FRIDAY WIND DOWN: Forget Flight of the Conchords, here comes Zach & Mike with their 1st series, ‘Zach Drops Mike’
Zach BlassHello, friends! It’s Andrew here, even though the author of this Wind Down probably says Zach. I’m jumping in at the top of the weekly-watch-related-wrap-we-all-wait-for, to announce that the world has a peppy new power duo to contend with. Step off Flight of the Conchords, there’s a box-fresh creative couple of blokes ready to walk on the mild side of watch reviews – ladies and gentlemen, meet Zach and Mike – that’s Zach Blass, our New York-based Deputy Editor and Mike Christensen, our London-based European Editor, of course.
You might have seen Zach & Mike’s videos streaming in from Geneva Watch Days. If you did, and you liked their fresh, unfussy take on things, you’ll be delighted to know that we’ve lined them all up in one convenient place – a whole Playlist on our YouTube channel is ready for you. It’s called – play the theme song, and imagine it in a robot voice as per our Instagram stories below – Zach Drops Mike, Season 1. Because, why not pretend we’re a Netflix sensation? BYO hot chocolate and animal-themed onesie.
Zach and Mike met for the first time basically on camera, at Geneva Watch Days. You can watch the whole thing unfold, pretty much live given it was so recent, over the five videos they shot. You’ll also catch glimpses of Elise, our third on-screen team member, behind the scenes. I created this series, totally unbeknownst to both of these fine gents, because through editing their work while they were at Geneva Watch Days, I became mildly obsessed with how great they are together. Like all great duos, there was a whole lot of self doubt about whether it would work, and all that. Whether you’re into Zach Drops Mike or not, until you’ve tried to cover a watch fair yourself, you simply have no idea how challenging this gig is. Meanwhile, having sucked at it for the longest time, I most certainly do.
Awkward is nothing! On the other side of fear is nothing!
Bravo Zach & Mike.
Your fan, Andrew
And now, I’ll hand the best of the week write-up back to Zach….
Watch meme of the week: Guillaume takes the piss in Scottish Watches Facebook group
OK, it’s Zach here again, reclaiming control of the Wind Down. I don’t really have a long explanation for this meme, I just remember trying not to spit out my water when I scrolled by it. It served as a reminder, at least to me, never to take this hobby too seriously as a collector. Watches are, ultimately, no longer absolutely necessary in a world of smartphones. So we shouldn’t feel bad if we can’t afford every super precious and complicated timepiece. The good news is there are a whole range of watches for every wealth-level of collector to enjoy, and whatever you buy remember that it should, to use Marie Kondo terms, spark joy in your life. Well played Guillaume.
Wrist shot of the week: @mrwatch85 serves up his own #kixntix
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Many of you will be familiar with Thor’s #kixntix series where he would pair various watches with matching sneakers, trainers, whatever you want to call them. So we were glad to see a stellar pairing show up in our Instagram feeds, with @mrwatch85 perfectly pairing his turquoise Rolex Oyster Perpetual with near dial matching kicks peering out in the background. If any of you are lucky enough to own the watch, which as we all know too well is re-selling for terrifying multiples on the secondary market, you may want to shoot him a DM to find out what the matching sneakers are.
Recommended Viewing: Time+Tide team’s top five watch picks at Geneva Watch Days
If you haven’t already, we recently posted Mike, Elise, and my top five picks of Geneva Watch Days on our YouTube channel. While you should definitely watch all of our Geneva Watch Days coverage, each of our top five videos reveal our favorites – it’s a quick way to get a closer look at some of the highlights we saw.
Our favorite Time+Tide coverage of the week:
Audemars Piguet introduces three highly complicated pieces into the 2021 collection
Forget holy trinity as it pertains to brands, in the span of a weekend Audemars Piguet served up the holy trinity of complications: a perpetual calendar, supersonnerie minute repeater, and openworked tourbillon. Head here to learn more about the new trio.
VIDEO: The Mido Decompression Timer 1961 Limited Edition with a fresh silver dial and turquoise bezel
The Mido Ocean Star Decompression Timer 1961 is back for another limited edition run of 1,961 pieces, but this time around it is armed with a more playful silvered white dial and aluminum turquoise bezel. Check out the video above, or the post here, to get more acquainted with one of the most-value driven diver’s this year.
It was TAG Heuer vs IWC in the Italian Grand Prix crash – but was either driver really at fault?
Title contenders Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen crashed out of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza at the weekend after a terrifying collision. Did the seven-time World Champ fail to give way? Or was Hamilton the victim of Verstappen’s reckless desire to win at all costs? Time+Time’s two resident F1 nuts, Fergus Nash and Ricardo Sime have their say here.