I Took My Time Machine to the Mechanic, Part One

     In 2008, I got my first "big boy" job out of college.  I was making the most money I'd ever made in my life, so I decided it was time to buy the watch I'd been lusting after for the past eight years: the Omega Seamaster Professional chronometer, model 2531.80, aka "The James Bond Watch."  I did my research to make sure I got an authentic specimen on eBay, and I've been enjoying it ever since.

Omega Seamaster Professional, model 2531.80.  Cue the James Bond theme music.

     Flash forward to 2009.  I'm still at my big boy job, trapped in a mind-numbing tax code training class. My fellow inmate, Paul, notices the Bond watch on my wrist.  He says that he, too, owns an Omega and that he'll wear it the following Monday.  Monday comes and we both try on each other's watch.  His is an older model Seamaster, a cross between a De Ville and a Seamaster.  The white face and two-tone gold-and-stainless-steel construction make it dressy, but the metal Seamaster bracelet and the wave pattern on the dial keep it somewhat sporty.  I instantly start wondering if Paul would consider selling his timepiece of the last 10 years.  However, given my lack of cash at the time, I do not give voice to my curiosity.

     To my pleasant surprise, Paul approaches me a few weeks later, giving me first dibs on purchasing his watch.  I make a cash offer he rejects as too low.  He proceeds to list the Seamaster on eBay and I resign myself to buying that model Seamaster a few years later.  Flying out to visit my buddy Jacob in California takes my mind off the near-miss.

     The day after I returned from California, I received a voicemail from Paul.  In a fit of sentimentality, he decided to return the money to the winning eBay bidder and hold on to the watch that he loved.  However, he ended up contacting me because he was hard-up for money and absolutely needed to sell the watch.

     I met Paul and his young daughter over lunch the next day.  Paul honored my original offer (which was less than what he would've received from his eBay buyer) and I went home with a time-telling trophy.

Omega Seamaster, model 2301.21.

I still thought it was beautiful, scratches and all.

     

     I enjoyed my second Seamaster for several months and one night...it all ended.  I heard something pop when I was winding the watch and from that point forward, the watch wouldn't wind or keep time at all.

     Thinking it would cost more to fix the watch then the amount I spent on it, I never looked into getting it fixed.  I would pretend it worked when I wore it...to sleep.  

     Earlier this year, my mom convinced me to take it into the Russell Korman jewelry store for a free repair quote, just to see if it would cost as much as I thought it would.  And that is where Part Two of this tale picks up.  Look for it soon...

Tryin' Out This "Twitter" Thing for Oscar Night

     I've known for a while now that Twitter is the wave of the future of communication, social networking and promotion, but I've never really hit it hard.  I have accounts for my writing and acting (@DerekShiekhi and @DerekVandi, respectively) and post to them every now and then. 
     Tonight, I thought I'd tweet about celebrity style at the Oscars in real time as I watch them.  It seems as if a lot of social media-savvy cats do stuff like that.  Follow along at https://twitter.com/DerekShiekhi or @DerekShiekhi. 
     Enjoy the show!

Cadillac Crazy!

     I've had Cadillacs on the brain the past few weeks.  I can't stop thinking about the stately designs of the older cars and the bold, unique styling of the current cars.  Every time I see a knife-edged CTS coupe going down the road, I daydream about being the guy behind the wheel of such a statement-making car, parading stylish American automotive design up and down the streets of Austin.  I love some of the recent (produced) designs and have rediscovered some of their best looking concepts, such as the Sixteen and the Ciel (below.) 
     I never used to be a Cadillac fan, which makes sense because I was not in their previous demographic: retirees and the elderly.  The fuddy-duddy image of Cadillac was shattered with the first utterance of Cadillac's Art & Science design language and the company's new focus on engaging, sporty, performance-oriented cars in 2002.  I love the way the new models look and the fact that you can get an American rear-wheel-drive sedan with a supercharged Corvette motor and a 6-speed manual transmission. 
     However, as I've gotten older, I've become more familiar with Cadillacs from years past and have discovered quite a few "grandpa-mobiles" that really catch my eye, my age be damned.  (I still haven't developed an extensive knowledge of or appreciation for Cadillacs before the '80s and '90s; perhaps I will one day.  My tastes reach farther back in time as the years go by.) 
     (Big thanks to Autoblog's John Neff for helping me tweak this post.)
     Anyway, here are my favorite Cadillacs, both production and concept:

PRODUCTION CARS

1992-2002 Eldorado Touring Coupe (ETC)

This is kind of a "drug dealer's car," but I still like it.  The lines are simple and straight, but softer than those of the modern Art & Science cars.  I've always driven sedans and tend to favor them not only because I'm familiar with them, but because their lines are given more room to express themselves than they would be in coupe form.  I find a lot of coupe versions of sedans to be visually abbreviated in an unflattering way.  However, the lines of this coupe are fully voiced and form an attractive personal luxury coupe (a very indulgent, yet sensible, ride for a single guy like me.)  (Take a peek at the ETC's Wikipedia page.)

1993-1996 Fleetwood Brougham
What a majestic highway barge.  This is like the tuxedo of sedans, especially in this particular color scheme.  I love the broad swaths of chrome along the bottom and the landau roof.  I couldn't drive this particular specimen every day, though.  Being that it's the tuxedo of road cars, I would only drive it to special occasions, like weddings.  It would be a ton of work to keep this behemoth clean and looking its best, but it would be worth it.  This is the kind of car that wouldn't look good at all with road warrior scars.  After all, who wants to wear a dirty tuxedo?  (Here's its entry on Wikipedia.)

2000-2005 DeVille
We all know the prices on luxury cars and American cars depreciate like crazy, which is what makes one of these such a tempting purchase.  I love the looks of these DeVilles and the idea of picking up a wood-and-leather-lined, V8-powered piece of American luxury for a steep discount.  I'm a big fan of road trips already, but if I had one these, I think I'd invent reasons to go on one and treat my friends to the experience of riding in a Cadillac.  (Here's a link to more info on the DeVille.)

2006-2009 XLR-V
I love the decidedly non-curvaceous styling of this car as well as its, at times, awkward geometry and unforgiving, committed straight lines.  It might not be the prettiest car out there, but, by Hell, it makes a statement.  It's different and refreshing and stands out, for better or worse.  The fact that it has a supercharged, 443 horsepower Northstar V8 makes it even more attractive, although, for $100K, you'd think Cadillac might have chosen to put the 556 hp motor from the CTS-V or the 638 hp motor from the Corvette ZR-1 into it.  A missed opportunity of sorts, but still a bad-ass car.  (More information about this car can be found on its Wikipedia page.)  

2013-? ATS
I saw one of these being loaded into a truck a few weeks ago and I haven't been able to forget it since.  I love its evolutionary CTS styling and its tidier size (and more accessible price), as well as the inward-biased positioning of its dual exhausts.  I grew up with Japanese sedans and I still love them, but this is the first American non-muscle/sports car that's made me want to buy a Detroit 4-door.  Mayhaps I should go test drive one when they come out...  (See more of the ATS here.)

2011-? CTS-V Coupe

I know I said at the beginning of this post that I'm partial to sedans, but this is another coupe I really like if only because it's so odd-looking and unique.  Like the XLR-V, it has an attractively brutal geometry to it, but it also has a dramatically raked rear window and a quirky, high-riding rump that is chiseled off to a cool, dual-outlet center exhaust (it looked good on the first generation Jeep Cherokee SRT-8, too.)  The icing on the cake is the 556 horsepower, supercharged V8 and the 6-speed manual transmission.  Sometimes I day-dream about driving this 2-door American rocket cross-country.  What a quick, but stylish, trip that would be.  (Check it out here.)     

CONCEPTS

2003 Sixteen
It's such a shame this was never produced.  It harkens back to the days when Cadillac was known as "The Standard of the World," both in terms of styling and powertrain.  It has presence and the paradoxical restrained outrageousness of a Rolls-Royce and a 16-cylinder, 1,000 horsepower engine.  Cadillac really pulled out all of the stops with this one.  If I were insanely wealthy, it would be tempting to have one of these custom-built and legalized for road use or, at least, buy the concept from GM.  (Learn more about the Sixteen concept on Wikipedia.)

2011 Ciel
Like the Sixteen, the Ciel makes a hell of a statement that quotes old-school Cadillac adages, at least visually.  The hybrid-assisted 3.6 liter, direct-injected V6 is an unpleasant surprise for such a grand piece of sculpture.  While I'm not crazy about the squared off front end, I do love the profile and rear end.  "Ciel" is French for "sky" and this 4-seater convertible is made just for that.  I fantasize about wafting down a sunlit coast line with 3 of my closest friends in this glorious land yacht.  (I wonder what it would look like with its top up.)  (Learn more about the Ciel on Cadillac's website.)

Welcome to Watches, Whips, and Wardrobe!

Hello, everyone!  Welcome to my new blog on 3 of my favorite things (aside from acting): timepieces, cars, and menswear!

I've been interested in them since childhood.  I can remember collecting little cheapo watches (among other things, like Ninja Turtles and basketball cards) in elementary school and my dad taking me with him to pick up old Detroit iron, like a '56 Chevy BelAir or an old '50s GMC truck.  My mother is responsible for engendering a love for dress clothes in me.  Every time we would go to the symphony in elementary school, I would dress to the nines, complete with clip-on tie, just the way my mom showed me.  (I would like to think my taste in fashion has come a long way since then.  I still love to dress up, though.)

My vision for this blog consists of posting pictures and little blurbs about things on my wishlist and reviewing the things that I currently own, as well as reviewing my experiences at various stores and establishments (with occasional shout-outs to helpful staff and good stores thrown in.)

With that said, let's get into it.  I must admit, when it comes to things I like, a lot of times I've just found my "flavor of the week."  Some things catch my eye and then lose it, but some catch my eye and then my money.  At this point, I don't know which category the following fall into, but I'll share them with you, anyway.

WISHLIST

Watches:                                                      

Rolex Sky-Dweller
Probably not the prettiest or even most original looking watch or Rolex out there, but it is still handsome and full of trick features in a stream-lined design.  I can just imagine being on a plane, in first-class, flying out the West Coast and setting this bad boy up to keep track of Central Standard Time and Pacific Standard Time.  It's the most complicated movement Rolex has produced in quite a while, which I think is cool.  The fact that they packed a GMT function, a date wheel, a concealed Ring Command bezel mechanism (which allows you to select which function to adjust), and an annual calendar into a handsome design while keeping the face simple and legible is even cooler.
(Check it out here.)
 

Cartier Santos 100 XL

This one kind of sneaked up on me.  I used to be a fan of the Cartier Tank Francoise and then forgot about it.  A few months ago, I came across this lovely creation and haven't been able to forget it since.  I'm a sucker for gold-bezeled, white-faced watches.  And I've always had a latent attraction to tank watches.  The blued hands and roman numerals are a nice touch.  This watch is visually interesting but not loud about it (which is how I think all interesting things/people should be.)  I can see myself wearing this with a cream/brown plaid suit and some matching brown monk straps and even passing it on to my children (if I ever have any.)
 (I discovered this watch on Bernard Watch Company's website: http://www.bernardwatch.com/)

Whips:

1966-77 Ford Bronco
Don't get me wrong - I like big, bad, hairy-chested SUVs like the last gen Bronco and Mercedes G Wagons, but the fact that this first gen Bronco is relatively small and not all ate up with differential and knobby mudding tires makes it rather charming.  It's a cute rig and is blessed with old school American good looks (like old Jeeps.)  It looks like something out of a Tommy Hilfiger ad and I'm OK with that.
(Check out the Ford Bronco Wikipedia page.)

2009 Cadillac XLR-V 

I love curvaceous cars like the Lamborghini Miura and Maserati GranTurismo, but this car is very different and I love it for that.  It's pretty much a C6 Corvette rebodied with rulers and powered by a supercharged, 443 hp Northstar V8.  What I don't understand is why Cadillac chose not to use the 556 hp LSA motor from the Cadillac CTS-V or the 638 hp mill from the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 for the flagship model from GM's flagship brand.  (Take a look at Cadillac's website.)

1966-1970 Buick Riviera
It's hard for me to think of an ugly Riviera from the '60s or early '70s.  They all look good in their own way.  The '63-'65 models have that early '60s Detroit Iron cool to them and the early '70s models have the novel boat tails.  The '66-'70 Rivieras are kind of a cross between those 2 generations - restrained like the previous generation, but  provocative like the next generation.  I'd love to cruise around in one of these and feel the vinyl seats under me and smell the gas and oil being devoured.  (Check out the new Buicks at http://www.buick.com/.)

Wardrobe:

Johnston and Murphy Dolby Saddle shoes
I do not own a pair of wingtips.  My black dress shoes are monk straps and my brown dress shoes are cap toes.  For some reason, I find traditional wingtips to be boring.  However, these, while lacking the brogue detailing at the toe, do have a wingtip design and I love them.  Their spectator look only adds to their appeal.  I'd love to wear these with some summer-weight pants, a short sleeve button-up, and some Wayfarers.  (You can buy a pair, here.)

Florsheim Gaffney boots
I love my Johnston and Murphy Runnell chukka boots (in brown and grey), but they're suede and have a crepe rubber sole, so they're not what I'd call "dressy" boots.  These Florsheims do have a lug rubber sole, but the wingtip and brogue detailing dress them up sufficiently.  I'd have no hesitation in wearing these with a suit, but I could still wear them with jeans.  (You can buy a pair of your own, here.)