“Watches, Stories, and Gear” is a roundup of some of our favorite watch content on Worn & Wound, great stories from around the web, and cool gear that we’ve got our eye on.
This installment of “Watches, Stories, and Gear” is brought to you by the Windup Watch Shop.
Worn & Wound
Gallery: Patek Philippe Grand Exhibition in New York City


It’s hard to believe, but the Patek Philippe Grand Exhibition in New York City was three years ago this summer. It was a truly special event, and gave the public a chance to view some of the rarest and most beautiful watches ever made – a once in a lifetime opportunity for many. It also reminds us of the feeling of getting a lot of watch lovers together in the same space, sharing this wonderfully niche interest. We’re looking forward to a time when we can all get together again, but until then, we thought it would be appropriate to link you to some photos from the Grand Exhibition that we captured at the event, highlighting some of the gorgeous Pateks that were on display.




Grand Seiko
Studio Shizukuishi

If you’re a certain type of obsessive Grand Seiko fan (it’s ok – this is a safe place) you’re likely aware that the brand has been building a state of the art new studio dedicated to building their mechanical movements. Studio Shizukuishi finally opened on July 20, and Grand Seiko has built an online home for their new location, including the video linked above, giving viewers a taste of the building itself. Like the watches that will be made at Studio Shizukuishi, the building has a beautiful and well thought out quality to it that is unique to the brand.




TickTocking
This $40,000 Seiko is Powered by Magnets

If you’re a watch fan and not following Steve Hallock on Instagram, consider this your formal recommendation. Steve sells extremely high end, mostly independent, watches on TickTocking, his website, and also has a YouTube channel with the same name where he discusses the watches in his inventory and takes some pretty great high resolution video of some extremely rare, not often seen, modern watches. This week, he has a Credor Eichi II in stock, and if you’re at all interested in Seiko, Grand Seiko, Spring Drive, or wildly rare and unique watches, it’s definitely worth checking out this video. This is a watch that you just don’t see everyday, and you can tell from the tone of Steve’s voice and his obvious enthusiasm that the Eichi II is something special.




Wired
Launch an 80,000-pound Sled off an Aircraft Carrier? Sure!

This one’s for the math and physics nerds among you, and aviation enthusiasts might enjoy it as well. When the Navy developed a new electromagnetic catapult to launch fighter jets off an aircraft carrier, they had to test it with a sled of a similar weight as the planes the catapult was meant to be used with. That’s what you see in the video – the article is a fun breakdown of the physics behind this real life math problem, and is a great counterpoint to the “I’ll never use this in real life!” excuse if you have experienced objections to math homework.




The Verge
How Microsoft Flight Simulator Returned to the Skies*


To the delight of many who came of age in the early days of home computing, Microsoft Flight Simulator is making a triumphant return to the PC, and it’s also (for the first time) coming to consoles in the near future. Microsoft has completely rethought the classic flight simulator, updating it with impressive graphics but maintaining the feel of a genuine simulation. This article in The Verge takes a first look at an early version of the updated Flight Simulator, and traces the history of the software, which has been around in one form or another for an impressive 38 years.*




Timex
T80 Rainbow


Hot on the heels of the T80 Pacman, Timex is back on August 7 with the T80 Rainbow. Available in gold plate and stainless steel, the T80 Rainbow is a fun throwback that is meant to conjure feelings of peace, love, and hope, all desperately needed at this particular moment in time. Like other T80s, this one features a suite of digital functions, including a date display, stopwatch, and alarm. It also includes an Indiglo backlight, which is nearly as much of a direct link to the past as the iconic case shape of the T80. The retail price on the T80 Rainbow is $65.




The post Watches, Stories, and Gear: Testing an Electromagnetic Catapult, a New Grand Seiko Studio, and the Return of Microsoft Flight Simulator appeared first on Worn & Wound.



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