WEBVTT 1 00:00:03.160 --> 00:00:07.040 Episode five you're here. First off, thanks for listening. I 2 00:00:07.160 --> 00:00:10.359 see your reviews, I read them. I thank you. If 3 00:00:10.400 --> 00:00:14.560 you're just hopping by on occasion, just popping in, no commitment, 4 00:00:14.640 --> 00:00:19.359 you can consider subscribing. That'll get you episodes right into 5 00:00:19.399 --> 00:00:23.199 your pocket area. And if you wish that you had 6 00:00:23.199 --> 00:00:27.719 an Ology's shirt or tote or iPhone case or mug 7 00:00:28.160 --> 00:00:31.079 or clothes for your child, even though we swear on 8 00:00:31.120 --> 00:00:35.600 this podcast, Ologiesmarch dot com now has things there. And 9 00:00:36.240 --> 00:00:39.600 thanks Shannon Feltus and Bonnie Dutch as always for helping 10 00:00:39.640 --> 00:00:46.119 me do that. Okay, horology, what is it? I know 11 00:00:46.240 --> 00:00:47.799 you think it is or what you wish it were, 12 00:00:47.880 --> 00:00:52.840 but it's not the study of your mom's. Wow. I 13 00:00:52.880 --> 00:00:56.960 did not say that. Siri said that it's very inappropriate. Okay. 14 00:00:56.960 --> 00:01:00.759 Horology comes from the Greek for horra aur, meaning our 15 00:01:01.320 --> 00:01:05.079 or time. Now, a horologist is someone who studies the 16 00:01:05.159 --> 00:01:09.680 measurement or the instruments of measurement of time. But in 17 00:01:09.760 --> 00:01:15.079 common parlance, horology now kind of refers to mechanical timekeeping. 18 00:01:15.200 --> 00:01:18.400 So if you're like, is there a rift between mechanical 19 00:01:18.599 --> 00:01:22.400 and electronic timekeeping? Well, who, Let's just say that was 20 00:01:22.519 --> 00:01:25.799 some foreshadowing for you, Okay, So prepare to learn how 21 00:01:25.799 --> 00:01:28.680 many goddamn tiny pieces are used to make an old 22 00:01:28.840 --> 00:01:33.159 school mechanical watch, and how expensive watches can get, and 23 00:01:33.239 --> 00:01:35.480 how much coffee watchmaker's drink, and what would happen if 24 00:01:35.519 --> 00:01:37.680 you scared one, and the history of timekeeping. There's so 25 00:01:37.760 --> 00:01:40.200 much information in this you're never gonna look at your 26 00:01:40.239 --> 00:01:43.480 watch again quite the same. So I found this horologist 27 00:01:43.560 --> 00:01:49.000 by googling horologist plus Los Angeles. Just took a stab 28 00:01:49.239 --> 00:01:51.799 and it came across a few articles about this one 29 00:01:51.840 --> 00:01:57.000 dude gq LA Times, and I was shocked to see 30 00:01:57.120 --> 00:01:59.959 a photo of him, and he appeared to be under 31 00:02:00.319 --> 00:02:04.239 one hundred years old, which was odd for a horologist. 32 00:02:04.840 --> 00:02:08.840 He looks like a California type who has definitely served 33 00:02:09.000 --> 00:02:12.479 at least once, and he may have had a short ponytail. Honestly, 34 00:02:12.520 --> 00:02:14.599 I don't remember, because there was a dog in the 35 00:02:14.599 --> 00:02:17.159 office and I got so excited I got distracted. I 36 00:02:17.159 --> 00:02:21.560 can't remember anyway, horologist. I needed to know his deal, 37 00:02:21.960 --> 00:02:23.800 so I drove to a business park south of the 38 00:02:23.800 --> 00:02:26.439 airport to sit down in the break room of the 39 00:02:26.520 --> 00:02:31.280 Weiss Watch Company, an LA based handmade old school but 40 00:02:31.479 --> 00:02:35.240 also news school mechanical watch company. And I asked this 41 00:02:35.479 --> 00:02:44.560 nice man a million questions. Please enjoy professional horologist Cameron Weiss. Weiss? 42 00:02:45.680 --> 00:03:02.439 Is it Weiss? 43 00:03:06.800 --> 00:03:07.680 I say Weiss? 44 00:03:07.840 --> 00:03:12.520 Okay? Cameron has owned the Weiss watch company for four years. 45 00:03:12.759 --> 00:03:15.479 How did you start a watch company? I mean, because 46 00:03:15.520 --> 00:03:18.840 you're a young person. You're like, what like under you're 47 00:03:18.840 --> 00:03:23.159 in your thirties, right, twenties? Yet here's where I awkwardly 48 00:03:23.199 --> 00:03:27.400 try to ascertain Cameron's age, because listen, in my defense, 49 00:03:27.560 --> 00:03:30.240 he looks young as hell. He has that kind of 50 00:03:30.520 --> 00:03:33.439 southern California guy look, but he carries himself and he 51 00:03:33.479 --> 00:03:39.039 speaks like a tweed clad professor. It's very confusing. 52 00:03:39.120 --> 00:03:40.879 You're in your twenties, yeah, twenty nine. 53 00:03:41.000 --> 00:03:44.639 How did you start a watch company in your twenties? 54 00:03:44.680 --> 00:03:45.400 How did you do that? 55 00:03:46.240 --> 00:03:49.520 I was fortunate to find watch making pretty young. 56 00:03:50.240 --> 00:03:53.800 How did you get obsessed with horology and clocks? What 57 00:03:53.840 --> 00:03:56.080 was like the first thing? Do you remember cracking open 58 00:03:56.120 --> 00:03:57.560 a watch when you were like five and being like, 59 00:03:57.680 --> 00:03:58.599 what's happening in here? 60 00:03:58.919 --> 00:04:02.759 I don't know about the first thing, but pretty early 61 00:04:02.800 --> 00:04:09.159 on I was given a cheap, little plastic watch. I 62 00:04:09.159 --> 00:04:11.199 think it had alligators owned or something. But it was 63 00:04:11.280 --> 00:04:13.400 just it was when I was a little kid, and 64 00:04:14.560 --> 00:04:18.439 I really enjoyed wearing it. Something about it. It just 65 00:04:18.480 --> 00:04:21.040 felt nice to have it on my wrist. And that 66 00:04:21.240 --> 00:04:24.360 was the beginning I really needed. 67 00:04:24.639 --> 00:04:27.519 I needed a visual of this, and so I searched 68 00:04:27.560 --> 00:04:33.319 for alligators plus kids watches, and I didn't turn up anything. 69 00:04:33.319 --> 00:04:35.439 And then I realized, what if it was a crocodile? 70 00:04:35.839 --> 00:04:39.240 And then I realized what if it was a Clocko dial? 71 00:04:39.800 --> 00:04:44.680 And then I got bumped and overwhelmed because Clocko dial 72 00:04:45.360 --> 00:04:48.319 is such a good idea, I'd have to quit my 73 00:04:48.319 --> 00:04:51.199 whole life. I'd have to pursue that as a children's 74 00:04:51.240 --> 00:04:55.560 watch company. But I was relieved there's already a kid's 75 00:04:55.600 --> 00:04:59.360 book of that name. Someone are somebody's on it. Good job, 76 00:05:00.079 --> 00:05:04.079 continue with my life as planned. Anyway, From the alligator watch, 77 00:05:04.199 --> 00:05:06.120 Cameron became interested in stop watches. 78 00:05:06.439 --> 00:05:08.560 Then I found my way into a watch making school. 79 00:05:09.079 --> 00:05:10.879 So Cameron went to school. He did that for two 80 00:05:11.000 --> 00:05:12.319 years full time. 81 00:05:12.600 --> 00:05:14.199 Was able to train in Switzerland as well. 82 00:05:14.319 --> 00:05:18.399 WHOA I did not ask him about the landscape or chocolate, 83 00:05:18.680 --> 00:05:19.560 and I regret that. 84 00:05:20.240 --> 00:05:23.759 And eventually I was confident enough to start my own brand. 85 00:05:24.079 --> 00:05:25.480 How old were you when you started going to watch 86 00:05:25.519 --> 00:05:27.439 making school? Were you the youngest person there? Because I 87 00:05:27.439 --> 00:05:30.480 feel like I've met a couple horologists and they're all like, 88 00:05:30.639 --> 00:05:33.519 seventy Are you always the youngest when you go to meetups? 89 00:05:33.879 --> 00:05:38.879 Oh yeah meetups? Definitely. Yeah, in school, I wasn't the youngest. 90 00:05:39.000 --> 00:05:39.680 Okay, but. 91 00:05:41.360 --> 00:05:45.800 It's more so because the there's very few people who 92 00:05:45.839 --> 00:05:47.519 are actually admitted into schools. 93 00:05:47.839 --> 00:05:49.480 How rigorous is it is it? Do you have to 94 00:05:49.480 --> 00:05:51.680 have great eyesight and like not shaky hands? 95 00:05:51.920 --> 00:05:55.199 Yeah, that along with a couple of certain learning styles. 96 00:05:55.240 --> 00:06:00.959 Being able to uh focus for long period of time. Okay, 97 00:06:01.040 --> 00:06:04.040 maybe you sit there for eight hours working on bending 98 00:06:04.079 --> 00:06:06.959 one little piece of metal into a certain shape or 99 00:06:07.000 --> 00:06:10.959 filing something perfectly flat. Being able to focus and keep 100 00:06:11.000 --> 00:06:16.279 your patience is very important. So things like that, the 101 00:06:16.319 --> 00:06:18.759 teachers kind of weed out people who wouldn't be able 102 00:06:18.759 --> 00:06:19.240 to handle that. 103 00:06:19.560 --> 00:06:21.319 So they're like, no spas is no dicks. 104 00:06:21.720 --> 00:06:27.040 Yeah, yeah, exactly. That's a major time investment, Yeah to 105 00:06:27.240 --> 00:06:30.399 teach someone watchmaking. So they don't want to teach it 106 00:06:30.439 --> 00:06:34.720 to someone who might not actually succeed in the program. 107 00:06:34.519 --> 00:06:37.399 Right, They're like, go do something else. Yeah, they're like 108 00:06:37.439 --> 00:06:41.920 fixed pinball machines, be a bartender. I imagine it's a very 109 00:06:42.040 --> 00:06:43.839 quiet classroom. 110 00:06:44.120 --> 00:06:46.879 Also, yeah, it can be. Yeah, because if you. 111 00:06:46.839 --> 00:06:49.040 Go behind a horologist and you startle them while they're 112 00:06:49.079 --> 00:06:51.079 working on these movements, like you will get stabt. 113 00:06:51.120 --> 00:06:52.879 I feel like, yeah, it's not a good idea. And 114 00:06:52.920 --> 00:06:54.839 tweezers and screwdrivers are very sharp. 115 00:06:55.680 --> 00:07:00.000 Okay, so watch movements are tiny, right, But are you 116 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:02.439 Are you also interested in clocks? Are you more interested 117 00:07:02.560 --> 00:07:06.240 in wrist watches and pocket watches and smaller items? 118 00:07:06.439 --> 00:07:12.319 Personally, I'm interested in anything mechanical that keeps time. Really, 119 00:07:13.560 --> 00:07:16.879 for the business, we only make wrist watches and I 120 00:07:16.920 --> 00:07:20.839 don't do any kind of clockmaking. It's a completely different 121 00:07:21.079 --> 00:07:22.360 craft really. 122 00:07:22.560 --> 00:07:27.160 Yeah, Okay, your watches are they they're all mechanical and 123 00:07:27.240 --> 00:07:30.000 not quartz, right or that's correct? Okay, So can you 124 00:07:30.040 --> 00:07:34.000 explain the difference between a mechanical watch and a quartz watch. 125 00:07:34.439 --> 00:07:40.120 Yeah. Mechanical watches are powered by springs, and they can 126 00:07:40.120 --> 00:07:43.560 either be wound by hand by turning the crown, or 127 00:07:43.600 --> 00:07:46.439 they could be wound by a weight in the back 128 00:07:46.439 --> 00:07:49.519 of the watch that actually moves with your with your 129 00:07:49.639 --> 00:07:54.800 arm movements. A quartz watch is battery powered, so you 130 00:07:54.839 --> 00:07:59.199 actually have a battery that is then putting energy through 131 00:07:59.199 --> 00:08:03.000 a quartz crystal. Okay, the crystal oscillates back and forth. 132 00:08:02.959 --> 00:08:04.519 And that's why it's a quartz watch. 133 00:08:04.560 --> 00:08:05.600 Yeah. 134 00:08:05.680 --> 00:08:08.839 How do you feel about lyrics that reference watches? I 135 00:08:08.879 --> 00:08:12.079 didn't know that with a mechanical watch, wearing it winds 136 00:08:12.120 --> 00:08:14.680 it until, like I heard a jay Z lyric about it. 137 00:08:15.160 --> 00:08:16.800 Yeah. 138 00:08:16.920 --> 00:08:19.560 I need to give a special thank you to the 139 00:08:19.600 --> 00:08:22.879 website Rap Genius, which is now just called Genius. I 140 00:08:22.959 --> 00:08:25.519 like the better when it was Rap Genius, but this 141 00:08:25.639 --> 00:08:28.199 site will explain all of your I don't know what 142 00:08:28.240 --> 00:08:31.639 this lyric is or what it means problems, So if 143 00:08:31.680 --> 00:08:35.039 you remember, I'll set the scene. Twenty eleven, a jay 144 00:08:35.120 --> 00:08:39.279 Z Kanye West song comes out. There's a line jay 145 00:08:39.360 --> 00:08:43.159 Z says, fall so hard. Got a broke clock, row 146 00:08:43.240 --> 00:08:47.440 Lee's that don't TikTok ar to Mars. That's losing time. 147 00:08:48.639 --> 00:08:49.720 I'm not good at rapping. 148 00:08:52.000 --> 00:08:55.399 Got a roles that don't take the top all to Mars. 149 00:08:55.440 --> 00:09:00.799 That's not the time these rocks and so on. Genius. 150 00:09:00.799 --> 00:09:03.799 I found out that having a broke clock and rollies 151 00:09:03.799 --> 00:09:06.039 that don't TikTok means two things. Number One, you ball 152 00:09:06.120 --> 00:09:08.840 so hard you don't even have time to wear your watches, 153 00:09:09.399 --> 00:09:13.559 because automatic watches of the mechanical variety wind themselves just 154 00:09:13.720 --> 00:09:17.200 by wearing them. So he has so many nice watches 155 00:09:17.639 --> 00:09:20.159 that they don't even work because he doesn't even wear 156 00:09:20.200 --> 00:09:22.720 them enough. And when you have a rollie that doesn't TikTok, 157 00:09:22.759 --> 00:09:25.279 that's good. That means a hand sweeps and it's authentic, 158 00:09:25.399 --> 00:09:31.279 unlike a TikTok courts imitation rolex. So how does Cameron 159 00:09:31.279 --> 00:09:33.360 feel about rap lyrics? Does he love them as much 160 00:09:33.360 --> 00:09:33.720 as I do? 161 00:09:35.279 --> 00:09:42.240 I mean, I it's something that doesn't really appeal to me. 162 00:09:43.320 --> 00:09:47.039 Okay, all right, moving on, how do you feel about 163 00:09:47.120 --> 00:09:51.799 watches being kind of not status symbols but like jewelry 164 00:09:51.840 --> 00:09:54.000 as well as something functional, Like which part of it 165 00:09:54.000 --> 00:09:56.480 appeals to you, the functionality or the style of it. 166 00:09:56.600 --> 00:09:58.960 I mean that brings me back to why I chose 167 00:09:59.039 --> 00:10:02.559 watches in the first place to be my interests kind 168 00:10:02.600 --> 00:10:06.320 of was you have this artwork and it's the mechanical 169 00:10:06.320 --> 00:10:10.799 movement which shows this whole watchmaking background behind it, all 170 00:10:10.840 --> 00:10:13.440 the history that goes into it, all the mechanics. It's 171 00:10:13.440 --> 00:10:16.039 like a work of art. Then you put it inside 172 00:10:16.120 --> 00:10:19.759 of the watch case, and you can actually carry that 173 00:10:19.799 --> 00:10:23.080 piece of art on your wrist and it functions too, 174 00:10:23.679 --> 00:10:26.679 So it's like a little motor that is encased on 175 00:10:26.720 --> 00:10:30.759 your wrist. You can bring it anywhere, not like your 176 00:10:30.759 --> 00:10:33.559 Mercedes or your car which you park outside and you 177 00:10:33.559 --> 00:10:38.600 can't bring it inside. So the wristwatch to me appeals 178 00:10:38.639 --> 00:10:41.840 for both those reasons, the mechanics and the art. 179 00:10:42.080 --> 00:10:43.799 And just for the record, I don't have a Mercedes, 180 00:10:44.000 --> 00:10:45.559 but if I did, I also would not bring it 181 00:10:45.559 --> 00:10:48.480 in the building exactly my like two thousand and seven, 182 00:10:48.559 --> 00:10:50.879 pres is not something I can bring in. So it's 183 00:10:50.919 --> 00:10:53.559 the art and the functionality of how many parts are 184 00:10:53.559 --> 00:10:56.519 there in a wristwatch, like roughly, like can you describe 185 00:10:56.519 --> 00:10:57.960 how it works? 186 00:10:58.000 --> 00:11:02.879 Super super basic for yeah, So you have two springs. 187 00:11:03.159 --> 00:11:05.600 You have a main spring which is in the barrel, 188 00:11:06.039 --> 00:11:08.639 which is where we store the power. Okay, so instead 189 00:11:08.639 --> 00:11:10.840 of having having a battery, you have the main spring, 190 00:11:11.720 --> 00:11:14.399 and that once it's been wound either by your hand 191 00:11:15.080 --> 00:11:17.759 the movement of your hand or by physically turning the crown, 192 00:11:18.879 --> 00:11:21.200 it stores the energy and then it goes through a 193 00:11:21.240 --> 00:11:24.120 gear train. At the end of the gear train, there's 194 00:11:24.120 --> 00:11:24.720 an escapement. 195 00:11:25.240 --> 00:11:26.039 What's an escapement? 196 00:11:26.120 --> 00:11:29.120 The escapement. The easiest way to explain it is if 197 00:11:29.200 --> 00:11:32.360 you think about a pendulum on a clock. It swings 198 00:11:32.360 --> 00:11:35.200 back and forth. Well, the escapement in a watch is 199 00:11:35.200 --> 00:11:38.240 the same thing, except it's just been designed to fit 200 00:11:38.279 --> 00:11:40.519 in a watch. So it's a coiled spring. 201 00:11:41.360 --> 00:11:43.039 Okay, all right, So you have these. 202 00:11:42.879 --> 00:11:47.120 Two opposing springs. One stores the energy, one releases the 203 00:11:47.240 --> 00:11:52.360 energy in a in a certain fashion where we know 204 00:11:52.440 --> 00:11:56.279 exactly how slowly it releases the energy, and we harness 205 00:11:56.360 --> 00:11:58.960 that to actually translate it to the hands. 206 00:11:59.240 --> 00:12:02.639 I'm gonna explain the again really quick in non horology terms. 207 00:12:02.960 --> 00:12:06.879 Number One, you wind that little knob. That knob coils 208 00:12:06.960 --> 00:12:09.159 up a main spring that gets all tense and it 209 00:12:09.200 --> 00:12:11.799 wants so badly to go boing. This is the main 210 00:12:11.840 --> 00:12:14.559 spring and a mechanical watch, but it's in this little 211 00:12:14.559 --> 00:12:17.159 barrel kind of dish. It keeps it from doing that. 212 00:12:17.519 --> 00:12:20.799 The barrel transfers all that wound up energy to a 213 00:12:20.840 --> 00:12:23.879 gear train, which is just a series of wheels with 214 00:12:23.960 --> 00:12:27.559 little notches or cogs. It's all very steampunk. And what 215 00:12:27.679 --> 00:12:30.799 stops those wheels from just spinning out all that potential 216 00:12:30.879 --> 00:12:33.799 energy at once is a thing called an escapement, and 217 00:12:33.840 --> 00:12:37.919 the escapement regulates how fast the watch goes. The escape 218 00:12:37.919 --> 00:12:42.320 wheel has these crazy notches that look like insane saw blades, 219 00:12:42.840 --> 00:12:45.159 and they lock and only let it turn a little 220 00:12:45.159 --> 00:12:48.320 bit at a time. Now, the escape wheel turning a 221 00:12:48.320 --> 00:12:51.080 little bit at a time makes a weighted balance wheel 222 00:12:51.440 --> 00:12:55.000 swing back and forth like a pendulum that's regulated by 223 00:12:55.080 --> 00:12:58.080 another spring called the hair spring, and that makes the 224 00:12:58.159 --> 00:13:01.159 hands on the watch face tick off the moment until 225 00:13:01.200 --> 00:13:03.480 your death or the next time you eat a hot dog, 226 00:13:03.720 --> 00:13:06.679 or whatever the future holds for you. Oh. Also, together 227 00:13:06.720 --> 00:13:09.080 the balance wheel and the hair spring are called an 228 00:13:09.600 --> 00:13:12.720 harmonic oscillator. I think that's cute. Did you know that 229 00:13:12.960 --> 00:13:15.399 to oscillate is to swing back and forth, but to 230 00:13:15.519 --> 00:13:20.200 osculate is to sloppy kiss? Isn't that gross? How do 231 00:13:20.279 --> 00:13:25.320 you know if it's right? Like? Do you have nightmares 232 00:13:25.399 --> 00:13:27.720 about springs not being the right tension? 233 00:13:28.799 --> 00:13:35.519 No? No, I mean everything is. It's traditional watchmaking, so 234 00:13:36.600 --> 00:13:39.720 it's been tested over time. What we make today is 235 00:13:39.759 --> 00:13:41.440 the same thing that was made a hundred years ago. 236 00:13:41.559 --> 00:13:47.720 Okay, okay. Brief brief history of timekeeping devices fifteen hundred BC, 237 00:13:48.000 --> 00:13:52.480 sun dials thirteen hundred BC. Water clocks, so water would 238 00:13:52.559 --> 00:13:56.200 drip and that would fill something that would show you 239 00:13:56.240 --> 00:14:00.279 how much time has passed. Eight hundred candle clocks. You'd 240 00:14:00.279 --> 00:14:02.480 burn a candle. Depending on how tall the candle was, 241 00:14:02.480 --> 00:14:04.759 you knew what time it was. There were also incense 242 00:14:04.799 --> 00:14:07.919 clocks burns minsense. When a different smell would hit you, you'd 243 00:14:07.879 --> 00:14:09.279 be like, oh, it's time for me to go to work. 244 00:14:09.600 --> 00:14:13.399 In fifteen hundred, spring driven clocks became a thing, and 245 00:14:13.399 --> 00:14:17.440 then in sixteen fifty six, thanks to Galileo, pendulum clocks 246 00:14:17.639 --> 00:14:21.840 were invented, and then from there the latest technology was 247 00:14:22.080 --> 00:14:26.480 quartz clocks and atomic clocks. And atomic clocks rely on 248 00:14:26.559 --> 00:14:31.440 measuring the vibrations of certain atoms as their electrons vault around, 249 00:14:31.600 --> 00:14:35.039 and atomic clocks are by far the most accurate. They're 250 00:14:35.080 --> 00:14:37.559 so accurate they won't lose a single second over the 251 00:14:37.600 --> 00:14:42.919 next You ready for this fifteen billion years, you and 252 00:14:43.000 --> 00:14:45.399 I will not be around. When do we start caring 253 00:14:45.399 --> 00:14:49.840 about time for reels? For reels? Well, mid eighteen hundreds. 254 00:14:49.960 --> 00:14:53.519 So many places just had local times. There's like, let's 255 00:14:53.559 --> 00:14:55.919 say it's two o'clock around here. It didn't really matter 256 00:14:55.960 --> 00:14:58.360 what was happening a few hours away. Until we started 257 00:14:58.360 --> 00:15:00.279 hopping on trains and then we needed you know, what 258 00:15:00.320 --> 00:15:02.000 time is this train going to be here? So in 259 00:15:02.039 --> 00:15:04.840 eighteen eighty four there was a Prime Meridian conference in Washington, 260 00:15:04.919 --> 00:15:09.000 d C. We're like, we're doing this. We're having time zones. 261 00:15:09.080 --> 00:15:12.559 Get your shit together, people, and so the world was 262 00:15:12.600 --> 00:15:16.200 divided into twenty four different time zones. Everyone had a 263 00:15:16.240 --> 00:15:20.039 certain time. Everyone's like, get a watch, come on, people 264 00:15:20.440 --> 00:15:24.320 beyond time. So clocks have been around for a while, 265 00:15:24.639 --> 00:15:25.519 is what I'm trying to say. 266 00:15:26.080 --> 00:15:28.279 So we don't really have nightmares because it's nothing new. 267 00:15:28.320 --> 00:15:32.320 It's like it's like if you're a painter, you know, 268 00:15:32.440 --> 00:15:35.279 everyone's been using paints for a long time. We're not 269 00:15:35.320 --> 00:15:37.840 trying some new fancy paint that might disappear in a 270 00:15:37.879 --> 00:15:39.960 day or two. It might fade or something like that. 271 00:15:40.519 --> 00:15:46.919 It's all traditional watchmaking. So there's great watchmakers that I 272 00:15:46.960 --> 00:15:49.279 borrow all of that engineering and physics and everything that 273 00:15:49.360 --> 00:15:52.399 they did. I borrow that and put it into our watches. 274 00:15:52.799 --> 00:15:56.759 Were you good at physics and chemistry and sciences as 275 00:15:56.799 --> 00:15:59.399 a child or were you better at just like I'm 276 00:15:59.399 --> 00:16:00.720 going to take the t be apart and put it 277 00:16:00.759 --> 00:16:02.120 back together. Before my parents come home. 278 00:16:02.279 --> 00:16:04.320 Yeah, I have more of a mechanical mind. Hands on. 279 00:16:06.320 --> 00:16:08.279 If I can physically have something in front of me, 280 00:16:08.519 --> 00:16:09.159 take it apart. 281 00:16:09.799 --> 00:16:12.080 How are you with like Ikea bookshelves. 282 00:16:13.080 --> 00:16:15.639 I have no problem with Ikea stuff. Okay, all the 283 00:16:15.639 --> 00:16:19.159 stuff that goes into Ikea, the screws, the pegs, everything. 284 00:16:19.159 --> 00:16:21.120 They're way larger than watch parts. 285 00:16:20.840 --> 00:16:24.360 Right, okay, which brings me to watch parts. Roughly, how 286 00:16:24.360 --> 00:16:27.360 many parts are in you're wearing one of your watches, 287 00:16:27.360 --> 00:16:30.840 which is gorgeous, molo, how many parts are in that? 288 00:16:30.919 --> 00:16:33.080 Mechanically in our watch? 289 00:16:33.080 --> 00:16:34.919 It's about one hundred and fifty pieces. 290 00:16:34.720 --> 00:16:37.000 Okay, one hundred and fifty pieces, and they're all the 291 00:16:37.039 --> 00:16:39.399 size of what not assessme see like a I don't 292 00:16:39.399 --> 00:16:41.399 even like a piece of confetti? Like, how big are 293 00:16:41.440 --> 00:16:42.000 these parts? 294 00:16:42.840 --> 00:16:44.679 A lot of them are about the size of a 295 00:16:44.679 --> 00:16:48.120 grain of rice, Some of them are smaller, some are bigger. 296 00:16:49.679 --> 00:16:51.120 It depends on which component. 297 00:16:52.600 --> 00:16:54.120 And do you drink coffee? 298 00:16:54.399 --> 00:16:55.200 Yes, you do. 299 00:16:55.840 --> 00:16:59.440 How do you not have shaky like Captain shaky hands? 300 00:16:59.679 --> 00:17:02.879 Well, I find that there's a certain amount of coffee, right, 301 00:17:02.919 --> 00:17:04.920 and when you kind of get over that threshold, that's 302 00:17:04.920 --> 00:17:07.920 when you start to get shaky. Just the right amount 303 00:17:07.960 --> 00:17:10.519 of coffee is good, Okay, I have no problem with 304 00:17:10.559 --> 00:17:13.119 it keeps me awake, even if I'm sitting there at 305 00:17:13.160 --> 00:17:18.119 the bench quietly. But too much coffee and there's no 306 00:17:18.160 --> 00:17:21.880 more watchmaking, I move over and start doing emails, emails 307 00:17:21.920 --> 00:17:24.119 and business stuff. Yeah. 308 00:17:24.160 --> 00:17:27.559 How many coffees is it? You know it's like two expressos. 309 00:17:27.000 --> 00:17:29.519 Or like, well, no, it's more than that, maybe four espressoes. 310 00:17:29.559 --> 00:17:30.319 Are you serious? 311 00:17:30.480 --> 00:17:31.160 Yeah? 312 00:17:31.200 --> 00:17:33.200 God, if I had four espressos, I'd just be like 313 00:17:33.279 --> 00:17:36.000 sweating and shaking. So the fact that you can even 314 00:17:36.039 --> 00:17:37.880 do that, that's amazing. So you had to learn that, 315 00:17:37.920 --> 00:17:40.359 probably by trial and error exactly where you're like, Cameron, 316 00:17:40.680 --> 00:17:41.599 get away from the bench. 317 00:17:41.720 --> 00:17:44.440 This is too much. I can't I can't watch make. 318 00:17:45.119 --> 00:17:47.240 That brings me to a question. Is it harder to 319 00:17:47.240 --> 00:17:49.240 make a ladies watch because they're tinier parts? 320 00:17:50.119 --> 00:17:50.519 Yes? 321 00:17:50.720 --> 00:17:51.039 Really? 322 00:17:51.359 --> 00:17:51.759 Yeah? 323 00:17:51.880 --> 00:17:55.279 Okay, So do they cost more because their tinier parts? 324 00:17:55.319 --> 00:17:56.480 Tell me about this, tell me everything. 325 00:17:56.799 --> 00:17:58.960 That's the thing. They don't normally cost more. 326 00:17:59.279 --> 00:17:59.839 Okay. 327 00:18:00.839 --> 00:18:04.720 And there's actually a lot of vintage women's watches that 328 00:18:04.759 --> 00:18:08.799 were mechanical that watchmakers will not even repair today because 329 00:18:08.799 --> 00:18:09.759 they're so small. 330 00:18:09.880 --> 00:18:10.359 Wow. 331 00:18:10.519 --> 00:18:12.480 Yeah, they're very hard to find people to work on 332 00:18:12.519 --> 00:18:13.160 those watches. 333 00:18:13.440 --> 00:18:16.920 Are a lot of watchmakers, guys, fixed horologists. 334 00:18:17.599 --> 00:18:20.960 In Switzerland, it's not so much male dominated. 335 00:18:21.200 --> 00:18:23.920 What is it about Switzerland? Why are they covering the 336 00:18:23.960 --> 00:18:26.240 market on watches? Why are they so good at it? 337 00:18:26.839 --> 00:18:28.039 They've been doing it a long time. 338 00:18:28.680 --> 00:18:32.359 I never knew this, but during World War Two, because 339 00:18:32.759 --> 00:18:37.039 Switzerland was neutral, that let their watch industry continue making 340 00:18:37.559 --> 00:18:41.400 consumer timekeeping things. Other nations of the world were like, 341 00:18:41.440 --> 00:18:43.920 if we're going to make an apparatus, it better bomb someone. 342 00:18:44.160 --> 00:18:47.240 The Swiss were like, just going to keep making watches. 343 00:18:47.440 --> 00:18:50.880 So as a result, the Swiss watch industry had a 344 00:18:50.880 --> 00:18:53.920 pretty good monopoly. They're like, I'm just over here making 345 00:18:53.960 --> 00:18:58.720 watches eating chocolate. I can't function without a wristwatch. But 346 00:18:59.599 --> 00:19:02.039 how do you feel about the relationship a person has 347 00:19:02.079 --> 00:19:05.759 to time when they're wearing a clock face as opposed 348 00:19:05.759 --> 00:19:08.720 to say, like a digital clock in their pocket. 349 00:19:08.839 --> 00:19:12.200 It's almost like a crutch. I think when people pull 350 00:19:12.240 --> 00:19:15.319 out their phones and they're like, you know, just sucked 351 00:19:15.359 --> 00:19:19.559 into their phone, checking Facebook, check an email, whereas the 352 00:19:19.599 --> 00:19:22.720 watch is more of like bringing you back into the 353 00:19:22.759 --> 00:19:26.240 real world, where there you have a mechanical item that's 354 00:19:26.279 --> 00:19:29.559 on your wrist that it's real pieces they move, there's 355 00:19:29.559 --> 00:19:31.559 a spring in there. You have to wind it every 356 00:19:31.640 --> 00:19:34.759 day or you have to move to keep it going right. 357 00:19:35.119 --> 00:19:39.839 So it's just for me. It's a little more grounded 358 00:19:39.880 --> 00:19:43.440 in the real world than pulling out a phone and 359 00:19:43.480 --> 00:19:44.119 looking at that. 360 00:19:44.359 --> 00:19:46.000 You know what has nothing to do with watches, but 361 00:19:46.039 --> 00:19:48.599 it does have something to do with watches is punctuality. 362 00:19:48.680 --> 00:19:50.640 I live in Los Angeles, so everyone shows up like 363 00:19:50.680 --> 00:19:53.079 four hours link to things, if they show up at all. 364 00:19:53.400 --> 00:19:56.240 Some people are punctual, some people aren't. I always run 365 00:19:56.400 --> 00:19:59.319 a few minutes behind to be honest. I wanted to 366 00:19:59.519 --> 00:20:03.240 find out why this was why essentially I'm a garbage person, 367 00:20:03.680 --> 00:20:06.640 so I googled it. In two thousand and one, Chef Conte, 368 00:20:06.680 --> 00:20:10.319 a psych professor, ran a study. He separated participants into 369 00:20:10.359 --> 00:20:15.079 Type A, people who are ambitious and competitive, and Type B, 370 00:20:15.400 --> 00:20:19.559 who are usually creative. They're explorative. Now these are also 371 00:20:19.640 --> 00:20:25.160 known as tight asses and societal fuck ups. Just kidding, 372 00:20:25.319 --> 00:20:27.799 and he asked these people to judge without clocks, how 373 00:20:27.880 --> 00:20:30.359 long it took for one minute to go by, and 374 00:20:30.440 --> 00:20:33.720 Type A people felt like a minute passed in about 375 00:20:33.759 --> 00:20:37.759 fifty eight seconds, so they were close. Type B participants 376 00:20:37.839 --> 00:20:41.279 thought a minute had passed after about seventy seven seconds, 377 00:20:41.799 --> 00:20:45.480 So clearly type B people are just on their own time, 378 00:20:45.720 --> 00:20:48.200 so give them that. But you know what, either way, 379 00:20:48.359 --> 00:20:53.000 everyone was wrong, everyone overestimated it. So and also what 380 00:20:53.119 --> 00:20:57.759 is time anyway? Time is a construct? Oh man? This 381 00:20:57.839 --> 00:20:59.799 is the time in the episode where I ask about 382 00:20:59.799 --> 00:21:04.480 it existential bullshit? Do you have any like existential crises, 383 00:21:04.519 --> 00:21:10.160 like working on watches about like time and yeah, like 384 00:21:10.640 --> 00:21:14.799 impermanence and mortality and like does watch making every factor 385 00:21:14.839 --> 00:21:16.160 into that psychologically for you? 386 00:21:17.559 --> 00:21:20.400 The only time I ever think about anything like that 387 00:21:20.839 --> 00:21:25.839 is when I service watches, like watches that come back 388 00:21:25.839 --> 00:21:30.079 in they have moving parts, so they only cleaning and oiling, 389 00:21:30.160 --> 00:21:33.720 just like a car engine m hm. But realizing that 390 00:21:34.720 --> 00:21:37.480 at some point somebody is going to have this watch 391 00:21:37.559 --> 00:21:40.799 and I'll be long gone, but it'll need somebody to 392 00:21:40.839 --> 00:21:44.079 work on it, service it, or somebody will pull it 393 00:21:44.119 --> 00:21:46.480 out of a lock box in one hundred years and 394 00:21:47.039 --> 00:21:49.160 be like, wow, what's the story with this watch? But 395 00:21:49.200 --> 00:21:52.640 that's the only time I really think about not being around, 396 00:21:52.680 --> 00:21:55.599 and you know, these things lasting for so long. 397 00:21:55.759 --> 00:21:58.240 Mm hm. When True Detective came out, did you get 398 00:21:58.240 --> 00:22:00.759 a lot of times of flat circle questions from your friends, 399 00:22:01.079 --> 00:22:02.240 Were you like, okay. 400 00:22:01.960 --> 00:22:03.680 Guys, I did not? 401 00:22:04.119 --> 00:22:08.079