It’s Friday. It’s six o’clock. It’s time to down tools, pour yourself a drink and look back at what A Prodigal Week it has been. Here’s your bite-sized helping of news and views.
GADGETS
Holding out for an eero
At the beginning of lockdown, as my house was suddenly full of people large and small needing to access the internet all day long for video calls, I made one of the best investments ever: I bought a set of three eero 5 mesh routers from Amazon. Overnight, our wifi experience was transformed. There wasn’t anywhere in the house that didn’t benefit from perfect wifi performance.
That’s why, if you’re still on the fence about upgrading your wifi experience, I can wholeheartedly recommend the eero system to you. Their latest model - the 6 - is now also compatible with Apple’s Homekit which means, in Engadget’s words:
It boosts connected devices' security, protecting users' sensitive information that may be stolen by virtual thieves and preventing bad actors from being able to control them.
WATCHES
Everything you always wanted to know about the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Jumbo* (*but were afraid to ask)
It’s been a busy week in Watch World. Tudor released yet another awesome Black Bay - this time META certified and in ceramic, Seiko continued to tempt me with ultra-cool and vintage-inspired Prospex Diver models, Indiana Jones visited Bremont’s new HQ, and Godfather Patek bestowed seven new Aquanauts on us (perhaps to compensate for the insipid Nautilus run-out model we talked about a few weeks ago).
But the real news this week isn’t any of those new watches. It’s not even a watch. The real news this week is a humble article. Writing for Hodinkee, Ben Clymer penned a piece entitled “Ruminations On The New AP Royal Oak Jumbo In Platinum”. Dear reader, it is so much more than that.
No doubt I’m biased because I share Ben’s deep love for the Royal Oak but I think this is a seminal article. Ben is steeped in his subject matter and expertly covers the history of the brand and the model, the way AP’s business has evolved over the years, why the Royal Oak and its Offshore cousin are such different beasts - and attract such different customers, the complex psychology that drives how any changes to their watches are received and, yes, there are even a few ruminations on the new platinum model.
I leave the last word to Ben because I couldn’t put it better myself:
To generalize on a potentially embarrassingly wide level, while the collectors wear the Royal Oak line of Jumbos and perpetuals, the other guys wear the other stuff. What I mean by the other stuff is, well, to put it easily, the Offshores.
CARS
Roadside picnic anyone?
Apparently, Jay-Z and Beyoncé are not so different to the rest of us. When on the Côte d’Azur, they like nothing more than to stop by the side of the road, unfold a picnic table and enjoy a refreshment as they watch articulated lorries speed past. Except, being Jay-Z and Beyoncé, they have the means to get Rolls-Royce to build them a bespoke car for the job. The most expensive car the British firm has ever made it turns out. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Rolls-Royce Boat Tail.
Much of what makes this first Boat Tail so special is hidden from prying eyes. At the rear, twin side-opening compartments are hinged in the middle and open like a butterfly, revealing an Aladdin’s cave of treasures. On one side is a pair of twin champagne coolers, designed to fit the owner’s favourite Armand de Brignac vintages. Elsewhere, there’s crockery by Christofle of Paris – hopefully dishwasher safe – matched to bespoke salt and pepper grinders, all engraved with the car’s name. Caviar is kept cool in a proper fridge rather than a chiller, with various other food compartments that have been tested in temperatures that range from 80°C to -20°C.
In case you missed it…
🚗 What would you sacrifice for driver involvement? That’s the question we ask in the latest episode of Prodigal Persiflage. Eric favours driver involvement above all else. I demand some home comforts. Who’s right?
Listen and decide for yourself >
⌚️ Why I buy watches, what stuck, what didn’t, and why. If you’ve never been interviewed about your watch choices, in terms of introspection, it’s not disimilar to visiting a psychiatrist - or, if Eric Drosin is doing the interviewing, a proctologist.
Have a listen >
✈️ My obsession with IWC Pilot’s watches is laid bare in the first of a new series, The Wish List, in which we explore the dozen or so pieces I’m clamouring to add to my watch box.
Discover the list >
Welcome to the weekend, folks.