Good items from the 2000s②

In the early 2000s, there was such a jumble of "things" that I didn't know what the right answer was, and I felt like there was no "it has to be this."

When it comes to clothes, I think people today are really fashionable. There are almost no people who look as unfashionable as yesterday's denim, and many people pay attention to every detail from the hem to the fine sizing when they dress.
If you watch dramas and movies from that time, you'll see that only a very small number of people were truly fashionable, and most people had a loose, or to put it negatively, sloppy style of dress.

As for watches, when David Beckham, the British hero, came to Japan for the "Korea/Japan World Cup" held in 2002, he was not only an amazing player but also incredibly stylish and cool in appearance. Beckham at the time was known for wearing D&G denim and a large-cased watch, which became a hot topic.

The watch he wore then was a Panerai, and it was at this time that Panerai, which was previously unknown except to serious watch enthusiasts, suddenly became famous.
If you're knowledgeable about watches, you'll know that at the time, a used Panerai for 200,000 yen was considered expensive, and people wondered who would wear such a large watch.

However, as Panerai's name spread due to Beckham's influence, every Panerai watch, from authorized dealers to parallel import stores and used specialty stores, disappeared from the market and was sold at premium prices.

This was a phenomenon similar to the "Kimutaku x Explorer" situation of a while back, but the fact that there isn't much difference in the market now suggests that trends for nearly 30 years have been influenced by someone, wouldn't you say?

That being said, it's true that the Panerai of that era became more and more interesting the more I learned about it. I might have been following the trend, but I also bought things like the Logo Base and Pika Sub. However, my personal interest and excitement waned around the time they started developing their own movements, but looking back at watches from that period, not all of them were bad.




The Santos Galbée XL that arrived the other day. This is actually the first time I've ever seen this watch (lol). I've sold countless watches, but there's a reason I've never held this one.

This watch was released around 2006. Before that, the Santos Galbée we handled several times was the LM size. It was quite small for its time, so it probably underwent a model change, but the most talked-about Cartier at that time was the "Santos 100." This XL and the Santos 100 MM were about the same size, and the even larger Santos 100 LM size was comparable to large cases like Panerai.

Because of that, the Santos Galbée itself didn't sell well at all. The SM size was very popular with women, but men were exclusively buying watches the size of Panerai, which led to the trend of larger watches from various brands later on.

Looking at it now, the XL-sized Santos Galbée feels large, but at the time, it was ignored because it felt small, and perhaps because sales didn't grow, there are few of them available. I thought it might finally attract attention after nearly 15 years, but above all, there are so few of them that there's nothing to compare it to (lol).

Personally, I prefer the old model because this size is quite large, but it would be a perfect size for someone tall or well-built, or someone with a wrist circumference of nearly 19cm or more. Isn't it perfect for those who find the old model too small and the current model too big?

Since this is a somewhat special watch, we had the manufacturer do a thorough repair and set the price considering other selling prices, but it's unlikely to be restocked. Moreover, it comes with all accessories, so the conditions are by no means bad. Of course, it's not a cheap purchase, so it's okay to deliberate, but for those for whom both the design and size fit perfectly, there's no better watch.

I myself use a Santos Galbée and fully understand its ease of use and versatility, so much so that I believe there's no reason not to buy this watch. If my wrist circumference were just 2cm larger, I would definitely buy it (lol).

In any case, considering the charm and content of the watch itself, I think you can't go wrong, so please experience the charm of watches from the 2000s!