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The Best Microbrand of 2025 is Japanese (372)

Published on Mon, 15 Dec 2025 22:04:37 -0800

Synopsis

In this episode of the WatchClicker podcast "40 and 20," hosts Andrew and Everett catch up on recent happenings and dive into watch news. They begin by sharing personal stories about attending a mid-century Jello-themed holiday party and plans for creating fun Jello concoctions. The bulk of the episode focuses on discussing recent watch releases and news from various brands. They cover Studio Underdog's acquisition of Orologium, Maurice LaCroix's customizable Icon watches, a Constantine Chaikin Venus-inspired timepiece, Parchy watches for kids, Circula and Laco's collaborative anniversary releases, and several other notable watches. The hosts express particular excitement about Kuwame Tokyo's affordable yet high-quality watches and Serica's new tuxedo dial Field Chronometer. The podcast concludes with their "other things" segment where Andrew shares his technique for making "poor man's prime rib" using chuck roast and Everett tells a funny story about unexpectedly receiving a bunt pan as an early Christmas gift.

Transcript

Speaker
Andrew 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 alright. It was uh it was a nice weekend. I had a nice weekend. Uh the weekend's come to a close at this point, or for all intents and purposes come to a close. Yeah. But for a few hours. But for but for pooping. But for yeah. You know, got some time. Uh no. Nice weekend. Uh I honestly just can't think of anything all that amazing. I did go to a jello party last night. Go on. It's a holiday party with a mid century Jell O recipe theme. Okay. So the instructions are to bring your quote unquote favorite mid century jello dish, which is to say find a recipe from the Any Jell O. recipe Find the recipes. Yeah, that's right. Um and you know, of course there's still we you know, with still some jello recipes, but I I think there was a period of time in which that was a thing. And it's really not anymore. So we did do that. That was fun. Sort of. Uh yeah uh nothing nobody's taking anything too seriously. There's a lot of phallic dishes for whatever reason. I'm actually not entirely certain why. Just I I mean uh uh besides just penises. are fun Yeah. And people like, oh it's be silly and the silliest thing people can imagine besides jello is penises. So when you combine the two, kinda have comedic gold. Yeah. Yeah, that's right. That's right. Uh I did a dish. It it was a a it was I think the recipe was called celery and nut ring mold, jello ring mold. Oh, that sounds pretty good. Which is chopped celery, chopped walnuts in a lime jello, which is like 5050. It's split between like a clear jello, like you'd imagine and then a sour cream jello mixture on the bottom. Um, you suspend that you fold the the celery and nuts into the jello. And you put just a little bit of vinegar in. It was actually a pretty nice dish. Yeah, it sounds light and like a little like very uh ooh, what's the word I'm looking for? Effervescence, not it, but uh cl like I think that's gonna be the word that I choose. Like just that kind of light, uh aromatic-y it it wound up being pretty good. Um I served it with um I I served it on a plate with um pretzel cigarettes. So I took pretzels and dipped them in white chocolate. And then you, you know, dip them in some red dyed white chocolate and some black sugar, some bro black granulated sugar. They look just like cigarette butts, like a lit cigarette. Mm-hmm. And then you do some of them shorter and you kinda stub 'em out in the middle of the anyway, that's what I did. That was my dish. And it was delightful and kind of funny. Um and yeah. That was the that was the dish. Here I can even show you a picture. I I look forward to seeing the picture. It looked like a big ass spider, but it's actually just a cobweb on the blanket over the window. Uh thats sound really fun. Uh I I like uh fun jello dishes. Oh money. Yeah. Right? That's the yeah. And it's like yeah, it just looked kinda trashy but also funny and everything was delicious. It looks like something that wouldn't be funny circa nineteen eighty five. Right. It looks like something would have been real. Like something that would have been honest to God brought and and and would have been proud of. Yeah. Yeah. That that's right. No, it was it was delicious. Uh and the pretzels are it's white chocolate pretzels. That's that's super easy and they taste good. They taste good. And it it's kinda ever people pick them up and everybody does the same thing. But everyone. Children and adults alike. Andrew, how are you? Uh I'm good. I so I I also have a forthcoming Jell-O concoction. Uh so every year we have a big friends' uh white elephant present exchange, like a Christmas party that includes white elephant. Uh and the rule is it has to be something in your home. Like you can't go buy something for this white elephant gift. Uh last year I got a ridiculous jello mold. And every year I do something horrifying with hot dogs, like to bring as one of the side dishes. Uh like I've I've made a couple hot verb versions of hot dog salads and which is really just condiments mixed together with various sizes of hot dogs. This year, for my white elephant gift, I'm using my jello mold from last year and making a jello hot dog, like molded hot dog jello dish. So I have clear gelatin and I'm gonna use beef broth instead of water. I'm gonna get hot dogs suspended in it and I'm gonna I'm not sh I don't know how the consistency of it's gonna come out when it's needs to cool, but I'm gonna try to add veins of ketchup and mustard through it as it solidifies. I think you're gonna have to do layers. I think I am gonna have to do layers and I think it's worth the effort. Um yeah. Yeah. Cause that's gonna be magical. Yeah. Do you have like a uh uh some sort of cooling system? Besides a refrigerator? Yeah, like a swamp cooler or something. Something that will do accelerated cooling. No, I th the only thing I can do for that's perhaps a freezer, but yeah. I I might the veins might not work. Um I think they will. Well, that sounds fun, but is this is I are we just doing it? Are we each doing the thing where that we talked about? We're changing this to the Jell O podcast? I think so. I know we've talked about it on you know, off air and well, for years now at this point. So that's uh that's where we're at. No, no, no. We're not here to talk about jello. We're here to talk about watches. And and we should do that. We should talk about watches. Not because I thought there was anything that was like, oh my God. But there were things. And this is actually just what we do. There were things. There were a couple uh nothing like nothing, you know, blew my hair back or anything, but um Some things. Well, why don't you get it started? I am gonna say I'm gonna start get started with some watch nudes. Carry on. Yeah. Uh carry on. Studio underdog. Richard is doing some things. This guy is moving and shaking. Uh he has well studio underdog. So Richard has purchased Orologium, which has been his longtime assembly servicing company. Now he's he was a minority owner in it since uh last year, but finally completed the acquisition, which kind of begs the question um are we gonna see a retail space of some sorts? Uh i and I and I think that's he he kinda hinted at it in in the interview I read that he he's it's something that's perhaps in the works. Uh and I think that'd just be super fun. I can't imagine well, I can imagine what a studio underdog uh retail space would look like. And I know that my imagination of said space won't even come close to what he's got in the works. And I think it's really cool. I'm I'm really excited to see this brand that that we've you know known and um been familiar with since day one. Yeah. Uh to see this trajectory of growth, to see his huge contract with Siegel, to see his awesome collaborations. And now this um really big move in stepping outside of just design, but becoming you know, getting pretty damn close to an entire in-house operation is really neat. Yeah, coup couple notes. W w one, I I think Richard himself has hinted at the possibility of retail spaces being possible through this. Uh i and two, the second note I have um i is that we we actually don't know, Andrew and I don't know what the ownership of Studio Underdog is. So we don't know that it's we assume it's Richard. Yep. owner, um, but I assume that there are other people who own parts of Studio Underdog. The way this is r written, you know, Richard being the founder. With that said, um I I think this could I I mean this really could mean very little in in terms of w what this is, but it actually could mean something. And and and so orologium is assembling, producing. I I think I think Studio Underdog actually gets quite a bit of power for itself here, but also becomes um sort of the the marquee brand of uh a a group that services forty five other micro brands. So you know this this is not this is not insignificant. This is actually a relatively large piece of of market news, especially for that world. Yeah, exciting. Very cool. That's all I have to say about that. All right. I guess we'll move on. Um Maurice LaCroix. Mm-hmm. The icon is not a watch that I am very excited about. I I it comes out the release versions of the icon is uh I'm like, okay, yeah, it I think it's cool. Maurice LaCroix not a brand I'm all that excited about. I think for me, Maurice LaCroix feels a little like real LaCroix. A little like real LaCroix. That's right. Um, and yeah, I mean, really, that's all you need to say about it, I think. Uh no, there's more. I don't know what Maurice LaCroix feels like. It just uh it feels like a little I I don't know, they they just for me, they miss, right? It's not like the brand isn't cool enough, the watches aren't neat enough, they're design cues kinda miss me. The way just the way they they are. The way you are, Mo, I just don't like it. Uh with that said, I think they're doing something kind of neat here. So they have introduced so a few years ago they did a collaboration with Label Noir, which I don't really know what Label Noir is besides a design house. Anyway, they released some limited editions with label noir, and now they're doing something a little different. Label noir and Maurice LaCroix have teamed up to do a customization project, the the Maurice LeCroix Lab, powered by Label Noir, is an icon customizer. You can nowow go to the Label Noir or Maurice LeCroix lab by Label Noir and customize a icon all of your own. So uh case strap obviously the big things but all the way down to uh hands the dial stamping uh the the dial layout the dial color, the date location, or or no date at all, what the date looks like, the case color. Um I really you can make a one off Maurice the Croix icon, to the extent that's something you're interested in. Um I mean I guess I think this is kinda cool, Andrew. I I'm You're making your watch. I'm making one right now, and it isn't. Uh it isn't bad. It's very much like the the wild one where you get, you know, three three-ish options per uh I think it's cool. I mean I it's like customizing a character in Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1, right? Exactly. You're gonna get some choices. They're not gonna be the choices you the choices aren't gonna drive you crazy. Um, but uh it's kinda neat. It's kind of a neat concept, it's kind of a neat idea. I do understand it adds, you know, some some money to the watch, you know, uh upwards of a thousand or maybe a little bit more over a stock watch. With that said, you're getting a one-off custom watch. And and it's it delivers in six to eight weeks. I mean, so base price on this is forty one hundred bucks. Uh Let's see, what if you go titanium? Titanium is 4500 bucks, ceramics 47. I mean, really, that's the cool part, right? It's like with Christopher Ward, I feel like every time Christopher Ward comes out with a watch I like, I'm like, oh, finally they released this watch in the way I want, but all the dials are butt. You know? Yes. I I feel like this. I mean, it's if Christopher Ward did this, I'd be like, yeah, thanks, Christopher Ward. Now I can finally get a watch from yours that I'd buy. Um that's I'm being a little a little facetious because a little bit yeah the Arctic White C sixty three is cold fire. With that's it. I mean here's it like you don't have to like you're not limited. Like, oh the 38 only comes in that awful tote. Cool. Cool, cool, cool, cool, cool, cool, cool, cool. No, you think I didn't want it. Whatever fucking color you want. Whatever color you want. This is neat. Um, it does add some price and frankly, it's a watch that I'm just zero percent excited about, which is it is what it is. That's it does create the s scenario where this could be the most interesting icon ever released because you get to make it exactly what you want. Yeah, e each of them. Each of them will be the most interesting icon ever released. I know I think Portia Design has done this. Um with that said, it is cool. It is cool. Uh I I like it. It's like uhh you know, Tony Hart Pro Skater 1 customization watches. Well, I mean Anne Ordain did it with or Nordkane did it. Oh, did they? Did they do that? No, no, no, you're right. Yeah. Yeah. That's Nordkane. Yeah, the wild one was uh they did a release where you could you could basically build it out. You had, you know, the three case colors, the three dial colours, the handsets, and um I can't think of anybody else who's done it, but that was kind of their whole shtick around the the release of it. Was that you got to make it your own and be it it could be your wild one. Cool. Yeah. What's next? Uh oh next up for me. Hmm. Hmm. We have to talk about this Constantine Chicken watch. Let's. Have we ever talked about a Constantine Shekin on this show? Uh maybe perhaps in passing. So I saw a picture of this watch uh in like a little uh just a thumbnail of it, and I was like that whoops that watch has boobs. And obviously there's a watch they have to look at. And then I I like look at the title of the article and I'm like, oh, it's meant to be boob. It's literally boobs. So this is a Constantine. Chaikin It is a watch that is inspired by Sandro Botticelli's Birth of Venus. You know, I um they use the quote art inspires art and I you know, I just I don't see the um I don't see the inspiration coming through. If you look at Birth of Venus, the color palette's really different. It's this, it's like a this is like a warm, kind of fiery, sandy ninety percent of the dial with a moon phase face for Venus's face, uh, which is it it is perhaps one of the cooler moon phases I've ever seen, uh, with a sapphire cap on it with the face uh painted onto the sapphire so that you you get the moon phase rotating and the face never changes. Um, and then as you go down the watch, you have the neckline of the character, and then the hands and or the hours and minutes are rotating uh booby discs. Um With her hair surrounding kind of the out entire entirety of the dial, which is this really lovely kind of sand s like windswept sand texture uh to recreate hair. And and there's no arguing that this is an absolutely gorgeous watch. Uh I don't see the birth of Venus in it. I understand that uh you know, y you get inspired by something. I I don't see it. I it's a wholly different color palette that just doesn't doesn't work for me. I if you just if you wanna make a if you wanna make a watch that has boobies for your hours and minutes discs just make just do just do that. Just do boobs you know you don't have to you don't have to accuse it of being anything else. They rotate independently which means at some points during the day it's like very funny. I will say that the I think the line work on the face is one-to-one between this and the the original. And then the hair. I can see it. I'm okay with it. I I I don't I don't take quite as much offense to the inspiration as you do, but um it's not offense. It's I I just don't I just don't see it. I know you're not offended, but you know what I mean. Yeah. Yeah, there are some pictures where the nipples are just everywhere. That's funny. Like googly eyes. Only 99 of these being made, uh 20,000 bucks, uh Legou pure G200 movement uh 40 millimeter case uh uh yeah 40 millimeter 129 thick i I don't know who this is for. Did I say it's 20,000 Swiss francs? So that's actually not a, you know, not a four like isn't that cheap for a process check? I don't know. I had it in my head that these watches were like a lot of money. The first comment on monochrome buoys. Yeah. They probably locked it down after that. That's all that needs to be said. We're all children. We're all children. Yeah. I don't know. I had it in my head that Constantine Shikin. Maybe this is like uh it's the Le Jouper movement, so maybe that's the deal. This is like uh production grade, Constantine Shagan. Maybe. Yeah, I uh it's interesting. And I'm glad that when I looked at it and saw boobies, it was it wasn't just like me being a child. It was like Oh no, these are boobies. Yep, that's right. Yeah. That's what this is for. Um oh okay. So I I think I think let's go through the boring ones and then we'll like we'll amp up. We'll ramp up the watches we're excited about as we get do you you do you feel me? Do you you feel me? This was the most exciting watch I had to talk about today. Um oh okay. It this is a cool watch, but it's not uh something I I think that I'm personally excited about. W with that said, it it's cool. So uh it's not terribly erotic either. The uh Parch time a few years ago, Carabarett's like kids watch brand um r released a handful of delightful aluminum watches meant for children. Um and and they've now released a new set of of uh a pair of watches uh with with Hodinki, uh which makes sense. Kara Barrett was a Hodinki editor for a long time and has uh you used that as the launching ground, I think, for her for her watch company. I don't think that's unfair to say. Um so they've done a collaboration of a space themed parchy watch. This is available in both 32 and 36. They're calling it the Parchy Lunar Time Limited Editions for Hodinki. Um, and these are clearly watches that are targeted at kids, young people. Um, or I guess anybody who wants to wear a watch. Uh, but with the sizes and just with the the way these watches are, they're they're meant for kids. Um, these come in this new limited edition is fully red anodized aluminum, um which is evocative of sort of NASA NASA red, right? Um NASA red anodization red bezel uh with uh uh white hour numerals. Um you know it's it's a fairly nondescript watch. It does have loom. I believe it's got a uh a hodinky, ain loomed Hodky logo at six, which take it or leave it. I'm fine with it. Obviously, super legible on this. It is a three-hand watch. Um Velcro strap is a space themed it and's for kids. Is it a rotating bezel? I don't believe the bezel rotates, no. Um I think it's just a bezel. Uh 75 bucks and 85 bucks. 5 F00ive people hund.red pieces each. Um truly a kid's well, I just they uh uh they they did this right I I think the only isn't a Seiko quartz yeah, that's right. Psycho Courts.ah Ye. The only problem I have with this watch is that because it's Karabaret and Ho'Dinky and this this whole i it it's sort of a hype beast, right which which takes away from which takes away a little bit for me takes away from the accessibility on this thing. Now I do think um I do think that these will be available. When do these go live? It isn't say. When do these go live? Well, it it's either that these haven't gone live yet, and we don't know when they're gonna go live yet, the article doesn't say, or they're just sold out, which to my point is the problem with a watch like this, right? Um, yeah. Hodinky will retail at seventy five dollars for the thirty-two and eighty-five for the thirty-six. Five hundred pieces of each are available for purchase via right tier. You go and you go to right here at Watches of Switzerland and for both the 32 and the 36 it says sign up to be notified if this product becomes available. Yeah. So I I think these may be sold. And and so that for me, that's a bummer, right? It it's like the idea of these is accessible kids watches and it's like, well, I can't get one for my kid. I you can't get one for you. Never mind your kid. Yeah. That's right. So we've turned this like I think cool thing. Kind of sweet into an asshole hype beast thing. And and I'm not blaming anybody, right? This is just the the nature of the beast. But I I find it disappointing. Like it it sort of sucks for me, it sucks the coolness out of what should be a really, really cool project. Anyway, speak more of them. I do uh Andrew, I I think that that's a fair comment. Who I don't know if they were able to predict 500 seems like a a dangerously low number of of them to have made it. With a hodinky partnership and the kind of longstanding knowledge of Parchy, the you can you can reasonably they obviously wanted to sell out, but like I uh I uh yeah, it is what it is. I I hate judging people's business decisions, but for m like I said, for me it kind of sucks the coolness out of it. Yeah, it has a little bit of that effect for me too. A c a oh oh or perhaps a warming effect. No, the chicken warming effect. their oh what's the word they use um imaginary the imaginary uh line what are they calling them the imaginary vintage.in Imary vagintage. Uh creating watches that maybe should have been, and then a story to go along with them. Certainly that could have been. Yeah. So this is the type 10 officer chronograph with a cream dial. Uh this is the uh descendant of their type 10 chronograph. And it's lovely. I love this. Yeah. This it's got this really good cream dial, almost like um I think the texture on it makes it almost look like aged paper, uh Fotina loom in the hands, subdials on the bezel, a good, like a cool mono pusher, 1030 crown, and a flat uh kind of puck pusher. The size on it's really good. This is a 39mm case, 41.7 or yeah, 39 on the case, 41.7 on the bezel, 12 millimeters thick, 47 lug to lug, 100 meters of water resistance. Uh it's based off of the 7750 movement. They're only making a hundred ninety-nine of them over the next three years. So these are gonna be kinda I think a little bit challenging to get your hands on. 3,950 Swiss francs. Uh take the story or leave it, take the kind of uh alternate history view of this vintage-inspired watch that's not inspired by anything that actually existed, uh, and put all that aside because this is a cool vintage inspired chronograph with a 7750 platform it looks good it looks every bit of a 1950s pilot I if you're just tuning in, uh the type 10 is a fictional ancestor to the type 20 pilots chronograph, uh watch which which actually didn't exist it is a flyback mono pusher type 20 ancestor um and the execution on these is is really good. Their first two their first two type tens were the um Thunder Graph and Marina Graph, uh w with the Thunder Graph being sort of like a navy, really sort of like denim beautiful um dial, and the marina graph being I don't know this jade green uh any anyway uh so this is yeah so these are just cream uh r really lovely I I really love the execution. and And they they do some interesting things, right? Like this one's got like a bronze crown and this red pusher. It it's just even without all the the story, it's just a terrific watch. And and the twelve o'clock has a uh chronograph actuation marker. Oh yeah. So you got a little red dot if your chronograph is running. Yeah. And a white dot. And a I mean a white dot. If it's if it's not. Did you talk about the size of the vessel? Yeah, it's it overhangs by two millimeters, two almost three millimeters. Yeah. Uh so you're having this really tight thirty nine millimeter case with a a nice big bezel hangover and it it get for me it really gives uh especially on the top down it really g it's like a a disc uh more so that than most watches like you really just have this disc I I don't know I just love it. I think it's I I think that this w uh the the concept the Albertan concept would be would be cool almost no matter what. They they could have really but but you can just imagine a world where they're phoning in these watches horologically. Well they could. And and and it would still be cool. It's like, oh, this is cool, but like these are actually really, really cool watches. Like really excellently designed and interesting, orologically interesting watches. I just I can't say enough good stuff about this. The profile on this for for using a 7750, this thing looks thin. Yeah this mid-case, the mid-case might actually even be thinner than the bezel. Yeah, I think just 12 millimeters, including the crystal. Uh they have to be hiding mo like m case space under that bezel, because the the bezel is is almost like a like a pie tin. Yeah. And then and then concaves back in. Uh so it it just it from the profile it almost looks like a triangular hourglass shape on both ends. I'm sure that the bezel has a like a what do you call the shroud in there to It's got a connection point that sits outside of the m movement so that the movement can be pushed up into the Yeah. You call that anyway, there's a word that I'm looking for that it's evading me. Great watch. Yeah. I I just think these are are these are fun. Totally good. Spectacular. Uh we've got a uh Pink Panther 5KX. Uh uh Aseiko Five Sports aka what I like to call the five KX in the five sports SKX line uh and it's Pink Panther themed. Uh apparently Pink Panther is an IP that is being sold right now or licensed. Uh which wonder if that means there's something on the horizon. You know, I I just I don't know. I mean I I I I kind of googled I didn't see anything um that seemed immediately apparent to me. But um yeah, we've got a Pink Panther themed 5KX and and what that means is you've got a pink dial and pink bezel writing, but it's it's got like sort of a fifties sign painter font. Did you did you notice that? Mm-hmm. Which is maybe the thing I like the most about the watch. The thing I like the least about this watch are the embossed Panther footprints on the dial. I hate embossed. I I well I think that the the those prints are part of the Pink Panther core, but they could have skipped that on the dial and just left it on the strap and and it would have been great. I think so too. I do not like impressed dials this like this. This is not my thing. With that said, it it's whimsical and cute and w really puts a point on it. I don't know i are people into the Pink Panther? If you're into the Pink Panther, they're these are okay, so these are limited to just nine thousand nine hundred and ninety nine pieces. Uh which I think means you should be able to get one. Um they're expensive. Brand new every year in January for the next twenty-five years. This will be brand new in box. Right. May maybe, yeah. I I think I think you're right. I think there's gonna be plenty of these available for for some time. Um But I if you like it, it it's pretty pretty cool. You do get a out of nine thousand nine hundred ninety nine piece mark or piece stamp on your case pack. So well there you go. Uh the y it's it's numbered. Uh 460 bucks, which or 450, which I I think is expensive for what you're getting with a 5kx. Um it comes in a cool box. Where's the box? Right here. Oh, it is a cool box. It comes in a cool box. Yeah. It's like a Pink Panther house with artwork on it. A little man. Little man and pink pink. And it comes with a seiko bracelet or eagle. A uh a pink nylon strap with uh panther prints coming up of it and then on the inside double pass, yeah. A little uh same font uh wet paint warning on the inside of the strap. Uh yeah, it's fun. This is really you warming up, like getting more and more excited. I feel like this was Yeah, no, I forgot this one. Yeah. I missed that one. That one's pretty uh I think we have bangers from here though. I think so too. Uh I'm trying to decide what I want to talk about. Um yeah, no, I very much could've led with that one. Yeah. Um I like the parching more than that one, except that there's n you can't get it. Oh boy, Andrew's really, he's struggling. Yeah, so I I want to talk about the a Frederic Constant and Time and Tide collaboration watch. Um Freddie is not usually a brand that gets me gets me going. Yeah, like Chris LaCroix. Yeah, very similar. And this um this one changes it for me. So time and tide uh the high life moon phase onyx moon which is a six o'clock moon phase with a date a pointer date around the outside and just this beautiful uh blacker than black markerless dial with the fc logo at the 12 o'clock and it is sexy. This thing is great. It's an integrated lug, uh kind of tonne-y case with an integrated bracelet. I mean, it's it's an integrated sports watch. I I I'm not gonna try to explain any further. That's all it is, okay? But it's really good with an like this lovely onyx dial, 39 millimeter case. I don't understand why it's 1279 thick, but it is 100 meters of water resistance. Um of note, this is the first ever integrated five link that Frederic Constant has done and it's it's really good. They're only making a hundred of them, five thousand six hundred ninety-five US money. And I like save for the the kind of inexplicable thickness of this watch, everything else just has my number. Ye yeah, no Andrew, I feel about the high life exactly the same as I do the icon, which is to say, totally meh, if you ask me, design doesn't do it for me. I don't like that weird sort of angle on the bezel. Uh it's too thick for what it is, I think. Ask ask me. I think it's too thick. Although this was I think 108 on the high life is what you get. You've got this Cosk certified SW200 that's ugly as sin. With that said, with that said, Andrew, they've fixed for me the huge sin of the high life, which is that embossed globe, latitude, longitude, globe thing that I just fucking hate. And this bracelet is a billion times better. Maybe two billion times better than that original bracelet. Yes. This is a really good looking watch. I'm I'm with you. I I still think I think it Is this ten eight ten eight four or is that what they No it's twelve something. It's twelve seven nine. Well, I they must be they must be making space for the moon face. That's okay though. It's a moon face. I I and and these things do have a nice case. This is for me, especially with that onyx dial, like you said, this is for me the nicest looking high life that's ever been made. I I just I think it's terrific. In the in the product photos you can just you can see just how supple that bracelet is. Yeah. You can see like good flex in it. It like It it looks lovely. Yeah. And and the the end length, the way it it sits into the case is done really well. This is a really good version of a not great watch, if you ask me. Yeah, I think that's a yeah. Beautiful. How much are these? Fifty six hundred bucks. Yeah. That's a lot of money. Fifty-seven hundred bucks. It's a lot of money. Yeah. But man, that pointer date is cool. It's it's cool. Okay. Yep, I like it. I like it. I didn't think I was gonna like it when you started talking about it. I wasn't sure. I I when I started reading about it, I was um less than excited and then I I looked more at it and was like I'm I'm I'm I'm smelling what you're stepping in. I don't like that new buck strap. No, I could do without that. Um But you get it on the s you get it on the bracelet. Who cares? Yeah. That's right. And it never comes off. And that bracelet. Uh yeah. Man, that is a really well done watch. Oh thanks, Freddie. Appreciate you. Just make it thinner next time. Put it on the treadmill and then send it back out. Um oh okay, so I've got two watches that I don't that I that I that I have to save because I I'm really excited about 'em. This is not one of them, although I am excited about this because I think it's really cool. W William Wood is uh Johnny Garrett, British watchmaker, Johnny Garrett's company named after his late grandfather, who was a celebrated firefighter. Uh and William Wood watches are all firefighter themed, which is cool. We don't have that. This is the only firefighter themed watch company, I think. I'm pretty sure, yeah. They are known for upcycling or recycling um products from firefighting and and this watch is no different. What this is, is the William Wood Vintage Triumph uh and and what it what it is is a chromcraft it is a all gold gold on gold on gold, triple gold, uh chronograph. And it's and it's terrific. So um sort of a uh like a stout 41 millimeter case that's gold plated with a hundred meters of water resistance. The Warner Round article on this had a funny quote about that, would I say? Uh should the wearer ever trade fire for its natural opponent? I thought that was fun. Um, it's got sort of a diamond-cut, I think a CNC Gioche dial. Uh that's like this nice champagne hue uh with polished gold numerals, a gold, I believe aluminum bezel, and um yeah, SW510 chronograph with three and nine subdials, 48-hour power reserve, uh, and this like firefighter check on the minute track. It's just really, really clever and attractive. I will tell you, I think the thing I like about this the best are the pushers. The shape on these pushers is so interesting. They're like sort of rectangular pushers that push out from the case. Yeah. They're like geometric. And they really like, they sort of like integrate with the crown guard. And it's a vibe, man. They look like they could just be Crown Guard. That's right. It's a vibe. And it's gold plated. Who does gold plating in twenty twenty-six? Thanks. What year do you think it is? I forgot. Um you know the only thing I can't I I've struggled with William Wood, I've I've liked all of their watches that I've that I've seen in person. I I've never been like about any of their watches. I can't I just can't get down with the the um hybrid strap. Yeah. Yeah. Uh I don't know what it is. They do like a rubber textile made from fire hose straps. I just I can't um I can't get down with it. And I I don't fully understand why. And this one's got a big, I think kind of ugly plate at six. Yeah. Which I sorry, I'm not a huge fan. Maybe that plate is actually the keeper. It's yeah, that's the it looks like it m might be the keeper, but it looks stitched in place. It's not the keeper. Yeah, it's it's a fixed. Uh yeah, not a huge fan of that. With that said, I like everything else. I do wish this was on a gold plate on the bottom. Oh no, it is the keeper bracelet. I don't is it? Mm-hmm. Okay. Oh it's in different placement. It's a sliding keeper. I s I I still though don't like the plate on the keeper. Yeah. It it it is cool. It's gold. But yeah, I'm not a huge fan. I think if this came on a gold plated bracelet, I'd be Bow Chicka Bow Wow. About four thousand money. Yeah. US dollars. Three thousand nine hundred and ninety one. Uh really, really, really cool chronograph. The execution on this case is terrific. Yeah, the color the color combination, all of it looks it just evokes that that classic uh early century firefighter helmet look well and so the crown on this is actually made from melted down firefighters. Uh firefighters. Firefighter helmets. Shit. I've had exactly one sip of scotch. Uh maybe I should have more
Everett . Oh. I don't know why that one was that one got me though
Andrew . Helmets. Bronze firefighter helmets. Oh, that makes more sense because I was trying to figure out a way they would like get the human goo into the thing. Uh Locco and Circula have done something uh super fun and super cool. They basically traded cases and then designed a watch. So when you look at these at you and you're like, oh, this is a locko circular collaboration, the watch that looks like a circular is actually a loco. And And vice versa. So these brands decided to do a collaboration wherein they took each other's, and it's for their 70th and 100th anniversaries, uh Circula being 70 this year, Lacko being a hundred, uh, and did a joint endeavor to do a single box release of two watches. And I love it. I love it. Everything about it. These are both co they're both co-branded, right? Yeah, because it's the Locco did a watch in a circular case and circular in a Locco case. And they kind of like the the whole idea was let's like let's do ours and yours design through our own perspective. And these come as a set. Right. I see. And it it doesn't super make sense. But it also the dial designed by yes. By circulas and the lock okay. Okay. Alright. Yeah. I see you. Ah. They both have the circula and the loco branding too. Yeah. These are really cool. They're both really, really good. Uh and and for a pair of watches you're looking at hang on 2390 euro uh they're 40 millimeter cases the I'm seeing so both 40 millimeter one's nine eight one's eleven one hundred fifty meters of water the Locco's nine eight the circula the the Locco case is is nine the circula is 111. you' Andre getting over 100 meters of water resistance on each. Uh SW200 in both. And both are 40 millimeters. Yeah. Perfectly sized. The sorry, Andrew. Sor sorry, the Laco has 200 meters. of water at this time So I said over a hundred meters in both. Got it. Got it. Carrie. God, I hate you. Carry on. If you check LinkedIn later this week, there's gonna be a posting for a podcast co-host. my train of thought. Uh I I i the the the these two brands got together because they're both German manufacturers. Uh they're celebrating aniversary big anniversaries this year. Nothing about this partnership makes sense. And yet it's such a cool collaborative, like a true collaborative release. Yeah. And coming as a box set, I think this is this is just terrific. Yeah. Well and and a throwaway here, this isn't my watch, but Locko also introduced a thirty-eight millimeter hundred anniversary dress watch limited edition. It's 38 millimeters. It's IP coated. And I think it's like nine millimeters thick. Uh and it just looks incredible. It's dog bowl sort of construction. It's terrific. Yeah. Um, like sort of art deco with yeah. Uh and not that expensive, under two grand. Yeah, yeah, inexpensive. That's right. Uh Kuwame Tokyo was, I think, for me, um, probably the coolest brand to debut in this last year. And um, and in their second release, I think really puts a point on this. This was the Japanese micro brand. I actually think maybe I'm saying this, maybe I'm saying this as like uh optimistically, I think that there is room in the market for a Japanese micro brand movement. I think that we've got space for it. I think that there's space for a movement for for a number of brands to come out, especially if they can do things like fucking kawame Tokyo. So uh l last year they released the Kalatrava, Kalatrava inspired Kurutsuki and Usuki dress watches with brega numerals, and I just loved them. They were like six hundred bucks. It wasn't that long ago. That was this year. Or it was this year, excuse me. That's what I mean. It was like 2025. It was like six months ago. And they were just like sold out immediately because they're f they were just fucking perfect. So they have reused that case with two to to release uh two new watches. Uh the IWAW Ginkaik and the Iwow Sumi. Uh the Ginkkai is a silver dial and the sumi is a black dial. These are both like kind of sectory cases with like a like a big textural contrast. So you've got a a matte like blasted inner surface and then a uh like a polished or or CNC'd outer surface. We've got these like really beautiful 12369 Arabics with bars at every other number. Really cool handset. We're as their original lease released was pretty dressy with the bregay numerals. It felt very sort of austere. This feels more rugged and sporty. We've got an applied but also still really elegant. Mm-hmm. That's right. Very, very egg el elegant. We've got this applied plaque logo at twelve, right under the twelve o'clock numeral, that just looks bespoke. It looks absolutely high-end luxury. And it just says Kwame Tokyo Asakusa. Um man, oh man. So same case, which is to say we've got a a three-part case with polish, brush, polish, uh, very much Calatrava inspired on the case, um which is means it's boring in exactly the right ways. Uh and and you know me The thing I like the most is we are at nine and a half millimeters thick on this. So 38 millimeter case, nine and a half thick, uh Miyoda 903 9 because why the fuck not and andrew andrew andrew andrew andrew six hundred and ninety US dollars excluding taxes yeah six hundred and ninety0, including taxes. They will be available on December 25th at 1030 a.m. For the blink of an eye. I think that's right. Tune in on Christmas, whatever 10 30 a.m. Japan time is, I don't know. Uh, because these things are gonna go. This is one of the hypiest brands of the year. These things are gonna be gone immediately. And I I don't think it's not a hype watch. It's just an insanely good watch at an insanely good price. Yeah. So Tokyo is plus 17 hours. If this if they sold this watch, Andrew. If they sold this watch at five thousand, people would still buy it. It'd be easier to get, but not that much easier. Yep. Not that much easier. And and honestly, even with a ninety thirty-nine, they could be selling this watch for two thousand and no one would bat an eye. Yeah, that's right. Yeah, that's right. Yeah, I at five thousand they'd have to they'd have to up the movement. Yeah, I think I think that's fair. But at two thousand. Go le jupe. Yeah. But at two thousand, people people are gonna be like, Oh, it's a ninety thirty nine, but everything else is awesome. At five thousand they just use the L JP when yeah. It's the same movement. Uh it is these are crazy, man. Uh I sh I don't get it. I I don't I don't I mean I underst I get what's happening. I just I don't get how it's happening. How much how much do these cost? How much how much is six hundred and ninety bucks? Yeah. Did I say 690? Yeah. Did I say they're less than 700 bucks? They're less than 700 bucks. Oh my God. Um these things are crazy, dude. I I I'm so excited about this company. I hope that they make so many more watches. I I I just can't I can't believe what they're doing. I mean if every release you make sells out, there's no I don't see a world where you stop. Uh yeah. Yeah. I i i these these whoa. Unless they're just not making enough money. Yeah, I mean at 700 bucks, I don't know how you're making money on something manufactured like this. So stinking good, man. Uh what's next, sir? Uh I can kind of skip the rest of mine. I've got one more, one more watch I want to talk about. Okay. The uh uh Sereca. Oh, yeah, I should have. Dang it. Serica. Then you slurped. Oh, Serica has brought back a uh a fan favorite, the tuxedo dial, and they've done it now in the 6190 field chronometer, which is one of their, you know, one of their three series. They've got the diver, they got the parade, and they've got the field chronometer, which is just a terrific release. They've now brought back a tuxedo dial, which I think Serica does insanely well because of the way they deal with dial colors. Okay, you're not gonna get any sort of like jewel tone CNC engine work uh ombre dials from Serica because they're like, that's stupid. That that's not for that's dumb. It's not for them. This is a black and sort of warm beige gold beige tuxedo with crisp white loom on silver markers and it is fire. This watch is fire. Yeah. Hot. Hot. Yeah, white hot fire. White hot fire. It is it is still just a field chronometer. So that means 377 chronometrae. Chronometrae. 377 millimeters in diameter, 10 fourth thick, 46 and a half, lug to lug, 200 meters of water resistance. How the fuck do you do that, Sarica? Uh and oh yeah, that 10-4 includes the crystal, which sits above the bezel. Um yeah, we've got a uh SOPROD M100 with of course uh cost chronometer certification. Um man, they just do it. It's not, it's not even a terribly expensive watch. It's $1,200. Yeah. You know, I think one of my favorite parts of this dial is the horizontal six o'clock marker. Yeah. Yeah. It's fantastic. I I'm with you. Just stunning. Great, great handset on this. That big arrow hour marker or our hand is fantastic. And and that actually works really well in the non-tuxedo dials too, that that horizontal marker. Um it's just such a delightful, it's like such a whimsical little detail. Yeah, this is good. Yeah. I I'm I'm uh uh I'm about as high on those last two watches. I I'm so glad that they showed the the restraint of keeping the the loom white. How easy and they weren't tempted to to Fotina it to match the how easy the the beige ring. How easy would it have been for them to screw this up? This is such a lovely watch. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I I actually don't know why don I't own a Sereca at this point because uh I I think I am as high on this brand as you could be on a watch brand. Uh I think it's just it's sort of for me it's just never felt super accessible. Um, but maybe this is this is the year. I th I think I need a Sereca. You've only got about fourteen days left. Well, when I say this is the year, twenty twenty six is the year I'm referring to, so Okay. Yeah. Uh this is the year for me, especially with the release of the new bracelet. Um I I I think I'm a I'm a buyer in twenty twenty six. So I I have when when you go to their website you can j accept or z refuse your the cookies until you're until your phone translates the uh the webpage. Oh gosh, what a great watch. Andrew, I understand you're done talking about watches. What about other things? Uh so for Christmas, I a couple years ago started doing poor man's prime uh yeah, poor man's prime rib. Um which is just a really long sous-y soak of chuck roast and then a hot sear on it. And you keep the temperature pretty low on the sous vath. So it just kinda starts to break down all the sinew and tissues and stuff in a chuck roast. Uh and then when you pull it out after the sear, it is like wall to wall, medium rare, and super tender steak, like a prime rib, but for four.99 a pound as opposed to $14.99 a pound. And it's it is objectively not as good, but it's really, really close. Like n anybody eating it is not going to be able to discern the difference. Anybody that I'm dining with is not going to be able to discern the difference. So I'm like, okay, yeah, that's what I'm going to do. Um, but I I had a couple big events around Christmas that were Christmas themed and I was like, I'm just gonna do that for all these. I was like, well, why don't I just get a chuck roll and do it myself. Like just butcher that and save even more money when I'm doing all these chuck roasts. Uh, so as one does when you're about to undertake something that you've not done before, you spend a lot of time on the YouTube. Uh, and I found this uh YouTube channel called um Certified Angus Beef Test Kitchen. Okay. They have a website, Certified Angus Beef. Uh, but this test kitchen, oh, I should send you the link. Um, I'm not gonna send you the link to the channel. I'm just gonna uh so this test kitchen is excuse me geez little beef recipes uh primal cuts of beef butchery they do it and and and I watched a hundred or more different people's videos butchering a chuckrol. Theirs was the most consumable, the most like it was one of the shorter ones. And you got all the information out of it. Like no advertising in it, no like product placement, no needless fluff. It was just this guy who's like, hey, I get a lot of people who come in my shop looking for a job. First thing I do is tell them, like, break down this chuck roll. Like, that's your interview. And is it he goes, this is how you do it. And five minutes later, this whole 30-pound chunk of beef is processed into, you know, eight different cuts. I didn't I didn't do that. I didn't process it down into into Chuck Eye and to Denver Steaks and to all this other junk. I just needed Chuck Rust. So my butchery process was pretty easy. Uh but so so that was mine. Uh Angus Beef Test Kitchen. They do cool stuff. And then kind of part two of my other thing is go to your chef supply store and buy meat, like buy big primal cuts. Yeah. It's like it's a fun activity to break down this enormous chunk of meat. It's forgiving in so much as like if you fuck it up, just cube it or grind it. And and it's it's like it's not a big deal. Uh we have a chef supply store two minutes from our our house down the street. Uh they sell New York strip there in the full like primal cut. So you're you you gotta carve your own strips out of it. Um same with the ribeye. Uh find a find a chef supply store and and save even more money when you're doing like big beef purchases. Uh I I paid four four eighty nine a pound, I think, for for that. 30 pounds of beef. Yeah. Did you watch the new Alton Brown video? No, I haven't, but it it's it I was gonna watch it tonight actually. Um the it's the rib roast. Alton Brown does his Christmas rib roast. Uh so I I've got a a bit of story for my other thing. It's quick. And he just rolled his eyes so far back into his head. They came all the way around. So I think about three months ago, I I was talking to Kim. We had uh friend of ours who uh when we were much younger, pre-kids, used to make she called it wine cake. And it was just it's like this vanilla pudding cake mix thing that's it was a family recipe for her and um and I said, you know, Kim we should text Michelle and get the wine cake recipe. Um and and I said, you know, and the other thing I need is I need a bunt pan. I need a bunt pan. Yeah. And Kim said, Yeah, I'll text, I'll text Michelle and I haven't talked to her in twelve years, but you know, she'll appreciate hearing from me for this recipe. Yeah, that's right. And then and then yeah, we should get a bunt pan and make it so anyway, that's the end of that conversation. Move move along. Maybe Kim texted Michelle, maybe she didn't, I don't know. Uh so the other day I'm in I'm in the front room and I say, gosh darn it, Kim, did we ever get a bunt pan? And she said, No, no, we didn't. You said you wanted one. So it's on you to get one. I you can't just make declarations and have in the context of that conversation it would have made sense that she would have got I said, Did we ever get a bunt pan? And she said, you know, no, we didn't ever get a bump pan. And I said, Okay, well, I need one now. And Kim was like, Seriously, you need one right now. And I was like, Yeah, I need I need a bump pan. Um, did you already send in the Walmart order? She was gonna order some stuff on Walmart. And she said, no. And I said, okay, well, and I sh I shot her a text message that had the bunt pan I wanted. So I just had I I'd kind of done a little bit of research and I picked a bunt pan and I sent it to Kim. And she was like, seriously you need this today. And I was like, yeah, what's the big deal? Just put it on the fucking Walmart order, you know? Like you you're not even having to go find it. It's just it's like just put it on your order. She's like she's kind of pushing back on me. And I'm like, what in the world? Like just put on the order. Like yeah, I need it. I don't know what's the problem. Do you want me to go get it? And she's like, no, hold on. And she like gets up and goes into the closet and she comes out with an Amazon box. So this is the type of year where the closet is full of Amazon boxes. I see the push. Okay. And and she was like, here, Merry Christmas. And you fucking asshole. It is exactly the same butt pant that I had picked, like just ten minutes earlier and sent to her. Like we hadn't talked about a bunt pan before and I was like, oh my gosh Anyway, the the the story is that she had So now you you don't have two Bunt Pans? That's right. The story is that she had gotten the exact one that I would have picked two months later. Anyway, long story short, I have a bunt pan and I used it and it's perfect. It is perfect. Um, so my other thing for the week is the Nordicware Pro Form Bunt 12 Cup Gray. Andrew, I will send you a link because I've got it open and I know you're waiting for that. Um but yeah, it is so it's got handles, which is I think for a bunt pan something you really want. A lot of them don't have handles. I I think handles are are best. It's just a good safety measure. And it's a pain in the dick. Like pulling them out and like handling them and turning it over. But also it's a a it's like a thick walled aluminum with a non-stick coating so it releases really well it's a light colored it's a light colored coating so you're gonna get really nice even bakes uh it's just a perfect bunt pan. If you've not ever made a wine cake, uh, we will, in a future episode, I'll put a recipe in the show notes for a wine cake. Uh, but yeah, 12 cup NordQuer bunt pan. Go get you one. They're 18 bucks. You can order it on Amazon. Uh 14 at Target. How about that? How about that? For the same thing? Mm-hmm. Yeah. Cheap. Cheap. Twenty from Nordicware. Yeah, well it's they're gonna gouge you. I you know, I don't have a bunch pan. Uh I've I don't do much baking like I do bread. But well here's it here's what I'm gonna do. Andrew, you and everybody at home, you listening, order your bump pan. Just do it now. And the reason I tell you that is so in two weeks when I or maybe even a week, you don't know, you better order it. When you hear the wine cake recipe and then I talk about how good it is, you'll just immediately be able to go make you a wine case. Well you can have some of mine too, but you're gonna want your own. I know you. I know you. I don't I maybe maybe. It's not it it's not what you're th it's not like a cake. It's not like lay it's just it's like bread it's like a sweet bread and it's so good you just eat it by itself you just take a slice and you eat it and it's I love it anyway uh so order your order your bump pan I.'m talking to Andrew and I'm talking to you. Order your bunt pan. I'll I'll I'll give you the recipe in a week or two. You have anything else you want to add? I don't. Not about wine cakes. Not today. Or bump pans? Butt pans, maybe. Poop watches. Yeah. Hey folks, thanks for joining us for this episode of 40 and 20, the WatchClicker Podcast. Do me a favor, go to our website, it's WatchClicker.com. That's where we post articles and pictures, words, and uh watchclicker.com. If you want to follow us on social media, you can do that on Instagram at forty and twenty underscore watchclicker or at watchclicker. That's where we post mostly pictures but also updates about things we're doing on the website or the podcast. If you wanna support us and oh boy, we hope you do you can do that on Patreon. Patreon.com patreon.com slash forty and twenty.' Thats how we get all the money for hosting uh and the other expenses that we have for the podcast, which is not nothing. Um Patreon.com slash forty and twenty go check it out, maybe maybe drop a buck. And don't forget to tune back in next Tuesday for another hour of Watches Food. Life, drinks, life, food, watches, and other things we like. Bye-bye.