Reginald Ferguson [00:00:00]: You know, the people who might say, oh, but I love this this type these types of jeans or I love this type or whatever. And I'm like, yeah. But it's made by children in a sweatshop, and it's full of plastic, and it's never gonna deteriorate. Does that really make up for how much you Tiff [00:00:18]: Hello. I'm Red. And I'm Tiff. And we're the fashion geeks. Trying to make New York and the world New York is the world. A little flyer, one outfit And podcast. At a time. -When I was ending my senior year in high school, my grandparents gave me a watch for graduation. Tiff [00:00:41]: I couldn't have been more surprised. It was a dress watch. It was a gold plated tank watch with a leather band. And black roman numerals at the hour markings mirrored by mustard colored Arabic numerals at the minute markings. The hand started with gold plate at the center of the dial but then ended with a black painted coating as they pointed at the markings. The minute hand with a slight taper and the hour hand with a plume like a quill. It was beautiful. I still have it and I still wear it. Pedro Mendez [00:01:15]: It's a Seiko. It's a quartz. Yo. This is Reg Ferguson, fashion geek number 1. How are you guys doing? Today, we're going to talk with Pedro Mendez who's in Toronto, the 6. We're going to talk about an accessory that the everyday man probably has on his wrist right now. We're gonna talk about quartz watches. Pedro Mendez in the building. Pedro Mendez [00:01:44]: How are you, man? Reginald Ferguson [00:01:45]: I'm good. I'm good. Thanks for having me on. Pedro Mendez [00:01:47]: Oh, no. No. Really. My pleasure. Reginald Ferguson [00:01:49]: My pleasure. I gotta say, I think I I might be old enough that I don't call it the 6. I I still remember when when Toronto hip hop tried to call it the t dot. What? Pedro Mendez [00:02:01]: The t dot? Reginald Ferguson [00:02:02]: Yeah. Yeah. That's, like, 20 years ago or something. Yeah. They tried Pedro Mendez [00:02:04]: to my gosh. Is that when snow was rocking? It didn't stick. Oh my god. T dot. Oh, my goodness. No. Yeah. So I know every time I say the 6, I hear you visually just go blank every time I say that to you. Pedro Mendez [00:02:23]: But you're like, oh, yes, that's what it yeah. I'm sorry. No. Reginald Ferguson [00:02:27]: Yeah. No. We don't really, I I find, my group, my crowd, we sort of we do we do not refer to it as the 6. But anyway Pedro Mendez [00:02:35]: Okay. So clearly, there's a generational gap here. But Reginald Ferguson [00:02:38]: we'll keep Pedro Mendez [00:02:38]: it we'll we'll keep it moving. So I always like to ask, you know, how's everything out there? Are you keeping safe? Reginald Ferguson [00:02:48]: Yeah. I'd say I feel like we're moving into a it's weird. Like, at on one on one side, we're moving into potentially the hardest part of this pandemic. Pedro Mendez [00:02:58]: Sure. Reginald Ferguson [00:02:58]: The darkest time. But I really feel like I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I I do have a sense of hope for what what the new year is gonna bring. It's just gonna be very hard to get there. I was saying to somebody the other day, it feels in a sense that, you know, the last the last months of World War 2, not to compare in terms of the level of tragedy, but you knew the end was coming, but there was still so much pain, that was going to be experienced before you got there. Right. And then when it ended, it didn't end. It wasn't like everything's back to normal. Reginald Ferguson [00:03:32]: You know? Then it it was the it was a, you know, long time of rebuilding and building something new. So I feel like that's what what we're heading into. Pedro Mendez [00:03:41]: Yeah. I mean, I feel I feel in a similar fashion. I think just the New York City cynic in me, I'm like, I'll believe everything when I see it. So we know vaccines are coming down the pipeline, but everything to me is in the aspect of a new normal. Reginald Ferguson [00:04:00]: Right. Pedro Mendez [00:04:00]: We're not going backwards. And I just remain, very vigilant because I truly believe our breakthrough isn't until 2nd or Q3 next year. Reginald Ferguson [00:04:14]: Yeah. Yeah. I think you're right. I think you're right. Pedro Mendez [00:04:17]: So so before we go into our topic, please tell us, mister Mendez, so what do you do? Reginald Ferguson [00:04:40]: I am, primarily, I guess, I consider myself a radio producer, a podcast producer. I spent about 13 years at CBC Radio, which is the national broadcaster in Canada, doing radio documentaries and hosting and producing and writing shows, as well as doing podcasts. I now work at Pacific Content, which is a podcast company that works with brands. The latest show that I worked on was Teamistry, which I'm very proud of. And then on my own sort of my own sort of side hustle is writing about menswear, men's style, and the history of men's clothing. So I wrote a book a few years ago about Toronto's oldest tailor, Walter Beauchamp, and I have a new book coming out in March, which is, you know, kind of a personal practical guide to identifying quality when you're buying clothes. Because I sort of find that I, you know, I wanted to get beyond. There's no brand names in the book, and there's no, you know, like, you need to have one of these, and one of these, and one of these. Reginald Ferguson [00:05:49]: It's more like, so if you're going to go and buy yourself a sweater, what are you looking for? And how do you read a label? And Pedro Mendez [00:05:57]: how do Reginald Ferguson [00:05:57]: you start building that knowledge to actually start buying stuff that's going to last, that's well made, that's made in an ethical way, etcetera, etcetera. Pedro Mendez [00:06:08]: Sure. So it's a primer. Reginald Ferguson [00:06:10]: Mhmm. It's not it's not meant it's not meant for folks like like you. You know, you know your stuff. No. Seriously. Like, you you know your stuff. This is this is really for somebody who's who's who's interested but is not going to obsess and is not gonna do you know, hasn't spent all that other that extra time, reading. They're just like, it's sort of like with food. Reginald Ferguson [00:06:30]: They're like, you know what? I don't I don't wanna have crappy throwaway stuff anymore. I wanna get good stuff, but how do I even do that? Where do I how do I even begin? Because sadly, you know, it's not like you walk down you walk down the street, and it's like there's the store selling crappy clothes, and there's the store selling good clothes. It's it's not that clear anymore. And it's hard to it's hard to find it. Right? Even in, you know, shops that you may think you can trust, there's still there's still things you need to know as a as a consumer that, that's not gonna be obvious. Pedro Mendez [00:06:59]: Sure. Sure. Yeah. I agree. And you're right. I'm not the target. And Pedro, I just wanna keep it real. You just said side hustle, yet I say the 6 and you go blank. Pedro Mendez [00:07:13]: So Reginald Ferguson [00:07:15]: I know I'm not completely out of touch, and and I just what I mean is I guess because of my age and how long I've been here in Toronto, and how much, you know, again, to be honest, how much of of hip hop culture has made it into mainstream culture, that's my comfort level. And the 6 is relatively new, and it feels like it belongs to a different culture. It doesn't you know what I mean? I'm in the mainstream, and it doesn't feel comfortable for me to say that. It feels like I'm moving a little bit when I say that. So but my son, who who listens to nothing but hip hop and is a huge fan of Drake and a whole bunch of artists I've never heard of, but we listen to stuff together. He doesn't call it the 6 either, but I'm sure he would be more comfortable calling it the 6th than I do. Pedro Mendez [00:08:03]: Understood. Understood. You're a product of your time and environment. Reginald Ferguson [00:08:07]: Exactly. Exactly. Yep. Pedro Mendez [00:08:11]: So Pedro, we've talked about this offline. We have to get right to it. Yep. So why do you hate quartz watches so much? Reginald Ferguson [00:08:21]: Well and again, to qualify quantify this, not all quartz watches. But I I grew up in the eighties. Right? I was born in the early seventies, so I really started to pay attention to stuff in the in the eighties. And that's when, the watch market shifted from, you know, traditionally made mechanical watches to quartz watches. And it wasn't just that it switched to quartz, but that, you know, as far as I can tell, starting in the mid '80s, the market was flooded with very, very inexpensive quartz watches, even stuff like Swatch, which was intentionally disposable. You couldn't open them. You couldn't change the battery. The point was they were so cheap, and they were fun, and they were very fashionable, and I had one. Reginald Ferguson [00:09:10]: You got them and you threw them away. And when I was working on my book, I was speaking to to a guy who used to, who used to work at one of France's best, glove makers. And he told me that something similar happened with gloves and umbrellas, where, you know, people stopped using gloves, like really high quality gloves in the sixties seventies. And so the makers were like, you know what, we'll just make them really, really cheap and disposable so that we can bring our margins back up, bring our sales back up by instead of selling a few pairs that people look after and keep for a long time, we'll sell many, many, many pairs of cheap gloves. But what ends up happening is a whole generation of people grow up thinking that gloves are cheap, the gloves are disposable, that you don't need to take care of them, you don't need to really care about them, and it's one less thing in your life that you really value. And in my opinion, this is what happened to watches, is that previous generations would have 1, maybe 2 really good watches that they took care of, and it was with and they were with them all their lives. But when I grew up, god, it was just like piles of crappy quartz watches and the batteries would die and maybe you change them, you didn't, and they'd fall apart really quickly, and you'd move on to the next one. And it wasn't until, you know, what, 5, 10 years ago the whole rebirth of mechanical watches really hit the mainstream that I was like, woah, woah, woah, wait a second. Reginald Ferguson [00:10:38]: You mean, you know, these things aren't disposable? That there's something and so I blame I blame the flood of cheap quartz watches for that shift in thinking. However, I will say, you know, we'll get into this later, that's a shame because courts wasn't like that at the beginning. But, anyway, that that's that's my main, you know what I mean, sort of visual visceral emotional reaction to courts. Pedro Mendez [00:11:07]: So essentially, Pedro, you're blaming this on the eighties? Reginald Ferguson [00:11:10]: Oh, yeah. I blame I blame I blame a lot of things on the eighties. Yeah. I think the eighties I think the I mean, you were there too. The eighties the eighties did some amazing things, and they put some things in certain directions, but really but when you do that, there's a lot of failures. There's a lot of failures. Like like like the whole multiple pop, pop collar polo shirts? Come on. What are you doing? Just wear 1. Reginald Ferguson [00:11:40]: You need to wear 3? Doesn't make any sense. Pedro Mendez [00:11:43]: Yeah. I never did I never did 2 or 3. I liked it, though. I thought it was hot, but I just thought it would be hot. So that's why No. Exactly. Do 2 I didn't do 2 or 3. I was like, I'm gonna sweat. Reginald Ferguson [00:11:57]: Now you you you don't hate Hawk Quartz watches. Is that right? Is that where this is going? Pedro Mendez [00:12:01]: No. I don't at all. No. I don't. So let's I'm not gonna let you escape. Let's talk about Swatch. Yeah. You had a Swatch. Reginald Ferguson [00:12:11]: Yes. I Pedro Mendez [00:12:11]: did. And I wanna I wanna I wanna be clear. I saw and this is what led to me wanting to interview you. I saw your article in Beyond the Dial, right? Your blog piece. Mhmm. So I saw your Swatch or the approximation of your first Swatch. Reginald Ferguson [00:12:32]: Yes. Pedro Mendez [00:12:32]: I'm gonna talk about Swatch. First of all, did you ever get another one? No. Why not? Reginald Ferguson [00:12:41]: Because they became they felt too trendy. I think it was in that part of my life in my later teens where I was rebelling, and you know what I mean? And every everything seemed conformist, and I didn't wanna do what everybody else was. Like, when I was in around grade 10, so I was around 15 years old, I just wanted to look like everybody else. And I and I changed my wardrobe, and I got lots of preppy clothes in an attempt to fit in, in attempt to become popular. It didn't work. And then, you know, by grade 11 or so, I was like, screw it, and I and I kind of found the group of, like, you know, weirdos and artists or whatever that I hung out with. And, you know, my hair grew, and I started wearing weird clothes and vintage stuff. And so the swatch was like, no. Reginald Ferguson [00:13:25]: No. I'm not it. That's trendy. That's popular. You know what I mean? Like, that's, that's that's what all those popular kids are wearing, and I'm not interested. Pedro Mendez [00:13:35]: Got you. Well, as a popular kid, I had one. I had multiple swatches. I love them. You're not wrong that they were marketed as being disposable, but I don't like your use of that word because I think it I think it yeah. I think it lays down another plank for you about hating quartz watches. Reginald Ferguson [00:14:01]: Well, you have to you have to say there's too much plastic in the world. There's way too much plastic in the world, and this is why I also don't like Apple Watches. Pedro Mendez [00:14:10]: I don't like Apple Watches either, but I also don't have one. And and it's not, you know, it's not that I don't like them. I'm indifferent. I I don't I don't have an interest in having one. Reginald Ferguson [00:14:21]: Yeah. But, I mean, for me, it goes further, which is yet another piece of technology which is obsolete very, very quickly, toxic. And yet another thing that we need to chase and to enrich certain corporations at the cost of, again, more plastic, more toxic materials. I mean, on one hand, I understand that Apple Watches are getting some people more into watches. You know what I mean? Into the concept of wearing a watch? Pedro Mendez [00:14:48]: I guess. Reginald Ferguson [00:14:49]: The price the price that we're paying for that, that's what worries me. And and again, going back to the swatches, just think of the 1,000,000 and 1,000,000 and 1,000,000 of pieces of plastic that went into landfill for fun. Like, that's that's, you know, that I don't and not to mention the toxic stuff that was inside. That that's where I mean, I from a cultural point of view, they were amazing. And the arts Absolutely. And the artists and the communities and what they represented. So but and so it's a, you know, it's a bit of both. It's a shame that that was the vehicle, but at the same time, what they what they kind of you know what I mean? What they accomplished on the outside was remarkable in terms of the of the cultural stuff. Reginald Ferguson [00:15:32]: It's just a real shame that they who are the things that they were? Pedro Mendez [00:15:37]: Well, I'm not gonna hate on Swatch. I remember when Swatch came out, no different than yourself, and my mind was blown. I never saw anything like that. Yes, it was a popular item, particularly in New York City, I can't speak for Toronto. And I used to have after school jobs, and I saved up my money, and I got the one that's called now the jellyfish. Do you know what I'm talking about? Reginald Ferguson [00:16:08]: Yeah. Oh, yeah. Pedro Mendez [00:16:09]: Oh, okay. Cool. So for the listeners who are not familiar with the jellyfish is, the swatch I'm talking about was clear. It was a clear plastic band, a clear face, and all the exposed works you could see. That blew my mind. I thought that way. Oh, absolutely. I thought that was the cool. Pedro Mendez [00:16:35]: I thought that was the coolest thing. And I don't care where you live. If you're growing up into adolescence, the whole thing is, and I still use this expression in my head growing up in New York, no one else has this. I have to get it. No one else has this. Reginald Ferguson [00:16:52]: Right. Pedro Mendez [00:16:53]: Because like you said, listen, you're adolescent. You're finding yourself, right? Reginald Ferguson [00:16:58]: So Pedro Mendez [00:16:58]: you said, I'm anti popular. I'm with the freaks and geeks. I'm wearing vintage clothes. That's my Steve's. And I, on the other hand, prep school kid, 1st generation of hip hop like yourself. And I saw that I think I saw that at Macy's in Parkchester, over with my grandparents. And what inspired it is there was this girl, Mary Ann Dennis. She was a new wave kid, and she had a swatch, totally different than the one I acquired. Pedro Mendez [00:17:31]: Right. And I was like, what is that? And my mind was blown. So I still love swatches to this day. And you're right. I lost a few swatches in my life. Yeah. Literally. Yeah. Pedro Mendez [00:17:49]: I'll give you a great example. I was growing up. I was dancing at a club, getting my groove on, and I'm forgetting the detail, but we used to call it the teeth. It was there in the hole, and mine had become like a nub. I mean, there already is a nub, and it had broken off. I was a really aggressive dancer. I was a battle dancer. Someone listening probably knows that they remember me back in the day. Pedro Mendez [00:18:19]: And I was at some club. I was getting my groove on with this girl, and my watch flew off. And I remember going, hey, what? Hey, what's your swatch? Hey, we'll see. No one said anything. No one could hear me because, of course, it was at a club, and I lost my swatch. So they did have a level of disposability. Right. But you hear how I say it. Pedro Mendez [00:18:45]: When you say it, it's negative. When I say it, it's neutral. It happened. Yeah. And I I did not rock, as we both agreed, I did not rock the the 2 or 3 polo shirts, but I darn sure rock 2 swatches, dawg. What? You're the only wrist. Reginald Ferguson [00:19:03]: On the same wrist. On the same wrist. Pedro Mendez [00:19:05]: Yes. Absolutely. Reginald Ferguson [00:19:07]: Set set to different times or set to the same time? Pedro Mendez [00:19:10]: Set to the same time, dude. Reginald Ferguson [00:19:11]: You wouldn't do West Coast, East Coast? That would've been cool. Pedro Mendez [00:19:14]: I'm from New York. No. Definitely not doing West Coast, East coast. No, no, no, no. Not if I valued my arm because I would have cut it off. So and I had 1 on the underside of my wrist facing. Oh. And 1 oh, yeah. Reginald Ferguson [00:19:33]: We're not able Pedro Mendez [00:19:34]: to go there. No. We're not able to go there. Reginald Ferguson [00:19:36]: Yeah. I went there. Pedro Mendez [00:19:37]: I'm going there. I'm already there. Oh. They're solid. I was I was hot to death. Reginald Ferguson [00:19:44]: No. And and, again, I obviously or or not obviously. I think the cultural impact and what these things mean to people. Like, there's tons of stuff in my life that is really meaningful to me that isn't necessarily, you know, it isn't necessarily high art. It isn't you know what I mean? It isn't necessarily high quality, but it's meaningful to me because it was part of my life. But I think right now, because again, the world is drowning in plastic, the world is drowning in clothes, I have to put those things aside. I have to put the nostalgia aside and be like, no, something matters more than that. And and, again, it's like clothing. Reginald Ferguson [00:20:26]: Like, you know, the people who might say, oh, but I love this this type these types of jeans or I love this type or whatever. And I'm like, yeah. But it's made by children in a sweatshop, and it's full of plastic, and it's never gonna deteriorate. Does that really make up for how much you love that thing? You know what I mean? Pedro Mendez [00:20:45]: No one no one is paying that attention. No one is No one is doing that type of research. And I'm not saying that to refute your point. I agree with your point. But you have to know that when you're conveying that information. Yeah. It's to the ignorant. Yeah. Pedro Mendez [00:21:05]: And and it's also to the indifferent. I actually, I think that's a stronger grouping. It's to people who just don't care. Reginald Ferguson [00:21:13]: Yeah. Exactly. Exactly. And so, you know, I'm trying to get trying to get people to care, and and so that's why, you know, I find courts to be tricky because but the the thing is, I'm not, you know, I'm not completely, radical about it because there is some courts. There is some courts that I there is some courts that I value and that and that I, you know, that I understand. But it's always a caveat because, you know, I kind of feel that, like, mechanical watches are always superior to quartz for a number of reasons, but that doesn't mean that there's no value in the world of courts. Pedro Mendez [00:21:52]: Well, that's really ironic for you to make that statement, Pedro, because the whole creation of Quartz was to be a better technology than mechanical, and one could argue that it is. Reginald Ferguson [00:22:06]: It's it's well, absolutely. When it comes to precision Yeah. Oh, yeah. Absolutely. Pedro Mendez [00:22:10]: Yeah. Okay then. So Reginald Ferguson [00:22:12]: No question. Pedro Mendez [00:22:13]: Yeah. Okay. Your your ground is shifting, Pedro. That's all Reginald Ferguson [00:22:17]: I'm saying. No. No. No. I think I think that they're all they're all interconnected. Like, for instance, you know, a jacket from Patagonia or Columbia or whatever those companies that's like super, super high-tech, you know, modern fabric, it will do it will do a better job of protecting you against the elements than wool. However, consider the fact that it cannot be mended, that it will not last as long, that the production of it involves all sorts of chemicals and, again, all sorts of plastic. And that when you're done using it, because it's got a tear or whatever, it's just gonna sit in a landfill for 100 of years. Reginald Ferguson [00:23:03]: Does that offset the fact that it's, technically speaking, that it performs better than a natural product? Pedro Mendez [00:23:11]: You see Reginald Ferguson [00:23:11]: what I mean? Pedro Mendez [00:23:12]: I do understand what you're saying. And if we're specifically talking about Patagonia, it doesn't have to go to a landfill Reginald Ferguson [00:23:19]: No. No. No. Yeah. Absolutely. We we actually just did an episode about about Patagonia for team history, and and I have to say, like, they're the best in class. Like, they use Yeah. Yeah. Reginald Ferguson [00:23:30]: Yeah. Yep. They use recycled stuff. They say Exactly. Stuff. No. No. No. Reginald Ferguson [00:23:34]: No. No. I I guess I just mean in general, the whole the approach to, like, modern, you know, modern high-tech materials versus traditional materials. Sure. I wonder about the trade off in the cost. And and, again, the similar thing with quartz, you know, a piece of technology that is running on a battery that has, you know, coils and all this sort of stuff in it that is very, very hard to maintain. And, I've discovered, sadly, very hard to, service and regulate when they get older versus vintage watches, which are or sorry, mechanical, which are much easier Pedro Mendez [00:24:13]: to take care of. Parts. Where? Because it's parts. Reginald Ferguson [00:24:15]: And it's on the part. It's a machine. It's like sitting there. It's not an integrated circuit and, in a computer. So, yes, so quartz is absolutely more precise than mechanical, and that's why they were created. Pedro Mendez [00:24:28]: I know. I'm glad that you know because, yeah, because I understand the romanticism. Listen, I have both, and I think that's my point. There's room for both. I have mechanical watches, but I'm not part of a renaissance. It's just I like old watches, but I'm a sucker for a swatch. I'll keep it real. I could wear a swatch every day, particularly if it worked with my outfits. Pedro Mendez [00:25:00]: I love the colors, the graphics. You did a little riff on high low art. I'm here to tell you, Mr. Mendez, if you had an original Keith Haring swatch Reginald Ferguson [00:25:11]: Oh, yeah. Pedro Mendez [00:25:12]: You'd pay for your kid's college. And for our audience, also going to have to keep it real with you, Pedro. A few months ago, I, I did a post on Instagram, which is where we met back in the day, not too long ago, to be honest. And I was rocking a black swatch irony, chrono Mhmm. With a loom. And, I recall you putting the initials FTW. Reginald Ferguson [00:25:46]: Again, I'm not I'm not evangelical about this stuff. Like, I think I want people to I want people to think about it, and I want people to consider all the different the different and then not just sort of be like, I'm just gonna do this, and I and I don't really care about the the consequences. I don't really care where this thing is coming from. You know, like, if you fill your life with swatches, like, if you buy 100 and 100 and 100 of them Pedro Mendez [00:26:12]: No. I won't. Reginald Ferguson [00:26:13]: Whatever. Like, I mean, that's that's sort of your choice. But but just to have people be more mindful of it and mindful of what they're doing and understanding why they're doing it. You know, I I guess I really I don't want to I I kind of try to fight against my own sort of snobbery when it comes to watches because it is so easy to be a mechanical watch snob. Did you say Pedro Mendez [00:26:37]: you're fighting against it, Pedra? Really? Reginald Ferguson [00:26:39]: Well, I have I am currently wearing a quartz watch. Pedro Mendez [00:26:43]: Oh, shut the front door. Reginald Ferguson [00:26:45]: You know, I'm currently wearing 1, and it's one of the best watches in my collection. And I'm and I've, you know, come across some recent, Grand Seikos that are quartz that are really changing my mind. You know, that was my that was sort of the point of that article is that it can be made extremely well, and it can be made with artistry and craft and so on and so forth. I just, you know, I just prefer I prefer the mechanical, but it doesn't mean that I that there's no room for quartz in my life. Is what I'm saying. Pedro Mendez [00:27:19]: The Fashion Geeks are hosted and powered by Blueberry. That's Blueberry, b l u b r r y. Thinking of launching a podcast? Want your episodes to be deployed smoothly? Go to blueberry.com, type in the word fashion, and get a deal on us. Just put in the word fashion. Blueberry always host fly. Reginald Ferguson [00:27:38]: I'm sick. Pedro Mendez [00:27:39]: Sure. And we're we're 2 ships passing because on my wrist adorned is a Seiko mechanical. Mhmm. Right? Look at that. Reginald Ferguson [00:27:51]: Which which one is it, by the way? I don't know. It's just fly. It's a watch. Pedro Mendez [00:27:58]: No. No. It's not. It's just a watch. I wanna be clear. It is probably a seventies era. It's a square face. After we do this pod, I'll decipher the numbers for you, and I know you'll go into your database. Reginald Ferguson [00:28:15]: Yes. Pedro Mendez [00:28:16]: So no. Is that right. Is that just a watch? Here. Here. Conscious it was a conscious choice. Reginald Ferguson [00:28:22]: Are are you able to are you able to take it off your wrist right now? Is that possible? Pedro Mendez [00:28:26]: I I could. Alright. Oh, sheesh. You know, I'm just trying to do a trying to do a podcast trying to do a podcast here. And you're like, take a look. Take off your stuff. I'm like, hey, Jack. This is a service. Pedro Mendez [00:28:39]: What is this? You're trying to Reginald Ferguson [00:28:41]: do service. No. No. No. It's a service for the listener. We're gonna teach them something if they have a Seiko watch. Pedro Mendez [00:28:45]: Alright. So The Seiko watch is off. Reginald Ferguson [00:28:48]: Now now flip it over, Pedro Mendez [00:28:50]: and on Reginald Ferguson [00:28:51]: on the back, there should be a 6 digit number. Pedro Mendez [00:28:54]: Six digit number. Do you Reginald Ferguson [00:28:56]: see that? Pedro Mendez [00:28:58]: Let's see. I see yeah. Yeah. I do. I could no. I see 7 digits. Reginald Ferguson [00:29:04]: Could be. It could be longer. What's the first digit? 7. The first number? 7? Pedro Mendez [00:29:11]: 7. Reginald Ferguson [00:29:11]: And what's the second number? Pedro Mendez [00:29:13]: 0. Reginald Ferguson [00:29:14]: 0. October. So that's October of 1977. It could be October of 1987. That's when you need to know more about the model. But considering actually, no. No. No. Reginald Ferguson [00:29:26]: It's mechanical. It's 77. Pedro Mendez [00:29:28]: Yeah. So it's the seventies. I I know the decade at least, Pedro. Reginald Ferguson [00:29:32]: Well, and 70s watch. Seiko wasn't making mechanical watches in 87, so that's how you can that's how you can you can date it. Pedro Mendez [00:29:40]: Ta ta da. Reginald Ferguson [00:29:41]: Yeah. That's pretty cool. Pedro Mendez [00:29:42]: Also, I just it is very cool. That's why I bought it. Reginald Ferguson [00:29:48]: So, yeah, so Now should I tell should I tell you about my quartz watch? I mean, Pedro Mendez [00:29:56]: yes. You you can. Well, what do you have on? Do do you need to flip it over? No. Of course not, because it's embossed in your brain because we really need to talk to the listener about another irony. The only reason why you're doing this is that you love Saco. Reginald Ferguson [00:30:10]: So, yes, I am kind of crazy about Saco. Saco. Pedro Mendez [00:30:13]: And Oh, oh, you're cuckoo for Saco. Reginald Ferguson [00:30:15]: The show that show that I was telling you about, the the t mystery podcast, Pedro Mendez [00:30:20]: I was able to to. Reginald Ferguson [00:30:21]: Thank you. I was able to do an episode about Seiko's history. Pedro Mendez [00:30:25]: Yes. That was very interesting. Reginald Ferguson [00:30:27]: Yeah. The whole the and the whole point of that was to talk about their development in mechanical watches in the sixties. What I didn't know going in is that the the the linchpin in that story was going to be quartz Because, you know, Seiko struggled to to catch up and to beat the Swiss Right. At making watches. And then as quartz technology was developing, they realized, wait a second. This is so much more precise than mechanical. This can be Right. That puts us over the top. Reginald Ferguson [00:30:53]: So that for me was the first clue that was like, wait a second. So they didn't envision quartz as being cheap. That was not the point. The point is that the point is that it was precise. And in fact, you know, the very first quartz watches were way more expensive than mechanical. Way more. Right. And and through the throughout the entire 19 seventies, they were much more expensive until they figured out basically, until they figured out a way to mass produce them Sure. Reginald Ferguson [00:31:23]: In in the early eighties. But Right. Pedro Mendez [00:31:25]: And that lowers the price and so on and so forth. Reginald Ferguson [00:31:28]: Yeah. Exactly. And lowers the the quality and the and the care that they would put into them. Like in the seventies, the Seiko engineers, and designers were still putting as much energy into their quartz watches as they did into their mechanical in terms of, like, finishing and design and and all these sorts of things. So the watch that I found, from 19 actually, you know what? I think it's 1978, but let me just make absolutely sure that it is. Yes. Pedro Mendez [00:31:54]: You have a 1978 Seiko Grand Quartz. I know that, and I'm not looking at your wrist. I didn't I didn't ask you to flip it over. Reginald Ferguson [00:32:02]: Thank you. Pedro Mendez [00:32:02]: It's called Research. Reginald Ferguson [00:32:04]: And it's from October, actually. So look at that. Yes. Pedro Mendez [00:32:06]: Yeah. Look at look at that. Reginald Ferguson [00:32:08]: It's just a year younger than yours. Pedro Mendez [00:32:09]: Oh my gosh. We're like cousins. Reginald Ferguson [00:32:12]: And it's and it's gold, and it's it's got a twin quartz mechanism. So it's actually supposed to be it's supposed to be precise to 10 seconds a year. Most most quartz watches are 15 seconds a month. The problem is, and this gets to the root of the technology, it isn't precise anymore. And in order to get this thing back to the way it was when it came out of the factory, I don't know if anyone could do it. Because Really? Yeah. I've I've started looking into this recently. I I found a a Seiko quartz specialist in Germany who does service watches. Reginald Ferguson [00:32:51]: But the problem is the way the twin quartz thing works really quickly is, so there's 2 quartz crystals inside. And quartz crystals oscillate, you know, they kind of shake back and forth. Depending depending on the way they're cut, they react to temperature differently. Right. And so what the Saco guys did is they figured out that if they cut these two crystals slightly differently, they would react to temperatures differently. And then the circuit board inside essentially is able to kind of find where these two oscillations meet, set that as sort of the the mean, and then from there it's able to calculate, like, okay, so if this crystal is vibrating this way and that one's vibrating that way, it must be 5 degrees. If it's 5 degrees, then we set the time to this. And that's how it's able to keep such good time. Reginald Ferguson [00:33:39]: Well, for whatever reason, I mean, the watch is over 40 years old. Mine doesn't do that anymore. Perhaps you know what I mean? Perhaps the the the circuit has kinda gone wonky or perhaps one of the oscillations has changed. I don't know what it is. But it would be very, very difficult to get in there and reset this thing to the precision that it used to have. And that's a shame because, like, meanwhile, I have a 1971 Kingseiko mechanical, which is currently being serviced. And as soon as that thing is serviced, it's gonna return to what it was originally, which is about 3, 4, 5 seconds a day precision. Like, that's what it was in 1971. Reginald Ferguson [00:34:18]: That's what it can be again. Wow. Because because you know what I mean? Because as you said, it's just pieces of metal. Yeah. You fix them and you get them going. Once you get into stuff like this, once you get into circuit boards, integrated circuits, and crystals, you can't really do that. And and that's, unfortunately, that's kind of the Achilles' heel of of quartz precision going forward into the future, I think. Pedro Mendez [00:34:42]: I did not know that. I actually thought that if you, you know, if you're a craftsman in the watch world, that it wouldn't matter. So that was very enlightening for me. Reginald Ferguson [00:34:55]: I just I just Oh, okay. Honestly, I'm I'm in the midst of I'm in the midst of figuring out right now. Like, who knows, like, perhaps perhaps there are other ways and there's other things that can be done, but I think, basically, my watch is now essentially like a pretty normal quartz watch. You know? It loses a second or whatever every day or every other day, which is amazing compared to a mechanical watch, but it's funny. When my mechanical watches lose, you know, 10, 15 seconds a day, I'm like, oh, you you little slow old man. You just keep doing what you're doing. I love you. But when this thing loses a second every day, it's like, Pedro Mendez [00:35:28]: I Right. You lose your Reginald Ferguson [00:35:29]: mind. So disappointed. Pedro Mendez [00:35:30]: Yeah. See, that's that's just oh, that's so hypocritical. Reginald Ferguson [00:35:34]: But no. But that's the promise. But that's the promise. That's the promise that it makes. As you said, the very first thing you said was about precision. The promise the courts the promise the courts made was precision. Yes. Mechanical mechanical watches, they try, but they can never be precise. Reginald Ferguson [00:35:51]: That's the whole point. They can never hit that perfection. And so when they don't and when they don't, you're like, well, yeah, of course not. Because I know what you are. I I can I can picture everything that's happening inside of you, and I can see why you can't be precise? But with this thing, you know, it's like an oscillating crystal in a in a in a in a computer. You should be precise. Yeah. And so when it's not, it it's a different standard. Reginald Ferguson [00:36:11]: It's it's held it's definitely held to a different standard. But I do think it's kinda funny that I'm like, you know, it's within a second, and I'm like, failure. Pedro Mendez [00:36:25]: So what I really find interesting, and I wanna deep dive just a little bit more. The only reason that you like Quartz is because you're getting a Saco Quartz, because you are a Saco fanboy, Pedro. You know it and I know it. I have a few Sacos, but I'm not a Seiko boy. I'm not a psycho boy. I'm just not like that. But I have a few, and again, I have mechanical Seikos and I have quartz Seikos. It's a brand that I was introduced to as a little kid by my late grandparents, but I'm not a fanatic in the least. Pedro Mendez [00:37:08]: But you really love Seiko's. And like I said, I listened to the team history thing that was so interesting, you know, just from a management standpoint, from a business standpoint about the competition between the 2 factories. And and hopefully before this pod's over, we're gonna talk about them versus the Swiss. But my my point is if you weren't rocking a sacral quartz, we wouldn't be having this conversation about quartz. Keep it real. Reginald Ferguson [00:37:40]: Probably. Probably. I mean, I Definitely. A number I mean, Rolex, Omega, Zenith, like, all the the the big Swiss brands all made quartz watches and pretty remarkable quartz watches. But it's true that I, you know, I have a very, very close emotional connection to Seiko. And so when I discovered when I discovered this story and the work that they put into their quartz watches in the seventies, yeah, that's absolutely why I was interested and why I was drawn to it. Pedro Mendez [00:38:11]: Do you see yourself buying another Seco Quartz? Reginald Ferguson [00:38:17]: No. Not not immediately. And I think it feels to me because it it it again, it comes down to the craftsmanship that's all the way through the thing. I've been very tempted recently by Grand Sacos, modern Grand Sacos that are that have a quartz movement. But I'll be honest with you. It's because they're less expensive. Like, I don't I don't, you know, I rather I want the smooth sweeping hand of the seconds as opposed to the tick, tick, tick of the seconds. And I think it's because that smooth sweeping hand, it speaks to I mean, yeah, it's it's it's romantic nostalgia for sure, but it also speaks to a machine that I can understand. Reginald Ferguson [00:39:02]: You know, a machine that's as opposed to everything else in our world, which is like, I have no idea how this thing works, and if it breaks, god help me. A mechanical watch, I get it. Whereas, you know, the tick of a of a of a quartz watch, the heart of it is not. It's not, for instance, a machine that depends on me for its existence. Like, a mechanical watch, if I don't wind it, if I don't wear it, it dies. Now, okay. Right. You put a battery in a quartz watch if you don't put a battery for sure, but it's the battery that drives it. Reginald Ferguson [00:39:34]: There's something really, really special about the fact that when you wear, especially an automatic mechanical watch, your movements power it and keep it alive. Like, that's you know what I mean? It's kind of like Yeah. Pedro Mendez [00:39:46]: Yeah. It's that's the one that's the one I have on or I had on because you made me take it off. No, I hear it, but you hit on something. It's about romanticism. But also, Pedro, I would go further. The conversation we're having right now is about humans versus machines. Reginald Ferguson [00:40:06]: Yes. Yes. And and and believe me believe me, I understand Pedro Mendez [00:40:11]: And we said that so robotically. I'm like Reginald Ferguson [00:40:14]: No. No. No. But the irony the irony of me glorifying mechanical versus versus electric when for previous generations, you know, the mechanical would have been the problem because it's you know what I mean? It's still it's a machine. It's still a machine. I'm I'm I'm able to sort of see the human element of it and the craftsmanship and so on and so forth, But previous generations would have been like, no. That's just a bunch of gears and gears and pieces of metal, and that's not human. So I get it. Reginald Ferguson [00:40:45]: I get that part. Pedro Mendez [00:40:47]: Sure. It's funny. This makes me think of my late grandfather who was a car enthusiast. And when technology was changing to your point in the eighties nineties, I could see that he was fraught with the understanding that there wasn't as much as he could do in terms of tinkering with his engine Reginald Ferguson [00:41:12]: Right. Right. Pedro Mendez [00:41:14]: Because it was becoming it was becoming circuits. Reginald Ferguson [00:41:19]: Well, I my very first car when I was a teenager was an old VW. Pedro Mendez [00:41:24]: Oh, wow. A bug? Reginald Ferguson [00:41:25]: Yeah. A bug. A 1969 bug. Wow. Neighbor. And when I took it in to to to get it repaired or whatever, I remember saying to the mechanic, I was like, yeah. It doesn't seem to be running very well. Maybe it needs a new fan belt. Reginald Ferguson [00:41:36]: And he's like, this doesn't have a fan belt. He's like, this is basically a lawnmower engine. He's like Wow. With with a couple of weeks of research, you could figure out completely how to take care of this car. You would not need it. Right? And and you're right. Today today, you have to be a computer engineer to look after a car. Pedro Mendez [00:41:56]: Yeah. Yeah. He felt his he felt his mastery slipping Yeah. Through his fingers, literally. And I was a kid, so I understood it, but I didn't have that emotional connection the way that he did. I wasn't dismissive. Sure. But to me it's like a friend of mine says, intellectually I understood it. Pedro Mendez [00:42:17]: I was like, okay, things are transitioning and this is just how it is. So Reginald Ferguson [00:42:22]: I'm gonna take it more to the shop. I feel like I'm swaying you to my side. Pedro Mendez [00:42:26]: Is that No, Pedro. No. No. See, the difference between you and I, Pedro, is that I understand that there's room for both. Reginald Ferguson [00:42:35]: Right. Pedro Mendez [00:42:35]: And I'm not disparaging one for the complement of the other because I don't need to. My experience with Quartz to me, very different. And I think that's the reason why you had such an antipathy because we're peers. We grew up in the same era for me as a contrast. Swatch to me again, yes, the beauty of it was you could replace it. You could swap maybe with your friend. Like I said, I would lose them every once in a while with violent physical activity. Reginald Ferguson [00:43:13]: Yeah. Pedro Mendez [00:43:14]: But I was drawn to them. I still am. I probably have 3 or 4 swatches. And keep it real, Pedro. You're never getting a swatch again. No. And shame on you. Reginald Ferguson [00:43:26]: Well, in the same in the same way that I'm I'm never buying I'm never buying a cheap pair of running shoes again. I don't feel bad about that. I don't feel bad about that at all. Well, well The world doesn't need the world doesn't need more cheap pairs of running shoes. Pedro Mendez [00:43:41]: No. I understand that, but Swatch then and now makes very nice pieces, and you know they have different levels. I mean, the irony collection, for example. Reginald Ferguson [00:43:55]: So Well, you know what? That gets into something, the other quartz watch that I bought recently was the Q Timex. Pedro Mendez [00:44:03]: Oh. Yeah. Yes. Let's talk about that, Pedro. Reginald Ferguson [00:44:08]: Yeah. So I bought that above I immediately, as soon as it came out, like, it was 3? Seconds seconds away from first seeing it, add to cart. Like, I was I was yeah. I was all over it. Pedro Mendez [00:44:19]: Okay. Reginald Ferguson [00:44:20]: And at first at first, I was head over heels because I don't know if we've talked about this show that I used to love as a kid. It was called Battle of the Planets. Pedro Mendez [00:44:31]: Oh, I remember battle Yeah. About About Yeah. Oh, g Force, I love. Yeah. Yeah. G Force. Yeah. Absolutely. Pedro Mendez [00:44:38]: Love Reginald Ferguson [00:44:38]: g Force. I have I have an enormous amount of toys from that show. I have all the episodes of DVD. I spoke to I did a doc I did a documentary. I have the tattoo of the g force symbol on my arm. What? Okay. That's that's for next time. Anyway Yeah. Reginald Ferguson [00:44:58]: Yeah. The the q the q Timex, it felt like that's the watch the g force would have worn. Right? Because it had it had their colors. It had the blue and the red. Pedro Mendez [00:45:08]: Yeah. Yeah. Good point. Reginald Ferguson [00:45:10]: And it was just Pedro Mendez [00:45:10]: so that. Reginald Ferguson [00:45:11]: It was so seventies, and I loved it at first. And then it started to to to wear on me. Like, first of all, the quartz movement is so cheap in that thing that the hand is just ticking around, like, randomly. Like, sometimes it well, it doesn't land on the markers. Like, you know what I mean? Like, minute 1, minute 2, minute it's all it's like slightly halfway in between. It's off over here. Of course not. Because you know what? That takes a lot of work, and that makes the movement a lot more expensive in order to hit those markers absolutely perfectly. Reginald Ferguson [00:45:48]: And it wobbles. Like, the seconds hand just kinda wobbles when it gets to it. Pedro Mendez [00:45:53]: What do you mean wobbles? Reginald Ferguson [00:45:55]: When it when it does its little clicking, like, ticking, when you look at it closely and I I mean, I know. Yes. You don't need to look at it closely, but I look at it closely. That speaks to a slight, you know, a level of imprecision. Anyway, so that that was bothering me. But then I have to admit, what really came through is that nostalgia, it doesn't run deep. Right? That nostalgia, like the nostalgia that I have for my childhood, I can go to the source materials. Right? Like, I can I can watch the actual show that I used to watch in the seventies, and it transports me back to the way I was when I was a kid? An object like the Q Timex is a simulation of that feeling. Reginald Ferguson [00:46:42]: So at first, it gives me the hit, and it's like, oh god. I remember that time. It was so great. But after a while, it's like, yeah. But this this isn't that thing. This is a copy of that thing. This is a, you know, a simulation of that thing. It's not actually giving me the feelings. Reginald Ferguson [00:46:57]: It's reminding me of those feelings, but it's not actually giving them to me. And I gotta say, this quartz watch that I have now, the gold one from from 78, it does give me the feelings because it's not a rep you know what I mean? It's not a copy. It's not Pedro Mendez [00:47:11]: reissue? You bought you bought you bought the reissue. Reginald Ferguson [00:47:14]: Exactly. This the real thing is the real thing. Right. Even though, obviously, it still plays into nostalgia because, you know, it's still from that era. But the q Timex, it it was so funny how those feelings that were so strong at first completely flipped in the opposite direction. And I was like, I don't wanna look at this thing anymore because it's just because it's just a simulation. Like, it's and then again, because the the the quartz movement was so poor quality, which, by the way, it's a Saco movement. It's a Saco movement inside those things. Reginald Ferguson [00:47:45]: Yeah. Just just, of course, a very, very inexpensive run of the mill one. That's why Timex can charge such a low price for it. It. So that's why it again, apologies to everybody out there who has one and loves one. This this was my journey. Pedro Mendez [00:48:00]: So, again, to be honest, we're going back to the theme of humans versus machines. It's a clear cut example. Well, it's a clear cut example of that because what you just said, this was a reproduction. Right. But it wasn't the actual experience that you wanted to relive. Reginald Ferguson [00:48:24]: That's right. Yeah. And and it's happened to me with other, like, mechanical watches that are homages, you know, that are that are copies of vintage watches and certain watches. I love them at first, and eventually it wears off because I'm like, this is it's a simulation. I'm not I'm not getting you know, it doesn't it doesn't last is what I'm saying. Pedro Mendez [00:48:47]: Right. I hope that doesn't, transfer to other aspects of your life, Pedro, because you sound very persnickety. Reginald Ferguson [00:48:56]: I have a Yeah. Pedro Mendez [00:48:57]: I I I like them for a little bit, and then I drop them. Reginald Ferguson [00:49:00]: That's a good word, persnickety. Pedro Mendez [00:49:02]: I try. Reginald Ferguson [00:49:03]: Yeah. That's good. I like that. Pedro Mendez [00:49:05]: What do you think of as we're on q Timex and as we're running out of time Sure. What do you think of what do you think of the Houdini Collabo? Reginald Ferguson [00:49:16]: Their qtimex? Pedro Mendez [00:49:18]: Yeah. Reginald Ferguson [00:49:19]: Well, again, fundamentally, I I wouldn't be interested in it for all those reasons. Okay. I do think I I'd have to see it in person, but having hour markers that are almost the same color as the dial, could make it extremely hard to read. But I find that a little bit odd. I do like the, like, the the steel bezel is a great choice. It's a great design choice. Like, I think it is a it's like a step up, in terms of the the Q Timex design, but it's still fun. You know what I mean? For me, it's still fundamentally the same watch, so I'm not interested. Pedro Mendez [00:49:55]: So I guess you would have the same sentiments with the Todd Snyder Q Timex Calabrio. Reginald Ferguson [00:50:01]: Yeah. You know me, I'm not I'm not a design person, like, I or designers. I'm not interested. Like, it just doesn't it doesn't you know, if I hear that's there's some new drop coming from a designer and it just I don't care. I don't care. Pedro Mendez [00:50:18]: Oh, I could tell. I could tell because the the condescending tone when you use the word drop. Yeah. That, that, yeah. Reginald Ferguson [00:50:26]: You heard that. Pedro Mendez [00:50:27]: Okay. You heard that? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Right through my ears. Yeah. It will probably stay with me for the rest of the day. Pedro Mendez [00:50:33]: Yeah. That was, how far down your nose could you look? Sheesh. Just man. I feel in a way this potentially could be a 2 parter. Mhmm. Reginald Ferguson [00:50:48]: Well, we gotta talk about my tattoo. Right? Pedro Mendez [00:50:53]: I definitely was not planning that, but I think they got doctors for that, Pedro. Mhmm. But But I really want to thank you for coming on. I'm glad that we could clear the air. Reginald Ferguson [00:51:08]: Yes. Pedro Mendez [00:51:09]: I think you should get a Swatch. I'm just saying. I think you should. By the way, do you know what Swatch stands for? Reginald Ferguson [00:51:22]: 2nd watch. Pedro Mendez [00:51:23]: Yes. I did not know that. Do you know what I thought it was growing up? I thought Reginald Ferguson [00:51:28]: it was Swiss watch. Was it? Mommy, Swiss watch. Right. Yeah. So I thought Yeah. Totally. Totally. Totally. Pedro Mendez [00:51:35]: Yeah. And that's what drew me in. Reginald Ferguson [00:51:37]: I was like, it's a Swiss watch. Exactly. Exactly. Wow. Exactly. No. But when I discovered it was a second watch and when I discovered that it was intentionally, sold as a disposable item, that's when I was like, oh, oh, man. Yeah. Reginald Ferguson [00:51:52]: But, man Pedro Mendez [00:51:52]: made it cool. Yeah. You you stop using disposable for swatch. Just meant options. That's Reginald Ferguson [00:52:01]: all. Fine. Pedro Mendez [00:52:03]: Fine. So as I like to do for everyone that we bring on the pod, I have one final question for you, Pedro. Reginald Ferguson [00:52:09]: Yes. Pedro Mendez [00:52:10]: So what does always be fly mean to you? Reginald Ferguson [00:52:15]: It means that you always make an effort to to think about what you're wearing in the circumstance that you're going into, that elegance is not something that you put on and put off. It's it's it's an it's it's a journey that you're always on, and you're always trying to be, you know, that better that better sense of yourself. How's that? Pedro Mendez [00:52:42]: Oh, hey. It's it's not for me to judge. It's for me it's for me to listen and chronicle. Reginald Ferguson [00:52:47]: Okay. Pedro Mendez [00:52:48]: So but good answer. Good answer, Pedro. Thanks. Thanks. Pedro Mendez, thank you so much for the time. You're my first you're my first Canadian interview. Reginald Ferguson [00:53:03]: Oh, what? Really? Pedro Mendez [00:53:04]: Yeah. For real. Because I don't know anyone in Canada. Reginald Ferguson [00:53:08]: Well, there's only about 6 of us up here, so I Uh-uh. Pedro Mendez [00:53:10]: No. I see. I didn't say that. I didn't do any of that. Reginald Ferguson [00:53:14]: Well, thank you. Pedro Mendez [00:53:15]: Thank you. Reginald Ferguson [00:53:15]: I I appreciate it. That that's that's awesome. That's awesome. Pedro Mendez [00:53:18]: No. Absolutely, man. And, hopefully, we'll have you on again not to talk about the tattoo. Mhmm. Reginald Ferguson [00:53:24]: Well, we'll do that offline. Pedro Mendez [00:53:29]: Well, that's a wrap. Thank you so much for listening. We hope you had fun and we're down for another one. Special shout goes to our producer Serge and everyone down with the fashion piece. Please tell your friends about us and please tell them to subscribe. You can find us on all the major platforms. Also, please give us a review on Apple Podcast. If you have a question or a story suggestion, you can email me at podcast@nyfashiondeepdot com, or hit me up on the insta@newarkfashiondeep. Pedro Mendez [00:53:59]: I'm Reg. See you next time. And remember, always be flat.