It’s Friday. It’s five o’clock in London. That means it’s time to down tools, pour yourself a drink and look back at….er…well, actually it hasn’t been much of A Prodigal Week. Truth be told, it’s been something of a challenge to pull this week’s missive together. Prodigal news has just been a little thin on the ground. Never fear though, what tidbits there were, we consumed, digested and are now pleased to diligently regurgitate for you…
Appetite whetted? Let me offer you some canapés of news and views.
WATCHES
The mind-changer
Over on Hodinkee, Cole Pennington penned a love letter to Seiko’s SPB153, the watch made famous by being Martin Sheen’s most faithful companion in Apocalypse Now. The whole article is well worth your time. It has some gorgeous photography, an interesting retelling of Seiko dive watch history, and makes a cohesive argument that this piece deserves its place in watch lore for reasons far more compelling than simply being a famous movie prop.
Cole’s story caught my eye because - just as he has recently changed his mind about this watch - I have recently been pushed by the ‘Willard’ into rethinking Seiko. If you’ve listened to the vodka-doused rambling mess that was our latest Persiflage episode, you’ll know that I struggled to understand Eric’s passion for the brand. Mostly, because to my eyes at least, Seiko hadn’t earned its place at the collector’s table. But I’m changing my mind fast.
In the Willard you have a dive watch that is not only steeped in history but that is genuinely distinctive. The case shape, the crown positioning, the luminous dial markers all conspire to create something unique. And uniquely Japanese.
Dear reader, you’re the first to hear: I’ve added a SPB237J1 to The List.
CARS
That’s what Z said
My father’s mid-life crisis hit later than most. He was nudging 60 when he walked into a Nissan dealership in Marin County, California and emerged half an hour later, the incongruous pony tail he’d recently grown flopping in the wind, at the wheel of a pearl-white Nissan “zee”. Oh, and it was a convertible.
A couple of years earlier, Car Magazine had put a grey 300ZX Twin Turbo up against the Porsche 944 Turbo. I don’t think it won that brawl but it certainly emerged with its honour intact and my interest piqued. So, even though Japanese muscle cars weren’t exactly my thing, I had developed a thing for Nissan’s Z cars. No surprise then that, the unfortunate colour and the credibility that had been jettisoned along with the roof notwithstanding, I loved my father’s car. Or, to be more accurate, I loved driving it around the Bay Area at European speeds, with someone else picking up the fuel bill and speeding tickets.
Imagine my delight then when I heard Nissan is launching a new Z car. And it’s exactly what you'd expect. As Evo reports:
The new Z isn’t hybridised or all-electric, but powered by a good old-fashioned twin-turbo V6 engine, driven through the rear wheels with a six-speed manual transmission as standard.
Sadly the Z’s old-school approach is exactly what will prevent it being sold in Europe. We’ll have to admire from afar then, just as I remember my father’s Z with long-distance nostalgia.
GADGETS
Come with me if you want to live
Taking a page out of the Honda playbook, Tesla is building a robot. Because, why not? (Well, James Cameron has already very clearly explained why not, but anyway.) The Verge reports:
Tesla CEO Elon Musk says his company is working on a humanoid robot and that it will build a prototype “sometime next year.” The humanoid robot will leverage Tesla’s experience with automated machines in its factories, as well as some of the hardware and software that powers the company’s Autopilot driver assistance software.
That would be the same ‘Autopilot driver assistance software’ which has, so far, killed nine people. How long before our robot overlords decide to wipe us all out?
What’s that you say? I’m being dramatic? Exaggerating for comic effect? Consider this: in the same breath that Elon (a man who, lest we forget, was recently warning us about the perils of runaway artificial intelligence) told us the robot is “intended to be friendly”, he also said that the company is designing the machine at a “mechanical level” so that “you can run away from it, and most likely overpower it.” Most. Likely.
Don’t miss…
💩 Why is Eric such a tit for tat? Our latest episode of Persiflage is what you might kindly refer to as ‘tired and emotional’. Is Eric insane to walk away from a collection of vintage sports Rolex in favour of cheap Japanese imitators?
Decide for yourself >
🥰 Thank you. The reaction to the return of Talking Hands was overwhelming and, in this latest episode of Persiflage, we wanted to say thank you and give you some insight into why it’s been so long and, more importantly, what we’re planning next.
Have a listen >
🙌🏻 The return of Talking Hands. That’s right, it’s back. We found an unpublished episode on the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Jumbo recorded way back in 2015.
Watch the best watch review show on the inter webs >
Welcome to the weekend, folks. 🍸