Is there one thing about this new assortment of watches that was compelling to you?
Effectively, the reality is, as quickly as they stated Seiko Rowing Blazer, I am like, “I already know it’ll be good.” And if you happen to go Rowing Blazers, Eric Wind, Seiko, it is like, “I do not even want to have a look at it. I already know it’ll be nice.” And true sufficient, it is nice.
However I feel what attracts me is the Seiko heritage, which, in some ways, could be very Asian to me. This overachieving, underrated model. I do not know if there’s a greater analogy for being Asian in America. If you happen to go to the origins of Seiko, they have been attempting to beat the Swiss watchmaking trade when it comes to accuracy. And so they succeeded, to the purpose the place they brought about the quartz disaster by inventing the quartz motion.
And but they’re nonetheless, in some ways, just a little underrated as properly when you concentrate on watches. And I’ve had a Seiko since school and not too long ago I bought again into extra classic Seiko—the Bruce Lee watch is the perfect instance.
Was there a second whenever you grew to become an enormous watch collector? Did you simply have the one in school?
Yeah, I simply had a watch, however this goes once more to my level about Seiko. If you happen to knew nothing about watches, which is what I knew about watches in school, I nonetheless ended up getting a Seiko. If you happen to’re searching for a watch, interval, you gravitate in the direction of Seiko. This concept that, “Oh, here is one thing you by no means have to purchase a battery for. It will recharge in your hand.” And then you definitely begin searching for, “Effectively, I would like one thing with a day and a date for performance. I would like one thing that is simple to learn. I do not need one thing the place, if I lose it, it’ll be prohibitively costly. I’ll get mud on it.” Then every little thing leads you to Seiko.
In order that was what drew me to it in school—not realizing something about watches, simply doing primary analysis the way in which you’d analysis a blender or a vacuum cleaner. And then you definitely simply discover the one that everybody thinks is nice, and that is what led me to Seiko.
I wasn’t gathering watches then. However simply earlier than the pandemic, I used to be trying to get a watch as a result of I had been on The Every day Present for a pair years. My wardrobe was getting upgraded, however I used to be nonetheless carrying this watch I bought in my early twenties. It simply did not appear to suit anymore—it did not match what I used to be doing, what I used to be about, what I used to be attempting to say. I used to be searching for one thing that expressed who I used to be just a little extra precisely at that time in life. So I ended up getting one other watch, after which one factor led to a different. After which the following factor you already know you are watching John Mayer discuss [Audemars Piguet] at 3 a.m. on Hodinkee.