Marc and Aaron kick things off with Felix heading off to CSU, Marc’s continued inability to leave his Black Bay 58 on one strap for more than five minutes, and Aaron finally finding a 36-ish millimeter, 20mm-lug watch that doesn’t work for him. On the upside, after a solid ten days, he’s now firmly in the “titanium is cool” camp.
Then it’s The Blancpain Gambit. The 70th Anniversary Limited Edition Bathyscaphe is a beautiful watch with "one of the great seconds hands", but the leather strap, the price, and memories of the less expensive Hodinkee LE (from 2019) leave the guys scratching their heads. Maybe the answer is simple: it’s just not for them. Marc goes looking for less expensive watches that scratch the same itch, while Aaron figures he’d keep saving for a Fifty Fathoms (or buy a Seiko SJE093).
The new Speedmaster 38 gets the “need to see it on the wrist” treatment, although the black, no-date version is the early standout. Aaron may also have found the perfect watch in the upcoming Grand Seiko Evolution 9 Spring Drive U.F.A. SLGB015. There’s just the tiny matter of having to sell everything he owns and then some to get one. Not happening... but it does lead to an interesting exercise for Marc: what in the collection is truly safe, and what could actually go for the right watch?
Elsewhere, Aaron brings up the Doxa × Belmont Watches Sub 300 Beta “Frogger” and Ming’s wild new 57.05 “Comet” Worldtimer, including its clever daylight-saving-time trick and some lugs neither of them can get behind.
Finally, a mutual friend has managed to lose the “cap” from the crown of his Sinn T50 Goldbronze. That seems decidedly un-Sinn-like. His proposed solution of cutting his own grooves into the crown initially makes everyone gasp, but considering he’s a craftsman who regularly thrashes the watch in the ocean, it also somehow makes perfect sense. Updates to come. Probably.