Worn & Wound’s 12 Favorite Articles of 2019

Now that we’ve wrapped up the year here at Worn & Wound, we thought it would be fun to look back and highlight some of our personal favorite content from the site over the last 12 months. Whether it was an in-depth review of an unexpected watch, a profile of a racing legend, or an explanation as to why a certain watch didn’t belong in a certain movie, there was a lot of great content to choose from this year, if we don’t say so ourselves.

Thanks to everyone for reading, watching, and listening in 2019. We can’t wait to see what 2020 brings.

Zach Kazan’s Picks

Review: Grand Seiko Refs. SBGV243 and SBGV245 – Two Watches that Will Have You Rethinking Quartz

It’s no secret that I’m a huge Grand Seiko fan, and Ilya’s review of these two new sports models from the brand, with their high-end quartz movement, had me jonesing for a 9F-powered watch to call my own. In this hobby, it’s easy to fall prey to quartz-snobbery, but this review does a great job of articulating why you should give quartz a chance.

Read it here

Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood, a Watch was Miscast

I saw Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood on opening weekend and absolutely loved it, but I’ll admit I didn’t do a ton of deep thinking in the theater about the distinctive gold chronograph worn by Brad Pitt throughout the film. Sure, I noticed it, as I do almost any watch in any movie (such is the life of a watch obsessive) but it didn’t register with me that it might be, as Zach W. put it, miscast. Shortly after the film’s release I was happy to open up Worn & Wound one day and see this deep dive into the movie’s most distinctive prop, and why it shouldn’t be there.

Read it here

Meet the One Man Shop Restoring Vintage Seiko Cases, One Zaratsu Polish at a Time

I was fortunate to write a handful of stories on Worn & Wound in 2019 that I was really proud of, but none more than this one on Kamil Dunkowski, an expert watch refinisher based in Poland. Kamil taught himself how to achieve a perfect zaratsu polish, and the images coming from his Instagram account are mind-blowing to the point that you’ll ask yourself if they’re renders (they’re not). Kamil’s story is fascinating, and a huge part of the reason I love watches, and the world around them. 

Read it here

Ed Jelley’s Picks

The Worn & Wound Podcast Ep. 85: Lauren and Lorenzo Ortega of Lorier Watches

I always find it interesting to hear from the people behind small brands, specifically to learn how they do what they do. Our podcast often has guests from the watch industry, and one of my favorite episodes of the past year was when Lauren and Lorenzo Ortega, the wife-husband team behind Lorier, joined us to discuss their young brand. They are two of the nicest people out there and you can really hear in their voices that they’re genuinely grateful for all of the recognition their watches have gotten. This episode digs into the backstory of Lorier and offers some insight behind their design process. I definitely recommend giving it a listen if you’re not fully caught up on the back catalog — it’s a winner!

Check it out here

Damasko: A Look Inside the Manufacture

Even though it only takes us a few minutes to watch, countless hours of traveling, filming, and editing go into making great video content. Seriously, the amount of work that goes into a video is huge, and Ilya and the team’s dedication to it really shows in this inside look at Damasko. Maybe it’s my background in manufacturing, but I always find it really interesting to see how and where things are made. You can really see the care and level of expertise that the Damasko team puts into every aspect of the design and manufacture of these tough German watches, beautifully captured by Ilya and the team in these two videos.

Check out part 1 and part 2

Review: Seiko SZSB006 TicTAC 35th Anniversary Watch

It all happened so fast. An announcement post, a rush to find a proxy service, and a PayPal payment. A few days after the watch was completely sold out online, it was on my doorstep from Japan. I was extra excited when Ilya asked me to review it for the site. The Seiko SZSB006 is one of my favorite releases of the year, and I really enjoyed writing it up and photographing it for Worn & Wound. In fact, doing so made me appreciate it even more. Hope you all enjoyed reading this one as much as I did making it!

Read it here

Ilya Ryvin’s Picks

Talking Vintage Watch Restoration Ethics with James Lamdin, Eric Ku, and Eric Wind

The world of vintage watches can be a major minefield, especially for the uninitiated. And with originality being highly prized, restoration can be a dicey subject. The above article about the Lapinist sparked an interesting discussion about the ethics around restored cases, and this article was more or less born from that discussion. Zach K talked to three respected dealers and picked their brains on the matter, and the resulting feature does a great job at shining a light on a facet of vintage collecting that few have so openly discussed.

Read it here

The Worn & Wound Podcast Ep. 96: Answering Your Grand Seiko Questions with Joe Kirk

It’s no secret that I’m a bit of Grand Seiko fanboy. The brand makes excellent watches. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that one of my favorite episodes of the podcast this year was the one where Joe Kirk,  the National Training Manager for Grand Seiko Corporation of America, came on to talk about everything Grand Seiko, and to answer a bunch of your questions submitted via Instagram. It’s a must for anyone who loves Grand Seiko, and frankly, an awesome primer for those simply curious about the brand.

Check it out here

Mario Andretti and the Story of His Yema Rallye

Getting to meet Mario Andretti was an incredible experience. Now, it’s not that I’m a huge racing fan. Not at all, in fact. But it’s not often that you meet someone as passionate as Mario, and that passion rubs off on you and makes for one hell of an experience. Being welcomed into Mario’s home, seeing his trophy room, and chatting with him was a real highlight, and I’m proud to have created a short video that explores one small portion of his storied career and love for watches.

Read and watch here

Zach Weiss’s Picks

Review: G-Shock GA-2100-4A

An all red G-Shock? Well, if you read Zach’s review you’ll know why. But regardless of the color, this new series of “CasiOaks” took everyone, myself included, by surprise when they were released earlier this year. Beyond the AP-ishness of them, their slimmer design and hard lines made them immediately appealing in a way that digital or ani-digi watches rarely are for me.

Read it here

Review: Seiko SKX173, and the Small Mods That Made it My Own

Having been at this for sometime now, you’d think that a review of the SK173/007s would be something I’ve seen enough of, but Ed’s personal spin is a good reminder of why we got into this in the first place. The watch meant something to him, and in order to keep it relevant in his collection as years went by and more watches were added to his collection, he personalized it through modding, one of the cooler and rarer aspects of the SKX watches.

Read it here

Review: Christopher Ward C60 Trident Pro V3

This felt like a really big year for Christopher Ward, and it started with the launch of the third version of their C60 Trident Pro line of dive watches. While less exotic than the C1 Moonglow that followed shortly after, or the newer C60 MoD watches, which I’m having a hard time not ordering, the C60 Trident Pro V3 demonstrated how far the brand has come over the years. So much so, I dedicated 3,300 words and a video to the topic.

Read it here