A Blog To Watch Weekly

This week on aBlogtoWatch Weekly, Ariel is once again holding down the host chair while Rick continues his mysterious multi week sabbatical (last we heard he was crossing mountains by donkey, so fingers crossed). Joined by Ripley and David, the team digs into Ariel’s latest essay on why luxury watch brands should embrace controlled discounting, unpacking how pricing psychology, gray market realities, and unrealistic investment narratives have distorted modern collecting. The conversation then shifts to Ariel’s recent trip to Tokyo, now arguably the world’s most exciting city for watch enthusiasts, with deep dives into Japan’s booming pre owned scene, Grand Seiko sightings, tax free deals, and how local retailers are reshaping displays to match global demand. From there, things jump wildly upmarket with a breakdown of the Louis Vuitton and De Bethune collaboration and its four million euro Sympathique clock fantasy, before crashing back to earth with tiny G-Shock ring watches, blind box buying culture, and whether gamified collecting is the future or just Pokémon with timekeeping. The episode wraps with thoughts on Breguet’s latest Type 20 chronograph, vintage inspired design choices, and why watches should probably go back to being worn instead of treated like speculative assets, all delivered with the usual mix of industry insight and playful cynicism, plus one conspicuously empty chair while Rick continues his mysterious travels.

To check out the ABTW Shop where you can see our products inspired by our love of Horology:

- Shop ABTW - https://store.ablogtowatch.com/

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With the aBlogtoWatch Weekly crew unavailable this week, we’re doing something a little different. In this special crossover episode, we’re revisiting standout conversations from our Superlative podcast to bring you three perspectives on watch collecting, craft, and the culture that surrounds modern horology. You’ll hear from Jay Leno on his personal relationship with mechanical watches and why tangible objects still matter in a digital world, Fred Savage on how watches create connection, identity, and community, and George Bamford with candid insight into collector psychology, industry risk, and what it really means to navigate trust in the watch space. Each segment comes from a longer Superlative conversation, curated here for aBlogtoWatch Weekly as a look back at classic moments that highlight the human side of timepieces and why this hobby continues to resonate across generations.

Check out each episode with our featured guests:

Jay Leno - https://youtu.be/y6Lhs0h0S-I

Fred Savage - https://youtu.be/-vthxT-uSsM

George Bamford - https://youtu.be/SOBwXcXXm3A

To check out the ABTW Shop where you can see our products inspired by our love of Horology:

- Shop ABTW - https://store.ablogtowatch.com/

To keep updated with everything Superlative, aBlogtoWatch Weekly, and aBlogtoWatch, check us out on:

- Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/ablogtowatch/

- Website - https://www.ablogtowatch.com/

- Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/aBlogtoWatch

If you enjoy the show please Subscribe, Rate, and Review!

This week on aBlogtoWatch Weekly, Ariel is joined by Ripley and Sean, proving that the show can still stay on the rails even without Rick in the room, before cutting straight to the heart of modern watch collecting, originality, and why taste and intention matter more than rigid rules. The discussion kicks off with Sean’s modified 1960s Omega Seamaster and quickly expands into a thoughtful debate about vintage purity versus lived-in character, the difference between collecting as time travel and collecting as personal expression, and why aftermarket changes are not always the sin the internet makes them out to be. From there, the conversation moves through current releases, including Maurice Lacroix’s heavily skeletonized offerings, and Zenith’s Defy Skyline lineup (why it continues to punch above its weight), and the strange appeal of ultra-luxury skeletonized gold watches that are impossible not to smile while wearing. The team also touches on Marathon’s Arctic Edition diver, the ongoing fixation with faux-aged lume, and the widening gap between functional tool watches and fashion-driven design. The conversation also takes a candid turn toward Tudor’s current identity struggles, questioning whether the brand has lost its experimental edge and what it says when Rolex appears more willing to innovate than its so-called adventurous sibling.

To check out the ABTW Shop where you can see our products inspired by our love of Horology:

- Shop ABTW - https://store.ablogtowatch.com/

To keep updated with everything Superlative, aBlogtoWatch Weekly, and aBlogtoWatch, check us out on:

- Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/ablogtowatch/

- Website - https://www.ablogtowatch.com/

- Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/aBlogtoWatch

If you enjoy the show please Subscribe, Rate, and Review!

In this episode of aBlogtoWatch Weekly, the team dives headfirst into the watch media identity crisis sparked by Ariel’s recent essay on who actually pays for honest coverage and why everyone seems to want it without footing the bill. The conversation then shifts into the uncomfortable reality of independence, sponsored content, and where the line gets drawn in a very small industry. From there, things take a sharp turn into horology with a deep discussion of a very serious watch that also happens to look suspiciously like Mickey Mouse. Ariel breaks down Breguet’s high frequency chronograph history, magnetic escapement technology, and why the brand is simultaneously capable of brilliance and baffling aesthetic decisions.
The episode then moves through the not quite LVMH Watch Week releases, including Louis Vuitton’s Escale complications explosion, which quickly devolves into an on air world timer geography quiz no one was prepared for. Along the way, TAG Heuer’s latest Seafarer revival sparks a spirited debate about tide complications and dog walking use cases, raising the question of whether modern watches sometimes try a little too hard. The group also touches on TAG’s ongoing CEO turnover, broader brand direction questions, and why some watch companies appear to be having fun while others absolutely are not.
As always, tune into their conversation this week to hear a blend of industry insight, watch nerdery, and exactly the kind of chaos that makes aBlogtoWatch Weekly feel less like a roundtable and more like group therapy with bezels.

Check out this week’s sponsor - Movado Watches:

- https://www.movado.com/

To check out the ABTW Shop where you can see our products inspired by our love of Horology:

- Shop ABTW - https://store.ablogtowatch.com/

To keep updated with everything Superlative, aBlogtoWatch Weekly, and aBlogtoWatch, check us out on:

- Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/ablogtowatch/

- Website - https://www.ablogtowatch.com/

- Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/aBlogtoWatch

If you enjoy the show please Subscribe, Rate, and Review!

With Ariel off on a mysterious, possibly horological, possibly diplomatic mission somewhere in Germany, Rick, David, and Ripley take the wheel. They immediately veer into Hungarian folk heroes, goose-based revenge myths, and the comforting knowledge that Disney will eventually monetize all of it. From there, the clappage gives way to Oris’ Year of the Horse watch and the genuinely baffling decision to celebrate an animal by wearing part of it. That choice sparks a long, ethically curious spiral involving cordovan straps, zodiac logic, pet straps, April Fool’s trauma, and whether anyone thought to ask a horse enthusiast first. From there, the episode turns into an unintentional audit of the modern watch internet. SevenFriday, U-Boat, and Swatch demonstrate that search functions are optional, vowels are negotiable, and websites may simply choose not to work. Along the way, the group revisits the watches they “missed” in 2025, including aggressively plastic divers, kindergarten crayon designs, watches that tick loudly enough to inspire resonance experiments, collabs that feel more like t-shirts than timepieces, and diamond-studded bison fantasies that send at least one host mentally relocating to Texas. The chaos culminates in a brutally honest round of the Picker Wheel of Death. Chronoswiss, Tutima, and Jaeger-LeCoultre face resurrection, mercy, or total erasure from the timeline as the debate somehow becomes philosophical, existential, and deeply online. It ultimately proves, once again, that this is, in fact, a watch podcast, even if it refuses to behave like one.

To check out the ABTW Shop where you can see our products inspired by our love of Horology:

- Shop ABTW - https://store.ablogtowatch.com/

To keep updated with everything Superlative, aBlogtoWatch Weekly, and aBlogtoWatch, check us out on:

- Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/ablogtowatch/

- Website - https://www.ablogtowatch.com/

- Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/aBlogtoWatch

If you enjoy the show please Subscribe, Rate, and Review!