Professional Musician
My very first watch was a little LORUS Disney Mickey Mouse quartz watch that my mom got me when I was a little kid. I remember loving the watch immensely and wore it often. Funnily enough, I still have it. I was smart enough to pack it away carefully when my family moved houses as a teenager, and just a couple of months ago I found the watch still packed away in a box that hadn’t been opened since we had moved. I popped a new battery in and have started wearing it again. It brings back a lot of memories for me, and surely was the origins of my long-time love of watches. It’s funny how it is often the smallest events that can shape a person.
Great Question! To me, the first has to be the OMEGA Speedmaster (I’m not just catering to my audience here, I really believe it). The Speedmaster has been a part of some of mankind’s greatest achievements – It’s hard for me to imagine something more iconic than that. Second I think many would agree that has to be the ROLEX Submariner – probably the reference 6538 worn by Sean Connery in the early James Bond films. It’s function, no frills, and covers nearly every base. Lastly, I would probably go with the CARTIER Tank. In my opinion, it doesn’t get much classier than the Tank. It’s a unique style, and a beautiful example of vintage aesthetic design.
I love watches. That much is obvious. But at one point or another you realize that life if made up of people and experiences – especially one’s experiences with those who share common passions. One of my favorite aspects of watches is simply that there is such a large community of people that share an enthusiasm for these small machines. I recall not too long ago, I was in LA with some free time in my day before playing the second of two shows at the Troubadour – a small but historic music venue on Santa Monica Blvd in Hollywood. I ended up walking into a small vintage watch shop named “Wanna buy a watch?” I was wearing my vintage Speedmaster, and ended up browsing most of the store at length before striking up a conversation with a guy who was working there. Before long, we ended up talking about what brought me into the shop, which shortly led to my playing in a band nearby. Turns out, he was a fan of the band, so I invited him out to the show. We ended up having a great time, and we still keep in touch as a result of it. This is just one example of how a passion for these inanimate objects leads to meaningful relationships with people that I never would have come in contact with. That is something that you can’t put a value on.
Easily vintage. Of course, there are amazing modern watches, but in almost every case I will prefer the often understated designs of vintage watches.
I love Speedmasters because their rich history in man-kind’s greatest endeavors. Human’s, by nature, are explorers – we are endlessly curious. I think that innate curiosity is a large part of our definition as a species. When we stand on this planet and look up at the endless expanse of space, we are mesmerized and drawn to it – and there is one little machine that has been with us every step of that journey: The Speedmaster.
My favorite has to be the reference 105.003, most famous for being worn by Ed White on his historic first space walk by an American astronaut. When I see photos of Ed’s first space walk, I still get butterflies in my stomach. It’s an aw-inspiring event, and to see the 105.003 on his wrist during this walk makes it a pretty easy choice for my favorite Speedmaster.
If I had to take only one personal item with me on a trip to the moon, I would have to take a comfortable chair with which I could sit and enjoy the incredible views that would surround me. To look up at the Earth and see the little blue sphere that has contained the entire history of human existence, all in a single little ball, would most certainly be the most humbling sight that a person can see.
Without a doubt, I would call a financial advisor. Perhaps I’m a little too much of a realist to really have fun with this question, but there would be so much to get in order if I had actually won the lottery that I wouldn’t even consider buying anything until I had sorted it out. But, rest assured, just after I got those things in order I would be buying a 1969 Camaro.
That’s a very tough one! Assuming that I possess only a teleporter, and am relegated to a place in current time, (and also ignoring the limits of my physical existence) I think that I would spend my 24 hours on a distant planet. I would find one with a quiet place to sit and view the scenery, colors, and events unlike anything that humans have yet to see, to see stars more brilliant than what can be viewed from Earth, and to see a portion of our universe that devastates our perception of beauty. However, being a musician that constantly travels the world by profession and frequently longs for the comforts of home, if I had to spend 24 hours anywhere on this planet, I would choose whatever place my wife was at – because in reality, it is where I am happiest.
It would be tough to count. I’m constantly looking at my watch. Half of the time it’s to actually check the time of day, and the rest of the time it’s just to admire it. You would thing that my admiration of them would begin to fade after looking at them so many times, but oddly enough, it doesn’t! You never know when you’ll look down and the light will be catching your watch just right and give you an entirely new appreciation for it.
I most recently bought a nice example of a late-60’s ZODIAC Seawolf. I’ve been drawn to that particular watch for a while, partially because of its design, and its connections with a certain mystery in the late 60’s which has left me obsessively pondering it’s solution. I came across a decent example of it recently at a great price, so I grabbed it and have enjoyed it daily ever since.
Today I have on my Speedmaster, reference 145.022-74. It’s bezel is lightly beginning to ghost away, and I will always be enamored with this watch as my first Speedmaster that I bought.
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