Billy Strings Has a “Nasty Addiction” to Great Vintage Watches

The musician goes deep on the best watches in his collection, starring in the latest Wind Vintage x True North campaign, and why the bluegrass community loves the Accutron Spaceview.Mitch Clinard / Wind VintageThis is an edition of the newsletter Box + Papers, Cam Wolf’s weekly deep dive into the world of watches. Sign up here.Whenever the bluegrass musician Billy Strings has a couple of days off on the road, he’ll inevitably start rooting around for someplace to shop for watches. But unlike most stars of his magnitude Strings isn’t looking to sip champagne while perusing the latest luxury timepieces at a ritzy multi-level boutique. Instead, the 33-year-old feels far more at home in thrift shops and antique stores, where he can hunt for old pieces from the likes of Casio, Universal Genève, and Hamilton.“That’s one of my favorite things to find: a tiny hole-in-the-wall store that has some cool vintage pieces,” Strings tells me over the phone.The bluegrass star’s love of affordable throwback watches makes him a fitting frontman for the latest collaboration between Wind Vintage founder Eric Wind and True North Company. The Florida-based dealer has designed another spirited and colorful take on the upstart LA brand’s Vintage Rally Timer. The model is a loving homage to ’70s-era Rolex Daytonas—right down to its 37mm size, which Strings considers a plus for his smaller wrists.This is the fourth release from Wind and TNC. It’s no surprise the pair keeps running it back: The three previous watches—inspired by everything from Wind’s love of playing Uno with his family to his daughter’s preference for pastels—all sold out immediately and often pop up on the secondary market for way above their $400 price tag. The new “Dreamsicle” edition makes good on its namesake with a soft orange dial and the collaboration’s now-signature multicolored subdials. (One apparent fan of the Easter-ish palette? Pope Leo XIV, who was given the watch by Wind on a recent trip to the Vatican.) The new piece—which is priced slightly higher than its predecessors at $490 and limited to 1,986 pieces—drops on October 2 at 1 p.m. EST via True North’s website.I spoke with Billy Strings about starring in the collaboration’s accompanying campaign, his love of digging for secondhand watches, and the very special timepiece he wore when his son was born.GQ: You’re the face of Eric Wind’s new Wind Vintage × True North “Dreamsicle” watch. How did you guys get connected?Billy Strings: I’m just a big fan of the niche vintage stuff. I got really into Accutrons—the old Spaceviews are the bluegrass watch. There was this guy named Tony Rice who collected them and worked on them. Tony Rice was the best bluegrass guitar player ever, so a lot of the bluegrass community is into these watches because it’s an if-you-know-you-know thing. I really got into those, old Ernest Borel cocktail watches, and some of these little vintage finds.I like vintage stuff in general: old cars, old guitars. So when I started getting into watches, I immediately went toward the vintage stuff, and Eric is just one of the most knowledgeable cats in that world. He wanted to come to one of my concerts, and I was like, “Man, hell yeah, I’ll just put you on the guest list. While you’re at it, why don’t you bring me this Universal Genève Disco Volante watch?” which was on his site.What’s your relationship with UG?That’s another brand that I got really into, and that was before it came back. To me, it seemed like I found something that was my own, that not everybody was into. With Universal, you could find these really cool watches with an amazing design language, and these amazing vintage chronographs for a great price. So it was right up my alley: you could find a really cool-looking vintage watch, and you don’t have to spend an arm and a leg to get it.So I invited [Wind] to come out to one of my shows. And he came backstage and hung out, he brought me a watch, and we just became friends. He’s an amazing guy—he’s so smart, and he knows so much about these watches. So if I go find something on eBay, I can send it to him and say, “Hey, what’s up with this?” And he’ll say, “Oh, well, that’s not the correct crown,” or whatever.How did you get involved with the True North collaborations?He sent me the “Uno” one, and he asked me about this “Dreamsicle” thing and if I wanted to try it out. I love those watches because the design’s really smart. I love the proportions—it’s a smaller chronograph. A lot of modern watches just don’t fit me, I guess, because I have smaller wrists. And then just even taste-wise, I’m just not into some 45-millimeter crazy stuff.I’ve always liked them because the Daytona inspiration is clear, but they’re doing their own distinct thing.I love the playfulness of the color. They’re just really fun watches, and they’re quartz movements, so you just set it and forget it and it’s always on time. I’m not worried about banging it around or wearing the crap out of it. I’m super stoked on them, and I actually got my bandmates some.Is that something that you do regularly—give your touring band members a gift or a watch of some kind?There was a time when I rounded up quite a few different Accutron Spaceviews I found on eBay, and I sent them to this guy I know who works on Accutrons specifically. He made sure the hands were correct, put new crystals on them, serviced them and everything, and then I gifted them all to my band. I can’t say enough about how Tony Rice has influenced the bluegrass community with these watches. I mean, it’s a very niche thing, and he was just such an interesting cat. His timing with his guitar playing was so intricate, and I really liked the correlation: a watch that keeps perfect time and a musician who kept perfect time. As musicians, I think we pride ourselves on being metronomic and being able to keep time, without pushing forward or backward to keep a solid groove. It’s almost like a watch that is plus or minus a few seconds a month or whatever. And Tony Rice was like a U.F.A. Spring Drive. I mean, he was plus or minus one second a year.So it was really cool to be able to gift the guys those watches because it’s the bluegrass watch, and they’re bluegrass players, and every deep bluegrass musician should have one. I feel like it’s kind of a rite of passage. We all wear them, and I also chose specific models for each cat.Most recently, my banjo player Billy Failing, who’s been with me for 10 years now, he’s a rock climber and he’s always going on hikes and backpacking trips for weeks on end. I was like, “Man, if he’s with me for 10 years, I’m going to get him a [Rolex] Explorer.” So I have these ideas for each person in my band, I can already see which watch I would get them. For Billy, I wanted to get him a vintage 1016 Explorer, and I had the back engraved, “For 10 years of banjo.”Where did your love for watches stem from, and how did it grow?When my wife and I first got together, probably about 10 years ago, she gifted me a Citizen Eco-Drive—it’s kind of a military-style watch.I wore that watch for years, and I still wear it. It’s my favorite watch. If my house caught on fire, that’s one of the things that I would grab.And then I got into the Accutrons just because I’m a bluegrass player. That was a big rabbit hole. I mean, I must have bought 10 or 12 of them.One day, we played one of these late-night talk shows in New York City, maybe it was Seth Meyers. But on the bottom floor of that building [30 Rockefeller Plaza] is a jewelry store, and I walked by the window and I saw this Ernest Borel cocktail watch with this kaleidoscopic dial, and I was like, “Whoa.” I’m really into psychedelia: Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles, the Grateful Dead, and all that stuff. And this dial, to me, screamed ’60s psychedelia. So I went inside and I bought it, and that kind of sparked a new obsession for me with these cocktail watches, particularly these Ernest Borel kaleidoscope dials. I got a couple of those, I gave my mom one. And then from there, I think it just progressed into a nasty addiction.The other model I heard you’re really into are these corporate-branded Omega Seamasters.I have two or three vintage models that were given to folks who worked at Chevrolet because I’m into old Chevy cars. I have an Omega that says Chevrolet on the dial, and on the back it says, “For 20 years of service at GM,” or whatever. I just think that’s super cool—somebody worked at the GM factory, probably in Detroit, and was gifted this watch. I’m from Michigan, and years later, I’m rocking it and it’s still ticking.That’s the other thing about these things that I just love: In this age where everything is digital—our cars, our phones, smartwatches, all this stuff—[watches are] the final holdout of mechanical things, this little tiny machine that fits in a tiny case and will work for generations.It’s crazy.I have a two-year-old son, and I have watches that I already know that I’m going to give to him one day. I was wearing a [stainless steel monoface Jaeger-LeCoultre] Reverso when he was born, when I first held him, and I had it engraved with his name and his birthdate. That’s his watch when I feel that he’s old enough to take care of it.It’s so fun when you have a watch like that. I do that with my kids, where I’ve pegged a watch for them, and then I get sort of OCD about wearing it on occasions tied to them.Yeah, it’s a beautiful thing. I was able to pull him into this world. The doctor looked down and said, “You want him?” And I grabbed the little back of his neck, and I gave him a tug, and here he comes.The first moment of his life, I was wearing that watch. I mean, it was covered in fluid. [Laughs.] So yeah, it’s really special. I had it engraved with his name and his birthday. And just like you said, his birthday’s coming up exactly one week from today, and you bet your ass that’s the watch I’m going to be wearing.Is it vintage or a modern one?It’s a newer one. I bought it while I was on tour in Paris [to commemorate] my first European tour.Wow. So it’s doubly significant. It’s the perfect watch to get engraved.Yeah, I always knew when I got it that I would want to put something on the other side. When my son was born, I finally had something to put on there.Was it just a coincidence that you were wearing that watch? Or did your wife go into labor and you were like, “Where’s my Reverso!?”I just happened to be wearing it. And it was at that time that I realized, “I want to get this engraved with this, because this was a special moment.”I also understand you have a real knack for finding these off-the-beaten-path vintage shops with cool watches. Is that something you enjoy doing, and what have you found in there?Yeah, I definitely will go looking for vintage watch stores, or even antique stores and things like that, and see if I can find something. When we’re somewhere in the middle of the country on tour, I’ll do a little Google search and see if there are any places near me.When I do this, I’m looking for vintage Casios, Accutrons, Universals, or things like that. And there was one day specifically where I found this vintage watch store. You went in, and this guy had old Hamiltons, Walthams, and Ebels—these kind of deep-cut vintage finds. That’s my kind of place. And I ended up getting this kind of [Bulova] Accutron railroad-style 214, and this old Casio from the early ’90s or something. Those are also cool. I don’t wear them all the time, but sometimes it is nice to just have a digital watch like an old Casio or something. I think they’re super cool. Of course, the F91s I think are just super cool.It sounds like you get a greater sense of satisfaction hunting these more affordable pieces than walking into the local boutique with the glass cases.Well, yeah, definitely. I mean, I like finding the vintage ones that are affordable. That’s just more my style.It’s good for people to hear this, because watch collecting can seem so inaccessible, but there are so many different ways that you can go about it.I get [why people like high-end timepieces], but I don’t want to walk around with something so expensive on my wrist. I would feel embarrassed. But some vintage Accutron is a conversation starter, and it’s just more my style. Nothing against anybody who has [those types of pieces]. But I also just don’t got it like that—I don’t got that crazy fuck-you money. And you don’t have to [in order] to get into watches. You can find something really cool and vintage for a couple hundred bucks if you just go hunting.I am super focused on the vintage, and I was really excited for the relaunch, but like a lot of people, I think the prices are a little steep. What was so cool to me about Universal Genève is you could find these watches with amazing designs for a thousand bucks, [like] an amazing-looking vintage chronograph with really good proportions.I also felt like it was my own thing. I was into Universal because I had found this thing, and I loved the design language and the price. When I first started getting into them, I didn’t know anybody else that was into them—I I had found my own thing, and it wasn’t because of Instagram hype or something John Mayer had worn.But now that it’s kind of gotten hyped up, it almost takes away from it in a way. I hate to say that [the relaunch has] put a bad taste in my mouth, even about my vintage ones and stuff, but it almost changed the perception of the brand. I can see where they’re trying to position themselves in today’s world.That being said, it’s a much different world today. Everything’s more expensive. And these are amazing watches that have amazing movements, and the finishing is there, and everything’s great. So like I said, I have to see it in the metal. I’m still a big fan of the brand. And one of the things that really geeks me out is just the old-school advertisements and the [story about the] Polerouter [being] gifted to pilots.I’m also a big fan of Zodiac, and the old Sea Wolf, and the ads with these guys swimming with a knife in their teeth. I just love that old-school, Mad Men-era kind of stuff. And then the whole Zodiac serial killer thing with the circle and the plus sign [logo]—I like that stuff, and that’s what gets my brain going.How do you pick a watch when you’re performing on stage? Are they different from the watches you’d wear in your day-to-day life?No, I think with anything, even the clothes that I wear or whatever, I don’t wear anything specific on stage. I like going on stage in the T-shirt that I wore that day because I just want to feel like myself. I figure out what I’m going to wear that day—what shirt and what watch—and I try to just stick to that.I don’t think about trying to dress up and stuff, because at the end of the day, it should be about the music, not what I’m wearing. There’s so much superficial stuff in this music industry, and I don’t want it to be about how I look, I want it to be about how I sound. So it’s whatever I’m feeling that specific day. I try to live in the moment as much as I can, from what I’m wearing to which song I’m playing to which watch I have on.See all of our newsletters, including Box + Papers, hereCam Wolf is GQ’s Watch Editor. He joined the magazine in 2017 after working at Racked (RIP) as the site’s (first!) (and only!) Menswear Editor and Complex in the role of Style News Editor. Shortly into his GQ tenure, he immersed himself in the world of watches and quickly fell ... Read More