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The Best Chronograph of the Year(?) (371)

Published on Mon, 08 Dec 2025 22:36:19 -0800

Synopsis

In this episode of 40 and 20 The WatchClicker Podcast, hosts Andrew and Everett discuss a variety of recent watch releases and some food and drink discoveries. They begin with Andrew sharing a court victory before diving into watches. They cover several new watches including a Christopher Ward x Studio Underdog pocket watch, a Doxa x Topper Watches GMT collaboration, Aviate's Flyboy Eagle Squadron, and Mark Cho's new brand Temporal Works. They also discuss Baltic's stone dials, Nomos limited editions, an affordable ESC Racing Chronograph, and a unique Rado collaboration. The hosts provide detailed specifications and their opinions on each timepiece, often noting dimensions, movements, and pricing. In the final segment, they shift to discussing food and drink, with Andrew recommending a honey-based dry rub called "Honey Killer B" from Cosmos Q, and Everett sharing his enthusiasm for a Jamaican overproof white rum called "Rum Fire" that surprised him with its quality.

Transcript

Speaker
Andrew and Everett Hello, fellow watch lovers, nerds, enthusiasts, or however you identify. You're listening to 40 and 20 The WatchClicker Podcast with your hosts Andrew and my good friend Everett. Here we talk about watches, food, drinks, life, and other things we like. Everett, how are you? I'm good. I'm good. I had a uh had a judicial victory today, uh uh occupational victory. I crushed it. You weren't disbarred? No, quite the opposite. They double barred you? I was celebrated by all the members of the bar. That's not true. But I did have a victory at court today and that was nice. That was nice. I'll tell ya. Man, when you like I get juiced, dude. Like I was in my closing arguments. I'd like locked everything up. I knew where I was going, and I gave my closing arguments, and I was like shaking afterwards, just like every single chemical that my body can make, it made, and then just pumped it through my body. Plus a little bit of extras that it can metabolize while you're hungry and a little bit exhausted. I was just like, I was like shaking. But it was like good. Like I crushed it. Just like fungo bat going fifty feet past the fence. It was awesome, man. Yeah. So I'm good. How are you? Uh I'm good. I'm you know, we're just we're we're in the middle of the season, so everything is crazy. We we put just the kids stuff on the calendar for December because we've got one of those big desk calendar like tearaways that we keep on the side of our fridge to try to keep our world organized-ish. Sure. Uh and by the time the kids stuff was on there, it was like When do we sleep? Uh yeah, it's just wild the amount of stuff that uh that's going on this month. And you know, with our family being or families being in Portland, there's a lot of trekking up to Portland over the next couple weeks and just really busy. I get it, dude. It's December every year. And the kids never go to school.. Yeah Is this the last week of school or is next week? I don't know what day is it. No, it's it's this week and next week. And then then they stop going to school basically until March. Uh and then they have spring break and whiner. Yeah, your kids can stay home alone. Yeah, that's true. Yeah, that's true. I got nothing to add. Uh but yeah, otherwise otherwise good. Uh starting to feel a little bit better, can like move around okay. Still sitting's not great, but getting better. Glad to hear it. Yeah. Glad to hear it. I did um spend all day Saturday going to um various tuba concerts. My daughter is playing in the in the Oregon Tuba Ensemble, which is I don't know. I think the actual ensemble is only about twenty, maybe thirty, tubas and euphoniums. Euphonia? I don't know how to pluralize a word like that. Um low brass, it's all low brass. Um but then also like they've got a bigger group, which is maybe a hundred people. Uh with a combined age of 10,000. You know. So that group, the the tube ensemble is I would still a very old group, but they've got more sort of, I think there are four middle school kids, middle school andor high school kids, and then there are a another five or six college kids. So but she's also in the Junction City Pokeband. And the Junction City Pokeband has Betty, who's 14, uh, the director, who is probably 40, and then the next youngest guy is retirement age, for sure. Yeah, so 12 people. Real big spread there. Average age over seventy for sure. Yeah. It makes sense. Yeah. That's right. They're they're a kick in the pants, but they're all very, very old. One of the pictures you sent of the woman in the wheelchair playing? Yep. Like j just in in the in the spectacle of this this group of brass instruments. And I was like, yep, that tracks. Yep. Yep. Uh that's Meg. And she's terrific. I believe it. Meg plays Meg plays the um I think her primary instrument is the clarinet, but she also plays a mean uh accordion. I have a coworker who plays the accordion uh and he taught himself Russian so he could play the accordion and sing songs in Russian. That's terrific. It's a real weird side hobby. We're here to talk about watches. What are we doing? What are we doing? We're here to talk about watches and watches we will talk about. Andrew Andrew I, was thinking this week uh maybe you could go first. Oh, thank you. I appreciate you ceding the opportunity. Uh I talk about something crazy. Christopher Ward and stupid, okay. Studio underdog, The Alliance O2 Pocket Watch. And I I saw this and I wanted to not like it because it's weird, but it's awesome. You're making a weird face, and I don't accept. It is crazy. So Christopher Ward Lightcatcher Case, Sapphire, it's the uh the the the O2 uh dial set from Studio Underdog. This is a bizarre collaboration. The lug on this is cool. Everything about it I I super like. They're only making a hundred of them, uh which is reasonable because I think that this is a very uh a very narrow window of people who would be buying this. Uh 44mm case, sapphire front and back, sapphire dial. Ah it's a CW1 or the CW001 in housed manually wound movement. 3,000 British pounds. I think this is cool. You should buy one. I I probably won't. Uh there's a lot of things I'd buy before this. Definitely won't because you don't want it because it's dumb. It but it isn't. Studio Underdog's doing such fun collaborations with brands that you wouldn't expect it. I if you were to you know six months ago, if you were to say who is Studio Underdog gonna do an interesting collaboration with that will shock the watch world? Fears wouldn't be in your top ten. Fears wouldn't have been in your top twenty. Why not they're British? This is of course fun. There's no doubt about that. But yeah, but it's really obvious. I mean, the fierce collaboration is super obvious. I I never would have guessed it. Cause they don't they don't I I never would have thought they'd have worked. Christopher Ward is a closer is a brand that I could see working better and has worked really well. I I think this would be a cool in like the the C thirty six. I I honestly don't hate it. It but I mean it's stupid, but I don't hate it. It's it's fun. It looks the case is beautiful. Not untrue. Um, let's see. I'm gonna try to find the watches on your list that I think you're most excited to talk about. Like you did that one twice, so you must be really excited to talk about I sent one twice that means I missed one um how about the uh how about the Doxa and Topper watches 250 T sub 250 T GMT Great White the second great white collab release, but in this time instead of sub three hundred, we get two fifty T GMT. And uh and I like it. I like it. This is the same uh this is the same basic layout but this time we've got a case back that shows the treasure a treasure map of uh let's see the map shows the San Francisco Bay and highlights the Gulf of the Farones it's Faralanis with the topper podcast logo placed cleverly over the store's location in Burlingame. Um, and this was designed by John Kaplan Wesley Smith of Standard H, which okay, I I I maybe didn't understand maybe I don't understand the con standard age connection here, but I really like this case back. This is a gorgeous watch. The topper it's like so icy white, it's blue. Oh yeah, it's a beautiful watch. The watch is ridiculously good looking. Yeah. Very much like Zoolander. Um, it's a 250 G uh 250T GMT, which means that it's a 40mm watch with a 43mm lug to lug. DUX always has a great lug to lug. We've got 250 uh meters of water resistance because it's 250 T. Uh obviously we have a GMT function uh with you know a Swiss GMT. Um and they're making a hundred pieces and they're twenty nine ninety, two thousand nine hundred ninety US US dollars. They're going fast. And uh are they still available? I'm sure they're not. I think that they might be gonzo. I like in this collaboration you get a day-night ring on your chapter ring. I think this comes with a hat too. Ooh. That's now I gotta get one. Now being a little silly. The deal is too good to pass up now. Pre-order now. It looks like I don't know. This item is currently unavailable. Join the wait list. So they are they're gone. Well, but it's a five hundred dollar deposit. So might be this might be one of the rare occasions where it's worth a wait list. Um or if you know Blaine, just call him up and say I need you to arm wrestle someone down a topper. Yeah. Andrew, what's next for you, kind sir? I I gotta say, uh over the last week there has been not a lot of things that got me excited. But certainly a lot of interesting things. Uh one of the interesting things that got released is the Aviate Flyboy Eagle Squadron. And it it's not a it it wasn't that recent, but we're we didn't talk about this. yet The Aviate Flyboy Eagle Squadron Automatic Bronze 85th Limited Edition. And this Aviate is kind of following in the footsteps of the last aviate that we saw. With very it's not as subtle, right? It's still got some aviate, like some core aviate design language on the dial, but it's all very subtle. A so let's get to the spec sheet on this. This is a 39 millimeter case, 47 lug to lug it's 15 thick which is a hard that's a that's a hard one to to reconcile miota eighty two fifteen movement, fifty meters of water resistance. They are coming in where are we? A fume black, green, or blue options. They're gonna make 175 of each of these. The black is really good. And in this, you know, in this case that is full bronze, the black is. good It's this sectory, nice small design bronze case with a 9 o'clock date window and then a the flyboys logo at the three o'clock to balance it. I I think this might be my second favorite ABA watch. Yeah I I was I was fine until you saw 15 millimeters thick. I don't know why it has to like why that it doesn't it doesn't have to be. The decision that was made. It's big bitch. It's a bad decision. It was a bad decision. Um yeah. But a fun 85th anniversary edition that's very it it they're maybe it's showing that they're kind of eskewing their uh over-designed, over-printed, over like overdoing of their dials with a couple subtle dial releases in sequence. Yeah I like the case on this. It's a round case. The dial is fine. I like the dial. I like the the logo. Um it's got some weird stuff. This is a busy dial, but it's not busy in the way that Aviate often does busy. It's busy in more of a uh I I like this. I like the dial colors. I like the case colors. I just don't understand. 15? I was like, why not? I don't see that why the why why I don't I don't understand where the thickness comes from. Well, but at least it's you know about 500 meters of water resistance, right? Nope. Not even fucking close. I was like, what are we doing? Well, this isn't doesn't make any fucking sense. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Uh, Mark Cho of the Armory has started a new watch brand. Mark Cho is sort of a famous menswear dude uh and has actually been involved with watches over the year collaborating with Moser and Unimatic and then Paul and I think last year. So he's kind of like in the space, but he um has started a A watch brand. The watch brand is called Temporal Works. It's co-founded with the Armory's creative director, Elliot Hammer. Um, and they came out swinging. Yeah, they did. They came out swinging. So their first watch, uh Temporal Works first watch is uh oh boy. I just had a series A. It is called the series A. Uh and it is a monoblock, I'm gonna say field case that they say is supposed to evoke like mid evoke mid-century uh design. I don't really see that. Uh but I like it. I don't see it really either. I like it. Kind of in the sectary dial maybe. Yeah, so we've got three tiles here. We've got a blue sort of quarter roulette, we've got a black quarter roulette, like a black and gray, and then a red, like this beautiful crimson uh red, which is uh absolutely gorgeous. They call it the fortune dial dial with a glossy red lacquer and no markings at all. Um and really you get very different appeals with these two different uh with these two different dials. They just really look very very, different. Um and then you've got like just a brilliant case that is I just I am struggling a little bit with my uh navigation here. You've got a brilliant case that is thirty seven. Why can I not find my dimensions, Andrew? Uh, 'cause this is written kinda little weird. Um okay. I am going to I'm going to um pull up this other link because I know there's dimensions here. 37 millimeter case uh by 10 thick. Yep. By 10 thick. Um 45 millimeter lug to lug. The one thing I wasn't crazy about 19 millimeter lugs, but whatever. I don't think you're gonna want to take it off this mesh. The mesh with a butterfly clasp is it looks phenomenal. So if you pre-order one of these today, you get this with the leather and also a uh custom stibe mesh bracelet, a German stibe mesh bracelet. It's it's it's got a uh custom um link set at the at the clasp. Stibe's got an interesting uh micro adjustment system. Um, but it's a signed clasp by Stibe. If you order it now, you get that with the watch. If you wait, you pay $200 for the stibe, uh, which is a great value. That's how much stibs cost. Um, and this thing is just killer. We've got uh Salita SW210-1 B, which is an 18 joule 28A uh vibrations per hour movement, 42 hour power reserve. It's a great movement. Um and they're and they're cheap, man. Wow, okay.. These are not cheap But it's twenty five hundred bucks for for this watch. Yeah. Which I think is really, really, really good. Um, great case back design just tip to tail, um great handset. Great zeratsu polish. Zeratsu polish throughout. Yeah, that's that's the one thing I didn't mention. Good sized crown and the crown kind of sits up next to the case and really hugs it well. This is a really, really, really cool watch. It almost looks like there's a tiny, tiny like depression for that crown to sit into. Really subtle. In terms of debut watches, I think that this is one of the best I've seen from any brand ever. The only thing that I can criticize about this watch is a 50-meter water resistance figure. And even then, I'm sort of like Nah, for something like this, you you feel like they should be able to eke out a hundred. I would have loved a hundred here. Yeah. Yep. I would have loved a hundred.. Yeah But with fifty because this is a s this is a sport dress watch. Oh yeah. No, this is a sport watch. This isn't even a sport dress watch. It's just a sport watch. Yeah. Yeah. Uh uh with that said, I I think they just absolutely hit the hit the ball out of the park on this. Um even the on the the pin buckle on the leather is one of the best pin buckles you're gonna find on a watch at this price. I can't find good profile pictures of this case. They don't have very many of them. It almost looks kind of like tonneauy. It is tonne-y. Yep. Uh. But then from the from the bottom up, it doesn't look that way. This is interesting. Yeah, and I and and just to clarify, I did say earlier mono block case, uh which is just to say the top the case is w is a one piece without seam it is a screw screwed out case back, by the way. So I just want to make sure that that's yeah clear up any confusion there. Worth mentioning. Uh I y yeah yeah, and th there are few debut watches that uh that land like this. Yeah, they I mean they crushed it, I think. This is this is a just a gorgeous watch. It's the type of watch that I'm like, man. Do I gotta get one of these? I wouldn't. And I'll tell you why. I wouldn't. I know enough about the way I like to wear watches that I would ultimately not like that it didn't have a fitted bracelet. With that said, if you're gonna do it this way and say we're not gonna do a bracelet, I think offering a stibe, like having a custom stibe for your watch is a about the best you best way you could go. I mean, the only thing I think is better than this approach is is Serica's approach. Right? Like they're doing a real and and even then it's not better. It's just different. Mm-hmm. I appreciate Serica. I really like this too. I think doing a custom a custom style is baller, as you would say. Ballin. Ballin. Uh so you know how I piss and moan all the time about Yes. Yeah. All the time. Just about everything, generally. Uh but how I whenever you bring up Nomo, some like uh boring. Yeah, you know, but that's a it's not just you. That's a pretty po I mean, that's a thing, right? There is a there nomos is cilantro. No, because cilantro is the truth, or it's like repulsive. I think what I that think' thats's by Gnomos. I think that's what Gnomos is. I think Gnomos is either like yes or I don't get it. I think gnomos is mashed potatoes and meatloaf. It's delicious, but it's just about as boring as dinner can ever get. Move it along. No most is boring. This is like the one criticism you can't make about gnomas. Carry on. Uh they just released two limited edition watches that I dig. Clubsport, neumatic, world timer, roam, and reverie limited editions, they are terrific. So it is the pneumatic world timers, right? We we know what these watches look like. These are coming in two different colorways. Uh oh, here we go. Hang on. Champagne with yellow accents is the Reverie or champagne with blue accents is the Rome 100 meters of water resistance. They're coming with a whore wing shell quarter van strap. Shoot. These are good. These are really good. This is the first time I've looked at an almost. I'm like, I want that. Uh the Rome is is the one I really like, but also with the yellow ac they I I like them both. I like them both very much. Uh and they're gonna make is Rome with the blue accents. Yeah. Yeah. Hundred seventy five of each of them. It's not Rome as in the Italian city. It's Rome as in Wander. Yeah, Wander. And and Reverie. I think Reverie is also like Wander, but maybe daydream? What is Reverie? I don't know. Uh yeah, anyway. Yeah, the the name the naming conventions on these are a little funny. It's like what? Rome and Reverie, huh? Uh Reverie, a state of being pleasantly lost in one's thoughts, a daydream. Oh. Okay. Okay. So yeah, there you go. Uh yeah, I do like the Rome dial better. I think these have the same base champagne, yeah. The the difference is the the color accent. Yeah. I do really like shouldn't. I like Orwin. Um I also really like the bracelet that comes with these, so I th I was like, why would you release because they're LEs. Okay. Um sure. Uh uh they I will say that the from a distance both of these look from a distance both of these look pretty subdued. Uh more so with the Reverie than the Rome. Mm-hmm. But when you get up close on both of them, you're like, oh shit, there is a bunch of color. Yeah. Because it's just that it's just that far right GMT timer that actually or the world timer the or the anyway whatever never mind the 24 hour yes yeah yeah yeah uh yeah these, are great. I I I I'm with you, Andrew. These are good these are good Ellies. I do wish that we I do wish that they would give you a bracelet option. Looks like you just have to get two. Sure. Well, they're 5,000 bucks. I mean they're no most prices. Yeah. 5200 bucks. Yeah. Um I don't know. I I don't have any indication of how prop how popular these will be. You know, with the other with the neomatic releases, they were instantly a hit and many of the colors, the most desirable colors, were just like almost like immediately gone. So I d I don't know how available these will be. I mean there's only 175 of each of these. I think they're gonna go quick. Yeah. Um few months ago, we talked about ESC watches with the Heritage Chronograph, which was the second release from the revived brand Eska, who had been reintroduced to the world after a quartz crisis slumber uh in 2024. They they released the in 2024 the amphibian 250 dive watch, which we only saw, I believe you and I, Andrew both only saw on review after the release of the Heritage Chronograph. And we said, well, it was a great release. And the Heritage Chronograph's not bad either. They are now releasing their third watch. Uh, like the previous two, we've got a French assembled, a Franch assembled watch that feels like a a vintage uh a a vintage play. They're calling this the Esca Racing Chronograph, uh, which is being released as part of the new light collection, L-I-G-H-T Light Collection. Uh, and they're describing this as a series that's gonna be dedicated to color and everyday enjoyment. I think the idea is to be slightly less serious and slightly more whimsical. The launch is happening to coincide with Leon's famed Fete de Lumière uh which I actually don't know what that is. Uh didn't you like how it sounded like I knew what it was? No, you didn't sound like you knew what it was. Oh, okay. Um But Lyon is apparently the founder's hometown. It's there's a light festival that happens in Lyon, and we've got a case back with the Lyon skyline, and it's actually uh quite beautiful, I would say. Um it's a gorgeous artistic rendition of the Leon Skyline. Um, let's talk a little bit about the watch. So this is a SL 4617 automatic chronograph, which is a Liaoning Peacock 7750 clone made in China. It's a 288 VPH, uh 45 hour power reserve automatic chronograph. What you see is what you get. Um, released on a stitched leather strap. Uh, and these are really sort of classic bicompax chronographs, um racing chronographs with sort of a heavy tachyometer scale on the outside that takes up a lot of space. Uh and then small six nine by compacts subdials, uh, a small seconds or a small seconds on running seconds on the nine o'clock and a 30 minute timer on the right. Um great pushers, great case, great everything, sort of a italicized breaking numeral motif on the salmon dial and a more um that's a stylized sans serif with baton markers or battens as I like to say on a blue dial. Both dials are excellent. These are really pretty cute. And the best part about this watch is I don't have a US price on this. Uh, I've got a monochrome, monochrome listing, but $4008 euro. Yeah, I uh I thought that had to be a typo. Even though it's a Chinese-made 7750 clone, I that has to be a typo, but on the website, 485 US dollars. Uh for a automatic for a automatic chronograph. So so listen, I will tell you the thickness. And it's not thin. But it's a 7750 clone. It should be 13.5 and it's not. It's sub-13. Mm-hmm. Uh it's 12-8, right? It's 12-8 before a crystal. It's got a big double-dome crystal, which gets it to 14 and a half. Good. Yeah. That's how that's the size that this movement like you can't get it much thinner. Yeah. Yeah, no. I mean it's th everything here is great. Drilled lugs, like uh what yeah. Yeah, I mean it kind of buried the lead, I think, a little bit on this, but 485 bucks. I I think this is worth taking a flyer on. Yeah, I mean it's uh it you know, they say on their um on their website uh is that their intent was to propose a an orological complication with an automatic movement at the price of the mecha court. And they're doing that pretty close to it. I mean we I mean this is less than a brew. Yeah and brews using all VKs. Yeah. Uh I I wonder about the reliability of of this movement. It's not a movement I've ever I don't think I've ever seen used, at least that I know of. Um obviously it's not brand new and innovative for this watch, but I can't think of a single uh example of its application. No, I mean we're not seeing a lot of peacock movements get used, period, and I don't know that I've ever seen this one, but um yeah, neito. Uh two colors. Did we talk about that? We do kind of a champagne. That blue is where it's at. Yeah, blue, blue, it's got a blue and a salmon dough. Yeah, we've got sort of a uh a vertical grain on the blue and then a matte all over matte salmon. Um yeah, I it's great. This is a freaking rad watch at a at an incredible price. Uh they did spell chronograph wrong at the six o'clock on the um on all the dials. Yeah, chronography was stupid. Chronograph. Learn English. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, these things are rad, dude. I'd love to see one in person. I mean I was kind of like I I'm like going through this and I'm like all right well okay I'm all right fine fine fine. How much? I yeah I w thought it was a typo. I I went to the website wait what? To confirm it because it doesn't seem real. Yeah. You say, huh? Yeah, I don't uh. 485 bucks. How about that? For an automatic chronograph. I mean, I I never even heard of such a thing. No, remember when Baltic and Laurier kind of broke the internet when they dropped them under a thousand. Yeah. Oh no, that was GMT. So they dropped them under a thousand. Yeah. And that was pre yeah. This thing's crazy, man. This is I I mean, it's really just it it's a very well let me say it seems to be a a decently outfitted decently designed if not semi-boring set of chronographs, bi complex chronographs, um, with a just outrageous price. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And there's no shade to call it boring. I mean, we see lots of boring chronographs. Yeah, I mean it's like a it's a racing nineteen sixty-three. Seventy-five percent of the watches that Tag Horrier releases boring chronographs. Yeah. And the other twenty-five percent are are weird monacos. Fucking yeah. Uh yeah. J it's just to say no shade. This is genuinely no shade there. It's just like, whoa. Okay. Co.ol, cool It's a bean and cheese burrito, man. I love that. Andrew, what's next? Uh Baltic has got some new stone dials into the mix. Uh seems like that's been sort of the soup de jour. Yeah, stone dials are having a moment. Uh year in what's year in France? If I were to say soup de year has been stone dials. Stop it. Just I don't know. You pretended to know French a minute ago. Neon. Uh innameable place. Uh so we've got four new colorways. Uh let me find these. It it so first of all it's a grade five grade 36mm case, 9.2 thick, 7.4 without the crystal, grade 5 titaniums with a steel bezel four colors petersite paetercite pink albite, bloodstone, and doomer titty. Dumotorite I can't talk. Uh 30 meters of water resistance on these. Uh laisou parade D100. Not what I expected to come. All right, carry on. You're welcome for that. Uh so the um the Peter site is 14 is is a little bit more expensive because it is uh mind-numbing. This thing is crazy. And this is obvious, these are obviously all stone dials, so they're they're razor thin sliced, polished up, and they are super cool. I think the the I have the Peter site? That's not a stone that like I've I don't fucking know. I'm not a I'm not a geometer. I mean these were all weird. These were all new to me. Uh every single one of them looks one of a kind. So I don't I don't even know like if this stone is like a composite of other stones or or either way, uh these are all really cool releases. Two or two You look at that word and tell me you say it some other way. I will not. Uh yeah, these are great. I mean I I think the prices are fine on these. I I still have a little bit of trouble nailing nail ball ticking my head, which is just to say Yeah. I don't love 'em. But their watches I'm always like, yeah, it's pretty fucking cool. Yeah, I uh donate the prize. I don't I don't know where because I I have a similar struggle with Baltic and I and I can't place it. I think uh part of it's their des their their design language, they're in like this really interesting, kind of vintage-inspired space that doesn't ever quite scratch the itch for me in in the things that they choose to emphasize in their design language. Yeah. So is the the Peter side is the one where they're all super different, right? Yeah. Yeah. And the bloodstone is the green, the the the like zombie apocalypse one. I maybe I I thought it would be the pink one. But it's not because there's a pink Albright, right? I think I think that's fair. That pink pink Albright is probably the pink one. And the do more tetrite I think is the the blue. It's weird how you just set it perfectly. The bloodstone's cool, this green with red flecking all over it. It's like a zombie. It's like a yeah. There's another watch that we're gonna talk about that has a similar effect, but its doesn' naturally you might talk about it. I'm not talking about it. Okay. Um I'm gonna talk about Erato because it is I've not heard anything about this watch. I actually don't even know how much it cost. Um, but I saw it and I was just like, whoa, this is really, really cool. So on December 3rd, which was a few days ago. Visitors to the Rotto space. I don't know what that what that is. I guess Rotto has a boutique in Miami. Okay uh visitors to the Roto space in Miami had an opportunity to meet with um Tae Chahuan who is an industrial designer from London. And I've never heard of this fellow. And I'm just gonna say he looks to me, all the pictures I've seen of him, he looks to me like a designer from like a uh from like a uh Ben Stiller movie. Yeah. Like he just doesn't look like a real person to me. I I guess he is. Uh and I don't know anything about him. I'm sorry. He's worked with Rado in the past before on some cool watches. And uh and apparently he's a very, very talented designer. I don't know. I just I'm seeing these pictures of him and I'm like this, he doesn't look like a real person. He looks like a character from a Ben Stiller movie. Anyway, he makes a banger watch. And this one is a freaking banger. So it is a um polished yellow gold colored PVD colored Ceramos Rotto. So Rotto calls their whole watches bezels because it's basically like a piece that sits on top of the case. So the whole watch is the bezel. This has their PVD coated, yellow gold PVD-coated Ceramos bez.el Ceramos is a ceramic metal composite that Rotto uses. And then this dial. So it's got this dog bowl dial with color and lines. It's got color and lines. Right? You're stupid. It's got from nine to twelve this blue. I I don't know what's going on here. It's got different, it's a day. It's got like a like a countdown timer in the wrong quadrant of the watch. It's a it's a a day-day and and the the day the days are all in different colors like Thursdays in pink and uh Mondays and Mondays and yeah, yeah. But it's it's not mun either, it's mo. Um of course you've got a swinging anchor. I I just saw this and I was like Yeah it's perfect. It's this is great. This is totally freaking rad. I I love it. It's got a one-off bespoke folding clasp that looks terrific on this like rubber, like silicone-y looking rubber. Yeah, that's right. A pillow pillow strap. Um I just saw this and I was like, it's so weird and also really awesome. Really, really awesome. This is, I don't know how much these cost because I couldn't find a price and I kind of looked a little bit. Um but I I just I think I want one. I I don't know who this guy is. He looks like a weird fake human. He looks like the guy who designs in cap designs for a big box store. I he looks to me like someone who carries a chihuahua around, and I don't say that because his name kind of sounds like Chihuahua. He looks like he carries around a small animal with him when he goes out to places. This guy carries a ferret for sure. Maybe. Um or his cargo shorts filled with sugar gliders. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. He definitely uh he definitely drinks uh what's the what's the tea that people drink with the weird straws? Ayahuasca. No That's different. Uh that's different. Uh anyway. I bobo tea? No, no, with the the the tea with the with the big heavy straws that they punch it through the top.? No, no That's no no. No, no. Um anyway, moving on. Everybody at home is yelling at their radio because they know what I'm talking about. Um not everybody, like forty percent of the people that I connect with mentally. Anyway, I just love this thing. It's a great watch. I I don't see any of what you see in it in the way of like appreciation or or or desire. I think that's what this this watch is Marmite, right? Like this is not a watch. This is not a watch for everybody. But for me, it hits exactly correctly. It it's super cool. It's interesting. This is a watch I'd love to see in person. I'd like to see the person who buys this watch also uh We're I always struggle with Rotto too. There's a we're gonna put a revolution article. We're gonna put a revolution article in the show notes. We don't know who wrote this article. Revolution Revolution wrote and they very rarely link to them. It might be AI. Um yeah, this it it it just it like this is all like marketing copy. And I hate that. Uh with that said, I just saw this watch and I was like, fuck, I love this watch. I had a different experience. Yeah. Well, and it's funny, they do say with the one the one note here, we're interested in how people respond emotionally to design. Tae Chiwan says shape, material, and color are just aesthetic choice, they invite interaction. And for me, that that is that is what happened to me when I saw this. I was like, I just really like it. I just really, really like this watch. In a in a truly emotional response to it. Yeah, maybe. Because it's not rational. Uh-uh. It's ugly as sin. But I also really like it. Yeah. Yeah, fair enough. That dog bowl dial is really cool. The way that the the the dome of that sapphire crystal breaks up the lines, the all those cons all those uh the markers around the entire perimeter of the of the dial, it the way it breaks up even the the logoing at the bottom it creates this interesting distortion having you know opposing domes uh it's it's really cool and then and I actually don't know that that I think that that is common I think that that may be common across diastars, modern diastars. I I I'm l let me actually check. I think we do get that dog bowl dial with some of the modern bad stars. So Rotto is not a brand that I uh check up on with any kind of even in frequency. It's just not a brand that they're also weird. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But uh this one I in particular I was like holy shit this is a cool watch and I and I and I actually don't even hate that you don't w like it because the weirder that you do Yeah well I think that's this that's this this this watch is gonna do that to you. This feels like typically a watch that I would be interested in talking about and you would be making fart noises at me. Maybe. You wouldn't even mute your mic to do it. I think it's great. Yeah. I I really actually I was like okay cool man. I'm into it. I'm into it. What's next? Uh Awake and soon my the deadly watch. This is a kill bill watch. 2550 by the way on that. Oh. On that diastar. Carry on. It's a it's a kill bill watch. It's this bright, vibrant yellow dial with a blood splattering kind of starting at the six o'clock up to the twelve o'clock. The splattering looks great. The case is cool. It is a thirty-nine millimeter case, 45-6 lug to lug, 11.8 thick, 109 without the domed crystal. Sapphire crystal, laisie parade G101, 50 meters of water resistance. They're only making 88 of them. Which they should be making because of the crazy 88s from Kill Bill. Uh and this this is good. This it has a kind of a stepped like a a stepped in an interesting place case like almost kind of SARB but less refined like a little bit more tool watch uh stepped case on your lug, great polish on the bezel. Um, this is I I mean, I know you're not a big fan of it, but uh in the way of Tribute kind of watches or or maybe even novelty watches. I don't know how you would how you'd go about describing a inspired by a movie watch. Because it's certainly a novelty, but when I think of a novelty watch, I think of some kind of like junky tchotchki. And this is not that. Mm-mm. Uh not not in any regard. Uh it's cool. It's a fun I'm for whatever reason kill bill watch. Yeah, for whatever reason, you know, uh I didn't love the Jurassic Park watches when they came out. And and and for the same reason, um for the same reason, you know, I just was like, this is weird. Well they they also didn't do a good job with those relative to like th they just made a green one and a red one with with case backs like the the Jurassic Parkness is some claw marks on the dial and then colorways and then your and then your case back design. This is like when I saw this watch without seeing anything about it, I was like, oh, that's a killbill watch. Just immediately. It's so apparent. Do you feel Yeah? Okay. Do you feel like this one it well. Yeah, I don't know. I don't like it any better. They're sold out, so it doesn't matter. I I like that you can immediately identify what this is uh aligning itself with. Yeah. I think that the I think that the um Jurassic Park watches were licensed, uh but I don't know that this one is. It must be, right? Because they talk. I don't I mean they have to because they have um I mean maybe they don't have to be. There's there's very specific kill bill Bill references on the case. back Sure. Uh which I don't know I don't know enough about copyright and IP law to say like you can't quote a movie on a watch without some kind of licensing agreement. You know, it says taking inspiration. I do think unlike well with the Jurassic Park ones, I know they used like logos and stuff, and I don't see that they've done that here, so I wonder. I yeah, I wonder. I don't know the answer to that question, but maybe Quentin Tarantino will sue him. I don't think he cares anymore. I think after his script got leaked he was he was done. Which script got leaked? Uh once upon a time in Hollywood got leaked. He almost didn't make the movie. Oh, is that right? Yeah. Such a good movie. It's a killer movie. It's such a good one. Yeah. Um Yeah, this is my last watch for the day, Andrew. Okay. So if you have two watches you want to talk about, we can stack yours, but this is my last one. Um this is the Jaeger Le Coultre Master Control Classic. So when the when Jaeger LaCultra first I know I'm saying that wrong by the way, Luke. Go ahead and just save it. I don't care. Um normally I care. Today I don't. Jaeger LeCultra. When they first released the master control collection, it was I think a 34 millimeter watch. This is a watch that they're releasing as an homage to that, I don't know, nineteen ninety92 watch uh and it's slightly bigger, which is good. It's 36 millimeters, which I think is a great size. So this is uh I went down the specs on this. I went down the specs on this, and I finished my assessment of this watch with the following. I believe that but for the fact that this is a limited edition of 500 pieces, uh this is the best, most accessible dress watch under 10 grand. So 36 millimeters stainless steel case, JLC, tip to tail, 8.15 thick. Uh beautiful solid steel case back with an homage to the um master control uh theme of their specific uh what what do they call it the thousand hour well what do they call the their dang in-house certification, Andrew. Why can't I find it in this stupid article? Um the thousand hour control protocol, which is their act in-house accuracy and performance controls. I should have said it. Um I just wanted you to find it. It's it's nine grand. It's $89.50 for this thing, man. It's a JLC. And and you know what? You might be tempted to think, well, JLC, what are you actually getting? Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. You're getting. You're getting a watch. This is an in-house caliber 899 JLC, which is a constantly updated and developed movement with JLC's in-house controls. You've got the thousand-hour control protocol, um, 70-hour power reserve, high beat, 28800. Uh, and then you look at the case back on this thing and it's like, oh, this is a terrific watch. Um the watch itself is boring. No, it's a dress watch. On purpose. Yeah. Right? Great, great proportions, perfect proportions. I will say for me, the dials may be a little busy. But the handset is terrific. The frame on the date window makes it more sporty than you might prefer for a dress watch. Uh and so that's maybe the one bit of I don't I think also this uh this relief is it a bevel or is it a c like a true hollow in those swords on the hands? Uh it's it is illumination. Oh it's loom. It's a loom, yep. It's a loom cutout. Uh it it's a very sporty dress watch. It's a sport dress watch, for sure. Yeah. In the classic sense. Um I just think this thing is so good. Uh I what's I don't think hundred pieces. Fifty meters of water resistance. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Uh-huh. Mm-hmm. Uh-huh. Yeah. For nine grand, I'm like, sign me up. We're you're you're not gonna find anything of this caliber for any less. Yeah. And a lot of a lot of stuff when you get to this type of in-house movement, this type of finishing, this type of design, you're paying significantly more. Yeah, who's the competition? I'll tell you who the competition is. It's Grand Seiko. And you know what? Grand Seiko is almost two times on the Z-axis. Right? Like a Grand Seiko, this Grand Seiko dress watch is 17 millimeters thick. Yes. Right? Mm-hmm. This is fine. Like, yeah, this is what I want. Yeah. I don't want a 17 millimeter Zeratsu polished fucking UFO animal cover, yeah. With a dial that evokes birch trees in the winter. Rice in the autumn sun at the bottom of a alley puddle. Like I or whatever. Right? I want this. Yeah. I want this. I'll take the Zoratsu. But keep your 17 millimeters and give me this. I'm sorry, I know it's not 17 millimeters. It's not far off. Right? I mean this, if this was a Grand Seiko, it would be thirteen. Ye Yeahah.. Maybe eleven and a half if they were really going for thin. If they were really on a diet eleven. Yeah. Right? This is eight point one six. Yes, thank you. Yeah. Yes, please. Yeah, I'll have I'll have one in seconds please. Yes, please. Uh yeah, it so the comments, so this is a monochrome. There's a comment one says, an immensely beautiful watch, classic simplicity rendered, perfect, and the next one says, such a boring watch. Both true. Yes and yes. 1960s schoolboy style. Alright, I didn't read that one because that's stupid. Uh I'm this is a the yeah, yeah. I I mean Grant this is a Grand Seiko competitor and they're crushing Grand Seiko. You know what's weird? Uh so this article came out six days ago and these comments were posted in Oh no because monochrome day month is switched. Yeah. So it wasn't posted in March. It was posted uh on the third. Five days ago. Nailed it. I figured things out. I'm smart. Not not fast. But I'll figure it out. I'm smart. Uh what's that standard? Pull the wall over on me. I closed all the links. I wasn't really excited about anything else to talk about. Okay. Okay. In that case, other things. What do you have? I have another thing. I and I I brought you a little bowl to taste it in. So I told you about this. Uh-huh I don't know. Week or so ago. Uh being loud. Uh so my other thing is a dry rub that I have been using a lot of. It is from a company called Cosmos Q and it's called Honey Killer B. So So this is a pretty straightforward barbecue dry rub, right? It's got a a pretty pretty familiar spice bill. It's got paprika and some garlic, and I'll read it rather than trying to pull it from memory. Paprika, dextrose, garlic, celery. Sugar and salt, but here's where it where it turns into the to the honey killer bee. It has uh granulated honey powder. And I've used granulated honey before, uh, and I really, really prefer it to like brown sugar or white sugar in a dry rub. It just behaves really differently. And the sweetness from honey, I find so much more enjoyable than the sweetness from brown or white sugar or or you know other alternatives for sweeteners. Um I've been using the shit out of this. I've been using this in lieu of sugar in dry rubs that I use, and then I've also used it just as a standalone rub on some things. And it is killer. You can get it direct from the website in a shaker, which is uh thirteen point two ounces, a one pound, two pound, or four pound bag. Four pound bags uh thirty-seven eighty right now. You say fifty-eight percent is usually 90 bucks. Um shaker's 1095. I think at Walmart is where I've been picking it up. Walmart's got a really good spice selection and like dry rub selection. Um like 10 bucks uh for thirteen point two ounces and it's I mean you're tasting it right now. I don't hear your thoughts. It's really good. I want to put it on popcorn. That was what I that was what immediately I was like I need to get some of that for popcorn. Like it's a little salty. It's just a touch salty. So you need to like salt. Well but uh yeah, but as a dry rub you want that 'cause you want it to start sucking moisture out. Actually I actually would prefer if they kept the salt out. Really? Yeah. Let me add my own salt. Mm. Okay. I can get down with that. Uh I like I I I got this because I couldn't find granulated honey at the store. So I was like, yeah, this would maybe be close. I still prefer granulated honey. Uh but this is killer in lieu of like sugar. And and then I obviously have to tweak the salt a little bit in in my dry rub mixtures, but this is what I've been using. It's really good. It's really good. Yeah, that granulated honey. Mm-hmm. That's a new one for me. It behaves really well at dry rubs. It caramelizes nicely, it crusts nicely. It doesn't get cakey like sugar does in a rub. Um which I always I I always find problematic because then your your bark is like can cake or like flake and chip away and yeah that's really good. I'm a I'm a fan. I'm a fan. I'm into it. So that's my other thing. Cosmos Q dry rub. And they've got a whole it's a it's a company, right? So they've got a whole line of dry rubs and rubs and spice mixes and sauces and glazes and all other manner of shit. But um this is one I've tried and I am a believer. Well I I'm into it. Uh that is that's crazy. Yeah. In in a in a good way. Like kind of took me uh um a little it took me off guard a little bit. Right 'cause it tastes like honey. I've got another thing. Doomy. I shared this with you a couple weeks ago. Maybe a week ago. I got a no this has been two weeks ago. I got a uh I've got a liquor store bro. I've got two liquor stores bros at two different liquor stores. They don't know about each other. That's smart. Kind of kind of scenario. But my I one of my liquor store bros is very, very deep on the spectrum. And if you're not careful, you can get stuck. Oh, okay. Yeah. He knows more about alcohol than any person I've ever met in my life. Uh like encyclopedic knowledge about tequila, mascal, and rum manufacture. Uh Nick at downtown Licker. Um like really, really, really knowledgeable. And he has been trying to talk me into Hampton Estates rums for a while. Oftentimes he's trying to talk me into white rums. And I am just an aged booze guy. Like gimme aged booze because that's what I want. So he sends me home the other day with a is that 200 milliliter? What's the smaller bottle? I don't know, like like a quart. Yeah, this is a smaller. He sends me home with a a pint of a booze that wasn't expensive. And he's like, he's like, just try it. It's called Rum Fire. It's got this like uh clip art MS paint label. Yeah. And I am not I am not confident at all about this. No. It says Jamaican white overproof rum from Hampton Estates. And you know, look, I know nothing. It it looked like the thing that y you would expect to see at a bachelorette party on a table, uh just getting white girl wasted. This is jungle juiceuice., J jungle juice rum, right? This is bottom shell. I'm never buying this. And he's like, you need to buy this, and you need to give it a chance. And I'm like, okay, but I'm I'm mixing this with like vanilla coke, right? And mountain. Dew And he's like a bunch of grape Kool-Aid. Hear me out. It is super funky, very high esters. Hear me out. Just try it. Like it's cheap. You don't have to. like you This isn't a huge investment. Hear me out. I know your I know your palette. Give it a try. And I'm like, cool, I'll take it home. I crack this thing, I pour an ounce, and I take a sip and I instantly call Andrew and I'm like, brother, you gotta come over here. And I did. And he did. And we drank. Um Yeah. Andrew, I don't know enough about rum to really know what I'm talking about here. But what this is is a funky tropical white rum with this really high ester rate, and it is gorgeous. It is one of the most gorgeous boozes I've ever had in my life. Feels to me very much like a very, very nice mascal or something where you get that really sort of high concentration of fruity punch. Also, I'm gonna talk about a gift Andrew bought me. I'm not quite ready to talk about it yet, but also terrific and very similar to this. Um it's the first time I've had rum and and been like, oh, I could drink you. Yeah. Uh like I can sit and enjoy you. Like everyone's had a rum and coke. Everyone's had a dark and stormy. Everyone's had rum cocktails. This was like a drink it neat. Totally. Totally drink it neat. And it's like borderline almost hazmat, right? Sixty-three percent. Yeah. They have to placard the truck, I'm sure. And it doesn't taste it doesn't taste like that. No, it will get you white girl wasted. Oh my gosh. Really, really, really good. I don't know where you get that like big ester content. I don't know how they get that. Maybe it's like a lower distillation temperature or something. Um I've since then read some articles and I understand this is a it's a divisive flavor set. But for me, who's it? Gimme aged booze. I want it to be brown. I want it to be darkish brown. I want it to be old. Just like you like your whipping. I was really, really surprised. And I loved it. I loved it. Um A, get yourself a liquor store, bro, if you don't have one. Or two. Um, don't tell them about each other. And B, get yourself some round fire because holy shit. It's one of my favorite booza I've ever had at this point in my life. And you make the liquor store, bro, by going in and just talking to the dude who you see in the aisle. Totally. Asking him for a recommendation. And then and then you go back and you you tell him what thought about it and he's gonna make another one. And then you go back and you tell and tell him what you thought about it and and pretty soon you start exchanging notes and Christmas cards and your boy texts you when they get allocated bottles. Yeah. Yeah. That's right. Rum fire. Hampton estates. Get you. some Yeah, yeah. It was it was one of the most surprising uh it was one of the most surprising things you've ever told me to taste. Yeah. We also had some rice yeah the first that that that day, which Andrew's never had. And also fantastic. Yeah. Uh we'll come back to that. Hey folks, thanks for joining us for this episode of Forty and Twenty, the Watchclicker Podcast. Do me a favor, go to our website. It's watchclicker.com. That's where we post articles and reviews and pictures. If you want to follow us on social media, you can do that on Instagram at 40 and 20 underscore watchclicker or at watchclicker. That's where we post pictures and also sometimes words about things we're doing on the website. If you want to support us on Patreon, you can do that by giving your money to patreon.com/slash 40n20. Uh, we do have hosting expenses and they're a lot, like thousands of dollars per year. Maybe thousand-ish dollars per year. Uh yeah, it's expensive. Patreon.com slash 40and20. And don't forget to tune back in next Tuesday for another hour of watches, food, drinks, life, and other things we like. Bye-bye.