3-Watch Thursday #22
Coming to you from a cafe in Paris
Morning team,
Hope you’re having a lovely week.
Things have picked up this week, so I’ll skip the pleasantries and drive right in.
AI Generated Watch Design
This weekend I found myself playing around with AI generated watch designs, as a result of seeing Chat GPT literally everywhere.
Similar to how blockchain/cryptobros shouted that we’re in a new era and you should upskill or get left behind, it feels the same for the ‘AI Revolution’, except maybe with a few more legs.
All this said, the technology exists so why not use it?
Since revising for my final exams last summer, I’ve almost weekly asked myself what it would take to start a watch company myself (this was the absolute peak of my procrastination). I think one of the early smaller questions to answer as part of the bigger, surrounds design and inspiration, so that’s where my questioning led.
Let’s take a look at the results below:
Vintage wristwatch on tan leather strap on human wrist
Vintage wristwatch chronograph on tan leather strap
Split second chronograph perpetual calendar wristwatch
Vintage split second perpetual calendar wristwatch
Vintage Patek Philippe wristwatch on human wrist
Vintage Rolex wristwatch
Ultra real wristwatch on wrist
Ultra real chronograph wristwatch on wrist
Lots to dissect here.
Most obviously the difficultly with numbers on dials, pushers etc.
The real surprise for me was the vintage Rolex prompt and how many features of Datejusts were present. Case, crown and bracelet were pretty accurate and you can see where the AI is going with the dials.
This was a fun little exercise and I really enjoyed the wait from prompt to generated image, keen to see what it could come up with.
In fairness, I used this as an exercise for inspiration in designing watches, but it’s not too far a stretch to predict that a Hublot, Tag Heuer or Richard Mille type brand will release a watch marketed as being ‘designed by AI’.
Finally for those wondering, I used the Midjourney AI beta on discord.
Rowing Blazers X Zodiac X Harry’s Bar
You may have seen the Rowing Blazers X Harry’s Bar capsule launch a few weeks ago, but for the watch they’ve teamed up with Zodiac this time for a take on their iconic Sea Wolf.
I was lucky enough to get hands on with this piece and take some shots. The sunburst dial is super cool and I really love the #tide strap pairing. I didn’t think it would work so well and I much prefer it to the ‘Jubilee’ style bracelet.
Stay tuned for an article over at Wind Vintage for a watch spotting at their launch event.
Mythbusting: 3 Persistent Patek Philippe And Rolex Myths Debunked
Research in the watch industry is hard.
If you’ve ever tried to look into the origins of a story or something well known, good luck finding the original sources. I’m having trouble at the minute piecing together a Rolex story, but there’s some much misinformation and incited work it’s proving quite tricky.
That’s why this piece of work over at Quill & Pad caught my eye, especially the section on the Everest Rolex watches.
Simply put this is an excellent body of work and I urge you to read the whole article. I love the inclusion of articles in the mainstream watch media that have incorrectly perpetuated these myths. It really highlights how we shouldn’t just believe everything we read.
I’ve started to notice more people recently citing their blog work and following this read I’ll definitely be working towards backing up my work with good evidence.
If you’re just looking to read the complete work on understanding the Everest Rolex watches, you can find that from 2020 over at The Outdoor Journal.
Bonus: ‘Crash’ Watch Rings
I told you there was lots to get through this week. We’ve got a bonus watch related piece of information.
I don’t know if this popped up on anyone’s feed this week, but I found it on mine.
A brand called ‘Centry London’ are selling Cartier Crash Inspired rings.
The short of it is, I like them.
I have no idea if they’re legit.
Their website gives me dropshipping vibes.
So purchase at your own risk. It might be a cash grab.
That’s all this week.
Any feedback, I’d love to hear it below or in a DM.
Best,
Owen