Write Like You Mean It

Love letters are written, not tweeted.  Resolutions are drafted, not instant messaged.  And as Charles Foster Kane (as played by Orson Welles) tried to underscore before he was himself corrupted - a declaration of principles is writ large, without fear or favor -

We live in some pretty crazy times, and the fast pace and access to instant communication has probably made all of us lazier than we should be.  We favor speed over content, immediacy over thoughtfulness.  That is also true in a lot of our communication tools.  And that is why I am so glad that Opus Mechan is still making pens by hand, one at a time.

Courtesy of Opus Mechan

This is the Musician in Northern Lights 3 from Opus Mechan in Michigan.

Courtesy of Opus Mechan

Words are easy.  Finding the right ones, and using them wisely?  How often have we all said or tweeted or instant messaged something that we truly regretted in hindsight?  That is something we all need to work on.  And as you look for that perfect tool to express yourself, I will be strongly considering one of these to draft my future articles.

Pick your words with care, use them to inform, not to harm or hurt.  Build a bridge with your ideas.

Peace.

An Open Letter to Watch Town

(Editor's note - there is going to be some political content.  I realize that this is essentially a blog about watches, and this post is about the Watch Industry specifically.  I also realize that if you are solely looking for an escape from the day to day, today's post is probably not going to be your cup of coffee).

Dear Watch Town,

I am writing this letter from one of your largest markets - the US.  As you may know, hot on the tail of COVID-19 we have now been reminded that despite the fact that this is 2020, we still live in a world that is far from fair or balanced.  As you read this, several major cities across the US are in turmoil with active protests against the killings of unarmed African Americans taking place in what in several instances is the result of institutional racism.  Needless to say, most of us are not thinking about watches right now.  We are, I sincerely hope, struggling to understand how we got to this point and how we might take a step back from the brink before we (all of us) topple into the void.

Ultimately, the racial inequities in the US date back to the founding of our country.  But they have been kept alive in many subtle ways.  And as many of you are marketers, you know as well as anyone that marketing messages and themes are targeted to certain audiences.   And that is why I am writing you today.

While I do not think that the watch business is a microcosm of the world writ-large, I do believe that the power of brand messaging cannot be underemphasized, and that Watch Town, in its own small way, could maybe take some steps that might help improve the situation.  A pebble in the ocean, but it's a start and hopefully the ripple might be felt.

I once asked in a post - "Do Black People Buy Watches?" (spoiler alert - they do).  And this got largely ignored in some quarters, and also managed to hit some very sensitive right-leaning nerves.      

I had a look at a bunch of brand websites this morning to test a theory.  As Rolex is the big dog, I started there.  You can visit the official Rolex page here to view these famous and well-known influencers -
https://www.rolex.com/world-of-rolex/every-rolex-tells-a-story.html

You will notice that there are 33 famous faces.  Of the 33, 11 are female.  Odd in that I am fairly certain that globally the population (and therefore market) split is closer to 50/50.  This means that 22 of these partners are men.  But then it gets, well, whiter.  As a white male (if we are going by stereotypes) I can absolutely identify with (if my count is right) 19 of them.  

TAG Heuer's ambassadors - at least the ones specifically indicated on their website are both white, male actors.

Omega has George Clooney, Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Eddy Redmayne and Cindy Crawford.

Audemars Piguet does have Serena Williams - bravo for that. But then a raft of white golfers reinforces a certain theme. I will say that the Born in Le Brassus, raised around the world videos have the potential to expand the brand's influence to reach a larger scope of people.  I for one hope that they take that opportunity.

Here's the the thing - I am in no way, shape or form saying that brands or their marketing firms make a conscious choice to exclude people of color.  I am saying that based on the websites, communications programs, choice of brand ambassadors, partnerships, etc. many brands and their marketing firms frequently don't seem to consider or realize that it is even a possibility to include people of color in the conversation.  I also want to say, clearly, that while I have lived in Asia and Europe, my opinion is that of an American consumer and journalist, and not necessarily that of the watch world at large. And we can disagree without being disagreeable.

And one last thing - I am not so naive to believe that when a watch brand starts bringing in friends of the brand who are more representative of the global population that suddenly the doves of peace and harmony will circle the world, violence will end and racial harmony will magically occur.  But Watch Town is my beat, and therefore I have to cover what I know.  It's a small step  to take, but maybe one the marketing departments of Watch Town might consider exploring it. 

Peace -

Henki

The Cayman Worldtimer

From Delma -

Courtesy of Delma

Here are the pertinents, straight from the source -

Mechanism:
Automatic

Caliber:
ETA 2896, Delma custom rotor

Power reserve (h):
50h

Number of jewels:
21

Frequency:
28'800 A/h

Case material:
Stainless steel

Case back:
Stainless steel with transparent mineral crystal

Size in mm:
42

Height in mm:
13.6

Weight in grams:
120

Water resistance:
50 ATM / 500 m / 1650 ft

Bezel:
Bidirectional bezel with reference cities

Lug size in mm:
22

Bracelet material:
Stainless steel

Functions:
24 hour hand, Worldtimer, Date

Available direct from Delma -

Delma Cayman Worldtimer

Around the World with the Teutonia II Weltzeit

From Mühle-Glashütte -

Courtesy of Mühle-Glashütte

A self-winding movement with hours, minutes, date and GMT.

The case is of stainless steel, and measures 41 mm in diameter and is water resistant to 10 bars.

This is DOPE!  

April Showers Bring...

Shamelessly Borrowed from the Worldwide Info-Web

The April results (as such) are in -

Courtesy of the FH

Globally?  It was better than an 80% drop.  But what I find curious is the response from some of my better heeled colleagues in the 4th and 5th Estate now gasping, flabbergasted that now, suddenly, the shit is real!  I guess when you aren't jetting off here, there and everywhere and enjoying luxury junkets, you have a few moments to actually focus on something that isn't shiny.  

Now what my erstwhile BaselWorld "chums" are failing to take into account is that, in fact, the trend was already, well, trending downward before COVID-19.  Nothing like negative 80%, but not exactly rosy either.

Now let's unpack this a little bit further.  Once again for the folks in the cheap seats -
EXPORTS DO NOT EQUAL SALES. And believe it or don't, for once that is actually GOOD NEWS for the Swiss brands. That means that there will be (hopefully) less product bobbing around in the Grey Market with the rest of the flotsam.

Will some retailers be "done" for good?  Well, those who had not already embraced an e-commerce strategy might not be able to come back, at least not in the same manner that they had been.

Some smaller brands will possibly not be able to recover, and in fairness?  They might have been heading that way already.  The process just got sped up.

And for those of us in the press? Well, those of us not dependent upon the largesse of the brands will continue to roll so long as we remain interested. But here is the interesting part - advertising budgets had already been slashed pre COVID-19, and brands will likely hold onto as much cash (or credit) as they can for the rest of the year.  

One other curious thing I've been reading from some of the other outlets -
China is (already) showing signs of coming back! (i.e. people are out shopping). Which is swell, but not really a true metric of anything without 90 days of data. But more to the point?  Didn't we learn anything from the last 5 and half months about depending too much on any one market?  

Tempus Fugit

The Antarctique

From Czapek -

Courtesy of Czapek

Courtesy of Czapek

Courtesy of Czapek

Available in several colors including the burgundy, blue, or the above which is referenced as Secret Alloy With Red Tip.  Oh, also apparently in black.

Here are the pertinents -

CASE
Stainless steel case
40.5 mm diameter
Height: 10.6 mm
Sapphire crystal glass-box with anti-reflective treatment
Sapphire crystal case-back with anti-reflective treatment
Water-resistance: 120 meters (12 atm)
Screwed-down crown

MOVEMENT
Calibre SXH5: Czapek's in house self-winding mechanical movement
Diameter: 30 mm – 13 lines ¼
Height: 4.2 mm
Number of parts: 193
Jewels: 28
Swiss lever escapement, variable-inertia balance fitted with four gold inertia-blocks
Frequency: 4 Hz – 28800 VpH
Power winding system: Micro rotor with an 18K recycled gold mass
Power-reserve > 56 hours on one single barrel
Barrel torque: 8.8 Nmm
Finish: Open ratchets, sandblasted black bridges, bevelling, straight-grained sides, six hand-chamfered inward angles

BRACELET
Integrated stainless steel bracelet with Czapek exclusive "Easy Release" system
Additional calf leather or rubber strap

DIAL
Hand brushed "Lamé" dial
Luminescent, rhodium plated steel hour makers

The Tortue Rainbow

From Claude Meylan -

Courtesy of Claude Meylan

We've all been cooped up perhaps a bit longer than we'd like, so it was a welcome blast of sunshine to receive Claude Meylan's communication this morning!

The Tortue is now available in a variety of color schemes including:

Here are the pertinents -

Movement

165 CM14

Description

• Stainless steel case black PVD-coating
• 40 mm wide
• Hand winding
• Skeleton
• Sapphire crystals
• 3atm-water resistant
• Rubber strap
• Black movement with contrasting color brace

A Few Minutes With Marcella Dolan

I first bumped into Marcella Dolan back in October at the District Time Show in Washington DC.  She and her partner Stephen Rowley have been working away at the launch of their new brand - Stella.

Courtesy of Stella W

We had a brief chance to speak and we did a brief write up about their launch prior to their Kickstarter announcement - 

Breaking the Sapphire Crystal Ceiling with the Stella Watch Company

I am particularly enamored with the Downtown Red -

Courtesy of Stella Watch Company

Now that the dust has settled on the Kickstarter campaign, I thought it would be a good time to follow-up.  So gentle reader, a few minutes with Marcella Dolan

James Henderson - Tell us about your first watch.  Was it a gift?  Is there a story behind it?

Marcella Dolan - The first watch I actually remember falling in love with was a sterling silver Navajo design with turquoise stones and hand tooled feathers on the arms. It had a mother-of-pearl dial and an expansion back and fit my scrawny wrist perfectly. My mother and I would roam the flea markets on Saturdays and when I saw this on a table with a bunch of odds and ends, I thought I found a treasure! That was sometime in the late 70’s, early 80’s when I was into fringe leather jackets and moccasins so this was for sure my pièce de résistance! 

JH - When you were younger, what did you want to be when you "grew up"?

MD - That’s easy - a starving artist! My dream was to live in a small, sunny art studio where I could have the solitude and freedom to paint all day and night. I assumed I could sell a piece of art whenever I needed to eat or, you know, pay rent. It’s a romantic dream until you have to, you know, pay rent!

JH - Where did you go to school?  What did you study?

MD - It’s a long story but for the sake of brevity, I’ll just say I did not go to school. I lived in and traveled around Europe for three years after high school. Paris, Aix-En-Provence, Germany, Belgium, Amsterdam, Italy and Luxembourg. It was the school of life and I do not regret a moment of it.

The education that would lead me to a career came later when I first set eyes on a Macintosh computer. Remember the first Mac commercial, “1984” with the woman throwing a sledgehammer at a projector screen? That was just a few years before I sat down in front of my first Mac and was instantly enthralled. Although the programs were still very rudimentary, I was amazed that you could create art digitally! I found a book and taught myself how to use the programs and from there, taught myself everything I needed to land my first graphic design job. I have been an autodidact throughout my entire career and I believe hands on learning is the best way to gain knowledge (unless you’re a surgeon).

JH - What did you do before you got into the watch business?

MD - See above! I’m going to just admit here publicly that I lied my way into my first “real” job as a graphic designer. It was for a firm that manufactured ATM machines and they needed a graphic artist to render the machines in real life settings. I hadn’t learned the program they were using yet but when asked if I had the experience I said yes and then immediately found the “how to” book in the library (remember those days of no internet?).  At the next interview I got the job. From there I had a few graphic design jobs before a previous boss left to work for a small watch company and subsequently asked me to work for him. It was very early in my career and since that first job, I never left the industry. Along the way I learned everything I could, not only about watches, but also about business and eventually became the VP of Timepieces for a large NY fashion accessory company.

JH - As someone who has worked in the watch industry for some time, how long had you been thinking about starting your own brand?

Courtesy of Stella Watch Company

MD - I would say it’s something I always wanted to do. I love designing watches but when you’re designing for someone else, you have to work within the constraints of that brand’s DNA. I do enjoy sculpting out a watch line as the extension of a brand. But the idea of having the freedom to create something with the only constraint being my imagination was always enticing. It was my partner Stephen’s idea to start our own business.  Having worked together before, we developed a mutual respect for each other’s talents and work ethic and when he approached me with the idea, I was all in. 

Courtesy of Stella Watch Company

JH - So what makes Stella special?

MD - I think what makes Stella special is that it is not trying to be something else.  I have tons of respect for the microbrand community but I have seen a lot of homage watches and that is not what we wanted. Stella is a watch with its own DNA and you would be hard pressed to put a “label” on it.  Some reviewers have called it a type of field watch or a dress watch but Stella was intended to be just a cool looking watch that you could wear every day, on any occasion. It can be dressed up or dressed down, depending on your vibe. It is neither masculine nor feminine and at 40mm, it really can be worn by anyone.  That is what we wanted to create. 

JH - I often talk about the Sapphire Crystal Ceiling - essentially, that the watch business is fairly replete with middle aged white men and not necessarily so welcoming for women in the upper echelons.  This is of course, my opinion as a middle aged white man.  What's your take on the industry as an insider of many years?  

MD - Honestly, I don’t consider this industry different from any other.  The unfortunate truth is that women have to fight harder, work harder and constantly prove that they are just as capable, or even more so, than their male counterparts in every profession. But in this industry in particular, yes, I agree there are a lot of “old school” stodgy middle aged white men who don’t understand the benefit of having a woman’s perspective. And that’s a huge miss in my opinion.  If there were more women in this industry, classic upper echelon “men’s” brands would try to do more than just vomit diamonds on smaller rose gold versions of their best sellers and call it the “ladies collection”.  Come on, it's degrading! If I were running a brand (which I am!) I would respect that in 2020 diamonds are a cliché and women have more depth of character. I would take the time to design interesting models without a gender label and I would do my best to accommodate all wrist sizes (which I am!)

Courtesy of Stella Watch Company

JH - You were able to raise a decent amount of funding through Kickstarter.  Did the campaign go as well as you'd hoped?

MD - Given the timing of when we launched, yes, we were very happy with the campaign. Stephen and I debated whether we should go ahead with the launch or hold off for “better” times.  We ultimately decided to just go for it because we were anxious to “be in business” and the Kickstarter campaign was the launch. We already decided to go ahead with production months earlier because we were fairly confident we would be well received and we didn’t want customers to wait so long to get their watch. We didn’t have production worries since I already knew which manufacturers I wanted to work with and because of our long-standing relationships, they were happy to take on the venture. Still, in a time of Covid, it was a gamble but what in life isn’t?

JH - Who do you see as the "Stella" customer?

MD - Everyone and anyone who appreciates a well-made Swiss watch with a cool, unique design. I’ve learned not to tell my customers what they like. If it appeals to someone, that’s our customer.

JH - What are some of the challenges that you've encountered during this process?

MD - Even with all the experience Stephen and I have in the industry and in business, there are things we had to learn, like how to build an e-commerce website or what is the right demographic for a Facebook advertisement.  When it’s your own business, you are the designers, developers, marketers, sales team, accountants, procurement managers and file clerks! If there’s something you need to get done and you don’t know how to do it, you learn it – quickly!

JH - Who else is making watches out there that you admire?

MD - Honestly, I admire anyone who has a vision and the drive to see it become a reality. Stephen and I both have a strong work ethic but building your own company from the ground up takes a LOT of work and commitment. Anyone doing it and succeeding is to be admired.  But there are a number of brands that I think have done a great job, from design to a good quality build. Chris Ward tops my list although I don’t know if we can still consider them a micro? Farer as well, they have a unique aesthetic and I love their use of color. Jonathan at Brew because I love that he sticks to his brand story. I think Aevig did a really nice job with the Huldra, Nodus is solid, the new Marternero Bayshore is sharp and I’m hoping it will be as good in person. Monta, Halios, Baltic, there really are so many.

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

MD - Starving - as an artist.

JH - What advice do you have for the next Marcella Dolan out there?

I’ve been very fortunate to have been able to build a career doing something I love. I’ve seen a lot of ups and downs over the years in this industry and today I don’t know if I would recommend it as a profession to go after. BUT, I know that having a passion for watches cannot be denied. So, I would say if you have been bitten by this bug, find a way to make it work. Whether that’s as a career or as a collector, seek out people who are knowledgeable and never be afraid to ask questions. I think most people in the watch community have this hidden fear that it will someday be a lost art and are therefore happy to pass down their knowledge. Embrace it, and it will embrace you, for better or for worse!

The BR 03-92 White Camo

From Bell & Ross -

Courtesy of Bell & Ross

Here are the pertinents, straight from the source -
Limited edition of 999 pieces
Movement: 

Calibre BR-CAL.302. Automatic mechanical.
Functions: 

Hours, minutes, seconds and date.
Case: 42 mm in width. Matte black ceramic.
Dial: 

Two overlapping inserts. Upper insert with grey and white camouflage pattern, cut away around the numerals and indices, revealing the black Super-LumiNova® covering the lower insert. Hands covered with black Super-LumiNova®.
Crystal: 

Sapphire with anti-reflective coating.
Water-resistance: 

100 meters.
Straps: 

calfskin with grey and white camouflage and black rubber.
Buckle: 

Pin. Black PVD* coated steel.

11 Days Left In Our 10th Anniversary Fundraiser!

There are 11 days left in our 10th Anniversary fundraiser!

Please consider supporting us and buy a Tempus Fugit T-Shirt for $15 -
Support Tempus Fugit!

https://www.customink.com/fundraising/help-support-tempus-fugit-on-our-tenth-anniversary
It was June 29, 2010 when Tempus Fugit started with this post on the NOMOS Tangente - Where It All Begins

And believe me, given my current opinion of the communications/pr brain trust in Berlin by way of Glashütte, the irony of NOMOS being the very first post for Tempus Fugit is not lost on me ; )

While I had worked in the watch industry for some time, there was a lot to learn about how other brands and their teams worked.  I would say that for 8 years, the NOMOS media team were polite, and professional.  In the last 2 years?  Well, let's just say that the watch makers at NOMOS make a very fine watch. And the still fairly new Berlin based communications team and North American office?  
Probably the less said the better.

Tempus Fugit

Doing Even More Good - Mauron Musy

And the Swiss Red Cross -

Courtesy of Mauron Musy and the Swiss Red Cross

I have to say that I am a fan of the way Mauron Musy is striving to weaponize empathy, and I am also a huge fan of one of the Swiss Red Cross organizations key communications folks.  And as I want to get this out quickly, I am going to let them tell about it in their own words -

The Swiss Red Cross and Mauron Musy join forces to create a “Henry Dunant” watch.

Courtesy of Mauron Musy

Mauron Musy was founded on extremely Swiss values, which are the very bedrock of the Swiss Crafted label and represent essential precepts upheld by the Fribourg-based Manufacture.

It is these shared values that gave rise to the collaboration and development of a limited edition of seven watches, each unique and stamped with one of the seven fundamental principles of humanitarian organisation; humanity, neutrality, impartiality, independence, voluntary service, universality and unity.

The face of this timepiece reflects this alliance by featuring the names of the Swiss Red Cross and Mauron Musy. It also bears the date of creation of the Swiss Red Cross, 1866, as well as the name of Henry Dunant, founder of the organisation. The latter is engraved on an hour-marker and hand-varnished, combining with three other red lines to represent the movement’s emblematic cross symbol. The caseback is stamped with one of the seven fundamental principles, making each piece as iconic as it is distinctive.

Proceeds from the sale of six watches in this limited edition will be used to support the “chili” programme aimed at raising awareness among children from an early age about constructive conflict management and teaching them how to resolve their differences in a non-violent manner.

The seventh watch, inscribed with the principle of “humanity”, will be donated to the Red Cross Ball in order to support “mothers and children” projects, as well as various actions related to the fight against the pandemic.

Every year, more than 6,000 children and young people in Switzerland take part in workshops on violence prevention and conflict management. The aim is to strengthen the sense of belonging and foster a good classroom atmosphere: children and young people learn and practice showing respect in their relationships with others. These principles and ethics are shared and promoted by Mauron Musy and the founding family.

Vipera Aspis Blue Green

From Lundis Bleus -

Courtesy of Lundis

So where to begin?  I personally like the guys at Lundis Bleus.  In a hyper-competitive and unforgiving business, they have created a real following.  And they did not do this with "friends of the brand" or crazy promotion.  I would call it a quiet storm.  They are honest, and they are sincere, and I am proud to call them friends.

Having said that, this is their latest - a truly one of a kind piece, the Vipera Aspis Blue Green.  Now personally, I am not a "snake guy", but the thought, effort that went into this piece, and the resulting beauty could well change my mind.

Courtesy of Lundis Bleus

A bit of Henki lore, I sucked at art class.  Even with a smock on, there was usually more paint on my shirt than the paper by the end of class.  So suffice it to say, I am probably more intrigued by the arts and crafts applications in the watch making world than the technological advancements.  And this is a truly wonderful result.

Courtesy of Lundis Bleus

Completely a home team effort and created in by the Lundis Bleus team in their workshop, the dial is of cloisonné enamel and measures 34 mm in diameter and just under 1 mm thick. And needless to say, this was not a middle school art class project ; )

Reportedly 107 fine gold wires were utilized to shape the viper's outlines and "skeleton".  Meaning roughly 45 centimeters of gold wire were shaped and formed, by hand to create this masterpiece.  15 shades of transparent and opalescent enamels create the rich color scheme.   The dial went into the kiln 9 times, fired at about 830°C before its surface could be carefully polished to make it flat and shiny. A mere three weeks later, the dial was finished ; )

Here are the pertinents -

Dial - 
100% handmade at the Lundis Bleus workshop Base in sterling silver
Head of a viper by cloisonné grand feu enamel

107 fine wires to create the head of the viper, totalizing a length of 45cm 17 wires used for the outlines (wire of 0.40x0,10mm)
90 wires for the details (wire of 0.40x0.05mm)

15 shades of transparent and opalescent enamels 8 firings at 830°C
3 weeks of meticulous work

Minute track, “Swiss Made” and “Pièce Unique” by pad printed, white

Hands -
Rhodium-plated, polished

Movement -
Swiss Sellita SW300-1 Premium
Functions: Hours, minutes & seconds by hands

Weaponizing Empathy

Or - A funny thing happened on the way to New York City

COVID-19 has, in the words of an old university chum of mine who is now a professor of theology and Sunday School teacher, "Kicked the snot out of us."  It continues to be a challenging situation.

I will ask you to go back with me to April 11th.  It was a Saturday, and I was cooking dinner when my Facebook Messenger pinged. It was my friend Daniel Wentzel.  At first I thought that maybe my watch repair was finished - Daniel is a highly skilled watchmaker here in Massachusetts and more than once he has taken pity on my mechanical babies and repaired them.  But this message did not involve any of my watches, it was actually a request for help. Because in addition to being a very talented watchmaker, Daniel is also a proud US Army veteran who, just so happened to have served as a medic.  And as it happened, Daniel was in New York City with a flood of other military vets who also had medical training. They had all converged on the city and surrounding area to help support the various hospitals and pop-up centers that were struggling to keep up with the flood of patients coming in.  And believe it or don't, but there was one key thing that was needed by this massive group of volunteers -

Wrist Watches.

Now in normal situations (that means back in December and January here in the US), a nurse or EMT wears a watch with a second function OR they had a nice big wall clock with a LARGE, RED second hand so that they can take accurate vital signs.  Curious to relate?  A smart watch is not going to be reliable as you frequently need to move your wrist to "wake up" the watch face.  A cell phone will also do you no good as it requires another set of hands to hold it.  And as many of these facilities were hastily assembled? Let's just say that there was a dearth of wall clocks.  Long story short?  Plenty of people to take pulses and blood pressure, very few of them had a watch that would do something so basic as indicate seconds elapsed!

Daniel's message was short and to the point: "We need basic quartz wristwatches with a central second.  People will need to be able to disinfect them between shifts.  And if possible, we need them by Tuesday.  Could you reach out to your contacts for help?"

Ironically, a simple $15 watch that could be had (again, pre-lock down) on virtually any street in New York City would do the trick. That was before the lockdown.  Oh, one other thing?  This was the Saturday night before Easter!  Oh, one other small detail -

They needed about 200 watches!

I told Daniel that I would do what I could.  I reached out to Gary Girdvainis, the publisher of iW and About Time magazines and the two of us reached out to all of our contacts in the watch world.  And what happened next was pretty amazing.

On Easter, which is a pretty big deal in Europe as they tend to stay closed from Friday to Tuesday, I received a response from Yasmina Pedrini of Frederique Constant / Alpina in Switzerland. She wished Wendy and me a happy Easter, and she said that they would love to help, but with shipping times, etc. it was not going to be as quick as was needed.  But that she would reach out to her colleagues in the US.  Monday morning an email came in to Gary at iW from Ellen Seckler of Citizen Watches in North America (Citizen is the parent company of Frederique Constant), asking what they could do to help.  Without putting too fine a point on it, mountains were moved.  Somehow, watches were tracked down, retrieved from a secure location, and delivered most riki-tik! 
For those of you unfamiliar with this expression, per the Urban Dictionary: riki-tik

Derived from a story in "The Jungle Book" by Rudyard Kipling. The story featured a mongoose named Rikki Tikki who exhibited great speed. To do something "riki-tik" or "most riki-tik" is to do it very quickly. The phrase has common usage in the US armed forces. by SpenserPS May 27, 2009)

How the people at Citizen made this happened is still pretty remarkable, but within a very short time span, 175 Citizen watches arrived in New York City!

Courtesy of Citizen

Courtesy of Citizen

But Watch Town was not done!  The owner of Ollech & Wajs had been working with folks in a few different countries to help them produce face masks for medical staff. He is based in Belgium, but his mother was born in the US, and he wanted to help. While Ollech & Wajs was a watch brand, they make mechanical watches, not quartz.  So an order was made to a "third party retailer" and a good amount of another brand's watches were purchased and delivered.  

And then there was Ray Grenon, of Grenon's of Newport in Rhode Island. Ray made it personal by donating a large number of his personal quartz collection.  On the Monday morning after Easter, he replaced all of the batteries in his watches and shipped them all down to NYC.

Curious to relate?  There really wasn't anything in this for the folks who donated. These were volunteers they were giving watches to, not an official charity.  There will be no tax credit statement, no mention in the monthly newsletter, no champagne thank you at the annual gala.  They all stepped up and helped without expecting a thank you.

But I wanted to personally thank them all, Gary, Ray, Ollech & Wajs, Yasmina, Ellen, Citizen, and most of all?  I wanted to thank Daniel and his incredibly dedicated band of brothers and sisters who stepped up to help us all be safer.  There are no words sufficient.  

But Daniel wanted to be sure that this story got told, so I am going to turn this part over to him -

May 21, 2020

Daniel Wentzel on his way to the hot zone

So my journey to the field hospitals of New York City began way back in 2009. I had just returned from deployment to Iraq as a Combat Medic in the US Army. I suffered injuries to my hips having had to have them both replaced over the next ensuing years. Prior to my deployment to Iraq, I was a Paramedic Supervisor in Elizabethtown PA providing pre-hospital EMS, among many other management related duties. When I had my Hip joints replaced I could no longer pass the physical requirements needed to perform as a pre-hospital EMS.

I decided that I would change careers and become a watchmaker, I enjoy working with my hands and true watchmaking requires critical thinking and problem solving. I then attended the York Time Institute for 2 yrs and graduated with a Diploma in Watch/ Clock Repair and Restoration. I was hired directly our of school in a high end Jewelry store in Massachusetts, I worked there for almost 3 years. It was hard for me to adjust to the environment with my old employer, I didn’t fit in with their culture, like most vets I am not a yes man. I decided to start my own watch repair/watch making home based business in January of 2019 working on my own endeavors.

Then came COVID-19, my clients dried up and I really had to sit down and figure out what I really wanted to do. I decided that I needed to give back to society again, my whole adult life has been about heling others, this is what made me truly happy deep down. I soon put out the feelers for jobs in the healthcare field where my experience and expertise could be best utilized. I was not having much success, lots of applications with little feedback. I then received a post on social media calling for prior service Medical Corp veterans to volunteer to staff a field hospital in NYC for treating COVID-19 patients. I applied Monday and got accepted the next day and was on a flight to NYC to be a medical provider at the Ryan Larkin Field Hospital-New York Presbyterian Hospital. I spent the next month providing care to patients stricken by COVID-19.

Medic in action

When I arrived in NYC I saw a need for wrist watches, most of the younger generation uses cell phones and smart watches for timing, they are not easily accessed in the controlled environments that were required in the “Bubble” COVID ward. I reached out to my friend James Henderson, who moved mountains to get the project moving; within a week's time he had already arranged several wristwatches to be set to NYC. I cannot thank him enough for all his hard work and to all the people who made the wristwatch mission happen. It is heart-warming know that there are people who can do something to help others and then follow through above and beyond what is asked of them.

In Action

Again, I would like to thank everyone involved, James Henderson, Gary Girdvainis of iW and About Time Magazine,Ray Grenon of Grenon's of Newport, Charles at Ollech & Wajs and Ellen from Citizen watches; you made our jobs much safer, productive and directly affected the outcome of our patients in a positive way due to your generosity.

Sincerely,

Daniel Wentzel