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GONE IN 60 SECONDS: The Shannon Bennett Watch Story GONE IN 60 SECONDS: The Shannon Bennett Watch Story

GONE IN 60 SECONDS: The Shannon Bennett Watch Story

Andrew McUtchen

It’s a well known law of watch journalism that there is a measurable window of time you can speak to the great majority of normal – non watch-obsessed* – people about their watches without things getting weird. That window of time is precisely 60 seconds. It’s science. 

When we had the window unexpectedly open with Shannon Bennett, Australia’s most fêted chef, we jumped right in. The guy casts a shadow over the Australian food scene as long as the 55-storey building his flagship restaurant Vue de Monde sits atop. The man is a legend, he’s an institution and when he introduces his food, like he did at the Rolex Marquee at the Australian Open last night, it’s with crazy energy. It turns out he’s almost as excited about watches. Well, his watch anyway. With an eagle eye on the second hand, we asked him about it…

*Most of you are probably aware that the ’60-second rule’ does not hold for hardcore watch people. For these types the window of time you can talk about watches is as infinite as the cold recesses of space. Some even scare us. Many of these people are still alone in dark corners of watch launches and watch fairs waiting for us to return from ‘phone calls’ or ‘urgent bathroom breaks’ or trips to the buffet for ‘crab cakes’.

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T+T: Why did you choose the Rolex Deepsea D-Blue Dial?

SB: You give yourself an eight second impression and then you go with your gut. This one made me feel something. And the thing with James [Cameron] being an adventurer (read our exclusive James Cameron interview here), it’s got a great story behind it.

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T+T: And you like the aesthetics of it?

SB: Oh, the aesthetics are great, definitely, I like the chunkiness of it. But it’s also simple at the same time.

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The Shannon Bennett watch, a Rolex Deepsea D Blue.

T+T: And the gradient dial? There was some controversy about that…

SB: Yeah, there were a few blogs I read talking about it, when I was Googling everything about it. It’s also a watch you can wear playing tennis, but at the same time you can wear it going out.

T+T:Are you a leftie or a rightie?

SB: Rightie. (Shannon wears his DSSD on his left hand).

T+T: And have you banged it up in the kitchen rattling the pans?

SB: Nah, I take it off, I put it in my pocket. I don’t want to risk it. 

T+T: It’s not something you want to bang up, but I reckon you’d have to struggle – you’d have to hit it pretty hard.

SB: No, I’ve had it for a couple of months and it’s been in pretty good nick so far.

T+T: That watch is going to last a lifetime no matter what you do it, thanks Shannon.