Watch The Throne

What feels like forever ago, on a family vacation in the Caribbean, my father bought himself a duty free watch like most guys tend to do.  With his new Omega chronograph he had no need for the Heuer diver he had been wearing since before I was born.  My Dad isn't really into material items so having two watches makes absolutely no sense.  To remedy this now surplus of timepieces he ended up giving his old watch to me.  At the time I was excited that he had given me the watch, but didn't really think much of the watch itself.  I already owned a time keeping device and being young and very stupid meant that said time keeping device was my sweet Nokia cellphone.  The Heuer eventually feel by the wayside and got beat up over the years as I grew up and began moving my life up and down the east coast.  Recently I revisited the watch and thought that it might make sense to get it refurbished.  The watches that I do wear are mostly of the cheap, but reliable variety.  I don't always take the best care of my shit and for some reason I end up getting extra negligent with nicer things.  It makes no sense, I know, but definitely lends itself to buying lower end watches.  I called up TAG Heuer to get things in working order (the watch now had cracked and scratched crystal and a nonfunctioning bezel), but since the watch was over 25 years old TAG told me they would not be able to service it.  As a side note, I'm not sure if people realize this or not, but Tag Heuer's North American headquarters are in Springfield, NJ.  I ended up taking the watch to a local jeweler who shipped the watch out to Atlanta, GA to get it refurbished via a third party.  It just came back all spiffy and now looks as good as it keeps time.  I know I don't normally talk about my own stuff on here, but I think the "new" Heuer looks great paired up with a spare olive/beige and red NATO that I had lying around.

-L.A.S

The Watches of Steve McQueen

Steve McQueen's footprint on menswear is undeniable.  The guy had style to spare and to this day designers look to both his on and off screen persona for inspiration.  While I am by no means a watch geek I find McQueen's timepiece history pretty fascinating.  Steve's name and image are associated with a few watches; he only ever really wore one.

In the 1971 action film, Le Mans, Steve McQueen's character, Michael Delaney, is seen wearing a Tag (Heuer had not yet been purchased) Monaco chronograph.  Tag Heuer, to this day, has continued to use Steve's image in various marketing campaigns to aid in selling the classic blue-faced model, which holds the claim of "the world's first automatic chronograph".  It is important to note that while the on screen McQueen is associated with the brand, he never wore Tag off screen.

 

 

 

In his "real" life McQueen's preferred brand of timepiece was Rolex.  In fact, Rolex has its own McQueen "signature" watch, the Explorer II aka "The McQueen Rolex".  This watch is highly sought after today due to its rarity and exclusivity (it was discontinued in 1985).  The watch, itself, is a very handsome model and comes equipped with the much coveted orange 24 hour hand.  Though McQueen did wear his Explorer II off screen his favorite watch was something a little different.

 

 

   

Similar in design to the Explorer II, the Rolex Submariner was McQueen's go to.  This particular Submariner, available exclusively in the UK and produced from 1959 through 1978, was truly Steve's everyday watch.  It was what McQueen "the man" not "the actor on the silver screen" wore on a daily basis.  All McQueen connections aside, the Rolex Submariner is a beautiful timepiece that embodies the classical and understated nature of all the things that I love.  McQueen realized this too and put on his Submariner everyday because of it.

  

 

 

 

-L.A.S

[Editor's Note: Notice how McQueen, who was left handed, wears his watch on his right wrist.]