Three Datomasters and a Trip Down Memory Lane

Earlier today, our friends at Fratello gave us an unexpected little trip down memory lane.

On the latest episode of Fratello On Air, Mike and Balazs were talking about “the watches that got away” — watches they once owned, sold, and maybe wish they still had. One of those was Balazs’s Nivada Grenchen Datomaster.

That brought up a memory we hadn’t thought about in a while.

Years ago, Balazs, Mike, and I all happened to own Nivada Grenchen Datomasters at the same time. Naturally, when we found ourselves together in Basel, during the old school Baselworld fair, we did what any group of watch nerds would do: we put all three together and took a photo. It was officially the largest gathering of Datomasters in the world. Probably.

It’s a small story, but hearing them talk about it again reminded me of one of my favorite things about this industry.

Long before Oak & Oscar had made many of the watches we’re known for today, I was simply a guy who loved watches. I loved discovering them, learning about them, hunting them down and, most importantly, meeting other people who were just as excited about them as I was.

A lot has changed since that photo was taken. Oak & Oscar has grown, we’ve made a lot more watches, and thankfully we’ve still had a few reasons to get together with Mike, Balazs and the Fratello crew over the years.

But the fun part really hasn’t changed all that much.

We still love watches. We still love the stories behind them. And we still really love the people they bring together.

Thanks to Mike and Balazs for the shoutout — and for reminding us of a pretty great one that got away.

Give the latest episode of Fratello On Air a listen: “The Watches That Got Away.”