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Art Basel, Hangin' With Brooke Shields, And A Sleeper Hit From Blancpain

Published on Fri, 10 Dec 2021 12:00:00 +0000

Chatting about Danny's latest Talking Watches, Cole's artful time in Miami, and the latest addition to Logan's collection.

Synopsis

In this episode of Hodinkee Radio, host James Stacy welcomes colleagues Danny Milton, Cole Pennington, and Logan Baker for a wide-ranging discussion about their recent watch-related experiences and observations. The episode is sponsored by Grand Seiko and the GPHG award-winning SLGH05 from their Heritage Collection.

Danny shares behind-the-scenes details from filming a Talking Watches episode with actress Brooke Shields at her New York City home. He describes her collection as representative of her life and career, featuring watches from brands like Piaget and Bulgari that were gifts from photo shoots in the 1980s. The standout piece is a vintage Rolex GMT Master with a faded bezel that was given to her by an Italian count in a moving taxi cab. Danny notes how accessible and down-to-earth Shields was during the filming, despite his initial nervousness about the shoot.

Cole recounts his trip to Art Basel Miami, where he represented Hodinkee alongside Hublot. He describes the event as more of a fashion and culture phenomenon than strictly an art fair, with parties happening around the clock at various venues throughout the city. Cole spotted numerous modified and aftermarket watches in the wild and had chance encounters with celebrities including Venus Williams, Usain Bolt, and Shepherd Fairey. He reflects on how the experience showed him the growing intersection between watches, fashion, and contemporary culture.

The highlight of the episode comes when Logan discusses his recent acquisition of an early-2000s Blancpain Léman with a 38mm case and the legendary Caliber 1150 movement featuring a 100-hour power reserve. The group explores this often-overlooked era of watchmaking from roughly 1988 to 2005, discussing how many exceptional watches from brands like IWC, Omega, and Blancpain from this period remain relatively affordable and underappreciated. They celebrate these "neo-vintage" pieces as offering tremendous value, interesting complications, and high-level finishing without the premium prices commanded by either true vintage pieces or contemporary releases. The conversation concludes with recommendations for entry-level vintage collecting, with Logan suggesting that 1950s Omega Seamaster dress watches remain one of the best starting points for new collectors.

Transcript

Speaker
James Stacy This episode of Hodinki Radio is proudly brought to you by Grand Seiko and the GPHG award winning SLGH05. Part of Grand Seiko's Heritage Collection, the SLGH O five has a dial meant to invoke the graceful serenity of white birch. Please stay tuned for more information later in the show or visit granddash seiko.us.com for more. Hey, it's me, James Stacy, and today I've asked a handful of my Hodenky car I predict this will be a varied and chatty show with some BTS via Danny and his recent hangout with Brooks Shields, Cole being fresh back from an artful time in Miami, and Logan offering some insight into the latest addition to his collection via a very under-the-radar choice from a brand with an incredible legacy in watchmaking. The clock is ticking, so let's go. Danny, Cole, Logan, welcome back to the show. Glad to be here, James. Hey. Yeah, always a pleasure. Happy to be here. All right. So we've got a bunch to talk about. I I put a bit of it in the intro, of course. Uh Danny, I think we'll start with uh what I think is kind of an obvious highlight of our uh kind of December content schedule and that's a talking watches with a a pretty big name. Uh who did you get to hang out with recently?
Danny Milton Are you talking about Brooke Shields by any chance? Maybe honestly. That was uh yeah, that was something. That was uh maybe the highlight of my entire twenty twenty one potentially. Uh that was very cool. For
James Stacy sure. You know, I've I've done a couple of the talking watches with kind of uh sports level celebrities and, you know, uh people of very interesting kind of military backgrounds and stuff like that, but never with like a a huge celebrity like like Brooke Shields. You know, did you have to do security? Did you have to get past the bodyguards? Did you have to um you know put your phone in a special bag and and uh and you know, not not kind of uh i i exist in the world or was that her kitchen? How did all this work out? Give us give us some of the kind of backgro
Danny Milton und. You would be shocked at the the the the level of how much security there was not to do this. I mean we literally had the the address to her to her home, which I won't be sharing here. Uh it was very much her kitchen, very much her house, uh in New York City. It's funny because there were whispers that we were going to be doing this um,, and I mean we collectively as Hodinky were thinking of doing this uh episode with her as far back as when we did 80s week. And there was no mention of who would be doing it, who would be hosting it. And uh I think some of the hosting duties sort of get parsed out based just on convenience of location. I happen to be in New York. Her house happens to be in New York. I think it just sort of worked out that way. Um yeah. But I was told about this one in a very casual conversation with Will Holloway, who's sort of the overseer of our video enterprise and uh creator of Talking Watches in so many ways. And he just kind of casually was like, Yeah, uh the Brook one is coming up um and you'll be you'll be doing that. And I was like the Brook one, like Brook Brook Shields then. Okay, great. So let me just like mentally process that for a while. Uh no, it was it was great. We um she has the a beautiful uh townhouse uh in manhattan that we went to and we walked inside and immediately I was surprised because her husband was in the living room and just sort of held up his wrist and was like, I I have the same watch as you. And I wasn't I wasn't wearing the it was a Rolex Samariner. It was it's like this is your it was your grandfather's. And I was like, Yeah. Oh my god, you read and you watch Odinky, that's amazing. It was like the first like before we said hello, before we shook hands, it was like one of these like surreal moments. I was like, okay. All right. Like it actually kind of put me at ease for a second because I felt a little more comfortable immediately. But we um we were setting up the cameras and Will kind of ushers me into uh Brooke's kitchen and she's just standing there. And uh there are certain celebrities who have uh a very specific kind of star power where you just sort of feel it in the room and that and she's definitely one of them. So she was about to go shoot the Sunday Today show with Willie Geist and then come back and shoot Talking Watches with us. So she was sort of dressed for that. As you do. As one does, you know, just pack your day with uh with media availability. So it gave us some time to set up. But no, no, I was just, you know, I introduced myself. It was it was pretty wild, uh, at least to get things going. Sure. That was your first talking watches too, right? It was my second talking watches, but first non-remote talking watches. My first one was with was Mitch Mitch Schwartz. First in someone's kitchen, as it were.
James Stacy First in someone's kitchen, first in Brookshield's house. Okay. All right. Well, fair enough. And what what did you think of the watches? Did you uh you know, obviously we've we've watched it and and by now if you haven't seen it, it'll be in the show notes, of course, or not that hard to find on the site. But w how did the watches hit you, Dan
Danny Milton ny? They make sense? So I think it's important to contextualize this a little bit. And this is all in I mean this in the most complimentary way possible. We sort of sat down and she was very honest with me. She was a little bit nervous to do the shoot, which I think had to do with her awareness of Hodinki and not wanting to sort of not come across as knowledgeable as she thinks she should be about some of her watches. And uh I had told her, like, this is not about watch knowledge as much as it's about your experience with the watches that you have. And so she has what I found the most interesting about her collection was that it just was representative of her life because she's somebody that from 12 years old was modeling professionally. And so many of these watches are connected with these shoots. Whether they were with fashion brands at the time like Bulgary or Piaget, they would give her watches in exchange for a photo shoot, an appearance, etc. These weren't things that she threw away. I mean, she kept them. And so they're kind of like these little micrototems of of her career. And they're so representative of the times. I mean, they're very small watches. They're so very 80s looking. So many of them are gold. A lot of them have diamonds all over them. Uh, and then you have like the Rolex date just that she bought for herself with her mom, which she loved. And she loved it so much that after she bought it, she added diamonds to it later to kind of refresh a watch that she already had. You know, you can, I guess, either put a new strap on a watch or just put a bunch of diamonds on a watch. It's kind of the same thing, but I said. Yeah, I exactly. And then and then there was this interesting progression of like as she got more successful, the watches got more diamonds. And it was indicative of this kind of like Gordon Gecko sort of er era of the eighties, you know? But as we move into sort of her adulthood, it's when we hit that incredible Rolex GMT master. Oh, yeah. So good. And for anyone, yeah, it was the best. And for anyone that doesn't know, we usually get a picture of a guest's collection of watches in advance so that we can sort of prepare ourselves for what we're gonna go see. And usually it's on an iPhone. It's something it's nothing like crazy. You just it's just to give you, to orient you in what you're gonna get. And when I'm looking at this selection of watches that kind of run the gamut from, I don't know, 26 millimeters to 32 millimeters, 34 at max, and you have this, and they're all gold, and then you have this steel GMT master with a faded bezel and patina dial. It was just I I needed to know what that was. And if anybody watched the video, you know what that was. It was a watch that she got in kind of the most insane circumstances possible, literally thrown at her in a moving taxi cab by an Italian count. So by royalty. And she, you know, he's since passed away, and it's a watch she probably wears more than any other. And she actually wore that to her today show interview that morning. So if anyone goes and watches that, you'll s you can do a little little watch spotting
James Stacy . It's interesting because the the collection shows a really high level of taste. And despite the fact that some of it, some of like you said, the early ones were gifts and it it just shows how how good some of these brands were in their specific era. Like both of the piagets, these little tiny piagets, are both really gorgeous and kind of work today better than they would have five or six years ago. And and you're not going to take anything away from the the GMT, this incredible Panther. Uh even the Bulgari Bulgry uh you know makes a lot of sense for her wrist. I love that watch. Yeah, isn't that a cool thing? Some some really neat stuff. Logan, and any of these hit you as as kind of faves? I mean the GMT's it's so cool that it it's almost like it it can it has its own shadow in terms of coolness, but this this is some pretty sweet watches. I mean, sometimes you see these and it it shows a real mix of they got lucky and and sometimes they weren't
Logan Baker . Yeah. Uh I mean the GMT is really, really sweet. And I actually have kind of a funny story about it because I've been hanging out with my parents a bit more recently. I've been spending some time down in Texas. And of course, you know, they want to see what's going on in Hoodinky. So when I told them Brooke Shields was on, you know, they got super stoked and uh they watched it. And now my mom is like super into the the GMT master and uh I I sent her That is amazing. Yeah. And uh um I think the Brooks Shields talking watches went up on a Tuesday the next day uh we had our vintage watch drop in the Hoodenkey shop. And uh the hero image was a GMT master that we had. I don't I don't know the exact reference, but uh it was listed at 27k. And my mom, you know, she didn't look at the prices, but she was like, Oh, you know, like that's that same watch. Like, did you guys plan that? And I'm like, no, they just they're they're kind of everywhere. You know? And then I I told her that it was twenty-seven thousand dollars and she was like, Whoa. Which which you know that's definitely kind of a sticker shock there. But I also just going through the pictures again real quick, I really like this uh Pasha. And I kind of like the story about her father uh buys all his daughters' a watch. How many siblings does she have? I'm curious. I think she has
Danny Milton three sisters, if I'm not mistaken. I might be wrong, but it's something in that range. Yeah. Well, it it's just like a really simple,
Logan Baker sweet looking pasha. A lot of time. I feel like they look very kind of convoluted. You know, they look like just a lot. But here, I mean, maybe it's just the photo. It it looks really kind of sweet in the 36912 dial, the slight guillet kind of pattern ste
Danny Milton el bezel. It's cool. Absolutely. Yeah, that that was a watch that struck me in person too, because I've kind of joined the the others in this horror logical world of kind of railing against the pasha a lot just on principle. And and and it goes to show because I don't get to see a lot of them in person often. And it is a cool, it's a cool watch. I mean, it has a cool functionality to it. It's interesting looking. Um and maybe that was bolstered by the fact that I was handling it after she told me the story, so I'm definitely not coming at it fully unjaded, but still, no, I totally agree with that, Log
Logan Baker an. Uh one kind of pasha variant that has been catching my eye recently is the C timer. Do you guys know that one? I don't. It's this super like funky chronograph. I'll send a link and we can put it in the show notes, but I think it's just kind of very emblematic of like Cartiers they do kind of whatever they want. I mean look at these kind of ovoid uh subdials. Oh yeah, look at this thing. It just works. It's crazy
James Stacy . Yeah. I like that. It just works. Acallytu., very cool Well, we'll dig up a couple examples and get those in the show notes. That's uh an interesting uh kind of derivation of that lineup for sure. Yeah.
Logan Baker And I'll go into it a bit more later, but just kind of digging deep into pre owned recently, like you see a lot of these these Cartiers uh from the early two thousands and whatnot that are really good values, you know, postures, C timers, things like that, and they they all have very different styles. Like they're not just the same watch over and over and over again. I just like seeing that you know cardio wasn't afraid to change things up all the time. For sure.
James Stacy Cole, any of these uh stand out for you besides the the GMT master? The the air king's pretty sweet. That's a a dial I'm not I'm not used to seeing on an air quing. I also don't think I've ever said the sentence. That air king's pretty sweet. There are. There
Cole Pennington actually are some really sweet air kings and I I think that's the next one that people are gonna to notice. But for me, the one that stood out, uh, Brooks watches was that gold day chest for the macro shots of the the the gold that develops that black sheen on it on the lugs. Oh yeah, I know I yeah, I know exactly what you're saying. Yeah. It's almost like it's a it's essentially just tarnished. It is. But I was like, woof, that is a good looking watch with like the perfect level of patina. And um I thought that was very cool. And also um I remember James, you kinda went through a gold phase a year and a half ago, a year ago. I don't even know if you're out of it yet, but I'm still in it. All right, good man. For sure. Most of those watches are out for service. And I remember just I think conceptually and intellectually you came around to exploring this area, which to me, to be honest, for a long time it was stainless steel or bust, or like some experimental metal or like tantalum from Omega's Kronos in the 70s, whatever. Gold to me was like a little gaudy, I will say. For me personally. Now, I think on my watch journey, quote unquote, I've come around to like think, ah, damn, these things are really, really nice, and especially when I saw Brooks, thinking the way that patina formed made me see the watch in a whole new light and I was already pro gold. So I think that's the one that stood out to me where I just when those you know macro shots, which again, Will, Davy, Gray, all those guys, they can capture those watches and it looked damn good
James Stacy . Yeah. And I think there's there's something almost universal even in gold for like a date just. Like if you're gonna go gold and that's and that's the the one exception that you've got in the mode, it makes sense. They look incredible on the bracelet. I think, you know, even despite the fact that maybe the the fully iced out treatment isn't necessarily my taste, I do really like a full gold panther. It's just such a cool watch. They they you know, there it's its own thing. It's almost like a watch made without any concern for anything other than Cardi's design language. And uh a really cool thing and that diamond dial's pretty neat. I like that quite a bit. The the
Danny Milton one thing I'll say is she uh we don't see this so much in the pictures, but she really wears these watches hard. Like hard. And I think part of that it's I mean, you can I it's hard to even like explain it properly, but these are not things that she babies or and she cycles through them. She gives them their time on the wrist and you know, even the gold day date that she has with that wild kind of lavender effect to the dial. Which by the way, I I think I have more experience dealing with um like vintage, I don't know, 1970s era day dates, which this one was remarkably more heavy. I mean you you're um you hold it and it's like it's like holding a brick in your hand. It's it's c
Cole Pennington razy. Also, something kind of interesting that just came to mind that I remember. So right around the time that you did that talking watches, Danny, I kind of knew you were doing it. Obviously, we're all remote here and sometimes we just don't have good communication. So we're all doing different things. So right around that day, like a day before on that day, day after, my buddy told me, Oh, guess who I ran into in a coffee shop? And and unbeknownst to him that we were working on a project with Brooke Shields, but he lives in the village in New York and um was getting coffee and he said, I ran into Brooke Shields and I wasn't sure if I should talk to her or not, and I just did 'cause we were both in line and she's like one of the coolest people ever. And I hadn't thought about Brooke Shields in I don't know, 2 ye0ars, something like that? Like just where would we? Like when we were in high school, I remember there was a little bit of you know, she bubbled back up. But so he said that, and then like a day or two later that day, you were like, Oh yeah, we're doing talking watches the with Brooke Shields. That's crazy. And I was like, wow, look at this. There's a glitch in the Matrix. Totally. And so this is a testament. Like, even just a normal dude, she is a super nice, cool, chill woman. And like that comes across when you guys were talking to like good vibes, you know, good vi
Danny Milton bes in that talk and watches. Yeah, she's she's exactly as she appears to be on camera. And just as completely unrelated, but kind of in my my new journey to meet all of the uh the models of the 80s and 90s. Not let not not two weeks later I was in San Francisco on a press trip and uh hung out briefly with Cindy Crawford. So just gonna go ahead and like just say that on air that that did happen. And so I don't know who's next on the list, but I'm just gonna try to pile these up. See how many more I can get. I dig it
James Stacy . We couldn't be more thrilled to have Grand Seiko supporting this episode of Hodinky Radio with the new SLGH 005 from their heritage collection. Sporting a steel bracelet and a 40mm steel case, the SLGH 005 is a truly special watch that recently won the men's watch prize at the 2021 Grand Prix de Horelagerie de Genève. Meant to invoke the look of the white birch that grows near the Grand Seiko studio where the watch is made, the SLGH005's textured dial glints in whites, silvers, and light grays with an astonishing effect. Tucked beneath that dial we find Grand Seiko's latest high-beat 9S A5 automatic movement, which ticks at 36,000 vibrations per hour while supporting 80 hours of power reserve and excellent daily accuracy. Plus, you can see it all through a gorgeous display case back. With a retail price of $9,100, the SLGH005 is a handsome, subtle, and special watch that draws inspiration from Japan's own natural beauty and the fine craftsmanship inherent to all Grand Seiko timepieces. Check the show notes or visit grand-seiko.us.com for more details. And now, back to the show.. All right Well, you know, speaking about uh chance encounters and w standing in line for coffee, I assume, and and meeting, you know, uh famous people and otherwise, Cole, you were recently at one of the calendar's kind of main social events. Uh you want to tell us because I I've been to Miami before, not for art bossel, which is what you were there for. I the last time I was in Miami was for uh the Watches and Wonders, which is really turned out to be quite an enjoyable and weird event. Weird in a good way. Where did Art Basle fall on the the kind of weird fun scale for you
Cole Pennington ? Good good way to put it, weird fun scale. So I have been one time before, but I will say, I mean, I'm not an art basel guy, like by nature, not to say I'm not purposely creating distance between myself and saying I'm not one of these guys, but I'm just it's not on my nature to, you know, talk about NFTs, art, cryptocurrency, this kind of stuff. I'm like, all right, whatever. But but um but you know, as part of the job, we have to do things that push us out of our comfort zone. And I was actually there with Hugh Blow. So he there are two brands that really power Art Basel. Watch brands at least. The intersection of art basel and watches exists in two spaces. One, Taghoyer, two, Tubeau. So yeah, I was, you know, just I had gone two years ago and, you know, met all the Hublot artist ambassadors. Then this year rolls around and, you know, they asked me to come again. I was thinking I was yeah, unsure, but then said, you know what? Yes. Cause it is actually awesome. You I'm sure everyone here has experienced this where you go into something thinking one thing, you come out and you're like, wow, I would have never done that otherwise, but that was cool. So Yeah, absolutely. Did I get up to some trouble down there in Miami? Of course. There's parties all the time and all these like crazy things. Here, here's you know, we're we're talking about celebrities on that stuff. Also, I'm not super like aware of celebrities and all this stuff. So when it does happen, it's like, whoa, this is cool because they're very casual encounters. So Venus Williams made an appearance, the tennis player. Then um Dustin Johnson, the golf player. Usain Bolt, who I was actually particularly like taken about. It was amazing. Whoa, damn, this is cool. Then all of the artists and uh some that we've written up. I mean, I think Danny, you may have done a Shepherd Ferry interview. Is that right? That's right. So he was there. You know, I we c we connected two years ago. So it was good to see him again. Our puzzle's a trip. It's definitely a trip and we just put up a watch roundup. I wasn't taking those photos, but I definitely was witnessing the same kind of watch culture that exists down there. And I will say, going to watch meetups, you don't normally see like the mad Paris or engraved stuff or all those aftermarket things. You you see the press release, but you rarely see them out in the wild, right? I mean how many of them have you actually seen? None. Yeah. Actually, yeah. So this is the first time for me. I saw a bunch, a bunch of the modded aftermarket watches. Like that's the culture. So be
James Stacy fore we get too deep into the NFTs, and obviously that we're going to package the show as an NFT, you can find it in your wallet whenever you look. Before we get too deep into that, I actually like, let's start with basic questions. Sure. It's So it's yes, there is an actual. Because I feel that I'm not the only person who mig
Cole Pennington ht have that question. No, that's the one. I loved how you frame that question was framed very well, by the way. It was, yeah. It seems nebulous to me. At the convention center or a large, I think it is the convention center, is where the actual art installations are displayed. So you remember the banana on the wall from two years ago and stuff. That was there. And then this year there were all sorts of pretty, pretty cool things. Then there are the ancillary component to that festival, which is really, I think, the spirit of our basel, is the parties that happen all around the city, hosted by brands. Uh like everything, like fashion. So the interesting thing about the Hublot trip is that myself and then Adam Craneides, who I'm sure you everyone knows and also just to watch this. Shout out to Adam. Yeah, Adam Great guy. And this guy, Sam, from England. We were um we were three watch people on the trip with ten fashion folks from the fashion industry. So they really like to explore the intersection of fashion It's not really a watch thing, art bossle. It's more of a fashion and culture thing. So that was just interesting. So yeah, to answer your question, there are a bunch of parties all around the city every day and lunches and like the big thing in Miami is like day clubs. Like people act like it's night when it's day. Drinking, techno music, you know, uh, all you know, around the clock. So that's what Art Basel is. But overall, I'm gonna say our basel is a mood, James. Okay. I don't like that answer. I I was I was on board until that last
James Stacy part. Um it's a state of no right. Right. Well like appreciating art, I guess. Exact
Cole Pennington ly. Is this the sort of art that is approachable? So yeah, I will say that's an interesting question, a hard one to answer. So for me, some stuff like the banana on the wall or whatever, that's just too far off in the weeds for me to even get. And a lot of it is. It just seem like a a circus or some sort of parody of real life. But every now and then you look at something and say, Oh, this is I I get it. Like it just clicks. Hublot held a panel for their artists, Maxime Song Blue, who we've written about before. Of course. Brilliant stuff. Like he kind of gave a talk, and I was like, Oh, yeah, yeah. This is like for all that weird nebulous stuff that I don't understand. This guy is doing something I can, you know, I can speak his language and understand what he's saying. So I would say in that there are moments of clarity amongst moments of chaos and where am I, you know? Sure. So that's that. That was our bossle. It was a interesting place to do some watch spotting, I will say. And I guess the other thing too that this underscores is that watches can really touch. Like we obviously love the diving, the motorsport, the airplanes, all that stuff, right? We know those relationships, but there are a ton of other relationships out there that you know, you have to be open to exploring. And and once you are, yeah, it's kind of kind of interesting. So yeah, I mean the Hublos, I uh you know, have come around to really like them. I know Logan, you might be a fan. Yeah, yeah, some. You know, hit or
Logan Baker miss. But the the Sang Blues are pretty cool. Um, I do have one question uh after being down in Arbasel. Did you see any kind of remains of the MCH group? Because it's
Cole Pennington Good question. So in fact, this is the mental gymnastics that you have to kind of do is is this the same group? Like in your mind, like how does one company cater to such different demographics and put on a show like the event planners that do art basel there's no way that they could do Basel World. And if they do that that's why it failed. I mean because it just it does not translate. The answer is I don't see any of all I know about MCH group is is Basel World, right? From going in 2019. Right. This doesn't feel like it has anything to do with that at all. It's just the name only and like that's a good question. You know, I should have really said, hey, can I talk to someone from OCH group about, you know, business? I'm sure they would have liked to chat. I mean, I I'm not totally up, and I know Logan, you are. Is Basel World gone totally? MCH, it has nothing to do with it anymore. No, it it it got pushed back like uh eight, nine months, I think. So it's happening
James Stacy . Maybe next year. Okay. All right. I th I think that I think it's current the current context is maybe next year. A year from what would have been announced. Yeah. Okay. Next announcement year. Yeah. I really should have. I'd be surprised if it if it doesn't come back in some setting because they they had a plan to kind of r uh wrap it up into a B2B thing. And we we talked about this on a on just even the I think the last episode that we recorded, this kind of idea that like once once there's some freedom post-pandemic or in the the f kind of final context of the pandemic, the last evolution, if you will. It'll be interesting to see if brands suddenly really want to go back to a traditional way of doing something, a traditional brand being traditional, which would be back to a big Swiss show, which could really be a a benefit for this. I and I think it's something that we'll have to definitely talk about once we see some of the the chess pieces fall and move around uh next calendar year. But I'd be surprised if it's gone, especially if like it it seems like art basel went well. Like people went to it. I saw it all over Instagram. Huge. It seemed to kind of reflect and reverberate well beyond the the watch world, like like you said, Cole. If if
Cole Pennington they took the art basel formula and applied it to Basel World and kind of broke down that stayed Swiss tradition and so forth, it would be like a global phenomena, this this Basel World party. I think that's the secret. And if I had the chance to talk to uh someone for MCH, I would say, whatever you're doing here, do it there, because what you were doing wasn't working. And I think they have the secret sauce. And the secret sauce is these r monster rager parties. That's what it is, I'm telling you
James Stacy . I I do wonder, you know, the the thing is is there's two things that Basel, and if you've never been to Basel, this is what I'm about to say is absolutely me kidding. But there's two things that Basel's missing, the beach and Joe's stone crab. And Miami has both of those. That's right. And they both do their thing really well. The parties, you know, uh you gotta you gotta party when when it's time to party for work for sure. But uh I'm I'm glad, Cole, that you got down there and got to see uh and art, I guess, or many arts. Arts, arts of art. Yeah. So many arts. It's a mood. Like I said, it's a lifestyle and a mood, James. That's what it is. So I'm just glad that we are seeing some sort of a return to these like I said, these kind of events that cascade back into the watch space because the whole show scene has been kind of fraught for the last two or three years. And you know, I spoke with Jack and Robin on the last episode about uh Dubai Watch Week and it sounded very positive. People were there, they were excited to be there. Brands are there. Uh you know, big name people from the brands, you know, they're business entities, but they're celebrities in our world to a certain extent are strolling around and having conversations that they haven't been able to have for a couple years. And and to my mind, even though you know I couldn't be there, that seems highly positive to me. And that's how I see something like art buzzle. And and the cool thing in my mind is uh if you took someone from the art world that wasn't into watches and dropped them in in Basel World or a Watches and Wonders, it would be a bewildering experience for the first couple of hours. So it doesn't surprise me that on the inference uh to flip that it it's kind of it's bewildering for us to step
Cole Pennington deeply into an art world like someone from Vogue or something. So ho Dinky, how do you pronounce that? What does that mean? Like, well we rate about watches and basically I I I I always say like as deep as you can go in fashion, that's what we do in watches. And and I explained it to everyone. And the cool thing is, everyone's down with it. You know, they're like, oh, that's awesome. This is very cool. So it uh let's see how that partnership or this this touch point between these two worlds evolves. Because I have a feeling, like you said, with these big shows, that'll only grow. I mean, as we see collabs with, oh, let's let's even we can tie in the recent uh Tiffany Patek thing with LVMH nod. Yeah, for sure. So as we see all these things happening, my guess is the the takeaway, the final takeaway from Art Basel, besides crypto NFT and all stuff that I don't know enough about to really talk about is fashion watches and culture, culture and watches will become a bigger mm presence in our world going forward. Cool
James Stacy . So that's that. Yeah, no, I mean, yeah, keep that's what we're trying that's I mean, and that aligns with what Nick and the kind of leadership are doing with Hodinki these days is trying to keep keep as the doors open as wide as possible to all the different facets of uh of watch appreciation. So I I think that's key. And then uh for anyone who's listening and and you think I'm gonna gloss over the Tiffany fifty seven eleven, we're talking about it on the next episode. We want that one that Phillips is gonna sell and Logan's gonna be watching that auction very closely in uh just a few days. And uh pay attention to the next episode. I will have it out as soon as I can personally edit and put it together probably uh Monday uh afternoon-ish. Uh but we will have um some some look at that. I d we just kind of wanted to see that number uh before we committed too much to uh uh digital tape or whatever this is. But I do wanted to bring us back to uh back to watches and I don't really feel like talking about the uh the Patek any more than we have to. Logan, I I I like an interesting move in watch buying. And and in my mind, the most interesting space in watch buying is watches that are maybe between eight and eighteen years old right now. I think it's the stuff that just came out and was hot before the Hodinkies and and all of our colleagues kind of gave a space to the vintage stuff and the current stuff. And so you have this window of time that had some really incredible cool watches, but didn't quite benefit from the heat of having websites and bloggers and YouTube and the rest behind it. And and you recently picked what I believe to be a a a really interesting and and cool watch, but one that few people talk about. Uh you want to lead us up to bring us into your mind space here with uh with this new purchase?
Logan Baker Yeah, yeah, for sure. I mean, you know, I think I should uh be up front, you know, Danny, he's hanging out with Brooke Shields, Cole's flying down to Miami. And I'm I'm hanging out with my watches, you know. That's that's where I'm at these da
James Stacy ys. I'm recording uh not three feet from a a really fun rabbit, so that's my zone. Hey what's the what's the rabbit's name, James? Uh his name is Jasper. Yeah, he's a sweetie. Jasper. Goodness. He's quiet today. He must
Logan Baker be sleepy. Usually he's throwing his stuff around. Yeah, so it was kind of a unexpected purchase because, you know, my my financials aren't uh in the best of shapes, but you know, that's that's no thing. So the watch is a Blancpon Lamon from the early 2000s. Uh 38 millimeter diameter, uh nine millimeter thickness, uh steel, 100-hour power reserve, the caliber 1150 inside. You know, it just really kind of hit a sweet spot for me in in what I was looking for. And I really, really adore Blancpon as a brand and you know, I I I I dig the fifty fathoms and and everything, but I think kind of the the history of the company post beaver, post-uh P Gay, or not post-P Gay, but when Beaver and P Gay teamed up to kind of uh bring the brand back to life in the late 80s, you know, they were basically it. You know, I mean P Gay came out with, they basically came out with this movement. A hundred hour power reserve, double main spring, three millimeter tall automatic movement in nineteen eighty-eight. That's crazy. It's also a four hertz movement, right? No, it's three. That's kind of
James Stacy my one. Okay. Yeah. Uh I remember it was a big deal with the the chronograph movement and you'll you'll remember this movement. Uh I d I I wanna say it's the eleven eighty five, but that's it might not be the right number of digits, the five Hertz that they eventually put in the the um F three eighty five the chronograph F three eighty five okay. That's a fascinating thing. And that's built on that those two they mustn't have informed each other because they both have the big power reserve and are and are relatively speaking quite thin, but obviously the the chronograph one has the flyback movement and the rest on top of it
Logan Baker . Yeah, yeah. I mean that F-385 is basically kind of um you know a descendant of the chronograph caliber that they came out with in the late 80s, uh, around the same time that they came out with uh the the 1150. And just no one was really doing anything like PG at that point. And you know, they were they were supplying to kind of everybody in the industry. They were supplying to Chopard. They were supplying to Vacheron. They were supplying to I think AP. You know, I think ev everyone wanted these P Gay movements. They were just kind of solid as a rock. They were thin. And this was when we hadn't really, you know, I mean Panorai isn't even relevant at this point in time, you know, in in the late 80s. So we we st'illre seeing people kind of cling on to these these uh you know, around thirty-five millimeter sizes and and they came out with these movements that were just perfect for the time. And, you know, th this movement design is forty years old. And uh I'll share a picture with you so you can put it in the show notes. But uh it's just it's just a beautiful movement. I mean, Blanc Pon's finishing is you know very subtle. It's all about kind of like fine lines and graining. They do this this thing on the eleven fifty. And I actually I don't know, maybe Jack would be able to help with this, but like I don't know if there's a technical reason for it. But there's kind of like this this open gap. There's like this kind of margin between the kind of central gear train and one of the bridges. And it's just like this really kind of interesting, delicate shape. And I don't know. It just it it it feels different, and that's kind of why I I I'm attracted to Blanc Pond. And you know, I I still love the brand, but we don't see as much kind of in this vein from them today. I mean the movements are still fantastic and I really like the air command, but you know, you're not seeing a a 38mm kind of all around piece. It's it's all about Villeray or Fifty Fathoms or Bath
James Stacy scaf, and that's great. You know, and the the the format of the Lamont in my mind is kind of a very elegant take on a sporty dress watch. Like it it's even more like it's it has a dressy side and and another side and and in my mind that there's some competition and I know that they did several different versions. I believe there was a chronograph, there was a big date. Were they all based on that same movement, loosely speaking? Or not necessarily
Logan Baker ? Um you know, I mean back then, back in the 90s, they would just throw like all sorts of different complications on that same kind of base automatic architecture. I mean, they would turn it into to manual wind. Walto Dets has a really kind of cool piece on the manual wind version of the 1150. If you can kind of trudge through the remains of time zone to to find it. But it's it's a really kind of I don't know. There was just such an appreciation for what the the brand was doing technically. And today, you know, it feels all about diving, diving, diving. And again, amazing story. I'm a huge fan of the 50 Fathoms. I'd love to own one. But I guess that that was a thing for me. Like I never thought that I would own a Blanc Pond. I never thought I'd be able to afford one. And so like the the fact that I have one now like makes me smile. You know, like this is this is the most expensive watch I've purchased for myself. And you know, I have a Black Bay 158, I have the the Oris uh caliber 400 uh Hooding Key Edition that came out a couple months ago, and now I have this kind of blanc pon. And I I feel, you know, yeah, I feel good about that. I mean, I have probably 30 other kind of affordables and stuff like that, which you know, I've definitely fallen down that rabbit hole of always trying to buy something new instead of saving up. But I I think this is gonna be around for the long haul. I haven't been able to take it off so far. And one thing that's funny that I realized with the new Auris, uh, of course, our Auris was 38mm, 120-hour power reserve. This is thirty-eight millimeter, hundred hour power serve. You know, maybe I'll start a collection of thirty-eight millimeter watches with uh power serves and triple digits. I I don't know what else might be out there, but I'm sure there's some other
Cole Pennington things. I was actually just gonna say, you're kind of becoming I mean, we've obviously seen you develop as a writer too. Like the the topics you choose to cover and now your taste and collecting. You're becoming the movement guy. I mean, you like obscure, interesting movements. I I remember your eighteen fifteen uh Ratrapont piece. Yeah, that's a killer p killer story. And I think you kind of and to hear you talk about I'm seeing yeah, you just kinda come into your own and really grab that space. So this is this is cool to hear and I think the Blanc Pond is a testament into moving in that direction, you know? Take it. Take it, Logan. It's better than being the space jam gu
James Stacy y. Trust me. Take it. You know, Logan, I'm interested, are there were there other watches from this air like were there competition for this watch in your mind, or did this opportunity kind of come up and and you felt something for this watch specifically? Because I can't even place what this would have been leveled against in a in a cross section of buying at the time, like in in the early 2000s.
Logan Baker No, it is kind of a weird place because it's definitely dressier than like an explorer or something like that. JL
James Stacy C master control or that kind of stuff. Like not not maybe all the way up to the QP, but that that would be in there too, right?
Logan Baker Yeah, that's a good one. Uh and that has a pretty comparable movement, I think the ninety nine eight or something like that. Which is a cool thing. And I don't know. So so no, I wasn't actively looking to spend thousands of dollars on a uh luxury watch. But I saw it and it just kind of was like you know, I I kind of bonded with the idea of it and I was like, it's my watch, you know? And so I kind of went with it and been riding that high ever since. Uh and it feels it feels good. Like I I don't know. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about it when I got in person. Like I knew that I'd like it. And my first kind of reaction was it's really small. Generally, I like like 41 millimeter dive watches, stuff like that, even the aurus 38mm with the bezel, it wears a bit bigger. You know, this has kind of the the stepped polished bezel, so it very much kind of sinks down onto your wrist. And I I have it on uh sh very thin too. Nine millimeter, but I have it on black shell quartervin, and it just like fe
James Stacy els like a dream. Aaron Powell And it takes a you can fit a traditional strap, you don't have to worry about a curved lug end or anything like that.
Logan Baker So the distance between the lug holes and the lower case edge is pretty tight. I'm able to get Shell Cordovin in there. I've been able to get the Arcedona strap from the hood and key shop. But I I tried like one of the Ute NATOs. I wasn't able to get that in there, which was kind of a bummer. Yeah. But you know, I'm I'm gonna keep
James Stacy experimenting and I'm sorry. Because uh I've done I've done that before to fit a NATO into a real into a especially on some of the Rolex stuff. A bent bar helps quite a bit.
Logan Baker One other thing I wanted to bring up um is you know it has the the blanc pon on the uh case band and the the engraving. And I have to say, like, I think because it is such a thin watch, the way it sits, like I don't even notice it, like when you have kind of a 45mm, 50 fathoms, uh with that tall sapphire crystal bezel. You know, it's it's a little more apparent. But here, you know, it it feels more kind of part of the charm than like a distraction. But, you know, I'm probably just drinking the Kool-Aid. So I I
James Stacy actually kind of agree because I was just looking at that. I'm looking at one of the ultra slim big dates, which I think would be a very similar case. And the not only does the engraving it takes up most of the side of the case and it's spread out nicely. But on some of the the bigger dive watches it's on like a placard almost like a shield and then the engraving seems to be on that. And I think it's better just right into the case edge. I think this makes more sense. I I don't yeah, I I would believe if you say you don't notice it also 'cause the case is kind of scalloped, it dishes down into your wrist. So you'd almost only notice it if you took it off. I think it uh it it's a good thing. Loom is decent, I assume. There's a you know decent size markers and such? Yeah, super lumin
Logan Baker ova, which I'm curious. So I should have b uh I got this from Hoodenkey Preowned and they had sent it to Blancpon for kind of a complete factory service before they listed it, before I know it existed. And, you know, it's a 20 year old watch. So they, you know, put new hands on there. They um, you know, did a did a bunch of stuff to it. And I'm not complaining. You know, it it feels brand new to me. And that's kind of what feels good about it. But the the loom is awesome. I assume since they dated it to early two thousands, it is superluminova. They there's some that are a bit older that had tritium that you can see kind of uh faded. And uh I guess one thing that I am really curious about, I haven't cracked open the case back yet, is uh whether or not mine has a silicon hairspring. Because at that era, it would still be kind of the the traditional Niverox, but when it goes in for service, I know it's an option to trade up to a to silicon. So that'll be a surprise. And I'm kind of thinking I don't know, I I need to see how I feel, but I really like the case back. It just has the kind of case number on it and is open. You know, I couldn't grave it, but I was almost thinking I might try to put a uh like a sapphire crystal case back on it just to see the kind of movement and action. I'm inquiring about the
James Stacy bracelet. Ooh, a bracelet would be kind of nice on a a nice thin watch like that, yeah. And have you found yourself eyeing other versions? I you know, I've got a whole screen of them up here and pole. I could really see you getting into one of the the piloty chronographs Yeah. Now
Cole Pennington now that you say that, like, yeah, this is also I don't know. Let me take a look at it. I might be joining the club, Logan. Let's see. And and writing your coattails on the research that you
Logan Baker 've done on this. Th choseronos are the same, uh they're a little thicker, but they're also 38 millimeter. So it's a great size for for a chronograph. And there's a lot of different variations like you said, James. I if the big date was in front of me and it was the same price, I would have gone for the big date because I think big dates are super co
James Stacy ol. But yeah, you know, it's it's fun looking at all these different ones and it's not just uh it's not just the chronograph or or the the big date or grand date. I think those are are really cool. And obviously the Laman, we also saw the Aaqu lung, which was a I guess an even sportier, maybe slightly less dressy version, almost has an explorer vibe, the Aqua Lung. And then I'm I'm Googling through this and I'm seeing some pretty wild stuff. There's a flyback perpetual chrono. I'm vibing
Danny Milton on a triple date moon phase over here. Um it's uh that's a kind of a killer with a
James Stacy pointer date. Yeah, but I think it's fun to talk about these it it feels like like Cole and I spend a lot of time talking about ninety' JsDM cars. Some of which honestly weren't even good cars when they came out. They've become good because they're weird and loosely affordable compared to what's happened in the rest of the market. Yeah. And with these, I feel like these were probably the the kind kind not of watch you saw a lot in the early 2000s. I don't want to lean on what I said at the start of this, but I do feel there is this sweet spot and Blanc Pond, IWC, there's a lot of these brands that had really, really awesome lineups just before the internet really picked up steam, long before Instagram made, you know, four or five brands all that most people seem to know about or want to buy. Are you saying the internet ruined watches, James? Is that basically what you're saying? Well I think that would be the snake eating its own tail you know given given that we're on a podcast from a large w watch media outlet. Um I think the internet changed watches and I think that from you know Logan had mentioned Panorai not being as big a thing in the early 2000s, and that's true, Panorai's kind of general resurgence was really tied with the growth of watch internet, and they became kind of the first big magnet for that heat. And now we have obviously we've seen it happen to basically every watch, every brand at some level, especially if you talk, you know, nineteen fifty three to about nineteen sixty nine and then 2010 onwards. Those seem to be the two big generations of what's been covered for obvious reasons. The vintage has been very hot for a long time, and then new watches that were covered by the internet kind of started around that time. And I think there is this really interesting generation. You know, the aqua timer stuff really comes to the forefront of my mind. I think Omega had a really incredible lineup in the 2000s with some very interesting speedmasters and some some really incredible uh C master stuff like the GMTs and and the uh apnea stuff and the regatta timers and and all these things. And and I think this slots in so nicely and Logan, I think I think the watch really speaks to a really high level of taste. It's a very subtle, really elegant watch that is super nerdy without being too showy about it. It's not the turbion version, which they did make. But um I uh yeah, uh kudos, man. I think it's a cool piece. Good on you, mate. Congratulations, man. App
Logan Baker reciate that. You you brought up Omega in the early 2000s, and a story that I really want to do is kind of going inside the designers at Omega at that time. I mean, that's when they really kind of started their 21st century wave. They came out with uh the Aquatera and Planet Ocean in succession. And those are two home runs that have been in continuous production for almost 20 years, gone through multiple generations. I mean, those are
James Stacy awesome watches. And they're watches you see in the wild. You see people looking at 'em. You you know, you see them in ads, like yeah, longstanding successful wines for sure. Yeah. And I think the success, the com
Logan Baker mercial success of pieces like that helped Omega kind of gear up to to kind of go inward and do all the kind of technical development, start experimenting with materials. You know, we saw the dark side of the moon in twenty twelve, all the meta stuff 2014 or so
James Stacy . And their progression through coaxial. You know, with the 2500 ABCD, and then suddenly you've got 8,000 series movements that are that's industrializing something that a lot of brands couldn't figure it out. And I agree, I don't think we would have seen it if they hadn't had such strength in the late nineties and the early two thousands to to kind of carry themselves forward as, you know, one of the major players in the the widest kind of sense of of a watch brand.
Logan Baker Yeah they they they got uh they got a series of rail masters that look just like the the ranchero which i think is super sweet i think uh another really cool piece um which actually dates to like the nineties era is the kind of early like second generation breget marine pieces. I mean, like that's a really interesting design that kind of really felt authentic to the brand, but also really sporty. And it's been through so many changes over the years, and and the current generation is you know, I think uh a a tough sell. Like um, I love the brand, and uh I I think the Marine is such a cool watch. But uh Bregay in the kind of post investcorp early swatch years was doing some like wild for sure. Wild shit
Cole Pennington . I got two for you and then I'll bow out. First one the Tussaud C Star from that generation. I had a
James Stacy six hundred and a one thousand. They were so good. For sure. Bad crowns, if I remember correctly. Both of mine went in for repair on the crowns. The uh Baum and Mercier K-pland
Cole Pennington , but the good one. Yep, that yellow kind of pearly mother of pearl or something. Kind of look at all these watches.
Danny Milton So that was kind of the uh the Omega Dynamic thing that I did a couple I don't know, a month or so ago. It's a similar era, similar kind of I don't know. The watch people were still giving it flack for whatever reason, but Forget about 'em. I think that's all an amazingly cool piece that I think it is coming around. I think it has sort of come around. I mean, there's a weird social media, YouTube undercurrent of watch collectors that have latched on to some of these more esoteric in the middle of vintage and modern um neo-vintage, whatever you want to call it. And I think so much of it has to do with, and I mean this nicely, they're they're they're attainable, they're affordable, they're out there, they're different, and makes a big difference. Yeah. And you're you're betting a little bit on future collectibility or value increase or whatever, but or you just love the watch, but they're they're out there. And that's why I love I love this stuff. Price doesn't equal charm. Never
Logan Baker has, never will. There's still deals out there. People like to act like there's no deals. You just have to kind of figure out what you like, you know, and and go from there. Pre-Rishmont IWC. Yeah. Like think the GST stuff. GST. I was going to bring up the GST. I've man, I'm a big fan for sure. What does GS
James Stacy T stand for? It stands for like something gold, steel, titanium. Yeah, that's it. If I remember correctly, I could I could have that wrong. I don't think I do. No, I think that's don't ever seen a GSC in gold, to be fair. Maybe two tone. Uh, but definitely seen some in steel and some in titanium. I like the white dial one uh routra pont with the red seconds. Oh yeah. Yeah, you know the one I'm talking about? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, there's there's some great stuff out there, and I think that's a I think that's a fun, like, actionable place to end. You don't have to buy a Rolex to to be in this, you don't have to buy a Tiffany Patek to be in this. You can be in this and and show the same level of taste and consideration and the rest of it for considerably less amount of money, but no less nerd credit, no less appreciation at a at a meetup if you get to go to a red bar or something in the future. Uh yeah, I think there's I think there's a whole world of watches that are, you know, maybe 1988 to 2005 that really, really show some cool stuff, some high-end watchmaking and and some interesting stuff that you just don't you're not gonna see at the same level on Instagram or at a table at a watch event or or something like that. And I think Logan's uh Le Mann is is a kind of a great uh example of of some of the charm that's available out there if you step just outside the the normal four or five sort of walls that that are typically put up on the idea of being a budding watch collector or a successful watch collector. Probably four walls in that case. Break
Danny Milton out of the box. Could be a Pentagon. And I I I I'm I might add just as like a an extra bookend bookend to that is there's like a whole era prior to the sort of sexy sport watches that came out of the mid-1950s as well that are more of the dressy variety. We're talking about the advent of the Seamaster 300 and the submariners and all that, but right before that, you have this whole array of thirty-four millimeter, you know, watches that still have not that are totally attainable and uh affordable and out there and have all manner of you know good movements inside and mostly from Omega, but a ton of brands.
Logan Baker Best entry level vintage watch will always and forever be a nineteen fifties Omega Seamaster dress piece.
James Stacy Boom. Mic drop. Totally. I agree. I I don't I don't disagree that the the price is up on those, but not up insane compared to where they were a few years ago. There's like a a ton of different versions, so there's a lot you can dig in and learn. The Omega Forms are incredible resources and uh and and are totally readable and and can help you through that. And uh they can still be serviced. A competent watchmaker can keep one of those things running and they look great. Um, they don't feel too old or too small or anything. I think that's a great tip, Logan, for sure.
Logan Baker And I think I I should qualify that and say from like a major label brand, because we're gonna get a bunch of people coming in with all the the glycenes in the world and stuff like that
James Stacy . Hey, there's a there's no perfect, but that's a that's a fantastic suggestion. And and yeah, if you wanna if you wanna have a uh a brand that you can connect with a modern a current legacy uh I think it's uh Omega's a great option where you can have the the vintage charm but still kind of look at it and feel like you're part of something that's still kind of big and special today. Well cool guys. This has been as always uh really fun and uh and uh Danny super fun to hear about uh your hangout in Brookshield's kitchen. Cole, I'm so glad that you got a chance to go to Miami and check out an art. Um I assume you picked up some crypto and some NFTs and the rest. And so any moment you'll be on the moon and we won't have you as a colleague anymore. And you know what? That that's okay. That's the plan. We'll hang out on the yacht and drive the Lambo. Uh and finally, Logan, the uh super fun having you on to share the the new Laman. Uh congrats on that one. Always fun to uh to see the way that each of us kind of think about the next watch or the way that it reflects on on our other ones and these little avenues in the watch world that are kind of So uh guys, it's been a treat. Thanks so much for coming on. Thanks, James. Thank you, sir. All right. If you're enjoying the show, please tell a friend. Let us know in the comments if we miss something. That's usually what I'm pretty good at so go for it and if you're enjoying the show we'll have another episode in uh just a few days time so we'll chat to you then thanks a ton for listening