RSVP to Chicago Meetup on Saturday, April 13
RSVP to Chicago Meetup on Saturday, April 13
Hi all-
Thank you again for expressing interest in a Chicago meetup this spring! Right now, we are planning to have the meetup on Saturday, April 13. We’ll start with drinks at 4pm, followed by a casual dinner. Location is still TBD, but will likely be somewhere in the Loop or West Loop, close to the train stations so that it is accessible to both city and suburban travellers. I’ll do my best to find a private, secluded location so that our precious mechanicals are safe.
If you can make it, RSVP here (and feel free to share this link!)
In other news, we’re doing a giveaway: tell your friends to subscribe to this very newsletter by March 16 for a chance to win a Seiko SNK 807! Subscribe here.
The Best Dive Watches for Small Wrists
Searching for the best diver under 40mm
I love dive watches; I am also cursed with small wrists (6.5 to 6.75 inches depending on the day). These are two things that aren’t supposed to work together. Fortunately, the rising popularity in vintage watches has meant a boom in smaller modern watches, perfect for my diminutive circumference. As such, there are more dive watch options than ever for the modestly wristed.
The quintessential dive watch is the Rolex Submariner, but with a diameter of 40mm and quite the wrist presence (there’s just a certain Rolex shine, isn’t there?), it appears too big on most smaller wrists. So, this list will focus on dive watches under 40mm. Just as important is how thick the watch is. For example, I recently tried on a Tudor Black Bay (41mm); it didn’t even look that bad from above, but at almost 15mm thick, it felt and looked like a tuna can on my wrist — Seiko Tuna be damned.
Follow the link for the full list of divers, ranging from $50 to $5000.
That IWC Top Gun Chronograph Really is Fire. IWC released a lot of great pilot’s watches at SIHH this year — the Spitfire and Spitfire Chronograph among them being two of my favorite “everyday watches” from the entire show. But the sandy, ceramic Top Gun Chronograph is on another level. Read James Stacey’s take.
Swiss Watch Exports Stable in January After a Strong 2019. Swiss watch exports took advantage of a strong global economy throughout 2018 and had a particularly strong year. 2019 has started out more stable: exports grew just 0.2% in January— but that’s impressive when you consider exports grew more than 10% the January previous.
A Lot of People Have Opinion’s on Hodinkee’s Blue Alpinist. It’s sexy, but $600 of sexy? Well, the watch sold out in minutes (Hodinkee lemmings), so now you’ll find it for $1000 on eBay… lucky you. Read a bunch of WUS folks with some scorching hot takes here.
The Paul Newman Daytona in 2019
Okay, I can’t afford a Paul Newman Daytona, and it’s likely you can’t either. But, it’s a cool fucking watch, and if you’ve got a chronograph in your collection, it was likely inspired by the Daytona. 2018 was another banner year for the Rolex Paul Newman Daytona market. Pop culture awareness of the watch reached a fever pitch, with Pusha-T naming his critically-acclaimed album after his favorite watch, the Daytona, and Ellen DeGeneres wearing a stunning Ref. 6241 Paul Newman on her Netflix special “Relatable.” This all comes a year after Paul Newman’s Paul Newman sold for a record-breaking $17.8 million in October 2017. It’s the most expensive wristwatch ever sold at auction, and it’s a record that likely won’t be broken any time soon.
Read more about some of the Paul Newmans that sold at auction in the fall of 2018 at what’s in store for 2019.
100 years of Bauhaus: modern logos get a retro re-design. Fast Company on why we need to fix fast fashion. How social media platforms are “status as a service” businesses (hint: we’re status-seeking monkeys). How your wearable fitness tracker is actually holding you back. And your friendly reminder that North America is more than just US. Late to the train, but you have to watch Free Solo (stream for $5.99 on YouTube). Inside a Porsche Design Skyscraper.
Thanks for reading, and look for more Chicago get together information soon and remember to RSVP here!
Tony
Questions/comments/tips? Send them to:
rescapement@gmail.com, or DM @rescapement
Meme of the Week (a new section!):
from @rescapement (shameless self plug, but promise we won’t use ours every week).