the watches. They'll handle each of the ones that are at that top point. The winners will be announced live on stage in front of an amassed audience and also online. So, Dave, tell us a little bit more about what's been happening and maybe name some of the standouts from the past few years.
- [18:35]
B
What we've got here is probably the most commercially orientated jury that's actually been to this date. But of course, the panel is headed up by the infamous Nick Foulkes. And we've got quite a few C level people from industry, from TAG Heuer, from IWC. But in total, there will be 30 people who will compose the jury for this, the 25th awards ceremony. So even GPHG have got a birthday. Everyone's got birthdays.
- [19:02]
A
They happen once a year. Funnily enough, they do, they do.
- [19:04]
B
But everyone seems to have a magic number birthday this year. But yes, in Geneva, Thursday, 13th of November 2025 is when it's going to be. Now what happens is, as Ricky mentioned, all the Academy get to vote on kind of letting down the watches, but there will be the kind of 90 nominated timepieces and half the jury that's chosen by the President and the other half of the jury are drawn from the GPHG Academy. So maybe one year, Ricky, maybe one year we might get onto that. I doubt it very much. Funny. But anyway, you've got that kind of international warrior. I think there's just over a thousand people in the Academy as the pool from where they take those 15 people that get selected from it as well. But the Academy themselves, well, we all get to participate directly into it with that digital vote, which counts for one third of the final tally. Who's on it this year? Well, Waco is on there. You've got Michael Tay from the Hourglass and you've got quite a lot of folk, as I said, would maybe be leaning towards that more commercial interest. Well, good friend of the show, Christopher Granger Heer, CEO of iwc. Can see he's in there. Arnaud Favrier, the founder and CEO of Tech Group, in there as well. Lawrence Nicholas, the CEO of Baccarat, you've got Greg Simonian, the president of Westheim. And you've got Carol Caspi, the TAG Heuer strategist. She's, I think they believe it, the director of strategy. But yes, quite an interesting mix of people on there as well. So let's see. But it's great to see that Barbara's getting that recognition. She'll be over there in Geneva getting to handle all of these 90 watches and they will be the ones that ultimately lead it down to, to the winners and losers.
- [20:40]
A
And Barbara doesn't mess around when she gets involved in something. For instance, when we sent her across the globe to Hong Kong because we were both super busy over Geneva watch days, she didn't just turn up, take some pictures, upload a couple of reels and that was it done. No, she actually went around, she went to all the press talks, she met tons of people. She obviously caught up with a load of folks that we know. But she made new friends, she forged new contacts, she did the networking thing. She went above and beyond. She's done the same with Dubai Watch Week. She's done the same with everything Vanity Fair, watchinista. Anybody and anything she's involved in, she really does give 110%. So I don't think the GPHG know what is going to be coming down the line to them. But Dave, what's coming down the line to everybody's ears next?
- [21:23]
B
Yes, indeed, it's Czapek. And within the Antarctique family, well, specifically the Mount Erebus range, which is the gold ones, they brought out a range of three different stone dials. Now, as Ricky mentioned, it's 10 years since they re established the brand after a bit of a hiatus. And five years after that they brought out that first integrated stainless steel sports watch, the Antarctique, which has gone on to of course do great things and really get the brand out and about with watch lovers as well. But back in 2020 is when they released it and it was also the first in house calibre for the brand. Now the gold ones, it's named after a volcano in Antarctica. It emits microscopic gold particles in its plume of nonsense that comes out the top. But they have reached out and worked in partnership with Gemstech who have sourced hard stones from around the world. World. What have we got? We've got a blue lapis in there as well. That's from Afghanistan. We'll get Falcon's Eye from South Africa and we've got a green meteorite which is from Namibia as well. They have deleted the date function in the date window, generally speaking, because working with stone you're already on a high risk of it breaking and then when you start to try and cut holes in it Things get even more involved. So yes, there is no date wind on this. In my opinion, that's a good thing. Size wise, it's a 40.5 millimeter. As I mentioned, it's a gold case, very slim. At 10.6 millimeters you've got 120 meters of water resistance. You've got that in house. SHX5 calibre, which has got the platinum micro rotor giving you 60 hours of power reserve. Pretty limited. The Lapis and the falcon eye. There's going to be 10 pieces per year. So limited in how many they make each year, but they will keep making it. The green meteorite, though, is a complete limited edition of only eight pieces. Now in terms of prices, you can get it on a full gold bracelet. If you do get it in a gold Bracelet, you're between 62 and 66,000 Swiss francs for the watch, depending on the stone dial. But you can also elect to have it on a rubber strap and save yourself a few pennies. It will range from 39,000 to 43,000 Swiss francs on a rubber strap. And I have to say, this watch, the gold, right colour of rubber strap on it, keep the price reasonable and sensible. Beautiful stone dial. I think that would be the way I would go down this route rather than going the full Bobby Dazzler gold bracelet. The blue Lapis is, is epic. What's your favourite, Ricky?
- [23:42]
A
It is the gold with the green. I quite like it. It gives me vibes of Daytona where You've got the 1980s Mamy VI's solid gold number mixed in with a bit of green. Or some of the Wimbledon dials that we've seen on different releases from Rolex in the past. But this is one here that I was hoping would look good when. Well, we get told things earlier in the year. We're told to shut the F up and not tell people stuff and we generally stick to that because I generally forget everything I'm told. But we did hear that this was coming down the line. Seen previous editions where they'd use meteorite with coloration to it looks good. Looks good on stainless steel, looks good on precious metals. But the green and the gold, it just. It works. And recently we had obviously Xav from Czupek on the show because we had a nice little lightsaber fight over at Geneva Watch days that is already out. You've probably already heard that one. But if you haven't, you can go through the back catalog later on and listen to him talking wistfully about the robot watch. He didn't even crack a light about. These ones didn't show us anything at all. But these are fantastic. I have got an Antarctic. Would I trade up? Would I trade up? I don't know. I don't know. I really do like the one I've got just now. But I would love to get something with a colored meteorite dial, so who knows? Not at this price point, unfortunately. I'm still licking my wounds after buying a house, getting married and all that jazz. But, yeah, gold is certainly a cool color. And that leads into my wrist. Check. No, I'm not wearing a solid gold watch. My name isn't Dave Sharp. I don't have a commemorative NASA release on the wrist, but I do have something from a Italy and it's from a brand we talk about quite a lot because they constantly do good things, but they give you such great value for money that we are always wanting more. In the guise of their latest release, which has been downsized from, I believe, 41 mil down to 39. There's that number, Dave, that we talked about earlier and it is obviously from Venezianico and it's the Nuride Aero spelled A U R E O. I thought I'd give Dave a little bit of a break on the mispronunciations, but this is really good. I'm really quite taken with this one. I'm stuttering because I've not much sleep and the caffeine for once is not working on this episode. I tried my best. I think I built up an immunity to it. But this watch is fantastic. It's got what looks a little bit like a jubilee bracelet, but it's not because it's got a slight curvature to each of the links and it goes alternating between satin to polish to satin to polish to satin. The dial is where this one stands out from previous editions because it has got a genuine 24 count carrot gold treatment and a rippled finish. On their website, they explain how this is done. I am going to explain that the links will be in the show notes. But the best point, the best part of the watch is it looks a million bucks, but it only costs $1,000. And they have kept the price as low as possible. And on their website for American listeners, they actually detail the costs, the breakdown, the tariff charges, the shipping, all that kind of stuff in there. But this is absolutely beautiful. Beautiful, fantastic. Wanted to try and talk about it in the show over the past few weeks, but we've just had so much stuff in. I've not had the opportunity, but yeah, this is a little belter on the wrist here and it has got that tungsten bezel that we've talked about in the past, which is beautiful. But it is also a fingerprint magnet. So you want to be having a little microfiber nearby if you're wearing this one. Dave, you've had a quick look at this one. This is Nuen. What do you think?
- [27:02]
B
This is a brand that goes from strength to strength, really. They've got quite a specific design language. Nothing completely out the ordinary, but they definitely have a little bit of DNA that you know it's one of their watches and they've lent into it, obviously with a dial on this. You've got a 24k real gold treatment on top of that rippled finish. And the bracelet looks like they've upped the game again on it as well. They've got a new style of bracelet which I can't quite remember what they call it. I think it's something like the Sansovino bracelet, but you've got this polished and satin finish links. And importantly, you've got a micro adjust clasp on there as well. Price point wise, as Ricky mentioned, not a whole lot of money. And for a 39 millimeter watch with a pretty price tight sub 46 lug to lug just over 10 millimeters, 10.5 millimeters in thickness. You've got that Miyota automatic in there. You've got sapphire crystal with anti reflective. You've got good bgw9 super luminova on there. You've got a tungsten insert on the bezel with 120 clicks, 200 meters of water resistance and 1000 bucks. To be honest, you really can't go too far wrong.
- [28:01]
A
And next up, it's time to talk about our buddies over at Gerald Charles. We're not talking about scaring them shitless by pretending to smash up one of their designer pieces. We're not talking about making keyrings, which is what we did with them the last time we caught up with them just a few weeks back. But they have got another Release for their 25th anniversary. But it's also a 75th anniversary for somebody.
- [28:21]
B
It is indeed the Siddiqui family, the Ahmed Siddiqui 75th anniversary. We will know all about that shortly when we head over to Dubai for the latest iteration of Dubai watch week. But General Charles have released the new Maestro 2.0 Ultra Thin with Tiger's Eye specifically for the 75th anniversary of Sidiki. This is going to be their highlight of the upcoming dubai watch week. 20, 25. They're only doing 20 pieces of it. If you are familiar with the brand you will know all about their weird and wonderful case. It's an irregular geometry, it's a rounded octagon, it's a triple tiered doubled bezel. You've got that stainless steel case and you've got that kind of smiley face at six o' clock there as well. The case is very thin, the watch is only 9 millimeters and considering I think the case is made up of something like 25 different parts, they've done a pretty sophisticated job to keep the thin down. Size wise it's 39 millimeters by 41 millimeter by as I mentioned, 9 millimeters in height. You've got 100 meters of water resistance on there which is unusual for something that's at the dressier end of watches. Of course, the stone dial, tiger's eye in there, that's another very distinguishing part. It's a fibrous quartz. It was very popular in the 1970s, it's been less popular certainly since then but stone dials are making a pretty pronounced comeback as well.
- [29:38]
A
Remember Rolex decided to roll one of these dials out this year as well.
- [29:42]
B
Well we've had Moser, we've had these guys, we've had as you mentioned, Rolex bringing stuff back and I think there are multiple other people who have had stone dials out there as well.
- [29:52]
A
No, no, no, no. Tiger Eye.
- [29:54]
B
Specifically Tiger Eye. Well yes and I think who else? Did we not also see Tiger Eye or Sartre Ballard? Sartre Ballard did a real one but did we also see it from that little brand that sounds like somewhere in Glasgow but isn't Denison I think also maybe do a tiger eye something as well. So yeah, definitely at lots of different price points. Back to that calibre though, it's the CGA 2000. It's produced by Voshi manufacturer. You've got 50 hours power reserve and it's mounted on a very nice sand coloured vulcanized rubber strap. The price, well in local currency over there in Dubai it's going to be 94,000 AED. That roughly equates out to around €22,000. So not insane money. Definitely, definitely punchy money when you have to consider what you buy but not absolutely out of this world price point wise as well. Great looking watch if you're into stone. Well that's probably possibly one for you.
- [30:48]
A
One for the stoners out there and we're going to finish up with another watch or another couple of watches. Steve's looking confused because he doesn't know about these two watches. So let's. It's a quick fire round. It's the gold run on Blockbusters. And the reason we're going to talk about this one is one of our good friends Tom over at Oracle Time, who has been involved with us pretty much since the very beginning. We had them on the show. When you get them back, when you get Tom and Sam back on the show because it's been a number of years, but they continue to move forward and I love what they do because they've got a print magazine based here in the uk but they also don't take themselves too seriously. A little bit more serious than the way that me and Dave act. But there is a gleeful exuberance that they have. It's not just like the Swiss, it's not suited and booted. It's fantastic. And they have created something with another good friend of ours and that is Joozy from Ice Isotope. They have worked their magic and they have produced something called the mercury vitreous. We've seen one from Revolution last year it was mirror finished. Then there was a more sedate version of it. There have been a number of releases over the past few years that we've seen from Jose and co and they just keep going better and better, harder and faster. We thought they peaked a number of years ago with the Alba that they collaborated with us. No, it turns out they kept going in the stratosphere. And the two dial variations we've got today, one of the colors Dave is going to love. The other color, not 100% sure he's going to love, but we're going to see if he's managed to find it on Google. And he's going to be able to talk about it off the cuff.
- [32:13]
B
Well, yes, indeed I am, because what we've got here is two watches, one in a rather punchy bright orange. Well, orange into a kind of burnt red. I would say it's got a case that's been darkened. It's not, I would say, slightly off black, more like an anthracite finishing on the case, mounted on a kind of gray. Black. Yeah, Gunmetal is a good way to describe it actually. You've got no upgrade leaks, no index markers, no seconds track, nothing. You've literally got the little izotope logo just mounted under where the 12 o' clock marker would normally be. And you've got these kind of dagger style hands is maybe how I would describe them in that darkened finish as well. Absolutely stunning. The other one is a more difficult to describe color. It's definitely in the green hues, but it's almost kind of like a little bit more washed out. The reddy orange one is quite a punchy color. This kind of green. Green definitely is in the spearmint end of the green kind of narrative.
- [33:06]
A
It's very mint chalk chip.
- [33:08]
B
Yeah, it's got that kind of vibe about it as well, for sure. And of course the clue is in the name. These are a kind of vitreous enamel technique. One thing that Juicy has been trying to do and doing very successfully, I have to say, is bringing these kind of high end metadar skills into much more attainable price points than you would normally be expected to paying. It's got an ETA pursu 7001 in there as well. You've only got 25 of each piece on there. You've got that domed sapphire glass with the anti reflective coating. Very, very nice price point wise as well. Not what you'll be expecting. 2,775 UK pounds as well. Very, very attractively priced for what they're doing.
- [33:51]
A
And we'll explain why that sounds cheap when that is not a cheap amount of money. Dave, explain the Dell production process.
- [33:59]
B
Let's just say that they are not the best things to make. If you, you like being very successful at making everyone well. Grand Feu is a process whereby you are essentially taking ground glass, you're mixing it up with an evaporite, you are painting it onto dial, then you fire it in a very hot oven. That's where grandfu comes from, the great fire. And it's a little bit like if you ever remember at school when you were asked to make something in pottery and you thought you had mastered it, you had a masterpiece on your hand, you put it in the kiln and it cracked.
- [34:29]
A
Did I ever tell you about the time I got suspended from art class in high school?
- [34:33]
B
Only suspended? Are you sure you weren't going for.
- [34:36]
A
It was only a three day one. And it was because in art class we were doing the pottery thing and they had lots of statues around that were missing parts and I fabricated new.
- [34:45]
B
Parts and I can only imagine what those parts were. Were they like your little pinky?
- [34:49]
A
Smaller, like your little pinky?
- [34:51]
B
But yes, many, many of these dials unfortunately fail during production. Which means that the yield that's usable of let's say 100 dials that they make might be as low as 20 or 30 of them that are ultimately usable. And the more colors that you put in there, the more chall challenging things get to get consistency of colors through the batch as well. So. But yes, a technique that is, well, many says difficult. I wouldn't say difficult. I'd say it's, you know, a learned skill. But unfortunately there's a lot of luck involved in whether these dials will make it to the end of the process and be usable. And of course once they are done and dusted, you then have to get it into the watch without damaging chipping or cracking or breaking the dial as well. But yeah, amazing to see these watches being done at this price point, which is kind of what you come to expect from Jousse. Izotope deliver exceptional value watches and have done it really to be honest, since day one.
- [35:42]
A
And we had an email in from the folks there or new guy on the team and that is Mark from Canada. Somebody's been on this show before and he says, dear Ricky, I'm pleased to share exciting news from Isotope Watches, the independent British watchmaker that continues to make its mark on the global stage. That tells you that's from a mailing list because that's not very personal because I know who Isotope are. But he goes on to say at the inaugural Timepiece World award winning banquet hosted by some guy called Colin, Isotope was the only brand to win multiple awards, picking up the Time Only award for the Isotope Mercury Shadow and the People's Choice award for the Isotope Moonshot Chronograph. So there we go. Lots of commendations and completely validated and vindicated because they make amazing watches. Some people say, oh that's a little bit expensive. No it's not. Check out what's involved in it. Look at the price from competing brands, brands that you can actually get your hands on. We talk about an ordain but they have got waiting list out the kazoo. So yeah, this is fantastic. I don't know how many are going to be left, but definitely check the show notes. Click across. If you like what you see, go grab them. We have got a couple of them sitting at Scottish Watches Tower so we can do some proper content. So you'll probably see that popping up. If it's not in the show notes, it'll be on our Instagram within a few days time and we're going to close out the show by telling you what's in the back catalog.
- [36:58]
B
Are you? Well done. Excellent. You got to tell them.
- [37:01]
A
Okay, then I'll tell you. We can go back in time to Monday and you can listen to Simon, Mr. Educator, not Mr. Motivator Mr. Educator from Montblanc, Stroke, Minerva. He came on a Pied Piper tour, not of Hamelin, but across to Villeray, where they have got their atelier. We went there, we spent an amount of time with him. We crammed our brains to the gunwales with information, data, history. It was a whirlwind tour. It was exceptional. I actually said to him at the end when he asked the question, what was your favourite, favorite thing? I said, I need to decompress. There is so much to take on here. Dave actually pulled his camera and used it. Yes, he did. I hope there was a battery and a memory card in it, but he promises there'll be some pictures. And we have a second edition from our little miniseries where we go deep on Minerva. Now that we've been there, we've met the people, we can back up everything that Simon said. He was not talking bollocks. Everything was, as he put it, it was actually better than that. And there are some funny anecdotes along the way. The person that came to play pick us up from the airport to take us across, she turns out to also be working in the place, completely unrelated. Her husband or partner runs a transportation company. She was helping out in her day off and said, oh, by the way, I work here. So, yeah, fantastic. Can't wait to tell you all about a little trip. Get the pictures and the videos. And there's something that's embargoed, so we're gonna have to wait a few days until we actually let that cat out the bag. Prior to that, we have got Art Attack with Black Badger and the Dial Artist. I let those two guys lick a couple of hamsters and a cage. Get it on. And by the end of that episode, they were coming up with great ideas, collaborative ideas, and who knows what may be in the future from those two. Anything else we should talk about, Dave?
- [38:40]
B
Well, we should, of course, talk about, well, that little monster that lives in that big pool of water up towards Inverness. That being, of course, Nessie. Not long ago, we released our latest limited edition watch. Well, yes, it is going great guns. And, well, after a bit of feedback, we decided that we would up the numbers to make sure that as many people who did want to get one would be able to get one. And I believe that there's maybe a few left. A bit like Nessie, you might have to go and look for it. And where you need to go is the Show Notes. Go to the Show Notes, look for the information about Lassie, click that little link, and it will take you and if there's any left you will be allowed to buy one.
- [39:15]
A
Yeah, and lots of people came to bat for us. Jody. Just one more watch. Put a video out. I'm trying to get him back on the show but he ignores my messages. But he's quite happy to talk about the latest limited edition release. Thanks, Jody. We also had Dave Sargent over at Fratello doing a fantastic piece. Lots of great comments on there. The folks at Warn and Wound did us a solid and obviously Tom, Sam and the guys down at Oracle Time also delve deep into Loch Ness to pull out our little monster and talk about it to everybody. See if you do like the look of that one. Go grab it. I believe there are just a handful left, so that is pretty much a show. I am going back to my bed. Mizzy. I was going to have a great time doing all the show notes. Don't know what Dave's up to. He's probably all over the place, international man of misery that he is. Where are you off to next, Dave?
- [39:57]
B
David is off to the misery that is London. So yes, the man of misery is absolutely correct.
- [40:01]
A
Although remember to hold your new shop shiny anodized orange iPhone out in front of you so you can see it properly even though you're a little bit short sighted or long sighted or whatever it's called. Just if you hear any mopeds, don't worry about it, it's fine.
- [40:14]
B
Yes, no, I'll not be doing that. What I might do is actually get a house brick and paint it orange and see how far we can get with that because that would be good fun. But anyway, aside from that, it's going to be a good trip. Not so much the trip down, not so much dundering wandering around London, but more at the Watch Pro Awards to see what, well who, not what, who's going to get some awards this year. It's always a good fun because well I get drunk and eat some food so that's not a terrible thing and then back up the road for a couple of days back in Scotland before I really do start on my travels in the coming weeks a bit all over the place. I'll be in Singapore, we together with Ricky will be over in Dubai. That's a wee bit later on but I'll also be over in New York during New York Watch week for the 10th anniversary of the week Wind up show because they are 10 years old.
- [41:01]
A
This year and that's pretty much it. So thank you for listening and we'll catch you again soon.
- [41:05]
B
Take care.
- [41:27]
A
Sam.