Montana Watch Company - Bridger Field Watch - continued

Of all of the Bridger Field Watch variations, I have to say that this is one of my favorites!  Stainless steel, simply stated but not simple-minded!

www.montanawatch.com

MB WATCHES - SEVEN DEADLY SINS - Paresse - Sloth

Sloth - a medium sized slow-moving resident of the Central and South American rainforest.  Perhaps that curious animal was not what Mikael had in mind.  In terms of his Seven Deadly Sins collection I suspect that he was referring to what was thought to be a spiritual or emotional apathy.

MB Watches's Paresse or Sloth is crafted from white gold with sapphire crystals front and back to admire the hand-crafted goodness.  One hand indicates the minute, while the hours are indicated in the upper window.  The dial is crafted from white gold and decorated with two types of diamonds.  42 hours of power reserve, self-winding with "sliding hours".

Visit Mikael and MB WATCHES at: www.mb-watches.com

Montana Watch Company - Bridger Field Watch - continued

This is another example of the Montana Watch Company's Bridger Field Watch.

www.montanawatch.com

In Santa Barbara - Richard and his Bell & Ross

Richard at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art 

Wendy and I were taking in the museum this past Saturday when I met Richard. As a rule, I try not to be too intrusive on other people's museum experience, but Richard was kind enough to agree to a photo with his Bell and Ross Chronograph. But more than just a cool watch, I have to say that Richard is a very dapper fellow!

MB WATCHES - SEVEN DEADLY SINS - WRATH!

WRATH - pretty much the only one of the Seven Deadly Sins to not be truly attributable to selfishness. Today's addition to Mikael's release of the Seven Deadly Sins is a fantastic self-winding chronograph crafted from black titanium and yellow gold! The perfect reminder on your wrist to keep your cool and keep your anger in check! How could you be angry with something as cool as this?




Visit Mikael and MB WATCHES at: www.mb-watches.com

Montana Watch Company - Bridger Field Watch

This is the first in a series of posts about the Montana Watch Company's Bridger Field Watch. It has actually been more than a few years since the Montana Watch Company appeared on the scene, but I also suspect that this might be something new for some of you.  I will be posting more detailed information in the coming week on the Bridger Field Watch and the Montana Watch Company, so stay tuned - this is just something to get you started thinking about it.

If you want more information right away, check them out at:  www.montanawatch.com/

MB WATCHES - Seven Deadly Sins - Vanity - PRIDE

Vanity or Pride is one of those "sticky" sins. On the one hand, you should want to be proud of yourself. On the other, lets face the facts, Pride is considered by many to be the BIGGY - the original of the seven deadly sins and from which the others arose.

In terms of what Mikael has offered in this series, this in many ways could be considered the BIGGY as well - Yellow Gold combined with black titanium, sapphire crystals front and back housing a hand-wound tourbillon! And PRIDE will grab ahold of you and not let go courtesy of a hand-sewn black alligator strap. It's okay to be a little proud!

Visit Mikael and MB WATCHES at: www.mb-watches.com

MB WATCHES - Seven Deadly Sins - Gourmandise!

Or as we say here in the US - Gluttony. Some loose definitions include greedy or excessive excess. This magnificently singular creation is fashioned from red gold, and houses a hand-wound perpetual calendar. Once again, I am truly impressed by Mikael's ability to capture something as esoteric as a "Sin" and assemble that vision into a one of a kind timepiece. Having taught English in Europe and Asia I know how difficult it is to simply try to explain a linguistic idea, but to take that several steps further and weave its emotional content into the physical embodiment a watch is remarkable. Mikael is communicating on three different levels - language, art and craft. Bravo Mikael, the Seven Deadly Sins collection has been fantastic so far! And we still have four more sins to go!

Visit Mikael and MB WATCHES at: www.mb-watches.com

MB WATCHES - Seven Deadly Sins - ENVIE!

Yes, for my fellow English teachers out there, I'm well aware I'm going with an "alternative" spelling!

This is MB Watches ENVIE. Self-winding, 45 hours of power reserve. This is a truly unique piece - stainless steel combined with a "black" stainless steel. The bracelet is truly unique - stainless steel links combined with leather links! Two sins accounted for - five more sins to go!


Envy is a tough thing to avoid experiencing when thinking about watches - I think Mikael has hit the nail on the head! It's not easy being green.

Visit Mikael and MB WATCHES at: www.mb-watches.com

MB WATCHES - Seven Deadly Sins - AVARICE!

Mikael Bourgeois was kind enough to send this to me this morning. This is one of seven new pieces from MB WATCHES - the Seven Deadly Sins. For no particular reason I was in an alphabetical mood this morning - so Day ONE of SEVEN Deadly Sins!

Yellow gold and black titanium house a very rare Valjoux 7733 from the 1960s.  In the words of Gordon Gekko -  "Greed is Good" - well, whether or not that is true, the Avarice is REALLY GREAT!

Visit Mikael and MB WATCHES at:  www.mb-watches.com

Heuer Pasadena redux - it is for sale!

A quick unofficial post  - this Heuer Pasadena is for sale - $1,500.00 US payable by PayPal.

US sale only.  Watch can be viewed in person in Santa Barbara.  If you are interested - shoot me an email and I will put you in touch with Ali.

Watch has been serviced, and comes with a one-year warranty.

Don't call it a comeback - DODANE TYPE 21

Don't call it a comeback!

The DODANE family started making watches all the way back in 1857. Like many watch companies of its day, it was a father in-law (Francois-Xavier Joubert) and his son (Alphonse Dodane) who put things in motion. The Dodanes developed a fly-back chronograph, and with the development of the airplane, shifted their focus to equipping planes with timing devices.

DODANE would go on to become a supplier for NATO, and the DODANE TYPE 21 made its debut in 1956.

And then DODANE went silent in 1995 due to a rather unpleasant convergence of what the company has described as a bad French economic situation, past due invoices from large orders, and the shift to quartz technology.  In short, the same sort of reasons that several well known watch companies closed up during this time.

But then in 2001 the DODANE family revived the TYPE 21!  These are not cheesy knock-offs farmed out to cut-rate manufacturers - no indeed!  These are the real deal!

Designed by the Dodane's in France, and produced and hand-assembled in Switzerland.  And you can buy direct from the company!

Check them out for yourself at:  www.dodane1857.com

And a big thank you to Cedric Dodane for supplying the images you see here!

Graham's New Website is LIVE!!!

I woke up this morning with this message from the nice folks at Graham -

Dear James,

On behalf of Graham, I'd like to inform you that last Tuesday at precisely 13:05:14 (Greenwich Mean Time), GRAHAM LONDON's completely redesigned web site went online at www.graham-london.com

Thanks to web-exclusive content and most of all a rather unique Zoom-functionality that really lets you get closer than ever before with GRAHAM's current collection, we are confident that this info might be relevant for the visitors of Tempus Fugit Watch as well. And we do hope they will enjoy this short trip as much as George Graham would have loved his new digital home.

Best Regards -

Graham-London

And they even sent a picture of their "Web Technicians" hard at work!

An added plus for me was the Graham People section where I got re-acquainted with one of my favorite men's fashion designers -

http://www.graham-london.com/en-gb/graham-people/oswald-boateng.asp

Oswald Boateng's collections are the business!  And it seems fitting that Graham would take a uniquely English identity and bring it forward, as Mr. Boateng has brought the tradition of Saville Row to Fashion Week!

Congratulations on a fantastic launch Graham!

www.graham-london.com

A few Minutes with Maximilian Busser - Once Again!

This is what I get for trying to post via my Blackberry at the airport!  So, once again...

A Few Minutes with Maximilian Busser

JH - What was your first watch? Was it a gift? Is there a story behind it?

MB - I was 8 years old. It was a hand - winding Jean Perret and every evening I would religiously wind it up in front of my father when he would come to say good night to me. I remember the winding would hurt, because the crown was so small…



JH - A bit about yourself please - you started out with Jaeger-LeCoultre and stayed for 7 years. But then you left - why?

MB - I had no intention of leaving! And then one day one of the top headhunters in the world (who only hunt top executives), called me up. I was intrigued… “Why would he call a small fry like me ?”, so I went down to Geneva for an interview with them. It turned out the job position was Managing Director of Harry Winston Timepieces! I laughed out loud, but the headhunter convinced me of trying the interview. I thought anyway I did not have a chance to get the job, but it could be fun. Then four months later, to my dismay… they told me I was the “chosen one”!

JH - So then after Jaeger-LeCoultre you went on to Harry Winston - this was a very large jump in terms of the types of company "profile" - from a world-class horology based type of company, to a jeweler turned watch maker - why such a jump?

MB - Because when you have never expected or dreamt of such an amazing job (head of a watch brand), the day someone gives it to you on a platter, you just cannot turn it down without having regrets all your life. Clearly I had my reservations on leaving such a beautiful company as JLC, a real Manufacture which devotes all its energy to creating fantastic mechanical calibers, to join a jeweler! But Ronald Winston (son of Harry, and then owner of the company) found the right words to convince me to join. He basically told me he would give me the freedom and support necessary to turn the brand into one of the most admired watch creators, when it was already one of the most prestigious jewelers in the world. He kept his word and let me follow my own path to develop Harry Winston Timepieces. 

JH - When you were a boy - what did you want to be when you "grew up"?

MB - A car designer. I was obsessed with this idea - doodling cars from the age of 4 to 18 ! And then my 5 years of studying engineering at university sort of killed that. I suspect that maybe I was kind of depressed during those years, and really did not connect with what I was studying. 



JH - Where did you go to school - what did you study exactly?

MB - I did a Masters in micro technology engineering. Not my most inspired choice, but it introduced me to watch making (5 hours of courses amongst 5 years of studies!) which became my passion and my life. In my life, the brightest light has always followed the darkest moments. 

JH - Who else is making watches that excite you?

MB - A few real creators/watchmakers who create not to please clients but to follow their calling. For example Felix Baumgartner (Urwerk), Denis Flageollet & David Zanetta (DeBethune) or François Paul Journe (F.P.Journe)


JH - MB&F is Maximilian Busser & Friends - where did this idea come from?

MB – It was really a matter of simply stating the obvious. Without all those amazing people around me, my ideas would just remain ideas. And I have chosen the “Friends” as much for their fantastic competence and ability as for their/our shared human values. I discovered early in life that by being totally transparent, one had nothing to lose - on the contrary you have everything to gain. 

JH - What do you like to do in your "down-time"?

MB - What “down time” ??? In the last 5 years, since the beginning of MB&F, the little time I have not been working I have devoted to my family, loved ones and friends. There was no way I could build my dream company without sacrificing hobbies, sports and social life. 

JH - How does MB&F work on a daily basis?

MB - Fast! All joking aside, MB&F is a very small, adrenaline - addicted beehive! There are only 7 of us in the company (including the two Master watchmakers who assemble every movement). It is the type of place where everyone works as if it were their own company. That is also one of the most important reasons of our success. 

JH - It appears that you spend a good amount of time meeting your fans and customers - what is your favorite spot to visit so far?

MB - I love travelling in Asia – it is so vibrant, so energy - driven, so forward-thinking! Everyone looks to the future, contrary to Europe where everyone looks back and tries to hang on to a grandeur which was once theirs. 

JH - Why watches?

MB - Because it is one of the only technical working environments where each human being is important and each person can make a difference (contrary to cars for example, where only massive corporations can hope to exist and where individuals are more or less expendable)

JH - If you weren't doing this - what would you be doing?

MB - I don’t know. I already have issues grasping the fact that I am so lucky! This is my life. This is my calling. 


JH- Who was/is your "horological hero"?

MB - Günther Bluemlein, the man who recreated Lange & Söhne, and the ex-CEO of Jaeger-LeCoultre and IWC. Visionary, charismatic, engaging, knowledgeable and caring for the individuals he respected.

Visit Maximilian and read about him and all of his friends at -

www.mbandf.com

SWATCH Tovarisch in three parts

Back in 1995, Wendy and I had moved to Portugal from Japan and were teaching English at a school in Povoa de Varzim, a local resort city on the northern coast about an hour from Porto.  I had just come back from my first Saturday class where I learned that I would be teaching 6 days a week.  So dragging myself home after my sixth straight day of trying to explain the difference between the present tense and the present - perfect tense (don't get me started!), I came home to find a tasty sandwich, and a new SWATCH Tovarisch.  The Soviet Industrial feel was wonderfully appropriate!

You may notice a scratch on the crystal - the result of a nasty cycling accident last year.  Had I been wearing some "real man's watch" I do not know if it would have held up half as well as this guy did!  My two front teeth, however, were not quite so fortunate.  But as I often tell others, never underestimate the importance of a few key people in your life - and a good dentist is one of them (along with a top watch maker and a really good tailor) - thank you Dr. Madavi!  

Wishing you all a great weekend!  Wendy and I are off to Louisville, KY where I will hopefully find some interesting watches and people.

NOMOS ENCYCLOPAEDIA - Todays entry is...

Once again it's time to turn to NOMOS Glashutte - The Great Universal ENCYCLOPAEDIA
Today's entry is - Orion!

Reprinted with permission from NOMOS.

Orion
The Orion is a much sought-after standard model by NOMOS (and secretly our favorite watch).  Its movement is the NOMOS Alpha movement.  Orion is available with a dial in white (silver-plated) and in anthracite.  These watches usually have silver index markers and hands.  The white version is also available with golden index markers and tempered blue hands.  All Orion watches are also available with or without a glass back.

( Page 184, NOMOS Glashutte - The Great Universal ENCYCLOPAEDIA, 1st English Edition, copyright  Kommunikationsverein, Berlin, 2006)

NOMOS Orion
Visit NOMOS at:  www.glashuette.com

Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto - Azimuth

The nice people at Azimuth were kind enough to share this with me this morning.  This is the Azimuth Mr. Roboto.  I know that this watch has been reviewed to death by the watch fans out there, but yet and still, it speaks to me.  I got to see it up close and in person at Azimuth's booth at Baselworld 2009, and I must say that just as much as the watch itself, the packaging really blew me away.  In a time where a high end watch package must be pear-wood, leather, etc. - Azimuth went the other way, and reinforced the spirit of fun in this watch with a package reminiscent of a 1950's robot toy.  I am a sucker for the atomic age, and this watch really does harken back to that time.

Azimuth also has the Chrono Gauge Mecha - this is one example.  And to my mind, another great point is that Azimuth is sold by Partita in San Francisco.  Calvin and his team are friendly, knowledgeable and super-nice people to deal with!

For more information on Azimuth -

www.azimuthwatch.com

For Azimuth USA -

azimuthwatchusa.com

Kasukabe, Obara-San, and Seiko

Back in the early 90s I lived in Japan working as an English teacher.  My next door neighbor and I spent the better part of that first year (92) trying to figure each other out.  In my infinite wisdom (read none) I would often go for a five mile run before work each day.  Work started at around 12:00 Noon and I was usually "on the road" by 9:00 AM - about the hottest and most humid times you could do anything.

Every morning I would see Obara-San, my neighbor, and shout "Ohayo-gozaimasu!" to him and wave as I ran past.  And every morning he would just look at me puzzled as I ran by, silent.  About a year into this exercise in cross-cultural communication, he stopped me as I was running and we actually had a fairly lengthy conversation, wherein he explained that he and his wife were a little worried about my "stability" as I was going out and doing heavy exercise at the worst possible time of the day for it.  You live and you learn.

This Seiko is a dead-on ringer for the Seiko that Obara-San had.

I put it on today thinking about neighbors, friends, and that far away town of Kasukabe - which from all reports has grown dramatically since then - and I suspect that they finally got some decent English teachers in as well!  And I suspect that Obara-san is still there, lending a helping hand to the misguided Gaijin teachers.

Twelve Faces of Time - Elizabeth Doerr

Sometimes, if you are very lucky, you stumble across something that speaks to you.  I love super-high-res-chock-full of technical details stories as much as the next guy, but in all honestly watches represent something more emotional to me.  I want to know about the people who made them, or who owned them.  I want to have an understanding of what motivated them.

I imagine some of the independent watchmakers as "philosopher-artist-engineers".  Yes, I realize that probably makes no sense at all, but when you take a moment and really consider everything that goes into some of these watches, you realize what an awesome task it must be to not merely create, but produce, market and ultimately sell them.  A time piece's ability to tell the time is just the starting point.  It has to captivate you on so many different levels.  It should be technically advanced, crafted by hand, accurate - and pleasing to look at!

Elizabeth Doerr's book captures what many of us have only been able to try to imagine.

This is a 200 + page trip to a special place - inside the ateliers of 12 of the world's most talented and innovative watch makers.

Elizabeth's new book had a US debut at the new Ernst Benz boutique a few weeks back with a well-attended launch party and book signing by the author.  I was unable to attend, but was fortunate enough to obtain a signed copy.  12 Faces of Time is a beautiful coffee-table book, full of compelling black and white images,  and written with such care and attention to detail that it truly takes you not just to another place, but in many ways another time.  

Keep up with Elizabeth via her Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/ElizabethDoerrWatches

Fathers and Sons

I think for many of us, our fathers' watches hold a special place for us.  Even if they are not exactly our style at the time, like your brothers and sisters you grow to be quite good friends as adults.

This Mido Ocean Star was my father's.  It was given to him on a fairly hot and muggy July day back in 1968 in Zanesville, Ohio - one day before I was born.  Ironically enough, his father had planned to have the watch engraved July 10th (the next day), but had held off on doing anything until I made my debut.

My friend Ali and I were talking about fathers and sons as he finished the servicing of my dad's old Mido, and he shared with me an old saying he often heard - "If you're grown up, healthy and can look after yourself, then he (your father) did his job.   And you even got a watch in the bargain!"

Leave it to Mr. Athari to put things in perspective!

At NOMOS, exceptions prove the rule...

As promised, I am trying to dip in once a week to the NOMOS Encyclopaedia to share with you who do not have it on your bookshelves.

Today's entry is:  FUSS

Reprinted with permission from Nomos.

Fuss
Roland Schwertner, part of the management duo, wants nothing to do with fuss.  So you'll find none of it here, at least not officially.  Exceptions, of course, prove the rule.

( Page 84, NOMOS Glashutte - The Great Universal ENCYCLOPAEDIA, 1st English Edition, copyright  Kommunikationsverein, Berlin, 2006)

NOMOS Tetra Power Reserve

Exceptions do indeed prove the rule!

Visit NOMOS at:  www.glashuette.com

A Few Minutes with Peter Speake-Marin

Peter Speake-Marin was kind enough to share some time with me this past week - and now - A Few Minutes with Peter Speake-Marin

James  -   What was your first watch – is there a the story behind it?

Peter Speake-Marin - My first watch was a “Steve Austin Bionic Man” watch, back in the seventies with an led push button display.  I can’t say this fired my desire to become a watchmaker but it will always hold a place in my heart.  If I remember correctly, my Uncle bought a small quantity of them from a dubious source and then proceeded to given them away to the children in the area. The first ‘real’ watch I owned was a Longines military watch from 1948 that I acquired in London, when I was working in the Piccadilly arcade.  I then (probably very wrongly) opened the case back up to view the movement, and redesigned the dial in a slightly more gothic fashion. I wore that watch religiously for around 5 years before giving it to a friend who had always coveted it.  He continues to wear it today. He now lives and works for Apple in California.

J - Where were you born?

P - St Margarets hospital, Epping, Essex in 1968

J - When you were a boy, what did you "want to be when you grew up?”

P - Initially as a child, perhaps a bus driver like my father.  Following that I never had a clear view except that it had to be what I perceived to be practical and creative.  As an adolescent I had aspirations of going into architectural engineering.

J -  It seems fair to say that perhaps you were an "accidental watch maker"?  Your first interest was jewelry, yes?

P - I left school half way through my A levels and initially tried for the engineering division of the RAF.  I was under-qualified for this, and began searching for something else, which I thought would suit my skill set.  Jewelry seemed to fit, however the lack of a foundation degree in art meant I was immediately rejected from this avenue. A careers teacher in Loughton Essex dug up an old prospectus on Horology (a word that at 17 years of age I had no understanding of).  After my first visit to the school in Hackney I started the course 2 weeks after it had begun. At 17 I found something that I was good at and held the promise of travel. My Brother and Father had traveled extensively and I had always wanted to do the same. I was told that watchmaking meant that I could find work in any city in the world.

J - Are you more artistic, or more mechanical?

P - Both sides of my brain are fairly balanced which is a strength and enables me to advance projects very quickly, designing things which both are beautiful and work and can be made.

J -  There is a real history of notably famous English watchmakers - Graham, Harrison, and others.  Do you see yourself ever returning to the UK to set-up shop there?

P - Some times I play with the idea but it is already very complex producing the components I design in Switzerland, where I currently live and work. Switzerland is highly specialized in this domain. To make these types of components in the UK would be difficult. Returning to the UK to live for periods of time is a strong possibility, to set up a company making the type of watches I make today virtually impossible.

J -  Who else is making watches that interest you?

P - Nobody specifically but I am drawn to the independent world more than the larger companies because these guys feel far more authentic to me in their motivation.


J - If you weren't doing this, what would you be doing?

P - Probably driving a bus.

J -  Living and working in Switzerland - did you have any challenges/difficulties adapting culturally? How about with the language?

P - Language was the toughest element, I am not a natural linguist and although I work like a dog I am lazy at those things which I need but don’t really appreciate, French is one of them.

J - I have to say, I love the Marin-1 with your SM2 self-winding movement.  How long did it take for you to develop this new caliber?

P - From original drawings througto delivering the first watches approx 3 years

J - Any future SM calibers in the future?

P - There are already a number in developement but all based in some way on the SM2

Marin -1

J -   You seem to spend a lot of time "on the road" meeting your customers and fans - has it always been this way?

P - I spend less time than people perceive traveling, but when I do travel I try to make as much noise as possible since this is my way of reminding people that I am there and about my work. Like many independents I spend my cash on the watches and not marketing.  As a result the traveling becomes my marketing and as I meet my clients and visit different countries I share the experience on the internet. It has not always been this way but will increase over the next 2 years as my business grows until a point comes when I can be more conventional in marketing my work. This does allow me to live a childhood dream of travel.  In September I leave for a world tour which will be for at least a month.

J - You are one of the "Friends" in the MB&F "Friends" - what is that like?

P - Max has been a friend for many years and I am happy to have been able to help him start his business as he helped me and many other independents when he was with Harry Winston.

P - It seems that you might have come into watchmaking at just about the right time with the renaissance of mechanical time pieces following the quartz crisis. What are some of the differences you see between when you started out and where things are now?

P - Essentially the increased size of the collectors market and education through social media, had the internet not existed I doubt I would have been able to have the success I have had today.

J - Where do you see Peter Speake-Marin in three years’ time?

P - In a different workshop with a larger team in a constant state of development.

J - What do you like to do in your "down" time?

P - Family, food, wine.


                                       

J - Was there ever a time when you asked yourself - "what was I thinking?"

P - Every other day

J - Going out on your own was a big decision. Any regrets?

P - None

J -  Finally, any advice to the future aspiring watchmakers/entrepreneurs out there?

P - Create a real business plan which will help you to plan every element of your business and work, and assure your self a financial cushion.  Believe actions and results not words.

In addition to be one of the world's leading independent watch makers, Mr. Speake-Marin is also an author and you can purchase his book here:

 watchprint.com

Visit the Peter Speake-Marin website here:  

www.speake-marin.com