Latest Review
“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.
Atelier Wen Perception V3
A lot of the attention around Atelier Wen’s Perception has gone to the dial, and for good reason. The hand-turned fish-scale guilloché comes from Cheng Yucai’s workshop in Henan, which gives each watch a level of craft that has helped separate it from the larger field of integrated-bracelet sports watches. With V3, Atelier Wen brings that same level of focus to the movement, adding a customized Pequignet EPM03 with a 65-hour power reserve, hacking seconds, and finishing developed around the brand’s Sino-French identity. Through the exhibition caseback, you see wind-shaped bridges and blue aventurine lacquer, a marriage of form and function.
The familiar Piāo ice-blue and Xiá salmon versions return, joined by Yún, a new bamboo green reference featuring a micro-frosted case and bracelet – the first addition to the Perception lineup in four years. Piāo and Xiá retain the brushed and polished finishing. The Perception V3 is priced at $4,850, with first deliveries expected to begin in September 2026.
Leica Cine Compact 1
Of course, we know (and love!) Leica for its range of cameras, but did you know the German brand has also dabbled in everything from watches to eyewear to binoculars to projectors? Anything that has to do with seeing the world a bit more clearly, it seems Leica has made a product in their signature Bauhaus style – and, ahem, price tag.
The Cine Compact 1 is a portable digital projector that punches way above its weight class (which, if you were wondering, comes in at about 9.7 lbs). If you’ve held a Leica camera in your hands, then you’ll know that no detail or design or technical precision is spared and the Cine Compact 1 brings this same thinking into its suite of features, including a Summicron zoom lens, 4K resolution, Direct Triple RGB laser projection, Leica Image Optimization, Dolby Vision, and up to 1,700 lumens for images as large as 220 inches. It also has 360-degree image alignment, autofocus, automatic keystone correction, and smart screen framing, which should help take some of the fussiness out of setting it up. The Leica Cine Compact 1 will be available starting June 18, 2026, priced at $1,995.
The Y-Zipper
Now, it’s not every day you read news about the simple zipper, but here we are. The Y-Zipper, originally patented by Bill Freeman in 1985 during his time as an electrical engineer at Polaroid, has now been developed by researchers at MIT CSAIL into a working 3D-printed fastener. Instead of pulling together two sides, the Y-Zipper connects three flexible strips into a triangular form, allowing flat, packable material to become rigid with a single pull, then flexible again when unzipped. The team has also built software that lets users adjust the length, bend angle, and final shape, which opens the door for uses in camping gear, medical equipment, robotics, emergency shelters – and, perhaps, a watch band? I don’t know, I’m just spitballin’ here!
Dolly Parton’s Tennessean Travel Stop
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that we’re including this one on the first week of Pride, people. And the news of Dolly Parton doing anything is always of relevant news to me because she is, in a way, part of my own family history. You see, Dollywood is where my parents honeymooned when they eloped – and I hate to say it, but I’ve done the math and I was born 9 months and 3 days after their wedding day.
In any case, perhaps the upcoming Tennessean Travel Stop will become part of your own family story when it opens on June 24 at exit 22 off I-65 in Cornersville, Tennessee. The new roadside destination will include DLY BBQ, Dolly’s Cup of Ambition Coffee, custom merch, and a full-service sit-down restaurant, along with an original mural, live music, and a tour bus-inspired photo stop at the flagship location. Additional details on the grand opening are expected in the coming weeks, which gives you plenty of time to save up at your “9 to 5” and follow the “Light of a Clear Blue Morning” straight to Cornersville.
The End of Oak Street Trailer
The trailer for The End of Oak Street dropped recently and it’s not exactly the sci-fi action movie I’m drawn to, but I’m currently reading a book on the evolution of dinosaurs to birds and, therefore, find it topical enough to at least keep on my radar. From the trailer, we see what can only be described as Jurassic Park meets A Quiet Place meets Tremors meets a little of Jumanji, with the neighborhood of Oak Street inexplicably dropped into another dimension or time in which dinosaurs terrorize its citizens, including the Platt family, with Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor in lead roles.
