Daly Watch Club - Origin Story

[ddaly12]

I’ve become quite a Seiko enthusiast over the years and I wanted to share with folks how my collecting and passion spawned a small local club of sorts. It started with a Seiko SNZF, the Sea Urchin. I forget how I came across Seiko divers, but I was drawn to the design. I had already purchased my first Rolex (an Air-King 114210), and the hobby was beginning to take hold. I added some other pieces, mostly high end stuff, the kind of items that you gravitate towards in the beginning. Shinny objects. Rolex, Omega. Somehow I discovered Grand Seiko. The reviews were good. They popped in youtube videos. The value proposition seemed high. I had to find one to check out in person.

There just so happened to be a tiny authorized retailer near my office in Tribeca, at a men’s clothing and goods shop called The Armoury. For a short period of time they carried a small selection of Grand Seiko. I went and tried one on. I knew immediately that I’d own one eventually. And I did, buying a silver dialed Hi-Beat GMT from Govberg in Philly. Sight unseen. New. Shipped to NJ. It’s a stunning watch and a tremendous value. So I decided that I’d look more deeply into Seiko. Then came the SNZF.

I was surprised at how much I liked the watch and how well it worked. Could others be this good? Then came an SKX007. Wow. Next, a turtle, in Pepsi, my choice was the PADI version SRPA21. Stunningly good watch. I still love the dial and colorway. I started getting other straps. NATO, super jubilee, rubber straps. I saw the Hodinkee article about the Seiko 5 SNKL dressed up on an croc strap. I made that happen. My collection was growing. I started looking into vintage Seiko. I bought a 1960s Seikomatic from Adam (Old Expat Beast) out of Hong Kong, then a King Seiko with amazing lugs (Ref 44-9990). What a beautiful design!!! I was in, and in deep.

All the while I had sort of been keeping my habit to myself. It seemed a bit gauche to post watches on social media or talk watches with folks who weren’t really into it. But then something changed. I decided to say "F it." I was embarking on a practice of becoming more vulnerable. This is me. I’m not a pretentious person, I’m just a collector and this is just a hobby. I truly love the watches for their design and reliability and the value and the functionality. They are just great.

There are few companies in the world these days that offer such a compelling combination of design, reliability, and value. I just wholeheartedly respect Seiko’s DNA. It’s the right way to be… be really good at what you do and provide whatever that is at a very fair price. How many companies today do that? With unique, non-commodity design. It’s pretty astounding actually. There are plenty of great watch makers, but most sell their product at a very high margin. That’s fine, but it’s a different thing. That becomes about status, luxury, high-end. Not really my style.

Anyway, I started talking about watches and posting watches and guess what, I found out that other people, other young men, are into watches as well. So I found those people and I started the conversation. I invited some of these newfound watch buddies to my place and we’d talk watches and check out the collection. One night, over maybe 1 too many drinks, I demanded that my friend Arthur take my PADI turtle for a test drive.

The pitch went like this: Put it on and take it with you! Wear it for a week. I love it so much and I know it is so durable that I have no doubt that you’ll take good care of it and it will come back in one piece. The thing is virtually indestructible. It’s really built like a tank. So, eventually, he relented and took the watch. The next day, upon my request, he sent me a wristshot with the text “Daly Watch Club”. He had just named it.

So I gathered a few guys and I started organizing events at my place. We’d get some beer or wine and talk watches and I’d ask them if they’d like to take anything for a test drive. I told them that they could borrow a watch for $25 bucks a month. Virtually anything from my Seiko collection. A couple guys actually took me up on that. I started taking watches around with me in a watch roll. I’d bring it to parties and out for drinks with people. Amazingly, people like to talk watches with an enthusiastic collector. They like to try them on, learn about them, and take them and wear them for a while. I decided that we’d start hosting monthly gathering at my house, and it would be about more than watches.

My buddy Arthur is deep into craft beer. So at one of our gatherings he brought over 10 cans of craft been from Other Half, Icarus, etc. And he walked the rest of the crew through each of the beers. We tried them together. We learned about nuance of styles. We learned about hops. We figured out what we like. We discovered that that a little guidance we have the tools to determine taste for ourselves. And that’s really what it’s about. Taste. Determining your taste. Not what is popular or in vogue or whatever. Just experiencing the world and making a value assessment. Comparing and contrasting.

Around the holidays we did a champagne tasting. That was fun! We tried Vevue, and Moet, and Perrier Jouet… the big guns. Back to back to back. That’s really the best way to hone your taste in my experience. We took notes. We paired with food. We assessed quality and value. This past week, we did a tour of the Piedmont, trying a Dolcetto, Langhe Nebbiolo, Barbaresco, and Barolo from the producer Barale Fratelli. I put out a spread of apps and salted meats and cheeses, lamb chops, and grilled dry aged bone-in pork chops (wow!). A couple guys took a watch and venmo’d $25 bucks. We’ll get together in a few weeks to talk watches again and explore taste. That’s the Daly Watch Club.

It’s been a fun journey. The collection has continued to grow. There are lots of rabbit holes to go down with Seiko, particularly vintage Seiko. Great value at pretty much any price point. 5s, Prospex, Presage, Grand Seiko, King Seiko, cool quartz watches. They all punch way above their weight class. I like that ethos. That’s what I’m trying to do every day as well.

Thanks for taking the time to read this little tale. The watch club will certainly morph and change over time. It’s been fun so far. It’s nice to have an anchor to get like-minded people together to explore taste together. I’d encourage you all to be open about the hobby and let people in. It’s been a really rewarding experience for me. Letting my buddies borrow watches and exchanging some cash just makes it fun. It’s really for the connection and time well spent.


-Dan

[Romeojk]

Great story, thanks for sharing!


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[Frogman]

Great thread mate, love your passion.
Being a massive seiko fan i really enjoyed your take.

[AF_Rob]

Great story, Dan!

It’s wonderful that you now have the opportunity to hang out with a good group of friends and share multiple passions together at the same time. It’s an opportunity to dabble into things and get your legs under you, without having to invest so much upfront. It also seems that each person in the group is an expert in their own right and is able to guide the rest of the group to figure out what each person enjoys the most. Perfect!

I think many of us are here because we put a little extra thought into things and we don’t like the ordinary. I think that’s what draws us to this hobby. Also, there is a common theme among other interest in one’s life. I love quality watches, quality beer, quality coffee, quality food, military/political history, and travel. My happy place is where I can enjoy all of those things at the same time. It drives the philosophy in my collection and how I spend my free time/money.






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[ddaly12]

Originally Posted by AF_Rob

Great story, Dan!

It’s wonderful that you now have the opportunity to hang out with a good group of friends and share multiple passions together at the same time. It’s an opportunity to dabble into things and get your legs under you, without having to invest so much upfront. It also seems that each person in the group is an expert in their own right and is able to guide the rest of the group to figure out what each person enjoys the most. Perfect!

I think many of us are here because we put a little extra thought into things and we don’t like the ordinary. I think that’s what draws us to this hobby. Also, there is a common theme among other interest in one’s life. I love quality watches, quality beer, quality coffee, quality food, military/political history, and travel. My happy place is where I can enjoy all of those things at the same time. It drives the philosophy in my collection and how I spend my free time/money.






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Well said. Thank you!!


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