The Best Summer Watch | Three On Three

Hey guys. Uh, I've been reading up on my Swatch watch guide, vintage catalog, so I am ready to go. Did my studying. What about you? >> Let's do it. >> I think we're ready to tear down your watch tan. >> Okay, listen. Listen, I'm I'm putting this back on. There is uh no room for slander about my my watch tan. It just means I wear a lot of watches. >> Yeah. Obviously, you're the summer watch expert. >> Exactly. >> Yeah. Okay, let's get makeup on that. Come on, guys. Hello and welcome to Three on Three. We are back with a new episode and it's all about summer watches and I'm joined by my much esteemed colleagues Tan Tan Wang, Rich Ford, two editors at Hodinki and uh two very different tastes and approaches to watch collecting. That's right. But today we're sort of dialing it down, playing humble and uh looking at I would say most of us have a sort of lower price point. >> Most >> most of us. So, do we want to start by introducing what you've brought to the table, guys? Why don't you go first, Rich? >> Me first. So, I have the Moon Swatch, a collaboration between Omega and Swatch. If you haven't heard about it by now, >> that little watch. Yeah, >> I got lucky. There was a lot of pushing and shoving. >> I came down, took about 4 hours, waited in line for 22 hours. >> The hype is real. People are really excited about this. talking about the moon swatch. >> I'm coming in at $270. Case size-wise, I'm at 42 mm by just under 14 mm thick. I'm in bioceramic. And when I see someone on the subway or on the street or even in a restaurant, even though that's, you know, I wouldn't wear a mood swatch at a restaurant to be honest. Um, >> rude. I know that they know something about watches or they just stumbled into a swatch store and picked the one that is sort of uncommon for them to pick not knowing anything. You know what I mean? >> Is it is it a little bit like Illuminati vibes? It's like but on a mass scale. So it's like I'm wearing moon swatch. Maybe I have some crazy vintage moonwatch at home but like here I am in my moon swatch public facing on the subway. I mean, I I've definitely said this take before, but I know multiple people with many 50004s at home that wear a moon swatch in the summer. >> You heard it here. >> There you go. >> If you're wearing a Moon Swatch, I will only presume that you also own a 50004. >> That's what I'm trying to do. I don't have the 50004, but I can get the Moon Swatch. It's a watch everyone knows about by now, but it's still a great summer watch. And I'll argue that today against Tantan's expensive Tag Hoyer and uh Malikica's plastics watch. >> Okay. Could have tried to be a little more different, but you went mainstream and that's fine. Tan, >> let's address the elephant in the room. I brought a $1,800 watch in a uh threeon three with two sub $400 watches, but I think that this is really my favorite watch for the summer. And I'm bringing it because I really want this watch. It's a revival of Tag Hoyer's probably most creative release back from the 80s. 38 mm case size upscaled from the original 35. New solar movement, solar dial, and all the cool colors that people remember. So for me, it's just it screams summer. And then on my end, I decided to go for an $80 plastic swatch because I like the fact that this Clearly Gent in 34 mm is pretty much an identical reissue of the original that came out in 1983. My Clearly Gent sits at a very, very good 34 mm, very, very good sweet spot. And it's obviously battery powered. Yep. >> Um, and there's not much more to it. Okay. Why do we think each of our respective choices are perfect for summer? GT. >> I mean, what better um place for a solar powered watch than, you know, spending the most time outside and trying to get your vitamin D in. It's colorful. You have so many colors to choose from, and that's nothing new. It's from the original Formula 1. And I think it's a great way to just pick up something that's fun. It cashes in on this really cool nostalgia. And I mean, Tagore is obviously getting back into Formula 1, so it's such an appropriate release for them. I think that, you know, we can get into this a little further later down the line, but, you know, I my summer outfit is is this. It's a black t-shirt, you know, maybe white slacks and and a pair of sneakers. >> Okay. White slacks, >> you know. Yeah. You know, sometimes you got to, you know, in the winter we keep it dark and we got to, you know, add some levity. Add to the combo. I've seen you wear bright orange before. So, don't even play like you only wear dark colors. >> That's true. >> To me, Swatch is iconic and it's my summer watch and I want to wear it and I want to be carefree, but I also want to look kind of cool and I think this is kind of cool. This to me is like skeletonized quartz watch. It doesn't get any cooler than this. I think it's perfect for summer. I can wear it with all my jewelry. yada yada yada. the same miker excuses that you're going to hear over and over again. But I think it's really just about the fact it's light. I can throw it in my bag. If it scratches up a little bit, I'm not going to be freaked out. Um% and might get a little sweaty, but uh you can just wipe it off. Rich, maybe you can speak to the style of the watch. I don't know. I feel like this is a lot more muted than this. >> Is that reflective of your personality? >> Certainly reflective of my personality. I did have my pick of the litter and I chose Mission to Jupiter here, which is probably the most toned down. I mean, an orange handset is quite a lot of color for me in a watch. But, you know, the good thing about a moon swatch is that there's plenty of options and you can pair them with your personality. And maybe I'm boring and taupe as a person um with a splash of orange. I'm not the Project Alaska Mission to Mars guy, but you know, Tantam might be. Um, he's also the he's also the guy that brought a Christmas themed watch to the summer watch party. So, >> shade thrown. Rich, I just want to know what do you make of the straps on the Moon Swatch because I can't get my head around those straps. And I quite like it when people add their own straps to these things. >> I would say the stock strap, not good, not awful. If I was suggesting an option, um maybe a pearlon single pass through. >> Um if you really wanted to go, if you're a vintage nerd, you know, you could go with a racing leather maybe with the holes in it, >> uh for perforation so we don't get, you know, >> so my watch tan looks like it's polka dots. >> Wait, guys, how do we feel about leather straps in summer? hard. Now, >> if we're talking straps, and I don't mean to argue for Tantan and his expensive watch, but I mean, there is a clear >> yes here. >> Uh, >> okay. But there's also a clear difference in price, >> but in so many cases, straps are such an afterthought. And I appreciate that this when they relaunched the Formula 1, the entire thing feels like a cohesive design. The molding on this rubber strap is really cool. It's a great design detail that I think people don't get enough credit for and it's cool. >> We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon. >> I want to say that we've all leaned into this sort of nostalgic feeling. Well, you and I more so than Rich, but what do we think the reasoning behind that is? >> I love the fact that like a watch, you know, and and maybe this is going to sound obnoxious, but like when I'm wearing like um long sleeves, like a nice sweater or something like the watch is part of the outfit, right? Like it is part it completes the look, but when I'm wearing a t-shirt and a summer watch, >> I am just wearing like a fun object, right? That's sort of isolated from everything. >> Yeah. It stands alone. >> Yeah. Exactly. And so when it stands alone, you try to get design to do a lot of the talking. And nostalgia plays a huge part into this like 80s styling that I don't think I would see myself wearing with a a sweater, you know, or I mean certainly not with a suit. >> Certainly not tan tan. >> She Malika might kill me if she sees me wearing one suit. >> Um Rich, what about you? Like are you choosing this because it's sort of a standalone thing or is it more of a practicality based? >> My watch is referencing a watch that's much older than your two, right? Um, and I think this is more about the iconic design than it is like referencing some sort of nostalgia. I don't think, especially at the time that Swatch and Omega collaborated, nobody was like wanting more Speed Master. We had plenty of Speed Master, you know, whereas this, >> people were really wanting more Formula 1. >> This watch is iconic and never gone away, but it goes in cycles, right? So, I think my nostalgia is a little bit different than your two. For sure. >> 100%. That's a great point. >> I would agree. I mean, just to to bring it back to the Swatch thing to me, I am deeply fascinated with Swatch because it was like the OG king of collabs and it's so adjacent to pop culture or was at least. And like you said, things come in waves. But if I look through my very nerdy catalog of swatches that I may have with me today, >> I don't know. I didn't really want to do this on camera, >> but yeah, >> my little swatch catalog. If you look through this thing, there are hundreds of collabs and the weirdest, freakiest stuff. And in 1983, making a skeleton plastic watch was weird and freaky. And I am sort of obsessed with that playful spirit. I think like you said, it's summer, so you want something that is easy and it's about the design, less about the full look. >> I also think it's so poetic because like swatch is the reason the Swiss watch industry, you know, came back. It's a huge reason at least because of that quartz movement, you know, and so it's so it's framed so nicely in this design. And I just remember like as a kid buying up as many colorways as I could. By the way, these are really loud watches. We've been hearing this tick on the table. >> So loud. You kind of have to put it in the living room when you go to bed cuz it's just tick tick ticking. >> So if you're like me and you have a box of swatches from your childhood, you keep it in a sealed container. You do. >> I mean, I'm quite curious to know Rich's take on this swatch cuz you haven't said much about it and normally you're sort of coming for my choices. So maybe maybe you actually quite like this one. >> No, I think I have only good things to say. Culturally, what interests me about Swatch is that, you know, I'm not an expert on these subcultures, but I've noticed Swatch has this ability, which is, I think, unique in the watch world, to hit and be the item for a certain subculture. Like, I'm sure I don't need to tell you, but like the hardcore community and the Xwatch, I'm not sure what the jellyfish has hit, but I'm sure there's like some sort of designer or interior designer. I feel like Swatch has such a unique approach to kind of targeting different demos and actually Moon Swatch kind of proves that they can be ubiquitous once more. >> You know what? I'm going to stop this like supporting each other vibe and I'm going to go to the regular vibe of what's normally going down between the three of us, which is let's tear each other down for blood. >> Um, and I want everybody to argue why their watch is far superior to everybody else at the table. So, actually, I think you should go first. >> Oh, boy. All right, put me on the spot. From a construction perspective, from a watchmaking perspective, this is the superior watch. I mean, it's priced accordingly, and that's okay. For me, a summer watch doesn't mean that you have to give up a really luxurious watch for a cheap model, which I think that this is the perfect in between. It's fun. It's nostalgic, but at the end of the day, it's a nice watch. Um, and it the fit, finish, and how how it works is just I think very very appropriate for that. >> Okay. And I want to hear your your pitch, Rich. So, I think we can read almost two million comments online about how awful the Moose watch is, but I see them a ton and I think it matters. And >> whether it's a standin like I've been talking about for something more serious at home or you're an Apple Watch wearer and want to wear something with hands, it just has hit this perfect note of exactly what a summer watch should be, which is light and fun and now you can walk into the store and just buy one. Like, that's what sent it over the edge for me. If this was still something that you had to line up for or like go on a certain day, I wouldn't pick it as my favorite summer watch or the best. Like now it is. >> I'm just going to blow you out of the water here with my pitch. This to me is so symbolic of everything that Swatch is. >> And I can put it on and you can't even really see it, but you can see just enough. It's not like so imposing in the way that maybe yours >> Sure. 100% >> might be. Mine's a little bit more discreet, >> but I don't know. I'm like captivated by the design of this thing, by the pop culture lore. I love the fact that it's so close to the original vintage specs. I think a lot of people also recognize this watch from when it first came out. Like, I know my mom would be chatting to me about this. So, it's just $80. How can you go wrong for $80? So summer for me in this watch is likely a Euro trip, >> but it could be a city trip. It could be a little Amalfi Coast moment, a little eiza moment. This is not my New York summer watch. This is my like watch that I'm taking to my destination. you have this look about you in the summer when you're traveling that's slightly outside of the normal look that you may have. And I think that's sort of why I'm drawn to this. It's like that spirit of me in the summer where I'm just collecting little bits. >> Like I would love if I just like stopped wearing all my other watches this summer and just wore this. I would love to leave the city and just like do day trips to Beacon. I mean poolside obviously is a no-brainer. Would love to go to Formula 1 in this. I mean come on, right? But I think for me, the best part about this watch is just the everyday. It's really not going out necessarily needing to go to a trip. It's just, you know, cleaning my apartment, vacuuming with this on, and it's it's fun. It's just so cool. >> Summer for me in the mood swatch is, I think, very much in the city. I actually like staying in New York during the summer cuz it's like less busy. It's hot and muggy, but you need a watch like this for here. Uh, in the summer, like I said before, I probably change the strap, but that's, you know, neither here nor there. And it's the watch that you take out of the watch box, the drawer, whatever you use, and put it on the nightstand every night and then just grab it the next day. Like, I don't need to worry about humidity fogging this up. Uh, honestly, if this gets like caught on a door jam and the pusher comes off, I just walk to the store and get a new one. I'm not saying it's disposable, but like kind of is. >> I mean, I wouldn't throw it away. It's bioeramic. got make sure to, you know, recycle >> properly dispose of. Yeah. >> But yeah, I think it's like free and easy and it is replaceable at some level. >> Okay. Well, clearly I feel like I'm the winner. Uh I don't know how you guys feel. >> I don't know. I feel I I still want this watch real bad. So, >> okay. Okay. >> I certainly won, but if not, Tantan definitely lost. >> Okay, great. Um All right, guys. Well, enjoy your summer holidays. Oh, >> you too. You, too.