If any of you out there are like me, the Talking Watches series from the good people over at Hodinkee has been a nearly endless source of watch knowledge and conversations – after all, the talking part is in the name – and I’ve spent hours watching those videos to see what types of collections exist out there in the world. If you’re also like me in that there just isn’t quite enough “who you know” clout built up yet (or ever) to get you into an episode of Talking Watches, well, you’re in the right place! Welcome to the…
*cue the title theme music from any Hans Zimmer scored film*
Collector’s Log
I see you, you one lone reader clapping mentally but not physically, and I appreciate your enthusiasm!
But seriously, jokes aside, this is a series that I’m incredibly excited to begin, and my hope is that we’ll be able to highlight more stories, more collections, and more watches. Let’s dig a little deeper into how the watch community looks in the real world – not just for people who know somebody, or in the weird world of hype accounts that Instagram is slowly becoming – and enjoy whatever brings that smile and spark of watch collecting.
I’m excited to introduce a friend in the watch world, and fellow Boston Watch Shots group member, Kenny aka @dialmesmerized on Instagram (yes, I know, I just took a dig at insta a moment ago, but as Bill Maher says, “we’re going to have to hold two thoughts at the same time”). A constant in Kenny’s interest in watches is what goes into the dial; it’s the first thing that jumps out to him. Each of his pieces has something unique to offer, and I was truly impressed by the sheer variety present at the table when we spoke. And as a quick side note, I’ll be posting the full conversation as well - podcast style - since we spent round about two full hours (!) just talking through each piece here. Let’s get into the collection!
Starting off with a wrist check, Kenny brought a true fan favorite to the table: the Seiko SARB017.
“I affectionately call it Green Alpie,” he says, “got this I think in 2020, or maybe 2019…seeing this all over, I was enamored by the dial of course.”
It’s hard to argue with anyone who sports this piece of Seiko goodness.
“When I got it, it was just after they’d discontinued the SARB, actually the whole SARB 17, 35, 33…only to make more Alpinists later.”
*Seiko and AP shaking hands in the distance…yes we’re looking at you, you chronic discontinuers*
“Really with watches, it was my dad’s influence; he kind of got me into it, and then one time he bought me this - it was a quartz, it was a Fossil watch - I think it was at like one of the fashion stores, or clothing stores, I think. I remember being with him up at the counter, buying it, and it was one where I loved the dial. It had like a day/night indicator, the face on the moon had like a facial expression, which was pretty cool.”
It was at this point where we went off on a tangent of the age-old question facing watchmakers everywhere…should the moons have expressions on their faces? Personally, I like the moons to show a little bit of irritation - can’t really pinpoint why - but we shared a fascination for moons that clearly have a little too much on their minds to be in a watch. Come to find out Kenny’s OG moon had a smile going, “a sharp chin,” which is a slightly hilarious bit of detail to have included in the construction of that watch. Nice, Fossil. Nice.
Unfortunately, and as a tale we’re all too familiar with in the watch world, that first piece has been long gone; one piece falls off here, the battery dies there, and the watch only lives on as a sentimental memory. I still Google search each of the specs I can remember of one of my first Swatch chronographs that I received as a gift from my grandparents, only the find a plethora of images for watches that are decidedly not the one I was hoping to see. Kenny and I will be running that lap forever I suppose…so if anyone out there has an old Fossil moonphase, or a white, red, and black late 90s Swatch chrono, give a guy a shout!!
“There was a time where actually, you know, I know it’s blasphemous to think of, but I didn’t have anything on my wrist…and then I went through a smartwatch phase. I didn’t have an Apple Watch, but I had a Samsung-”
PAUSE.
SAMSUNG?
I’d completely forgotten that smartwatches besides, say, the Apple Watch, the Tag Heuer Connected, and certain Bluetooth-enabled G-Shocks even existed, so that was a quick dose of whiplash out of nowhere.
“I just hated the fact that I had to charge it, every night, and then after about a year it started messing with my phone, and my phone kept rebooting itself. I never got an exact reason why, but I have a sneaking suspicion it was the smart watch was becoming obsolete - and the software wasn’t compatible - and so my phone didn’t know what to do.”
…smart watch not seeming to smart! At this point, as we’re laughing about phones listening in and taking snippets of our conversations to use for advertising purposes - you know, rational thoughts - we start to get into the watches that pushed Kenny towards the itch, as we call it.
“I was looking for groomsmen gifts - I had four groomsmen for the wedding that was coming up, the wedding was 2018 - and then for some reason, I ended up on Etsy, and they had these wooden watches. At the time I was like ‘oh, this is pretty cool,’ I liked the way it looked, I liked the dial, as you can see the battery’s gone dead on me, but it actually lasted a while.”
“This is what really got me started, started me down the path of kind of this watch insanity.”
On the caseback, Kenny had the watch engraved with a phrase: “Invest in Yourself.” Little did he know that this would have quite the literal meaning when it came to his future in watches (watch collectors everywhere feeling their bank accounts shudder right now). The sentimental value of these piece is off the charts, and what an interesting piece to send somebody down the rabbit hole of watch collecting; wooden watches continually divide opinion, but to be honest, I think they’re a cool bit of thought process and innovation. Just don’t take them swimming, same as any other watch that shouldn’t go in the water, and you’ll be a-okay.
“This is really what started it for me…and actually, when I was in my wedding tuxedo I didn’t wear this.”
“I wore my second, the second watch I bought, which is this blue Orient Bambino.”
Nice. A collector classic, a cult classic, an absolute classic.
“This is definitely one of my favorite dress watches. I love the blue, it’s a nice, vibrant blue.”
The Orient Bambino has long been known as a watch that not only punches well above its price point, but one that will garner instant respect from watch nerds and non-watch nerds. Clean design, sharp indices, and dash of red at the end of the second hand to keep you guessing; what’s not to love?
“As we go through these, something you may or may not notice…I have a thing about hands - watch hands - where, they must be sharp.”
Toss out those Tudor snowflake hands ya’ll, not gonna find them here!
*hears rustling pitchforks in the distance*
*sighs and deadbolts the front door*
No, Tudor fans, we are not saying that we don’t like Tudor. Objectively I’m a big fan, actually. But in this particular collection, there’s no room - literally - for bulky hands. Just not gonna happen! Now, if you’re here for the comedic value, head over to minutes 22-24 of the audio for some sh*ts and giggles.
And now, just as we set some sort of a pattern for which watches we KNOW will not make it into the collection, we have…a diver with somewhat bulky hands? Kenny, explain:
“This is a Geckota, which is a microbrand…and actually I have looked at it like, ‘why do I love these hands, but I hate snowflake hands?’”
Each watch has its own feel, its own character; for Kenny, this one just works. These hands might not work on another watch, nor the dial, nor the case, but put them all in one piece here, and it’s right at home.
“I’ll get mesmerized by a dial…and it’s like, I can rock this. I can definitely rock this.”
And then it’s in your mailbox…the curse of the hobby…
This dial reminds me of the types of finishes I’ll often see on drum kits; not quite sunburst, but with color variation and character. It was one of the ones on the table that drew my attention most often, especially with the funky case shape to top it off. As Kenny put it, “I’m not supposed to like it, but…”
It’s number 52/150, so it’s unlikely that I’ll see another one on the street or in the wild. I think that’s pretty cool.
As we’ll see moving through the rest of the collection, dive watches aren’t a central theme, so we quickly jumped back to dress watches and further into the realm of late night internet shopping cart-filling…
“This is another late night, got myself in trouble…this is a JomaShop special.”
What a bezel! There’s a special place for coin-edge detailing and configurations like this one. “What’s cool about this is the coin-edge bezel, but also as you look at different angles, you see kind of the inner tuxedo pattern.” So much texture, so much character, and don’t look now but Tissot is living a whole second life right now in the watch space. While I was drawn to how the date window was situation on the watch - leaving the outer track of the dial alone and staying in that inner lane - Kenny had the exact opposite reaction to it (which really goes to show, in a nutshell, how varied opinions and perception can be about a watch).
“It’s funny you say that, I’ve thought to myself, maybe I would like it more on the three-”
Get out of my house!
It was at this point that I asked Kenny to leave and ended the conversation for disagreeing with my opinion.
Kidding, of course! This isn’t Facebook. This is watch talk, where the only invalid opinion would be if someone said that any Richard Mille is a solid value proposition at retail :)
Getting back to the Tissot, where we were both in agreement was how well the burgundy strap paired with this particular watch; thinking of a grey, black, or any other color strap, I’d struggle to think of what would fit better for late night drinks or a nice meal than this wine-colored accent on a tuxedo-esque watch. 10/10.
As we move deeper into the collection, it’s pretty clear there are certain things that jump out to Kenny (and his wallet); so far we have dials and hands. Now, enter a third factor to the equation:
“Another kind of thing I have is World Time.”
“This is another Tissot, and I think what got me interested in this one is I actually saw the vintage one that this was based on…they did a 160th anniversary commemoration.”
“And of course, Tissot will always remind you that they started in 1853.”
“It’s just one that I’ve been obsessed with since seeing the dial.”
Sheeeeeesh, what a clean world time dial!! Absolutely striking how symmetric the layout is, and how pleasing the set of locations appears. Between the dial itself, case finishing, electric blue, sharp hands, and the history behind the piece, this watch is one that Kenny enjoys. It is a bit of a hunker, coming in at 43mm in diameter, and that’s just about the only con of the piece, but hey, if you’ve got the wrists for it, do it up!
While the Tissot here might be for some slightly larger wrists (or at the very least a collector with eyes larger than wrist sizes), the next watch down the line is an absolute daily, a “core collection” piece.
“This is another one where I blame Instagram.”
Don’t we all? Thoughts and prayers out to many a wallet and bank account out there.
“Picture after picture of people wearing this watch…something about the vintagey feel of it, the pointer date function…the hands I like…I notice when I look at it at different angles it just comes off as very elegant.”
Oris does a lot of things really, really well, and one of those things is making a tool watch that can effectively cope as an all-in-one watch. Does this mean it could be the watch to end them all in someone’s collection? Perhaps, but I wouldn’t believe you if you tried. Public disclaimer at 43:36 for anyone who thinks they’ll be a one-watch person: you won’t. But this Oris would - in theory - be an excellent candidate to be that one watch.
Funny story about this watch: when Kenny went to purchase it off of eBay, the product description - and from an authorized seller at that - noted that the watch had a black dial. Nope, your eyes are not playing tricks on you; that is not a black dial in the image above. The box arrives at Kenny’s house, he opens it excitedly, and then was completely bamboozled.
“Wait a minute…that’s not black…but it’s grown on me past the point of wanting the black [dial].”
Of all the stories of online orders coming through not as advertised, it’s quite the stroke of luck for it to actually have worked out for the better. Not that I would rely on luck like that for life in general - that’s a risky bet - but good to know that it does actually happen that way sometimes!
At this point in the article, if you’ve not yet listened to some of our chat directly in the audio, I’d say now would be a good time to do so (51:38). The story of how this Citizen came about is one of the more comical situations I’ve heard in a while when it comes to authorized dealers and watch brands, and not to give too much away, but let’s just say Kenny single-handedly saved a dealer’s business by purchasing this watch.
…obviously that’s a joke, but it’s a fun story nonetheless. Business is business baby!
Sounds like something a guy named Freddy C would say, which is exactly what Kenny has nicknamed his Frederique Constant Classic Worldtimer.
“This is one I became obsessed with.”
I mean, damn. What a piece!! There are so many things to love about good old Freddy C here - the dial really packs it in - and this is a watch that Kenny even made an exception for when it came to a general distaste for circular indices. Sharp hands outweigh that small con in his eyes, and this watch has grown into a prized piece of the collection rather quickly. The buying occasion? 45th birthday, fall 2020. What a pickup.
“I got this last December, and there was a day where I was having a lot of FOMO, because I was seeing a lot of NWAs.”
Ahhhh yes, the FOMO episodes. We’ve all seen them, we’ve all had them, and usually they result in making not exactly the most sound purchase. But not here, not with this beautiful Ball Trainmaster. Hands down one of the most visually compelling, yet simplistic watches we had on the table, and one that made me all of a sudden get a Ball itch.
*pause*
Wait…
*still paused*
Uh…
That’s…that’s not what I meant…ah f*ck it.
Moving on.
Believe it or not, this watch, born out of “being up to no good,” was found on Jomashop of all places! Kenny you absolute legend. Trusting that the watch ordered would be the watch received, the order was placed, and what an incredible example of the Trainmaster this is (we’re both partial to the hands and power reserve, curious to hear what you all think out in reader world…).
It was at this point that we closed box number one of the collection…take a second to grab a beer, we’ve got more watches still!
“I knew I was gonna get one of these, but I was trying to figure out which one…I didn’t get the green one, because I already have the SARB…at first, I didn’t really, I wasn’t really drawn to it…it just kind of grew on me.”
A vintage classic. A modern classic. A Kenny classic. The Laurel re-editions were well-received by upon their release in the summer of 2021, and since they were limited editions, Kenny did well to snag one before they ended up all over the grey market and flipping around for strange prices. Low-key one of my favorite recent Seiko releases; loved seeing on in real life.
And now for something compLETELY different: the world of tourbillons!
Giving credit to where credit is due here, this watch came to be from the annual AliExpress sale brought up from a true community favorite, Jody from Just One More Watch. Kenny was looking for something a little bit crazy, and little bit new, a little bit different, a little bit blue, and stumbled onto this AESOP Tourbillon which really begged the question: why not? Stargazer dial, a complication typically worth 10x its actual price, and something to pass the time - no pun intended - in any situation, picking up this piece was a no-brainer.
So, I had to ask the hard-hitting questions, like I always do.
What does one wear to accompany a tourbillon?
“That’s a good question…”
boxers and socks…say boxers and socks…
“I may have worn it with boxers and socks…”
There it is, there we have it. Boxers and socks it shall be, the perfect outfit for the tourbillon. Life is now complete.
Another late night rabbit hole find, this Lobinni watch is one of the more wild dials in Kenny’s collection. No crazy story of origin, just a crazily dialed watch; a perfect piece in keeping with our dial-centric theme. All the colors of an old library wrapped up in a watch…off to search for some 18th century books now, be back in a bit…
You know it, you love it, you’ve most likely had it: a Casio A158. If there’s someone out there who hates this watch, I’d like to meet them, find out who hurt them, and sit them in the corner with the Richard Mille value advocates. An absolute person-of-the-people watch, no pretentiousness whatsoever, and a power move to wear with a suit, these little Casios have brought enjoyment to literally millions of people all over the world.
“Typically I prefer the analog to digital, but just something about the layout of it, it’s hard to explain…” There’s just something about it.
In keeping with the more fun, even whimsical area of the collection, this watch represents just having fun in the hobby. Kenny describes it as a “music novelty,” and being a musician as well (saxophone), something like this was too fun to pass up. It’s at this point in our conversation (at roughly 1:38:00) where we dove into there being more of a space in collecting for watches like this one that simply represent enjoying a timepiece. No frills, no hype, just a good time (and literally good time too, since it’s quartz).
“This was another one where I was minding my own business…”
Now if we want to talk about dials, this is a dial. So much to see here, between the 24 hour space over the tourbillon, moonphase, spiral pattern, mother of pearl; a wild example of being over-the-top, which is exactly what drew Kenny towards it and ultimately brought it into the collection. I’ve never seen a tourbillon in the wild before, and after today I’d seen two. Consider me tourbilloned! In all seriousness, and especially for the money, what a watch.
For our last watch in the collector’s log, we have one last off-the-wall dial to take in here. Racing-inspired, this Lecronos is designed to resemble the inside of a vintage car, and even down to the rally strap, this watch provides a very specific feeling on the wrist.
This watch in particular lends a hand to figuring out just what type of collector Kenny is, which is a little bit of a difficult ask given the sheer variety of the collection.
“I think I’m the vintage-inspired guy.”
I’d say so too. We’ve got complications, divers, simplicity, analog, digital, affordable, less affordable, automatic, quartz, steel, everything but steel - just an incredibly enjoyable collection, curated by a collector who clearly enjoys each piece for its own rhyme and reason.
I’d like to take a moment here to dedicate this project to Kenny’s father, who sadly passed away last month. Kenny spoke so highly of his father - beyond the shared love of watches - and he will be terribly missed.
As always, wherever you are, and wherever you’re going, many thanks for stopping by.
Collector's Log: Vol. 1
Awesome read, and great spotlight of Kenny. Just found him on Instagram and he's got excellent stuff. So many cool and unique pieces all in one place, he's curated quite the collection! Also, not sure there were any truer words spoken than "and then it's in your mailbox... The curse of the hobby" lol thanks for the read, Mike. Looking forward to the next one!