Skip to content

The Grey NATO – 352 – Picking Birth Year Watches

Published on Thu, 06 Nov 2025 06:00:00 -0500

Synopsis

In this episode of The Graynado, hosts James Stacy and Jason Heaton discuss their upcoming travel plans - James to Geneva for watch events and Jason to California's Channel Islands for a diving expedition. They share updates on their TGN merchandise, including a new titanium side-click pen collaboration with Tactile Turn. The main topic revolves around dream "birth year watches" - timepieces manufactured in the year each host was born. For James (born 1986), his picks include a Rolex Sea-Dweller 16660, an ana-digi watch like the Citizen Aqualand, and an unrealistic dream pick - the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak QP. For Jason (born 1970), his choices include the Heuer Monaco, a Doxa Sub 200 T-Graph, and a Seiko 6139 chronograph. They also select birth year watches for each other: James picks a Tudor Oyster Date Chronograph for Jason, while Jason selects a Porsche Design by IWC Ocean 2000 for James.

Transcript

Speaker
James Stacy Hello and welcome to another episode of The Graynado. It's a loose discussion of travel, adventure, diving, driving gear, and most certainly watches. This is episode 352, and it's proudly brought to you by the always-growing TGN supporter crew. We thank you all so much for your continued support, and if you're listening and would like to support the show, please visit thegraynado.com for more details.
Jason Heaton my name is james stacy and i'm joined as ever by my friend and co-host jason heaton jason how are we doing uh i'm doing pretty well it's a it's a busy week i think it's a busy week for both of us we've got um we've got a uh even busier week next week although you're leaving well this afternoon so we're we're hustling to get a few things recorded this week but uh yeah i'm gone all next week and kind of preoccupied with prepping for that but uh yeah other than that doing fine how are you
James Stacy I'm okay. Like you said, very busy. Feels kind of frantic these days. I'm headed to Geneva. Not really last minute, but the trip came up with less of a planning phase than I would be used to. So going to Geneva for some, I was originally going to be there just for some stuff with a brand that I probably can't name at the moment, but you'll see the watch soon. in a little while. And then that trip kind of extended to also include everything going on in Geneva over the next, you know, two weeks or so between the auctions and GPHT and that sort of thing. So going in to do a handful of things and hang out with my guy. Andy Hoffman and that sort of thing. So definitely busy. Definitely still need to pack. I leave in a few hours, you know, just just kind of putting those things together. But yeah, so we're recording this episode as we normally would on a Tuesday. And then we're actually going to record next week's episode, which has a guest. So there won't be as much like idle chit chat catch up. We'll have to save that for the week that I'm home and the week that you're back, which would be three, five, four. So hopefully that's not too confusing, but should be a couple of good episodes. I'm excited for this one. It's sort of a topic that I've had written down for a while to try and figure out a way to kind of talk about this. dream options for birth year watches maybe i don't know what direction you went if you tried to keep it realistic to the way that you and i buy watches i kind of have a list and not all them are all that realistic so it's it's it's a lot of fun uh to kind of think about but uh speaking of fun stuff we also you know spoke about it on last week's episode with ed jelly but we have uh the continued pre-order for the tgn uh side click pen aka the cpn1 with tactile turn So if you missed it last week, we have announced and launched a month-long pre-order for a titanium Cerakote laser engraved, very cool, very TGN-y sort of pen. We partnered with Tactile Turn and Stay Calm Industries. Our friend Evan helped design this camo that we used for the box of the CWN1, the CWC watch that we did earlier this year. or delivered earlier this year. And we wanted to use that camo again, and Tactile Turn was interested in doing a pen. So it's a titanium side-click pen with a Cerakote finish, and then it has some orange accents, including this sort of camo pattern designed into the clip. I'm really excited about this. I think it's quite a cool thing. I just got an update from Ed, bless you, Ed, about the number of... and I think we might actually have more pens than watches. Wow. So if you're in the market for a very high-end, very cool, very fun, obviously podcast-themed pen, be sure to check it out. I'm really pumped to get my hands on one. I've shipped mine to family members that we're seeing over Thanksgiving, so that's going to be a great time. And the pens will basically be delivered as they're ordered, so it is a pre-order that's active now and will go until November 30th. but Tactile Turn is making these pens, and we'll start shipping them. So if you got your order in pretty quickly, you know, the Slack had a week extra, they'll start to see those pens hopefully pretty soon. So that's all pretty exciting, and a huge thank you to, obviously, Ed, who was on last week's show chatting about all sorts of things, but also to Tactile Turn for making it possible. Pretty fun.
Jason Heaton Yeah, it is fun. I mean, I feel like, you know, you mentioned the watch from earlier this year and then the pen. And then, of course, we've got the regular TGN merch, the, you know, the Ludvigson Explorer collection, which is continuing to kind of briskly sell. You know, we've got mugs and jigsaw puzzles and hoodies and caps and that sort of thing. It's like... We're slowly building out the TGN EDC category. I mean, next up, who knows what it'll be. Maybe it's a pocket knife or maybe it's a backpack or something, but don't hold your breath.
James Stacy A custom colorway of the Oclip flashlight would be cool. Oh, yeah. I've definitely photoshopped all the stuff like that. The green one I have is awesome. I believe Olight will do logos and things like that. I'm not sure that's necessarily the direction we would go, but it could be kind of cool. Right now, I think we are rotten with merch options. In the best way possible, Chocoblock would be a nicer way of saying it. We've got a lot. If you're looking for a new hat, a sweatshirt, a t-shirt... a jigsaw puzzle, a mug. We've got you covered there. And if you're looking for the last pen that you need, at least within the perspective of the Grenado, Tactile Turn has you covered. So hit the show notes for some links to all that kind of stuff. It's a fun... It feels like a lot going on at the moment, but it's nice to be able to work with some solid partners. And the stuff from Matt Ludvington has just been great. And same for Evan at Stay Calm. It's nice to have people because... Jason and I are not designers. We really aren't. We're kind of only good at two or three things. And we pretend the rest and have buddies that are actually good at it. And that's how these things kind of go, whether it's pens or t-shirts or that sort of thing.
Jason Heaton Before we move on, I'll just mention I'm out next week. This is the trip I've been talking about for a while. I'll be out on the boat in the Channel Islands off the California coast in the Pacific. I have to admit, it's been a while. I haven't actually been scuba diving other than a lake dive in July since my Philippines trip back in February. I'm a little... I feel like I got to, you know, blow off the dust here and get my gear sorted this week and get the camera gear all set up and test it out and get my dive gear packed and that sort of thing. So it's, uh, I'm excited to get out there and have a, have a proper kind of five day adventure living on the boat out there in the Pacific with a really group of, a group of great divers and friends that I've gotten to know over the past couple of years. So excited for that. It does make for a busy, busy week beforehand with all of our recordings and packing and just buttoning things up because we're both gone next week.
James Stacy Yeah, busy time, as it should be. I mean, look, you've got to have busy seasons to be able to appreciate the rest, or that's what I keep telling myself. But yeah, I think it should be a lot of really good stuff. I might even get a dive in in Switzerland, but I can't speak more about that at the moment. I am taking my mask and the oceanic camera case just in case something pans out. So we'll see if that works out. I would be thrilled to get underwater because it's been even longer for me. I haven't been under since we were in Costa Rica. You know, just with Sarah getting pregnant and then the baby coming, it's not a time to be doing a lot of diving. But yeah, we've got some of that kind of stuff on the horizon, which is pretty good. And then I assume, I can only assume that you'll be wearing a 50 Fathoms for your trip. But what have you got on today?
Jason Heaton Today I went with the arch enemy of the 50 Fathoms. I'm wearing my old trusty Rolex Submariner. I pulled that out a couple of days ago and... clicked it on and it's, you know, it's like a favorite old pair of shoes, which of which I have several pairs of those too, that I, you know, some that I don't wear. And then you put them on and you're like, yeah, I remember why I really liked these shoes. And that's the case with this watch. And so that's what I'm wearing.
James Stacy That's great. Yeah. Good, good pick for sure. Uh, and for me this week, just with some travel, I I'm going to have the Nomos with me. I'm still really enjoying it, but I, for whatever reason, I was kind of tinkering around in the watch box and And I felt a really strong pull to the Longines Spirit Zulu, the Hodinkee Limited Edition. And I've been wearing it all morning, and it's definitely coming with me. It's nice to be able to rep an LE when we're in town, and I think this is such a good watch. Yeah, it's funny. The more I wear it, the more this is maybe one of the stronger candidates in my entire watch box for a one-watch option. It's light. It's just kind of classy and elegant enough with these little details and applied, you know, white metals and things like that to feel almost dressy, like not super, not as sporty as, say, my Explorer 2. And then, yeah, I would say the only thing that I would change on this entire watch, which is really quite remarkable. Sometimes I think about this when I'm, you know, writing about or, you know, kind of surveying the watches that I'm fortunate enough to kind of own or have at a given time is like, what would I change about it? Yeah. And I think the only thing I would change is I wish I had a micro adjust in the bracelet, which I don't believe they offered it at the time that we made this watch. And if they did, they didn't in titanium.
Unknown Yeah.
James Stacy It's also one of the few watches where I never really questioned leaving it on the bracelet. I've worn it on a NATO for sure and that kind of thing. And it's great, but I do really like the bracelet and it's, you know, being titanium, it's now got like a good host of scratches and really looks like mine on the clasp. So good stuff. Solid watch.
Jason Heaton Yeah, it is a, it is a good one. Yeah. And I, it's one that I forget you have. And then, and despite the fact that it's one of your favorites, it's a, it's a beauty. Cool. Good choice. Absolutely. All right. Well, speaking of watches, um, interesting main topic, and I think it's going to be a popular episode because, uh, birth year watches are something that come up a lot. You know, if you're, if you're a watch nerd and inevitably at some point you will come across this idea of a birch birth year watch and potentially even be seeking one for yourself.
James Stacy I have to say, like, I don't have a birth year watch, or at least I've never bought one intentionally from, I was born in 1986. I've never bought one intentionally from a year, like as, oh, this would be my birth year watch. It just hasn't lined up that way for me. It has for my children. You know, I've thought about that and when they were born and what watches I either owned at the time, which maybe wouldn't count as a birth year watch, but it was the watch I wore maybe at their birth or, you know, for the first year of their life or that sort of thing. to keep some sort of format for this, to keep it from just a scenario where James rambles on for the majority of the episode. Um, we're going to go with kind of each of us is going to pick three ish watches that we highlighted as like interesting things that could be a birth year watch for us. And that could be a watch that was announced, I guess the year that we were born, but that's more difficult, more a watch that would be, it would have been possible to walk into a store and get it and have a a receipt or a warranty card dated to the year you were born. I think that's the, the kind of conventional, uh, setup behind it. Um, so Jason, I, like I said, I kind of went all over the map with these. I've got some stuff that's very unrealistic, which is kind of fun. Uh, but when I, when I think of watches from the mid eighties, there's a couple that really leaped to mind for me. That would be like a very cool thing to have as a, as a birth year watch. But yeah, Why don't you kick it off with one of yours?
Jason Heaton Yeah, sure. My birth year was 1970, and it was really fertile ground at that time for some pretty interesting watches. There was a lot happening in watches back then. We're just a year out from the very first... um, automatic chronographs, automatic, you know, self winding chronographs were a year out from the introduction of the, the courts, kind of the courts watch, um, you know, from Seiko, the Astron that came out in 69. Um, and then just some, you know, some pretty iconic kind of legendary dive watches that came out in that, at that timeframe too. So my. I had kind of some hard choices to make. I'm going to start with a really left field one, a really kind of one that you probably wouldn't associate with me, but to me it really speaks of the era and was a watch that I've never kind of lusted after, so to speak, but for some reason it feels appropriate. And that is the Hoyer Monaco.
James Stacy Oh, okay. Yeah, I didn't expect that at all. Yeah. For a very split second there, I was worried you were going to pick the watch that I picked for you. There's still a chance of that. Who knows? You might still. But yeah, the Monaco. Have you ever owned a Monaco?
Jason Heaton I've never owned a Monaco. I don't think I've ever... You know, I feel like I used to know somebody that had one, and I remember trying one on, like a vintage one. And it was pretty cool. It's definitely a different feel from anything else I've worn. It's a really different kind of watch on the wrist. It wears funny. It's square. It kind of feels smallish, but not too small. And it's kind of fascinating to just look at. And I think that I love the shade of blue that they used on the dial on those. And it was just such a... such an interesting piece not only was it an early um self-winding chronograph you know one of the earliest but um i believe from what i read a long time ago was it was one of the first kind of square watches that had kind of any semblance of water resistance because to make a square uh gasket system that could you know keep water out was it was fairly difficult so Um, just a lot going on with that watch and, and yeah, I mean, old Hoyers are just cool. And I, I think, uh, I think a 1970 Hoyer Monica would be a pretty sweet, you know, birth year watch. And I, you know, I don't know what kind of fictional scenario we're cooking up, whether or not it's like something our parents would have bought the year we were born to commemorate, or if it's something we seek out now to kind of harken back, but you know, that's beside the point.
James Stacy I kind of went just with what I think would be a really good birthday watch. You know what I mean? Like a birth year watch. But I really love the Monaco for you. That's a cool one. And it's a very 1970 watch. Yeah. Which I like quite a bit. Yeah, they wear kind of unlike anything else. They have almost no lug, but they sit up quite pronounced. And I find that in my experience, I always enjoyed them better if I was taking them off someone's wrist that it was a very well-worn watch because the strap would be much more ready for your wrist. The ones where you would borrow it or see one at a press event or at a Baselworld or whatever. They always kind of, the strap was stiff and would lift one edge of the watch off my kind of bony wrist, which was never really my favorite. But I think on the right strap, they're really quite cool. And they're certainly of an era and have persisted, which I think is always kind of a fun thing in the watch world.
Jason Heaton Yeah, and just to close this one out, I mean, I think that was kind of my guiding principle when I chose these three watches for my birth year was to choose watches that were very distinctively emblematic of that year. And I think you'll see with the other two that I picked too that they're in a similar vein. So anyway, Monaco's my first pick. Now it's your turn.
James Stacy Yeah, that's great.
Jason Heaton You got from 86. There's some interesting stuff happening then too.
James Stacy Yeah, for sure. And I think with this first one, I just had to be true to myself. I'm not sure that this represents the most interesting watch cutting edge to the idea of 86 because it actually came out in 78. Oh, wow. But you could have bought a Sea-Dweller 666, a 16660 in 1986. And if I was to go back today and be like, oh, I'd like to buy a birthday watch and have... no interest in selling it unless my life you know fell apart and i really needed the money to survive yeah this would be the first watch that would come to my mind oh yeah i absolutely love the the sea dweller and when you when you get to the 16 660 it's right in that zone of being old enough to to represent like a vintage Rolex to a certain extent, but still very modern. In many ways, what I like about a 16570, of course, the 16570 ran for a very long time, and I have a very late example, which is nice for my uses. But yeah, it's the aluminum bezel. It's the 4,000-foot water resistance. It's the look. Essentially, it's the look of a 1406OM with just a little nod to... just a type of Rolex that I don't think quite exists anymore. Yeah. You know what I mean? This idea of like, it was their kind of flagship pro model, but it was the same size. It was thicker. It was a little bit more bulky to wear. And there's just, for me, there's nothing quite like the name Sea-Dweller. Yeah. It's so good. And Rolex has a lot of great names. They have some silly names, of course, too. And I think even on a recent Q&A, we talked about some great kind of naming conventions and dead names in the watch world, like model names. For me, Sea-Dweller will always be kind of the one for me. And I'm not in a position to afford one. I wasn't when they were cheaper, and I'm not now. That's just the reality of the scenario. But I adore these watches. I think that they straddle that line of like, the professional rolex in such a cool way um and and you know you could be very great you know in in the mid 80s you could go with a fat lady uh you know gmt2 those are very cool but if i'm gonna go with a bigger case it's got to be something cool like a like a sea dweller for me
Jason Heaton Yeah, that's a good pick. And very you. We've talked about them in the past. We're both big fans. I mean, I just think it is the most niche of the niche kind of origin stories for a watch. And just they're just so cool. And, you know, across a room, someone might mistake it for a submariner. But then, you know, it's just it's just got those little differences and and the backstory and then that great name. Yeah, that's a that's a really good pick. That's so. I actually had Seed Dweller on my list for 1970 as well. Because they came out in 67.
James Stacy Oh, 1665. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, for sure. And in 70, you could have had a double red. Exactly, yeah, right. Because you could kind of, if you wanted to bend the numbers, you could probably find a... like a great white, a late generation 1665 for 86. Although I think that's a little bit disingenuous. It's a very cool watch. And I think that's, that's that line between like with the, with the four digit, that's a real vintage one and they're so cool. But I wanted to be as accurate as possible. And I think, Like my earliest memory of Rolex was a cousin that I had that had a double red. Oh, wow. Geez. I hope he still has it. I'm not sure that he still has it. I'm not sure that he ever knew what it was worth. He definitely didn't at the time. It was his daily watch. It was just this very cool old Rolex. And for me, like being kind of young and seeing Sea-Dweller and knowing that it was expensive. And of course, at the time, a double red was... nothing like what it would have been in the last five years, especially had it been in really good condition and that sort of thing. But yeah, the Seedweller, man, it's just... It makes me think of your story with Bob Barth, Seedwellers. It makes me think of Sea Lab. It makes me think of... just great like rolex exceptionalism in tool watches yeah and there's something kind of not luxury not luxury positioned about the sea dweller yeah which which i like as well they're just you know maybe you probably won't see them as commonly i certainly don't and you get this little nod of like oh no cyclops that that's something else yeah cool thing yeah good call
Jason Heaton Well, I'm going to follow that up with, uh, with another iconic diver from 1970. Um, that would have been right alongside sea dwellers, uh, probably professional divers. And that is, uh, that's a watch actually that I own. Um, the docs, uh, sub 200, uh, T graph. Okay. Um, and the one that I own, you know, I've told the story many times written about it, et cetera, but I, I actually, uh, bought it from a guy, um, who actually bought it in 1970 when he was, I believe he was 18 and he was getting his dive certification down in Illinois. And, uh, he went to a dive shop, uh, with his freshly minted Patty card and, and bought this T graph and it. If there's any watch that would rival the Monaco for that era's styling, it would be these early Doxes. The T-Graph is just such a quirky, specific, weird watch. You take the Doxa format, which we know and love, which is just so quirky and, again, so purpose-made with that... big sawtooth bezel with the dual set of markings, the no deco table, um, the oversized minute hand, the expanding clasp on the bracelet, um, you know, and then you make it into a two register chronograph with big blocky, um, sweep hand and the, and the kind of alternating color ring around the sub dials. And I mean, it's just, it's just such a fascinating, neat watch and, and one that I love owning, but you know, again, I'm, I'm, I'm happy to have it, but that, So it's a bit of a cheat to pick it because I already have one. But for 1970, it's just such a cool watch. So that's my pick.
James Stacy I think the other thing that's interesting about the Doxa and going into a dive store and buying it is it's the equivalent today of someone who's really into diving buying a Descent. Yeah, yeah. To a certain extent, like the descent won't last as long, but it obviously does so much more. But like, you know, you look at what the pricing is, it was a premium product in the dive space, which I'm sure the Doxa would have been considered as well, especially going with a T-Graph instead of a, you know, a 300 or something like that. Yeah, just in my mind, the guys that were buying these are the people today who wouldn't even look at... because it doesn't do what they need. They need it to be a tool for diving. And obviously, all of the sort of math and the positioning of these things has changed. But in some way, that's what that is. It's, you know, you went in and bought a descent or whatever, and you might have gone a different route. And maybe even if you're a professional diver... and would have looked at something like a Sea-Dweller, today you might go, well, no, I need the Descent because it's the watch I can wear all day and it's also the one I can take diving for my job or whatever, right? Yeah. Not that many professional divers, but probably...
Jason Heaton in some you know a very similar existence to what it was previously just more technology yeah yeah yeah i love i love imagining that that scenario of you know a diver being like oh i need a quote-unquote dive computer you know something to track my time i was told i need a watch you know i'm gonna go to the dive shop and buy one it's just i love that idea
James Stacy Yeah, you know, you've got your, you know, we were talking about Gruins yesterday. You've got your kind of casual, maybe a Boulevard or something like that. And you go, well, I need this one. This one, I need something with the bezel or chronograph or that sort of thing. And you went and bought the tool one that maybe you didn't even, maybe some of these guys didn't even wear it all the time because it was too big and chunky. And the style at the time when you weren't diving might have been the Boulevard or whatever, right? Yeah. Right.
Unknown Yeah.
James Stacy Yeah. Funny, funny times. Yeah. All right. Yeah. That's it. That's a good one. I can't, uh, I can't, uh, I got nothing to say, but good stuff for, uh, for the, the Doxa. And I, when I was picking a watch for you, I had, uh, I had considered a few interesting Doxas and then when the, the, the chance of an overlap here is too high and I had to, I had to back out. So my, my next one, I do want to, I want to offer, uh, three options that I can't pick between, but they're all the same idea loosely. 1985, a big year for anti-digi watches. The UDT is already on the market. The Aerospace is now on the market. And the Aqualand is on the market. And I need one of those three. Probably the Aqualand. Yeah. Because I've owned the UDT or the Breitling-based UDT that I own has proven to be not all that reliable. Yeah. And I've owned an aerospace and I absolutely adore it, but I do like the functionality and the wearability of the Aqualand, especially because I think that I would wear the Sea-Dweller in a scenario where I might also wear the Aqualand. Is there some overlap between something like an Aqualand and a Sea-Dweller? Sure, they're both kind of like... totally overbuilt dive watches, but talk about two different philosophies of the same similar sort of idea. So yeah, maybe, maybe a COO 23. But you know, if we, if we recorded this three hours from now, I might lean towards the, towards the, the Breitling. I just, you know, I have such a love of anti-digi watches and they really hit a stride like a year before I was born. Yeah. Yeah. And not being that big of a G-Shock guy, like for me, the G-Shock that I wear is the Aqualand or an Ironman. And Ironman for me really kicked off in the early 90s when you had the Indiglo. So if I'm going to have a digital screen that doesn't have a backlight and could be a birthday watch, yeah, it'd be something like either a very early Aerospace or a very early Aqualand. I understand that we should be picking a specific, but I wanted to offer a broader spectrum because I just I love these watches so much. Yeah.
Jason Heaton Yeah. No, I, I, I'm not going to give away my list, but, uh, I will scratch the Aqualand off, but, uh, Anadigi is, you know, I think it's a must for you and just for that era. It's just, it's so important. It was so important to that time.
James Stacy Yeah. Yeah. All right. Uh, your third and final, before we get into the ones we picked for each other. Yeah. All right.
Jason Heaton Well, going with, you know what, I've got, I've picked three chronographs. Look at that. Um, this one, I'm, I wonder if I'm in trouble here. I'm pulling from Japan. I've got a Seiko 6139. I'm safe.
James Stacy I had a 6139 on the list and I trimmed it. I found something else I'm really excited about. All right, we're good. Keep going.
Jason Heaton 6139. Arguably, again, the endless debate about who came out with the first self-winding chronograph in 69. Word has it that Seiko beat them all, beat the Swiss to it, but who knows. But 6139, I think I'm going to go with the yellow dial. It's been called the Pogue because it was worn by an astronaut, William Pogue, in space. I had one of these for a while on a bracelet that I bought from local chap, John Iwata, our firefighter friend here in the Twin Cities. I wore that for a few years and passed that one on. Yeah, just again, a watch that really is of that era. Like when I look at the T-Graph and the Monaco and a 6139, there is no doubt when you look at those watches, you know, the era from which they came. I mean, especially like the Seiko with the wild color choices, you know, the red and blue bezel combined with a kind of gold... shimmering dial and then the Monaco with a square case and the blue dial and the T-Graph with its weird shape and funky markings. I just felt like I just really wanted to lean into the 1970-ish of this rather than go with something like a Speedmaster, which would have been a good pick as well because of the active Apollo program at the time and the use of them. But yeah, that's my third and final choice, Seiko.
James Stacy 6-1-3-9. Great choice. Great choice. Glad I was able to dodge this one. And I think I picked the remaining 70s chronograph. I mean, to be fair, late 60s chronograph because of when it came out. But... Uh, I think, I think, I hope you'll be happy. I think you'll be happy. And it's a watch that I kind of, I'm surprised that, uh, at least to my knowledge, you haven't owned. So we'll see. All right. So for my third, this is where I'm going to have to ask you to suspend some reality. Um, this is one of my favorite all time watches of, of ever. One of my favorite watches I've ever spent time researching and writing about. I will never own one. The cheapest one I could ever find, I would have been in high school, and it sold at Sotheby's for about $10,000. Today, it's a six-figure proposition, but this would be just, I think, one of the coolest versions of the coolest watch and an interesting story in terms of timing in the watch industry. It's an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak QP, and it is the 25654BA. So that's yellow gold with the white dial, a Mark I or Mark II dial. I'm not that picky. I wouldn't be. These came out roughly in 1983 as a 5554 and then slowly evolved from there. By 86, they were into the model they would make the most of. which is the, uh, two, five, six, five, four. So this is the size of a jumbo. It's 39 by about eight millimeters, um, and has a full perpetual calendar. Uh, I've had, um, I've never even tried one on that fit my wrist. I've had one on my wrist that was probably a link or two, too small. Uh, and I just think these are, these are incredibly cool watches. If you think back, uh, or look back into the early eighties, and this is something I cover in this big story I wrote about them a while ago, uh, Um, there's at least an argument to be made depending on the timing framing window that you made that this was the only serially produced QP in the world offered in steel at the time. Uh, so I, I wouldn't go steel. I would be going, you know, this would have been, I guess. outside the timing window of something from Patek. But I like the yellow gold a lot. I kind of like all of them to be fair, but I like the yellow gold a lot. And like I said, it's a totally unrealistic option. It's one of these watches that will remain a dream, probably not even a grail because I think typically a grail is maybe something you think you could get to at some point. I don't know that I would be comfortable spending the kind of money, even if I had it on a watch of any caliber at that with that price tag. But I do really I get excited every time I saw one in London, you know, two weeks ago and I got pretty excited. I just think they're very cool things. I love the story behind them. I love the design. The QP, if you read my story, is such an important thing to the early days of AP. The original ones that they made only 12 of that are hugely collectible, very cool, beautiful watches. And to see them start off when they start to explore complication in this very thin, very difficult to manufacture watch in the Royal Oak, they went right to the QP. And I like that way of thinking. And I like that it's not a traditional jumbo with a... The thing you see more often, right?
Jason Heaton Yeah, yeah. No, I think I kind of had a feeling you'd have an AP in here. And when you said that you're kind of suspending reality a little bit, I kind of thought that might be the direction you're going. And I think that's a good choice for you. And I think that's a serious birth of your flex if you scored one of those.
James Stacy Yeah, yeah, yeah. This would have had to have been like... Yeah, yeah, exactly. This would have to have been the gentleman or the person who bought the watch in 2001 or whatever happened to be a long-distance relative, and I was bequeathed the watch, and that's how I ended up with one. That would be the only way that I could really build a fiction where I end up with this watch. You may be listening to this and go, that's not a very TGN watch. You're right. But I think of it like I think of cool vintage sports cars. It's such a neat thing. It's from a very specific time. And man, to have the Sea-Dweller, an Aqualand, and the QP Royal Oak, that's a trio right there. All right, let's get into the picks we made for each other. Should I go first or would you like to go first? You can go first. Yeah, you're on a roll here. Let's see. I hope it's an AP or something. It's not an AP, but like I said, it is kind of a watch I'm surprised you, or at least to my knowledge, you haven't owned, but I don't believe you've owned one. It came out in 1970. That was my, I really wanted to thread the needle and get like a watch that came out the same year that you did. And this is the Tudor Oyster Date Chronograph. The first year was 1970. I believe that I would probably prefer a 7032, which is the steel bezel. But for you, I picked a 7031, which is the black bezel. I think these are among the coolest watches out there. At the time, they were 40 millimeters and oversized in a world where, you know, the Daytona at the time was 36, 37 millimeters, something like that. I have a huge love for the way that these age, the gray dials, the orange accents, all that kind of thing. And, you know, the the the screw down pushers there, they have this chunkiness to them in photos and then you see them in person and they're actually quite svelte and kind of light on the wrist and feel like a proper vintage watch. I just think these are super cool.
Jason Heaton I think that would be one that I would accept from you if you're willing to send it over. Yeah, that's great. I mean, yeah, I've looked at so many kind of old, you know, Daytonas are just so out of reach that, you know, so many of the Tudor chronographs kind of live in their shadow, but have obviously crept up in value and renown. But I just think... You know, my love of Tudor runs deep, of course. And yeah, that's a great pick. And I love that you stuck with a chronograph. I think that's kind of my jam. I've realized I'm a chronograph guy.
James Stacy I wanted to, you know, obviously you're a chronograph guy. I think that's well established. But I think I also like this watch being 1970. I think even more, well, maybe the Doxa. It's at least in the top half of the four watches for you in terms of how good it would look on a Bund. Yeah, yeah, totally. Like this Tudor on a Bund, up to you if you might go my direction and prefer the steel bezel. I'm obviously a sucker for steel bezels, especially on older watches. I like the way that they degrade over time. The black ones look super clean and really even more sort of Rolex-y. But yeah, I just think these are great looking watches. Really cool. What a handsome thing.
Jason Heaton Love it. All right. There you go. Good one. All right. You're welcome. Well, I'll wait till you get to mine. All right. This is the, I'm, I literally, while you were talking, I was scrambling to confirm that this was available and still in production in 86. And it was, so I'm really pleased because I was going to go with an aerospace. I just felt like, I mean, it's gotta be a Breitling aerospace because they were introduced in like 85, but, um, and the Aqualand was a no brainer, but you picked that. And I don't feel like you're an H558 Arnie Seiko guy necessarily. I could see you wearing one. I think you'd like it. But, like, anyway. They're cool. Let's set those aside and skip to the chase here. All right. 1986 Porsche designed by IWC Ocean 2000.
Unknown Oh, yeah.
Jason Heaton Yeah. Oh, good pick. Yeah. I wanted to go, you know, I associate kind of 86 with kind of that era of dwindling choices when it comes to good mechanical stuff, kind of high-end stuff, other than kind of what's left over from an earlier era. It felt like such a time for quartz and for the anti-digi stuff. And I really wanted to get something, you know, pick something for you that was... You know, something like this. And this is just such a, I mean, come on, this is such a legendary watch. It's so capable. It's so neat and such a cool design. I mean, Porsche design, I was reading up on this briefly here in the past few minutes, produced from 82 until I believe 88 or the early 90s. So this watch had a decent run and it was originally commissioned by, I think, you know, Porsche design made this and then the... The German military actually wanted a slightly different version of it, so they made one for them too. But this watch on that cool, smooth, articulated bracelet that you could also fit a big long Velcro strap on. They're so neat. They're so minimalist.
James Stacy Dude, even the case back of these watches is cool.
Jason Heaton Yeah, I'm looking at one that's for sale on Analog Shift that looks pristine and it's just got some beautiful photography and it's just... What's the price? It is still for sale for $74.50. I mean, that's...
James Stacy I don't know what we can get a 7031 for, but these are so cool, man. Great pick. Yeah, I'd wear this for sure. Also, whatever this version is, the one that you just sent me, and we'll include it in the show notes. So the buy IWC is so cute. down because it's just this Porsche design because they made a bunch of different versions of these just like the the handset and kind of dial layout is the same on all of them yeah but there's little tweaks across the generations these are so cool and the titanium and that very smooth kind of pebble in the way that the the dials kind of aged out yeah this is gorgeous yeah yeah what a cool thing yeah great pick that's fun
Jason Heaton All right. That was a lot of fun. Hey, man, happy birthday. Yeah. Oh, man.
James Stacy Yeah. We'd be sitting pretty with those picks. For sure, yeah. I'd be thrilled with literally any of them. I think someday I will. I'll find my way to a 16-6-60 if I can. I think I would enjoy it. I think it would be a keeper. you know one of those things i should have jumped on when i first got into watches but i didn't have have thousands of dollars let alone what they are now right yeah uh cool things though for sure and and i think a great opportunity to to also see what everyone else would pick for their birth birth year watch in the slack i think it could be a really good kind of thread um and also sometimes you know on the slack it's you don't know how old people are right so we'll you know we'll get some we'll get some intelligence yeah from uh from yeah exactly right See how far back we go. Yeah, right. I think that could be a really good one. So, yeah, we'll get a thread going on Thursday or Friday on the Slack so we can all kind of trade birth year watches. And look, I would also love to know, like, if you were listening and hoping for a certain watch from 1970 or a certain watch from 1986, let us know. Let us know what we missed. Let us know what we've talked, you know, what we've talked up or what you think we would have liked that we forgot about. Because you can't... I didn't even come across the Ocean 2000 Porsche design when I was kind of researching for 86. So that's a fun one. I'm delighted by that for sure.
Jason Heaton Yeah, I mean, I don't want to go on about this, but that era was such a strong era for IWC, and it was just before the GST line came out. And they were still really strong at that point. I mean, I think they were still doing the kind of IWC stuff that we both love. So I was pleased to pull that one out of my hat. But, uh, yeah, some fun stuff. Yeah. All right. Well, should we move into some final notes? Yeah, let's do it. Uh, you've got a great one for yours. So why don't you kick it off? Sure. Yeah. Um, you know, I've been following the kind of the progress of this one on Instagram for, for quite a while. I mean, over a year at least, if not longer, but, um, filmmaker named Ben Bertucci released a documentary called One of One and it's about this small multi-generation family-run automotive engineering business in a restoration business in Tokyo called Naito N-A-I-T-O Naito Automotive and uh it's it's it's a for one thing it's a beautifully shot film uh it's on apple tv and it wasn't released that long ago just a few weeks and um beautifully shot gorgeous cars um you'd know more about specific references but there's a there's a 250 gto in there there's a porsche an lm In LM, there's a Porsche, what is it, a 917 or a 906 or something, one of these. I think it's a 904 or 906. 904 or 906. You know, there's just this, you know, there's some cool 911s in there. There's, you know, an old Mini. There's just... This family that runs Naito dates back to just the post-war years when the patriarch of this lineage started tinkering with cars and fixing cars for American servicemen. And then he decided, I'm going to go to the US and start kind of buying some cars and shipping them back to Japan. And he did that and opened his own garage. And then his sons kind of stepped in and he's had this kind of workshop foreman who's been with him almost the entire time. This kind of old guy who's worked there forever. And what I love about it is... It's a very quiet film. It's a very contemplative. There's some beautiful music and obviously some great sounds from the cars and what they make. But kind of the craftsmanship that comes with the restoration of a car, you see these guys working and you picture different... scenarios for how auto restoration or repair goes and it's sometimes it can be kind of a loud endeavor this this feels very contemplative and very quiet even when these guys are working you know Bertucci points out in kind of the narration or the voiceover that you know these guys they kind of get to work and they really don't talk all day unless they have to they're just kind of working at their tasks rebuilding these beautiful cars. And this isn't a place that you can just drive up to and say, hey, I need an oil change or whatever. Apparently, they choose their clients. They seek out who they want to work with. And not in a snobby way. They just have limited... resources and facilities and they work out of this tiny garage that they've been in forever just off of a side street with an outdoor lift and a really crowded indoor space um i don't know it's just it's it's a gorgeous movie and and one that i would like to actually watch a second time any day now there it's just it's really nicely done so one of one on apple tv
James Stacy Yeah, you texted me and sorted a few other people that this was out. Obviously, I've followed Ben Bertucci on Instagram for some time. And then I've also followed NATO's account for probably the last couple of years. So I was aware of sort of the aesthetic of the shop and a couple of the kind of cars that are around. They're really like kind of banner cars and that sort of thing. And it's been on my radar that this was eventually coming. And then I get a text message from you saying like, hey, this is pretty good. And it's on my list to possibly watch as early as my flight this evening. I've just been too slammed to kind of get into things. And then, I don't know, you get into the evening when I would normally sit down, I just fall asleep. So I'm hoping to get into it as early as this evening or certainly while I'm traveling. over the next little while. Looks like a great one and definitely a very cool shop and something that I think a lot of people have tried to be the ones to tell the story at a broader level. I think, you know, it's a story that has been pitched for Hodinkee magazines in the past and that sort of thing. So I'm really excited to see how this came together and take a look at it. So very cool. Some fantastic cars, of course.
Unknown Yeah.
James Stacy All right. What do you have? Mine is a music recommendation. A guy started listening to a while ago. It's actually a weird one. So if you're on TikTok or Instagram, he goes by Petey USA, P-E-T-E-Y. And I have kind of not followed, but have been served Petey's... sort of skits his like comedy skits yeah for probably the last couple of years without ever really clicking on the account i'm sure i followed at some point but without clicking on the account i didn't realize he's also a musician songwriter you know traveling singer songwriter yeah and he has these really funny skits they're all a little strange often it's multiple versions of him kind of congregating around a central, similar, silly idea, throwing limes into a cave or figuring out how to do a fire at home. I'm just listing bits from his TikTok. As it turns out, I enjoyed those videos just fine. I really like his music. So he goes by the same name, PDUSA. He's on tour now. If he makes it out to anywhere that I can get to, I'd love to see it in person. I got into it based on some of the older albums, which date back four or five years. And then the most recent album, which is called The Yips, came out this year in 2025. And I just really enjoy it. It's... It's a little bit angry. It's a little bit emo. It has definitely like a sort of blended modern sort of indie sound, but there's a smoothness to it. And also, I mean, unsurprising if you watch some of his videos, like the other side of what he puts out online isn't just music, it's these skits. There's a comedy to the lyrics and to the presentation and that sort of thing. So I'm in pretty deep. I'm really enjoying it. At this point, I don't even focus that strongly on the album. I kind of just go into title and then play his channel and listen to whatever songs come up. And for the most part, I really like them. They're fun. At times, you're not quite sure what year the song might have come out. It feels like something from now, but through the prism of when I was in high school or the inverse of that, which I kind of like. He's a little younger than me, so he must have had maybe older siblings that appreciated similar music, or maybe I was behind the times. Who knows? But it definitely feels like there's some inspiration there that I can kind of pull at the thread, which I've really been enjoying. The music's really fun. I mean, if you just want to check one out, the title track from the new album, The Yips, is great. And I'll put it in the show notes. I don't believe we should be. We seem to get in trouble whenever we play music on the show, even if we talk about it. Uh, so I won't bother, but I do highly recommend it. And, um, and, and it's worth checking out and it's, I don't think you necessarily need to be subscribed to anyone. It's on YouTube and all that kind of thing. So I'll, I'll find some, some non subscription based places where you can check out some of his stuff, but he, he lists a ton of, uh, sources for his stuff on, on his website.
Jason Heaton Hmm. Nice. Good. I like music recommendations on the show. We don't do enough of it. Well, I don't do enough of it, but that's great. I'll check it out.
James Stacy Good stuff. So yeah, birthday watches. Lots of travel coming up. Next week's show will be a little bit less chit-chat, but we have a great guest on that we're very excited about, so stay tuned. uh for that and then i'll probably i mean we'll probably have a pretty large show in a couple of episodes recapping everything that we've been doing for when you listen to this will be you know the two weeks ahead of us yeah and if you've been waiting for q and a's we have another one recorded we are going to stick to a cadence to hit these last five that are owed out for the end of the year for all the Q&As. So stay tuned for those. Might even be out just shortly after this episode. So if you have it split into two different feeds, be sure to keep an eye on the private feed for the Q&A stuff.
Jason Heaton Awesome. Well, that does it for 352. As always, thanks so much for listening. If you want to subscribe to the show notes, get into the comments for each episode, or consider supporting the show directly, and maybe even grab a new TGN signed NATO, please visit thegraynato.com. Music throughout is Siesta by Jazzar via the free music archive.
James Stacy And we leave you with this quote from Pablo Picasso, who said, Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.