About
Gentle reader, we’re back with another volume of Faces of SoCal!
It feels like forever ago that Volume One came out, so this article has been a long time in the making. Editorial endeavors such as these require a trifecta of factors to coalesce: a critical mass of interesting people, logistical patience, and a financial war chest to handle seven-dollar-a-gallon gasoline (or at least the will to blissfully pretend it is still four greenbacks a pop instead). Finally, I find myself in a position to invoke as many idioms as I can reasonably think of; the tootsie pop has been centered, the wagons have been circled, the timbers have been shivered. We’re here, you and I, and I find that fact very exciting.
Articles about people are my favorite thing to create, as I find that these mechanical objects carry the most weight when placed in the context of the human condition. To read someone’s words about why they love their watch is an intimate affair; they’re offering you passage into their mind and insight into what they value. For an established writer — and we do have two of those in this new group, full disclosure — the words might flow like a river with a lucky burst of creative inspiration. For most, however, cleaving memory to parchment is not a daily exercise. It is, therefore, an immense privilege that each participant has elected to share their experience with us.
If you adventured through Volume One with me, or are even a previous featuree, I am ecstatic to have you back for another round of roadside tales. Alternatively, if this series is new to you, I welcome you with open arms. This column was born out of a pair of goals: 1) surf the interminable horizon that is Southern California, and 2) meet awesome people and recount their watch stories along the way. The format is straightforward: nine humans, nine watches, nine stories. I’ll briefly share my own companions for the journey, calculate total mileage traveled, and then step aside. Let’s get started.
Travel Companions
The Watch
Seven days a week and twice on Sundays — this 1994 Rolex GMT-Master II 16710 “Pepsi” remains my beater, under-the-cuff, and adventure watch all rolled into one. They say variety is the spice of life, and I wholeheartedly agree; the list of places to which I have not yet traveled with this watch is extensive, and grows longer still with names I have not yet learned.
Choosing the Pepsi again felt consistent with my previous ideology: I’m asking participants to plant a stake in the ground regarding their favorite watch, so I should be able to do the same. There are other watches I adore — a pair of Doxas are equal accomplices to my wannabe bouts of derring-do — but it always comes back to this GMT.
My tendency to be a habitual creature has me pondering how the wires got so crossed that a writer focused on watches in plurality cares overwhelmingly for just one watch. Perhaps I really am a one-watch sort of guy. Maybe I just love the colors blue and red. There are less neanderthal-adjacent qualities to ground a collecting ethos with, like complications or eras, but I am what I am. Indeed, I would be happy with an early Heuer Autavia 2446C GMT and a Seiko SKX009 to round things out for a lifetime. Am I a neanderthal? Possibly. Probable, even.
I will caveat that I recognize it can be boring to read about the same watch repeatedly (hence why I don’t have six articles about this 16710). I decided to break the “one watch in perpetuity” streak with a low-stakes experiment; for just one of my nine meetings, I switched things up and wore Ron’s Doxa. It was obviously a comfortable experience, and it has given me food for thought about using one specific watch per edition as an alternative approach. A nebulously uncommittal TBD is the best I can offer regarding the strategy for Volume Three at this time.
The Wheels
Volume One was defined by motorcycle travel. While this one-man convoy did utilize a pair of Nike Killshots and my 1978 Datsun 280Z at times, six or seven of the nine trips made were powered by iron steed. The strategy was intentional; I wanted to do as much as possible on two wheels because motorcycles are the vehicle archetype I feel most connected to. I love cars, but the Count Sunny Hours port of call has always been an 803cc air-cooled L-twin.
That isn’t just a metaphor, by the way: the Desert Sled runs on an L-twin, and it replaced my previous Ducati Scrambler, which also had an L-twin (although in fairness, this lineage of bike has only ever come with such an engine configuration). Sarah’s Monster M900, which roughly dates back to the Jurassic period — circa 2001 — is also equipped with an L-twin. What can I say: we like V-twins tilted an additional 45 degrees that cook your legs like Ducati superbikes but have none of their horsepower advantage.
The Desert Sled’s pleasant riding nature on city streets, as well as the fact that it was the only survivor from last year’s game of two-wheeled Russian roulette, meant it once again had the keys turned aplenty. That being said, I did feel like I had more latitude this time to mix things up in the transportation department; unlike on the watch front, there is no requirement for participants to be vehicle enthusiasts (which, if present, would create a second artificial constraint for yours truly). This time, the Datsun ended up making a few runs with The Beach Boys blaring out the aft speakers. Although not born in California, I think the Z has done as good a job as any transplant car could hope for in terms of assimilating into SoCal. A close friend of mine affectionately refers to its sunset orange paint scheme by a different name: “Brake Fluid Brown.” You can decide on your own time which hue is more appropriate.
Lastly, I’ll shout out to that same well-trodden pair of Nike Killshots (not pictured, probably for the best) and a first-generation Isuzu Trooper (also not pictured, but apologies this time). Stay tuned for more on the truck — as part of my current two-car solution, its participation in this series should trickle upwards over time.
Your Mileage May Vary
The wonderful interviewees of Volume Two are brought to you by the following locales in order of distance: Santa Monica, Venice, Playa Vista, West Hollywood, Miracle Mile, Highland Park, Eagle Rock, and La Cañada Flintridge. I once again saw plenty of coastline while running around L.A. County, but we expanded our horizons a bit in northeast Los Angeles with Eagle Rock and Highland Park. Furthermore, while I had visited the southern part of the Angeles Crest Highway via Azusa, I had never visited the main stretch along which Newcomb’s Ranch can be found. What a dangerously beautiful stretch of blacktop — I get it now, fellow petrolheads.
For this edition on a round-trip basis, I traveled 270 miles (technically 269.8, but with slight rounding exhibited for cleanliness). Combined with my previous travels during Volume One, this puts my total odometer for Faces of SoCal at a square 500 miles. Not too shabby, folks. Still, there is a reason I named this Faces of SoCal as opposed to Faces of L.A., and I find myself hunting for the right person(s) to take me beyond the pale. Santa Barbara, San Diego, Bakersfield, Palm Springs, the list goes on — if you have a watch that you prescribe a touch of romance to, please let me know. I would love to come visit you and hear your story.
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Okay, we are all set on logistics via what is becoming the typical table setting for this column. Nine incredible people await — all unique, with different tastes and perspectives on what makes our hobby special. Ready to sit shotgun? Let’s go out and meet the Faces of SoCal, Volume Two.
Craig Ender’s Rolex Datejust 16220 “Tapestry Dial”
Editor’s Note: Craig and I share a ritualistic affinity for caffeine at Gnarwhal Coffee. A professor at UCLA, Craig is also a published writer, researcher, and pioneer in the world of statistical modeling and data analysis. His taste for extrapolating data may only be exceeded by his excellent taste in watches. After eyeing Craig’s Datejust one too many times, I struck up a conversation with him and was very pleased to learn that this watch was his gateway drug.
“I love technology and tend to be an early adopter, so when smart watches first appeared, they immediately made sense to me in a way traditional watches never had. In fact, I went completely watchless for about two years while waiting for the Apple Watch to be released. Once it arrived, it felt like exactly what I wanted a watch to be: freedom from carrying a phone to the gym or the store, music and notifications on the go, and a small piece of useful technology always with me. At the time, the idea of wearing anything other than a smart watch honestly struck me as absurd. I considered myself the least likely person to become interested in watches.
Cut to a decade later, when a close friend of mine — someone very deep into the watch world — introduced me to mechanical watches through his own collection. At the time, he had a Rolex GMT Pepsi and an all-gold Day-Date on a Presidential bracelet. I remember noticing details I liked immediately, along with things I knew were not for me. That started a very gradual process where I dipped my toe into the hobby and tried to understand what actually appealed to me. Many hours were spent doomscrolling on Chrono24. My friend became something of a spirit guide through the process, teaching me to notice small but important details that I otherwise would have overlooked.
What I slowly came to appreciate about Rolex watches is how individual they are. Even references that are otherwise identical age differently. The combinations of patina, wear, dial variation, and bracelet create watches that feel entirely personal. They exist in large quantities, yet each one develops its own character over time.
Eventually my preferences narrowed toward something simple and classic: a Datejust. One day my watch friend and I were walking through the East Village in New York when we wandered into one of those stores that sells a little bit of everything — curated greeting cards, design books, bougie vintage objects. In a small jewelry case were a handful of vintage watches, including a Datejust with a tapestry dial and Jubilee bracelet. THAT was my watch. The example in the store was not in the condition I wanted, but that combination of features was exactly right.
I eventually found my watch in downtown Los Angeles: a late-1980s Datejust with a sapphire crystal, Jubilee bracelet, and tapestry dial. I approached the purchase cautiously, but it felt like a relatively safe place to park money. I could enjoy it for a while and sell it later if the novelty wore off. Instead, the opposite happened. I have enjoyed the watch every single day since I bought it, and I can confidently say it will stay with me for the rest of my life.
What surprises me most is that I appreciate it more with time rather than less. My friend enjoys changing straps and bracelets to create entirely different personalities from the same watch, and he has encouraged me more than once to experiment with different combinations. For me, though, the watch and bracelet together form a gestalt that is greater than the sum of its parts. I want to look down and see the exact same combination that made me fall in love with it that day in the East Village.”
Cody William’s Vaer S3 Tactical Field
Editor’s Note: If I were tasked with advertising Venice to the world, I’d put Cody front and center on the poster. He’s a beach maximalist — the world is his oyster, at least as long as the real estate beneath him is comprised of sand between Rose Avenue and the Santa Monica pier. Like Craig, this Vaer S3 is Cody’s first watch and has quickly become part of his uniform. It’s a perfect choice and something I felt was fitting for Faces of SoCal — a Venice brand for a Venice man.
“I’m Cody, a Venice Beach local living about a half mile from the ocean. I ride my fixie bike everywhere and spend most days outdoors—whether that’s biking along the beach, surfing, training, or soaking in the Venice lifestyle. I spend a lot of time at Gold’s Gym Venice — the Mecca of bodybuilding — where fitness and movement are a big part of my daily routine.
This Vaer S3 is my first watch. It’s from a local brand from whom I picked up my watch directly at their shop in Venice (which makes it feel even more personal to me).
The black dial was what first drew me in—it’s versatile, understated, and blends naturally into my everyday life. Since this is my first watch, wearing one still feels new, but I like how effortless and low-profile it is. I was also excited to learn it had a quick-release watch band—although at first I had no idea what that meant and immediately started looking for a friend who knew watches to help me swap the bands out. Now that I have figured it out, I love how easy it was to change the look depending on the day. It complements my lifestyle without trying too hard.”
Sharon Wang’s Rolex Oyster Perpetual 31 277200
Editor’s Note: I met Sharon at Oliver & Clarke amidst a sea of vintage watches (many of which I wished I could take home) last year and we became fast friends. A legal professional by trade, she’s a genuine personality with a refined taste for both style and fashion. She’s currently hunting for that next special piece — we muse a lot about Day-Dates, but vintage Carter and Bulgari are in the spotlight too. I await good news with electric anticipation.
“An Instagram influencer once joked that the Rolex Oyster Perpetual is the “Caesar salad of watches.” This made me laugh quite hard, because I can see where he’s coming from. And yet, I’ve never looked at my OP as basic, boring, or a commodity. Maybe it’s the matte green dial – simultaneously modern (along with the newly launched coral, yellow, “Tiffany” blue, and black that year), yet harkening back to heritage.
I bought my watch on a whim in 2022, knowing almost nothing about watches or Rolex. Incredibly, at the time, they had several colors to choose from (I should’ve bought them all, in hindsight), but I walked out with green.
As I wore my watch day after day, getting used to the feeling of it on the wrist, I increasingly felt that it suited me and was me. Is this how everyone feels when they put on a chosen piece? And so, with the help of Instagram’s exacting algorithm, I dove deep into the world of watches…
While I respect brand history, what I value most about watchmaking is the design, craftsmanship, and individuality that it sparks and reinforces in its wearers. Sure, there are those who buy a certain watch because it’s the thing to do at some point in life, but among enthusiasts, I learn so much about people just by looking at their wrist and hearing the story behind their watch. Tell me yours?”
Andrew Jacobson’s 2001 Rolex GMT-Master II 16710 “Coke”
Editor’s Note: Andrew is a dyed-in-the-wool car enthusiast. A longtime professional in television, Andrew is now proudly running his own automotive brand, AJ Motor Co, which specializes in bringing classic cars and motorcycles to market. He’s had his 16710 for a long time — since 2008, to be exact — and the bezel patina is a very effective odometer in communicating its length of tenure on Andrew’s wrist. Obviously, I love it; there’s nothing finer in the land for me than a well-loved 5-digit GMT.
“This is my Rolex GMT-Master II 16710 “Coke.”
I’ve worn this watch every day for the last seventeen years. Clearly, I love this watch. It’s more to me than just a watch; it is representative of my approach to life. I’m drawn to timeless design, items made with purpose, and things that are built to last. The quality of construction of this watch, the way it feels on my wrist, and the feeling I get when looking at it excite me in the same way as it did 17 years ago when I first got it.
For me, a classic Rolex sports watch occupies the same category as some of the other most beloved items in my life: a perfect pair of Levi 501 jeans and an air-cooled Porsche 911. I like to say the classics never go out of style. The versatility of this watch is totally insane, too! I wear it to the beach, traveling, while wrenching on a car, but it’s equally at home when peeking out of the sleeve of a nice suit. The insert has developed a nice patina over the years, and my 8-year-old son has reserved this watch for himself one day. Needless to say, it’s a keeper.”
Laurel Klynn’s Timex Q Celestial
Editor’s Note: Laurel Klynn, builder of community. Laurel is a lovely human being and one of the first people I met in Los Angeles. She’s a professional product photographer as well as the primary host of L.A.’s rendition of the Moto Social, which is an international organization that hosts motorcycle get-togethers around the globe — Edmonton, Munich, NYC, you get it. Every time I see her, Laurel always has this eye-catching gold Timex on her wrist. Naturally, we needed to have a chat.
“It’s the perfect watch.
This Q was the first thing that I ever bought from a sponsored Instagram ad, and it was an absolute impulse buy. I looked at it, thought “It’s the perfect watch,” and a minute and a half later, it was paid for.
I’m generally very particular and thoughtful when making purchases, but I could not (and still cannot) find any flaw. Plus, it was discounted a silly amount, almost 60% off, so it was out of my hands and soon to be on my wrist.
So what makes a perfect watch? It’s just the right size at 36mm (it seems that most men’s watches are much too large, and many women’s are unusably tiny). The gold and dark blue celestial theme is just so pretty and timeless. I also love that it has a stretchy band (which very rarely bites me), which itself has a very clever mechanism to quickly add or remove links. Finally, it even glows in the dark! I appreciate its technical ingenuity; it is the perfect blend of kitsch and function.
I find it so funny because people stop me and ask about it all the time, but frequently they’ll be wearing watches that cost more than my car. It’s just my cute little cheap Timex, but its appeal seems universal. I wear it every day. Whether I’m going to a motorcycle meet or a black-tie gala, it’s always just right. I’ve scratched it, but the scratches always magically buff themselves out.
On that note, I do want to buy another as insurance to stash away in a drawer. There’s also an evil twin version I would love to have – it has a navy band with a gold face. Both versions are sadly discontinued, but I’ve scoured the internet for them and have secret sources saved. I should probably go buy them before this is published, just in case!”
Jonny Lieberman’s Seiko “Lieberturtle”
Editor’s Note: Do you worship at the altar of the internal combustion engine? Is counting sunny hours defined for you as time spent behind the wheel of a car? If the answer to either of these things is yes, then you likely already know our next guest. Jonny Lieberman is the Senior Features Editor at MotorTrend as well as the host of his own YouTube channel, Driving With Jonny. Jonny’s watch collection is both fun and not plucked from central casting. I’m not sure what watch I was expecting him to choose when we met up, but I can assure you it was not this brass-cased Seiko Turtle. 100 points to House Lieberman for originality.
“This is my first custom or modded Seiko. I never had any interest in the genre—though now I own five—but a friend of mine (Cody Lewis) who goes by LA Watch Maker on Instagram kept bugging me to let him make me one. I kept saying no. Then one afternoon Cody texted me, “I can put Sinn U1 hands on a Seiko.” I’m not sure exactly why that statement triggered my imagination the way it did, but it did. Yes, my first ever four-figure watch was a gift from my wife, a Sinn U1 B. But I still don’t think that explains what happened next.
About forty-five seconds later I phoned Cody up, “OK – here’s what I want. A brass Turtle case, a green waffle dial, orange U1 hands, a black ceramic bezel, and the silicon strap off a Tuna.” I’m not sure how any of that—with the exception of the Tuna strap—popped into my head. Why a Turtle case? I’ve always liked them, and wanted one, and as it turns out they suit my rather thick wrist quite well. I suppose I had been looking at a friend’s AP Royal Oak with a green waffle dial a few weeks earlier. But it was a steel or white gold case, and looks literally nothing like what the finished “Lieberturtle” does. The only question Cody asked me was what sort of day wheel did I want? I went with Japanese.
Shockingly, the biggest hurdle we faced was getting a hold of the Tuna strap. If you’ve never experienced the full-size majesty that is a Seiko Tuna (I happen to own an Emperor Tuna), the silicon strap is one of the more memorable bits, but sure, the 51.9 mm diameter will always be the star. Still, the vented strap not only uses titanium hardware, but its design is both patented and functional. The idea is to drain water as quickly as possible out from under your wrist. Shower with one, and you get to experience the odd sensation of your wrist drying first. The difficulty was sourcing one, as they all sell for $400, or did about five years ago when Cody built the watch. However, on some sketchy section of the dark web he found one for only $110. We pulled the trigger and… it was the wrong strap. Close, but not the cigar I wanted. But close enough for hand grenades.
I loved the finished piece when I saw it, and eventually sourced a proper Tuna strap. I even commissioned another Turtle from Cody (quite different) with a Tuna strap. However, there was just something special about the Lieberturtle. So much so that a watch connoisseur buddy of mine (Misha Mansoor, guitar god, creator of the metal genre known as Djent) had Cody make him one. Then another friend (fellow car journo) bought one. Then I had Cody build a fourth for my coach when I raced Pikes Peak, Michael Ryan Johnson. Then it struck me, there was something about this watch. A unique color combo or look or je ne sais quoi, but Cody and I should put it in production, then sit back and watch the money rolling in.
Only there was a problem. There weren’t any more brass Turtle cases. Anywhere. Even in the dank, dishonest corners of the internet. Cody talked with a case manufacturer and it was something insane like a minimum of 40,000 cases. The Lieberturtle’s a cool watch, and we could have probably moved a couple hundred. But we ain’t Swatch. So, a saleable version never happened, only four exist and as far as I know, we’re all still pretty happy with ‘em.”
Brian Olson’s Lorca Model No.1 GMT 2901-1
Editor’s Note: Like myself and many of our friends from Volume One, Brother Olson is a faithful adherent to the church of The Grey Nato. Brian lives an active and athletic lifestyle, and you can always find him hiking and cycling through the foothills of Los Angeles. When you do, make sure to ask him about Liverpool. Brian has a sneaky good watch collection (and I don’t mean sneaky in a metaphorical sense; he literally continues to bring out cool watches that I had no idea he owned). His Lorca Model No.1 GMT is one of my top picks for the funnest watch to photograph in this volume.
“For me, the Lorca Model No.1 represents what I love about the watch hobby.
I’m newer to collecting, and the last handful of years have primarily been about discovery. It has been a process of uncovering the depth and breadth of mechanical watch options out there and getting to decide what type of watch best represents how I see myself.
The No.1 is a watch that I originally gravitated to for a number of reasons. It has a timeless, beautiful aesthetic while also being very functional with the GMT hand. As someone who travels internationally for work, the GMT feature has quickly become my go-to watch feature. It helps anchor me while in Vienna for a conference or at a team meeting in London. This watch is also unique because it comes from a small, independent brand based in the US. Feeling connected to a watchmaker and their brand brings a lot of life to watch collecting. I have also found myself connecting with the No.1 because it is not something many people have on their wrist.
This Lorca has also been a connection point with our local The Grey Nato (TGN) SoCal community (Abram in our group now has two Lorcas!). Having this group to share and debate watches with has been another way to make this hobby bigger than just the physical watches.
With this first independent brand watch as a launching-off point, I now find myself on a journey to connect with smaller brands in a more personal way.”
Melissa Wahe’s Sheffield Sportlume QL1 Driver’s Watch
Editor’s Note: Melissa is living proof that I drive my cars at a grandfatherly pace (although in my defense, they don’t go that fast anyway). A Hollywood renaissance woman of sorts, she has overpowered serious health difficulties to become what she dreamed she could be — actor, professional stunt driver, and entrepreneur. Melissa is the CEO of Carmacare, which is dedicated to empowering you, the automotive layperson, with the confidence to take your car’s maintenance schedule back into your own hands. Color me impressed.
“During the COVID pandemic, I started driving up to Newcomb’s Ranch as a way to explore my surroundings. I was still new to town, so it was a great way to get out of the house. I would go up there during the weekdays a lot to explore different places, like the many canyons nearby.
A friend of mine told me about Good Vibes Breakfast Club, which I loved and started doing pretty frequently in 2022. I met Jay and Nicole there; I had met Nicole earlier when I first went up to Good Vibes previously, but when I saw her again in 2022, she and I really connected. Nicole had been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS); I had been sick earlier in my life and had had a lot of issues about being a young sick person, but my illness was temporary and able to be resolved, while hers was not.
This watch came from a fundraiser that Sheffield did for Nicole; yellow was her color, so they did a limited run of this dial. Everybody who bought it knew this was Nicole’s watch; we all knew and loved her, and believed in the mission of trying to cure MS. We would all show up on the mountain on Friday mornings and take pictures of all of our hands with our yellow watches. When she died on August 1st, 2024, it was absolutely heartbreaking; she died a very young woman in her mid-40s. She was one of the strongest, brightest shining stars I’ve ever met, and she always encouraged me to live down to the very second, and to follow every dream I’ve ever had.
111 was her number, and every time I see 111 on my watch, I take a picture of it. I like to wear my watch on Fridays in honor of Nicole. She has been a true inspiration to me.”
Jordan Mark’s Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean 2201.50
Editor’s Note: Like Brian, Jordan and I know each other through the wonderful and adventurous world of TGN. An entertainment lawyer by day, he’s a wine and photography aficionado (primarily Leica) by night. I appreciate Jordan’s passion for watches as well as his collecting philosophy, which doesn’t stray from the plot and captures both a specific vibe and era of tool watches. There’s something to Jordan’s intentionality with watches that has been lost in the world today.
“My grandfather wore an Omega.
How do I know? Somehow, his watch ended up in my high school bedroom after he passed. I have no idea how it got there. I would spend hours just holding it while reading BMW catalogs, computer magazines, and other teenage paralipomena. What reference was it? I have no idea. It was small, gold, and beat to hell.
I think I was always drawn to Omega watches because of that. Also, I am, and always have been, a diver. Often more comfortable underwater than above.
The first luxury watch I bought myself was an Omega Seamaster Diver 300m, the SMP 300. I didn’t even look at anything else. I just knew. I’ve owned a few more Omegas since, including this first-generation Seamaster Planet Ocean, reference 2201.50 – which remains the only Omega in my collection today. And for good reason. To me, the 2201.50 is Omega at its best. Maybe, at its peak? I believe Omega is about natural elegance and performance. The 2201.50 is that. It’s also a time capsule.
While not a transitional reference, it is transitional in nature. A bridge between the storied Seamaster 300s of the late fifties, sixties, and seventies and the modern realm of the Co-Axial movement, with a couple of ’90s and early 2000s Bondian design cues along the way (we see you, reverse sword hands). If there was one watch that could define the brand wholly and tell its story over the last 70 years, this would be it. I love that.
For me, watch collecting is less about finding my perfect watch and more about exploring perspective. I focus on choosing watches that I believe are timeless and iconic examples of the people and places that made them – pieces that make a statement about who, what, where, when, why, and how.
The Omega 2201.50 Planet Ocean tells the story of the golden age of human aquatic exploration with one breath and a helium escape valve.”
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That’s a wrap on Volume Two for Faces of SoCal! What a wonderful group of people with diverse backgrounds, watches, and stories. Completing another installment of this column has only made me more confident in the premise: watches are better when you get to know the wrist they are sitting on. Time to get started on Volume Three. Until next time, friends.
-Drake
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