Swatches and Watchgang Five-William L

Swatches

 

I already told the story of my first Swatch, and I recently bought the updated version while on a trip to New York. I was very happy with that first one, and it was my day to day watch for a number of years.

The left is original and the right is the new version.

Swatches were cheap, and looked cool, so I ended up with several of them throughout the 90s. They were always a touch small for my small wrists, but wore them anyway.

I actually have owned a few more. In the 90s I had both a Diver and a Chrono that were in heavy watch rotation until the bands disintegrated. They're probably still around the house someplace, and I've bought a few replacement Swatch bands. But many of the bands were part of the design, so the watch really loses something without them. 

I also was always bummed when the batteries would die. Back in the 90s, before Amazon, finding the right battery could be a challenge. That's why I was thrilled when Swatch started making automatics. The Earth Day one on the right I still wear pretty frequently, even though I had to change the band.

The band on the right is a replacement

I have a few Irony Swatches as well, but they aren't that comfortable to wear.

Finally, I have this Mark Spitz watch. As a club swimmer during the Munich Olympics, Mark Spitz was my hero. Seven Gold Medals! How cool was that? And everyone cared about swimmers in the Olympics.

I found it for around $50 on eBay about 10 years ago. 

In the 00's I stopped wearing my Swatches. Tastes change, and there weren't any that really appealed to me the way they did in the 90's. That, and they're just a little small for my wrist. I don't think I have particularly large wrists, but the Swatches just don't seem to sit on my wrist as well as my other watches. 

Watchgang Five-The William L

The William L Mecaquartz 70's Chronograph

 The William L came wrapped in a white box, which held a grey travel case.

The white box vaguely resembled the box that my checks used to come in. Nothing to get too worked up about.

The grey travel case looked nice, and I might be able to get some use out of it. I have found that I travel with a couple of watches, for no other reason than I have a bunch and like to wear them. On first glance, I hoped that maybe I could carry two or three watches in the case, which would be nice.

Interestingly the zipper pull came off the zipper almost immediately. A small thing that I just corrected with a pair of pliers, but a detail that makes you wonder what else is missed.

I unzipped and found the watch.

I don't have many metal band watches, so I was a touch disappointed when I saw that. And the watch also has a brown face, definitely an interesting color choice. I went to the William L website, and found the list price of 211 Euros, or about $240 dollars.

I tried the chronograph feature, and unlike some of my other watches, it stopped and started and lined up back at the 12, a good thing. The stopwatch didn't do splits, though. I'm never going to take splits on this watch, but I thought I'd check anyway.

The unidirectional bezel moved well enough, but the push buttons for the stop watch and reset didn't feel particularly solid. Again, I don't think I'll use those features much-my Timex Ironman handles all my timing needs, but it seems like those buttons shouldn't feel flimsy.

Interestingly, it has a see through back, something you see on automatic watches where the movements do something. On a quartz watch, I guess you can watch the battery drain. It's a Seiko movement, which is very reliable, and a mineral crystal, so it shouldn't scratch too bad.

William L, according to their story, "does not hide its Chinese production. Each piece is conceived in Paris and manufactured in Shenzhen," not necessarily bad-the Chinese can make good watches, but not carrying the same cache as a Swiss or Japanese watch. 

On my arm, there's some heft to it, and I'm going to have to wear it about to get a feel. On the William L website, they have the watch with a brown leather band, and I think I like that better than the metal band. With the silver bezel, it doesn't feel like there's enough contrast on my wrist to make it stand out. 

Otherwise, it's not a bad watch at all.

For The Win Smash Burgers/Kettle Glazed Doughnuts

 

A rainy day road trip with my son and a craving for a good hamburger led us to For The Win for smash burgers.

First, what is the difference between a smash burger and a regular burger? The smash burger is a patty cooked on a hot grill, smashed down with the spatula so that more of the patty is in contact with the high heat. The idea is that more proteins in the meat break down, giving the meat a more charred flavor, while still retaining some of it's juiciness.

 

 A Double with Cheese

 

Apparently, it's proper to use a soft bun as well, and keep the extras to a minimum.

 

For The Win started during the pandemic, the remnants of the owner's high end restaurant. It's a small space, but since it was raining, my son and I were easily able to find in door seating.

He's a young man, and ordered a triple cheese with bacon. I just can't eat that way anymore, and wanted to get a doughnut from the place next door after, so I went with the double with cheese. We bought french fries and brussel sprouts, too.

So at twice the price of a comparable In-N-Out burger, was it worth it?

Maybe. The smash burger technique does add a more complicated flavor, toasty across each bite instead of just the edges. I liked the potato buns better than In-N-Outs, too. The cheese was nothing special and might have benefited from being a sharp cheddar. The fries were ordinary. 

The brussel sprouts were very good, though. They were grilled and had a very strong hint of citrus that really set off their flavor, and I wish we'd have gotten a second order of those and skipped the fries altogether. 

 

The staff was friendly, even allowing me to buy a Mexican Coke from the liquor store next door and bring it in since they were out. The service was fast, too.

I won't make a special trip, but if I'm in the area and don't feel like a Tommy Burger, I'd definitely eat there again. They're open until 9 PM.

Kettle Glazed Doughnuts, next door, was also good and not too expensive. My son went with the s'mores, which he said was good.

I had this, which was also good. We were there late in the day, and the doughnuts were still soft and fresh, not like a stale doughnut that's been sitting in a case all day. With the burgers, it was a tasty, high calorie meal.