The Legacy: When FOMO Is A Reasonable Response

From Gorilla Watches -

Courtesy of Gorilla

FOMO.  It's a term we hear bandied around quite a it. It speaks to the anxiety or fear of missing out on something when you have the opportunity to get it, but you worry that your decision making paradigm might not be efficient or quick enough for you to take possession of that which you truly desire. And for some watch collectors this can be worse than a failed relationship. As the old saying goes, there are plenty of other fish in the sea (yes, in today's climate change reality even that old chestnut is debatable), but missing out on the Original Gorilla Fastback has haunted me far worse than the unrequited love I had for a certain girl growing up in Northern Ohio in the early 80s.

With all that being said, allow me to acquaint you with the Gorilla Legacy. And I say this without fear of contradiction - this watch IS THE SHIT THAT KILLED ELVIS! (that's good).

Courtesy of Gorilla Watches

It's Déjà vu all over again!

The Legacy looks completely different, yet hauntingly the same.  Go figure! 

The case's vital statistics are as follows:

44 mm case diameter
48.5 mm with crown guards
13 mm case thickness
57 mm lug-to-lug

But it's not just about the dimensions, but rather the dimensions explored with the materials used to make said case:

Layered forged carbon case and bezel, anodized aluminum pinstripe, screw-down titanium crown for improved water resistance

Courtesy of Gorilla Watches

The case back is of titanium.

The movement is, as you've come to know and expect, a Miyota.  In this instance it is the 8215 (self-winding/automatic).

The price is reasonable - refreshingly so at $980 which if my reading is correct will include shipping.  

Here are all the pertinents, straight from Gorilla HQ:

CALIBER

Miyota 8215, self-winding, 3Hz/21.600 vph

FUNCTIONS

Hour, minute, sweeping seconds

CASE MATERIAL

Layered forged carbon case and bezel, anodized aluminum pinstripe, screw-down titanium crown for improved water resistance

CASEBACK

Titanium caseback, engraved

DIAL

Forged carbon, anodized aluminum, numerals printed with Super-Luminova™, hands and hour markers filled with Super-Luminova™

CRYSTAL

Scratch resistant sapphire, anti-reflective coating on both sides

STRAP

Bi-color Viton™

BUCKLE

Titanium pin buckle

CASE DIMENSIONS

44 mm case diameter
48.5 mm with crown guards
13 mm case thickness
57 mm lug-to-lug

WATER RESISTANCE

100M/330FT/10ATM

Do You Remember?

I have been having a very interesting experience these past few months.  And if I am being completely honest, this novel "weirdness" started back in February when I came back to Japan and visited Minase in Akita-Ken.  I think maybe it was a wake-up call that I had been wanting but had failed to receive up until that time.   And what I keep being reminded of?  We are obsessed with labels and history, and all too often that history and story are no longer the reality of who, what and even where a brand is today.

That was driven home even more clearly when I visited the District Time Show this past weekend.  These are all, for the most part, small micro brands.  While there is no small amount of debate or discussion as to what, exactly, constitutes being a micro brand, it is safe to say that it is typically a one or two person band.

One brand that caught my eye was Draken.  Draken is the creation of Michael Blythe, originally from South Africa but lately residing in New Zealand.  The watch pictured above is the Draken Kalahari.  This is a sample / prototype of a new model that is currently in a pre-order.

Another was Collins.  The piece above is the Bronson Automatic.  

And Hager is back with a new dress watch, I believe the Diplomat (but I will reach out to the brand owner to confirm this naming convention).  

What these past months have reminded me is that there are still people out there who do what they do out of passion, and not merely going through the motions for a paycheck.

Ultimately, a watch is no longer a requirement.  You don't need one, let alone more than one ; )

So clearly for many people out there, a watch is something that communicates to them on a visceral level.  And ultimately isn't that more compelling than an instafamous influencer, or $7,500 per month PR firm telling you to like something?

I guess that up until this past February, I had forgotten what it was that I really appreciated about watches.  So thank you to the smaller independent and micro brands for reminding me.