“Watches, Stories, and Gear” is a roundup of our favorite content, watch or otherwise, from around the internet. Here, we support other creators, explore interesting content that inspires us, and put a spotlight on causes we believe in. Oh, and any gear we happen to be digging on this week. We love gear.
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We saw one of the most fascinating watch stories of the year come to light this week via The New Yorker, with a long piece diving into the strange history of John Lennon’s Patek Philippe 2499. For decades, the whereabouts of this watch had been unknown to the general public – it was considered one of the great “lost” watches. The story, written by Jay Fielden, covers the known history of Lennon’s 2499, including it being given as a gift to Lennon by Yoko Ono for his 40th birthday, the theft of the watch in 2005, and legal wrangling in Swiss courts to determine the rightful owner. It also, for the first time, gives us a glimpse of the caseback engraving, a message to Lennon from his wife, photographed for an Auctionata auction that was set to take place in 2013, but never went to market.
Film photography has had a bit of a resurgence in recent years, and Pentax has just gotten into the game with a compelling new film camera, their first in two decades. The Pentax 17, which retails for $499, is a half-frame camera with a retro design, and aimed squarely at first time film shooters. The half-frame format means that it uses standard 35mm film, but each image is only half a frame. That means you get more shots per role, and it also means that images are shot in an aspect ratio similar to what you’d experience with a smartphone camera. It’s a point and shoot camera with few manual controls, but the idea here seems to be to get people hooked on a new experience by making it feel somewhat familiar. TechRadar has a full review of the camera, including a selection of images shot with it as well as thoughts on its build quality and construction.
The 4th of July is nearly here, so it’s time to get ready for days at the beach, or on a boat, or just hanging out by the pool with as many cold beverages as possible. For those long days, you need a big cooler, and Yeti has you covered with the 45 Hard Cooler, which holds 54 cans or 37 pounds of ice. Just in time for America’s birthday, the cooler is available in a limited edition red, white, and blue colorway. At $300, this cooler isn’t inexpensive, but it’s built to last and might be the last one you’ll ever buy. Check it out here.
During the pandemic, amateur brewer Dylan McDonnell had an idea. He saw people baking sourdough bread with ancient strains of yeast, and it occurred to him that he could brew beer in a similar way, approximating what might have been consumed thousands of years ago. Brewing ancient beers is not an entirely new idea, but McDonnell’s focus on his Egyptian brew, with ingredients like sycamore figs and juniper berries, was unique, and inspired by a close review of the Ebers Papyrus, an Egyptian text filled with medical recipes that dates to 1500 B.C. The finished product is low alcohol and low carbonation, and presumably similar to what many Egyptians might have drunk on a regular basis. It’s a fascinating story for beer lovers and history nerds alike. Check it out at the New York Times right here.
Bugatti debuted their latest insane sports car this week, a follow up to the legendary Veyron and Chiron that redefined what a “Hypercar” could be. The new vehicle, the Tourbillon, is a hybrid with a V-16 combustion engine making 1,000 hp, with three electronic motors adding an additional 800 hp. So, it’s fast. But what we find really interesting about it, beyond the watchmaking inspired name, is the fusion of crazy high end technology with old world craftsmanship. Take a look at the interior: not a screen to be found. Instead, the center cluster consists of more than 600 individual components, made from sapphire, rubies, titanium, and other exotic materials. You can read much more on the Bugatti Tourbillon at Wired here.
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