Which as we all know is what attracted Major Lawrence to the desert.
With those cinematic bon mots out of the way, on to the latest offering from Tudor -
Courtesy of Tudor
First impressions? Well, here gentle reader, I have to be honest -
Meh....
Meaning I was left unmoved, unimpressed, and uninspired. As mentioned on more than one occasion - I am the proud owner of a Tudor. I have had some desirous thoughts about the Tudor Professional (opaline dial), and although it's not everyone's baby, the pink dialed chronograph was an inspired release. And for once Tudor showed restraint by not flooding the market with a gazillion of them. What was mocked by some has become a hot ticket!
So in fairness, Tudor can execute. It just seems that the execution is somewhat sporadic. The new Tudor Ranger in beige is not "born to dare". It is like my high school soccer coach - playing not to lose. When you're so fearful of losing, you become too afraid to win.
But with that said, and in all fairness, this might be just the ticket for you. So here are the pertinents, straight from Tudor -
Watch Specifications
Reference: M79930-0008
Five-year Guarantee
Five-year transferable guarantee with no registration or periodic maintenance checks required
Case
36mm steel case, satin finish
Lugs: 19mm lug width
Case thickness: 11.0mm
Movement
Manufacture Calibre MT5400 (COSC) Self-winding mechanical movement with bidirectional rotor system
Power Reserve
Power reserve of approximately 70 hours
Winding Crown
Steel screw-down crown with the TUDOR rose in relief
Waterproofness
Waterproof to 100m (330 ft)
Bezel
Smooth satin-brushed steel
Dial
Beige, domed
Crystal
Domed sapphire crystal
Bracelet
Green fabric bracelet with red and beige stripes and buckle
Dimensions Diameter 39 mm Height with glass 13.60 mm Lug-to-lug: 46 mm
Material Satin/polished stainless steel HyCeram®
Bezel Rotating stainless steel bezel, bidirectional 24 clicks (also usable for setting a second time zone) Red HyCeram® pusher
CRYSTAL Double anti-reflective sapphire crystal on the dial side
BACK Screw-down case back Sapphire crystal display back Anti-reflective coating on the inside Finely integrated Gentry Labs watermark Engraved, consecutive limited edition number (XXX/200)
WATER RESISTANCE Water resistant to 10 bar/10 ATM according to DIN 8310
MOVEMENT:
CALIBER Sellita AMT5100 M 28,800 A/h (4 Hz) 23 jewels
POWER RESERVE 58 hours after full winding
FUNCTIONS Flyback Small seconds 30-minute counter Central stop-seconds Hacking seconds Date display
DIAL
DIAL Matte black dial White Arabic numerals "Big Eye" 30-minute counter at 3 o'clock Historic Hanhart logo Date window at 6 o'clock
Numerals Super-Luminova® X2 C1 coated
Hands Super-Luminova® X2 C1 coated Red tip
STRAP:
Strap FKM (fluoroelastomer) rubber strap Water, sweat, and heat resistant Highly resistant to oils, fuels, and chemicals Lug width 20 mm
Those of you who might remember, Hanhart had spent what seemed like an eternity in the hinterlands of Watch Town. You could get a Hanhart any way you wanted it... so long as what you wanted was a black chronograph ; )
Courtesy of Hanhart
Thank goodness times have changed! I will be taking a deep dive with Hanhart in the coming weeks, looking back on my brief (and odd) stint trying to promote Hanhart in North America as a pr flack during the brief tenure of Thomas Morf back in 2012. Probably the less said about that time, the better. But I'll also be interviewing Felix Wallner in the coming weeks, and looking for some insight into what's cooking in Guetenbach. But back to the matter at hand. The Silva collection are time only, and part of the Pioneer family. They measure 38.5 mm in diameter, and the cases are of stainless steel with an exhibition back. The movement is the Soprod SOP P024 (automatic/self-winding.
Like any crisis, COVID-19 has laid bare a lot of realities that were probably always there, but that could continue on until external events made it impossible for them to remain unacknowledged.
For those of you unfamiliar, the Dunning-Kruger effect, its name is derived from a study conducted by David Dunning and Justin Kruger back just before the turn of the century (1999). The study exposed a very interesting paradox - in several instances average performing people tended to place themselves in the upper echelons in terms of performance. Curious to relate? In many instances, high performing people tended to down-play their abilities, ranking themselves lower on the scale than their abilities justified.
For those of you who are more visual (and enjoy video over text) here is a fun look at the Dunning-Kruger effect courtesy of Trace Dominguez and After Skool -
Cognitive Bias exists everywhere, and we all struggle with it on many levels. The recent devolution of BaselWorld into a full-blown 3-ring circus is a great example. And I want to jump right out of the gate and make clear that BaselWorld is only one of the Ringleaders of this train wreck.
In Tent Number 1:
Remember the bold words of one mayor of Watch Town who insisted that his brand was special, and didn't actually need a show? And then like a carpet bagger tried to ease south to Geneva to announce (what in hindsight) was a pretty ham-fisted attempt to grab some press ink with some other like minded mayors for a "mini-show" of carefully curated brands? (editor's note: along with the use of "my friend" and "timepiece" could we agree to ban the term "curated"? It's complete and utter bullshit.)
In Tent Number 2:
If Animal Farm were ever to be re-told with denizens of Watch Town as the protagonists, the advent of the FHH show would be familiar.
George Orwell Animal Farm
Here's the thing, you don't tug on Superman's cape. It was pretty foolhardy of the BaselWorld organizers to assume that they could try to give Rolex and Patek an "Atomic Wedgie" -
Courtesy of the Simpsons
Now I cannot claim to know or understand every thought process or motivation that runs through the storied hallways of Big Green in Geneva. I respect my place in the hierarchy ; ) But what I can say is this - while Rolex, Tudor, Patek and Chanel had every right to pick up their tents and move them south, let's not misconstrue that as a blow for the Proletariat of Watch Town. The "letter of secession" makes it pretty clear that these four brands made their decision based on what would work for them. Several other not-so-fancy brands may not be invited to join the party. And ladies and gentlemen, train your eyes to the center ring here in the Big Top!: BaselWorld was clearly living in a different reality than a lot of the larger brands that were willing to continue to pay the price to be there. And truthfully? These are some of the real victims in this three-ring shit-show. If you are a Richemont brand? You are safe, Watches and Wonders has you covered. If you are viewed "luxurious and exclusive enough"? Not a problem, FHH will certainly deem you worthy and you can join them. But what about some of those other big, notable, and dare I say it - POPULAR brands that actually sell a LOT of watches? Where do they get to go?
You get the idea. Now I still like my personal crack-pot theory that Hayek the Younger has been sitting back in his stronghold in the Biel/Bienne hinterlands, biding his time and waiting to come back to BaselWorld. But then again, I have frequently been guilty of the Dunning-Kruger Bias ; )
Or, a cautionary tale on the realities of the watch business. In a former life, I was not in the watch business on any level whatsoever. I bought the three US based watch magazines with the same fervor of an 8 year old buying baseball cards. Okay, that example might be out of date, but take your young child's current enthusiasm and insert it here ; ) When you admire a business or industry from afar, it is quite easy to see things through rose-colored glasses. A good friend of mine dreamed of working for a European based professional cycling team. He wanted to be the guy who was there at the finish line to assist the next Bernard Hinault off his bike at a stage finish of the Tour de France. After three years of living in shitty hotels around the world, multiple cases of bronchitis, a failed marriage (former wife left him for a barista. To paraphrase her parting words: "at least he had a steady job and was home on weekends") and getting a good scare after getting jabbed by an IV bag's bloody, used needle, he realized that $50,000 a year was not worth it. Reflecting back, he did have the ability to curse in French, Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, Dutch and one other language that he still can't identify, some scratched-up water bottles, and a signed jersey from a race winner in some minor, Eastern European stage race that is no longer in existence. His former wife earned an MBA and that former Barista now works for a well-respected NGO in micro finance, and has given a well-received TED Talk. The point being? Sometimes dreams are just that... But let's get back to watches. Despite the fact that I have no hesitation to call bullshit on certain situations, I suffer no delusions as to the difficulty of trying to run, or even work for a brand. Today, let's start at the top and think about that rockstar - the CEO. As has been mentioned before, the late 90s and early Oughts brought with them the era of the watch brand CEO as rock star. We all know that Biver was Blancpain, Omega then Hublot. We know that Frederique Constant were led by the Stas family, and that Thierry Stern is the latest (and perhaps last) Stern family member that will helm the ship as the gold medal winner in the genetic Olympics. Now in most other industries, a CEO is, well, just not that sexy. For whatever reason (and we all theorize about it) watch CEOs suddenly became not only relevant, but exciting! And for better or worse, that has been steadily changing over the past few years. And with it we have seen some pretty dramatic falls from some pretty lofty heights. As armchair experts, we assume that as a CEO you live a pretty easy, idyllic life - You roll into the office at around 10:00 AM, traipse through the production facility wishing all of the watchmakers well, grab the paper and plop your feet up on your desk as an espresso magically appears at your side. You might then speak briefly with a sales manager hearing the wonderful results, then you saunter down to the executive dining room for lunch. After lunch you're off to the airport where a private jet whisks you off to Italy for a photo-op with your favorite footballer who trades you a signed jersey for a (retail) $20,000 watch. You have a lovely early dinner with said star, team president and other hangers-on. Then back to the private jet that whisks you home, where your stunning (not-so-age appropriate) partner is waiting for you wearing little more than a smile. This is, of course, all bullshit. So I thought I would share with you a montage of of the Swiss and Japanese CEO's I have worked with and give you a sense of what their day was like: 4:15 - rudely awakened by a random call from an overseas sales manager who despite working for a company that manufactures, markets and sells wrist watches, has still not grasped the concept of international time zones. But what can you do? He's the nephew of one of your Board members. 6:00 - after stealing back 15 - 20 minutes of sleep, you have to get up, put on your track suit and take the dog out before you have another unfortunate incident that will require strong cleaning products to remedy if you don't get the puppy on the leash and out into the garden in the next 45, 44, 43 seconds! 6:20 - you made the mistake of bringing your cell phone with you on the walk which is now taking longer than usual as you have a call from the head of assembly, informing you that there was a leak in the lavatory that has now seeped down into the workshop. You are now really regretting not selling the beautiful old workshop (great for photo opportunities and media "moments" but your watchmakers hate it) when you were approached by that smooth talking, but slightly dodgy real-estate agent who was shopping on the behalf of a very wealthy client hailing from a former Soviet Republic/Stan, who could not be named, but who you suspect belongs to a "fraternal" organization made up of other mysterious fellows that is not the Elks or the Masons. 7:15 - chasing the kids to hurry up and get ready! Your partner has already left for work, and today's your day to get the children to their three different schools which are, you guessed it, in three different villages. 8:20 - all three now safely deposited at their institutions of learning, you work the phone (via your hands-free set-up) as you drive on to the office. No work has taken place in the workshop. The plumber is, apparently, on vacation in Majorca, and you are now reaching out to a regional assembler to see if they can help you out in the short term by handling the assembly of a week's worth of production. 8:55 - you sprint past the main entry way where you clap eyes on the journalist who is there for an interview (set to start in five, no make that four minutes). Brief pleasantries are exchanged, and you make your way to one of the conference rooms. This is the same room that was used for the company yoga class last night, and is still a wee-bit "aromatic" this morning. 9:05 - after apologizing for the absence of a coffee (nobody remembered to order more Nespressso pods), you begin the dog and pony show with the journalist who you realize is just slightly older than your eldest child, and might be finally old enough to vote in their first election this year. Halfway through the interview/inquisition you are then treated to the sales pitch from said journalist who presents you with a rate card for today's interview. If you want it to run beyond their instagram feed, it will cost X. You make a mental note to cancel the lunch reservation and wrap this up as quickly as possible. A "goodie bag" is assembled and passed over, and you move onto the next hurdle. 10:45 - Regional Assembler owner calls to inform you that they are "SLAMMED" with orders from (Regional Assembler begins to drop big, expensive names), but maybe you could meet at the most expensive restaurant near his shop to discuss the possibilities over lunch? 11:05 - after reviewing the plumbing situation, you call your brother-in-law who you remember did a 6 month apprenticeship back in the 80s, and might be able to help out. 11:50 - you remember that tomorrow is the board meeting. You put together a shopping list for food and beverages, and NESPRESSO PODS, Dammit! 12:30 - you arrive at the most expensive restaurant near the assembler's shop to find the assembler and someone who is very clearly not his wife sharing the remains of a not inexpensive bottle of champagne. You do the mental math and realize that you probably never should have called him in the first place. Your guests order half the menu, you order a cup of soup and still water, trying to figure out how to explain this to your accounting department. In the end, apologies all around, but we're just too busy to help you. "But we should do this again some time!" 2:43 - back at the workshop, your brother in law is on the scene, has somehow managed to field strip the leaky joint, run out to the local home improvement store, purchased the requisite replacement gaskets, re-assembled the connection, flushed the pipes and... Good as new! He even grabs a mop to help the cleaning crew clean up the mess! You make a mental note, contact the purchasing office and - with your own money - buy him a new watch with your company discount. Thank you's are exchanged and you make plans for him and his family to come over at the weekend. All is right with the world... for now. 4:45 - after about a ZILLION calls from overseas agents, you then have your meeting with the marketing department who are very, very keen to make a regional F3 racer a brand ambassador. You google the name and realize that said F3 racer is the godson of your head of marketing. You keep your poker face, and suggest a follow-up meeting about it next week. 8:30 - You have nearly finished preparing your presentation for the board meeting tomorrow night, your partner calls to ask you if you could please pick up your middle child who missed the bus after her karate class. So you gather up a few files, grab your shopping list for tomorrow, grab your laptop and head to your car, your daughter, and finally - home. Yes, it's not all glamour ; )
