Talking Watches With Fred Savage

Today we're in Los Angeles to talk to a man who's a writer, producer, and actor. You might recognize him from such iconic appearances as Kevin Arnold in The Wonder Years and The Princess Bride. He's also a watch collector. His name is Fred Savage and today we're Talking Watches. Fred Savage, thank you so much for joining us on Talking Watches. It's an incredible honor. Thrilled, thrilled to have you here. This is amazing. The pleasure is truly ours. I have to say, and I mean this literally, I feel like I've grown up with you. I mean, The Wonder Years was on my television all the time growing up as a child. It means a lot to meet you here today. That's really nice to hear. It's my pleasure. I'm a big fan of the site and of you and I don't know, I feel like I'm really doing a disservice to Talking Watches. This is an affront to Talking Watches. It is, it is, but I'm very happy to be here. This is a thrill for me. Likewise, definitely. So how did you get into watches in the first place? I always wore watches. I remember 10, 11, 12, I would always wear a watch. In high school, I'd wear a watch. In college, I just wore watches. I don't know, I just always liked, you know, having something on my wrist. And then after college, I really started to get in to appreciate the design and history behind vintage watches. And so which was your first watch out of everything here on the table? This one was my first vintage buy. I bought this when I was probably 20, early 20s, at Want to Buy a Watch. I think it was like $300. And I loved it. I'm from Chicago. So I liked it. It was Illinois. I didn't know much about vintage watches. I just, it really spoke to me. I loved everything about it. I loved the patina. The dial's stained. It's certainly not perfect. But I just, there was something about that that made me feel like that watch has lived a life. The difficulty for me, I have thick wrists. And so thick-wristed. And the gentlemen of another era were less so. So they're a little more diminutive, the case sizes. This is a buy in the last couple of years. This Halbro's Alarm. Yeah, of course. And, you know, as I was learning about vintage watches, the idea of an analog alarm just blew my mind. I love the design. I love the syringe hands. I love the blue, the kind of the railroad dial with the red alarm hand. You know, I think it was like a $300 or $400 eBay buy. Can't really complain about that. No. And I think if I collect watches the rest of my life, the joy received versus dollar spent ratio, I don't think I can do better than this watch. There's good value there. And then how did you make the jump into traditional Swiss vintage watches? Well, on that trip to want to buy a watch in the late 90s, I saw a 1016. And I was like, wow, that's gorgeous. It didn't fit what I thought a Rolex was. It was so clean. You know, I really love a clean face. The aesthetic was so simple and elegant. And so I wasn't, you know, in a position to get that. But that was like my grail watch for the longest time. To the point when we got married, actually, my wife got me a watch. She was like, you know, we can't really get a 1016 right now, but we'll start here. Yeah, and it looks a lot like it. It does look a lot like it. This is her version of it. Yeah, it's beautiful. The best is yet to come is engraved on the back. It was a song we played at our wedding. So this was kind of, you know, the 1016 loomed large in our life. And then for my 40th, my wife got me a 1016. Oh, that's amazing. And because she got it for me, I felt like that was a blessing to open up a whole nother world and spend a whole different price point. And so that really changed everything for me. And also, I think from an emotional place, my dad had passed away before my 40th, and he always wanted a T-Bird, a 57 T-Bird. He had it in college, and he always wanted one as an adult. And he never got one for himself. And he always regretted it. When Jennifer got that for me, it was also kind of inspired by my dad about, if there's something you really love, you know, go for it. It makes you happy. If it makes you happy, go for it. And like vintage cars, you know, similar to vintage watches, if you buy well, you'll do okay. And it's also from an emotional standpoint, it's just a real connection to my dad and this idea of be frugal, you know, don't overextend, but you deserve to treat yourself every once in a while. It's okay. That's very wise. And that was a nice lesson from my dad. And then after the Explorer, where did you head next? I was kind of all over the place. I think the next kind of big buy for me after the Explorer, I got my pilot's license. No kidding. And again, with my wife, we saw this Navitimer. It just was so beautiful. And then, you know, I just love the history of the flying and, you know, this particular watch, you know, it's signed crown, signed case, but the dial is clean, just the AOPA logo. And so again, my wife liked it and I was like, all right, I guess let's go for it. And I just love it. I love it. I love the history, the connection to aviation. I love spiking the football after a year of studying and, you know, training to become a pilot. I got it. I was like, I'm gonna take this flying. And I learned early on that it is a useless tool watch. The planes that I fly are single engine. It's like a lawnmower motor. I mean, these are not like these smooth riding jets. They're literally like this. Like they're not very smooth rides. And I was trying to read the dial. I'm like, this is useless. And so I don't wear it to fly anymore, but I love the connection to it. And that was the excuse to get it. And then after this, you went into the GMT family. Yeah. After this, I went into the GMT family. I was like, well, I got this. I'll go, I'll go for the GMT. And I ended up with a vintage and a modern. This is just, you know, a great blue black GMT II that I really love. Every once in a while I want to throw on a contemporary watch. So when I do, I throw that one on. And then I also got a GMT, a 1675. It's a beauty. Yeah. This is a new purchase. And I love the patina on that and the faded bezel. Yeah. It's a really nice, honest watch. Yeah. I like watches that tell you that they've lived a life before you. It makes you feel a little more humble, you know, a little smaller in the scheme of things. You know, it kind of distances you from this idea of like collecting possessions. You're just kind of hanging onto it for a while. And someone else will own this after that. And maybe I'll put a dent or two in it between now and then. I can tell based on the conversation we had earlier that you're about to go deep because you don't have this watch on a bracelet, but you have the bracelet. And you made sure you had the bracelet for this Monaco. Yeah. Yeah. There's a real nerdiness to what's going on now. And so I'm really going deep. But yeah, have it on the bracelet. I needed it on the bracelet. I'm not going to wear the bracelet. I like having it. And so you can get really nerdy about stuff. And they just lead you down these roads. You start somewhere that's reasonable. And then you end up somewhere that's totally not reasonable. And then speaking of going deep, you went pretty deep on this Tudor, which is not an easy thing to do in the modern Tudor world. Yeah. No, I can find a way to make anything really difficult. It's amazing. Yeah. This is a modern Tudor. I love that it's kind of the working man's Rolex. I love the connection to the luxury watch. And they made something for a price point that's more accessible. I fell in love with the snowflake hands when I learned about that. And I wear it all the time. And I love how unique it is. I mean, I love every little thing about the Tudor is cool. Yeah, it really is. We've got a great Galet chronograph over here. Yeah, this is a newer buy. This is one of my new watch friends. This is from Eric Wind. This is a Wind Vintage Special. You know, I just love the red, white, and blue of the tachometer and the telemeter on the back. And then green of the numerals is just great. And the volume is terrific on this. And I just love the interplay of the colors. And yeah, it's got a nice inscription on the back, which dates to, I think this is like the 60s. Yeah, it's an incredibly complex but simple and elegant design. I wear this one all the time. I really love that one. So you've become, I wouldn't say a pillar quite yet, but maybe soon you'll be a pillar of the watch collecting community. And you are blessed to have Morgan King in Los Angeles as a friend in the watch world. He's a special guy. He's a great guy. I met him at this lunch. And I said, Eric, who's going to be at this lunch? And one of the guys was Morgan King. I'm like, I'm not going to sit there. It's Morgan King. I saw him on Talking Watches. I read all about him. I'm like, this guy, I can't hang on this guy. He's like, just come. Stop arguing with me and just come. I went, I slapped a watch on each wrist in honor of him. And I met him at this lunch. And he's just amazing. It's a really great world. It really is. Full of really eccentric personalities from all different walks of life. And the one thing that unites us is our just little fetish, you know, about this, this world. I mean, I met all these guys six months ago, and now you're in my living room. And it's amazing that you open yourself up to the community. Yeah, it's been it's been amazing. It's incredible. Now, if you allow me to be a nerd and a fan of yours, I mean, what's it like having this this history with the Wonder Years, which is such like it is the ultimate feel good, you know, television show of the past 30 years. It's just it's such an iconic television show that meant so much to so many people. That's really nice. No, it's it's a early on in my career with the Wonder Years and also with the Princess Bride. Of course, I was lucky enough to kind of make these two things or be a part of these two things that had that light. I feel incredibly fortunate and honored that people still look back at this work, and I feel fortunate to be a part of it and honored that they look back on it so fondly. So the children that you have are also a bit of a watch collector? Yeah, they the love of watches and, you know, just wearing them and appreciating the design of them has gone on to pass down to my kids, which I couldn't be more excited about. They knew you were coming and they were as excited as I was. And so they brought their collections down for you to see as well. My son, you know, when he was, I don't know, seven or eight, we were at a store and, you know, he's heard me talking about watches and he asked me about mine and he said, Oh, daddy, that's a subsecond dial. And I was like, he's in, he's in, you know, and and so I was off to the races with him. And then my daughter, we were on vacation somewhere and we were at dinner with some friends and she looked over and she was probably, I don't know, eight, eight or nine. And she's like, is that a vintage Cartier? And I was like, Oh my gosh, she's in, she loves it. And so they really, they really appreciate it. And then my youngest, my five-year-old has a great BB-8 watch, has a great Avengers watch. And the thing I love most about his collection is that his favorite watch was passed down to him by his older brother. And Oliver had had this flick flack that he gave to his little brother when he felt like he had kind of grown beyond it. There's something inherent about, about the appreciation of love for watches, whether it's, you know, a vintage paddock or a flick flack that you've had for three years, there's a meaning to these pieces. And I think that's really special. So my kids are starting to really embody that. They're very proud of their collection and wanted you to to see them. It is an honor, truly.