Author Archives: Cody Lee

Summer 2024 Side-By-Side-By-Side: Fitness/Navigation Watches

It feels good to be back writing about watches after nearly a year away. It has been a busy year of building a non-profit, finishing my undergrad and starting my graduate degree program, studying human rights and genocides, and learning about mining, archeology, and anthropology. It has been a lot of work. Fortunately, watches areContinue reading “Summer 2024 Side-By-Side-By-Side: Fitness/Navigation Watches”

A Year in the Watch Box: The IWC Mark XVIII.

In the past, I have made no secret of the enjoyment I receive from IWC pilot’s watches. I appreciate their aesthetic, lack of flash (mostly), and ability to fly under the radar (pun intended); they are well-made and beautiful in their unique way. IWC is often a great choice when choosing a watch: no hype,Continue reading “A Year in the Watch Box: The IWC Mark XVIII.”

The Garmin Instinct Tactical Solar Edition

The prices of mechanical watches have always been high, but there was always a certain amount of value that I could find in them. Now, though, prices have been rising, far outpacing inflation, and this seems to reflect the change in how people view them. They are becoming another tool for the wealthy to displayContinue reading “The Garmin Instinct Tactical Solar Edition”

Material Origins, Sustainability, and Watches

As the world’s human population recently surpassed the 8 billion mark, I felt it was a good time to post part of a project I have been working on that concerned the material origins of the components used in mechanical watches. There are a lot of us on the planet, and we consume a lotContinue reading “Material Origins, Sustainability, and Watches”

Tudor Black Bay P01: A Heavy Beast of a Watch

I wanted to save this piece on the Tudor P01 for a time when the vitriol caused by its release had been directed toward other watches. This watch causes divisive feelings and emotional reactions in many enthusiasts when they see it, and I figured it was worth the wait if it meant a few moreContinue reading “Tudor Black Bay P01: A Heavy Beast of a Watch”

Looking Good and Performing Well Are Two Different Things: The Omega Seamaster 300 “No Time to Die.”

For much of my life, reality was not enough; I always wanted to find a life that was better than what I was being presented with. I wanted a fictional existence, one that fit what I believed life should be and who I could be. Stories helped bridge the gap between what I felt insideContinue reading “Looking Good and Performing Well Are Two Different Things: The Omega Seamaster 300 “No Time to Die.””

IWC Top Gun Chronograph: One Year Later

It was a snowy and wet Saturday morning in April when I got the news: my venture into mining would have to stop. I had placed my claim on a developer’s (unmarked and unlocated on any maps) private land. It was an easy mistake to make. The area is surrounded by Bureau of Land ManagementContinue reading “IWC Top Gun Chronograph: One Year Later”

Introducing the Rolex Two-Tone Daytona-It’s Nice to Get Away from the Steel Watch Hype.

Two-tone watches have never been a look I’ve found attractive. They remind me of cheap gold-plated watches you find at the mall for twenty bucks (with inflation, they are now $49.99). They carry the weight of countless wearers who are either stock market criminals or hairy and obese arms dealers who wear speedos while sunbathingContinue reading “Introducing the Rolex Two-Tone Daytona-It’s Nice to Get Away from the Steel Watch Hype.”

The Rolex OP 36: A Year Later

I have spent the past year oscillating between two extreme ways of living: wanting to give up on conventional life in favor of building a yurt in the mountains or getting a job that pays the most amount of money possible, regardless of the cost to my soul. Could I renounce possessions and live offContinue reading “The Rolex OP 36: A Year Later”