Summary: Episode 90 of The Grey NATO is a conversation Jason had with Paul Scurfield, a UK-based commercial saturation diver. For some, Paul may be familiar from his other job as the founder of the Scurfa watch company, a brand he started in order to make tough, affordable watches he and his fellow divers could wear on the job. But Paul isn’t just a microbrand champion. He’s collected Tudors, Rolexes and the odd Patek Philippe over the years and remembers his teenaged years looking longingly at COMEX and military Submariners in the Army Navy shops in Newcastle, England, before their prices got where they are today. Paul talks to Jason about his work in commercial diving, the nature of this arcane kind of work, his history collecting and wearing watches, and explains why older iPhones were more helium safe than newer ones. He also talked a little bit about running his own small brand and the philosophy behind Scurfa. Additionally, don't miss Paul's fascinating report on WatchUseek about the function and application of Helium Escape Valves, he's one of the few people that can speak about HEVs with authority and it's worth a read for any dive watch enthusiast (click here to read: https://forums.watchuseek.com/f74/helium-escape-valves-my-findings-4846395.html) Producer's note: this recording was done several months ago via Skype between Paul’s home base in England and Jason’s in the US. At the time we didn’t have a specific intention of using it for The Grey NATO, so the sound quality isn’t quite up to the standards you’ve come to expect from TGN. But James did his best with the edit, and we think the content of Jason’s chat with Paul is worth it, which is why we decided to run this as a full episode. For more information about Scurfa Watches, you can check out his website (www.scurfawatches.com), and be sure to follow Paul on Instagram (www.instagram.com/scurfawatches)
