Watches, Stories, and Gear: The Met Celebrates a Milestone, BMW’s New Logo, and a Look Back at NYC’s Many, Many Plastic Bags

“Watches, Stories, and Gear” is a roundup of some of our favorite watch content on Worn & Wound, great stories from around the web, and cool gear that we’ve got our eye on.

This installment of “Watches, Stories, and Gear” is brought to you by the Windup Watch Shop.

Worn & Wound
Chronography 11: The Citizen “Bullhead” Challenge Timer

The world of Japanese chronographs is surprisingly large and varied, and this piece from the Worn & Wound archives takes a deep dive into one of the most niche corners of this particular collecting subculture. In this edition of our ongoing Chronography series, ZQ Chia takes a close look at a very collectible Citizen bullhead chrono, the reference 67-9356 Challenge Timer, and explores the unique style and mechanics behind a cult favorite.

Read it here

The Guardian
Met Museum to Mark 150th Year with Time Themed Fashion Show

The Metropolitan Museum of Art celebrates its 150th anniversary this year, and to celebrate they’ll be holding a fashion show with the overarching theme of time. The exhibition, titled About Time: Fashion and Duration, opens in May, and asks viewers to think about how they define time by incorporating articles of clothing from the museum’s collection, spanning a period that covers the full history of the museum. Check out the Guardian story linked below for more information on this unique time themed exhibition. 

Read it here

The New York Times
Take One Last Look at the (Many) Plastic Bags of New York 

The common plastic bag has been one of the most ubiquitous objects in our daily lives for decades. New York City, like many other municipalities, has made an effort to curb use of these inherently wasteful and environmentally destructive tools in recent years. With a statewide ban looming, the New York Times takes a look back at some of the surprisingly iconic plastic bags that many of us have carried over the years, and finds that, truly, some people’s trash might be another’s treasure. 

Read it here

The New York Times Magazine
Aaron Sorkin on How He Would Write the Democratic Primary for ‘The West Wing’

If you grew up watching The West Wing, or agree with the growing critical consensus that The Social Network is among the most important films of the last decade, you’ll want to sit back and read this wide ranging interview with Aaron Sorkin, the playwright, screenwriter, and filmmaker responsible for both. It’s a fascinating look into the process of a writer, and how he bends current events and hotly debated topics into fiction.

Read it here

The Verge
BMW’s New Flat Logo is Everything that’s Wrong with Modern Logo Design

BMW recently unveiled a major change to their iconic blue and white propeller blade logo, and car enthusiasts and graphic designers are freaking out in equal measure. Like so many other brands, BMW has tried to incorporate a certain minimalist aesthetic in their new logo design, a trendy choice that might have some unintended consequences. Gone is the familiar black outer ring, replaced with a transparent background. More modern and clean? Absolutely. Harder to see? That’s also a yes. Check out the Verge story linked below for a more thorough deconstruction of the inherent problems with the new BMW logo. 

Read it here

Triple Aught Design
Quantum strap

Here at Worn & Wound, we’re pretty big fans of nylon, mil-spec watch straps. We also like things that are ridiculously over engineered and made to last. Enter, the Quantum watch strap from Triple Aught Design. This 100% made in the USA nylon watch strap is made in collaboration with noted knifemaker Todd Rexford of Rexford Knives, and uses precision machined titanium hardware throughout. Made in limited batches (the first is already sold out), the Quantum watch strap is the antithesis of the mass produced, disposable nylon strap, and worth checking out if you’re after a strap with the same hand-crafted feel of the watch it’s attached to. 

Shop Triple Aught Design here