Beyond The Dial
Activity Overview
Episode publication activity over the past year
Episodes
Through The Looking Glass - On Watches & Philosophy (The Final Episode)
28 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Farewell, and thank you all for listening. The Aesthetic Revolution Will Be Beautiful!
Conversations - E19 - Rikki from Scottish Watches
01 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Allen and Rikki lament and celebrate the current world of watches in equal measure, covering the rise of fashion and red-carpet nonsense to the role o...
I Fell Into The Rolex Black Hole
28 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Allen could no longer resist the forces of gravity at the center of the horological universe, and now he is broadcasting from the within the Rolex Bla...
SWATCH's BIOCERAMIC - THE UNVARNISH FACTS (AND OPINIONS)
07 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Is SWATCH's BIOCERAMIC anything more than a petroleum-based plastic? Find out in this episode as Allen shares his investigation into this divisive mat...
Insights E35 - How "In-House" Obscures The Quality of Movements (& Insults Our Intelligence)
01 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A watch movement made to exacting standards by a robot on Mars working for a third-party alien corporation might turn out beautiful, precise, complica...
Insights E34 - For Exhibition Only - Rolex Without Watches
08 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Has Rolex evolved into a brand that's For Exhibition Only" And what if Rolex no longer made physical watches? Could this be the future of global luxur...
Field Reports E9 - Bremont's Authenticity Soars In An Old Plane
12 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Allen went to the UK for the launch of Bremont's first serially produced watches with their in-house movement, but what Allen got was a ride in an old...
Conversations E18 - Walt Odets On His Five Favorite Watches
08 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Walt has some very classy timepieces, all of a type: smaller, understated, and often highly complicated. Allen and Walt talk through five of Walt's mo...
Insights E33- From Horological Silence Into The Noisy Watch Space - A Personal History of Watch Collecting (1990-2020)
05 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this essay-style episode, Allen drags the historical lens across the watch space from 1990-2020, showing how what was once a lonely nerd's hobby gr...
Insights E32 - A Tentative Critique of the Post-Pandemic Watch Culture
22 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this insight essay, Allen admits to feeling a little disillusioned with the broader watch culture and tried to identify why it feels different to h...
Insights E31 - Iteration Inundation - The Endless Stream of New(s) Watches
07 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It's gotten overwhelming, all the new releases. Allen talks about how the digital medial environment, including the socials, has put undue stress on w...
How Watches Work E6 - Understanding Complicated Chronographs
29 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
David takes Allen deeper into the world of mechanical chronographs, covering all the major complications from early flybacks to the latest in mechanic...
How Watches Work E5 - Understanding Mechanical Chronographs
17 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
David takes Allen inside the fascinating world of mechanical chronographs, and Allen finally "gets it." Vertical vs. horizontal clutches, column whe...
Insights E30 - "In-House" - How An Overused Term Lost Its Meaning & How To Fix It
24 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Allen expands on his written essay on this always confusing and sometimes contentious topic. "In-House" refers to a movement built....Where exactly? B...
Insights E29 - The Watch Collector / Enthusiast Dichotomy & Its Discontents
02 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Allen upends our current way of diving up the watch community into collectors, enthusiasts and consumers and suggests that we'd be far better off desc...
Conversations E17 - Bulova's 20th Century Mechanical Prowess (w Michael Benavente and Colin de Tonnac)
11 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Allen speaks with Michael Benavente of Bulova and Colin de Tonnac of Semper & Adhuc about the history of Bulova as a mechanical watchmaker. There's a ...
How Watches Work E4 - Servicing Mechanical Movements
22 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
David and Allen walk through the sometimes dubious topic of having your mechanical watch serviced. David explains how it all has to happen as Allen wa...
How Watches Work E3 - Movements As Torque Managers
02 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
David Flett schools Allen about what torque is and how it operates and is managed within a watch movement. Philosophical ponderance eventually finds i...
How Watches Work E2 - Gears & The Going Train
09 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this second installment of the How They Work series, David Flett joins Allen and leads him through the gears that make your mechanical watches work...
Insights E28 - Quantum Leaps in Collecting Watches
30 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Allen explores his new directions for his own budding collection of Vacheron Constantin watches, centering on a near disaster of a purchase due to his...
Insights E28 - Falling Back In Love With Vacheron Constantin
10 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Allen sold his 50th Birthday Grand Seiko, and now he's run out and bought a sweet 33mm platinum 1984 Vacheron Constantin Historique and a Unimatic U4,...
Insights E27 - Why I Sold My 50th Birthday Grand Seiko At Age 51
18 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Allen explores his decision to sell his BIG 50th BIRTHDAY WATCH just one year later. This one is all about aligning one's true passion with one's budg...
Field Reports E8 - The Alsta x BTD Motoscaphe 120
03 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Allen goes into the ideas behind the Alsta Motoscaphe 120, one of a very few purpose built motorcycling watches. Not branded to match this or that bik...
Insights E26 - Eccentricity, Ostentation, Wealth & Watches
30 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Why do the rich get away with all kinds of bizarre quirky behavior while the rest of us are made to look silly when we express our little kinks? The...
Conversations E16 - Walt Odets, The Original Watch Blogger
20 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Walt Odets is, by most accounts, the first person to blog about watches, thus creating a template for how watch journalism evolved over the past 20 ye...
Insights E25 - Horological Hedonism & The Aesthetic Revolution
12 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Horology Inc. provides us with a vast array of dial colors able to splash dopamine onto our opiate receptors. We often dismiss new colors as a superfi...
Insights E24 - Large Watches - A Case Study Featuring the Moser Pioneer Centre Seconds Limited Edition in Mad Red
30 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Allen breaks form on his approach to the hands-on review while exploring how Moser creates what is, in his opinion, one of the most beautiful watches ...
Insights E23 - Rolex vs. Gen X
23 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Can irony reconcile the cynical Gen X world view with a luxury hobby? Does the Swiss watch industry sell us "Vintage Nationalism" along with our watch...
Insights E22 - The Enduring Allure of Luminescence
16 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this essay-style episode, Allen takes a journey through the history of glow-in-the-dark materials, drawing a personal narrative spanning five decad...
Conversations E15 - From Singapore to Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taiwan, New York, London & Beyond (w LungLung & Dainel of The Waiting List)
05 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel and Lung Lung from The Waiting List podcast join Allen and James for a 2-hour conversation about how unique regional cultural experiences shape...
Conversations E14 - Ducatis, Watches & Espresso Machines (with Jon Ferrer of Brew Watches)
03 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Allen and Jon both ride Ducati Panigale V2s, and therefore have much to talk about. But they don't talk all that much about motorcycles, instead focus...
How Watches Work E1 - The History of Mechanical Escapements
09 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to "How Watches Work," a series of episodes dedicated to understanding the devices behind the dial. In this introductory episode, David Flett ...
Conversations E13 - Defending NASA & The Omega Speedmaster (w Greg Bedrosian)
02 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Greg knows his Star Wars, Speedmasters and NASA history inside out. Greg's rebuttal to Allen's deconstruction of "Grand American Space Narratives" via...
Insights E21 - Rethinking The Space Race & The Omega Speedmaster
16 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Allen finally takes on this horological masterpiece, which he's never really felt anything for at all - perhaps until now. From musicological analysis...
Field Reports E7 - The Rolex Explorer II at Vail Colorado
22 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Allen takes us on a downhill journey back to his days as a ski-punk while rocking an Explorer II Polar White in Vail, CO. It's a tale of personal redi...
Insights E20 - The Quartz Crisis & The Future of the 20th Century
17 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Following up on Episode 51, Allen turns a cultural-history lens onto the Quartz Crisis for a look at how quartz watches fit into the broader context o...
Conversations E12 - The Quartz "Disruption" of the 1970s (w Pedro Mendes)
09 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Pedro comes on to discuss his new-found acceptance of some quartz watches, and he and Allen end up discussing the Quartz Crisis from many different an...
Insights E19 - Wrist-Presence & The Inelegance of Tool Watches
11 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Evolutionary theory suggests that we are drawn to certain people and not others based on hardwired aesthetic judgements wrought over some five-million...
Conversations E11 - Is Your Pilot's Watch a Nazi Watch? (with Oren Hartov)
23 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We see so many recreations of vintage watches issued to commemorate moments in history, people, wars, accomplishments, and so on. A certain line of WW...
Conversations E10 - The Oris Calibre 400 Movement (with VJ Geronimo)
15 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Calibre 400 is not the first of Oris' in-house modern movements, but it is their first work-horse automatic winding movement of the modern era. De...
Conversations E9 - Seiko's Dueling Factories, (w David Flett & Pedro Mendes)
29 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Seiko famously had two factories working simultaneously in both collaboration and competition to produce the most accurate watches in the world in ord...
Field Reports 6 - Mission Lake George (Allen Reflects on a Successful Mission)
25 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
With the diving behind them, the BTD Crew that dove Lake George is unpacking both their gear and their thoughts about the experience. Allen reads an e...
Field Reports 5 - Mission Lake George (Concept & Plans)
18 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sponsored by Oris and in partnership with The Lake George Association, the BTD crew is headed out to document invasive species in this iconic American...
Conversations E11 - Narrowing the Collection (w David Flett)
09 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Allen and David discuss their simultaneous breakthroughs in their personal collections, with David going deep on very specific vintage Seikos and Alle...
Insights E19 - Entropy & The Poetry of Patina
25 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As Elvis once said, "Let's get way way gone for a change." Patina is an observable effect of entropy, or the ongoing disordering of the universe. Alle...
Conversations E10 - Coral Restoration Foundation's Martha Roesler on Reviving The Carysfort Reef
29 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Allen's interview with Martha Roesler of The Coral Restoration Foundation covers the science of reefs, how recreational SCUBA divers can help them, ho...
Insights E18 - Divergent Aesthetic Arrows & Sub-Cultural Tribalism
18 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Why do we focus on having just one personal style? Why do we fracture our communities endlessly into smaller and smaller tribes? How do our personal a...
Conversations E9 - Pedro Mendes on Watches, Wardrobe & The Aesthetic Revolution
06 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Men's style writer and historian, Pedro Mendes, talks with Allen about watches, men's style, environmentalism, racial tension, gender, and so much mor...
Conversations E8 - ORIS Deep Dive with VJ Geronimo
29 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
N. American CEO of ORIS Watches, VJ Geronimo, visits Allen at BTD HQ for a spirited discussion about the history of Oris, the company's environmental ...
Insights E17 - The Aesthetic Revolution (Will Be Beautiful)
14 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What started as a cute aphorism has grown into a socio-economic theory. Allen works his way through the assumptions that make up this theory, drawing ...
Insights E16 - Spiritual Materialism: How Watches Take On Significance and Meaning
27 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On the surface, owning a watch isn't a complex thing. Dig a little deeper into our motives for owning any given watch, and things get complicated fast...
Insights E15 - Refinished Dials & Their Potential Value
30 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Why do watch aficionados hate on refinished dials so vehemently? How can these otherwise astute folks miss the incredible artistry involved in refin...
Insights E14 - Rolex Is A Black Hole
25 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Allen falls into the bizarre and powerful orbit of beautifully aged vintage Rolex steel sport watches, those nearly unobtainable, very expensive timep...
Field Reports E3 - Diving Shipwrecks Alone With The Rolex DEEPSEA
17 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Allen delivers his longest written piece about a watch here on the podcast. The watch is the Rolex Sea-Dweller DEEPSEA, and the story is part memoir, ...
Conversations E7 - Vintage Seiko Expert David Flett
11 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Allen sits down with vintage Seiko expert David Flett for a highly informative dive into this snarly, but wonderful, collecting category. Whether you'...
Conversations E6 - Getting Funky With H. Moser Watches CEO Edouard Meylan
05 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Allen sits down with Edouard Maylan, CEO of H. Moser Watches for a candid conversation about how this historically significant Swiss watch brand has b...
Insights E13 - How a Watch's Design Affects Our Perception of Time
23 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Allen takes a deep dive into the phenomenological perspective and clarifies how it can actually operate as a way to examine watches by performing subj...
Conversations E5 - Longines CEO on Busting Bandits, Closing The In-House Manufacture, & His Journey From Exile to Executive
07 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Allen sits down with Longines' CEO Walter von Känel for a candid interview about the struggle against counterfeiters, dealing with the gray market, c...
Insights E12 - How to Pick Out Watches You'll Keep Forever
04 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
If you're flipping watches constantly and wondering how to slow that down, Allen's got a method for picking out keepers and avoiding flippers. The met...
Insights E11 - Horological Polygamy & The Unholy Trinity
16 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Have you tried to settle in on just one or a few watches and find yourself bored? Are you more interested in the hunt for the new timepiece than in a ...
Insights E10 - The Omega Cal 321 & The Quest for Authenticity
09 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Why are we so excited about a recreation of a vintage movement like the Omega 321? Has digital social media and the ensuing crisis of truth prompted s...
Insights E9 - Whiskey, Weed & Watches
12 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
How do booze and pot affect your perception of time? Your sense perceptions? Your impulsivity? Find out as your host, Allen, brings his personal...
Insights E8 - Embracing Mortality With A Grand Seiko
02 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Allen's birthday watch is a Grand Seiko Limited Edition SGBH269, a watch that explores the turning of the seasons from Spring to Fall, just as Allen i...
Conversations E4 - Gary Shteyngart on Watches as Literary Devices
25 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Allen sits down with best selling novelist Gary Shteyngart to talk about how watches have figured into Gary's writing. From his New Yorker article cal...
Conversations E3 - Demystifying Watch Service (with Steve Kivel)
18 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Grand Central Watch's 3rd generation leader, Steve Kivel, has turned his family's business into a high-tech service center with seven full-time watchm...
Conversations E2 - Badass Tool Watches on Badass Women (w Cait Bazemore)
08 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Allen's colleague Cait Bazemore comes on for a lively discussion of the emerging trend of women wearing more complex mechanical tool watches, and how ...
Field Reports E2 - Ferraris, Ducatis & Hublots in Tuscany
05 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Allen returns from a week in Italy having toured Tuscani on a Ducati motorcycle while wearing his Bremont Supermarine, lapped on a race track in a Fer...
Field Reports E1 - Press Trippin' With Longines
14 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Allen's account of his trip to the Longines factory in Switzerland starts with an explanation of how one ends up on such a trip in the first place. He...
Insights E7 - Apocalypse Later: Zen Dystopias & The Apple Watch
21 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Why do mechanical watches seem so calming and down to earth? Why does the Apple Watch seem so intrusive? In this episode, we travel in time to conside...
Insights E6 - "Women's Watches Suck," a man said.
12 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
A colleague once told Allen that women's watches don't get as much coverage because, "Women's watches suck." Let's complicate the topic of gendered wa...
Insights E5 - "Tool" Being the Operative Word
04 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
When watches are truly designed as tools and do their job without kowtowing to fashion trends, our aesthetically fussy attitudes can give way to a far...
Insights E4 - The End of 'Microbrands'
30 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Allen goes after the notion of "microbrands" and calls for a change of thinking around the role of independent watch brands of all sizes. He discusses...
Insights E3 - Just a Rolex Datejust for a Month
27 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 4, Allen is visited by a fox while record his account of a one-watch experiment. Unexpected results include feeling great about the one wat...
Insights E2 - Why Watch Diameter and Wrist Circumference Don't Matter
31 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Allen ponders how watch diameter and wrist circumference became the main measurements of watches when, in fact, those two dimensions hardly matter whe...
Conversations E1 - Oren Hartov, Expert on IDF Watches
24 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Allen talks with Watch Desk Editor at Gear Patrol Magazine, Oren Hartov. They discuss the ins and outs of working in a bustling news ...
Insights E1 - Academic Perspectives on Watches
12 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Host Allen Farmelo discusses various conceptual frameworks that we can use in attempting to understand watches. These include a mechanical perspective...
Welcome to Beyond The Dial
01 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Your host Allen Farmelo says hello and gives a short introduction and guide to Beyond The Dial.