Ep #45: Confessions of a Contrarian Watch Journo With Thor Svaboe
Listen to full episode :
What makes a watch contrarian? Going against the grain? Rejecting popular belief? Or just an appreciation of watches which might not hit everyone’s radar but certainly captures the attention of a contrarian few?
Find out the answer to this most posing of questions as we welcome journalist, enthusiast and all round engaging top guy, Thor Svaboe onto the CP7 Podcast. Thor enlightens us with the answers to all of these questions and more. He's seen more than his fair share of weird and wonderful watches being an accomplished writer with an edge, who started at Time + Tide, and rapidly moved on to elite publications such as Revolution, Oracle Time, Fratello and more recently to the big daddy of them all, Hodinkee.
So if you want to know your Aera from your Omega and your Furlan Marri from your Patek Philippe, buckle up and enjoy the ride as we take a highly enjoyable trip into the contrarian wilderness of the watch world.
First up, the classic wristwatch checks: Thor with the Aera D1 Diver, Parm with his favorite Rolex GMT-Master II "Batman" (G1), and finally, Andy with his vintage Gruen Skin Diver.
Let's take a closer look at the first watch Thor received to review: the Linde Werdelin SpidoLite Nord.
Now we turn to Andy’s rebellion against the mainstream with the Azimuth Mr. Roboto. Then, we move to Thor’s example, where he explains how the Aera D1, a large watch with a lug-to-lug measurement of 49.8mm, doesn’t look overpowering on the wrist when compared to the smaller Kurono Tokyo Calendar Type 1 at 38mm.
Taking a closer look at the examples Thor mentioned, such as the larger Seiko divers, like the Marinemaster 300m Tuna, and classics like the Omega Speedmaster, which hug the wrist perfectly. Yet, Aera, as a very new company, manages to do ergonomics just as well as the bigger players with the D1, as you can see in the following images.
Moving on to when Thor wants to rebel against the wave, he’ll wear his 34mm Casio FW90 in bright orange. Next is his Casio G-Shock GMWB5000RD in burgundy, which is his staple travel watch. Finally, we have Parm’s Cartier Tank Must, which he uses to set all his watches.
Turning to Thor’s love of vintage, reignited with his neo-vintage Omega Constellation from 1997, followed by Andy’s Constellation mistake with the Double Eagle. Finally, the two-tone Andy should have bought—do you agree? And should Parm get a solid gold Constellation?
Looking at Thor’s only other big-brand watch, aside from Omega, the Grand Seiko SBGX265—do you need more?
Here’s another watch that threw Thor off his normal expectations of larger watch form factors: the 42mm Behrens Constellation Regulator.
Now, looking at the classic Chrono Swiss lugs—are they too long, or just iconic and cool?
Finally, we round up with the Seiko Marinemaster 300 in blue (SLA023)—is it the ultimate Grand Seiko in disguise?
That’s a wrap for this week’s show notes! Let us know how you enjoyed the show and share your thoughts on the topics we covered in the comments below. You’ll hear us on the next one!
