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168. Minute Repeater Conclave, Rolex Rage, And F1 Wacky Races
This week on aBlogtoWatch Weekly, it's a party! Rick has, count'em, five guests, all of whom are wearing black. In addition to Ariel, David, and Ripley, special guests Pete McConnell and Kevin Roberts are in the house. Ariel's presence was unplanned, as he's in Italy, where Pope Francis has just died, so he's feeling special in a strange way. Ripley is continuing to grow a mustache this week as he prepares to try to avert being placed on a jury. The guys get down to it with the question: Can one upset Rolex? Like, is it possible? Pete says "no," Ripley says, "kinda sorta, not really," and Ariel says, "heck yeah." There's only one way to find out the whys of these various answers, and that's to tune in to the show. Another big highlight of this festive episode is a conversation about Blancpain — lots of praise with a caution about the price (no surprise there, though). And guess what's back? Hit, Miss, Maybe. Join in!
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1:22:53
167. The Regurgitation Rating Scale™ Debuts, The Hollowness Of Gold, And Introducing Mr Zenith
This week on aBlogtoWatchWeekly, Ariel gets right to his most burning question: Why is everyone still so worried about tariffs? Because he isn't. In contrarian fashion, Ariel is worried about other things, like the watch industry eating its own tail. What does he mean by this? Tune in to find out. On the various home fronts, there are earthquakes in Los Angeles and wildfires in Scotland.Metaphor much? Along those lines, "regurgitation" is the word of the day, and it's not as icky as it sounds because Ariel argues that it can be an art form, especially in the context of Watches & Wonders 2025. David has a different view, and the guys bat around their ideas about Chopard, TAGHeuer, Hublot, and other heavy hitters to lend their expertise to the ongoing conversation. Ripley underscored the new tech and old design, a nicer way of approaching the regurgitation theme. This word itself is controversial. See what side you land on by listening in: strategy, art form, both, or neither?
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1:10:45
166: Watches And Wonders: 31% Panic, 69% Champagne
This week on aBlogtoWatchWeekly, Rick, Ariel, and Ripley launch the show with thevestigial clap-in and get right to the hot topics of the week: Watches &Wonders, of course, and the many varying views on Trump's tariffs and howthey'll affect the watch industry. But first, Ripley puts in a plug for betterswag at the event next year. Underwear and socks would be awesome! He ran outof clean shirts before his flight home, so he was ever-so-grateful for abrand-new Oris t-shirt. And Doxa gave out passport covers so Americans couldobscure their identities — score! Rick asks the rapidly devaluing 64k question:What is the collective sound a gaggle of watch executives makes the day aftertariffs are announced? Ariel observes that already very high prices were apre-emptive strike among said execs, who'll just absorb these new costs. Davidarrives, wondering where the convo is at, and he commiserates on the swagissue. Post-W&W decompression has obviously been needed (folks are giddy!),but the guys DO get down to talking about actual watches — first, through thedoor of Ariel's parallels with The Brutalist. You'll simply have tolisten to understand this one. Rick scrolls down the list of 60 brands featuredat the show, and they proceed to talk about Chanel, Chronoswiss, Bell &Ross, Nomos, U-Boat, Norqain, and more. You'll have to click through to findout whether the news is good or bad.
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1:18:55
165. Watches And Wonders Special - From Haute To Not.
Watches & Wonders is in full swing, as are the hot takes! Rick wrangles the usual suspects (and some potato-quality internet connections) for an unscripted, no-holds-barred roundup of standout releases, questionable design choices, and horological head-scratchers.Highlights:🕰️ Rolex Land-Dweller takes center stage—brilliant innovation or Tissot cosplay?💥 The Dynapulse escapement has David calling it a "quantum leap."🍯 Gold rush! Matt swoons over three standout gold watches.🤔 Tag Heuer Solargraph – solar-powered F1 nostalgia or just plastic fantastique?🧮 JLC’s Reverso Minute Repeater – love it, but don’t touch it.💸 IWC goes full tech flex with an 80k perpetual chrono that no one can read.🚽 Bathroom-scale vibes: Bremont and Cartier get dunked on for jump hour designs.Remember, you never truly own the 8th day… you just look after it for the next generation.”
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1:30:36
164. The Unsustainable Truth, Certified Pre-Owned Shenanigans, And LEGO Pharrell’s Tiffany Flex
This week on aBlogtoWatch Weekly, the guys get into the big vocab quickly, with Ripley identifying the routine clap-in as "vestigial." Yeah, like an appendix! But Rick likes it, and traditions die hard, so we don't anticipate the clap-in going anywhere. Rick, David and Ripley are waiting to see whether or not Ariel, fresh back from Thailand, will join. Formula 1 is still top of mind, mere days ahead of Watches & Wonders Geneva.... until Ariel arrives and turns our attention to Pharrell Williams' LEGO movie, which he watched on the plane and features a watch throughline. Somehow, this gets Ariel onto a jag about how "the value of watches has absolutely nothing to do with horological appreciation." And this seems like a reasonable observation and a good reminder. Next up: Is David a part of Team Star Trek or Team Steve Jobs? There's a great deal of pondering about Ariel's recent column regarding the rabbit hole of "sustainability" in the watch industry. He also argues that "efficiency is the enemy of luxury," perhaps a more controversial statement. Take a read, take a listen, and jump into the comments on the article, which are robust. But first, a round of Hit, Miss, Maybe!
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1:19:42