A conversation with explorer David Concannon... on watches that work for a living, the bootleg Explorers Club Flag, and sitting alone with Apollo rocket engines!
This is the only substack I subscribe to, and it's articles like this _as well as_ the watch industry fun _as well as_ the psychological insights that keep me around. It's so good that more than once, I've been able to get my wife to read about watches (no small feat).
Mark - what a wonderful note to read, thank you! And thank you for taking the time to read it… I hope your wife also continues to read from time to time :)
What I took to be a blanket refusal to assign worth to provenance and "feeling like phony" in his commentary on the Apollo astronaut's watch, was tempered by Mr. Concannon in his response to Matt Walker's comment in this section.
Mr. Concannon writes: "The comment about feeling like a fraud is limited to wearing another person’s watch commemorating their achievement to an awards dinner commemorating similar achievements. I felt like I was wearing another person’s medal on my chest."
Even revisiting this essay with that constraint, I'm still left thinking about trophies never earned. So much of watch collecting is about the collector picturing themselves as a part of the process. By acquiring a watch made by a craftsman, we envision ourselves as part of the project that brought that timepiece to life. I suspect that deep down, many of us, certainly myself, see ourselves as part of the assembly line. We envision that we are one cog in the wheel of assembly and craftsmanship in the Vallee de Joux or La Chaux des Fonds, when at the surface level we are simply the financial grist for the mill.
This essay has occupied my mind for a full day and I'm not sure how I proceed from this point. I think I move forward by being more selective about the my cognitive and social consumption and contributions to the ecosystem. Maybe when all is said and done, a few decades from now I can say that my time in his hobby was a trophy earned.
Many thanks @KF anf Mr. Concannon. I extend to you both what I consider among the highest intellectual praise I can give to others: You changed how I think.
Ron, thank you for your comment and for tying my response in the story to my reply to Matt's comment. I was hoping that I was able to explain myself better in my response to Matt, and your comment is confirmation that I succeeded. Personally, I believe any time spent in this hobby is time dedicated to creating memories you will cherish.
I'm going to copy/paste a rather long section of it here, then react to it: "I am going deep into the Peruvian Amazon next month and I don’t know which watch to wear. I am leaning toward the Titanium Yacht-Master because it is light and versatile, and I expect it to go unnoticed in Lima. But is this the best choice? What about my ceramic bezel Submariner, my go-to watch for rugged adventures? I cannot decide. Similarly, I am going motorcycling in the Upper Mustang region of Nepal in October. I will definitely wear a GMT-Master II on this trip, but which one? My Pepsi that I wore on Apollo or my Batgirl that I wore to the North Pole? Which one flies under the radar better and will not get noticed in Kathmandu? My watches still represent a selection of the best tools for the job, and then reminders of the job they helped me complete."
As I read this, I couldn't help but think back to the various recent discussions about the new Barrelhand Monolith. Mr. Concannon obviously has no history with that watch, but apart from that, well, damn--if ever there was a watch made for someone like him, the Monolith is it! Rugged, inconspicuous, will take you anywhere and likely never let you down--talk about a watch that will work for a living! Of course, one person does not a target audience make, but still...if I were leading Barrelhand, I'd be gifting Mr. Concannon one of these watches right now!
Thank you for your comment. I looked at the Barrelhand Monolith and, although it is cool, it is unlikely I would wear it. I have settled into 40mm to 42mm as the ideal case size for me.
Also, I realize that expressing my conundrum about which watch to wear in Peru or Nepal comes off as one of the most pretentious comments anyone could ever utter, but the reality is I was strongly considering the Pelagos FXD GMT and I was ready to buy one, but I was undecided because of the association with the French Navy (again, it felt like wearing someone else's insignia that I did not earn) and I was hoping Tudor would introduce a non-homage version at W&W in April. This did not happen and, that week, my AD called to tell me the Titanium Yacht-Master I had put my name on the list for 2 years ago had come in. So, I bought the YM and it has hardly left my wrist since then. When I travel across multiple time zones, I wear a GMT watch, because I am never off-duty from work back at home and my brain has to function in two parts of the world simultaneously. Peru is just one hour ahead of home and one hour behind the office, so my brain can do the math. Nepal, not so much... I have to have a tool that can let me know when to expect the incoming barrage and when the troublemakers are asleep, so I can enjoy my day bashing across mountain roads on a motorcycle.
On a related note: I was fortunate to get to know many of the Gemini, Mercury and Apollo astronauts. The vast majority of them were watch nuts. When we talked watches, they spoke affectionately about the Rolex GMT-Master and NOT about the Omega Speedmaster. Jim Lovell was especially blunt: "The Speedmaster was the watch we wore at work!" Many told me the thing they hated the most about being in space was having all their activities scheduled on Mission Elapsed Time, i.e., the time that had elapsed since they had lifted off the pad, instead of on a normal day like the folks back in Houston, who were changing shifts based on day and night. They found this disorienting. Wearing a GMT-Master fixed this problem. The 24-hour hand was set to Houston time and the hour hand was set to ship time. I used the same method on my trip to the North Pole and it worked well.
Thank YOU for taking the time to give me such a thoughtful reply! And in these precincts, owning more than one Rolex or other fine watch and trying to decide which one to wear isn't pretentious--it's just what to do before breakfast! (Delighted to hear that your Titanium YM came in!)
Your assessment of the Monolith makes perfect sense given your needs--and reading that, my first reaction was "I wonder why they didn't include a GMT function?" But then it occurred to me that since they're so focused on space travel, a GMT function probably wouldn't be terribly useful.
Ok - I’ve a beef with his choice for arctic or Antarctic conditions. I Lived in Calgary for a decade and hiked / scrambled the Canadian Rockies every weekend. Winters are generally -10 to -30. And it can snow and be freezing in August. Hard exercise in those conditions exposes your wrist sometimes, and a steel watch is straight up painful. It holds and conducts the temp into your skin. Ti, carbon, ceramic or plastic are FAR more comfy for vigorous activity in extreme temps. No need to carefully keep your wrist from being exposed.
Several of my watches have endured extreme adventures (and I heartily agree with your interviewee in that my watch and my knife are the most critical tools) - … but I don’t get a fraud feeling when I wear a cool watch with no epic story to tell. My Breguet is gorgeous but I’m not going off grid camping with it! I guess I’m more watch collector than explorer 🤷♂️
I did not have a Ti watch until recently but I can see your point. I also live in a cold climate at 2k meters elevation, where winter temperatures are commonly -20C to -30C. I have always worn a steel watch without issue.
The comment about feeling like a fraud is limited to wearing another person’s watch commemorating their achievement to an awards dinner commemorating similar achievements. I felt like I was wearing another person’s medal on my chest.
That makes sense. While I don't own any watches that are awards from competitions, I've got a few athletic awards. So I can imagine displaying someone else's athletic trophy and it would feel ridiculous. Sadly watches are seldom given out as prizes (a cycling race sometimes does) but it's never one that you'd consider an epic addition to your collection.
I'd always thought steel was fine as well, but switching to more comfortable case materials felt game changing for me. Maybe I'm just more fragile or when I bounce around (I'm a runner/cyclist/swimmer/kayaker/diver etc...I tend to bounce rather than walk) my wrist often gets exposed to the elements. Should also mention that the lighter weight of Ti/carbon/ceramic.. is the other factor that endears me to those case materials.
Matt, exactly. Like walking around the 2024 Heisman Memorial Trophy Dinner Gala carrying the 1969 Heisman Trophy awarded to Steve Owens that you bought at auction.
Great article. Although, I think the distinction between trophies you didn’t earn vs witness watches aren’t always so clear cut. I used to scuba dive recreationally and sometimes wore a steel Casio G Shock in addition to a dive computer. That watch is long gone but I now have a Seamaster diver 300 and Submariner. Everytime I look at them on my wrist I’m reminded of dives that I have done. So what’s that - witness transfer?! Also, I have been given a Rolex pocket watch issued to my grandfather at the end of WWII. I think heirloom ‘trophies’ have real meaning in a way bought or gifted trophies maybe can’t. Be interesting to know what how David’s son relates to his Dad’s Submariner. Fond memories or could it become a millstone of expectation? I doubt the latter in this case but it might be relevant in others.
By all accounts (wife, mother, sister and observation), my son loves the watch. He is about to turn 30 and he wears it well. He has his own life and his own achievements. We have a have a family saying that “a boy becomes a man when he does something better than his father.” He hit that mark by age 12, so I learned the hard way that I could easily live in his shadow.
I could write a whole article on my observations of what it’s like to be “the son of…” or “the daughter of…” That’s another topic for another day. But these are all good life lessons.
David, thanks for the reply. Glad he’s really enjoying the watch. It’s definitely interesting to watch children grow and become their own people and on occasion teach their parents new things or achieve more. I think that’s what we hope for - that they do more or do better than we did. That’s progress. BTW my son will get my Sub one day but not quite yet 😂
This is the only substack I subscribe to, and it's articles like this _as well as_ the watch industry fun _as well as_ the psychological insights that keep me around. It's so good that more than once, I've been able to get my wife to read about watches (no small feat).
Thanks for some truly wonderful writing.
Mark - what a wonderful note to read, thank you! And thank you for taking the time to read it… I hope your wife also continues to read from time to time :)
What I took to be a blanket refusal to assign worth to provenance and "feeling like phony" in his commentary on the Apollo astronaut's watch, was tempered by Mr. Concannon in his response to Matt Walker's comment in this section.
Mr. Concannon writes: "The comment about feeling like a fraud is limited to wearing another person’s watch commemorating their achievement to an awards dinner commemorating similar achievements. I felt like I was wearing another person’s medal on my chest."
Even revisiting this essay with that constraint, I'm still left thinking about trophies never earned. So much of watch collecting is about the collector picturing themselves as a part of the process. By acquiring a watch made by a craftsman, we envision ourselves as part of the project that brought that timepiece to life. I suspect that deep down, many of us, certainly myself, see ourselves as part of the assembly line. We envision that we are one cog in the wheel of assembly and craftsmanship in the Vallee de Joux or La Chaux des Fonds, when at the surface level we are simply the financial grist for the mill.
This essay has occupied my mind for a full day and I'm not sure how I proceed from this point. I think I move forward by being more selective about the my cognitive and social consumption and contributions to the ecosystem. Maybe when all is said and done, a few decades from now I can say that my time in his hobby was a trophy earned.
Many thanks @KF anf Mr. Concannon. I extend to you both what I consider among the highest intellectual praise I can give to others: You changed how I think.
Ron, thank you for your comment and for tying my response in the story to my reply to Matt's comment. I was hoping that I was able to explain myself better in my response to Matt, and your comment is confirmation that I succeeded. Personally, I believe any time spent in this hobby is time dedicated to creating memories you will cherish.
Best wishes, David
I got goosebumps 🥹 This is amazing!
What a story, what an inspiration! I’ll start thinking what watch I should wear on my dream adventure on “50 years of Victory” 🤩
What a fantastic read!
I'm going to copy/paste a rather long section of it here, then react to it: "I am going deep into the Peruvian Amazon next month and I don’t know which watch to wear. I am leaning toward the Titanium Yacht-Master because it is light and versatile, and I expect it to go unnoticed in Lima. But is this the best choice? What about my ceramic bezel Submariner, my go-to watch for rugged adventures? I cannot decide. Similarly, I am going motorcycling in the Upper Mustang region of Nepal in October. I will definitely wear a GMT-Master II on this trip, but which one? My Pepsi that I wore on Apollo or my Batgirl that I wore to the North Pole? Which one flies under the radar better and will not get noticed in Kathmandu? My watches still represent a selection of the best tools for the job, and then reminders of the job they helped me complete."
As I read this, I couldn't help but think back to the various recent discussions about the new Barrelhand Monolith. Mr. Concannon obviously has no history with that watch, but apart from that, well, damn--if ever there was a watch made for someone like him, the Monolith is it! Rugged, inconspicuous, will take you anywhere and likely never let you down--talk about a watch that will work for a living! Of course, one person does not a target audience make, but still...if I were leading Barrelhand, I'd be gifting Mr. Concannon one of these watches right now!
Rip,
Thank you for your comment. I looked at the Barrelhand Monolith and, although it is cool, it is unlikely I would wear it. I have settled into 40mm to 42mm as the ideal case size for me.
Also, I realize that expressing my conundrum about which watch to wear in Peru or Nepal comes off as one of the most pretentious comments anyone could ever utter, but the reality is I was strongly considering the Pelagos FXD GMT and I was ready to buy one, but I was undecided because of the association with the French Navy (again, it felt like wearing someone else's insignia that I did not earn) and I was hoping Tudor would introduce a non-homage version at W&W in April. This did not happen and, that week, my AD called to tell me the Titanium Yacht-Master I had put my name on the list for 2 years ago had come in. So, I bought the YM and it has hardly left my wrist since then. When I travel across multiple time zones, I wear a GMT watch, because I am never off-duty from work back at home and my brain has to function in two parts of the world simultaneously. Peru is just one hour ahead of home and one hour behind the office, so my brain can do the math. Nepal, not so much... I have to have a tool that can let me know when to expect the incoming barrage and when the troublemakers are asleep, so I can enjoy my day bashing across mountain roads on a motorcycle.
On a related note: I was fortunate to get to know many of the Gemini, Mercury and Apollo astronauts. The vast majority of them were watch nuts. When we talked watches, they spoke affectionately about the Rolex GMT-Master and NOT about the Omega Speedmaster. Jim Lovell was especially blunt: "The Speedmaster was the watch we wore at work!" Many told me the thing they hated the most about being in space was having all their activities scheduled on Mission Elapsed Time, i.e., the time that had elapsed since they had lifted off the pad, instead of on a normal day like the folks back in Houston, who were changing shifts based on day and night. They found this disorienting. Wearing a GMT-Master fixed this problem. The 24-hour hand was set to Houston time and the hour hand was set to ship time. I used the same method on my trip to the North Pole and it worked well.
Thank you again,
David
Thank YOU for taking the time to give me such a thoughtful reply! And in these precincts, owning more than one Rolex or other fine watch and trying to decide which one to wear isn't pretentious--it's just what to do before breakfast! (Delighted to hear that your Titanium YM came in!)
Your assessment of the Monolith makes perfect sense given your needs--and reading that, my first reaction was "I wonder why they didn't include a GMT function?" But then it occurred to me that since they're so focused on space travel, a GMT function probably wouldn't be terribly useful.
💯
Ok - I’ve a beef with his choice for arctic or Antarctic conditions. I Lived in Calgary for a decade and hiked / scrambled the Canadian Rockies every weekend. Winters are generally -10 to -30. And it can snow and be freezing in August. Hard exercise in those conditions exposes your wrist sometimes, and a steel watch is straight up painful. It holds and conducts the temp into your skin. Ti, carbon, ceramic or plastic are FAR more comfy for vigorous activity in extreme temps. No need to carefully keep your wrist from being exposed.
Several of my watches have endured extreme adventures (and I heartily agree with your interviewee in that my watch and my knife are the most critical tools) - … but I don’t get a fraud feeling when I wear a cool watch with no epic story to tell. My Breguet is gorgeous but I’m not going off grid camping with it! I guess I’m more watch collector than explorer 🤷♂️
Hi Matt,
I did not have a Ti watch until recently but I can see your point. I also live in a cold climate at 2k meters elevation, where winter temperatures are commonly -20C to -30C. I have always worn a steel watch without issue.
The comment about feeling like a fraud is limited to wearing another person’s watch commemorating their achievement to an awards dinner commemorating similar achievements. I felt like I was wearing another person’s medal on my chest.
All the best!
Thank you for the personal reply David!
That makes sense. While I don't own any watches that are awards from competitions, I've got a few athletic awards. So I can imagine displaying someone else's athletic trophy and it would feel ridiculous. Sadly watches are seldom given out as prizes (a cycling race sometimes does) but it's never one that you'd consider an epic addition to your collection.
I'd always thought steel was fine as well, but switching to more comfortable case materials felt game changing for me. Maybe I'm just more fragile or when I bounce around (I'm a runner/cyclist/swimmer/kayaker/diver etc...I tend to bounce rather than walk) my wrist often gets exposed to the elements. Should also mention that the lighter weight of Ti/carbon/ceramic.. is the other factor that endears me to those case materials.
Keep having fun and keep adventuring David!
Matt, exactly. Like walking around the 2024 Heisman Memorial Trophy Dinner Gala carrying the 1969 Heisman Trophy awarded to Steve Owens that you bought at auction.
Great article. Although, I think the distinction between trophies you didn’t earn vs witness watches aren’t always so clear cut. I used to scuba dive recreationally and sometimes wore a steel Casio G Shock in addition to a dive computer. That watch is long gone but I now have a Seamaster diver 300 and Submariner. Everytime I look at them on my wrist I’m reminded of dives that I have done. So what’s that - witness transfer?! Also, I have been given a Rolex pocket watch issued to my grandfather at the end of WWII. I think heirloom ‘trophies’ have real meaning in a way bought or gifted trophies maybe can’t. Be interesting to know what how David’s son relates to his Dad’s Submariner. Fond memories or could it become a millstone of expectation? I doubt the latter in this case but it might be relevant in others.
Hi Tim,
By all accounts (wife, mother, sister and observation), my son loves the watch. He is about to turn 30 and he wears it well. He has his own life and his own achievements. We have a have a family saying that “a boy becomes a man when he does something better than his father.” He hit that mark by age 12, so I learned the hard way that I could easily live in his shadow.
I could write a whole article on my observations of what it’s like to be “the son of…” or “the daughter of…” That’s another topic for another day. But these are all good life lessons.
David, thanks for the reply. Glad he’s really enjoying the watch. It’s definitely interesting to watch children grow and become their own people and on occasion teach their parents new things or achieve more. I think that’s what we hope for - that they do more or do better than we did. That’s progress. BTW my son will get my Sub one day but not quite yet 😂
This dude should def be at The Escapement
Feel lucky to have met you the same way! ✨😄✨
Ha! Likewise!! 😀
What an inspirational story and a life full of adventure and fulfillment.
Fantastic story! Thank you both for sharing!
Outstanding, my favorite of your many gems. Several sentences I had to reread to savor their elegant punch. Well done King!!
What a fabulous story and interview!!! Walking the walk, not talking the talk.
👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼