The Material Review

Issue 128: Fancy Pinball, The Rolls-Royce Phantom, The End of Handwriting, Ode to Pizza, The Human Stain Remover, David Bowie's Archive and Q&A w/ Tony Traina.

Stories worth reading. Stop indexing the internet.

Pinball Is Getting Too Fancy

[Defector]

Why the Rolls-Royce Phantom is still king of the road

“A century on, the maker’s flagship saloon remains hauntingly desirable” [FT]

The End of Handwriting

“For years, smartphones and computers have threatened to erase writing by hand. Would that be so bad?” [Wired]

Pizza

“In a world of ready-made food, packaged to be tossed together by amateurs, pizza stands apart—one dish, at least, which calls for time and skill.” [The Atlantic]

The human stain remover: what Britain’s greatest extreme cleaner learned from 25 years on the job

“From murder scenes to whale blubber, Ben Giles has seen it – and cleaned it – all. In their stickiest hours, people rely on him to restore order” [The Guardian]

What Was Behind David Bowie’s Genius? His Archive Holds the Answers.

[NYT]

A shortlist of things we’ve got our eye on.

Fox Small Umbrella

Orslow Grand Dad’s Fit Denim Pants

Peak Design x SITKA Studio Slide Lite Camera Strap

OMTC N°140 Beach Mat Weave Jacket

Rototo Merino Lambs Wool Room Socks "Beni Ouarain"

Tony Traina is one of our favorite voices in the watch world, with the deeply informative yet unfussy Substack, Unpolished Watches. We recently caught up about his latest vintage purchase, his pick for best watch of the year, and a few undervalued references worth a closer look.

What’s a memorable recent purchase you’ve made?

I recently picked up this Gallet chronograph from the '50s. Post-WWII era is a golden age for chronographs—tons of designs, with brands trying all kinds of stuff. By the '60s, everything became more standard: The Daytona, Speedmaster, Carrera all share some similarities, so I love all the variety that came before. So much information is communicated on this dial, but it's clean and cohesive. You can spend $50k on a Rolex "pre-Daytona" or a few grand on something like this Gallet—both capture what this era was all about.

A little bonus I didn't even realize until after I got it: The caseback is engraved for the original owner who served in the U.S. Coast Guard. I've even found some USGR records with his name dating to the '40s, but that's about it. I love vintage watches for these cool bits of history.

What’s something you have your eye on?

For my money, the best new watch this year is the Nomos Club Sport Worldtimer. Nomos Glashütte makes excellent, accessible watches—a Tangente the first mechanical watch I ever bought—and this Worldtimer is awesome. Fun design with just enough color, and probably the thinnest modern GMT/World Timer I've ever seen (including Patek), for about $5k. They did a run of colorful limited editions in addition to a couple of standard-production versions—they sold out fast, but I'm hoping there are more soon.

I'm really into brands that put in the extra mechanical work to create more wearable watches, which is exactly what Nomos does.

How would you describe the current state of watch collecting?

It's been pretty steady the past couple years. Dealers and brands will always try to induce a sense of FOMO to get you to buy a watch, but there's nothing about the current state of collecting that should make you feel like you need to buy something, and right now (Swiss tariffs notwithstanding). With exceptions, prices have been stable the past few years for both new and vintage watches, and that doesn't show any sign of changing. It's a good time to be a buyer/collector—wait for the right opportunity, try to be considered about what you're buying and why, and don't make impulse purchases.

What’s a reference or category you think is undervalued at the moment and might be worth a closer look for collectors?

Pre-owned A. Lange & Söhne. The German brand might make the best modern watches, but the prices on the pre-owned market are low right now for a lot of reasons (I've written about it if you care). To me, Lange is the quintessential modern dress watch, and there's a ton of value to be had. The brand was re-founded in 1994, and I think the watches from these early years will continue to be looked on more fondly with time as foundational to the brand. A few watches to look at to get started:

• Lange 1: Refs. 101.xxx

  • Seminal Lange. My pick: 101.035 "Darth"

• Original Saxonia 'Big Date': Refs. 105.xxx

  • Quirky Lange. My pick: 105.027 w/ blue dial

• Original 1815: Refs. 206.xxx

  • Minimal Lange. My pick: 206.001 in yellow gold

• Original 1815 Up/Down: Refs. 221.xxx and 251.xxx

  • Quintessential Lange. My pick: 221.027 w/ blue dial

("xxx" represents the variety of references with different case materials, dial colors, etc.)

I just bought my first Lange, and it was one of these! That said, I always remind people: Never buy a watch just because you think it's a "good deal"—first, you have to actually like it.

Has your experience navigating the watch market changed the way you think about spending on other categories? Clothes, furniture, etc.

While I cover all kinds of watches, I mostly buy pre-owned/vintage, and this has certainly bled into other categories. My eBay saved searches used to be primarily watches, but they've grown into this blend of watches and classic clothing brands as I realize that old Ralph Lauren, J. Crew, L.L. Bean, Patagonia often have the same enduring quality that I appreciate in vintage watches.

Watches are all about these tiny, often microscopic details, so I hope it's made me consider the details of all kinds of objects more, and what I do (or don't) like about those. I think a lot about what it means to have "good taste," and I don't have an answer, but I'm pretty sure that noticing the tiny things that go into making high-quality objects—and how that makes us feel—is one of them.