Spirit of Time Podcast

In this episode we are joined by Jack Stewart, a US Navy F/A-18 pilot turned best-selling author. Jack is the author of 3 (soon to be 4) aviation action thriller novels, and he's on his way to being ranked among the greats in the genre, in our humble opinion. It also happens that Mr. Stewart is a bit of a watch guy in his own right! We talk about the books, the flying, the watches, and perhaps most important... how he got his callsign; "FARLEY". This is another fun one. Check it out!

Gregg and Matt meet live to do an extended wrist-check with a pair of recent GMT offerings from Formex (Stratos UTC) and Nodus (Contrail GMT). Matt then waxes hopeful with a notional wishlist for upcoming releases from Grand Seiko and Tudor. Will this year bring blessings to the GS faithful who'd love to see a REAL "Submariner killer"..?? Time will tell. In the meantime, thanks for listening.

If it's us talking about Fordite, lume, and good beer, it can only mean that we are joined by none other than Lume Wizard Extraordinaire, The Black Badger- aka James Thompson. James is a Canadian expat living in Sweden, and he is known worldwide as a design maven specializing in unusual materials and off-the-charts lume. He's done collabs with some of the biggest names in the game. In this episode, we chat about everything from his watch design projects, the Miami Vice/ GTA mural in his workshop, and the amazing beer culture in Copenhagen.

For motorsport fans, it's an amazing time. The long-anticipated start to the F1 2025 Season is upon us, and we are once again joined by Spence, from the "Whiskey and Watches Podcast". This is our 3rd annual pre-season roundup with Spence, and we cover team driver pairings, 2024 highlights, predictions, and more.

Matt is joined live by SoCal TGN community stalwart, Jon C aka @thegrailnato aka "ARKEN Hunter" to discuss the unique appeal of indie darling Arken Watch Co. Jon has voted with his dollars, and owns pretty much every model from the UK-based über-micro. We also get up to some chat regarding Omega's recent Seamaster 300M in Bronze Gold, Sinn's latest novelties, and more. This one is live, so bear with the background noise and as always, thanks for listening!

Can women wear "men's" watches? Heck yeah! That's the topic for this episode. Matt is joined by Sara Wiley, the better half of SOTP alum Zac Wiley (from the Anti Watch Watch Club episodes) to discuss this trend and do a bit of brainstorming on a list of men's watches that can be ideal for women. Thanks for listening!

Holy cow, we did it! We've made it to 100 episodes, and we're both a bit stunned, to be honest. In this somewhat overdue episode, we each talk about a few episodes that we'd pick for a highlight reel of the pod. It was impossible to shout out everyone or to highlight each of our faves, but it's a fun look back in any case. Thanks to all of you for listening and for helping us along the way. Cheers!

We've all done it; gone to have brunch and been sat next to a table that is talking (probably too loudly) about some topic that forces you to start listening more to *them* than to your own party. That's called "ear hustlin'" and that's this episode in a nutshell. Matt sat down with @dcvintagewatches, along with the dudes from @theouttatimepodcast (@summereskimo and @horologicalchronicals) for a Hawaiian-themed breakfast to discuss everything from vintage Seiko, the best men's watches for women, and a bunch of other weird stuff. That's what's cool about live recordings... when it's done right, the listener feels like they are sitting at the end of the table with us. Pour a coffee, a glass of POG, or even a morning Mai Tai, and have a listen!

Gregg and Matt meet live to discuss new watches from Patek Philippe and Oris, and move swiftly on to the main topic: our recommendations for the best non watch related follows across a variety of platforms- pop music, comedy, current events, military affairs etc. Check it out!

Everyone's favorite watch brand frontman- Christopher Ward's Mike Pearson (see episode 88)- was kind enough to arrange for us to spend some time with review samples of 2 amazing pieces- the C65 Aquitaine GMT and the sensational "The Twelve". If you've been paying attention to the watch world for the past year or so you already know that The Twelve is one of 2 world-beating timepieces that Christopher Ward has released lately (the other being the Bel Canto). We gave these watches a thorough "time on the wrist" test run and came away impressed. Thanks for listening.

This episode features Joey, aka "9mm Musashi", a stalwart in the law enforcement training world and, predictably, a pretty serious watch enthusiast. We discuss everything from emotional intelligence in law enforcement, the importance of service to the community, and one hell of a good story about a watch gifted to his dad. I also make a lame attempt to draw parallels between Musashi's teachings and the world of watch collecting. Spoiler alert: it's a bit cringe (but funny). Thanks for listening!

Eric, aka "Rico" (formerly of the eponymous Rico's Watches Podcast) checks in to catch up on his post-pod life, and to share musings on the importance of story/history in the watch hobby. While Eric's podcast is a thing of the past, he has been keeping himself busy in the watch arena, and we get some of the details over our chat. Thanks for listening!

Matt is joined by Fratello.com contributor and "Fratello on Air" cohost, Balazs Ferenczi, coming to us live from Hungary (just in time for the Hungarian Grand Prix!). In this episode, we discuss the rather monumental news that Rolex is apparently OUT as a title sponsor of Formula 1, to be replaced by LVMH and their significantly larger financial support commitment. We also pivot to Seiko news. Back during the Covid years, Matt predicted that Seiko would reintroduce the Pogue, and that it would be in a solar quartz format. But is the new Seiko solar Speedtimer *really* worthy of carrying the "Pogue" moniker? Listen to find out...

Remember that kid who got WIS-famous for meticulously reverse-engineering an Urwerk..? Tha's Karel, the engineering phenom behind Barrelhand. (We can hear you now..."WTF is Barrelhand?" Lol. Barrelhand is the outfit that is tackling the task of creating a purpose-built, designed-from-the-ground-up spacefarer's watch.) Karel joins us to chat about his love of outdoor adventure, craft beer, classic rock, and the timepiece that might finally knock Omega off its perch as the ultimate, LEGIT space watch brand.

It's 2024- the 80th anniversary of the "OPERATION OVERLORD"/ D-Day, the Allied Expeditionary Force assault on Hitler's Fortress Europe. To mark the occasion, we are back with episode 62 alum, Jon- aka @mosquito_boat- to discuss watches, the WWII Airborne Demonstration Team, and his upcoming airborne assault into Normandy as a WWII historical reenactor. Remember the Dick Winters character (I term I hesitate to use: MAJ Winters was very much a real person and a real hero of WWII) from "Band of Brothers"..? Well, Jon is all about keeping the memory of Winters, and those like him, alive and well in our collective memory! Oh... and he's a watch guy, too.

It's been a minute, right?? Matt and Gregg are finally back on the same episode, ready to discuss the new world-beating GMT from Nodus x Raven, the WSJ piece on The Dink, and a certain long anticipated GMT from Tudor. Thanks for listening!

Gregg sits down with Lōcī Watch Company's Trip Henderson over tacos and beers to discuss the new brand and the release of the Pacific Coast Highway line. Trip's background in military service and disaster relief, as well his desire to give back, drive the social responsibility that is baked into the brand's DNA. That's important stuff, but what about the watches? Trip shares the inspiration behind the lineup, what it's like to design a brand from the ground up and the show stopping dials. As Philly natives would do, there's some banter about the hometown too. Hope you enjoy.

Gregg is back! Matt is buzzed! Lessss gooooo!! In this episode we have a catch-up chinwag over the past week of Watches and Wonders. Beer flows and thoughts are shared on the topic of the latest watches from Zenith, Tudor, Rolex and Bremont. Talking of which... well, Matt is a well-known fan of the British brand, and he has thoughts. Check it out and as always, thanks for listening.

Mick Jagger, Liam Gallagher, David Lee Roth, Jeremy Clarkson, and... Mike Pearson? In this episode we are joined by Mike Pearson, the guy who is poised to take British watch brand Christopher Ward to the next level in North America. Mike has been an absolute legend in the enthusiast community for ages, having worked to establish or reinvigorate several big brands in the USA. Mike has been a friend for over a decade, and it's an absolute treat to finally have him on the pod to chat about Land Rovers, football, relaxation, and watches. Thanks for listening!

Nick from DC Vintage joins Matt for double duty as guest and cohost. Nick has been on with us before, and it's interesting to reflect on the changes in the vintage Seiko landscape over the past 2 years; the Pogue is still cool, but the latest hotness is definitely the MACV/SOG aesthetic of the Vietnam-era field watches worn by the recon teams of the Studies and Observation Group. Nick also gives us the 411 on his own line of military inspired watches- the Sycamore "Wolf" and "Hunter". As always, this conversation wanders a bit... in a good way. CHeck it out!

Matt is joined by "Fratello On Air" cohost Balazs Ferenczi to catch up over a quick chat on the new white dial Omega Speedmaster Professional. This one is a quick and easy listen; stay all the way through to hear Balazs roast Matt over his very non-traditional cooking! lol and thanks for listening.

We are back! This time, we have more Formex content, as we share detailed thoughts on our extended time with both the Reef and Field watches. Matt is slowly coming to the conclusion that Formex is maybe the most tech-forward small brand around. Also, Gregg is on this one and he gives us the 411 on his on-again-off-again appearances. Thanks for listening!

This one is gonna be cool! We are joined live in Los Angeles (Pasadena, actually) by Spence from the "Whiskey and Watches Podcast" to discuss the latest developments in Formula One: Who will backfill Lewis? Is Checo done? Tudor is IN, along with... wait... Moser?!?! Check this one out- it's short and VERY sweet. Thanks for listening.

Matt is joined by watch video ace and Hodinkee alum, Brandon Menancio. Brandon has an interesting life story and how he landed up in the watch hobby is a bit of an unlikely tale... in a good way. What's Brandon's deal, and will he still be making awesome video content? Listen to find out, and to hear what we think we might see from Tudor in 2024.

This one might've been titled "The Long Hello", as it took a minute to get through the wrist check! Matt is joined by Buzz from "The Whiskey and Watches Podcast" to discuss their respective collecting plans for 2024. We wade into the topic of the Breitling acquisition of UG, and speculate on which archival watch will be launched first. Finally, is everyone sleeping on the best and most realistic alternative to the "integrated steel sports" hype pieces..? We think so. Check it out, and thanks for listening.

Watch Enthusiasts may know about Vortic Watch Co, and their business model of upcycling some amazing American pocket watch movements in modern wristwatch cases (seriously, these movements tend to be absolutely beautiful by modern standards!). Did you know that Vortic is branching out, and venturing into serial production with the new Colorado Watch Company enterprise? We sit down and talk with one of the brand founders- RT Custer- about the new watches, Vortic watch-spotting in an enormously popular streaming show, and their now famous "David vs Goliath" victory in court. RT has some excellent booze chat for us, too. (Sake, Bourbon, and beer)

Lighting strikes twice! We are (re)joined by watch writer-turned-novelist Jason Heaton to discuss "Sweetwater", the second installment in the Tusker Novels series. The chat was amazing. We focused on the book, but also managed to mull the idea that Blancpain might be due for a refresh on their flagship dive watch line. Will there be a new Fifty Fathoms any time soon? Jason has thoughts. This is a fun one, #watchfam!

"We are the Pilgrims, master: we shall go always a little farther..." Analog Shift's James Lamdin is a #watchfam fellow traveller. Let's put it this way... If "The Golden Road to Samarkand" was a metaphor for the path to enlightenment on neo-vintage watches and amazing 1980's television (and old BMW's), then surely James Lamdin would be the Caravan Master. Mr. Lamdin is DEEP into the appreciation of all the good stuff, folks! We chat about the topic of neo-vintage, the need for Breguet to do better in an effort to reclaim its place in the firmament, and of course the #magnumpivibechallenge! This one runs a bit long, but- like a Ferrari 308 GTS- it goes fast. Thanks for listening.

Colonel Richard Sweeten-callsign "NEMO"- joins Matt for a chat about watches and USAF fighters. NEMO spent a full career as a fighter pilot in the United States Air Force, starting as an instructor in the T-37, the T-41 (Matt flew these!), and then moving on to the mighty F-15C. NEMO is a watch guy through and through, and spent a big chunk of time helping to build Bremont into the premier "military partner" watch brand that it is today. This one is EPIC! The "C Model"..? We talk about it. Early Bremont..? We talk about it. The best thing about this hobby- as we often point out- is the fact that so many cool people are involved. Matt came away from this one feeling grateful to have made a new friend. We think you'll feel the same way. Thanks for listening!

Watches and Cocktails Chat Recipe: 3 oz bourbon, 4 oz ginger beer, 1 oz white rum, 1 angry feline…stir to mix, add 2 watch geeks and a dash of F-bomb bitters to taste, mix in a bit of catch up chat and a few Youtube recommendations, serve over ice

Gregg is back from the DR and we are good to go. Both of us have NEW WATCH ALERTS. We spend a bit of time mulling the rumors of more layoffs at a certain major watch blog, and basically just shoot the breeze catching up after 3 weeks without an episode (sorry about that). Also, Matt has a busted pipe, and NOT in a good way!! Actually, is there even a way for that to be good..? I guess maybe not, but whatever. Thanks for listening.

Making new friends is the best part of being in the "community", and Matt definitely made a new friend during the recording of this episode. Matt is joined by Cody Fite, former SF soldier and current watch geek, and one of the honchos at Anti Watch Watch Club. We chop it up about big IPA beers, raising money for first responder training, and why Tudor's killer new FXD isn't METAS certified. We reach no conclusions, but the chat is pretty cool anyway. Thanks for listening!

It's been a while, yeah? Pull up a chair and join us as we catch up after a month off of recording. Matt's got an NWA (Tudor's FXD Black/ "Navy") to talk about, and we both go over our impressions of the new Oris Artelier S "Forrest Green" variant. Gregg's got a film recommendation for you, and Matt reminds everyone to try to stay on an even keel in a time of turmoil and bad news. Thanks for listening!

Okay, okay... yes, every pod and blog is going to talk about this, and we're no different. (Actually, we ARE a bit different) Now that the actual design has been revealed, we share our thoughts on the latest monster watch collaboration, and take it a step further by nominating some brands/models from OUTSIDE Swatch Group for potential future mashups. Sure, they'll probably never do any of our suggested collabs, but let's be honest... five years ago did ANY of us see the MoonSwatch coming? Never say never, amirite?! This, some fun rec's, and our salute to the Parrothead-in-chief, Jimmy Buffett. We hope he's sipping margs and enjoying his cheeseburgers in paradise. Thanks for listening.

This is a quick catch up episode. We chat about some recent episodes, as well as the new "Thousand Dollar Timex". Even so, we focused mainly on the shocker news of the moment- namely the announcement that Rolex is set to acquire luxury retailer Bucherer. ( Note- Despite our assumptions to the contrary, it seems as if the watch brand Carl F. Bucherer is also part of the acquisition. ) What will this mean for smaller AD's, other brands sold by Bucherer stores, and the state of the CPO program? We pretend to know, and gamely speculate like mad in this one!! Time will tell how things shake out. In the meantime, thanks for listening.

Matt has been a fan and customer of STANDARD H for a few years now. Wesley Smith is the man behind the brand, and he's DEFINITELY a watch dude, so we were stoked to sit down with him at one of the oldest and coolest drinking venues in the San Gabriel Valley. We discussed everything from his wine preferences, why watch hobbyists make the best apparel enthusiasts( okay... I'm making that up, but...), the heavy lifts in a small business, and his idea for a "million dollar road trip". Listen to the end: Wesley drops an awesome promo code for savings on his upcoming Fall assortment ( is that the right word, Wesley..?). This was a fun one! Thanks for listening.

Gregg and Matt met live at Ogopogo Brewing in San Gabriel to record their installment of the WatchPodCollective "Doppelgänger" series. (the WatchPodCollective is the unofficial consortium of pods consisting of "Wrist Cheese Radio", "SOTP", and "Whiskey and Watches", FYI...) The idea here is that we each imagine alternatives for actual stalwarts in our individual respective watch collections, based on aesthetics and use-case. It's a fun thought experiment, and we bet that most of you have done this in your head at one point or another. Thanks for listening!!

"The king is dead! Long live the king!"---------When we heard the news of Anchor Brewing (Anchor is the oldest brewing operation in California) stopping operations, we were stunned. Anchor Steam Beer is a favorite for many, including us. We're going to miss this brand. It made us think that it might be fun to reflect on other classic brands and companies that have died out, gone dormant, or changed so much that they are essentially unrecognizable. We discuss Universal Geneve watches, Schlitz beer, Saturn Cars, Pan Am Airways, and more. There's a bit of chat about the burgeoning "Magnum PI Vibe Challenge", and an update on Forstner Bands' in-for-review bullet bracelet. Thanks for listening!

This episode sees Matt joined by "Fratello On Air" stalwart Balazs Ferenczi. We've had Mike Stockton on a few times, so it seemed only right to ask Balazs to join us to chat about our mutual "Magnum PI" fandom, his enthusiasm for NBA basketball, and vintage watches. We discuss the recent releases from Omega, naturally, and also touch on the third rail of watch commentary: auction shenanigans. Balazs is a cool and very approachable (and knowledgeable) guy. Thanks for listening!

If you own an Omega Speedmaster (or a Seamaster, or a Tudor diver, or...) then you are probably familiar with Forstner Bands. Forstner makes a variety of high quality aftermarket steel bracelets- some of which are inspired by classic vintage bracelet designs- for a wide range of sport watches. In this episode, we share some first impressions of a set of Forstner Bands bracelets sent in for review (spoiler alert: they're rad!) and photography. We also debrief the 100th running of the LeMans 24hr race, and chat about the new Daytona Cosmograph that Rolex produced to commemorate the event. Finally, Gregg has a new watch alert that might interest the guys from the "Whiskey and Watches Podcast"!

In this episode we are joined by Zac W from the Anti Watch Watch Club. Zac tells us about the watch collector non-profit and their efforts to support veterans and first responders through branded merch drops and guerilla marketing in the #watchfam arena. Zac teases an upcoming watch collab, and we learn that he's got a good head for fine spirits, too! It's always cool to make new connections in the hobby, and this episode's interview was no exception. Thanks for listening!

In this episode, Matt is on a solo mission ( a commando mission??) to chat with Adam, aka @commandosundials , who joins all the way from the West of Scotland. Adam has a uniquely cool feed that draws equally on his love for legit tool watches and his service in the Royal Marines. His feed has an undeniably cool aesthetic feel, made all the better by the authenticity and poignancy of his life experience. This one is a bonus episode, of sorts, since we usually drop every other week. Enjoy!

We are a "watches and cocktails" podcast, and in this episode we get back to our boozy roots by exploring the idea of alternatives to James Bond's signature vodka martini (shaken, not stirred). After all, the "watch community" routinely argues about which timepiece- or which watch brand- Bond should wear, so why NOT argue about his choice of beverage? We've solicited input from previous guests, friends of the pod, and subject matter experts to arrive at a series of fun suggestions. If you're a fan of 007, give this one a listen!

Cameron Weiss is an American watch maker- formerly of AP and Vacheron Constantin- and currently the owner of Weiss Watch Company in Nashville, TN. In the runup to recording, we discovered that cohost Matt had recently acquired a Weiss "Agave dial" LE, and that Cameron had recently acquired an old Defender with a very cool backstory. We thought it'd be a great time to catch up with Cameron ( he'd been with us before, on episode 11 ) to debrief Matt's new watch and Cam's recent overlanding adventures in Sonora Mexico. We also managed to learn more about a whole class of agave spirits that are unknown to many outside of rural Mexico. This is a fun one! Thanks for listening.

Welcome aboard, sailors! Are you ready to join us for a "bourbon fueled, beer cooled" vintage harbor cruise? Our skipper today is Jon, aka @mosquito_boat, and he takes the pursuit of the vintage vibe to a whole 'nother level. [Jon is a retired senior NCO from the United States Marine Corps, and an avid historical WWII Airborne reenactor] In this episode, Jon shares his passion for collecting gear, clothing, and swag in the arena of historic militaria. Like his beloved Marine Corps, Jon's watch collection is small, but mighty (seriously) and you can bet that we talk about it. Thanks for listening!

Zakir from Haim Watch Company joins Gregg to talk about the new L2 Chronograph and updates from the upstart, Chicago brand. With deep roots in the Windy City, we cover Chi-town eats and places to visit, before pivoting to favorite hip hop artists and even some musings on the current state of the watch industry.

After a 4 episode run of great guests ( Asha Wagner, @horology411, James Stacey, and the Formex guys ), it was time to sit down for a bit and just catch up on new watches, general goings-on, and our latest review piece- the Norqain Freedom GMT. The Moonshine MoonSwatch is mentioned, as is a new book on industrial espionage in the early days of American watchmaking. We had a few technology gremlins to deal with, but it all come good in the end. Thanks for listening!

In this episode, we sit down with Raphael and Markus of Swiss indie brand Formex. We were able to go hands-on with several of their core models recently (thank you, Markus!)- including their meteorite-dialed "Essence Space Rock" LE- and came away very impressed. The brand's designs are super tech-forward, and the guys gave us the "soup to nuts" rundown on how the brand works its magic with a cutting edge design language. These are genuinely good dudes, and the best part of the whole experience- aside from the fantastic watches- is the fact that we discovered that Raphael and Matt are kindred spirits at the grill/BBQ. It's a fun one... check it out!

Wow!! Okay, let's start by saying that we were stoked to be joined by Spence from the "Whiskey and Watches Podcast" AND Hodinkee heavyweight and watch pod pioneer, James Stacey. This episode is nominally a Formula One season preview, but we ended up covering WAAAYYYY more ground than that. The episode is front-loaded with watch chat, including a bit on all of our thoughts on the new Sinn T50, among other things. This one goes long, so pour a good beer- or maybe mix a cocktail- sit back, and enjoy.

We're back again, live and in person with Chase K (aka @horology411 ) to talk watches and good beer. Last year, Chase brought the heat with a minor dissertation on case materials- from precious metals to titanium, ceramics, and everything in between. In this episode, we're talking about dials. We chat about materials, treatments, index options, the works! Burlwood Rolex Day-Date? We've got it. Ceramic Seamasters? Check. Grab a beer or cocktail and sit a spell; this one is a bit longer than average and covers a lot of ground. Thanks for listening.

Okay. We knew that Captain Asha Wagner would be a great guest to talk watches, but we didn't realize how totally dialed-in she'd be on cocktails and craft spirits! We sat down for a late night sip with Asha- whose "@wildlander6" is one of the best adventure watch follows available- and talked about good booze, fire fighting, and her latest pickup. By the end of our chat, both of us wanted to take a road trip to Oakland to check out the food and bar scene. Oh, and did you know she has a thing for MB&F..? Thanks for listening.