Watches, Stories, & Gear: Atomic Clocks, One Fast Chevy, and Spooky Space Pic

“Watches, Stories, and Gear” is a roundup of our favorite content, watch or otherwise, from around the internet. Here, we support other creators, explore interesting content that inspires us, and put a spotlight on causes we believe in. Oh, and any gear we happen to be digging on this week. We love gear.

Share your story ideas or interesting finds with us by emailing our Managing Editor at [email protected]

This installment of “Watches, Stories, and Gear” is brought to you by the Windup Watch Shop, which now features an EDC section.

Precise Clock Links Quantum World With Gravity

Maybe don’t read this article from Quanta magazine if you haven’t had a cup or two of coffee and are feeling pretty alert, because it gets really complicated really fast, dealing as it does with the reconciliation of Einstein’s theory of relativity and quantum mechanics, long considered the great unsolved problem in theoretical physics. The article details an experiment involving the observed effects of gravity on an atomic clock, and how time is measured differently from above and below a millimeter tall cloud of atoms. It’s heady stuff, and is basically the galaxy brain meme in article form, but worth a read for anyone with a passing interest in timekeeping or physics.

Operation Mincemeat Gets Trailer

A new trailer just dropped for Operation Mincemeat, a film based on one of the most unlikely operations of World War II. In April of 1943, British intelligence was able to successfully disguise the invasion of Sicily by planting fake correspondence on a corpse meant to wash up on the Spanish shoreline. The clip here has us excited, as this looks like a good old fashioned espionage thriller based on real events, with a great cast that includes Colin Firth and Matthew Macfadyen, who is probably best known to American viewers as Succession’s Tom Wambsgans. Operation Mincemeat hits theaters in January.

Keanu Reeves Gifts John Wick Stuntmen Personalized Rolex Submariners

Keanu Reeves seems like one of the most genuinely nice guys in Hollywood. Exhibit A: this Vanity Fair article which details his generous gift to the stunt team following filming of the upcoming fourth installment of the John Wick series, a tough to find Rolex Submariner for each of them. It’s fairly evident even if you’ve only seen bits and pieces of the Wick movies that these are fairly punishing shoots, so a Sub feels like an appropriate gift for the too frequently overlooked stunt actors who sacrifice their bodies so that we can enjoy hyper realistic action movies. As this article points out, they’ll all be back to work soon, as the fifth John Wick film is set to begin shooting imminently.

Chevy Finally Takes The Lid Off C8 Z06

It was just 2019 when we got our first look at the mid-engined C8 Corvette, but that feels like a lifetime ago thanks to, well, 2020. We always knew a hardened Z06 variant would follow, and this week we finally got a glimpse of it. The C8 already looks pretty radical, and the Z06 looks even radical-er, with wider hips, glaring intakes, and a massive set of rear tires. The engine sheds a bit of displacement, going to a new 5.5-liter V-8 with a flat-plane crankshaft producing 670 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque. It’s naturally aspirated too, by the way. Sadly, this marks the first Z06 to be released without a manual transmission, not that’d be any quicker than the eight-speed DCT, but hey, it’d be a bear to wrangle all that power with both feet and both hands getting in on the action. More on this beast from Chevy right here.

Hubble Captures Dying Star Just In Time For Halloween

The James Webb Space Telescope is right around the corner (knock on wood) but the Hubble is still holding strong up there and capturing some incredible sights in the process. Just in time for Halloween, which is tomorrow, by the way, Hubble captured this eerie image of red giant CW Leonis throwing off a web of dusty carbon clouds being emitted by the dying star, appearing orange in the rendered spectrum of light. The star is about 400 light years away from earth, and has changed in apparent brightness in 15 short years of observation. Perhaps we’ll get a better look through the fresh eyes of the JWST. Until then, happy Halloween.

eBay Finds: Omega Geneve

Omega is of course well known for many of their watch lines like the Speedmaster, Seamaster, Constellation and more. One of the lesser known but still killer names is the Geneve. This simple 1960’s Omega Geneve has a clean and classic look with the simple round steel case with
slim lugs and the gorgeous silver dial with steel markers and hands. Nice dress watch size at 33mm, small but not tiny. Seller states the watch runs, and everything looks correct and original and in great shape. Here’s a chance to add a vintage Omega to the collection without dropping a roll of Benjamins.

View auction here.