Before launching last year’s collaboration with Seiko, Jack Carlson, founder of Rowing Blazers, was “panic,” he told me recently. “Riding Blazers is a small business. We are a small brand. And although he had long sold vintage watches through the RB website as a one-off, he suddenly found himself with 1,500 pieces in checkered and multicolored designs. “I was thinking, ‘What are we going to do with these watches?’” Plus, there is a bigger worry than simply not selling the watches:. “I also just know that the watch community can be fair” – she pauses to seek a democratic way of saying it – “harsh in their judgments”. But then something surprising happened when the watch was released: the praise was nearly universal, and within minutes every watch was sold out. Some have arrived famous male actor; the others former NBA player who don’t need to stick with budget-friendly Seikos. Now, the Rowing Blazers are back with a second and equally exciting collaboration with the Japanese brand — and this time, RB shouldn’t be too worried about whether they’ll sell.
This latest batch is not far from the recipe for the success of such a first batch. While the last trio plays with classic design, these watches are all available in color. Carlson started with an orange dial – inspired by the beloved 70s Seiko he owned for many years – before incorporating bright shades around the color wheel. In addition to the orange color, there are also watches with lemon green and sky blue dials. “It’s really important that people understand it’s not Tiffany blue,” says Carlson. The dial is black – but still has vivid hour markers. In total, RB designed eight of these colorful watches, but set aside four for another capsule to launch next year. (Carlson likes this quartet’s black, orange, blue, and green color combination because it reminds him of the New York Mets pennant he hung in his room as a child.) Each will retails for $495 and is only available in 888 pieces. They will be sold at the Rowing Blazers store and website on Friday, October 28 at 11 a.m. EST.
While the playful face of the watch will draw attention here, the supporting details are well worth saving. Note the stick-striped design of the syringe-style seconds and hour hands. Carlson and Eric Wind, of Wind Vintage, who helped design the watch, also attempted to have the dates in the date window written in both English and Japanese (as opposed to English and Spanish, capital is usually an inappropriate rule for the US market).
2022 is already the year of great watches at a more affordable price and that’s before these new pieces join the party. Of course, the title is still The Omega and Swatch collaboration has remade the classic Speedmaster in nearly a dozen playful shades price is only $260. But the support actions are also excellent: a Bait x Unimatic cream color watch pair, Simply the best of Adsum and Timex code, and now this RB x Seiko watch. Because millions of people have used the watch collection Over the past few years, brands are rushing to provide them with accessible products.
