Beyond The Dial

Allen and David discuss their simultaneous breakthroughs in their personal collections, with David going deep on very specific vintage Seikos and Allen finally admitting that the Cartier Tank is his favorite watch of all time, and thus worthy of his full attention. David's keen distinction between watches one wears (the rotation) and those one collects (the collection) clarifies and focuses the whole endeavor of owning watches.

Times are crazy, and our watches can provide the steadiness we may be lacking. This is the second of Allen's horological meditations, and for this one he breaks out his Strat and improvises some spacey stuff with the hope of bringing a little escape.

For the most part, these are great watches, but Allen flipped them anyways. Often  Allen is raising funds and making room for something new, but he is also rolling up on a new collecting ethos - or two. Get a little rant about journalism and some frank talk about what does and doesn't float Allen's horological boat.

As Elvis once said, "Let's get way way gone for a change." Patina is an observable effect of entropy, or the ongoing disordering of the universe. Allen worms his way into this topic and comes out the other side concluding that patina is - not metaphorically, but actually - poetry. This episode offers a wild ride through quantum gravitational theory, information theory, phenomenonology, poetics, philosophy, and, of course, horology.

Allen's interview with Martha Roesler of The Coral Restoration Foundation covers the science of reefs, how recreational SCUBA divers can help them, how Oris has been supporting the CRF, and much more. Allen revamps his call to listeners to come together and make a trek to Florida to help plant corals, and the Oris x Beyond The Dial Essay Contest is announced.

Why do we focus on having just one personal style? Why do we fracture our communities endlessly into smaller and smaller tribes? How do our personal aesthetics signal tribal membership? Why is carbon fiber so divisive among watch wonks? Allen ponders these questions and more as his love for all things Italian, fast, and matchy-matchy surges after years of suppression.

Men's style writer and historian, Pedro Mendes, talks with Allen about watches, men's style, environmentalism, racial tension, gender, and so much more. You'll also get some amazing leads on where to look for your next bit of lifetime-lasting tailored garb.

Today, June 2nd 2020, is Blackout Tuesday. We are facing real and present dangers to our freedoms and to justice with an oppressive state, and any single person who benefits from the status quo is enjoying a luxury at the expense of those who suffer under the status quo. Allen stands in unity with his colleagues and friends who have foregone wrist shots for black squares on Instagram, and explores some ideas about how to move forward.

N. American CEO of ORIS Watches, VJ Geronimo, visits Allen at BTD HQ for a spirited discussion about the history of Oris, the company's environmental conservation efforts, the new Divers 65 made in collaboration with Japan's Momotaro Jeans...and much more. VJ's passion is contagious, and the rich history of Oris is fascinating.

What started as a cute aphorism has grown into a socio-economic theory. Allen works his way through the assumptions that make up this theory, drawing on personal memory, Marxist and Anarchist failures, Pan-Indigenous Environmentalism, and, of course, horological love. The goal? Nothing short of transforming Late Capitalism through our built-in human love of Beauty.