The Timist: How James Bachici's Journey in Watches turned into a Voice for the Community.

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Blake Rea (00:02):
Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of
the Lonely Wrist.
As always, I'm your host, BlakeRay, and today on the show we
have a new friend, one of thehosts of yet another amazing
watch podcast.
This host podcast are not onlyinsanely well done but
insightful and bring fun andtransparency to the watch

(00:23):
industry with genuine candid andrefreshing conversations.
He also partnered with Oris tofuel the Wandering Watch project
, which you may have seen on myInstagram, which is a cool and
unique charity project.
We'll talk a little bit aboutthat later and after this.
You should know that sittingdown with us today is James
Bokich, the Timist.

(00:43):
Did I fuck that up?

James Bachici (00:45):
okay, no, no, no, it's perfect, it's perfect.
You did great, it's great, it'sperfect welcome to the show
thank you, blake, happy to behere, um, so excited for our
conversation.
Yeah, did I seriously fuck itup though?
No, no, no, it's fine.
It's fine, it's good.
It's good.
Is it fine?
Or did I mess it up?
No, you said it right.
You just put a pause in themiddle, but like the two words

(01:06):
connected, it's, it's right.

Blake Rea (01:07):
You said it right, it's good I have a script I have
to like read.
You know, I've been trying like, uh, I've been listening to
your podcast and like you givethese like really cool, like,
like like insightful intros,like really like make people
hang on to the end.
You know, because cause youlike we'll summarize everything,
and then I'm like, well, maybeI should just start like

(01:28):
introducing people instead ofsaying like, hey, welcome to the
episode.
You know what I mean.
I'm trying to get a little bitmore organized here.

That's very kind of you to say.
I figured that, um, I kind oftry to put myself in the guest
shoes and go.
If I were to just throw it tothem, be like, welcome to the
episode.
Um, who are you and what do youdo?
Sometimes it's kind of awkwardfor people to kind of talk about
themselves Totally, and so Itry to do as much research as I
possibly can, uh, beforehand andthen compile an intro that is,

(01:59):
you know, insightful, a littleflattering, um, and kind of take
that heat away from the guestsso they don't have to worry
about introducing themselvesBecause you know how it is.
You can be a little bit nervouswhen you're on, you know, being
interviewed in the chair, right?

Blake Rea (02:13):
Yeah.
And then when somebody asks youlike what do you do?
Or like I mean, it's alwaysthat awkward, like, did I
describe myself properly?
Is this how my peers wouldthink about me, if they?
You know, if I were to packagemyself and sell it um 100?

totally.
And then there's we.
We both know that there's likethe standard answer of like what
it is that you do, and thenthere's like the more in-depth
of like day-to-day like I can'tgo into like explaining all that
, there's way too much stuff.
So you kind of try to wrap itup in a uh neat bow and deliver
it in like bite-sized chunksit's, it's working man, it's

(02:50):
awesome.

Blake Rea (02:50):
I I enjoy uh, I enjoy the intro just as much as I
enjoy the podcast.
So, um, which is nice, sothat's good, that's good.
Thank you, um, tell me aboutyour journey to starting the
Timeless podcast.
You know why watches.
I mean, I know you come from.
You know people are watching.
Now you can see that you have agamer's cave there and you work

(03:14):
in the game the video gamedevelopment industry, if I'm not
mistaken from what I've read.
So why watches?
And how did you get intowatches?
And how did you get into watchpodcasting?

Yeah, thank you for asking that question.
It's it's a long journey.
Like, like most of us have itstarted at a very early age.
Watches and gaming, for thatfor that matter.
Okay, um, I was raised by mygrandparents and, um, they
explore and experiment withdifferent industries, different

(03:52):
works, different hobbies.
And I mean, what kid doesn'tlike video games, especially if
you're like a child of the 80sand kind of hit your like 10, 10
, 15 year olds, uh, in the 90s,uh, you have the nes, you have
the sega genesis, you have thegame boy.
Um, gaming was just part of my,my foundation.

(04:15):
I started with the atari 2600and kind of worked my way up
from there.
So gaming was not my first job.
I I started in the fast foodindustry, in the service
industry, and then entered thegaming uh industry from there.
Uh, watches, on the other hand,were with me also from early on

(04:35):
in my childhood, where mygrandfather always wore a watch
and he was a mechanic by trade.
So what he would do is he'd buythese like old beaters, repair
them, fix them and then flipthem, sell them, and I would be
there with him, you know,helping in the garage, holding a
flashlight, bringing ascrewdriver or wrench and

(04:59):
mechanics and, you know,intricate machinery was always a
part of my universe, a part ofmy world growing up.
So I always had a passion or alove or an interest in things
and how they worked.
And so when I turned 15, I waslooking at getting a job because

(05:20):
I was really eager to makemoney so that I could buy stuff.
I wanted a car, wanted, Iwanted, I won, you know, more
games.
I wanted, um, I wanted watches,I wanted my own wrist watch.
And when I turned 15, um, mygrandpa and I went to the mall,
uh, to go looking for watches.

(05:41):
And, uh, to go looking forwatches.
And, um, that's when I kind offell in love with the citizen.
Um, eco drive, blue angels,titanium Uh, yeah, it was, it
was, it was it's known as theSkyhawk, and I was all about how
many things can a watch do?

(06:01):
Back then I was like this watchcan do everything except for
heat up my food, right, right,powered by light titanium.
I'm also an aviation nut again.
From a young age I loved goingfast, I loved all things fast, I
loved speed.
So airplanes was really high upthere Like cars, airplanes,

(06:25):
cars, airplanes, watches, videogames.
That was basically all the same, yeah, all the same, all the
same.
So many, um so many like layersthat just kind of intersect, um
.
And then I saw top gun and Iwas like, well, game over, I
want to be a fighter pilot whenI grow up, like like that's,
that's who I'm gonna be.
And so then we saw this watch.
It was um, it was in a case, itwas.

(06:47):
It was um, it was at sears.
You know sears, yeah I doremember sears and it had the
cool navy, blue and yellow uhdial and bezel and I kind of
fell in love with it.
And then I asked how much itcost and the fine gentleman

(07:08):
behind the counter was like 550dollars and as a as a 15 year
old, that's a lot of money today, yeah this was a 15 year old me
, that was like 2001, so I meanthat's still a lot of money
today, let alone a 15 year oldback in 2001.

Blake Rea (07:26):
It almost seems like you'd save up your whole life to
get it.

Yeah, basically it might as well have been
forever, but that watch hit mehard.
I was just smitten by it and mygrandpa being the best he saw
that watch kind of imprintitself on me, best he saw, he

(07:50):
saw that watch kind of imprintitself on me and um, and we
asked uh, I don't know iflayaway is still a thing.

Blake Rea (07:54):
Uh, I think it is.
We shared vegas, is it?

yeah, I think it is so for, for people that are
listening or watching, uh,layaway is sort of a program
that some businesses offer.
Uh, it doesn't require a creditcheck.
It's sort of like.
It's sort of like a good faith,like an iou, almost like yeah
they ask you like a pay planexactly.
they ask you for a certainamount, to put down to kind of

(08:19):
show good faith that you reallywant to buy the item, and then
they put that item in a safe orsomewhere and then it stays
there until you pay off theremaining balance.

Blake Rea (08:30):
Or if you don't buy it, you lose everything.
Or if you don't buy it, youlose everything yeah.

Yeah, but the cool thing for a 15 year old is
that, uh, well, I had no credit,uh, and I was broke, so I, you
know, broke, so I, you know,really benefited from this
program.
Um, my grandpa put a hundreddollars down and, um, that's why
, uh, I don't want to getemotional, but that's why this

(08:54):
watch is my favorite watch.
It's it's always gonna be withme, forever and ever and always.
Because, um, grandpa taught mea lot of good lessons in life,
and one of them them was like,if you want nice things, that's
totally fine.
Uh, you, just, you know, youhave to work for them, you have
to sacrifice some things, youhave to put money aside, you
have to be, uh, disciplined.

(09:14):
And so he's like hey, let's putit on layaway, I will put a
hundred dollars down and thenyou pay the rest.
Um, you know, you'll get a joband you pay the rest when you
can.
And that's exactly whathappened.
I got a job at Kentucky FriedChicken.
I worked in fast food and Iwould go to the mall with

(09:42):
grandpa every other week or soand put down as much as I was
able to save twenty dollars,fifty dollars, uh, until
eventually I paid it off and,and I got the watch and I I
still have it, it still runs,it's perfect and it's my
favorite watch.
Of all the watches that I haveand likely all the watches that
I will acquire um, for the restof my life.
That watch is my favorite.

(10:04):
And fast forward to 2020, whenthe pandemic hit.
Um, the dream was always to umbuy a Breitling Navitimer, like
I wanted a Navitimer, but theCitizen Skyhawk was a lot more
affordable than the Navitimer.
That's naturally, naturally,that's for sure.
Um, I remember seeing, you know, john Travolta in in that

(10:25):
leather jacket and there was aP-51 Mustang behind him and he
looked so cool and he was doingthe whole wrist shot thing and I
was like, oh, that is the mostbeautiful watch I've ever seen
in my life, and so that was thedream.
And in 2020, I was fortunateenough, with my wife, to be able

(10:46):
to make that dream a realityand I bought my first luxury
watch, no-transcript, which waslike $717, I still remember way

(11:11):
back when that was the mostexpensive watch and that was
quite a jump from that to aNavitimer in 2020.
Sure, but yeah, since thepandemic, since 2020, I got
really, really deep into watchesand I make videos when I can,
when I have the time, because Ido have a day job.
Like you mentioned, I work inthe gaming industry and to do

(11:34):
the kind of videos that I wantto do, to put out um, to produce
, to generate um, it takes a lotof time, as you know yeah, same
, and so I wanted to do morewithin the watch community, but
it wasn't feasible to just crankout watch videos the way I
envision them, so a podcast wasthe natural sort of um route

(11:59):
that I felt would make sense totake, because I get to talk to
people within the community andediting is a lot easier, even
though it still takes me likethree hours plus to edit one
episode Um.
So, yeah, I I picked uppodcasting and I was fortunate
enough to meet a bunch ofwonderful people within the
community.

(12:19):
And actually it's funny becauseit's something that I talked to
Andrew Morgan on the lastepisode that I recorded, and
that is we come for the watches,at least for me, we come for
the watches.
We're enamored and entranced bythe first podcast episode in
february of 2024 and now, now,now we're here, now I get to be

(12:52):
a love, a guest on your lovelypodcast, blake.
Thank you for.

Blake Rea (12:55):
Thank you for inviting me yeah, no, no, I mean
, um, we had obviously metthrough sophie sophie's watch
world and she had posted, umyour oris project, which I was
like man, this is so cool.
Like this is all about thecommunity and that's what I'm
here for.
You know, like the watches arecool, the watches are great, I

(13:16):
love watches, but I find myselflike coming in and out of
passion with watches in a weirdway.
I know that sounds weird as I'mhaving a watch podcast, um, but
yeah, I mean the community iswhat keeps me going, keeps me
alive, keeps me here, like,keeps me pushing.
So so, yeah, yeah, and then itjust seemed like such a cool way

(13:38):
to engage, I mean, I guess, insome type of way, with the
community.
Um, because I've never reallydone anything like you know,
like your project where you havethe watch and it's going around
and I was lucky enough to bethe first one to get it.
you know, because I was takingit to switzerland.
That was so funny.

That was so funny and so serendipitous because,
honestly, that wasn't supposedto happen, right, um and I?
I think I told you the dream wasto have a world tour with the
watch and for folks that don'tknow what the Wandering Watch
Project is, it's a little ideathat I've been kind of watch
within the wide world of ofwatch fam fandom and have folks

(14:29):
spend time with the watch, makememories with the watch, take
photos, take videos and thenpost them up and then ultimately
, once the watch completes itstour, it'll come back, um, and
we will auction the watch offand all the proceeds from the
auction will go to a charitywhich is currently tbd, and I'm

(14:52):
still trying to work out theexact auction logistics because
it is a world that I don't know,but through the medium of
podcasting and wonderfulkindness from from guests such
as kellyock, which you've had onthe podcast and she's amazing
she recommended some folks and Iwill reach out to them and

(15:13):
figure out the logistics of howto actually auction off the
watch.
But the idea is that the watchwill go to someone that also
appreciates the community, thewatch fam and stories and
memories that we generate withthese little wrist-worn
timepieces and ultimately, Ihope to make a video with all

(15:35):
the content and all the photosand all the videos that everyone
that has had the watch in theirpossession and kind of make a
living, sort of scrapbook, ofsorts of like hey, this is the
one watch that traveled theworld and made a few people

(15:55):
smile.

Blake Rea (15:57):
I had a thought about the concept too of like I mean,
we talked about it but gettinglike a little postcard and then
just signing it, and theneverybody who gets it because it
, you know, get like one ofthose like little, like welcome
to vegas postcards or whatever.
But ironically, the way that thewatch got to atlanta was
through a friend.
So a friend came in fromatlanta and I was like, oh,

(16:17):
since you're going back toatlanta, you know the watch was
going to to our friend gc, afteryou know he's on the podcast
too, but he's like the, like the, the main founder of the watch
society, like the watchsocieties which we have a vegas
club here, vegas chapter, andhe's like the second one, and
then chris is also, you know,the third one, and there's just

(16:38):
a bunch of other guys we've gotsome guys in hawaii and texas
and you know.
But, um, it's just such a coolconcept and it would be so cool
if the watch ended up at like,at like Christie's or like
Phillips and like it went for,like you know, like 30, 40, 50
grand, just because likeabsolutely that'd be amazing

(16:59):
yeah, I mean, that's the dream.

I want it to sell for as much as possible so that
we can donate all that money toa good cause, for a charity,
and just.
We are left with the memoriesand the times that we spent with
the watch and hopefully makethe watch world a slightly
smaller place, because we allhave different backgrounds, we
all do different things and lifehappens to all of us, but we'll

(17:23):
all be connected by this onewatch that we've had on our
wrists, uh, for some amount oftime, and then it was sold and
the money was all, uh, you knowit's gone for something good and
we we made a little tiny uhcontribution to the, to the
wellness of of society, and thegoal, uh, or part of the goal,

(17:45):
is to make the watch world asmaller place, to connect us, to
kind of bring us all togetherand say uh, blake, you're part
of the wandering watch project.
Oh, yeah, yes, I am okay, cool,awesome like that.
That has actually happened, asI was trying to um, uh, secure
uh representatives from each ofthe states in the us, uh, and

(18:06):
and spoiler alert the watch, thewandering watch project, was
going to be international, butthen we scoped it down to
national just because of thelogistics and the cost of
shipping things at theinternational level.
The only reason it went towatches and wonders with you was
because you were going to watchus and wonders, and so we kind
of jumped at that opportunity,which was hilarious because it

(18:27):
went back to where the watch wasmade.
So like the watch was made inswitzerland and you brought it
right back well, I also.

Blake Rea (18:35):
I also um, got some.
I mean, you know you know thisalready, but I got to to show it
and explain it to the ceo oforis and we filmed some, some
content with it, which is kindof cool.
I mean, I messed up the wholeaudio, but I'm sure you'll
figure all that out.
I'm not an audiophile.
I just got this new beautifulpodcast mic, but no, I mean,

(18:57):
still, the fact is that it camefull circle back to Switzerland.
I think GC took it to irelandor something, something didn't
he?
yes, he did, yes, he did so likeit's definitely like touching a
couple, a couple places ineurope, um, but no, yeah, it's
such a great project and I'mhumbled to be a part of it and I

(19:18):
can't wait to see.
Um, where is the watch now, bythe way?
Do you, do you even know?

at this point, I do know, right now the watch is
actually in.
It's in Florida.
Oh, okay, cool, nice, it's inFlorida.

Blake Rea (19:31):
And yeah, yeah, when do you think it'll land sometime
in the auction?
Like when do you guys plan toauction?

it.

Blake Rea (19:39):
Maybe a year or so.

The good news is that there's no deadline, Sure
sure the good news is thatthere's no, there's no deadline.
And um, I was so grateful andthankful to uh, vj from from
oris, who donated the watch.
Such a such an incredible guy.
Um, josh, just a humble josh.
And vj just pure class, amazinggentlemen.
Um, you know, when I pitchedthem, the idea I was like I have

(20:03):
no um clear end insight.
Um, I would love to just haveit go for as long as we possibly
can, um, but it's going to beyear plus, it's going to be your
plus out.
So this is um like a 2026,maybe summer, uh or fall um,
where we're going to try and getit to an auction.

(20:25):
But, um, like, I'm alsoexpecting that the the the more
people handle the watch and themore widespread the wandering
watch project gets.
Um, I'm hoping that more peoplewant to be a part of it and
they'll sign up and reach out tome, and then we'll just add
more and more folks to theroster that the watch is going
to like travel to, so, uh, so,in some sense it could be

(20:46):
forever.
It could just be a wanderingwatch forever, but at the same
time, I want to put a nice endcap on it so that we can get
that money into a charity'shands as quickly as possible.
Sure.

Blake Rea (21:00):
Yeah, I remember when I was getting it and I have a
safe where I keep all my watchesand I was reaching in as I was
getting ready to go to Genevaand I had I'd only brought two
watches.
I brought the Oris and then Ibrought my Doxa, which like
lives on my wrist for most ofthe time because for whatever

(21:20):
reason, like I don't know ifit's like something medically
wrong with me, but I, I like mywrist swells like like four or
five millimeters, it feels like.
So I always have to likeanyways yeah.
Yeah, I'm always adjusting 20times, 30 times a day.
So, like, as I was getting onthe plane, getting up into the
air, I was like, oh, I'm likeswelling, like like I need to go

(21:43):
into Doxa zone, and then, andthen, yeah, as I was walking
around, you know, I did get tospend some good time with it,
but but when I was packing, Ilike reached into the safe and I
just like I scratched like thewatch.
I don't know where I scratchedit, but then I was thinking,
cause, I mean, the first onehurts, I guess, if you own the

(22:05):
watch right.
And then in this case it's notmy watch.
So I don't, I don't, I don'tnecessarily feel bad that I
scratched it, but I also dobecause.
But I also don't because youknow, this watch is being
packaged with the story,absolutely and absolutely.
You know every scratch is astory.
So imagine if, like, we couldaccelerate the wear on this

(22:28):
watch, like in a year or two orwhatever, and make it look like
it came out like the 70s.
It'd be freaking amazing.

You know what?

Blake Rea (22:34):
I mean it could be amazing, like a modern horse
that's got like a patinaed outdial and like you know, like the
lume, you know like it'sstarting to fade and like you
know it doesn't happen as muchanymore.

but you get it.
Absolutely.
No, no, absolutely so it's.
It's a diver's date uh, 39 milfor folks that are wondering.
And I specifically requestedthat it not be on the bracelet.
I wanted it on the rubber strap.
I mean, I just I was thinkingabout the logistics of it all as
well.
I didn't want a watch thatpeople would stress about having
to adjust the bracelet If it'son a rubber strap.

(23:13):
You put it on, boom, it's done.
And I totally hear you on thefirst scratch.
But I mean, I'm so glad that ithappened and it's not, it's not
my watch, it's all of our watchin a sense.
So I'm glad that you got ascratch on it because when it
reaches the next person theydon't have to worry about.
Oh, my goodness, I don't wantto put the first scratch on the
watch.
It's already there.

(23:33):
A memory has been made andwe're talking about it right now
.
So, case in point, a memory hasbeen made with it.

Blake Rea (23:42):
Yeah, yeah.
No, it's a great project.
Thank you for including me anduh, and we'll definitely leave.
Like you know, I try to leavedescriptions and stuff, so if
people want to sign up, it'scool to see you know how
passionate the community is andfull circle moment you know.

Um, that's, that's what we're here for, um
thank you for thank you forbeing part of it.
It like I really appreciate youbeing down for it and also
helping me find folks acrossmultiple states.
Um, I I know once we once weconnected you were super down
and I'm very appreciative forthe connections that you've
helped me make with with folkswithin the watch community in

(24:20):
various states.
Um, that was literally part ofthe agenda for what this project
is supposed to do, so like.
Thank you, thank you for that.

Blake Rea (24:29):
That's.
All it takes is like I mean,you just meet a couple of people
who are going to advance thenetwork and then you got a
couple more people who mayadvance it, like so so yeah,
it's pretty, pretty easy.
I mean, I've I've been in thewatch industry for a while and
and yeah, it just seems like Iknow too many people want to
watch industry, which is a weirdthing to say no such thing.
Yeah, I know, I know I say thatnow, um, but you know, just let

(24:53):
me know, like, as you know you,it progresses.
I'll find people for you inother states, you know, because
there's some cool people that Ithink you know who should
definitely get to spend sometime with it.
Yeah, um, appreciate it.

I'm curious about you know who should definitely
get to spend some time with it.

Blake Rea (25:05):
Yeah, um, appreciate it.
I'm curious about you know,your, your direction of the pod,
you know, and, um, in a weirdway, like I am just kind of like
one of those, those guys thatjust kind of like just hops on
presses, record and blasts Idon't do any editing anymore
like we spent so much time likedoing all that and, um, you know

(25:27):
, like my wife was a podcasteditor and she stopped, she
stopped editing and then we werelike, oh, are we going to see?
Like people stop listening, youknow, and I'm like I just need
to get better at speaking and soso, anyways, I was like, okay,
I have to, I have to talk, but Ihave to be a better presenter.
But tell me about, you know,the Timus podcast, like you know

(25:48):
, like where do you plan to takeit?
Like something I noticed thatyou're doing that I have no idea
is you have seasons.
I just have like episodes andI'm like what the hell?
Like how do you know how manyseasons are an episode, or
episodes are in a season, are inan episode, or episodes are in
a season, which is weird.
But I very much, um, you know, I, I just I post, you know I want

(26:13):
to share the stories and I'vegot access to people that some
people don't don't have accessto.
I guess, or hopefully, itdoesn't come off as an arrogant
perspective on things, but youknow, I just want to have those
conversations and whetherthey're private or public, you
know this is the sameconversation we'd have in
private, you know.
But you know how do you see thefuture direction of the podcast
going?
And then I'm always curiousabout you know how you choose

(26:35):
your guests.
You know, like do you justfollow your gut?
Like do you want to?
You know, just focus on, youknow, people that have like
cornerstones in the community,like what talk to me about that?

Uh, great question, Great questions.
I should say um.
The easy answer is that, um,although it may seem like
there's a plan and a roadmapthere, very much isn't.
Um, I landed onasons simplybecause I couldn't record any
more podcasts at one point lastyear, just because we were

(27:12):
moving and I was very busy withwork and it felt appropriate to
wrap up at least for a while.
And I was away for a few months, so I didn't record anything.
I didn't invite any guests overand I was away for a few months
, so I didn't record anything.
I didn't.
I didn't uh, you know, inviteany guests over and I most
definitely didn't have time toedit.
So I had left at like episodenine in season one, and so for

(27:39):
episode 10, I just felt like itwould be appropriate for me to
kind of wrap up a season while Ifocused on life, with sort of
how I got into watches, and thatdidn't require a guest, that
was just me sort of sitting downand recording for a while, and
that's sort of how theseasonality of it all came to be

(28:03):
.
The seasonality of it all cameto be.
That is not to say that I havea clear sort of roadmap of how
season three will go, or seasonfour, or even when season two is
going to end it's probablygoing to end maybe October,
november of this year so that Ican have a couple months at the

(28:26):
end of the year to kind of planout season three, which leads
nicely into how I sort ofestablish who I'm going to
interview or which guest I'mgoing to have on.
And initially it was just folksthat I was interested in
speaking with that I was curiousto learn more about and their
background and get a look behindthe scenes, behind the curtain.

(28:48):
You know, like I said earlier,we all have our own um
professions, our own backgrounds, our own hobbies, um, and I
just wanted to learn more aboutyou know certain industries or
certain jobs or roles or insiderthings that some people have
access to.
And about a couple episodes init became very obvious to me

(29:12):
that I wanted to also emphasizeon representation.
A lot, of, a lot of.
There's a lot of guys in thewatch space and I really wanted
to kind of try and be very evenand fair with the guests that I
bring on.
And so I specifically pursuedyou know certain people and

(29:35):
asked them would you kindlywhich is also a video game term
if you play Bioshock.
Would you kindly consider beinga guest on my podcast?
And in the beginning it'sdifficult because you don't have
a repertoire, you don't have aportfolio, you don't have
episodes to go.

(29:55):
Here's who I am and sort of thework that I do get an idea and
if you're interested, I'd loveto have you.
So in the beginning it was.
It was a lot of you know friendsand folks that I just kind of
got to knew within the watchcommunity.
Um, connor is a great example.
We became fast friends.

(30:16):
Uh, he's a just a first classuh guy and I, I I really
appreciate his insight and he'sjust a fun and insightful dude.
And so it was like you know, itwas like, hey, you want to talk
about watches and he's like,yeah, let's do it.
It's like cool, let's do it.
Adam is another great example.
He's watch college on Instagramand and Connor is watches and

(30:38):
blunders on Instagram.
They're just yeah, they wereborn out of friendship and
shared passion and love for, forwatches.
Um, and you know how we can getyou know, we sit down and just
talk watches for hours and hoursand hours and easy, easy, it's
like, okay, cool, we can turnthis into a podcast, because I'm
sure that if we like thesethings, there's other people out

(31:00):
there that also like thesethings, or maybe different
things that have some overlap.
That would make for interestingconversation, um, and debate.
So, um, how I pick my guests?
Now, more often than not it'stalking to my current guest and
they go.
You know who you should bringon.
You should have this person orthat person join because they

(31:23):
have interesting insights andinput on on this and that or the
other, which is exactly whathappened, um, with James McVay
of the vamps.
Um, I was talking to AndrewMorgan, we, we got to recording
an episode and you know he'dmentioned, uh, james McVay and I
was like, oh yeah, I, I knowthat he, he's done some stuff
with popping crowns, chris, fromInstagram.
Um, and he's mentioned, uh,james McVay, and I was like, oh

(31:44):
yeah, I, I know that he, he'sdone some stuff with popping
crowns, chris, from Instagram.
Um, and he's like, yeah, youshould, you should, reach out.
And then I looked him up andhe's got like close to a million
followers on Instagram and I'mlike, how, how, just how, um,
this isn't going to work.
But I messaged him anyway andhe did see the message and he

(32:04):
was kind and sweet and andthat's how I got him as a guest
on on the podcast Um, which I'dlike to pull back a bit more and
kind of emphasize theimportance of just trying, just
try, um.
More often than not, we gothrough analysis, paralysis and
we go.
There's just so many ways thatthis is just not going to work.

(32:28):
My experience in life is thatif I would have stopped every
single time that I was worriedthat something wasn't going to
work, I wouldn't have achievedanything, including my job,
including my profession.
Right, so, just try, um.

(32:52):
That that's a very long windedway of saying.
More often than not, my currentguest will give me ideas or
suggestions or recommendationson who I should interview next,
and then I just reach out andhope for the best, and sometimes
they respond, uh, other timesthey don't.
That's okay.

Blake Rea (33:05):
That's it.
No, um, it's funny how you knowyou, you your intro, and how
you decided to do it.
And for me, I have some overlapin my story, but I was, I was
selling watches and then, um,got really sick.
You know I've talked about this, know I'll say save the details

(33:26):
, but, um, anyways, so like whenwatch releases would come out,
like people would be like, hey,like what do you think about
this release, or that release,or um, I kept having the same
conversations over and over withthe people I'd sold watches to,
or friends at this point, youknow, like my same opinion.
And then I was like, how can Ilike just maybe I just do a zoom

(33:50):
with everybody and, like youknow, like, beat it all down at
one time, answer all thequestions?
But then I was like, well,zooms are engaging.
You know, like maybe I couldjust do a podcast or whatever.
Um, we started off with um, myfriend justin.
Um, he's like one of my bestwatch, he's like one of my best

(34:10):
buddies just ever, and um and westarted watch collecting
together, which is super cool,and he kind of like was really
we kind of went into differentdirections, like he went into
like micro brands and I wentinto, like you know, like the
panerai and like the biggerbrands and all this and all this
stuff, and so we kind of justlike went in separate little

(34:33):
paths.
But you know, at the end of theday it kind of came full circle
and then, you know, so he wasmy first guest and then, you
know, he continued to assist you, to assist and co-host for
quite a while and then, anyways,so the first real guest that I
had was Periscope.

(34:55):
You know, jose Periscope, ohyeah, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
And I was like I'm either goingto get screwed by this, because
he is essentially calling outevery watch brand and nobody's
ever going to want to work withme or do anything, or the exact
opposite.
And so, like, when I did thepodcast with him, it took us a

(35:16):
while to get to editing, youknow, because I was editing the
podcast and it didn't.
We didn't publish the firstepisode but the second.
I published that episode.
This was like during formula one, the first formula one.
So it was like two years ago,uh, no, two, two, like two
novembers ago and, um, robreport, like the magazine was

(35:37):
doing some something here like alike a house of rob event here
in vegas and they like reachedout and they were like, hey,
like we want you to speak on ourpanel about watch collecting.
Like we know you're in vegaslike a great person to come, you
know, host or be on the panel,and so, um, it was kind of a
cool experience because I hadnever done anything like live.

(35:59):
And here I am, like like threeor four podcasts in and I'm
already speaking on a rob reportpanel and my co, my co panelist
, was, of course,editor-in-chief or the whatever
for rob report, and then it wascameron bar, from kathleen
tailored, which is, you know,like somebody who I've looked up
to for like a real long timeand he's just been such a wealth

(36:21):
of knowledge.
Um, for, for me in the watchindustry, like, um, and you know
, we we had met before that,prior to um, because they have a
vintage watch show that comesto vegas every year and I went
there and I was looking for like, uh, like I'd save, to save
some money.
I was trying to get aspeedmaster mark ii, yeah, and

(36:43):
so, like a vintage one, likemaybe even the racing dial if I
could find it.
Um, so I go around, I'm lookingfor like the mark ii.
And then I'm asking everybodylike, hey, do you have this?
Or you know any type of liketonu speedies, um.
And then you know, as I'm likeasking this guy, he's like, hey,
man, like here's my card.
I look over and then I look athis card, I'm like, okay, just
put in my pocket and walk away.

(37:03):
And then I go back, I startwatching youtube videos and I go
through my favorites and I waslike video that inspired me to
get a speedmaster.
Mark 2 is the guy who I just met, who is now.
Then I texted him.
I said, oh shit, like, if youcan help me find a speedy, you
know like um, I'd be so grateful.
He's like, oh, like, we see himevery once in a while, but you,
you know, if something comes uplike good luck, you know, I'll
let you know.

(37:24):
So I ended up getting one.
And then, yeah, just fullcircle moment, we did an event
here with Doxa the next year andthen I think he'd already came
on the podcast at that point,but we'd stayed in touch.
And then he came to my Doxaevent, which was cool, you know,
cause everybody didn't expecthim to show up out of all the
people you know like that wouldcome to a local watch club event

(37:47):
, um, and yeah, it's just kindof one of those things that you
know, watches are just one ofthose hobbies that they you can
either grow with people or likecan push you away from people,
and usually it it isn't thelatter, um, but but everybody
has their own, their ownperspective on watches and and

(38:07):
everybody knows that andappreciates that and that's what
brings us together, that, like,you may like a navitimer and I
may like a speedy or whatever,right, um, I do love a navitimer
for the record, but, um, youget it, you get it like 100.
It's just one of those weirdgenuine hobbies and, um, the

(38:28):
passion behind it is crazy.
It's like something I've neverseen or experienced before,
because there's a lot of hobbiesout there that they have like a
rabid I mean gaming is the samelike they just have rabid
communities behind each game.
You know'm a Resident Evil guy,so sorry if that offends you.
Some people hate the ResidentEvil series and the whole
franchise and anyways, you justhave people that are so

(38:55):
passionate about the hobby it'smore positivity than I think,
any other community hobby thatI've ever entered.
And, yeah, I just kept goingand same thing.
I haven't.
I have no direction, like thisis just all off the cuff.
You know, a lot of times likeI'm like, oh shit, like I have a

(39:16):
podcast that I have to publishnext Tuesday.
I don't even have a podcastguest, you know, yeah, but I
never.
I've never gotten caught up inthat where, like I haven't had
one to publish and I hope Idon't get there, um, but but no,
I keep pushing every day, everyweek, to, to tell new stories
and it just becomes now anextension of my personality.

(39:36):
And you know, I feel like a lotof people in the watch industry
, as a consumer of watch media,like they, they, they have some
secondary motive, you know whichis annoying, you know, and you
know I get it like that's fine,whatever cool.
But you know you don't see a lotof content creators out there
who are just in it for thepassion, you know they're.

(39:57):
They're selling watches,they're um, you know they have
an ulterior motive to talk aboutwatches, to profit off of them.
And uh, and to me I've joked,you know, because I watched.
Uh, I'm sure you've probablyseen madman, like everybody.
Oh, yeah, yep so yeah, the wholefirst season they're talking
about like, like developing acampaign for, like the smoking

(40:19):
companies, like the tobaccoindustry, and then they're like,
you know, they go back and theyget all these these scientists
and do all these research andthey said, okay, well, smoking
will kill you, smoking is toxic,like you'll have bad lungs,
whatever you know, insert thesethings here.
But then they go and they'd belike, well, maybe we should make
smoking cool, you know, andjust ignore all the bad things,
and and so when I think aboutpeople that make content, that

(40:43):
also sell watches, I the why,yeah, yeah, I think in a weird
way about that season and thatshow, because I mean we're all
enamored with watches and someof us make.
I mean I know I've made badpurchasing decisions.
I've seen a watch that I wantso bad that, like I'm like, okay

(41:06):
, well, I can eat ramen for acouple of weeks.

Like how many you know?

Blake Rea (41:10):
like, or maybe like I'll go like I had.
I used to have an Uberactivation, like an Uber active
Uber account, so like I'd belike okay, well, I can just go
drive, you know, five days, like12 hours a day, like to buy
this water.
Like I put myself in anoverworked myself to to buy
these things and um, so I, Iknow how one addicting the hobby

(41:33):
, addictive the hobby, can be.
Um and, and yeah, I know a lotof my friends that are also in
my watch club.
Like I joke with them, I say,look like if you make any bad
financial decisions because ofbeing in my watch club, like I
feel like I need a waiver foryou to sign, even though I don't
have one.

But jokingly, like I, I joke about that and uh
, and so, yeah, it's just, it'sjust one of those hobbies, man,
it's just one of those hobbiesyeah, I mean, I think we all, we
all do what we do for differentreasons, right, there's always
a why behind it and sometimes,um, you know it's, it's a
respectable why, and other timesit's it's more of a you know,

(42:16):
get that bag why.
Sure, sure, sure, sure.
Um, for me, it's just, you know, I, I love engaging with people
.
For me, it's just, you know, Ilove engaging with people.
I love talking to people andlearning and adding more and

(42:44):
process that they go through tomake it, you know, final product
so that they can place it inthe watch, fascinates me and
that's like I do it.
Because of that, like I lovemaking things, I always loved
making things.
I just wanted to find a mediumor a good balance between, you
know, spending two weeks on onevideo that's like seven minutes

(43:08):
long that I am happy with to putout because I want to make it,
because I want to learn aboutthis brand and this particular
watch and walk through itshistory and then feel good about
what I put out, not becauseit's the latest and greatest
hotness and I want to capitalizeon SEO or whatever, but more
because, like, I just find thiswatch fascinating and I want to

(43:31):
talk about it, and then I, I Icouldn't do that consistently,
and so podcasting and talking topeople, though, was a lot
easier.
Would you know, sit down, dosome research on on a guest and
then just have a watchconversation, just watch talk,
and that that requires a lotless editing.

(43:52):
It's still, you know, two tothree hours per episode, but I
can manage that on like asaturday and and do a few
episodes.
Um, the why is very, veryimportant, right?

Blake Rea (44:05):
the why dictates a lot, and, yeah, I'm just I'm
grateful that enough people havefound my why to be worthwhile
and and they've, they've decidedto be a guest yeah, no, I'm, I
think about that and I don't geteven very analytical because I

(44:25):
have, you know, friends who arelike into like the numbers and
metrics and all that.
I'm just like I just want topost, you know, something that
reflects my current state of mymind, like, if it does good, it
does good.
If it flops, it flops.
You know, I don't even get intothat flops.

(44:48):
You know, um, I don't even getinto that.
But, um, I also something, as ayou know, fellow podcaster, I've
also in my mind, like before Ihave a guest on like, I've like
in my mind put together sometype of formula how the podcast
will turn out.
So I guess my question now foryou is um, has there ever been
somebody who came onto yourpodcast and you're like, okay,
here's the direction that I'mgoing to take this, and then it
just like, you just go theopposite direction.

(45:10):
But then, for the better ofyour podcast, you're like, okay,
this is way cooler than I'dever dreamed.

The person that comes to mind is Andrew Morgan.

Blake Rea (45:21):
Oh yeah.

Yes, just because our conversation lasted just
shy of three hours, which wasabout an hour and a half longer
than I expected it to be, and itit turned into a two parter and
the first part, part one, atthis point in time, is already

(45:44):
published.
Part two is yet to be published, um, but part two.
We went on a wild journey thatspanned, uh, korean pop, dramas,
cheese, um, you know, cars, uh,bad purchase decisions, um, it

(46:05):
was just, and I was along forthe ride because andrew is just
a phenomenal storyteller andhe's magnetic in a sense.
Totally, I had my large, bigpicture talking points and I was
kind of like you know, let'sjust roll with it, I'm just
going to have fun with it.
It's Andrew Morgan, he knowswhat he's doing and I'm having a

(46:26):
blast, so I'm just going tolove the journey that we'll go
on.
And, yeah, that's how it turnedinto almost a three-hour long
session that requires two partsfor the interview, but I enjoyed
it, I thoroughly enjoyed it andthat's part of the magic.
Again, my why is to have funand meet people and learn new

(46:47):
things, and that sessionfulfilled that why.
And I was like why?
Cause I'm having a good timewith Andrew Morgan.

Blake Rea (46:56):
So we just rolled with it.
Yeah, no, I um, I have your,your first episode.
I need to go back and listen toit.
I'm struggling to keep up.
I've and the same thing withyou.
I feel like I'm at a meatgrinder Cause.
Yeah, I think I have like 15YouTube videos to put together
for brands that like, like arelike hey dude, like what the

(47:17):
fuck, where's our video?
And I'm like sorry, like I'm,you know, like I do the best
that I can, like I promise I'llget get it to everybody who are
asking me, but I also have abunch of side projects and a
full-time job.

I specifically stay away from time-boxed
projects, though I will say thatI have enough of that in my day
job.
I'm a producer, I haveschedules, I have roadmaps, I
have things that I need to seebe completed by a certain time.
For me to sign up for more ofthat in my hobby would be

(47:54):
absolute madness.
So I stay away from these timesensitive videos or projects.
And what I do for fun, as ahobby, out of passion and love,
should not stress me.
And sometimes love should notstress me, yeah, and, and
sometimes, you know, it's kindof inching towards that stressor

(48:15):
arena which is like, oh, I, Ineed to publish this video by
this date because that's when Ipromised everyone they would go
out on is not something that I'minterested in?
Um, yeah, or, or, you know, I'mactively fighting.
So respect.

Blake Rea (48:27):
So respect to you, it's hard and I think people get
it.
You know cause this is.
You know, creativity like thisis like raw creativity.
Like you know, I'm not the guythat puts a lot of structure
into I mean I.
I do my best to write, like andscript everything because I'm
kind of like an anti-contentcreator.

(48:47):
Creator, I know that soundsweird but as as somebody who
like has has understands thatthe YouTube space to a degree,
like I see people who areintentionally making like longer
content you know, just forwatch time and I'm like, is, is
that, is that ethical?

(49:08):
Like I mean, I ask myself, likewould I would?
I appreciate that understanding.
You know how people get paid onYouTube and all this.
And then, um, you know itreally boiled down to um.
Last year I went to um,switzerland, to shoot content.
You know I was lucky enough tohave that opportunity um

(49:29):
switzerland to shoot content.
You know, I was lucky enough tohave that opportunity and I got
to go to a couple differentwatch manufacturers and shoot
with them, and one of them I'mstill working on bouvet.
I got a chance to go to thebouvet castle manufacturer crazy
and they they haven't evenasked me about the video.
They're like, they're so coollike I, I I have followed up
with them saying like hey, likeum, like um, but anyways, um, I

(49:53):
went to Zenith, which is, youknow, by far one of my top, top,
top watch brands.
I went to Panerai and you know Iwent to, you know, some of the
micros.
I got to shoot some contentwith Ferlin, mari and all this,
but but anyways, um, you know Idid this whole Zenith factory
tour and Zenith has, like theywere like the first real

(50:14):
manufactured kind of do in-housething, where they're like, hey,
we need to bring everythingtogether and, you know, make it
in-house and this and that, andthey have like I think they have
like seven, if I'm not mistakenlike 17 or 18 different
buildings on their campus.
And like this is done there,that's done there, that's done
there, yada, yada, yada, um.
So I literally was filming at afactory in the morning, then

(50:37):
literally took a train to thezenith factory, filled at zenith
in the evening and then took atrain out to go to film at
panoram in the morning, you knowwhat I mean.
So I was just like back to backto back and so, like I took
this, I was there at theirmanufacturer like maybe like
four hours, five hours, justshooting every single thing.
And the girl, amazing person Iwas just talking to her today

(51:04):
but you know she's like I don'twant to be on camera, like I'm
not that person.
So you know, she's this littleFrench girl, you know, and, and
so I'm having to go back andlike wait, what did she say?
And then I'm writing down littlenotes and then having to bring
it all in and then redo thevoiceover, pull the assets

(51:25):
together and then deliver it,because I had no choice but to
like rush that one out becausethe, the then marketing director
at zenith was going to hublo.
So I'm like, with my luck, likeI'll have this video that never
gets approved from zenith, likeyou know.
So oh no and the day before sheleft I was like, okay, this is

(51:48):
my deadline, boom, and I got.
Anyway.
That took this like four hourtour and consolidated into like
three minutes.

That's insane.
That is absolutely insane.
It is very cool, very glamorous, very difficult, very stressful
, but also super rewarding.
I've never been to Switzerland.
That is one of the dreams I Iwould love to go, especially
during watches and wonders.
To see these factory tours andexperience firsthand, like where

(52:17):
these tiny wrist machines arebeing created, would be
mind-blowing.
I would constantly be pinchingmyself.
The closest thing I got to thatwas back in 2015.
Um, microsoft and xbox werehosting the greatest games in
xbox history, like lineup forlaunch, and I think tomb raider,

(52:38):
forza, motorsport 5 and halo 5were like the headlining titles
and working, uh, at 343industries now known as halo
studios.
Uh, and halo 5 being my game,my game.
I'm part of a game.

(53:00):
I work on a large team, ofcourse, hundreds of super
talented people.
Um, we were asked to sort oftravel the world during special
events and showcase the game.
I was setting up the build,propping the consoles, prepping

(53:20):
press and also special guests,and then they would play the
title.
They played Halo InfiniteExcuse me, halo 5.
And then we would pack up andgo to the next venue excuse me,
halo 5.
And then we would pack up andgo to the next venue, and I was
fortunate enough to have a teamwhere I could, you know, work
with them, where they would goin the world, and I had one
teammate go to Australia,another teammate go to um,

(53:45):
brazil, um went to Germany andthe UK as well, and I chose the
Asia tour because if I'm goingto make the schedule, I'm going
to pick where I get to go.
Okay, so the closest thing I gotto sort of running around doing
mentally intensive work plusphysically, uh, demanding work

(54:10):
as well, um, long hours, uh,tear down, build back up, um,
and then you know, work withpress, you always you're on.
All the time was during.
That time was 2015.
I was gone for a month and wedid taipei, taiwan, we did hong

(54:31):
kong, we did singapore, and thenwe finished off in tokyo, japan
, dope, um, but.
But you know all this to say itwas physically and mentally
exhausting, but you'd wake upand you'd go I'm in Singapore
right now, shut up and get towork.

(54:53):
You know, like that energy kindof like carries you, it's
almost like a Red Bull for yoursoul.
I would imagine it was verysimilar for you as well.
Right, where you wake up andyou're like I'm exhausted, but I
have three Watchmaker Studiotours.
Let's go.

Blake Rea (55:11):
It was worse at this past.
Watches and wonders 2025.
Um, because, uh, every singlenight, like it was, like I, I
made the mistake of not flyingin early, so, like I, I flew out
on the 31st, I'm here inPacific time.
Um, I got there on the thefirst, I had like maybe like

(55:32):
four hours or five hours to rest, zenith party, zenith 160th
anniversary party, first night.
Then, you know, I was like, ohshit, okay, like you, you have
to do press on like day one andyou have to get it out as soon
as possible, or like everybody'sjust gonna click to other
bullshit.
So then I was like, after youknow, coming back from this
160th cocktail party, like Ijust go right back into editing,

(55:55):
like trying to get this videoout the same night, popped it
together, uploaded it day one,boom, done.
Um, then just all over again daytwo, I was like doing all the
micros going around, I mean,every single night it was, I'd
say, 12, 14, 15 hours of watchum experiences and then editing,

(56:16):
and then low sleep.
And everybody I talked to waslike, oh yeah, like I got like
two hours of sleep last night,like four hours of sleep, like
I'm like I haven't slept, likeyou know, like, and I was there
for what?
Eight days, eight or nine days,so, um, dude, it was brutal.
It was brutal but it wasamazing and I honestly was.

(56:39):
I was so scared to go out there, like, just because I just was
like I don't know if I canhandle this, like I don't know
if my body, like, will berecoverable after this.
You know, because you know Iwork behind a desk and like I'm
kind of like sluggish, you knowmy normal day and um, so,

(57:00):
anyways, I was just like I don'tknow.
And then you know, not only didI survive but I had, literally
the whole time I had, uh, likemaybe like a 60 or 70 pound
camera backpack, yeah, yeah,three cameras.
I had like light, a lightingkit, like a lighting package.
I had like bounces and I hadlike batteries, like like

(57:20):
v-mount batteries, which arefreaking heavy.
And I said, and there I hadlike my two tripods, my light
stands hanging off of me like Iwas walking around you're
walking studio dude, I literallywas, and um, you know.
So, every chance I I got to sitdown and take my backpack off, I
was like, okay, this is, youknow, cool, I'm just gonna
survive, you know.
So I don't know how I made it,but anyway you made it, did you

(57:44):
have fun?
I did.
Yeah, I got to see some crazywatches.
Um, I got to talk with thebrand.
I got to see, like, how much ofproduction it really is.
Um, and and sophie like I gotto meet sophie, I spent I spent
all pretty much the entireentire show with sophie which
was I saw all your stories.

it was great.
I mean, I smiled from ear toear every time I would see you
guys and I love that you bothhelped each other out with like
capturing stuff.

Blake Rea (58:11):
It was so good it was it was, yeah, it was super dope
, and I guess the concept forher and I was like like okay,
you're working with all thesemicro brands, you know, like you
know everybody in the microbrand space and like I think
that I know a good amount ofpeople and the the big box space
.
You know the swatch groupbrands and they'll you know

(58:32):
swatch groups not there, but youget it like the richmont and
the lvmh brands and all this,like I know all those people.
So like why don't I sit on your, sit in on your meetings and
you sit on all my meetings andlike like, well, I mean, they'll
love it, the brands love itbecause they get to do one
presentation and get two piecesof content or three or four.
And Sophie, like she has a wayof taking one little moment and

(58:54):
package it into like 50 littlepieces of content.
I'm like how do you do that?

You know, like she's just so creative.
She's so creative and so fullof energy, life and bubbly.
And also the way she pairs heroutfits with the watches.
Like I'm just like.

Blake Rea (59:10):
I don't know how you do that, she's, she's, she's joy
, she's just joy 100, 100, likejust to see her passion and uh,
I told her, like you know, herpassion is like very contagious,
you know, when it comes to herlike on camera presence, like
the energy she puts into it,like it's very refreshing, it's

(59:30):
amazing.
Um, yeah, I mean, just gettingto spend time with her and to
kind of learn how her brainworks was one of the cool, most
rewarding things that I got outof it and to tend to build like
a genuine, like friendship andrelationship with her.
Like you know, it transcendedwatches and wonders, you know,

(59:51):
obviously, because afterwatching wonders were done.
We were sitting there like, um,like we were, like you know,
just hanging out, like doingdinner and, like you know, like
meeting for breakfast and, likeyou know, just doing all these
little things like walkingtogether, like we're going to
grocery stores together, likethat's amazing it was super cool
.

James Bachici (01:00:10):
It was super cool the watches have that
superpower though, and I'm sureyou've noticed this like where
it kind of accelerates and youkind of speed run through, uh,
friendship creation, whereas youknow it would take you, you
know, insert random number ofdays, weeks, months, yeah, yeah,
to establish that same kind ofrelationship with someone that

(01:00:32):
is outside of the hobby, um,watches and cars as well.
I've noticed really kind ofspeed run you through that
friendship, uh, mileage creation, generation, and you're just
like, yeah, it's like we knoweach other since forever because
, like you know, it watches andit's, it's fascinating, it's
truly, truly fascinating andit's happened, uh, time and time

(01:00:54):
again in my life.
Um, I love it, I love it I dotoo and you can.

Blake Rea (01:00:58):
You can tell a friend in a weird way by like what
type of watch they're wearing.
I know that sounds so weird but, like you know, like funny
story is, you know you talkedabout your navitimer, like like
I'm a brightling guy, like so,because you're a brightling guy
and I'm a brightling guy, likewe're friends.
But like a lot of the peoplelike like who I know, like hate

(01:01:22):
on brightling and I'm like well,my dad was a brightling guy,
like so, like I have no choice,you know, and uh, and it's cool,
and I don't think I don't knowif I talked about this like
really ever, but, um, you know,like my dad, uh, like my dad
never really like was intowatches and um, but he had like

(01:01:44):
gotten a job at like a um, likea real estate brokerage and he
was like training people likehow to sell, sell homes and do
real estate and clientinteraction, all this stuff.
And so somebody came up to himand said, like dude, you need a
nice watch, and so, and then Iguess, naturally, right, I have

(01:02:04):
a watch podcast, this was, thiswas like maybe last January,
like last January, um, and andso like naturally, um, like he
comes up to me he's like, hey,what should I get?
And I'm like, well, like I gavehim a vintage Rolex, he wore it
.
He's like this, sucks, I gavehim.
I gave him a Tissot PRX.

(01:02:25):
He wore it.
Like I want something that's youknow, that's got the name
cachet to it, you know.
And I'm like, okay, I don'treally know what you're talking
about.
Like the tassau is a greatwatch, respectable um.
But you know, he was like Iwant like a nice rolex or
something.
And so we went to like thejewelry store here and it was
like me, my wife and my dad anduh.

(01:02:47):
And then we went to like thecertified pre-owned section for
bucherer and um, dude, he foundthis like really gaudy, like
rolex, like mother of pearl dial, like diamond bezel, like
diamond markers, like date date,just like.
Um, it was like I think it waslike close to like 20.

Oh, wow others are like 20 now hold on, because
that sounds pretty cool to me.
In like some in some scenarios.
In some scenarios to each theirown.

Blake Rea (01:03:17):
Um, it was, it was very flashy and I'm like I'm
like, you know, he's like well,like, if you've got 10 minutes
to find me, something betterthan this.
Because he was like set onbuying a watch, you know, and so
I literally was like runningaround the store of my wife.
I'm like think about somethingbetter than this.
You know, because deep down,like I'm like I I wanted to

(01:03:40):
watch.
Maybe this sounds selfish orterrible or whatever, but I'm
like I want to watch.
That is one timeless, you know,and I'm not a very flashy guy.
You know, this is my dad'swatch.
I'm thinking about this likethis is going to be a family
heirloom, you know, yeah,selfishly, um, like I want to
watch that that not only he willenjoy, but I'll enjoy you know,

(01:04:02):
um, not just because he enjoyedit or owned it, but I want to
watch that I can genuinely enjoy.
And then so we go around and weland into the brightling case.
We land on the super ocean 44,nice, um, two tones.
So I had the gold bezel onrubber.
And then, you know, he was like, oh, this is cool, like fuck,

(01:04:23):
how much is this?
It's like 6600, all right, boxit, let's go.
You know, it's like I was likewe're not only just dodge a
bullet, but, um, like you know,like you don't need you don't
need that to spend that much ona watch to get the same respect,
like you're gonna get the samerespect from a breitling as you
will from a rolex, like peoplewho know watches, know breitling

(01:04:45):
, they know rolex, yada, yada,yada.
Like all the diamonds is motherof pearls, a little overdone.
But then, um, it was cool, um,because we got to share that
moment.
And then, you know I think Idon't know if I talked about
this when my dad passed away inlast august and um, and now that
brightling's mine and and Iwear it like all the time, and

(01:05:07):
like when we were like me and mybrother were like dealing with
like the whole like estate andeverything.
Um, I was like I don't reallycare about anything but this
brightling, like this is mine,like you can sue me, you can
come and do whatever you want,but I'm keeping this like I
don't care.
You can have the car, you canhave everything else, like I

(01:05:28):
don't care, like this is, thisis my you know thing that I get
to kind of like you know,because it was cool, because you
were there with him.
Yeah, we shared that momenttogether.
It was so important and youknow, my dad only had one watch.
So he like woke up everymorning like the first thing he
did put on his bright light andthen, whenever, because it had,

(01:05:49):
it has a date complication, um,but like he didn't even know how
to set the date.
So, like every time, like oneof those weird like months would
come around where it's like 30or like you know, like he'd call
me or he, you know he, you knowwe, we, we live together for a
period of time, um, and he waslike just come, set it.
You know, come sit and start torun down there in the morning

(01:06:10):
before he runs out, and I'm likeyou know, I'm trying to flip
the date around for him andeverything, make sure it's set
and all this and yeah, so I'vegot a lot of good memories with
that and um.
And so naturally I had to be abrightling guy.
And then, um, I picked up one ofthe, the, the 38 navis, like
the navitimer ones, and I waslike this isn't, this isn't a
navitimer like, this is just a,a navitimer type brightling.

(01:06:35):
This isn't a real navitimer.
But then, um, I'm starting, uh,like a weird little series and
you know, because I'm in vegasand, like people, unfortunately
there's a lot of misfortune here, you know, and I maybe this is
bad juju or whatever, but, um, Ipick up a lot of watches from

(01:06:55):
pawn shops here.
You know, obviously I know whatI'm looking for, um, but I
picked that, that navitimer upat a pawn shop and then I got
rid of it and then, like, maybelike five or six weeks, I was on
the hunt for like a, like achronograph, like a navi
chronograph, and then I go in tothe pawn shop here same one I

(01:07:18):
picked up the first navitimercosmonaut in the case, oh, wow,
wow, bought it and I was like, Iwas like I don't even care,
like how much this is, but thisis the watch that I want, um,
and you know, of course, whenthey, when I pulled, they pulled
the price out and I was likelike that's a great price in my

(01:07:40):
mind, but I know you could dobetter.
Yeah, so I got, uh, my nap, mycosmonaut, for 2600 out the door
.
Wow, what year?
Uh, it's one of the older, likemid-2000s now, because there's
a couple generations of themyeah yeah, there's like the
first gens which you know.
Those are, yeah, well 12 they'reout there.

15 yeah, they're crazy.

Blake Rea (01:08:03):
This is one of the more underappreciated ones but,
um, from my understanding and Icould be wrong on this and all
the research that I did but thiswas the first generation to
introduce the flyback, because Idon't think the original navi,
a cosmonaut, has a flyback.
I could be wrong I don't thinkso.

um, and for folks that don't know what the uh
cosmograph is, um, it'sbasically a really advanced uh
brightling navitimer but insteadof having a 12 hour, uh plots,
it's 24, which means that whenboth hour and minute hands are
at the 12 o'clock, it istechnically midnight and it will

(01:08:43):
say 24 at the top and you'llhave all 24 hours and that's
just, that's just so cool.
Because that that's so cool?
Because that's the kind ofwatch that makes you work to
tell the time, because we're allprogrammed to look at the hands
real quick and glance and weknow what time it is, but this
watch forces you to actually payattention to where the hands
are pointing so you can tell thetime, and that's just so, so

(01:09:06):
cool.

Blake Rea (01:09:08):
Yeah, and so, as I started wearing it, there's a
secret to reading it and peoplewho have people who have the
cosmonauts know, but italternates in between arabics
and plots and so, um, when it'son in arabic, like it's not an
hour, you know like.
Or it's not, sorry, it's not aminute, yeah right.

(01:09:28):
But when you hit a plot, you'relike, okay, this is 10, 15, 20,
you know like or it's not,sorry, it's not a minute, yeah,
right.
But when you hit a plot, you'relike okay, this is 10, 15, 20,
you know like that is an amazingprice.

Oh, I am jealous.
I would love a cosmonaut Iwould love a cosmonaut.

Blake Rea (01:09:39):
When I bought it, I took it to the brightling
boutique and I was like like,hey, like I'm getting ready to
buy this brightling.
Like, do you have straps?
Because I saw the strap wasjust busted, dude, and they had
the, um, the old like bucklethat folds through and it snaps
over and I hate those like Ihate those in Cartier, I hate
those in every, every brand.
Um.
So I was like I want to buy abuckle right now and I want to

(01:10:02):
buy a couple straps.
And they're like, oh, yeah,cool, this is what we got.
And then so the guy's like, wait, you're buying a strap for a
watch you don't have.
I'm like, yeah, but I'm, I'mabout to go right after this and
buy it.
You know, I just want to makesure I can wear it today.
And then so the guy's like,wait, like, can you show me a
picture of what you, what yougot?
I'm like, look, I just need a22 leather black, leather black

(01:10:23):
rubber.
But just give it to me.
I was like, okay, cool, likeyou know, like, flip it through
my phone.
He's like oh, you know, likeyou're getting a cosmonaut, like
you found a cosmonaut at thepawn shop here.
That's not like.
And I'm like yeah, he's likehow much do you pay if you don't
like 26?
He's like I will buy it rightnow on four grand, like I
promise.
And I'm like nah, dude, nahyeah, no, no, no, no.

That's a keeper.

Blake Rea (01:10:46):
Right there, that's a keeper for sure, for sure, and
so, um, I need to wear it.
I need to wear it more often.
I find myself like and where,like, if I'm gonna wear like my
brain, I'm gonna wear my dad'sbrightling, you know, obviously.
But, um, you know, and, and thecool thing I've noticed is I
think about watches reallydifferently.

(01:11:06):
I mean, maybe other people thinkthis, but not on the are they
like future?
They're time keepers.
They tell you the present, butthey also tell you the past in
the future.
You know, because, like, I cantell you, like in a weird way,
like what watch I was wearing,like when this happened, you
know, like significantmilestones in my life.

(01:11:28):
I'm like, oh, I was wearingthat watch, I was wearing this
watch, or like I remember thishappened and this walk, you know
, like significant milestones inmy life.
I'm like, oh, I was wearingthat watch, I was wearing this
watch, or like I remember thishappened and this one you know
what I mean like I can thinkabout, like I could catalog all
my memories with my watches if Ihad to, you know that's, that's
amazing.

It's again, it's like a moment in time captured
like a scrapbook almost of sorts.
Um, and you know, weromanticize and wax lyrical
about what watches mean to us,but it is a very personal
journey and, to your point, wecan all sort of have different
ways of how we perceive orchoose to um experience our

(01:12:06):
journey with our watches.
But there's overlap and I thinkthere's beauty and and and I
don't know some kind of magicand how.
You know how, how we like.
Yeah, I, I got married in thecitizen Skyhawk.
That's another reason why it'sso special to me.
It's the watch that I boughtwith my grandpa.
I got married in it.

(01:12:26):
Um, to your point, we havethese milestone experiences not
necessarily milestone, but thesemeaningful experiences in get
it, you get it, and that's alsopart of my logic behind.

(01:12:55):
Uh, when people ask me, like how, how do you find your, your
audience and and your people?
And the answer is you, don'tyou just be true to yourself and
they will find you?
Like, they will find you.
It's like.
It's like you and and andsophie, right, you found each
other in switzerland at a watchnerd event and y'all bonded and

(01:13:15):
connected.
And then you, the next thingyou know is like breakfast
tomorrow yeah, okay cool.
Groceries yeah, because we'regonna be here for a while, okay,
cool.
And then watches do that.
They kind of again accelerateyour friendship generator and
things just happen.
Um, they do.
It's pretty unique and prettyspecial.
So I think that's that's areally cool way of how you you

(01:13:36):
perceive your watches as wellyeah, and it's, it's.

Blake Rea (01:13:40):
It's weird because I I I've actually went through a
huge consolidation like I hadhow did that go uh, it's been
going.
I actually sold a watch today,and I sold a watch today, but I
bought two more well, follow-upquestion, but no, the one.

Did the watch you sell cover the two watches you
purchased?

Blake Rea (01:14:07):
oh okay, so you're still in the red but but the but
the 40 that I sold covered thetwo that I just bought gotcha
okay yeah, so like I had a bunchof like smaller watches that I
just wasn't wearing, you know,like some moon swatches and like
some g shocks and like someluminox stuff that like I had
gotten like early into myjourney and like they were cool

(01:14:32):
for me at the time.
But you know like I just endedup kind of in a weird way like
transcending them, um, and themost important ones, of course,
I kept.
Like I kept my first swisswatch.
You know like I kept that.
I kept a watch.
I lived in istanbul and thatthat whole trip I just I just

(01:14:52):
wore one watch that was just wow, very cool, all blacked out
luminox watches and so, like Ijust I kept that.
You know, of course, um and andso yeah, just the stuff that
really had no meaning or purposeand it just wasn't getting
where.
And I think what really helpedme through it is and I, of
course I like, if I look at thebigger picture of things, I

(01:15:12):
probably lost a lot of money,you know, like selling them um,
because they're not, like youknow, rolexes or paddocks or aps
or anything crazy that um likeI'd bought for a great price,
like you know.
But anyways, like I just reallylike what made me kind of get
over.
That is like I just know thatthey're gonna be worn, which is
great, and I know that they'regoing to a good, a good home,

(01:15:34):
and the watch I sold today, um.
Last year I picked up um.
Do you know?
Do you know le jour?
the brand okay, so le jour islike an older, like french
independent brand and in the 70s, like they had, like um a
partnership with, with hoyer,and so like, like hoyer, like

(01:15:54):
you talked about tom cruise,right, like so the, the porsche
design chronograph, one whichyou know was worn in, and top
gun, top gun, yep, um, a couplebrands did like spin-offs of
that, like you saw, like thehoyer pasadena, right.
Then you saw, well, obviously,the, the, the orfina right or

(01:16:14):
the iwc or the porsche design orwhatever.
Um, so le jour was essentiallylike a licensing deal with hoyer
and so I picked one up for uhat the watch show, like a couple
years ago, like maybe last yearor something, and I just sold
it to my watch club that he waslike.

(01:16:35):
He literally was likefascinated on getting a porsche
design, my chronograph like 10grand, and I was like dude, just
wear this, you know, and likelet me know if it scratches the
itch, you know.
And then he got his porschedesign, like literally like he
texted me a picture this morning.
Doa, dude, it arrived dead onarrival.
The chronograph did not work,wow.

(01:16:57):
And so I'm like, oh fuck, likethat's wow but anyways, um, his
head's been spinning and he'sjust like dude, I just can't
take your watch off and I'm likewell, I can't put it on like I
have, I just enjoy other watches.
So like yeah, just just give mehow much I paid for it and like
we'll make it a deal very nice.

(01:17:18):
And then so ironically, like Imean I sold him for like 850
bucks and he's like a good buddyof mine.
But then I started finding somelistings and they were like
three grand and I'm like, oh, Iguess I'm a really good friend,
you know listen, it's gonna getmileage.

It's gonna be worn.
You made somebody happy.
You're not wearing it, it'sright, it's it's.

Blake Rea (01:17:40):
It's a win no, it's totally a win and um, and I even
said like, like I'm gonna, um,I'm gonna get to to wear this
any time.
You know pretty much like I'mgonna have to borrow this any
time.
You know pretty much Like I'mgoing to have to borrow this
from you.
Yeah, it's right there.
Yeah, it's accessible and hecomes every single month to my
watch club meetup.

(01:18:00):
But the money that I did, sothe watch that I did purchase
today, dude, I've been goingthrough a Zenith kick Like
Zenith is like my I noticed thatyou're wearing the chronograph
right now, are you not?

yes, of course, beautiful, beautiful.
I love those tri-sub registers.

Blake Rea (01:18:17):
God, I love it so much so good, um, but I picked
up two vintage defies like fromthe 60s.
So, um, I had reached, I saw,like, I saw a seller on ebay and
I was, like you know, justdoing the hunting, and then I
went to his website and then,dude, he had some crazy vintage

(01:18:38):
like heaters, like hoyercalculators and like like all
this crazy stuff.
Like I mean, he had he had someof the vintage porsche designs
that we're talking about.
I mean, um, and then so I wentto his website, just like, shot
a message from him, what's up?
And he's like, dude, let's justdo a video call tomorrow.
Boom, that was today.
So, and then, um, you know, heapparently knows some of the,

(01:18:59):
the guys here in vegas with me,like some of the guys I bought
watches from, and, uh, and, ofcourse, like you know, he's
following the same people I'mfollowing and he's, you know,
vice versa, um, on instagram.
But then he's like, oh, bro,like I don't know if you know,
but it's buy one, get one freewatch day, and I think it was, I
thought it was fucking with me,you know.

(01:19:19):
I was like, oh, okay, like youknow, but he's like, he's like
no, dude, like like, pickanother one, wow, yeah, and he
was like wow, I'm gonna give youlike a two for one deal.
That's crazy, that's wild, itwas the wildest thing ever.
And then I immediately sent himthe money so he can't like, he

(01:19:39):
can't like, think about it likeand say like I can't send these
watches, yeah, but um, I got the, the vintage defies with like
the octagonal cases, like thereal harsh.
Like I just kept thinking likeI love those watches and like
you had to be a crazy, a crazybastard to wear those in the 60s
, you know, and even even evenso now you know, but yeah, but

(01:20:02):
these are the kind of watchesthat you know, you wear and you
go.

there's so much history, there's so much story.
There's so much history,there's so much story, there's
so much mystique and allure andunknowns about this watch, and
it makes you feel special andcool, right, like having
something that's more unique andmore niche.
It just makes you feel a littlebit different, doesn't it?

Blake Rea (01:20:24):
Dude, they're amazing .
Like I said, I got two and hehad one from every era, right,
so they had like three, theylike over the span of like the
five or six years or whateverthey were made.
I don't like there's still alot of like gray um information
there, but he had like threedifferent movement, three

(01:20:45):
different calibers, like threedifferent, you know, like levels
of like, like um, like patina,and like I'm like, okay, like I
want the oldest one, I want thenewest one, and so like I'll
skip the middle one, um, but, uh, but anyways, yeah, and then
once they come back, like I'vealready been talking to zenith

(01:21:06):
about, uh, like getting themrestored, you know.
So, wow, yes, I've, yeah, I'veI've restored a lot of watches
in my life and I, I'm gonna, I'mgetting ready to start
documenting these processes,like of like me getting a watch
at a pawn shop, bringing it in,like you know, like filming it

(01:21:27):
really close up the macro andlike showing all the the wear
and then like documenting theservice experience.
You know, cause, you know, Ijust don't think there's a lot
of content out there, like yousee, people like Marshall who
are like poking out and doingthat, um, but not a lot of
people are dumb enough andstupid enough to send them back
to the service centers.

(01:21:47):
Like I am, you know.
So like I kind of like, if I'mgoing to pay for that, you know,
pay for that premium.

Like I want to get you know content that nobody
has, and so you're going to seethat I'm excited to watch that,
honestly, because that thatsounds really interesting and
exciting to see.
The question that I have foryou I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm
interviewing you now.
The question that I have foryou I'm, I'm, I'm interviewing
you now, okay, sure, do you?
Do you plan on holding on toall these watches that you're

(01:22:14):
going to take on this journey?
You're going to hold on to?
Okay?
Because I was going to say as auh, you know, potential buyer in
the future, it would be really,really cool to learn a bit more
about the history of this, thiswatch this guy, blake rea, is
selling.

(01:22:35):
And then, and then you know,you're like, yeah, well, this is
where I purchased the watch,this is its journey, this is how
it went through service andthis is what I did with it when
he got back, like, you have asort of service record, um, you
know, or carfax, but for watches, that'd be pretty cool.
I have a couple.
I have a sort of service record, you know, or Carfax, but for
watchers that'd be pretty cool.

Blake Rea (01:22:52):
I have a couple.
I have a couple that have gonethrough this whole process and
that's just content.
That's in my queue.
But I did it with SBD Mark two.
It was at Omega for eightmonths, nine months, something
like that I also got.
Are you familiar with the?
The Omega Seam master soccerreferences?
Oh yeah, yep, got one of those,did the same thing, send it to

(01:23:14):
omega.
Um, I picked up, uh like asantos medium busted at pawn
shop, find cheap as dirt, youknow, no bracelet, nothing, just
a busted ass leather strap anda watch head.
It didn't have a cabochon, dude, like, the crown was like the
crystal, the cabochon like felloff at some point.

(01:23:34):
Um, so, anyways, same thing,send it to cartier, like, and
that was a rocky one.
But I literally was going backand forth.
I was like, dude, you're gonna,you know, like you know, the
watch came back.
I was just so disappointed whenI saw it and I'm like you need
to send this back immediately,you know, and this type of stuff
that nobody talks about.
But then, um, I also picked up,uh, like one of the, the vintage

(01:23:58):
ginta bulgari, like diagonals,oh yeah, yeah, like, those are
yeah and cool like alpacino warone in heat.
No, they're not really beefy,like 30, 35, 36 millimeter.
I'll send you a picture, um.
But it was weird because, youknow like, as I'm like going
through these pawn shops, like Ican't say, hey, like, let me

(01:24:18):
open this.
Like you know you, you get pawnshops that are weird.
So I was like, why is thiswatch keeping perfect time?
But why does the chronographnot work?
I was like what the hell?
Like something's weird, youknow, um, because, like I said,
it was just dead accurate, but Ijust, whenever I pressed the
chronograph, like nothing wouldhappen, couldn't reset it,
didn't do anything.

(01:24:39):
So then I bought it and I wasjust like, okay, like it was a
cheapy, you know, like 600 bucks, something like that.
Um, I took it home and then Iopened it up and it was one of
those frederick pk like meccacourts, like one of the first
mecca course movements, likefrom the 70s, and I was like,

(01:24:59):
well, that makes sense, becausethe main timekeeping is battery
powered, you know, but thechronograph is mechanical, you
know, and it, dude, had thislike all um, like rhodium
finished, like like movement.
I mean, dude, it was freakingbeautiful, like you know.
And so that's back at bulgariright now, which has been like

(01:25:20):
10 months, you know.

So this is like, I mean, this is content, that's
like long game shit, you knowright through the sheer nature
of how slow service intervalssort of take place with with all
these brands.
You kind of have to you, bynature of it, have to have
multiple, multiple, multiplewatches in flight, just so you
can kind of have a cadence thatmakes sense.

(01:25:43):
Otherwise you know you'rewaiting what?
Six to nine months, maybe eveneven a year for some of them.
It's, it's, it's a verycomplicated sort of game of
hopscotch.

Blake Rea (01:25:57):
Yeah, the.
The only reason why I haven'tsent the Navi in is because I
heard Breitling is so bad withtheir service.
You know, like I heard they'reso backed up and they, they told
me like the people at Breitlingwere like, do you just enjoy
this?
Because when I was like, I waslike like turning the crown,
like winding it, the crownfucking fell out.
I like pulled the crown.
I was like, oh okay, so then Iput the crown back in.

(01:26:19):
I just like, literally I'mtrying to like parse it, and
then the crown never fell outagain.
So like lucky there.
But, um, yeah, so that will beone in the future.
And this is all content that,like you know, I don't.
I don't think there's anybodyelse out there that that's doing
stuff like that.

At least I haven't seen it, you know well,
no, not, especially not with,like, the number of watches and
the varied type of watches thatyou're talking about.
It's, it's, it's cool, itsounds really cool and
interesting.
You have to send me some photosof the, of the cosmonaut,
because it's so nice.

Blake Rea (01:26:54):
Congrats, well done it's dope and I, I literally was
like I have to have a flybackchronograph in my collection.
You know, at some point right,and now I have, I.
I weirdly, I'm like I want this, I want this, I want this.
Complication like this is thecomplication.
And you know, now I have acouple.
Oh, I've got.
This is probably the worst oneto do this project with, but I

(01:27:16):
got a busted ass hublo, big bang, unico flyback chronograph like
the skeleton.
Oh wow, a thousand dollar watch.
Like a busted ass one.
Like I mean, this thing isbusted dude.
Like, um, I like took a shower,I put it.
Like in the same like I shutthe door to the bathroom like
left it dude.

(01:27:36):
I come out and it's just likecondensation, like oh god, oh no
, oh no, the date complicationlike you can't even change the
date on it unless you're luckylike I'd say like one out of ten
times you can change the date.
Um, and then so, once thecondensation happened, I was
like oh shit, like I'm likescreaming away.
Unless you're lucky I'd saylike one out of 10 times you can
change the date.
And then so, once thecondensation happened, I was
like oh shit, I'm like screaming.

(01:27:57):
My wife like, hey, go get thisscrewdriver.
I literally took the wholewatch apart to get all the
condensation out of the crystal.
That sounds horrible.

What I will say is to your point earlier where
you said that you know you hadquite a few watches that you
weren't wearing and some of themwere, like you know, swatches
or what have you.
Um, and and a couple minutesago you just said that you
really wanted a flybackchronograph.
Yep, the thing is, nobody saysthat in the beginning, like

(01:28:26):
nobody says I really, you know,you know what I want.
Missing a flyback chronograph,I'm missing a flyback
chronograph, that's what I'mmissing.
Nobody says I really, you know,you know what I want.
Missing a flyback chronograph,I'm missing a flyback
chronograph, that's what I'mmissing.
Nobody says that unless you'vegone through the journey and and
sort of racked up the mileage.
So when you say things likeI've let go some watches that
weren't you know, that didn'timprint themselves on me, I

(01:28:47):
didn't experience meaningfullife experiences with these
watches, um, therefore theydon't have like a sacred place
in my heart and therefore withinmy watch box, when you say
things like I've let go of somewatches, um, that is experience
and mileage on full display andtherefore that is when you can

(01:29:08):
say things like you know what Ireally need, I need a flyback
chronograph.
Nobody says that unless they've, you know, purchased the 10, 20
, 30, dozens and dozens ofwatches that they've lived
through, lived with and havesold and now go.
Yeah, but a flyback chronographis is what my life really needs
right now.

Blake Rea (01:29:25):
You know I I've always, I've always been
fascinated by chronographs,which are, people say, is the
least useful complication, and Ilove them too.
Like I love them, I use them.
Um, but then you know, to havea brightling, navitimer,

(01:29:46):
cosmonaut, 24 hour dial, youknow, slide circular, slide
ruler, and have a flybackchronograph like it's just.

It's just so cool , it's got so many weird things
in it, yeah so many weirdcomplications that you know we
don't necessarily need in ourlives.
But you know, it's one thing tosay that I have an avatar,
which is cool in and of itselfit's very cool.
I mean, I have one, I love it,it's gorgeous, I'm a big fan.
But it's a whole notherproposition to say I have a

(01:30:15):
brightling navitimer cosmonautwith a flyback chronograph, 24
hour dial, not bezel dial, um,and yeah, it's really old and
cool.
Like it's just a whole notherproposition.
It just there's levels to this,there's levels to the nerd dump
, you know it would be a lotcooler if I had a bracelet for

(01:30:38):
it.

Blake Rea (01:30:39):
That's where I'm at now.
I'm like you know, like whenyou see, like Matthew
McConaughey, oh, that'd be a lotcooler if you did, bro, you
know what I mean Like that needsto be the next, the next little
like checkbox for thatNavitimer, like I need the
bracelet and and yeah, I'll getit, don't, don't you worry.

I have no doubt.
I have no doubt.
I can't wait for you to get itand to include it in the video,
like I want to see that video.

Blake Rea (01:31:03):
Yeah, I'll send you some pictures.
Yeah, I mean we spent an hourand a half.
I mean I could.
Um, yeah, I mean we spent anhour and a half.
I mean I could go forever.
It seems like I literally hadso many questions that like we
didn't like even like touch on,so I have the time or we could
do it let's just do it, let's gofor it let's do it okay, go
okay yeah, I'll run through it.
we'll run through.

(01:31:24):
Um, hit me, what's the topic ofconversation that you think the
watch community isn't havingenough?
Hmm, great question.
I got a bunch of greatquestions.
That's why I was like, fuck, Ineed to use these Great question
Um, I think it's.

Um.
It's very important for us toremember that we all have our
own individual tastes andpreferences.
Some of us really need aflyback chronograph in our lives
.
It seems like, uh, but noteveryone does, right, not
everyone does, but you have thewherewithal, the sensitivity and
the experience to know thatthat's you and that means that

(01:32:01):
it's it's.
It's not wrong or incorrect forme to not want that.
I think what we don't talk aboutenough within the watch
community is that it's okay tohave very different tastes and
preferences and flavors, andjust because we don't share them
doesn't make us inherentlywrong or incorrect.

(01:32:23):
This is more not necessarilydirected towards the community,
but more towards comments onYouTube videos or Instagram
posts where people are just likeI'm behind of a keyboard and
I'm invincible.
So I'm going to dunk on yourpreference and taste because I

(01:32:44):
can, and if what you say or whatyou put out is not what I agree
with, it's automatically wrong.
Uh, that hurts my soul and itit to me speaks uh at a lack of
um, uh, maturity andunderstanding.
Um, because if everyone likedthe same things, it would be

(01:33:09):
such a boring industry.
It would be such a boring place, such a boring hobby to be in,
you know.
But like I learned about thatFrench brand that you discussed
earlier that had ties to Hoyer,that I didn't know about that,
I'm now curious about to want tolearn more, I didn't know about
that, I'm now curious about towant to learn more.

(01:33:29):
It is that aspect that I thinkneeds more, more, more light,
more understanding, more, morepeace.
It's okay to not like the samethings, and just because of like
a brand, that's another thing.
If a brand puts out a watch,it's not for everyone, I promise
you it's not for everyone.
I promise you it's not foreveryone.
In fact, from its inception, itwasn't designed to be for

(01:33:50):
everyone.
It's for someone.
And if that someone is not you,because you don't like it, be
cool with it.
It's not for you.
Walk away, look at other things, look at things that you do
like, just feel, feel okay,you're you're, you're raising
your blood pressure for noreason it's like you didn't even
invest a single dollar intothis watch, but you are just
slam dunking on it being shittyand offended.

(01:34:14):
I am very offended for somethingthat had nothing to do with I
haven't invested time, energy,money or sweat or blood into.
But now I'm offended for somereason and you know it's it's
free speech, it's you can.
You know it's it's free speech,it's you can, you can do it,
but I, it's you're.
You're yelling into the voidand you're not changing anything
.
You would be better off to notraise your blood pressure and
just be like, just understandthat not everything is targeted

(01:34:38):
or made for you, right?
No?

Blake Rea (01:34:40):
it's for someone.

It may not be it's facts.

Blake Rea (01:34:44):
And you know, a lot of times when I have these
podcasts and I have like once Iget confirmation from a brand or
something that somebody iscoming on, I'll go to my watch
club and say like, hey, I've gotthe CEO of and this is a
perfect example, the CEO of Docsare coming on my podcast, ceo
of Doxa coming onto my podcast.

(01:35:05):
And so I had to bring up thefact that they came out with
like the sub 200T diamonds,which is just like an all iced
out diamond up diver's toolwatch.
And I had to bring it up, youknow, because I was like you
know, like I was like I don'tunderstand this, and he was like
, well, you don't have tobecause we are selling these.

(01:35:25):
And you know, like I was like Idon't understand this and he
was like, well, you don't haveto because we are selling these.
And you know, in the middleeast, where people don't want to
be seen wearing a two thousanddollar dive watch, they want to
be seen wearing a ten thousanddollar.
You know, micro brand orwhatever.
Um, and the fact that you knowthere's.
He was just like.
You know it was a verystrategic decision and I was

(01:35:46):
like and and after that podcast,I got so many, so many dms from
people that were like thank youfor asking, because now we
understand why this watch exists.
And I was like I didn'tunderstand either, you know.
But but a lot of, a lot of time, energy, effort, money, like
things that we may neverunderstand, you know goes into.
I mean these and a lot of times.

(01:36:08):
These products are, are arewell thought out for years in
advance.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
I mean the project, the, theproduct life cycle takes years
and millions and millions ofdollars of research and
development to actually put aproduct out today.
It's been cooking for three tofive years, maybe even more if
it's, if it's a new movement,you know, and some people don't
understand that it's.
It's not like they dreamt it uplast year in september and then

(01:36:35):
in april they're like and nowit's now, it's live, we go ahead
and buy it.
It doesn't work that way.
If anyone that has been in anyproduction capacity to see the
runway required to conceptualize, research and develop, uh, test
, prototype and then actuallytry to put something out, it
takes years, thousand percent.

(01:36:59):
Another another great example,by the way, of like why is it?
Why are you making this?
Because it's kind of anti andantithetical to what your brand
stands for.
Porsche did not want to makethe cayenne, they did not want
to make an suv, but you know whythey did range rover.
They made an suv because peoplewere buying big cars and people

(01:37:21):
were spending big money and theprofit margins in an SUV over a
standard car are much higherand they needed that influx of
money.
If you want that hardcore, puredriver-focused, enthusiast
Porsche that you deem is thepure essence of what a Porsche
is, you have to also be okaywith that same company making a

(01:37:58):
big SUV so that they can makemoney, so that they can actually
have that division thatproduces that GT3 RS that you
might necessarily not deem thecore target audience, so that
they can have money to make thething you want to buy facts.

Blake Rea (01:38:13):
No, yeah it, that's an interesting, an interesting
dialogue.
Um, you talked about having youknow your, your citizen, um
blue angels, your navi, likewhat, what's next for you, like
in collecting you know, is thereanything like you're eyeing,
like like on on the on thehorizon?

here should I bust out my chrono 24 wish list.
Uh, I'm not gonna do that, butyou can skim it, you can skim it
um, as if I have to, I alreadyknow what's on there.

Blake Rea (01:38:46):
Yeah, no, I mean you can let people know who've got
ears.

It's a lot we start out with.
I only want this watch and Istarted out with, like, my dream
watch is the BreitlingNavitimer and, as we all know,
if you're listening to a watchpodcast, you already know you're
watching it, you're already inthe thick of it, you've been
infected, it's too late for you,so stick around.

(01:39:13):
The thing is, um, there's somany different reasons and
excuses and and ideas that wecome up with and we just keep
adding them to the list.
So for me, I don't see an endto it.
I I respect and appreciatepeople.
They're like I'm gonna have acore six watch collection or a
core three watch collection.
Respect, I respect you.
More power to you, godspeed.
I stopped doing that in likeyear three, where I got super

(01:39:35):
serious about my watch.
You know addiction and it'slike hey, if I, if I can save
for it, I will buy it.
When I can afford it and I'monce I get it, I'm going to go
to the next one and save, andwhen I can get it, I get it and
then I'll go to the next one.
But to answer your question, Ihave a milestone birthday watch

(01:39:58):
cooking right now with Armand,who's the sweetest man ever from
Sartori, biard.
It is a custom SB04E that I'mreally excited to get.
Uh, it is for my 40th birthdayand it's got a back engraving,
it's got a custom, uh, two-piecedial that I I built out with
him and I'm just absolutely overthe moon and I can't wait to

(01:40:22):
have it.
Um, that's in the wings, that'salready been paid for and I
just you know to have it.
That's in the wings, that'salready been paid for.
We're just waiting right now.
After that, I am absolutelyenamored and am fascinated by
Spring Drive.
I would love SBGA 211, aka theSnowflake, because it's
beautiful.
I know it's cliche.

(01:40:43):
It's the watch that put GrandSeiko on the map as far as North
America is concerned.
I don't care, I don't buy thewatch for that reason.
I buy the.
I want the watch because I justreally think it's cool, it's
beautiful, it's that continuousseconds, that constant
secondhand, that's just gorgeous.
Um, I really want one of thoseand I really liked the, the

(01:41:03):
power reserve on on the front aswell.
Not that I mind a back casepower reserve, but I really like
the Snowflake, so that willhopefully be added to the
collection at some point in thefuture.
Nice, outside of that, there'sthis really cool Omega,
speedmaster, solar, somethingrather the name escapes me.
It was done in collaborationwith this aviation light

(01:41:25):
aircraft thing.
It's made out of titanium.
That's one of the main reasonsI write why I really like it.
I love titanium, um, like amaterial science nerd.
Generally speaking.
Um, it's got this like carbonfiber dial titanium case and
it's got ties to aviation.
I think it's really really cool.
They're not too expensive, butobviously they've been

(01:41:46):
discontinued for quite a while,so that I'm hoping to add one
day to the collection.
I'd also love to have a Paneraias well, ideally in titanium.
I like the 177 a lot becauseit's got the small seconds.
The 176 is pretty cool as well,but there's something about
Panerai and a sandwich dial andthat loom and that just like

(01:42:08):
tough cool crown guard situationwhere, like the navitimer, you
can spot it from across the room.
Be like that's a panerai orthat's a navitimer, like there's
something timeless and iconicabout it, uh, that I would love
to have in the collection.
Um, I can keep going, but Ithink that's enough.
I gave you three watches.
I gave you four.

Blake Rea (01:42:28):
I I am a degenerate because I have the um, the new
blue dial grand seiko that theycame out with this past year,
limited to 300 very nicecongrats, well done, I have, I
have what three panoramas, twopanor, three, I don't even know
anymore.
I have the 44 Luminor and thenI just picked up the Quaranta

(01:42:54):
radio, oh, yep, yep, yep, yep,freaking, amazing.
And I had the 45 radio mirrorbefore and looking for my next
one, you know, rip.
Rest in peace to my bankaccount.

The dream is to go to Florence, in Italy, and
pick one up from their showroomslash museum.
That would be a dream.
The dream is to do the samething with the Snowflake as well
.
Go to Japan, go to Tokyo andpick one up.
It's an expensive proposition,given that traveling to these
locales in and of themselves isvery expensive.

(01:43:28):
And then you're like oh, andnow I'm also going to drop
somewhere between I don't knowfour and eight grand on a watch
maybe, depending on what youpick up.

Blake Rea (01:43:41):
Right, that's expensive.
We're not made of money wehave're.
And yeah, I know I I thoughttoo like just being in the
industry would make watchescheaper.

Yeah.

Blake Rea (01:43:53):
No, it's still very expensive, I guess.
I guess in somehow my mind Iwas like, oh, if I get the watch
industry somehow some way, likewatches will get cheaper or
like the exact opposite happened.

You now have access to more watches and more
people, and now you know more,and just because you know more,
you want more.

Blake Rea (01:44:12):
Well then, like you know, when I like there's
important, like I've noticed,like when I have some big
podcast guests on, like I'm like, okay, well, now I need one of
their watches.
And that happened with ulyssesnardone.
So I was like, well, I had thepresident of un come on and then
when I went to I mean this wasbefore, but, um, ever since, I

(01:44:37):
found a watch like from one ofmy dealers and it had like the
serial number was the samepodcast number, like.
So, like you know, like thiswas like like yeah, anyways, so
like it was released I think itwas, I don't know, I have to
look.
I have to look but it was likethe same podcast episode number,
like 22 or something like that.

(01:44:59):
I don't know about you, butthat sounds like destiny.
So, yeah, because you know forfor you, and they have like a
plate here on the side with theserial number.
So I was like I bought that andthen just to, just as I got
closer to like the brand because, dude, they're freaking amazing

(01:45:19):
they're wild, they'reabsolutely wild.

It is that is mind-blowing how they can blend
sort of their historical um, uh,historical significance and and
all their watchmaking with likethis crazy, uh, modern, forward
thinking, silicon and the freakin it of itself, like just it's
very, very cool, veryimpressive.
And the air did you get to seethe air at the?

(01:45:42):
Um?
I wish I could buy one.

Blake Rea (01:45:44):
Yeah, Did you get to see the air at the?
I wish I could buy one, yeah.
Yeah, I was joking with Matthew, which is like the the boss guy
, you know.
I was like hey, man, like Ilike this, but I can't afford
this, you know, and he waslaughing, so I I dropped my
hints you know, but but no, no,funny, funny.

(01:46:09):
My hints, you know, but but no,no, funny, funny, funny, funny,
um, because, uh, you know, I hadmet fx, which is like the
president, and then he came onthe podcast, like you know, and
um, and then he, he came back tovegas and like something
happened, like somebody like hehad a meeting or something that
got canceled, um, and so he likecalled me and it was like, like
you know, we had, we had keptup on instagram, but he's like
dude, I'm in vegas, like let'shave breakfast, and I was like

(01:46:30):
okay, the fucking president ofun has asked me for breakfast,
like I'm gonna drop everythingI'm doing and go, um, and then,
uh, and then so we're sittingthere having breakfast and then
you know, matthew, like boss,big boss man, like comes down
and like sits down there with Iwas like oh shit, like you know,
like, and then um, so so thenyou know, because fx, like I

(01:46:54):
bought, I bought my watch frommy dealer, but then fx was like
like like I'll help you get abracelet and do all this, you
know.
And so I got a bracelet from,from, from fx, and you know,
then matthew was like I've neverseen.
So they, they use that braceleton a different dial color.
They don't have it on my dialcolor.
So I was like one of the Iguess I don't know if this is

(01:47:15):
the case, but I was one of thefew people that had this dial
color with this bracelet,because they don't say cool it's
like a mesh, like woven meshbracelet, that specific
reference.
So so then when matthew comesdown, he like looks down on my
wrist.
He's like, oh, like, can I seethat?
You know?
Like takes it off, takes apicture.
Like he takes off his likeprototype un and like takes a

(01:47:36):
picture of, like, my humbled undiver.
You know, that's just so cool.
And then they're like we'regoing to some like site visits
if you want to come with us, andI was like, yeah, that's
amazing yeah.
So then you know, I know all theretailers here, but then when
we went to Switzerland for thispast year, like the guys from,

(01:48:01):
do you know, rashaun and PerryPerry Dash from the Rish Check
Pod, do you know?

um, rashaun and um and perry, perry dash from
the wrist check pod.
You know, uh, I've, I've.

Blake Rea (01:48:09):
I don't know them, but I've listened to them yeah,
so they were doing like um, like, uh, like a party, like with
you in, and so this is why, likenext year you just have to come
with me, um, and and it waslike a, it was like a who's who
of watch people, you know, likeI mean, everybody was there,
like you know, sitting I wassitting next to fx, like across

(01:48:32):
from me, uh was georgia benjamin, you know, amazing, amazing
creator.
Then ben's watches and thenroman scharf and um, something
happened with nico.
Nico was like nico ended uplike leaving um, but you know,
just everybody in the watchindustry sophie's there, then um

(01:48:52):
, lydia in um, and voo, whichalso have a great watch podcast
and I mean it's just a who's whoof the watch industry and uh,
it was just an amazingexperience.
And then, of course, you knowyou've got rashaun and perry and
just I mean it was just crazy,crazy experience.
And and after the whole dinnerwe like took this bus and went

(01:49:15):
out to like this like little,like wine place, vineyard, and
uh, and then we all, you know,just it just turned into like a
huge dance party and theneverybody from un's dancing and
like you know what I mean.
And then I was thinking thiswas like 1 am, you know like 2
am something like already justcrazy tired and I'm like, fuck,
I have to get up and film withmatthew, like I literally had

(01:49:38):
like scheduled to sit down withhim like his whole p I was with
his whole pr company and likeall this and I'm like I don't
even know like if I can make itto my bed tonight like, let
alone the interview you know tofilm for you tomorrow.
Um, somehow I did it, but youknow then, like sure enough,
like after that whole night,like he just literally just like

(01:49:59):
came in, let's just game on.
I'm like, wow, like these guysare fucking amazing, you know
they make.

So it was like like on professional, very, very
on point after after all ofthat.

Blake Rea (01:50:12):
Yeah, I mean just to see, like, how people let loose,
and then I'm sure my dogs areliterally trying.

They sound adorable.

Blake Rea (01:50:21):
Going for the cameo.
Going for the cameo, um, butbut no, like just to see, like
both sides of the spectrum, likecrazy, fun and and crazy, uh,
like professional, and just getdown to it.
I mean they, they blend thespectrum of of crazy and and you

(01:50:41):
know, and professional, yeah,yeah very cool, very impressive
like that.

That sounds like it was a lot of fun and
something that I hope to maybeone day experience.
I mean just the mere uh idea ofbeing in switzerland for a
watch event is sort of a?
Um, it's going to sound cheesy,but almost like a spiritual
experience.
You know, we're like I'm inswitzerland for a watch event
full stop like if you're intowatches, that sounds amazing.

(01:51:06):
Um, let alone to have, like abunch of other industry folks
that you know you get along withwell and and have fun, that
sounds awesome it's there.

Blake Rea (01:51:15):
Yeah, next year we'll see we can plan it together if
you're, if you're up and for it.
Um, if somebody, okay, so letme come out on the record.
And if you're listening to mypodcast now and you've made it
fucking two hours listening tous talk and you have not
listened to james's podcast, Idon't know what is wrong with
you yet.
But, um, if somebody, ifsomebody could listen to one

(01:51:38):
episode of you know, the time is, you know which one do you
think best represents like your,your, your character, your
persona best?
I don't, I don't see you as apersona, but you know you're
just like hey, look, if, if youcould carve one episode into
stone forever, which it is onthe internet, so it will be, but

(01:52:01):
you get it like if, if youcould say, look, this is the
only episode you need to listento to understand who I am and
what I'm trying to do and Ithought we were friends.

And then you hit me with like these tough
questions, man, like what ishappening right now?
Like I, I, I know I'm sorry, no, no, it's fine, it's a great
question again.
Great question.
Um, weirdly enough, so a lot ofpeople message me and they're
like you are gonna chat withandrew morgan.
I'm like, yeah, I'm gonna chatwith andrew morgan.
They're like that is so cool.

(01:52:30):
Like how did you do that?
I'm like, well, you know, we goback.
He came, he came by seattle backin 2023 and you know we hung
out for a couple days and webecame friends, uh, and they had
a more sort of animatedreaction to that.
But I would say, personally, Igeeked out, nerded out and was

(01:52:50):
in absolute awe when I, when Iwas able to interview armand
biard of sartori biard, thisvery small independent uh micro
brand the guy was a designerback in like the 90s and 2000s
and like he just kept blowing meaway with all the things and

(01:53:11):
all the sort of uh coincidencesin life, overlapping uh just
experiences things that you knowI grew up with and sort of
appreciated.
Like he designed a Nokia, likea classic Nokia phone, a Nokia
phone that millions and millionsof people know and would

(01:53:31):
recognize if they saw it the.

Blake Rea (01:53:33):
Razr.

No, no, even before that, even before the
Razr, he designed that.
He designed a bunch of otheroffice products that millions of
us have interacted and engagedwith, but we wouldn't know that
he's the guy that actuallydesigned them.
So my interview with ArmandBiard of Sartori Biard is one of
my absolute favorites, justbecause of the awe and wonder

(01:54:00):
that he was able to sort of layout and just keep blowing me
away Like I was just impressed,just as is with his company and
the watches that he produces andcontext.
He is a uh a watchmaker that uhuses a bunch of manufacturers,
uh all well-respected uh withinthe watch industry and allows

(01:54:23):
people like me to access abespoke watchmaking experience
and build a watch that is is notrequiring me to mortgage a
house.
Right, you can get a bespokepiece unique watch made by
armand um for less than fortyfive hundred, which, in the

(01:54:47):
watch space again, that is not asmall chunk of change.
That is a lot of money.
However, in the grand spectrumof things, when you're talking
about piece, unique or bespokewatches, that you can actually
talk to the guy that will bemaking the watch for you and he
will ask you what's yourfavorite color, what are you
into, what's your background, doyou have any family stories

(01:55:11):
that you want to share, thingsthat he can incorporate into the
watch he takes you on thatjourney?
And to be able to do that forless than, let's say, $5,000 is
unheard of within the watchindustry.
Again, it's not a small chunkof change.
It's a lot of money, but it isnot.
In the grand scheme of things,when you're in this arena and I

(01:55:31):
was just blown away by his, byhis company, his brand, his
ethos and his approach towatchmaking, in that you can
have a 3500, four thousanddollar watch or you can go a
hundred thousand plus, dependingon what wild and crazy
invention you want to do.
He, he can do it, but, but, butjust the gamut, the, the
spectrum that he covers betweenlike thirty five hundred dollar

(01:55:52):
watch that you, you know I canwork with you and get some
modifications and make it yourown, uh, all the way up to like
twelve thousand maybe, if youwant, or a hundred k plus
tourbillon, uh, customengravings, absolute works of
art that you can say.
There are many watches in thisworld, but only one of them
looks and sounds like this,because I worked with the

(01:56:13):
creator to make it.
That is wild.
So for me personally, that wasmy favorite.
Uh, not that, not that I have afavorite guest they're all
special and I love them all butthe one that blew me away the
most in that I I saw him fromafar, I appreciated his brand, I
loved his work, and then hesaid, yeah, I'll, I'll come on

(01:56:36):
your podcast.
And in that podcast I learnedso much more about him that I
just I was blown away.

Blake Rea (01:56:44):
So, no, that's amazing.
And yeah, that's a brand that,respectfully, I haven't paid
really any attention to, and andI had the same conversation.
Uh, I feel like I have thisconversation with every brand,
like I'm not out looking forwatch brands Like I probably
should be, you know but like I'mjust trying to like support the

(01:57:08):
brands that I do know that I ampassionate about.
You know, um, and I had thatconversation today with like,
with like norking, you know,like a brand that, like
everybody knows norking at thispoint.
But, like you know, I wastelling their marketing people
like, yeah, like I've been tosome of your events, like you

(01:57:30):
guys have great, a great product.
And same same thing for likemaurice lacroix.

Yep, like I really enjoyed your, your
episode with maurice lacroix andum, and they're such a great
brand that's so underappreciated, agreed stefan and andre are
first class again, gentlemen, sonice, so kind, so sweet, and

(01:57:56):
they don't have as much uh of aspotlight on them as they
deserve.

Blake Rea (01:58:00):
So completely agree and and it was one of those
brands where, like um, I hadlike andre had reached out and
like I was like, oh, marissa,qual, like okay, cool, like I
was like really early into thiswhole journey and, um, you know,
I wasn't working with the sameamount of brands that I was, I
guess, at this point now, um,but then he's like, hey, I used

(01:58:22):
to live in vegas.
Like I'm coming to vegas, likeyou know, let's do it, like,
let's meet up, and so like hetexted me and I was, like you
know, I'm always like justtrying to be very accommodating,
but I was like, yeah, like I'llcome pick you up at the airport
and like we'll go like havewatch club event.

(01:58:51):
So like we had beers and likesome of his friends came out and
we, like you know, spent likefive or six hours just like
chilling, like you know, talkingabout watches, like you know
philosophy, like you know, afterthe first hour, like the
watches just kind of like fellto the side and he was just,
like you know, talking about meand like my, you know what I'm
trying to do in the watchindustry and like all this.
And then um took a couple weeksfor for us to get stefan on um
and then full circle funny um onjune 5th.

I was gonna say there's an event coming up,
isn't there?

Blake Rea (01:59:18):
there is yeah, tell me, it's gonna be freaking
amazing.
We um have this art studio, sothey did a watch with wado, okay
, and we have this art studio.
It's just a literally like ablank canvas and um, and the
whole concept was to like, like,literally get like a camera and
like, blast it and like, havewado, like like drawing art for

(01:59:42):
all the guests and then sopeople are watching it, like on
the walls and all this, and then, for whatever reason, like,
wado, like just had a schedulingconflict, it just couldn't
happen and we just had such asmall date, um, because stefan's
coming too, so, so, so now it'sjust going to be.
I know it's such a downgradefrom the epicness that we have,
but, um, we've like went in andlike, we've made a drink like

(02:00:06):
this, this is, I mean this, thisis like some next level event
planning that I've never done,you know, but we like went out
and made a cocktail for everycollection you know, for them.
So that way, like, um, you know,like the masterpiece or the
pontos or whatever you know like, can you tell me what's in the
icon?
Uh, yeah, let me pull it up.

(02:00:28):
Um, yeah, let me see, becausewe've been going back and forth
for a couple months now.
Very cool, um, all right, let'ssee.
So the pont so actually sofunny.
Um, because, uh, so I wastexting andre, I was like oh
yeah.
He's like, oh, what do you?
Was like we're working on thispanel, like, do you want to be
on the panel?
He's like, no, I'm just goingto be in the back like sipping

(02:00:50):
Ponto or sipping icons.
Uh so the I the icon is anurban, old fashioned, bold,
modern and assertive.
You know, like an old fashionedserved on the city rooftop bar
bar.
It's all about timeless andcool with a modern facelift.
The chronograph for theskeleton version, that's, the
smoked variant with a spicy kickso I spent some time with the

(02:01:11):
39 mil skeleton icon instainless steel.

Um, it was on loan while I was uh in italy and
it was.
It was a family trip.
Uh, not, not with mariselacroix, it was my family, with
my wife and I.
We went to italy, um, but uh,andre was super sweet and kind
and loaned me the watch and Iwanted to sort of have this,
this recurring theme where maybe, when I travel, um, I will take

(02:01:39):
one watch and that will be mytravel watch and it'll be a sort
of memory generator and aspecial special time.
Um, uh, establisher, right Likethe, that, that moment in time
will always be tied to mewearing the Maurice Lacroix icon
39 skeleton stainless steel.
There you go, um, and it wasphenomenal.

(02:02:03):
Titanium one, why not?
So the timing wasn't greatbecause the titanium one wasn't
out yet, or there were, I thinkit was very limited.
So Andre couldn't get me thetitanium one, because you know I
love titanium, like I said.
But I fell in love with the 39mil and it was great, like, I
absolutely loved it, my wifeloved it.

(02:02:24):
By the end of the trip, I tolduh, I told andre, I was like
this hurts, it hurts, I have tosend it back.
It hurts me, it hurts my soul.
I love it.

Blake Rea (02:02:33):
Yeah, I know, I felt that way because I had the, I
had the pontos on loner, um, Ihad the white and blue pontos
and, um, like he came to townlike a second time and then he,
I was just like I'm just goingto leave it with you.
I was like, oh okay.

That's what he did with Adam from Watchcology.
They met and he's like, yeah,I'm just going to.
He just gave him the watch offof his wrist.
It was a 42 mil blue dial, iconAndre's, just the best.

Blake Rea (02:03:00):
I know, yeah, he's, he's became like a really good
close friend.
And so I've been thinking aboutlike, because now, like, I
somehow put myself in asituation where I have to
moderate a panel, so I'm justlike, what do I say?
Like, how do I introduce thebrand?
Like, how do I keep theconversation going, which I mean

(02:03:23):
, keeping the conversation goingis gonna be the easy part, but,
um, but, like you know, a lotof brands like lean on their
heritage and like marise lacroixdoesn't have a lot of heritage.
But if you look at all theseother brands like I think you
know, as as a watch nerd andpeople who are listening, like

(02:03:43):
who are starting to transcendcollecting, like it's like, does
the brand align with yourvalues?
You know, like and and andmaybe like, if you're lucky
enough, you get to meet thepeople like like james and I do,
like get to meet the peoplebehind these brands, and then
you say wow, like their wholeethos, mission, their vision for

(02:04:04):
the brand, everything like Isupport, you know, and then a
hundred percent, a hundredpercent, and I will.

Also, I'll throw in the fact that, um, yes, 50
years, right, would they?
They're celebrating 50 years.
This year of of existence,maurice LaCroix is uh, is not,
let's say, a lot within thewatch space, but the flip side
of that is also, let's look atrichard mill, they have a lot
less than 50 years.
Okay, so it's not a, it's not a, it's not a, a downer.

(02:04:38):
I I would see it as no, no,it's not.
50 years is a long time.
It is um, and, and they'restill around and they exist and
they're making moves and they'rekeeping um, they're keeping
fresh, and I think they'reblending their, their, the years
and their legacy and thehistory they do have really,
really well, in interesting wayswith the urban and more modern

(02:05:03):
and more, let say, contemporaryum audience.
It's very, very interesting.

Blake Rea (02:05:08):
They are yeah and um and funny, and so, like we did a
tuesday stream and my friendpicked up one of the um, the
icon tides, and he like unboxedit on the stream and it was like
oh yeah.
And then we went on this wholelike marisa quavarant, and then
like um, as I started likethinking about like how I was
going to moderate this panel, Iwas like I don't even have a
Marisa Kwa watch that I can wearLike, so I need to.

(02:05:31):
First of all, I need to borrowone, you know, like so I can
moderate a panel, and one oftheir watches would be just a
dick move to be talking aboutMarisa Kwa wearing something
else.
So then I started going throughand I was like like dude, the
1975.
Oh yeah, your newer watches,classy, very classy, classy,

(02:05:52):
timeless, like, so that's theone that I put in.
I'm like I want to wear thiswhen I'm speaking, you know, and
then maybe I'll make somecontent about it.
It like I, I just think um, andI had one of the sacos like just
a um, well, I also have alpina,like one of the alpina alpiners
, with just like a silver um,silver dial, silver bracelet,

(02:06:15):
just like all silver dress piecesports.
The alpina is a more sportspiece, but this is like I had a
grand saco like one of the 9fspring drives, like the sbgp,
like 001 or something like that,with like the champagne dial,
and then like I just I didn't,it didn't, I didn't wear it, so
I got rid of it.
And then like ever since I gotrid of it, I just I missed, I

(02:06:37):
missed that piece.
So like that, maurice lacroix,like I think, like while I have
it going to like fill the voidof like my missing grand Seiko
in a weird way, We'll see whathappens by the end of the panel.
Yeah, yeah, for sure.
Well, I want to thank you for,I mean, this has been an epic

(02:06:58):
one.
I'm not going to break it upinto two episodes, like if, if
you've, if you've made it thusthus far, hopefully you have a
lot.
Well, hopefully you don't havea long commute, but hopefully
you made it to the end.
But, um, but no, no, I meanyou've spent quite a lot of time
with us, like just getting to,to have this.
To chalk this up, I mean, Idon't have a lot of other
podcasters on, so it's alwayscool.
Um, funny enough, you're,you're right behind uh, well,

(02:07:22):
people who know this, now I cansay it but you're right behind
roshan from rishabh.
So like he's before you and thenyou're after him.
So, um, so, yeah, yeah, you're,you're in, you're in the good
queue of uh, of guests there, sothat's.

That's probably highly incorrect, because
everyone in your queue is good.
Thank you I feel, like it too,I feel like it too no yeah you
have some wonderful guests andand I appreciate the time and
thank you for the invite.
It's been an absolute blast andyeah, yeah, we've been talking
for two hours and eight minutes.
Doesn't feel like it?
We're watch nerds.
Come on, this is what we do.
We talk watches.

Blake Rea (02:07:59):
That's why you come here, right, it's watch, talk we
could keep going, but you know,we just need to to be
conservative to a degree, youknow so there's only so much
patience people have yeah and no, we'll have to.
We'll have to try this again.
You know, at some point, like Ihave you back.
You know, I think um, I've beenthinking about how I can have
people back without it seemingweird oh yeah, I mean, I'm happy

(02:08:22):
to be a guinea pig.
If you like, I could be thefirst one to do a recurring well
, somebody, somebody who has,like I have like podcasting
experience, you know, like so.

So yeah, of course, of course, and I I
officially and cordially inviteyou on my podcast as well,
please, I'd love to have you asa guest.
Will you please accept?
Yes, I will.

Blake Rea (02:08:44):
Wonderful Transaction has been approved.

It's legal binding in all 50 states.

Blake Rea (02:08:51):
Yeah, yep, yep and Canada maybe it's a Tuesday.
Thank you again for spending somuch time with us, of course,
it's been my pleasure, thank you.
I'll be on yours in a couple ofdays, I'm sure.

Yes, let's put it on the books officially and
we'll make it happen.
Thank you, blake, I appreciateyou.

Blake Rea (02:09:10):
Thank you as well.
Talk to you soon.

Talk soon, bye-bye.

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