Detective Randy Curtis has been with the Seattle Police Department for the past 22 years. The past 14 years have been on the bomb squad. He is also an Underwater Explosives Recovery Specialist in the Pacific Northwest.
Q&A with Detective Curtis:
Q) Have you ever actually had to defuse a real bomb? A) Yes. We typically refer to the process as ‘Rendering Safe’ though.
Q) How many? A) Too many.
Q) Are you ever nervous? A) Too busy ‘rendering safe’ to be nervous.
Q) What do you do for fun? A) Scuba diving. My RedSea Holystone fits perfectly in both worlds.
A Bomb Squad Technicians Gear List
The bomb squad equipment call-out list is very mission specific, dependent upon the dynamics of the known and taking into account ‘unknowns’. Of course the usual assortment of tools typically found in a ‘leatherman-style’ tool are invaluable and having a pocket knife handy is always a good idea. My Dad always said, “A gentlemen should always have a sharp pocket knife available.” I live by this credo.
But, TIME is typically imperative. Most every explosive is triggered to detonate along some kind of timeline. We attempt to apply our best ‘guess-timate’ what the bombers timeline might be.
The most widely popular pieces of equipment we use are portable x-rays machines & the MedEng EOD (Explosive Ordinance Disposal) Bomb Suit. It is a comfy, little conglomerate of Kevlar & ceramic tile weighing a mere 90lbs. On a cool day – it’s not a bad place to be. On a hot day – it’s downright miserable inside. Unless of course you’ve got a SegWay transport device (pictured above). In the picture though he’s not wearing the very important helmet – it would cover-up his smile
More about Randy
Besides recreationally diving Randy also serves as the only Underwater Explosives Recovery Specialist in the Pacific NW. As Randy put it “it’s always a good day when you can get wet.” He entered scuba diving as a hobby with his wife and though he prefers clear, moderate temperature dives for recreation – he’s also found diving in the Puget Sound to be amazing. There too, a trusted timepiece is amongst your best-buddies.
This past September, the RedSea Holystone got its first glimpse of action as it made Randy’s equipment list as he lead the “advance-team” of President Obama’s protection detail during his visit to the Pacific NW. Other notable details Randy has served on include protecting former Presidents Bush, Clinton, & G.W. Bush. Not to mention General Schwarzkopf, Anita Hill, Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Carl Sagan, and the Dali Lama!
And just last week, Randy taught a ‘Community Academy’ class for the Seattle Police Department where fifty members of the community came to learn about different aspects of police work – Randy taught the ‘bomb squad’ portion. To start the class off, he walked into the room in the aforementioned full bomb suit – ninety pounds of ceramic-tile & Kevlar in EOD green. Awesome!
In the picture he’s wearing an EOD 9 (Explosive Ordinance Disposal) bomb suit on his last mission in the rainy Pacific NW. It is 90 lbs. of Kevlar & ceramic tile designed to protect your style-conscious bomb technician. The other picture highlights the ‘Tools of the Trade’ as he called them.
So what’s next for Randy and his Holystone? Hitting-depth on an actual dive of course! He and his wife are headed to the Caribbean for a much needed vacation. “Typically, I take several watches – for whatever mood strikes while in paradise. The Holystone has already got the top-spot; after all it came with its own great travel case!”
Partings Words
Gentlemen, after having worn my PVD version of the Holystone for the past several weeks; I have set aside my Oris, Rolex & Panerai. You have created a wonderful timepiece. I love my Holystone.
Since having received my Holystone I have received several compliments from friends & acquaintances that are aware of my affinity toward timepieces. One co-worker, fellow bomb squad detective/owner of a Hublot, Phillip Patek, Omega, & Tag Heuer timepieces – daily asks to ‘try-on’ the Holystone.
I hope to inspire others to give ‘RedSea’ a chance. Now, I’m thinking my wife ought to get a Stainless Six Pounder a try as her dive watch!
We’ve been keeping busy here at RedSea lately which is a very good thing. We thought we’d take a little break to share some more of the feedback we’ve been receiving on our first release!
“The efforts, history, value, quality and extras that one gets with the Holystone make it worth the price of admission in my humble opinion.”
Six Pounder Unboxing Video by Markzzz
“I am very glad I made the leap for the RedSea. Josh and Troy did a phenomenal job. I am excited to see what they come up with next.”
What else are we hearing? Here is just a little sampling from folks across the country and around the world…
Six Pounder PVD
I received my SixPounder PVD today and all I have to say “what a great watch”. I have over 200 watches in my collection and this my first watch that was a first production. I am very impressed with the quality and workmanship of the watch. The black sunray dial adds a elegant touch to the watch and I love the Lum-Tec lume.
Keep up the great work and I will be a repeat customer. BTW your customer service is GREAT. Ken – Chula Vista, California
Six Pounder Stainless Steel
I received my Six Pounder and it’s even better than what I thought it was going to be. I only needed to give the bezel a turn and that solid feel let me know this is quality. I own over 60 watches many of which are from small start up companies like yours, but this watch is a step above (trust me I’m persnickety too….I sent a [different brand] back 4 times!). I am very pleased that I pre-ordered this watch and it is worth every second of the wait and every penny of the price. Keep up the good work and keep us informed of your next project. Matt – St. Louis, Missouri
Holystone PVD
You guys did a fantastic job on this watch, hat’s off to you two Gentlemen!!
When we gave our son the watch we were shocked at how happy he was, he was actually shaking when he took it out of the box! Seriously, he really was, we didn’t realize just how bad he really wanted this watch and when he saw that he actually had #2…he hasn’t taken it off since…except to wash/clean it after each dive or just before he goes to sleep at night! So, Thank you to both of you, that is one happy/proud boy!
This thing is great guys, LOVE IT!! Thank you for doing such a fine job and THANK YOU for the the contest so I had a chance to win another one too! I think your customers are going to love this watch and I’m sure they’ll love the six pounder too. Well, she hits the water in just a few short days!
[After their father/son dive]
Your Holystone dive watch serial #01 has been tested to a depth of 155 FSW and passed with flying colors. #2 has been tested to 122 FSW and passed with flying colors. Both are easily viewed at those depths and performed flawlessly-as I’m sure you expected. John – Austin, Texas
Holystone Stainless Steel
The watch arrived safely this morning, the quality is far higher than I was expecting especially the ss strap. For a first attempt at watch design I consider it a triumph, it may not be quite as aesthetically finely balanced as a high end big name but then there are not generations of design experience behind it plus multi-millions of dollars and of course it is far far less expensive.
I think for the price I paid it is superb value, excellent quality and very well presented. Iain – England
It is “Labor Day” here in the states which typically means we’re relaxing with family and friends. But as they say, you have to make hay when the sun shines – so we’ve spent it getting a big shipment of PVD pre-orders ready to ship and are loving every minute of it!
A big shout out to Lex over at OceanicTime for doing a quick photo shoot of his RedSea Holystone. He has a big love for all things dive watches and was kind enough to offer us some sound advice early on. If you aren’t already a fan of OceanicTime, do yourself a favor and check it out!
We thought we’d share a few things going on here at RedSea lately! We’ve filled all of our stainless steel pre-orders and are now shipping new orders as they come in. The PVD models have been delayed slightly, but will begin shipping soon!
We’ve had several reviews and write-ups pop up over the past few weeks and are getting some rave reviews. Check ‘em out for yourself! Here is a little sampling…
It has been a couple of the most insane weeks we’ve had to date – and we wouldn’t have it any other way!
Pre-Orders Our first batch of stainless steel Holystone & Six Pounder watches arrived last week and have all been packed and shipped out to those that placed their pre-orders! The second batch was only a few days behind it and just finished shipping out as well. And for those waiting for the PVD models, they’re getting close – the first few have arrived here in the US and are being calibrated as we speak!
Now Shipping! We have stainless steel Holystone & Six Pounder models ready to ship – order yours before it’s too late
RedSea Watch Giveaway We held the drawing for the free RedSea watch last Friday. Congratulations to our winner John P. of Austin, Texas. We called John to congratulate him and saying he was excited would be the understatement of the month! He has an incredible story that we hope to feature here soon. Thanks to everyone that participated in the pre-order giveaway.
Straps We hope to be adding extra NATO and rubber straps to our site for purchase soon. And even more exciting, we’re getting close to working out the final details for RedSea’s first handmade leather straps in partnership with a local strap maker.
Thank you to everyone for the continued support – it has been fun to see these start showing up on wrists around the world. Check out the cool lume shot a local owner took of his Holystone next to another classic diver.
Shipping Begins Our first batch of stainless steel Holystone & Six Pounder watches are expected to arrive today and will begin shipping to those who placed their pre-orders. The next batch should only be a week after that! We’re expecting the PVD models to follow shortly thereafter.
Pre-Orders End This means that our pre-order special will be ending today, July 20th. So if you’ve been waiting, now is the time! As a reminder, in addition to getting a $100 discount, all pre-orders will come with an additional 4th custom NATO strap and be entered into a drawing for a free RedSea watch of their choice. The drawing will be held on Friday, July 22nd.
Minnesota GTG To celebrate the arrival of our watches, we thought it would be fun to have a little watch GTG (get together) this Friday, July 22nd from 6-8pm at Carbone’s Bar & Restaurant in Lakeville, MN. This is open to anyone that is interested – it would be fun to meet some local watch enthusiasts!
Check out a few shots of the completed watches before they undergo final QC checks along with some pictures of the final QC process.
We thought it was about time for another update. Things are moving along quite nicely and we are still on track for our July delivery. Though we don’t have specific dates, it will likely be towards the later half of the month.
And what fun would an update be without a few teaser pics Seeing the black date wheel’d Miyota 9015 married up with the actual dials and hands is magical. For those of you that have ordered yours in PVD, check out the matching buckle on the rubber strap. And we just couldn’t resist sharing a closeup of the bracelet and clasp!
We have really enjoyed having you come alongside of us in this journey and are grateful for your continued support!
First and foremost we’d like to thank all of our pre-orders for their continued support as we navigate through our first release. For those that have been following our progress, but haven’t received the most recent updates, here is where we currently stand:
9015 Movement Update (black with white) We finally did hear back from Miyota regarding the movements. We wanted to hold off on letting everyone know until we finalized a backup plan. Miyota informed us that due to the recent catastrophic events the movements would be delayed into the summer. This would put our delivery timing even further out after you add on final assembly and QA checks.
9015 Movement Backup (white with black) Since the impact and length of delay is longer than we are willing to wait (we want our watches to their owners!) we have been working with some great partners in the industry to acquire 300 Miyota 9015 movements that have white date wheels with black numbers. Though we would prefer to use the black date wheel as our original design called for, we feel that this slight aesthetic difference doesn’t warrant an additional lengthy dely.
Production Updates The white Miyota 9015 movements are currently making their way to the assembler where the master watchmaker is anxiously awaiting! The highly anticipated LUM-TEC® blue lume has been mixed and is ready to be applied by hand to the fully lumed bezel. We also got word that the rubber straps with stainless steel buckles are complete and the PVD’d buckles are right behind them!
We received an unfortunate update about our dials overnight. When test fitting the movement it was discovered that the positioning of the dial feet was incorrect. The original solution was to just reposition the feet on the dials making for a quick fix. However we were just informed that the dial factory was unsuccessful when attempting to reposition the feet. This means that all the dials need to be remade. Fortunately this process is much faster the second time around, but it will still take roughly 6-8 weeks to finalize.
We have learned a great deal over the past 2 years. Perhaps our biggest learning is with timing: with any new build, expect the unexpected. We’ve put a lot into our first release – 8 custom molds, 3 custom bands, and a brand new movement – a complex undertaking to say the least. However, we don’t want to make any excuses as it doesn’t change the fact that we’ve missed our timing. We do feel that this is the last bump in the road since everything else is checked off. Having said that, we’re adding a month to the June estimate that our manufacturing partners just provided putting our new delivery timing in July.
We apologize and share in any frustrations you may have. We will of course continue to keep you updated with pictures and production news. Once again, thank you for your continued support!
We thought we’d share a few recent photo’s – we’re getting SO close. Check out the completed case, bezel, crown, caseback, drilled lugs, dial, and bracelet! A couple things to note about the pictures – they haven’t been brushed or PVD’d yet and the date wheel pictured is white with black numbers, ours will be black with white numbers.
We were expecting to take delivery of our movements from Miyota this past week. When inquiring about the current status we received a reply indicating that as a result of the recent tragedy in Japan (Miyota’s headquarters), not only is Miyota experiencing a transportation shortage, but their employees have been impacted as well. It should go without saying that our main concern is with all of those impacted by the catastrophic events – our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone that has been affected.
We also understand that this may impact the timing of our release, or it may not. We have not heard one way or the other but we wanted to be upfront with everyone about a potential delay. We anticipate finding out more information later next week.
We remain committed to delivering our pre-orders as soon as we possibly can and will be expediting shipments when/where possible to hopefully speed things along. We will send out updates as we receive them to keep everyone up to date with the most current information possible.
In times of catastrophic events, we understand the importance of banding together as human beings. With that said we will be donating a portion of all current and future pre-orders to help with relief efforts.
Thank you for your continued support and please contact us if you have any questions or concerns.
We are very excited to say we have joined Watch Talk Forums and they will host “The Official RedSea Watches Forum”. We cannot say enough great things about the owner, John, as he has been a remarkable individual to work with! Watch Talk Forums is an amazing place for watch ethusiasts to discuss watches in general and even learn more about the finer points of horology.
If you are interested in learning more about this forum, click the following link: Watch Talk Forums
Another Strap for pre-orders?
That’s right! We are happy to say that all pre-orders will receive an additional custom made nato strap, bringing the total to 4 straps that will be shipped with each pre-order. It is our way of saying thanks to everyone for your patience and support with this first launch. Important to note that the hardware on both the black and black/red nato straps will be available in stainless steel and PVD so it will match your specific order
These custom made nato straps will also be available on our site for seperate order after the pre-orders ship.
Detective Randy Curtis has been with the Seattle Police Department for the past 22 years. The past 14 years have been on the bomb squad. He is also an Underwater Explosives Recovery Specialist in the Pacific Northwest.
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